Peace and Gloom

 “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.” (Jer 4:10 AV)

 Let us not judge Jeremiah too harshly here.  He is not accusing the LORD of lying.  What the prophet is trying to do is to justify two seemingly opposed messages.  That is the message of peace through Christ and the covenants with the message of pending judgment.  One can see the conflict.  Which is it?  Will the LORD bring peace and salvation to Israel?  Or, will He destroy them?  His expression at the beginning of the verse is an expression of confusion and befuddlement.  What is it that the prophet is supposed to preach?  Is it peace?  Or is it judgment?  What does he say?  Where do his passions lie?  What message can he really share with all the energy within his soul?  These two messages seem to be opposites.  How can one preach doom and gloom, and then turn around and preach peace?  Isn’t it one or the other?

One of the blessings I have experienced was working with people who had mental (more appropriately, emotional issues) and found they were on the fast track to institutionalized medicine.  I remember one such young lady.  It was years ago and she was a mess.  She was semi-suicidal.  What I mean by that is she would attempt to take her life, but always remained in control so it never came to an end.  She saw her life as one dark cloud.  She abused pain killers and other meds.  I remember her so clearly because she was on a fast track to self-destruction.  There was no good news I could tell her.  If she continued the way she was going, she would end up in a grave.  She self-admitted to the psych ward in our local city.  I remember going to visit her right after she was admitted.  The staff allowed an initial visit, then I wasn’t permitted to see her for a few weeks.  I knew what was coming.  They would remove her from the outside world completely, then wean her back to reality at a pace she could handle.  She didn’t like it, but she knew that was going to be the treatment that would work.  What I told her was the next few weeks or months were going to be extremely difficult.  However, if she stuck with it and allowed the doctors to help her, she would come out a different person.  What helped tremendously was the fact this hospital encouraged their patients to faithfully read their Bibles.  I gave my treatment.  Read the Bible daily and journal.  They gave theirs.  Weaning off the meds and counseling.  There was a sword.  But there was a promise of peace.  If she didn’t follow the regimen, the sword would be her undoing.  If she complied and trusted those who were trying to help, then peace.

As those tasked to share the truth, we often err on one side or the other.  We are either doom and gloom (that tends to be me) or we see nothing but blue skies.  The key is balance.  The LORD must bring the sword in order for there to be peace.  Unless the LORD cuts away all that offends, Israel will never have peace with God.  If the Father did not exact all His wrath for the sin of mankind upon His Son, then sinners cannot have peace.  The sword must do its work before peace can come.  There is no contradiction.  There is no impasse.  Israel will have to go off to Assyria and Babylon.  Israel will have to be conquered by Rome.  Israel will have to suffer indescribable things before she is humbled enough to follow her Messiah.  Then and only then can there be peace.  My father had to spank me.  Otherwise, there would be no peace.  Rebellion would have rooted itself in my heart and I would have never enjoyed peace with my father.  These are two necessary sides of the same coin.  The sword and peace must coexist.  One cannot come without the other.