Jeremiah 9:1 – Crying that makes sense

Thinking of the senseless suffering, the bloodshed, and the lost lives brought about by their stubborn rebelliousness, Jeremiah was overwhelmed with grief. He cried a bucket of tears. He literally bawled his eyes out.

 Reading Jeremiah 9:1 alone will justify the title of the weeping prophet he had been given. Here he said,

“Oh that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!”

This verse tells us that Jeremiah literally cried his eyes out. He cried unendingly yet he wished he could weep more. What he wanted to do was to arouse the people to their folly with his tears. His one desire was that his tears would awaken the people to their right senses.

And we are thankful to God who said that He will turn our mourning into joy. And that there will come a time for us believers where there will be no tear for He will wipe away every tear. Meanwhile, let us follow the instruction of Psalm 126:6. The Psalmist said, “He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Here we are reminded of what Hebrews 5:7 said about the Lord Jesus. It said, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” Like Jesus, let us not be afraid to cry as we supplicate for our dying world. God will surely see our tears and hear our cries.