Desperate Drought

The drought in Jeremiah’s day was fierce. Rich and poor were equally frantic trying to fill empty water-jars. Cisterns were bone-dry; farmers were helpless and dismayed; the ground cracked under the heat of the sun and the next generation of wild-life hung in the balance.

Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and

 pant like jackals. Jeremiah 14:5 

Drought is a terrible thing and Jeremiah pleads with God - “do something – for God’s sake Jeremiah 14:7.”

He pummels God with a series of sharp questions –
■ Why are you acting like you don’t know us?
■ Are you like an over-night traveler indifferent to the folks who live here?
■ Has our distress caught you by surprise?
■ Are you a helpless warrior?

Desperate circumstances provoke desperate language in prayer. And Jeremiah intercedes with the desperation he sees in his neighbors’ eyes. But God tells Jeremiah to stop interceding for them - “Do not pray for the well-being of this people” (14:11) – because God was actually bringing upon them the natural consequences of their evil ways. (Jeremiah 14:11-16)

Drought does not always equate with human sin, but in this instance there was a connection. The barren fields mirrored a barren society that was no longer rooted in their promises to God. Moral backsliding brings spiritual dryness and spreads outward.

American photographer and environmentalist Ed Firmage Jr notes the link between social ethics and the land when he says, "drought takes on something of the character of the society it keeps. If that society lives on the edge, then drought shows up as the grim reaper.” - Salt Lake Tribune, Apr 23, 2010.

Africa Drought Photo: Metro On-Line

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, O Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you.” Jeremiah 14:22

Timeless God,
We follow Jeremiah's lead and pray today for your mercy for the people in drought-stricken Africa, parents and children, refugees from conflict and barren fields. We pray for rain, for peace, for good government and for all those seeking to help in this crisis. We pray for your shalom to descend in the hearts of people and on the land. Amen.