Jeremiah 14:1

JEREMIAH 14

THE EVENTS OF THE GREAT DROUGHT

The efforts of scholars to date this prophecy are somewhat amusing. Cook placed it "in the early years of the reign of Jehoiachim";[1] Robinson placed it vaguely in "the reign of Jehoiachim";[2] still others have opted for the closing years of Jehoiachim's reign; and some have omitted dating it altogether! "Without chronological references it is difficult to date passages like this; even references to invasions and exile are not conclusive, because there were three invasions of Judah and as many deportations."[3] A great drought is featured in this chapter; but there were many droughts in that part of the world; and there is nothing here that distinguishes this particular drought from others.

Some have even tried to break up the chapter into various units, assigning a different date to each; but, as Keil noted, "Such efforts have proved to be a complete failure."[4]

As we have frequently noted, the "exact date" of any or all of these prophecies is of very little importance. The general facts are well known.

It is clear enough that the occasion of this chapter was a terrible drought that fell upon Judaea.

A practical outline of the chapter is: (1) a description of the drought (Jeremiah 14:1-6); (2) Jeremiah's prayers for God's help (Jeremiah 14:7-9); (3) God's refusal to aid the apostate nation (Jeremiah 14:10-12); (4) Jeremiah's plea that the false prophets are to blame (Jeremiah 14:13-15); (5) the doom of the false prophets and the people (Jeremiah 14:16-18); (6) Jeremiah's continual plea to God (Jeremiah 14:19-22).

Jeremiah 14:1-6

THE GREAT DROUGHT

"The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they all sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are put to shame and confounded, and cover their heads. Because of the ground which is cracked, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are put to shame, they cover their heads. Yea, the hind also in the field calveth, and forsaketh her young, because there is no grass. And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air, like jackals; their eyes fail because there is no herbage."

"The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah ..." (Jeremiah 14:1). This is the title of the whole chapter and through Jeremiah 15:4, all of which deals with the same subject.

"They all sit in black upon the ground ..." (Jeremiah 14:2). The custom of wearing black as a token of grief or mourning was known then and might be even much older than those times. In addition to their dress and humble posture sitting upon the ground; the people are here represented as raising a mighty cry to God in heaven for relief. Throughout their history, the Jews had persistently called upon God when their troubles came upon them. "Their nobles send their little ones to the waters ..." (Jeremiah 14:3). The word rendered "little ones" here is peculiar to Jeremiah, a very rare word. Most modern scholars insist that it means "servants," "inferiors," or "employees," or "the common people."[5] However, some of the older commentators believed the reference is to little children, implying that, "Due to the drought, the servants no longer attended their lords; it was `everyone for himself'; and the lords of the society were required to employ their own children to fetch water."[6]

Either interpretation shows the seriousness of the water shortage.

"Cisterns ..." (Jeremiah 14:3).This word has the same meaning today; and for ages, such reservoirs have been used for storing water during the times of rain against anticipated shortages. The tragedy here was simply that the supply was exhausted.

"They cover their heads ..." (Jeremiah 14:3). "This was a sign of mourning,"[7] indicating the same thing as the black clothing did in Jeremiah 14:1.

"The plowmen are put to shame ..." (Jeremiah 14:4). Thompson rendered the word `plowmen' in this clause as `farmers';[8] but we fail to see any great advantage of the change. We have never known a plowman who was not a farmer. Robinson made it "tillers of the ground";[9] but that also falls short of being an improvement.

The devastating nature of this drought is seen in the fact that all living things were affected by it: (1) human beings of all classes, (2) nobles, (3) servants, (4) children, (5) farmers, (6) wild animals, (7) even the ground was cracked, (8) the grass had all died, and (9) there were not even any twigs upon which the wild ass could live.

"Yea, the hind calved, and forsook her offspring ..." (Jeremiah 14:5). The word `hind' is an Old English word for the female of the red deer; "And this animal was regarded by the ancients as tenderly caring for her young."[10] The reason why the calf was abandoned here was the inability of the mother to produce milk due to the shortage of grass.

"The glazed condition of the eyes of the wild ass gives us the picture of eyes that are practically motionless because the death of the animal is near."[11]