Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 246
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
14:3-12
All the people sit on the ground in mourning,
and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
The nobles send servants to get water,
but all the wells are dry.
The servants return with empty pitchers,
confused and desperate,
covering their heads in grief.
The ground is parched
and cracked for lack of rain.
The farmers are deeply troubled;
they, too, cover their heads.
Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn
because there is no grass in the field.
The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills
panting like thirsty jackals.
They strain their eyes looking for grass,
but there is none to be found.”
The people say, “Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord,
but help us for the sake of your own reputation.
We have turned away from you
and sinned against you again and again.
O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble,
why are you like a stranger to us?
Why are you like a traveler passing through the land,
stopping only for the night?
Are you also confused?
Is our champion helpless to save us?
You are right here among us, Lord.
We are known as your people.
Please don’t abandon us now!”
So this is what the Lord says to his people:
“You love to wander far from me
and do not restrain yourselves.
Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people.
Now I will remember all your wickedness
and will punish you for your sins.”
Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore.
When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt
offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will
devour them with war, famine, and disease.”
