12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The blood of the righteous;
14 They wandered, blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with blood
So that no one could touch their garments.
15 “Depart! Unclean!” [m]they cried of themselves.
“Depart, depart, do not touch!”
So they fled and wandered;
Men among the nations said,
“They shall not continue to dwell with us.”
16 The presence of the Lord has scattered them,
He will not continue to regard them;
They did not [n]honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders.
17 Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for [o]help was useless;
In our watching we have watched
For a nation that could not save.
18 They hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our end drew near,
Our days were [p]finished
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,
Was captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
Who dwells in the land of Uz;
But the cup will come around to you as well,
You will become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion;
He will exile you no longer.
But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!
Here Jeremiah shifts the focus to the priests, who had shed the blood of the innocent. But in an odd twist, we also see in v. 16 that the people are scattered because they did not honor the priests or their elders. I think it likely that these two things are put together intentionally as we see a pattern in the rebellion of Israel. They would return to God for a while, and it took only a generation to fall away again. Why?
There are likely other reasons, but a big one was lack of respect for their elders and priests (the older ones particularly). The new generation came into their own and thought they didn’t need the old folks anymore, they had it handled. Before you know it, they were walking down the path of destruction. Even with “pillars of faith” like Eli, or Samuel, or Gideon, their sons were accused of despicable things.
It wasn’t a one-way street, and the elders should have helped guide the new generation. Or perhaps they tried and gave up in disgust. Whatever the case, it’s a reminder to honor both our elders and our pastors. I know I’ve been guilty of thinking I had it all figured out, but I couldn’t see the big picture–that those older and wiser could see.
Ultimately, we are to follow God, and He tells us to respect and honor our elders, and the rules for providing for the priests in Israel were extensive. This month is Pastor Appreciation Month, and we’d do well to appreciate our pastors more than a month, or a week, or a day. Remember they are people just like us, carrying a heavy weight. Perhaps you can look for ways to help lighten their load, but a “thank you” is never amiss and too seldom heard.
God puts leaders in our lives to help us walk in His steps. We need, all of us, to humble ourselves and recognize we don’t have it all figured out. Only God does, and we should strive to be an example ourselves, like Paul who wrote, “follow me as I follow Christ”. It’s not blind trust, but recognizing those whom God is leading and following their example of faith as they (and then we) walk in His steps together.