You can get whiplash hearing the prophecies of Jeremiah. He starts off with doom and gloom. For thus says the LORD: Incurable is your wound, no remedy for your running sore, no healing for you. Then a few verses later the word from the Lord continues: Thus says the LORD: See! I will restore the tents of Jacob, his dwellings I will pity; From them will resound songs of praise, the laughter of happy men. I will make them not few, but many for I will glorify them. The prophet wants us to understand that God’s providence is at work in good times and in bad. We are used to saying that the “Lord is blessing me” when something good happens. Jeremiah wants us to feel God’s presence even when we are experiencing negative things. He uses the image of a parent correcting a chid to help us understand how God is blessing us even when we are going through the rough times.
