17-18 Speak this word to them: ‘“Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the Virgin Daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow. If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not.”

19 Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. 20-22 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord, and the guilt of our ancestors; we have indeed sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonour your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it. Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go!” Jeremiah 14:17 -15:1 New Living Translation paraphrase (English Standard Version link)

One of the saddest answers we can ever get in life is when someone (especially a doctor) says the words “I'm sorry, it's too late”. Yet that is what God's words in vs 15 amounted to. Moses and Samuel were regarded as two of the holiest people in Israel's history – yet even their prayers would not have stopped the judgement God was bringing on the nation. What a terrible condition to be in.

Verses 17-19 describe how the people were reeling under a devastating drought, as well as from attacks by an enemy army who were plundering one town after another. The situation had driven Jeremiah to tears because he knew those things were just the beginning of God's judgment. But the strange part in all this is what follows the words we read in vs 19. What were the people hoping and longing for in that verse?

They wanted God to bring healing to their lives and to the land. It seems these weren't Jeremiah's words but those of people. And what were some of the reasons they offered to God as to why He should heal the nation? (vs 20-22)

They admitted that they had been wicked and that none of the false idol god's they had accumulated could give them rain; and they suggested that God's honour was involved and that He should keep the promises He had made to the nation in the past. On the surface, that looked like a prayer of repentance. But God's reply in vs 1 of Chapter 15 shows they were more sorry for themselves than for the sins that had brought them to their current situation.

The writer of the New Testament book called Hebrews gave a similar warning even for those who say they are Christians. He wrote: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone - and to be holy! For without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterwards, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” Hebrews 12:14-17

The lesson from what happened to Israel in the days of Jeremiah is surely that people should never presume they can keep on sinning and think God will simply forgive and heal their lives when things suddenly go wrong. Hebrews 10:26-27 says: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we've received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left: only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” There are times when it's too late for a doctor - and there are times when it may be too late for God's mercy.