Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 140

"Consider and call for the mourning women"

Text: Jeremiah 9:17

PROFESSIONAL MOURNERS

The ancient days had “professional mourners”. Israel was not the only country that had them. They were hired by families that may not have enough people in the family to mourn the dead. Their services were also hired by well-to-do families that feel that the dead would be better honoured if great wailing was done.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Consider and call for the mourning women,
That they may come;
And send for skilful wailing women,
That they may come.
Let them make haste
And take up a wailing for us,
That our eyes may run with tears,
And our eyelids gush with water.
For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How we are plundered!
We are greatly ashamed,
Because we have forsaken the land,
Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.””
Jeremiah 9:17-19

1. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Consider and call for the mourning women,
that they may come; and send for skilful wailing women, that they may come'”

a) This word came from the Lord!
b) Why had He given this word?
i) The children of Judah were incapable of feeling sorrow for their sins.
ii) Even when the pronouncement of divine judgment had been given, few had wept!
c) The wailing women were the professional mourners.
d) If nothing else, they could weep for the nation!

2. “Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run with tears, and our eyelids gush with water”

a) Jeremiah took this thought up.
b) When the professional mourners wailed, they were able to affect people deeply.
c) Jeremiah’s hope
i) When these mourners weep with moving word and tears.
ii) There would be hearts that would be moved to shed tears too.

3. “For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are plundered!
We are greatly ashamed, because we have forsaken the land, because we have been cast out of our dwellings'”

a) The mourners did not just weep and wail.
b) They mourned according to the theme given to them.
c) The theme for mourning:
i) The nation was plundered.
ii) Shame had come to the nation.
iii) The people had been cast out of their dwelling places.
iv) They were a forsaken lot!