위로가 없어 보일 때: 예레미야 6장에서 신앙으로 고난을 겪으며
고난은 신앙의 반대편이 아니라, 신앙이 참된 형태를 갖추는 자리인 경우가 많다. 예레미야 선지자가 예루살렘 성문 앞에서 내뱉은 탄식은, 보이지 않는 위로가 고통 속에서도 여전히 진실하게 존재함을 드러낸다.
Flee for refuge, O people of Benjamin,Out of the midst of Jerusalem!Blow the horn in Tekoa,Set up a signal at Beth-haccerem!For evil is appearing from the north,And great disaster. Fair Zion, the lovely and delicate,I will destroy. Against her come shepherds with their flocks,They pitch tents all around her;Each grazes the sheep under his care. as in Ps. 95.7. Prepare for battle against her:“Up! we will attack at noon.”“Alas for us! for day is declining,The shadows of evening grow long.” “Up! let us attack by night,And wreck her fortresses.” For thus said GOD of Hosts:Hew down her trees,And raise a siege mound against Jerusalem.She is the city destined for punishment; Only fraud is found in her midst. As a well flows with water,So she flows with wickedness.Lawlessness and rapine are heard in her;Before Me constantly are sickness and wounds. Accept rebuke, O Jerusalem,Lest I come to loathe you,Lest I make you a desolation,An uninhabited land. Thus said GOD of Hosts:Let them glean over and over, as a vine,The remnant of Israel.Pass your hand again,Like a vintager,Over its branches. To whom shall I speak,Give warning that they may hear?Their ears are blockedAnd they cannot listen.See, the word of GOD has become for themAn object of scorn; they will have none of it. But I am filled with GOD’s wrath, I cannot hold it in.Pour it on the infant in the street,And on the company of youths gathered together!Yes, men and women alike shall be captured,Elders and those of advanced years. Their houses shall pass to others,Fields and wives as well,For I will stretch out My armAgainst the inhabitants of the country—declares GOD. For from the smallest to the greatest,They are all greedy for gain;Priest and prophet alike,They all act falsely. They offer healing offhandFor the wounds of My people,Saying, “All is well, all is well,”When nothing is well. They have acted shamefully;They have done abhorrent things—Yet they do not feel shame,And they cannot be made to blush.Assuredly, they shall fall among the falling,They shall stumble at the time when I punish them—said GOD. Thus said GOD:Stand by the roads and consider,Inquire about ancient paths:Which is the road to happiness?Travel it, and find tranquility for yourselves.But they said, “We will not.” And I raised up lookouts for you:“Hearken to the sound of the horn!”But they said, “We will not.” Hear well, O nations,And know, O community, what is in store for them. Hear, O earth!I am going to bring disaster upon this people,The outcome of their own schemes;For they would not hearken to My words,And they rejected My Instruction. What need have I of frankincenseThat comes from Sheba,Or fragrant cane from a distant land?Your burnt offerings are not acceptableAnd your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me. Assuredly, thus said GOD:I shall put before this people stumbling blocksOver which they shall stumble—Parents and children alike,Neighbor and friend shall perish. Thus said GOD:See, a people comes from the northland,A great nation is rousedFrom the remotest parts of the earth. They grasp the bow and javelin;They are cruel, they show no mercy;The sound of them is like the roaring sea.They ride upon horses,Accoutered like a man for battle,Against you, O Fair Zion! “We have heard the report of them,Our hands fail;Pain seizes us,Agony like a woman in childbirth. Do not go out into the country,Do not walk the roads!For the sword of the enemy is there,Terror on every side.” My poor people, Put on sackclothAnd strew dust on yourselves!Mourn, as for an only child;Wail bitterly,For suddenly the destroyerIs coming upon us. I have made you an assayer of My people—A refiner—You are to note and assay their ways. They are copper and iron:They are all stubbornly defiant;They deal basely All of them act corruptly. The bellows puff;The lead is consumed by fire. Yet the smelter smelts to no purpose—The dross is not separated out. They are called “rejected silver,”For GOD has rejected them.
Jeremiah 6:1–20 is a sustained warning pronounced while disaster is visibly approaching from the north. The text moves from a call to flee (vv. 1–3), to God's own resolve against Jerusalem (vv. 4–8), to the people's refusal to listen (vv. 9–13), and to the false peace of those who cry 'All is well' while wounds fester (vv. 14–20). The original Hebrew word translated 'comfort' or 'reproof' (תּוֹכֵחַ, tokhakhah) in v. 8 carries both meanings at once: divine rebuke itself is a form of care, given because God has not yet abandoned His people.