Women Who Wail

“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come; let them make haste and raise a wailing over us.” —Jeremiah 9:17 ESV

In the Old Testament, God instructed His people to wail during times of “sin” and “injustice.” In Jeremiah 9, the prophet wrote about the nation of Israel dealing with all kinds of evil, wickedness, and deceit.

Here’s the thing I find most ironic about this passage: the “mourning women” were professional mourners, brought out to conjure up and express the emotions of the people attending funerals. Apparently the tears of the people of God were so dried up that the “professionals” were called upon to usher in a more appropriate response to what was happening in the world.

We need to be fully engaged in the sadness of this moment. Not just because people are lying, fighting, killing, and dying, but because we need to grieve over the things that grieve God’s heart to demonstrate that our hearts are in alignment with His. Out of this will spring heartfelt petitions rather than empty words. Out of this will come revival.