If you combine yellow and blue, you get green. Almost immediately. And though there are varying shades pending on the amount of yellow and blue, those two colors combined always make green.
Psalm 1 says that when you mix not sitting with scoffers with meditating on God’s law, you get bountiful fruit. Thriving. Mix those colors and you get beauty and blessing.
Enter Jeremiah.
Jeremiah, through much pain, tells God that he did not sit in the “company of revelers” (15:18) but instead God’s words became “the delight of my heart” (15:16). Jeremiah combined the yellow of good company with the blue of delighting in God’s law.
He circles back around to this sentiment in Jeremiah 17. Many scholars think that this chapter is the prophet’s miscellaneous file with a few random thoughts combined around the theme of “the heart”. I disagree. I think it’s all driving to Jeremiah’s prayer in 17:14-18.
17:5-6 is Jeremiah painting his canvas with a bit of yellow. Cursed are those who trust in man instead of Yahweh. Jeremiah 17:9-10 is Jeremiah painting with a bit of blue. The heart is deceitful but our anchor is the word of God. Delight in God, don’t delight in man. That’s the theme. And in the middle of that sandwich is Jeremiah’s version of Psalm 1 (17:7-8).
When you combine yellow and blue. You get green. That is what verses 5-13 are telling us. Now listen to Jeremiah’s prayer…
When Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green
In verses 14-15 Jeremiah is positioning himself under God’s mercy. He knows that if healing is to happen it will come from the Lord. But in verse 15 he shares his ache. His words haven’t come true, yet. And as a result everybody is mocking him.
Now listen to verse 16. It’s Jeremiah saying I’ve painted with blue and yellow because you told me it would make green. But it hasn’t.
Think about Jeremiah’s life at this point. He is miserable and lonely. If you were to lay Psalm 1 over the life of Jeremiah and the wicked king you’d have to conclude that Jeremiah must be the one living in disobedience. Look at his life. He’s drowning in barrenness. He’s choking on sand. The king is surrounded by prosperity and ample vegetation. His yield would lead you to believe from Psalm 1 that the king must be living the obedient life.
This is why Jeremiah says in verse 17, “Be not a terror to me…” That might be better translated “Don’t be so confusing to me, don’t be the source of my dismay”.
Be consistent!!
That is what Jeremiah is crying out to the Lord. And it’s what he is meaning in verse 18 as well. We he speaks of his opponents being dismayed it means that they should be the ones who are confused about the direction of their life—not Jeremiah. Jeremiah should be getting green and not brown.
Should Christians Pray This Way?
I believe Jeremiah’s prayer is very much consistent with the New Testament. In fact I think this is part of what Jesus is meaning when he says, “thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
In heaven every single time you paint with yellow and blue you get green. But that doesn’t always happen on earth. This side of the new heaven and new earth, Psalm 1 isn’t like a painting formula. It’s a general principle. It’s an echo of heaven. It’s the way that things are supposed to be. But things are broken a bit. And so sometimes on earth we paint with the colors we are supposed to and end up with a sloppy mess.
That is why Jesus told us to pray this way. We are praying for consistency. We are praying that the beautiful consistency of heaven is matched on earth.
And this is a great prayer to consider when you find yourself in a situation like Jeremiah. Don’t move from God as being your refuge, but also don’t assume that it’s okay that blue and yellow are making brown. Tell God. Cry out for consistency.
On earth, as it is in heaven…
Give us consistency, Lord. We ache.
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