SOMETHING WORSE THAN GOING TO HELL

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:20-22)

In context, this passage is about the judgment of God that would result in no harvest for the Jews. But here we will take it to be the cry of lost souls in hell. Imagine working a whole year, and in the end having nothing to show for it because your crops could not stand the test of frost, the test of rain, or the test of drought. Similarly, because people's lives won’t measure up, the text in Jeremiah 8:20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved," is one that will undoubtedly be repeated many times in hell by those who will weep and wail that they squandered their opportunity to get saved, and get right with God, but did not.

Summer has come, harvest is past, and still, we are not saved! Isn’t that the cry of the rich man in Luke 16? Now think about this the rich man in Luke 16 was crying 2,000 years ago to have a finger dipped in water to touch his tongue. He is still crying 2,000 years later! He will still be crying 2,000 years from now, and so on, and yet you ask, "How can there be something worse than going to hell?" The one thing that is worse than going to hell is going to hell and taking someone with you.

I had to talk to a friend recently, who just moved out of the inner city because his 15-year-old son has been staying out all night, and is seemingly out of control. This friend is a former pastor who is backslid and only goes to church once or twice a year. When I told him there was one thing worse than going to hell, and what it was, there was almost an audible groan you could hear on the other end of the phone.

I don’t want this dad in hell with his son. It’s bad enough if he goes there, but his sorrow will be doubled to hear his son cry and say, "Daddy why didn’t you warn me about this place?! Daddy, why didn’t you set a better example before me?! Daddy, why did you stop bringing me and Momma to church?!

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior journey with me 1,000 years into the future and this is you speaking. "Summer has come, harvest is past, and I am doomed." It is doubly maddening because you will cry out and say, "that preacher told me, ’O why, O why didn’t I listen to him when it could have made a difference.’" I pray to God you don’t go there, and if you do go there despite my prayers, I pray you go alone. I am afraid though, that hell is going to be full of children cussing their parents, brothers crying to their brothers, cousins crying to their cousins, and classmates crying to their classmates for their poor example and bad influence. I don’t think anybody goes to hell alone, I think the power of influence is much stronger than we would like to imagine. Perhaps the rich man in Luke 16 was so concerned for his 5 brothers because he knew he had set a bad example for them, and as bad as hell was it horrified him that his brothers would wind up there also. You see there is one thing worse than going to hell, and that is taking someone with you.

Verse 22 is God’s indictment of the church: Jeremiah 8:21-22 “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me [Is there] no balm in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”

We read astonishment hath taken hold of God. What astonished Him? That there was balm available and yet it was not applied. This thought reminds me of another verse, Isaiah 59:16: And he saw that [there was] no man and wondered that [there was] no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

What made God wonder?

1. God knew prayer was effective, and He wondered why people weren’t praying.

2. He knew His people were aware of those heading to eternity without salvation and He wondered why they weren’t interceding and pleading but were busy enjoying picnic lunches and a glorious sunset. Church take your eyes off the sunset for a moment and look at those around you!

3. A friend I know was weeping after his 10-year-old was arrested for shoplifting. The Police officer said, "The only way to get out of this now is to go to court and prove you didn’t do it. For those in Hell, the only way for them to get out is to go to court and prove they didn’t do it, and that is impossible. Now is the day of salvation, there is no opportunity after this life. God knows we know the condition of the world and wonders why we aren’t doing more.

a. He knows prayer was effective.

b. He knows we are aware of the danger.

c. He knows that those who are aware of the danger are also those who know that prayer works! But instead of praying about those in mortal danger our prayers often concern trifling matters of creature comforts. If your prayers were scientifically studied how would they be categorized? 90% for self-needs, 9% for other friends' needs, and 1% for lost souls. If that describes you then it is no wonder God wonders.

4.  He knows that we know there is something better than going to heaven, and that is taking someone with you. It has to amaze Him when He sees the unconcern in His people.

I wonder how many of us were responsible that someone else started doing drugs, or drinking, or got them involved in sexual immorality. That is, you are the one that introduced them to these things, and today you are on your way to heaven and they are on their way to hell. The bible says there will be no tears in heaven, and part of the reason we won’t groan for them there is because it wouldn’t do them any good. If you are going to weep for souls you have to do it now while it can do some good, lest your former friends come to that unhappy day where they say, "the harvest is past, the summer is ended and still we are not saved."