- It is and has always been tough to be the Lord's chosen spokesperson.
I am not now nor will I ever be Jeremiah but I do share a similar occupation. Jeremiah was God's chosen spokesperson to the nations of Israel and Judah and I am a minister to God's people in the CSBC youth group and the Element college ministry.
Sometimes, it is not easy to be God's spokesperson. Jeremiah knew that better than me. Chapter 20 begins with Jeremiah being beaten and sentenced to a night in the stocks for preaching the message of judgment that God had given him to preach.
Consider Jeremiah's plight for a minute. He had been called by God to preach a message of judgment over the sin that his two target nations had committed. God had literally given him every word to say and Jeremiah had been faithful to repeat the message he had been given.
But the people who heard Jeremiah speak did not appreciate his message. In fact, they hated him for it.
Jeremiah puts it this way--
I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. (20:7b-8)
And again he describes it like this--
For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him." (20:10)
And let me tell you, as someone who preaches on a regular basis, it is this way for all of us sometimes. Often, I have to preach on a topic from God's Word that is unpopular, painful, or difficult for my audience. They usually let me hear about it.
But what can I do? God has not audibly spoken my message to me like He did with Jeremiah, but He has spoken the messages that I preach in His Word. It is His message and not mine.
But few people are okay with not being liked and no one is okay with being hated (even if it is only by a few). It is painful. It is uncomfortable. It is difficult.
So why do we keep doing it? I keep doing it because I am convinced that God desperately wants His Word to be heard by people. He wants His message to be taught in an authentic and interesting way. He has given me a passion for seeing that accomplished.
Jeremiah described the passion that kept him going like this--
If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. (20:9)
I have felt the desire to give up, but more importantly I have felt the inability to keep the "fire" shut up inside of me.
Thank you Lord for that fire!
2. The Lord has set two choices before us...always.
This is a small point but I am amazed at how often in the prophets' writings God reminds Israel that they can choose either the path of righteousness or the path of wickedness.
He does it again in 21:8-9
And to this people you shall say, 'Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who stays in the city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.
God, through Jeremiah, had already told the people that Babylon was coming and that Nebuchadnezzar's army would destroy their land. The false prophets, however, kept telling the people that Jeremiah's message was false and that they would have peace and security.
So, two camps were forming: those who listened to God's true message through Jeremiah and those who chose to listen to the pleasant but false message of the liars.
God's point here is clear: Choose your side.
If you believe me then go out and surrender to the Chaldean's because defeat is inevitable. I am going to cause you to lose this battle. Swallow your pride and show your repentance by allowing your faith in my message and power to motivate your surrender. If you do that then you will be taken captive, but you will live.
If you don't believe me then stay inside the city and believe that things will "get better" without My help. You won't be taken captive, but you will be killed.
Do you realize that you and I always have two choices before us. The way of "life" and the way of "death."
Sometimes, we lie to ourselves by believing that our sin is the only choice available to us. We say, "I'm addicted," "I'm between a rock and a hard place," "I have no way out," or "This is just who I am."
But the truth is God has given us the way of "life."
Is this not what Jesus meant when He said, "I am the way the life and the truth..." (John 14:6)?
3. God is concerned about His reputation.
I am going to make this point briefly because apparently there is not a prize given for having the longest blog posts, but it is a point worth making.
Listen to what God pledges will happen after He judges Judah and Israel by leveling them--
And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, "Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?" And they will answer, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshipped other gods and served them." (22:8-9)
Is it not interesting that these travellers know exactly what happened? They know who caused the destruction (Why has the Lord dealt thus), they know what the city used to be (this great city), and they know the reason for the destruction (because they have forsaken the covenant...and worshipped other gods and served them).
How do they know all of this?
The answer is that God was bent on destroying the two nations so severely and mightily that the destruction could only be attributed to Him and so that the surrounding nations would know that He was a righteous God.
Israel and Judah were God's chosen people, so God could not let them live in sin without punishing them. They would cause His name to be defamed among the pagan nations.
This brings us to an obvious question--
"Do our lives enhance or defame the reputation of God with those around us?"
