Our Old Testament reading this week from the Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer takes us to the writings of the Prophet Jeremiah. This passage brings up two points for us to look at and consider, each one important.
When you were younger, did you like to play Hide and Seek with your playmates? Little children hide in places that are easily found, and as they grow older the places where they hide are more secretive. Hide and Seek isn’t just a child’s game. Adults play that game, as well. Not usually with other people, but instead, they sometimes play it with God. Only this time it’s not a game. Those who are trying to hide from God do not want to be found by Him. They don’t want their sins and weaknesses uncovered, and be forced to confront and acknowledge them. They don’t want God in their lives. Sometimes Christians try to hide from God, as well. Maybe they have fallen and failed Him, and are ashamed. Rather than come to Him for forgiveness, they try to hide, like a little child.
Jeremiah brings God’s message to those who are trying to hide from God (vs. 23-24). God tells us that there is no place where someone can hide from Him, whether on earth or anywhere in the universe. No one can hide from God. He sees all we do, and He hears all we say. We can’t hide anything from Him. This passage is reminiscent of Psalm 139:7-12. King David, who wrote that psalm, knew that we can’t hide from God. Perhaps he tried to after his sin with Bathsheba. However, he found that it is impossible. No matter where we go, God knows where we are, and He sees us. He is never too busy managing the universe that He has no time to be intimately concerned about each one of us individually.
The Prophet Jeremiah also had a word from the Lord to give to false prophets, preachers, and religious leaders (vs. 25-29). As he just finished saying, Jeremiah reminded those false preachers that the Lord knows them and hears all they say (vs. 25). False prophets and preachers did not only exist in the days of the Old Testament. There are many in this day, as well. They come speaking a message, claiming it is from God, but it is really a message from their own heart and mind. What does the Almighty God say about their message? He says that they are speaking lies (vs. 26). He calls their words the “deceit of their own heart”.
True preachers and teachers of God’s Word, and false preachers, whether they preach from the pulpit, teach or speak on TV or radio, are as different from each other as straw is from grain (vs. 28). Good grain is nourishing. Eating straw will only make a person sick. Christians have a great responsibility when they share the Gospel to present it truthfully and accurately. They must not take God’s Word out of context. Preachers who claim to come in the Name of God must not only say what their listeners want to hear, or what “seems appropriate” for the times. That was a big problem in Jeremiah’s day. Many of the prophets and religious leaders only spoke words that the people wanted to hear, not what God wanted the people to hear. Back then, as well as today, they only speak positive and uplifting messages that made people feel good, not about their sins and need for repentance. False preachers pretend to come in His Name, but don’t bring His message. God didn’t like it then, and He doesn’t like it now.
God warns us that His Word is like both a fire and a hammer (vs. 29). When the false religious teachers and leaders twist God’s Word for their own purposes, it will destroy them. That is what fire does when it is mishandled. Fire is good and useful when used correctly, but when someone uses it the wrong way, it brings destruction. God’s Word is also a hammer. A hammer is an important tool, but here God will use His Word to smash and destroy false teachings and those who bring them.
Let’s remember Jeremiah’s warning here, and be sure that when we speak to others the Word of God, we are speaking it in truth, and not our own message, remembering that nothing is hid from God.
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