Whenever someone has been given a work assignment or a job to do, they naturally want it to be successful. They want their work to be well-received by others. However, sometimes that is not what happens. As hard as one works at their assignment, sometimes it is not accepted by others. In our Scripture passage today we will see how that was the case with God’s prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was a prophet, and preached God’s Word during the final years of the Kingdom of Judah, right prior to, and during the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the people going into captivity in Babylon. The Lord God gave Jeremiah a very difficult task and ministry, one which was destined to make him an unpopular preacher with the people. For centuries the people of Judah and Israel had been unfaithful to Yahweh, turning in worship to the false gods of the surrounding nations. That was a heinous sin in His eyes, including if they mixed the worship of Yahweh with the false, pagan gods. Over the years, Yahweh sent His prophets and preachers to the people, beseeching and warning them to turn from their pagan idols and their sinful ways, and return to Him. Occasionally the people would heed the message, and for a few years they faithfully followed God, but within a short while they were back to worshipping false gods. This is where we find the prophet Jeremiah.
Yahweh had warned the people through His prophets, over and over again, that if they refused to follow His Word, there would be consequences, there would be punishment. The message that God gave Jeremiah to tell the people was one of judgement, particularly since because of their sins, the nation would go into captivity. Naturally, this was not a popular message. No one wants to hear that their sins will bring consequences if they don’t repent. The false prophets all brought cheerful and positive messages to the people, messages telling them that God loves them no matter what they do, there will be no judgement, no such thing as sin, etc. As a result, Jeremiah suffered because he spoke God’s message in truth. He was reviled, he was beaten, and was frequently imprisoned where he was given little to eat. He was once even cast into a well filled with slimy muck.
What would you do if that was the response you received when given this assignment from the Lord? Many people might decide to change their message, and join in with the false prophets giving the positive message. Others might just decide to shut up and stop their preaching. For a little while that is what Jeremiah decided to do. He was greatly discouraged and went through a lot of inner turmoil. He thought that maybe he had been deceived, and perhaps had the message wrong, since he was treated so poorly (vs. 7-8). So Jeremiah decided to just quit and stop preaching (vs. 9).
However, this was not something that Jeremiah could do for long. When he withheld preaching for a while, God’s Word became like a fire in his bones until he felt he had to preach, no matter what the results. God had warned Jeremiah at the beginning of his ministry of all that he would face, of all of the persecution and ill-treatment (Jeremiah 1:17-19). Just as he was told to by God, Jeremiah stood upright and strengthened himself for the task God had given him to do.
God promised Jeremiah He would be with him through all of his troubles. He promised him He would deliver him (vs. 11). God has promised that He will be with us, as well, when we are doing a difficult or unpopular task for Him (Matthew 28:19-20; Hebrews 13:5-6). We do not need to fear going out and telling the world about Jesus, and doing the work that He has given us. That work may not be popular or well-received, and sometimes people may be downright hostile to us. Just like with Jeremiah, though, if the Lord tells us to do it, we cannot keep quiet. However bleak the circumstances are, we can trust in God’s abiding presence with us, just as Jeremiah knew.
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