Thursday, February 6, 2014

Did Jeremiah Love His People?

by Betty Baker Bailey

“Among My people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds, and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

“A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land; the prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and My people love it this way”– Jer 5:26-31

Surely Jeremiah was considered unloving, unkind, and abusive by his people. Yet, it is not Jeremiah speaking here, but God. Jeremiah is just sharing, as ordered, what he was told.

“Announce this to the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear Me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in My presence?” – Jer 5:20-22

God does not change. Yet, today we believe in our hearts that He most definitely has, because we tell ourselves He no longer punishes the guilty. I think Ananias and Sapphira would profusely disagree (Act 5:1-11).

Ananias and Sapphira attempted to lie to the Holy Spirit and were instantly killed for their disrespect. It is important to understand that Peter did not kill these two. No, Peter did not lay a hand on them. This was divine judgment, carried out in the New Testament church. So, let us not fool ourselves any longer about who God is. He is holy. He does love us, enough to send His only Son to rescue us. But, He will not be mocked.

Jeremiah spoke to a hard-hearted people who loved their evil ways. To be sure there were among them some who loved the Lord. (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were youths when the Israelites were taken into captivity.) But much of the land was deeply involved in disobedience, and the approval of disobedience. Sound familiar? It should.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“’Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: Reform your ways and your actions and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ IF you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, THEN I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers forever and ever. But look you ARE trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.” – Jer 7:1-8

The Israelites thought they were safe because they believed they had God’s protection as His chosen people. It wasn’t just any temple that they worshiped in. It was His. Nor were their priests just any priests, but ones set apart to God. However, the point of this admonition is that God no longer inhabited the temple. Their love of other gods and disobedience had caused Him to abandon it long before. So, they were trusting in a security their own sins had stripped them of.

Like many churches today, the temple had become a social gathering place, having only the outward appearance of being His. The priests and prophets were saying, “Peace, peace! God is not mad at you.” (Paraphrased) But God was assuring Jeremiah that He was so angry that He was going to punish them severely.

Today we easily look back on Jeremiah and see him for the caring, loving individual he was. We can also see how blind and misguided his detractors were. We know that Jeremiah loved his people, because we know they were punished. At the time though, the people did not want to hear it. He was trying to get them out of the line of fire, but they despised him for the effort.

What we don’t seem to understand is that servants like Jeremiah always appear unloving to the people he (or she) is sent to witness to. It’s the nature of the call. We are tasked with telling you what you do not want to hear, let alone believe. So while the lie is deadly it is generally more acceptable than the truth.

Jeremiah spoke repeatedly against the leaders of his day. I can just hear the people coming to their defense: “You just don’t love us. You’re not the one. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You are not acting in love!” But, you know what, Jeremiah was right. God was speaking to him. He wasn’t ‘making it up’ nor was he speaking out of anger. He had a real and relevant message for the times. The people resented hearing it, but it was the correct message for the time.

In reality it wasn’t that Jeremiah did not love his people; but rather, that they did not love him. He put himself at risk to tell them the truth. Of course, God was his protector, but that doesn’t mean Jeremiah did not feel the weight of their anger. He most certainly did. He was well aware that they did not want to hear it, but he told them anyway.

Jeremiah’s time and ministry are profoundly relevant to our time. As God promised, I relate to him on a very real level. Like him, I have experienced resentment, abuse, etc. Like him people often consider me unloving or unkind. Some of today’s leaders even admonish their followers to ignore me as “misguided or uninformed” -- though, hopefully, none that have admitted to agreeing with me privately.

The thing is, like Jeremiah, I know I am right. I know we are judgment. I know God is angry. And, like Jeremiah, I can see the coming punishment. Call me crazy, but I don’t believe a loving person would keep something like this to themselves. I find it impossible to stand by while people behave like lemmings – dashing off the cliff because their leaders insist it is the way to go.

Jeremiah loved his people. So do I. He stood against the elite of his day. So do I. Therefore, despite your claims of my unworthiness, unloving heart, etc.; I will continue to share what God is showing me until the very last one of you plummets off that cliff to oblivion. Along the way I will continue to weep for you. Whether you realize it or not, this has never been about making you feel bad or your leaders appear foolish. No, this is about what God has made broadly apparent to me and my obligation to be obedient to Him. After all, what pleases God is what really matters whether it pleases us or not.



God’s peace.

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