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
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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