God had something to say and wanted Jeremiah to get His message through. When God revealed the contents of this message, it gave the prophet reason to pause. God was asking him to deliver the kind of bad news that makes people want to kill the messenger: "Amend your ways or Jerusalem is going to be turned into rubble." His previous experience with national leadership told him not to expect a warm reception.
What if someone could have provided rock-solid intelligence about what was planned for 9/11 (and how to prevent it) before it happened? Who wouldn’t find receipt of such information an incredible benefit? That is precisely what Jeremiah did. But, the power trip the priests and prophets were on blinded them to the value of what they were receiving. The general populace did get it right, saying, “No death sentence of this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God” (Jer. 26:16).
An unfavorable message, if it comes from God, is evidence of grace not grumpiness. God does not have to warn us. He could easily give us a taste of “shock and awe” without warning. But that is not how our Father operates. Even when we are walking in disobedience, His love moves Him to tell us what we NEED to hear even when it is not what we WANT to hear. So if you want to receive the full benefits of God’s grace, ask Him to help you hear and take to heart whatever He wants to tell you, even when He has some bad news.
The beauty of being a pessimist is you're either right or your expectations are exceeded. In this case, after talking straight with Israel, Jeremiah was the former: Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing” (Jer. 26:11).
Despite the accusations, Jeremiah did not flinch: Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard” (Jer. 26:12).
The skewed reasoning of the religious bigwigs went like this: “We don’t agree with Jeremiah’s message, and that’s all we need to know. Jeremiah deserves death for the audacity of telling us we need to change.” It is remarkable that the priests and prophets did not debate the merits of Jeremiah’s case. They did not ask, “Could it be true that we must either change or be punished?” Had they done so, they might have seen that Jeremiah’s preaching was a benefit not a bane.What if someone could have provided rock-solid intelligence about what was planned for 9/11 (and how to prevent it) before it happened? Who wouldn’t find receipt of such information an incredible benefit? That is precisely what Jeremiah did. But, the power trip the priests and prophets were on blinded them to the value of what they were receiving. The general populace did get it right, saying, “No death sentence of this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God” (Jer. 26:16).
An unfavorable message, if it comes from God, is evidence of grace not grumpiness. God does not have to warn us. He could easily give us a taste of “shock and awe” without warning. But that is not how our Father operates. Even when we are walking in disobedience, His love moves Him to tell us what we NEED to hear even when it is not what we WANT to hear. So if you want to receive the full benefits of God’s grace, ask Him to help you hear and take to heart whatever He wants to tell you, even when He has some bad news.
Preacher, this message has touched me deeply. God bless you.
Posted by: Joel | May 12, 2010 at 04:28 AM