God gave the prophet Jeremiah words of warning to share with King Josiah’s sons, the final kings of Judah before its fall, and to all of their subjects in the land. He warned them for the last time to turn away from gross injustice and the worship of false gods and idols, and to return to a worship of the Lord, the One who had put them into the good land.
But like the Apostle Paul centuries later, Jeremiah found that when the Lord gives us a task to do, it will not always be easy or well-received. In fact, Jeremiah suffered quite a bit for his efforts at the hands of the kings, priests, and his fellow Judeans. This is also a foreshadowing of what Jesus Christ Himself would go through at the hands of the High Priests under King Herod and Pontius Pilate.
Jeremiah faithfully delivered the message he was given, and the response was not a pleasant one.
1 Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord. Jeremiah 20:1-2 (NKJV)
Like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem centuries later because of the coming wrath of Titus of Rome, Jeremiah wept, not for himself, but for what he knew his people would suffer under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. His was God’s final attempt to overcome the peoples’ unwillingness to heed divine warnings. Despite Jeremiah’s deeply caring heart, he was punished as retribution for delivering the Lord’s message, which Judah believed to be a false one. Unfortunately for them, it was not.
Surrounded by discouragement and hardship, Jeremiah was tempted to give up his mission of delivering the Lord’s warnings. He considered no longer talking to the people about God or delivering His word to them. But he found he could not restrain himself from doing so.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not. Jeremiah 20:9 (NKJV)
Despite Jeremiah’s many trials, the Lord was faithful in never allowing him to be defeated or abandoned. God would preserve Jeremiah, who would escape unharmed from the coming wrath, which would soon arrive after so many warnings.
Whenever God calls us for a task, we may face discouragement or danger in carrying it out. But nothing will happen to us that He will not sovereignly allow. Even the suffering He permits will go through the filter of His great love and protection for us, ultimately achieving His will and purposes.
God continues to call each one of us to do His work, relying on Him to help us see it through. Jesus spoke of this calling with His disciples, just prior to Him going to the cross.
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. John 15:16 (NKJV)
Jeremiah, like us, could ask for protection and deliverance, and the Lord gave it to him. The only thing he could not do was to force another heart to be open to accept God’s word. That only comes by a free will entrance into each human heart. The invitation is always there, but it is each person’s right whether or not to receive it, to accept or reject God’s eternal word.
When we accept Christ and His sacrifice into our hearts, all sorts of new blessings and benefits flow into us. First and foremost, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will live eternally within us. We become a part of God’s global temple, which consists of God’s presence the hearts of believers rather than in a building. The Holy Spirit then works within us to purify our hearts, improve our motives, and make us more and more into the image of a holy God.
When the Holy Spirit was first given to believers at Pentecost, He was manifested as a tongue of fire upon each believer’s head. Similarly, the Spirit will reside forever in our hearts as a burning fire, and we, like Jeremiah, will be unable to shut it up within our bones, desiring instead to share God’s burning love with the world.
Reflection
What tasks has the Lord given you to do so far in your life? Which have been easy and which have been hard to do?
What is the biggest challenge facing you today?
Lord, thank You for caring so deeply about me, whom You created in love. Your grace and forgiveness are bountiful and flow without limit. Help us to be successful in following You, faithfully performing the tasks you have set before me, be they easy or hard. Use me as Your instrument of grace and peace to draw others closer to You and to Your kingdom. It is the most priceless gift they could ever receive. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed day in the Lord as He leads us today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 