Please read as much as you can of the last half of Jeremiah. Be sure to read Chapters 31-44. What do you see in these chapters that shows Jeremiah's message to be a burden. Is there anything here to suggest why that burden is worth bearing?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
- The book of Jeremiah does show some bright spots in Judah and the early life of Jeremiah. Chapters 31-44, however, appear to be a very dark time for both. The same problems keep reappearing. In chapter 38, King Zedekiah wants his advice on what to do. Jeremiah gives him advice on what people to side with, but Zedekiah does not take the advice. His scrolls are burned and he has to redo his work in chapter 36. Kings can be stubborn, but one would think that the people would be easier on Jeremiah. (Chapter 43:2) “Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our god hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:” This is all very burdensome on a professional level, but on a personal level things are not any better. He gets thrown in jail. He has no wife or kids. In all this he does find hope. (Chapter 33:6) “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.” Jeremiah knows that God is with him. This is a very burdensome message, but definitely one worth bearing. Happy Blogging!!!
One thing that is very interesting about the burdens that Jeremiah has to bear is how it seems other people view Jeremiah as a non-patriot. In chapter 28, Jeremiah has to deal with another prophet who appears more patriotic for his nation, Hananiah gives a prophecy that Judah will recover its possessions that were taken by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. In v 6 of Chapter 28 Jeremiah seems to hope that Hananiah is right in his prophecy, but of course Jeremiah knows the truth. It is a burden that Jeremiah knows the truth and is ridiculed for it. His call for the people to submit to Babylonian rule is hard for the people to take. In Chapter 38 verse 4 the princes once again view Jeremiah as a non patriot and enemy of the state. They want Jeremiah put to death for weakening the hands of the men of war. After reading verse 4 I was reminded of what Oscar Wylde said, “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious”. At least in this instance it appears that Jeremiah has to deal with some vicious patriots that want Jeremiah dead, that is no doubt a heavy burden to bear.
There are plenty of experiences in chapters 31-44 that show that Jeremiah's message is a burden. First, Zedekiah holds Jeremiah captive in his palace basically because he does not like the message that Jeremiah brings him. Second, Jeremiah is thrown in prison because it is presumed that he is escaping to the Babylonians. Lastly, Jeremiah is tossed into a cistern. All these actions were taken against Jeremiah because he brought Judah the message of God. You would think a nation would be inclined to listen if God was speaking to them but because the message spoke of disobedience and destruction Judah decided just to ignore the message. Despite all the difficulty Judah is inflicting on Jeremiah there is hope. In chapter 31 specifically, God speaks of the wonderful things he has in store for his people in the future. I especially liked the new covenant that God would make with his people. "This is the covenent I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." I definitely believe this makes the burden worth bearing.
The burden Jeremiah must bear is one of tremendous weight. It appears that nothing he says, nothing he does, will ‘wake up’ these people. They are so caught up in their world of sin that they are blinded to the truth. Many, many times Jeremiah warns them and even begs them to turn from their evil ways and to follow God, but they refuse. The messages Jeremiah must deliver are hard enough to bear, but even after delivering them, he is ridiculed, mocked, taken captive, and even thrown into a cistern to die.
Through all this Jeremiah remembers and believes in God’s promise as was given to him in Chapters 31-33. Specifically when God gives the promise of the new covenant he will make with his people. There would be no other way to bear this burden then to rely on the hope of the future which God has told.
Jeremiah’s message is definitely a burden. With everything he went through in the first half of Jeremiah being young, hating his job, having no family, it only gets worse. Now he is thrown in prison for doing the job which he hates! That is a big burden, but he continues on doing what he needs to do. That would be very hard to do.
Jeremiah finds this burden worth bearing. The last part of Chapter 32 gives a promise from God. He promises that he will always be there for his people and he will do good for them. What makes this promise extra special is that He promises with all His heart and all His soul. This is something that you know God is going to do and that makes living life a little easier knowing he is there and bringing good things your way.
What are Jeremiah's burdens? When reading chapters 31-44 it is pretty obvious what they are. In fact, most of his burdens are the same throughout the entire book.
Here is one example from chapter 32, verse 30:
"The Israelites and the Judeans from their youth have done only what is evil in my eyes; the Israelites did nothing but provoke me with the works of their hands, says the Lord."
Verse 33...
"They turned their backs to me, not their faces; though I kept teaching them, they would not listen to my correction."
The burden here is that Jeremiah is speaking to a bunch of people that really don't want to listen in the first place. Why? They must know that if they acknowledge Jeremiah's prophecies, then they are in the wrong; By ignoring him they are able to remain "innocent".
It is evident though that this burden is worth bearing. Chapter 31, verses 31-34 explain it the best. In these verses Jeremiah explains that a "new covenant" is coming for the house of Israel and Judah. This covenant, however, will be mean more than any covenant that had been seen in previous Hebrew history. This covenant promised that the new laws would be written in the heart rather than in stone, something not really heard before.
In some senses, there is only one man who could fulfill a prophecy like this, in say, a couple hundred years. Stay tuned...
I found the story of the Recabites to be an example of the burden of Jeremiah's job. In Chapter 35, Jeremiah was told by God to offer the Recabites wine at a dinner. They refused however, saying that their forefather decreed that none of his posterity should consume wine, and the Recabites had followed this decree since it was given. The story of the Recabites is a great story of the discipline a people can have. What's sad about it, however, and what makes Jeremiah's job even harder, is that people like the Recabites were eager and willing to follow a decree of their ancestor, whereas the people of Judah refused to follow the decrees of their forefather, of the God of Abraham. Jeremiah would have seen the people's willingness to follow men and refusal to obey even the simplest requests from God, and he would have likely been frustrated and sad, realizing that they were too stubborn to save themselves.
But Jeremiah goes back a forth between punishment and hope, especially in its second half. These messages of hope to the people would have made Jeremiah's message less burdensome, as he would know that one day Judah would in fact turn back to God and quit acting foolishly. I think the passage in chapter 31, verses 31-34 would give Jeremiah hope and help him to bear his message. He would realize that God was all-powerful and forgiving, and that one day all the evil deeds of Judah would be wiped away. He would know that one day Judah would follow the Lord from the depths of their hearts. I also like the reassurance in verse 34 which tells the people that they all deserve God's love and forgiveness, no matter social status. "They will all know me, fromt he least to the greatest." It may have relieved Jeremiah that one day all men would finally have something in common: God.
Verses 31-34: "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them out of Egypt, because the have broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them." declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will made with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbot or a man his brother, saying 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive them their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
Indeed Jeremiah’s burden is a great one, but it is worth bearing. In the above passage the Lord says that he has loved with an everlasting love. God has always been there for the people of Israel, even when they have turned away from him. There is a message of hope here. No matter what man does God will always be there for him with an unconditional love.
Jeremiah 44:9-10
"Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in my statutes that I set before you and your fathers'."
These two verses are doing two things, they are showing us another way Jeremiah addresses the problem and tries to get people to realize what they are doing. Also it is showing us our constant repeat of the same sin. This is indeed a burden worth bearing, but the people of Judah don't get it. It is very tragic that Jeremiah can not get the message accross to them. I think he is telling them in this passage to learn from the past and do better in the future. He is urging them to learn from their failure and not repeat the sin of their ancestors. He wants them to break that tradition and abide by God's law.
Jeremiah sure had a tough ministry. The theme of the people not listening is again before him. He had the burden of having his papers burned by the King (Chapter 36, but he rewrote them. He was imprisoned (Chapter 37-38). Throughout these hinderances, he did not have a family since he was forbidden to marry (Chapter 16). Jeremiah had alot of courage to keep ministering to the people. God was definitely with him. Jeremiah's burdens were worth carrying because he kept his focus on God and the message. He faltered but he kept his pledge.
Next he has to carry these burdens alone since he was instructed not to marry.
Post a Comment