Lent - His Love EnduresSample

Have you ever jumped to a conclusion, without knowing all the facts? Made a snap judgment with only half the story?

The priests, prophets, and all the people in Jeremiah 26 were a bit like that, jumping to an instant conclusion. Now sure, “You must die!” is a bit of an extreme of response. As for Jeremiah, he had prophesied that the temple would become like Shiloh, a city north of Jerusalem that had been utterly destroyed by the Philistines. Psalm 78 recounts the tale:

“But they rebelliously tested the Most High God, for they did not keep his decrees…

God heard and became furious; He completely rejected Israel.

He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,

the tent where He resided among mankind” (vv.56,59–60).

No one, especially not the priests and people in power, wanted to hear that their city and temple would be destroyed because of their actions. Defensiveness reigned, and instead of hearing the word of the Lord and obeying, they tried to (literally) kill the messenger. But the Lord’s providence protected Jeremiah. A few officials stood up and spoke for him, reminding the rest of the group that the prophet Micah had made a similar prophecy (Micah 3:12), and when the people did turn and repent, the Lord relented.

In this story we see again, as we have so many times before in Jeremiah, a testament to the unwavering character of God. He does what He says He will do. Jeremiah believed it, and staked his life on it. He took God at His word; if the people would “correct [their] ways and deeds, and obey the LORD [their] God,” He would relent (Jeremiah 26:13).

As I read about Jeremiah standing there in the city centre and proclaiming the unpopular, death-threatening message from the Lord, I’m reminded of Acts 17, when Paul stands in the areopagus in Athens and gives a similar message: “God now commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

There are others in Scripture who faced a similar situation: Stephen died while proclaiming the history of God’s unfailing covenant (Acts 7). Peter was arrested for standing in the middle of Solomon’s Colonnade in Jerusalem and shouting the truth (Acts 3). Jeremiah, Paul, Stephen, Peter, and countless more before and after, risked their lives to tell the truth. In today’s reading, we see a few leaders who stood up and risked everything to hear it. Truth-telling and truth-hearing are two sides of the same coin, and we are called to do both as followers of the Author of Truth.