"Terror on every side!
Report him! Let's report him!"
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
"Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
...
13 Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked. Jeremiah20:11-13
The masses had a nickname for Jeremiah: "Magor-Missabib" which means "Terror on every side." They thought him delusional and paranoid. They wanted to report him for his treasonous prophecies and they were just waiting for him to go one step too far. He endured terrible cynicism and stubborn opposition from the very people he was trying to save.
It is his intimacy with his God that keeps him going.
We saw his disarming honesty yesterday: "Lord, I really really don't like what's going on - I feel used and betrayed." But in the same breath he says "But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior!"
He isn't pretending that its all hunky-dory - there is a battle going on, but the long term view is that evil will not prevail.
Jeremiah has relentless faith in God that is definitely not linked to or defined by his circumstances. And so he concludes with praise - for "Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy"
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And so this brings us the end of our reflections on Jeremiah, who is, in my opinion one of the most neglected prophets of the Old Testament. Many call him the "weeping prophet" but that doesn't do justice to the great extent of his ministry:
- Courage to carry out a tough calling
- A passion to reach his people
- His willingness to do the unpleasant breaking of bad foundations
- His brutally honest relationship with God
- His love for and trust in God that carries him through tough times
- The awesome foundations laid for the new covenant
- The prophecies of the coming Messiah
- The hope that he expressed in Israel's worst nightmare (the fall of Jerusalem and the temple.)
I hope you have enjoyed the journey!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
