Jeremiah 26:1-15. Yesterday I talked about how prophets were supposed to be messengers from God and that a big part for their job was to remind people about things God had already communicated in the Bible. In Jeremiah’s day that would have been part or most of the Old Testament. You might want to read “The Old Testament Connection” to get an idea of what the Old Testament is mainly about (Hint: It’s about our messed up relationship with God and how God is going to fix it). Jeremiah has been warning the people about how their relationship with God is messed up and what they needed to do about it. Yesterday we saw the warning extended to “all the kingdoms of the Earth”. We want to keep in mind that God is not really about punishing or destroying; he wants us back (2 Peter 3:9). But sin (disobedience and rebellion toward Him) has consequences and he will ultimately banish from his forever kingdom those who reject Him. The accuracy of the prophets in the Old Testament show us that this in no fairy tale but reality.
Today’s reading starts a section of Jeremiah that goes all the way through chapter 45. Most Bible experts believe that this part of the book was written down by Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch. The events are about Jeremiah and his messages from God are in it but he probably didn’t write it. If you notice those sorts of things the writing changes from first person to third person. Don’t let it bother you that this part wasn’t written specifically by Jeremiah. God used many people to write just the right words to be a part of His book, the Bible. Jeremiah was a part of what the people of Jesus time (including Jesus) considered the writings of God (in the New Testament they usually use the word “Scriptures” as the name for their Bible. A word that translates as “writings” and mostly refers to what we call the Old Testament). If you have read “The Old Testament Connection” you know that the Old Testament (and the rest of the Bible as far as that goes) tells the story of certain people and events that is important to know in order to understand the mess we are in with God and what it is going to take for that mess to be fixed. Many parts of these stories had to be finished by people who were not the main authors of the different “writings”; or books as we call them. Obviously Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible, couldn’t write about his own death, someone else finished that part of the story. But God was in control of all of it (1 Peter 1:20-21).
Today’s reading jumps back a little in time from what we have been reading (Remember that these “writings” were not written to be a “timeline” of history but had a purpose. Sometimes the events are in order and sometimes the author jumps around to make his point). The message in chapter 25 was originally given in the “fourth year of Jehoiakim” (Jeremiah 25:1) now we are “at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim” (Jeremiah 26:1). In verse 2 Jeremiah is told to go to the Temple (called the house of the LORD) and to talk to “all the cities of Judah who are there to worship.” In Israel there were certain feast days when the citizens of Israel were supposed to go to the Temple to remember God and honor him. Of course not every Jew could go every time and there were provisions in the Law of Moses for that, but Jerusalem would be very crowded on those days and all of the cities of the kingdom would have probably been represented. On any given day in the Temple offerings were being made and even on a regular day most of not all of the cities of Israel might have some of their people there. Visiting the Temple would have been a big deal to any Israelite interested in God and hearing a prophet speak would have been a big deal too. If Jeremiah was speaking in the Temple it would have gotten around. Of course we want to remember that by Jeremiah’s time the nation of Israel had been split in two, the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, and that the Northern Kingdom (also called Israel) had been destroyed by the Assyrian’s 100 years earlier. That left only the people of the Southern Kingdom (called Judah) to hear from Jeremiah.
It seems interesting that God specifically told Jeremiah not to leave anything out from the message (v. 2). I wonder if Jeremiah though, “Really?” He wasn’t in the habit of leaving parts out. Or maybe he though, “Whatever!” Knowing the people didn’t really want to hear what he was going to say and were becoming more and more hostile to him. The fact that the people were not in the habit of listening can be seen in verse 3 when God says, “Maybe they will listen and every one will turn away from this bad ways…” There is something more interesting in this verse though, why does God say “maybe” or “perhaps”? Doesn’t God know how the people will react? In Psalm 139:4, 16 the Psalm writer insist that God knows what he is going to say before he says it and that he knows what is going to happen in every day of the persons life even before he lives even one of them. So what God is saying to Jeremiah has nothing to do with what he knows it has to do with how people (like you and me) are going to respond. God knows what we are going to do but we still need to live out our lives and make those decisions that he know about. We also see in this verse that God’s actions are dependent on ours. We don’t control God but he doesn’t control us either. He gives us real choices with real consequences good and bad. The warnings for their bad actions were conditional; “if…then…” God still controls the universe he just decided to give us freedom to chose or reject Him. In verse 4 we see the “if” and in verse 6 we see the “then”. In this case it is a negative, “if you will not listen and obey, then …”.
The “then” mentions several things. First he says that he will make “this house” the Temple) like Shiloh. Many years earlier, when Joshua led the Israelite people into the land they honored God in the “tabernacle”, sort of a portable church or temple that they had used during the forty years they had spent wandering around in the desert before entering the land. In fact the Tabernacle was where the Israelite people honored God for about 450 years after they entered the land. For the first 400 years they had no central government, God was supposed to be their king, and they were held together by their worship of Yahweh (the personal name of God).
One place that the Tabernacle was set up after they entered the land was in a town called Shiloh. One important item that was in the Tabernacle was the “ark of the covenant”. It was a fancy box or chest, covered with gold with carved angles on top of it. Inside were the stone tablets that God carved and gave to Moses with the first ten rules for the people on them (the Ten Commandments). It also had a jar of “manna” in it (the miraculous food God had provided during the 40 years of wandering) and the staff (walking stick) that belonged to Aaron (Moses’ brother) that he used during the miracles that were supposed to convince Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt (Exodus 7-12). (See also Hebrews 9:4). This “ark” represented the presence, promises, and power of God in the Israelite’s live. In 1 Samuel 4 the Israelites lost a battle to the Philistines (some of the original inhabitants of the land that the Israelites were to conquer). The Israelites mistakenly thought that they were in control and that all they needed to do was take their magic box out to the battlefield and they would win the next battle. They lost again and this time the Philistines took the “ark”. The destruction of Shiloh that Jeremiah talks about probably happened at that time, the year was about 1050 BC. Eventually the Israelites Got the Ark back from the Philistines and kept it in a place called Kiriath-Jearim for a while. Eventually it was taken to Jerusalem that became the new capital of Israel and finally the third king of Israel, Solomon, built a Temple as the permanent place for honoring God (about 950 BC). Here in Jeremiah almost another 400 years later the Temple was in danger of being destroyed just like Shiloh had been and for very similar reasons. The people in 1 Samuel though that they could manipulate God and here in Jeremiah’s time the false prophets and the people were doing the same thing; going their own way (See Judges 21:25 which describes the attitudes at the end of the first 400 years in the land about the time of the 1 Samuel story).
In verses 7-9 we see the reaction of the priests and prophets (the religious leaders who were supposed to be helping the people honor God) and all the people. The clearly hadn’t learned much over the 400 years since Shiloh, they were still confusing places and things with a living God. Because Jeremiah predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple they thought he was speaking out against God. In Deuteronomy 18:18-20 we see God promising to send prophets to the people to “speak all that [He] commanded” them to speak. If the people didn’t listen they would be punished but if the prophet spoke on his own and claimed it was from God then he was to be put to death. Because they improperly linked God to the Temple and the city the people of Judah felt Jeremiah was making his own predictions and deserved to die.
In verses 10-19 we have an actual trial. In verse 10 the political leaders of the territory gathered near the Temple to conduct the trial. In verse 11 the priests, prophets, and people present they claim and ask for Jeremiah to be put to death. It is interesting that they propose the punishment before they even make their case. In verses 12-15 Jeremiah gives his defense. Really his only defense is his claim that he actually is speaking for God. He then repeats his warning about how they are living and appeals to them to turn back to God. No question about what he said, the only question is did he speak from God or not. He said he was. In verse 14 he then puts his “fate” in the hands of the leaders hearing the case. But he warns them that if they put him to death that they will have innocent blood on their hands. In another part of the Law we learn that killing an innocent person is a serious offence (Deuteronomy 19:1-13). In verse 15 Jeremiah tells them that he expects them to do what is “good and right” and then ends by repeating his claim to be speaking for God.
Tomorrow we will see the outcome of his trial but will also see what happened to another prophet who was giving the same message around the same time. For us today we need to see that it can be difficult to honor God with our lives. He has given each one or us a job to do and words to speak to those around us (2 Corinthians 5:16-20). At least for now, for us here in the United States, most of us will probably not be faced with death for standing up for God. In other parts of the world people are not so fortunate. We need to be careful to “speak all that God has commanded us and to not omit a word”. Jeremiah didn’t get that bold over night remember at this point he had been speaking out for God at least 19 years, and in the beginning it was easy during the reign of the good king Josiah. We need to practice now while we have a chance so that if and when more serious trouble comes we will be able to say to our enemies, “I am in your hand, do what is good and right, I have spoken honestly to you from God.”
God help me get lots of faithful practice being your representative in the world (ambassador, 2 Corinthians 5:20). Help me repeat all that you have given me to say. Let me leave nothing out. Give me boldness, strength, and peace. Let me be strong and courageous in the face of our enemies. Help me remember that this life is passing but that eternity is forever. Let me bring you honor.