Who’d be a prophet? (2)

Slices

Prepare

Have you ever faced opposition for being a Christian? What brought it about? How did it feel? 

Bible passage

Jeremiah 11:1–23

The covenant is broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant – the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.” I said, “Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfil the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey”– the land you possess today.’

I answered, ‘Amen, Lord.’

The Lord said to me, ‘Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: “Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey me.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.”’

Then the Lord said to me, ‘There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: “I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.”

14 ‘Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

15 ‘What is my beloved doing in my temple
    as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
    Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
When you engage in your wickedness,
    then you rejoice.’

16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree
    with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
    he will set it on fire,
    and its branches will be broken.

17 The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

Plot against Jeremiah

18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realise that they had plotted against me, saying,

‘Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,
    that his name be remembered no more.’
20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously
    and test the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
    for to you I have committed my cause.

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands’– 22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.’

Word Live112

Explore

Not only does Jeremiah have to face up to the pain of feeling God’s heart for the world, he also has to face opposition from his contemporaries. Speaking truth to power is rarely popular, and that’s what Jeremiah is called to do. The church has a similar role – and may face a similar fate.

We’ve already met the charge that Judah has broken covenant. Covenant is a central idea in the Old Testament. Jeremiah has in mind the covenant which God made with Israel at Sinai. Deuteronomy, which revisits material from Exodus and repeats the Ten Commandments, concludes with a list of blessings for the obedient and curses for the disobedient (Deuteronomy 28) and a covenant renewal ceremony as Israel prepared to cross the Jordan. This seems strange to us, but God is laying out the consequences of ignoring his requirements. They knew the stakes and chose to go their own way anyway.

This illustrates the impossibility of keeping the covenant requirements in our own strength. Thankfully (spoiler alert) God has other plans, as Jeremiah will reveal later. They focus on the new covenant which Jesus will introduce and which gives us a new motivating power enabling us to live in obedience.

Author
John Grayston

Respond

Thank God for the new thing that he has done in Jesus. Ask for the strength of the Holy Spirit to enable you to live as he requires.

Deeper Bible study

Take a prayer walk (real or imagined) around your local area. Bring to God issues, both individual and social, that come to mind.

‘Let’s get back to basics,’ says God. ‘When you left Egypt, I asked you to listen to me, to obey and therefore to become my precious people. I promised to be your God and to lead you into the perfect homeland’ (see vs 4,5). ‘That’s all it takes.’ Simple? As we have read, it wasn’t simple at all. The people, tempted by the religious practices of surrounding nations, turned increasingly to the worship of idols. Thus the disobedience of the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, results in the judgement and punishment of God (vs 7,8,11).

Jeremiah’s pronouncement of this message has been utterly consistent. He never held back. As a priest, he probably also departed from local devotion to the shrines of imported idols, in line with reforms initiated earlier during the reign of King Josiah. It would be the logical course of action, the consequence of the words given from God. Jeremiah, however, in his naivety, is unprepared for the reaction his pronouncements have provoked (v 19). It is stark: either he shuts up or he will be silenced. That’s the threat.

God’s command to all people today is as simple. Jesus puts it succinctly: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength … Love your neighbour as yourself.’1 That’s the message we’re given to convey to those where we live, with whom we work and with whom we share relationships. So how do they react to our words and actions? Do they even see God’s command as relevant to them? How well do we cope with disagreement, scorn or even anger? Or are we tempted to compromise on Jesus’ words or even to keep our utterances to ourselves? What calibre of messengers are we?

Return to the thoughts generated on your prayer walk. Decide on three conversations, emails or phone calls that you should make, as God’s messenger.

1 Mark 12:30,31

Author
Brian Radcliffe

Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year:1 Samuel 18,19; Mark 14

Pray for Scripture Union

Jane Webber worker with Local Mission Partner Schools Christian Worker Project in Oswestry has been busy both face to face and online during Covid with new schools asking for assemblies, lessons and prayer spaces. Pray that God’s light will touch both children and staff.

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