BEING A JEREMIAH INTRO Jeremiah was a prophet through whom Judah was given forty years to repent. And then they were carried off into exile by Babylon because, while a few sought to walk with God, the nation as a whole continued to honor Baals instead of God (as did kings Manasseh and his son Amon). The book of Jeremiah is undoubtedly from the prophet’s hand, but also Lamentations is traditionally attributed to him. The span of his time in ministry is roughly 626-586 B.C. (about 40 years) Jeremiah is called as a boy, understood to be a young man in the language of the day; and it is clear that God is not taking “no” for an answer. As with Moses, God had a solution at the ready. And while we often bristle at the thought of Calvinism and the elect, it is clear that there are some individuals whom God calls, and He is not looking for a second fiddle. SCRIPTURE [Jeremiah 1:4-8] The word of the LORD came to me: 5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, GOD! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” 7 Then the LORD said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. 8 Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you. [Jeremiah 15:16] Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were a delight to me and a joy to my heart. 1 | P a g e [Jeremiah 29:11] For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. The amplified version says: For I know the plans [and thoughts] that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace [and well-being] and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. TEACHING The prophet sometimes grew tired of bringing God’s message of Judgment to an unresponsive people. (HSCB study notes pg 1232) Have you ever felt like a Jeremiah … have you ever felt like you were addressing an unresponsive people, even the people you have a heart for, and those you know God also loves … does it baffle you that these people want nothing to do with Him? And there are those, sadly, who do absolutely hate God. I could not imagine how, but on a post the other day about “why is the Bible often seen as offensive?” an individual (whom I know) let loose with a rant that was the most disturbing and inaccurate thing I had laid eyes on in a long while … I will alert you to the fact that not one ounce of good comes from a rant like that … it only serves to strengthen one’s relationship with evil and it suggests that the individual is hurt and taking it out on a God who will not annihilate him even though He could. People like that have no concept of the mercy our Father is capable of … Can you imagine preaching for 40+ years to a nation of people who probably acted like that and worse? How long would you last? For me, I feel depressed if things go sideways on a Wednesday evening; I can only imagine how it would feel to be up against something like that every day. If you had (and you do have) God and Him alone, is that enough to keep you strong and on track with your calling? I think it is hard regardless … So what did Jeremiah preach and do you find it offensive or even moving? 2 | P a g e [Jeremiah 2:1-5] The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: I remember the loyalty of your youth, your love as a bride — how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who ate of it found themselves guilty; disaster came on them.” This is the LORD’s declaration. 4 Hear the word of the LORD, house of Jacob and all families of the house of Israel. 5 This is what the LORD says: What fault did your fathers find in Me that they went so far from Me, followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves? Did you know that you become what you worship? Doesn’t it make sense that you take on the attributes and the values of those things that you yourself value, worship and pay homage to? What happened to Jeremiah as a result of preaching and prophesying unpopular messages? The prophet was put into stocks at the Benjamin gate of the Temple by priests of the LORD, no less. In this there was a consequence for all who listened to the false prophets. Is this what we might expect, and should we feel such responses unfair or should we view them as God does: as evidence that we are touching something deep that needs to be examined by the hearer … something that has both immediate and eternal consequences? [Jeremiah 20:1-4] Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and chief official in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the LORD’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call you Pashhur, but 3 | P a g e Magor-missabib, 4 for this is what the LORD says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. I suppose it would seem easy to say that these things are the cost of doing business, and they are, but it does not ease the anguish. In Chapter 21 Jeremiah cries out to the Lord as one wronged. Why? Because like the rest of us he was not in the practice of relishing failure, ridicule, or punishment, for telling the “God’s honest” truth. Again, Jeremiah is seized in chapter 25, but released after convincing his captors that if he were killed innocent blood would be on their hands. Yet, later, in chapter 38 the prophet was thrown into a cistern for presumably lowering the moral of the Judean warriors against the Babylonians … in between all of this the prophet was also under a type of house arrest. So, it is safe to say that the message of Jesus Christ will not be received well because it forces a change of heart: it requires a life-altering choices and it denies the power of other gods … and, oh yeas, is squarely in the face of Satan, the ultimate persecutor and prosecutor. CLOSING Like the prophet Jeremiah we are also commissioned with the task of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ’s gospel to an unreceptive populace. Are we under the perception that the Lord’s word will go out uncontested and return having borne fruit every time? It isn’t that God’s word cannot bear fruit, but that such fruit (that of light and love) is rejected by its intended recipients. The fruit of this harvest is a darker fruit that has been influenced (or tainted) by the Adversary. In a second lesson we will discuss the reality of depression, and those places in the Bible where that understanding is apparent to even the casual reader. But never is it an excuse or an end-game. Depression is part of living, and life can be depressing: for example … Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Job and the words of the Apostle Paul. But there is no suggestion that the use of clinical depression is a 4 | P a g e normal or justifiable response to life’s ups and downs. If there is a diagnosis of long-term depression due to chemical imbalances or brain trauma, then there are meds for that which are commonly available. QUESTIONS 1.) When have you felt like “a Jeremiah?” 2.) Why is it that prophecy is often met with skepticism or outright dismissal? 3.) When has someone close to you (or on social media) accused you of not being a Christian because of an imperfection? 4.) Is it now clear why not just anyone can be a prophet even if they want to be? 5 | P a g e .