Articles
Learning from History
Learning from History
Jeremiah 26
We all have heard from our parents and grand-parents about the dangers of our actions. It is just hard to learn from THEIR mistakes. Blessed are those who CAN for they will be spared many hard consequences. Such an example is found in Jeremiah 26.
In the days of king Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.), Jeremiah is told to prophecy doom to the people of Judah. He warned them that if they continued their rebellion to God's word that God would make the city like Shiloh. Shiloh is where the tabernacle had last been erected. While we have no specific writing about its demise, it is mentioned several times in the bible that it was destroyed. The idea that the house of God (even the temporary one of the tabernacle) could be destroyed was abhorrent to the people. With Solomon's temple the sacredness of the city and the temple took on even more lofty thoughts. The people reasoned that the temple was so important that God would not let it be destroyed. This meant that as long as it stood THEY were 'safe' from being destroyed and conquered. (Reread Jer. 7).
NOW Jeremiah is saying that the temple would be destroyed even as Shiloh was. Such sound like treason and blasphemy. Jeremiah deserves to die for preaching such. That is their thinking even though it is wrong.
What does Jeremiah do in the face of this threat? He repeats his message! God's word doesn't change even if the messenger is threatened or killed. A faithful messenger can only keep repeating what God has said and not hold back a word (cp. Vs. 1).
At this juncture someone with a knowledge of their history as a people recalls the events during the days of Hezekiah (716-687 B.C.). When the prophet Micah (he wrote the book of Micah) warned of the same destruction, Hezekiah led the people in repentance and reformation. Thus God spared them. Now, Jeremiah is preaching the same message as Micah. Hence, if they learned anything at all from Hezekiah, the proper course of action is repentance and not the killing of the messenger. With this advice Jeremiah's life was spared.
Yet not all prophets of God came off this well. The story is then told of another prophet names Uriah (Jer. 26:20-23). He prophesied at the same time as Jeremiah with the same message unto the same king. He however died at the hands of Jehoiakim. While Jeremiah was spared, there was no repentance by the king or the people. God brought the Babylonians against the city and they utterly destroyed the city and the temple.
Indeed there are a few lessons to learn from these people who went before us.
- Being a faithful messenger of God means speaking the words of God and not holding back ANY of it, even in the face of persecution and martyrdom.
- Killing the messenger does not invalidate the message, particularly when it is God's message and messenger.
- Being religious is not the same as being obedient and faithful to God.
- Ignoring and / or rebelling against God's word will bring judgment from God.
"… how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Hebrews 2:3-4).
