The prophets: Jeremiah 2: 5 -9. 29:11 – 14. Jer 31: 31 - 33.
The last session in the bible overview we looked at the Exile in particular under the life of Daniel this week we are going to look at the prophets in particular through the prophet Jeremiah 627 BC.
Before, during and after the exile, God sent prophets to Israel and Judah. To call the people back to their special relationship with God. The prophets reminded Israel that God had made a pledge with them, explaining that God’s people had treated their God badly, and warned the people that they were heading for exile and judgement. But the prophets also comforted the people, telling them that God would not forget His pledge to Abraham and his descendants.
Background: Jeremiah was a Prophet to Judah after the split of the Kingdoms he prophesised for 40 years a turbulent time during the last five kings of Judah a period when Assyria, Egypt and Babylon battled for world supremacy. For 40 years Judah never adhered to the Word of the Lord through Jeremiah. For 23 of those years he prophesised to (25:3) Judah would go into a 70 year captivity in Babylon (25:12) he prophesised their eventual return. Jeremiah is an example of a man who remains faithful and courageous under difficult circumstances.
Jeremiah was a God given compass for the nation guiding them and ultimately pointing them forward to the ultimate fulfilment found in Jesus Christ. The prophets were God’s spokesperson speaking into the lives of the people with a prophetic voice reminding the people of the past, ministering to people in the present and pointing people into the future.
1.The Prophet appointed by God. Jeremiah 1:4 – 10.
The calling v5 : Firstly I want to say that a prophet was APPOINTED by God to speak to the nation on behalf of God, God would give the individual the words to say .... (Eph 4:11) and it is true still today God appoints and calls people to offices in his Church Elders , deacons, missionaries, pastors, evangelist, teachers.
God also calls and equips every Christian to a special role in the Body of Christ and in the world they live....
Our confidence v5: Our calling is found in Him.... .. Before we were even born God knew us Eph. 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless: Like Jeremiah he has a special plan for our lives. Jeremiah would be to be a prophet, for you it could be given over to a special task in the Body of Christ........ with the many avenues of service
Notice that Jeremiah was concerned about his own inability to fulfil the God given task v6 (often we can feel the same? Don’t let feeling of inadequacy stop you from serving God). Because notice God’s reassurance v7-8 The Lord will be with Him and speak through Him. This is still true for Christians today, remember it’s not in our own strength we do the Lords work - but in His, when the Lord calls, He will also equip you for His work wherever you go in His Name. ,
How about guidance? Has God called you to a specific task then accept it cheerfully, do it with diligence, to the glory of God and if you feel that God hasn’t called you to a specific task then fulfil the Lords commands common to all of us to love, obey and serve God - until His guidance becomes more clear.
How do we navigate the guidance of God in our lives?
Consider if you will you’ve pulled up at the traffic lights in your car and the lights have just turned to red, here you need to stop. Red means when it comes to God’s guidance means we always need to stop and consider the objective truth of God’s word speaking into our lives.
Secondly the lights will turn to amber where we instinctively get ready for manoeuvre putting the car into gear, taking the foot off the clutch and the foot on the gas pedal, this is instictivley done. To me this is a picture of the instinctive work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we need to be ready for the subjective witness of the Holy Spirit speaking into our lives.
Thirdly the traffic lights turn to green which means go. At times we need to go, to just get on with things because God will guide us through our circumstances, his divine providence will be worked out. So often many of us talk about not understanding God’s will for our lives, but more often than not we are already fulfilling Gods will for our lives at that particular given moment, unknown to us.... So if you’re seeking guidance Stop and read God’s word - its objective. Be ready for the promptings and witness of the Holy Spirit – and His subjective work in your life and in your present circumstance - remember God’s providential arm being revealed.
2. The prophet reminded the people of the past. Jer 2: 1-9
In regard to their original devotion towards God (2:1 -3) and of God’s deliverance towards them (6 -7) out of Egypt, through difficult times and lands to a fertile land of fruit and produce showing Gods continued faithfulness and then he remind them of their disobedience towards God in forsaking Him and turning to worthless idols (8 -9). To the point of the priest even not knowing the Lord v8
The purpose of reciting the past is for them to remember God faithfulness to them as a nation it all serves as a health check to their current condition and guidance in their future walk.
Are you good at remembering things? I was relieved to find out I’m not the only one who forgets things according to research: 80% forget names: 60 % forget where something is 57% forget telephone numbers 53% forget words: 49% forget what was said: 42% forget names to faces: And if you cant remember if youhave just done something then you join 38% of the population.
As we get older this seems to be something we do more and more reminiscing about the past, how many times do we hear “I remember when”
The prophet is saying it is good to remember the past - as Christians we must be grateful for our Church history because along with Scripture Church history acts as our guide in the present. That is what Jeremiah is doing here and the purpose is not so that the people can go back to how it was, but that they might learn from their history and go forward.
A) That they might build on the success of the past (1-3). Being devoted to the Lord – To always be devoted to the Lord be aware of growing cold falling into a diminishing devotion.
B) They might deal with the failure of the past (8 -9) and avoid repeating the failures of others and see the serious nature of disobedience - we can learn lessons from others mistakes -turning to other gods - idols in our lives
C) To be thankful for the deliverance and provision that God has brought ( 6-7).
There is a true story of an old man wh visited an old broken pier every Friday on the eastern sea coast of Florida until his death in 1973 his name was Eddie Rickenbacker whilst at the pier he would feed the sea gulls with a bucket of shrimps.
Many years before in 1942 Eddie was a captain on board a B-17, he was on a mission delivering important documents to General Douglas Mac Arthur. On route there was an unexpected detour which would hurl his crew into a most harrowing adventure. Somewhere over the south pacific they lost radio contact and the fuel ran dangerously low as a result they had to ditch the plane into the ocean. For nearly a month the crew of the flying fortress would fight the water, the weather, the scorching sun. They would spend sleepless nights as 10 ft sharks would ram into their 9 ft by-5ft rafts. But out of all their enemies’ one that proved formidable was starvation. Eight days into their dilemma all food and water was out. It would take a miracle to sustain them. A miracle took place.
In Eddies own words he said that “Cherry” who was the pilot read the service that afternoon and we finished with prayer and deliverance and hymn of praise. There was small talk but with the oppressive heat it tapered off with my hat pulled over my face, I dozed off. Now something landed on my head, I knew it was a seagull I don’t know how I knew, I just knew, everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on the faces of the men. They were staring at the gull because it meant food....If I could catch it.” And the rest as they say is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull the flesh was eaten and the intestines were used as bait for fishing. The men were sustained and their hope renewed because of a lone seagull hundreds of miles from land offered its life as a sacrifice.
Of course you know that captain Eddie made it... and you also know that he ever forgot that lone seagull that saved his life and his men that day. With his bucket filled with shrimp every Friday you would find him feeding the gulls – in remembrance of that lone gull who gave himself for them without a struggle... like manna in the wilderness.
That reminds me friends that so often it is our encounters in the past that shape our futures, for many of us its the reason why were here today because of the past deliverance out of sin and death, through the Lord Jesus Christ, through his sacrifice we are rescued from sin – death and hell and are recipients of eternal life. Isn’t that a cause of real thankfulness?
3. The prophets ministered to the people in the present. : Jer.29:11 -14.
Tuesday morning Danielle had just finished her quiet time through Jeremiah and she turned to me and said "what a difficult and depressing book Jeremiah really is with its big theme of judgement." She’s absoulutly right. But it’s also a great present example of a person remaining faithful to God‘s heart in spiritually low times.Lets notice the Words of Jeremiah in his present circumstances...
a. Words of correction
Jeremiahs present message was uncomfortsable: Key verse Jer 2:19 : Prophets not only reminded people of the past but they also ministered to people in the present. Jeremiah had spoke out against Judah for 23 years that judgement was coming , he preached the uncomfortable message of confronting sin in the lives of people (Jer 14: 10) the priests, (Jer 7: 4- 8. 8:10 -12. 20:3- 6) the kings (Jer 21,22) and the false prophets ( Jer 14: 13 -14, 23:16).
As a result of all this you would’nt find Jeremiah on the top ten most influential prophets of his generation in outreach magazine of Jerusalem. In fact you would more likely to find Jeremiah down a pit left for dead and put in stocks (18: 22 – 23, 20:2.) Jeremiah faced great discouragement in his time due to the message he had to deliver and the lack of the response of the people, this was a hard task to undertake, it would have been easier to join with the other false prophets preaching a different message, a message that the people wanted to hear .
But rather Jeremiah stayed true to God’s message as a result he was branded a traitor (26:11) and a liar and the priests and prophets wanted him sentenced to death.
The easiest thing for any of us to do in today’s climate is for the people of God to water down the message, to give the people what they want to hear, to adapt your message to suite the pressing climate needs of the day, that is exactly what the liberal minds are doing letting the current mindset on issues of morality, religion and truth shape and mould them,they are giving the people exactly what they want, rather than the truth of God’s Word and Spirit.
Jeremiah would not let that take place he was a minority voice on behalf of truth Jer 7:1-4. 8:10b -12 The priests.
I recently read an article in the Baptist times May 31st in outside edge of two Baptist ministers one advocating the preaching of the doctrine on hell the other calling for its abandonment, because of it irrelevance to our evolving culture. Should these two Baptist ministers be in this position at all?
Listen to Adrian Rogers: “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, then falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie.” (Quoted in The Berean Call, Dec. 1996)
Friends we need to be a Church and a people that never short change anybody with the truth. We must promise to say the whole truth and nothing but the truth about God, about sin and Judgement, about heaven and hell, about salvation and justification, we need to preach no other than the whole council of God. It must never be lost but always at the fore of all our witness. Especially in our post-modern times with its theme of eroding truth, we should never be seeking the acceptance of men but of God.
Listen to the Apostle Paul, 2cor 4:2 We have renounced secret abd shameful ways, we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God, on the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
b. Words of comfort: Jer: 29:11-14.
But also amongst the strong warnings, which came to fruition, are words of comfort for their present plight, WOULD BE AN OPORTUNITY FOR A FRESH REPENTANCE. Jeremiah sends a letter of comfort for the people even though they had rebelled and had been taken into captivity into Babylon despite their rebellion God would still act favourable towards them. The prophet proclaimed that they would be rescued and brought back to Jerusalem after 70 years but also that whilst in captivity they would be blessed in the land.
In our daily situations we can be forgiven at times for asking yourself where is God in all this? We don’t always understand the situation we might find ourselves in we may feel we can’t see the wood for the trees and God might seem really distant.
• Jason Louise and Alfie who has Lukesdhystrophy even through this situation God is ministering through their discomfort.
Maybe you’re in the middle of great discomfort and uncertainty through an illness, a job you hoped for as not materialised, a financial burden has fallen upon you, a cloud of depression has come over you, in the middle of a family crises. Things are just not working out, could it be that in the circumstances of discomfort could be related to the fact that you are distanced from God, maybe even blaming God for your current situation, maybe you are in backslidden condition as Judah were.
Judah had distanced themselves from God as a result of sin, their current situation was a result of their own mistakes (That is often the case isn’t it for us) But yet even through our mistakes God had a bigger plan and purpose. For Judah it would be the circumstances of bringing them to a point of fresh repentance, to bring them to a point of depending upon God once again....
In your perplexities of life are you depending upon God afresh? Psalm 13:1-6 David did: God is the God of all comfort, He is the one who calls us to cast our burdens upon Him, He is the one who calls us to repent of our sins, He is the one who calls us to draw near to Him and He will draw near to You in all your circumstances.
As Gods people we too are in a foreign land and as a result of living in a fallen world life is tough! We need to remember that God has a bigger plan and purpose and if we call afresh upon Him he will bless us, comfort us, prosper us and give us a glorious future and hope.
4. The prophets pointed the people forward into the future. Jer 31:31 -33. To the new covenant Heb 8:6.
Here we see the prophetic voice of Jeremiah pointing the people forward into the future (also to the Exile and return) to a time when God would make a new covenant with his people - this of course is relating to Jesus Christ who would establish this covenant. That new covenant has arrived and many of us are already beneficiaries of it.
The new covenant is written upon our hearts v33
In the old covenant God wrote his law on stone tablets but with this new covenant God would write it upon the hearts of people... They were unable to keep the old covenant because sin was engraved upon their hearts 17:1 (Nobody can keep the law). But in the new covenant God’s law is now written upon the hearts of His people.
How is the new covenant written upon our hearts? This is of course is referring to the new birth as Jesus said to Nicodemus who was committed to keeping the old covenant but even he failed said John 3:3 you must be born again. This is a work where God takes the initiative in a person’s life “I will put my laws in their minds and write it on their hearts” This happens when a person repents of sin, believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, handing his/her life over to God and by his Spirit we have new desire to obey God.
The wonderful news is that this covenant is available today for us...opportunity to make afresh start and to establish a personal living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. How is it possible?
The new covenant offers complete forgiveness
With the old covenant of the law there was never complete forgiveness, Heb 10: 1- 4 time and time again they needed to come before God with sacrifices and offering but in the new covenant God remembers our sins no more ... their is complete forgiveness Heb 10 :10 we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ once and for all.
We are in that privileged time that Jeremiah pointed forward too, but even so we might not be as yet beneficiaries of God’s grace are we still trying to please God by law? Is sin still engraved upon your heart? Are you still trying to be accepted before God by what you do?
If so you have the opportunity to stop and let God take the initiative in your life. The new covenant is a covenant of grace and not law. Through the death and resurrection we can be saved by repenting and trusting in the only merits of Christ we can become partakers of the new covenant experiencing Gods presence in your mind and heart. And be the beneficiaries of complete forgiveness of all your sins past present and future being remembered no more.
Recap on Appointed – Gods’ guidance so often our past directs our future – our present is to remain resolute to God and truth in the face of perversion of God and His truth and the prophetic voice of the future is certain with the blessings of the new covenant to all that believe, This prophetic voice God’s Church must continue to proclaim, past present and future dimensions.
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