Jeremiah was one of the great prophets in the Old Testament. God called him when he was about 17 years old and he preached for 40 years. The nation of Israel had fallen into such sin that God allowed 10 of the 12 tribes to be taken into captivity. Then he sent Jeremiah to preach to the remaining 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Jeremiah did his best to warn them to change their ways but it was like talking to a brick wall. No matter how much he begged them to listen, they ignored him. He was so grieved because of their refusal to change and because he knew what was going to happen that he wept tears of sadness and was called the “weeping prophet.” The people despised him and his message and found it annoying.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ERV) says this: “The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. But people will find more and more teachers who please them. They will find teachers who say what they want to hear. People will stop listening to the truth. They will begin to follow the teaching in false stories.”
That is what had happened in Judah – they stopped listening to the truth – and, if you think about it, it is what is happening in our world today. So many people have so immersed themselves into sin and convinced themselves it’s okay. They’ve found people that will tell them it is okay and they believe it because their sinful nature wants to believe it. They ignore their conscience and just do what they want.
So what is our share of the responsibility today as we watch so many fall into despicable sin? I believe that as Christians, we should do as Jeremiah did and speak the truth every chance we have. They may just ignore us, just as they did Jeremiah, but we need to step up and speak truth – praying that it will make it’s way to the minds and hearts of those that hear it.
Jeremiah 7:1-11 CEV says: “The Lord told me to stand by the gate of the temple and tell the people who were going in that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said: ‘Pay attention, people of Judah! Change your ways and start living right, then I will let you keep on living in your own country. Don’t fool yourselves! My temple is here in Jerusalem, but that doesn’t mean I will protect you. I will keep you safe only if you change your ways and are fair and honest with each other. Stop taking advantage of foreigners, orphans, and widows. Don’t kill innocent people. And stop worshiping other gods. Then I will let you enjoy a long life in this land I gave your ancestors. But just look at what is happening! You put your trust in worthless lies. You steal and murder; you lie in court and are unfaithful in marriage. You worship idols and offer incense to Baal, when these gods have never done anything for you. And then you come into my temple and worship me! Do you think I will protect you so that you can go on sinning? You are thieves, and you have made my temple your hideout. But I’ve seen everything you have done.’”
How can we possibly believe that when we completely turn our backs on God and live in sin that He will continue to protect us? Those verses make it clear that there are a lot of hypocrites because they live their life of sin then go and “worship” God. Unfortunately, that is still evident today as well. Over and over in the Bible we are told that IF we change our ways, THEN He will bless and protect us. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and then prayerfully reach out to others. They may not believe us. They may get annoyed with us. They may ignore us. But if we do what we should do, then we have fulfilled our share of the responsibility, hopefully saving some from the judgment they will eventually face.
Written by Karran Martin – August 5, 2023
[All bold emphasis is mine]
Karran's Korner 