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Jeremiah

Blessed are those who stand up for the Lord even when they have to stand alone. And to stand against a nation for a lifetime would seem an impossibility. Yet such was the lot of Jeremiah the prophet.

The nation of Judah was dying; they were spiritually sick and soon to be destroyed.

Jeremiah was called by the Lord to see them through it, and at the time of his call the Lord referred to him as “…an iron pillar, and [a] brasen wall[s]…’ (Jeremiah 1:18) Why? – because he would stand against the whole land, the kings, the princes, the priests, and finally even all the people would oppose him. “…they shall fight against thee…” the Lord said. (Jeremiah 1:19) And fight they did! In Jeremiah, chapter 20, Pashur, the governor of the House of the Lord, the – the Temple President, if you will, became angry with Jeremiah and locked him in the stocks near the Temple.

On another occasion, Jeremiah was in the Temple calling the people to repent or their temple would be destroyed. They became subsequently enraged and took him saying, “…Thou shalt surely die.” (Jeremiah 26:8). He faced them boldly and on that occasion, his life was spared.

As Jeremiah had prophesied, Babylon eventually did sweep down into Judah and laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. And even while Jeremiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled, the King took the Prophet and cast him into prison. (see Jeremiah 32:2) – It makes no sense. But even them, Jeremiah did not back down; he did not quit. The word of the Lord was, he said “…as a burning fire shut up in my heart [bones]…” (Jeremiah 20:9) He would not be still.

As Jerusalem was about to fall, Jeremiah told the people to surrender to the Babylonians or they would be slaughtered. This counsel was construed as treason and Jeremiah was taken and cast into a miry pit, sinking into the mud and left to die in darkness.

When Jerusalem fell Jeremiah “…[he] was there…” (Jeremiah 38:28), a sorrowing witness to their destruction. It is no wonder that he lamented.

The King of Babylon liberated Jeremiah even as he destroyed Jerusalem. But then with that freedom, Jeremiah’s own people kidnapped him and carried him into Egypt where tradition says he was eventually stoned.

Sometimes in order to stand with God we have to stand alone. And yet at such times, we are never in better company. I am reminded of another man much later and half a world away who would stand against all odds to save his people, but in the end, he too watched them die. His name was Mormon.
Glenn Rawson – October 2010