Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 28-40; Psalm 74, 79.
Jeremiah’s message was one that was filled with warnings of destruction. As we might expect, his “negative” message was generally not well-received. The attitude of his opponents is very similar to the attitude of those today who oppose the truth.
“‘Thus says the Lord, “This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.”‘ Then the officials said to the king, ‘Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of the people but rather their harm’” (Jeremiah 38:3-4).
Jeremiah’s message, though unpopular and uncomfortable, was one that the people desperately needed to hear. The ones who would heed his words and obey them would deliver themselves (Jeremiah 38:2). For those who rejected him, there would be punishment. But the officials did not like Jeremiah’s message and tried to turn the king against him by making two accusations:
- He was discouraging the people – Jeremiah, though prophesying of destruction, offered hope to the people by showing them how they could save their lives. Yet this “plan of salvation” was not what the officials wanted to hear, so they rejected it and focused only on the negative elements of Jeremiah’s message. Without the hope of salvation, Jeremiah’s message is discouraging. But when you take the whole truth, it is very encouraging because it explains the way to salvation while also containing the warnings of punishment which remind us why salvation is so valuable.
- He was not seeking the well-being of the people – The fact that Jeremiah warned of punishment did not mean looked forward to harm befalling the people in this punishment. Preaching against sin and error and also showing the punishment that awaits the unrepentant does not indicate an animosity toward others but rather a love for others. Those who hide the truth or change God’s message are the ones who are not seeking the well-being of the people.
Jeremiah proclaimed an encouraging message of hope and salvation in a time of darkness. We do the same thing today when we speak the truth. Let us not allow ourselves to be hindered by those who falsely accuse us of discouraging others or not having enough love for them. Instead, let us continue to proclaim the word of God without compromise.
Tomorrow’s reading: 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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