Standing Alone……………….

“Shephatiah, Mattan’s son; Gedaliah, Pashhur’s son; Jucal, Shelemiah’s son; and Pashhur, Malchiah’s son heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people: “The Lord proclaims: Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared.  The Lord proclaims: This city will certainly be handed over to the army of Babylon’s king, who will capture it.

 Then the officials said to the king: “This man must be put to death! By saying such things, he is discouraging the few remaining troops left in the city, as well as all the people. This man doesn’t seek their welfare but their ruin!”

 “He’s in your hands,” King Zedekiah said, “for the king can do nothing to stop you.”    Jeremiah 38:1-5  CEB

In the Old Testament we find the prophet Jeremiah.  God makes it clear to Jeremiah, that even before he was born, God had chosen Jeremiah to be somebody who would speak up for the truth.  At first, Jeremiah thinks he’s too young to be used by God, but God assures him by letting him know that Jeremiah will be a prophet to the nations.

This sounds like a great job, but there is a downside to the job. The people that Jeremiah will be speaking to have made the decision that it is alright to worship God, so long as it does not keep them from creating other gods and doing whatever they wanted to do.   Sounds a lot like what we have today in our society. The people were heavy into astrology and worshiping the stars.

They were in the middle of a sexual revolution in which adultery was not only running wild, it was encouraged and had found its way into the lives of the prophets and priests.

The rich were getting greedier and greedier as they took everything they possibly could get out of the poor. The people created their own truth as to what was right and what was wrong. The Word of God was no longer the foundation of their lives.

God calls Jeremiah to tell the people, “He’s sick and tired of all this sin, the mess, and the drama and He sending the Babylonian army from the north to destroy the city.”

Most of the people never even heard of the Babylonians.  They laughed at Jeremiah and made fun of him.  No sooner than he finished prophesying, other prophets would get up and proclaim, “The Lord will never allow the Babylonians to come to the city, for God Himself is the protector of His people whom He loves.”

God is more than willing to use Jeremiah, but God leaves out some critical facts.  Jeremiah begins preaching under a good king by the name of Josiah. Josiah did his best to get the people to turn back to God. But for twenty years, the only message Jeremiah preaches is repentance and change your ways for the Babylonians are coming with God’s judgment.

Do you know how foolish he must have looked?

For twenty years, the prophets who preach what the people want to hear, have been saying, “God is not going to send the Babylonians.”  Jeremiah has been saying God is.

Who do you think has the most credibility with the people?