Jeremiah sure didn't get an easy job, huh? He couldn't have been a fun guy to be around.
"But is it me they're hurting?" God's Decree! "Aren't they just hurting themselves? Exposing themselves shamefully? Making themselves ridiculous?" (7:19)
"Tell them, 'You are the nation that wouldn't obey God, that refused all discipline. Truth has disappeared. There's not a trace of it left in your mouths." (7:28)
"Everyone left - all from this evil generation unlucky enough to still be alive in whatever godforsaken place I will have driven them to - will wish they were dead." Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. (8:3)
"Look at them! They know everything but God's Word. Do you call that 'knowing'?" (8:9)
"Prophets and priests and everyone in between twist words and doctor truth...They have no shame. They don't even know how to blush. There's no hope for them. They've hit bottom and there's no getting up. As far as I'm concerned, they're finished." God has spoken. (8:12)
"They've trained their tongues to tell lies, and now they can't tell the truth. They pile wrong upon wrong, stack lie upon lie, and refuse to know me." God's Decree. (9:6)
And this is the consequence. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so: "I'll feed them with pig slop. I'll give them poison to drink. Then I'll scatter them far and wide among godless people that neither they nor their parents have ever heard of, and I'll send Death in pursuit until there's nothing left of them." (9:16)
I can understand why the Israelites didn't want to hear what Jeremiah had to say! His message is pretty hard to stomach. But the fact of the matter is that it was a message from their God. God, through Jeremiah, was telling His people the truth about themselves, their situation and what was to come, but they didn't want to hear it. They wanted to shoot the messenger.
"Jeremiah didn't twist words or doctor the truth, for the task of a prophet isn't to smooth things over but to make things right with God. The function of religion isn't to make people feel good but to make them be good.
What about the love of God, you ask? It's true; God loves us. But his love is passionate and seeks faithful, committed love in return. He doesn't want tame pets to fondle and feed; he wants mature, free people who will respond to him genuinely and sincerely. For that to happen, truth must be honestly spoken, honestly heard, and honestly responded to. Shame must be felt. Sin must be confessed. And self must be toppled from its pedestal." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1163
Lord, I pray that you'll give me the wisdom and humility to listen to your truth spoken to me, regardless of the messenger. I don't always respond well to real or perceived criticism or correction. I don't always like the people you've chosen to show me the truth about myself. But I know that's part of your pruning process, so I pray for a multitude of wise counselors who will speak your truth to me. I pray that I will have the heart to receive your truth and to respond to it honestly. I truly want you, Lord, on the throne of my life.
God's Message:
"Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks."
God's Decree. (9:23-24)
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