Jeremiah

No More, No Less

/ brianhilton9 / Leave a comment

I had a bad habit as a kid of embellishing things.

My parents would graciously respond to all of my exaggerated hyperboles the same way.

“Okay. What really happened?”

Part of it might be because I’ve always loved a good story. Or maybe it’s because I wanted to influence their view on something rather than just present the facts. Either way, my family quickly learned to take what I said with a grain of salt.

Even today when I recount something, I have to fight the strong urge to add in or enlarge certain details. It’s quite easy to do and (sometimes) hard for the listener to detect. After all, can they really disprove the size of the fish I caught last summer? Or can they see my bank account to verify I make as much as I said I did? We perceive an easy benefit without a likely cost. This is not reality.

This simple equation is the principle behind lying or manipulating the truth. We place a premium value on a fabrication while setting the truth aside as if it were an old orange peel. Of course, such a scenario manifests in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most staggering is in the dissemination of God’s words.

Recently, I have been reading through the book of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. The ancient nation of Judah, God’s chosen people, rebelled against their God in pursuit of false gods which resulted in all kinds of appalling behavior – such as sacrificing their own children. God speaks through His anointed prophet Jeremiah announcing the land He gave Israel will be invaded by Babylon as He judges the land for its sin. The people had many chances to return to God and receive mercy, but at the time of much of Jeremiah’s writing, the Babylonian exile is set in stone after numerous rejections of His merciful offers.

Jeremiah is tasked with bringing this terrible news to his fellow countrymen. So much so, that I’ve started to think that the phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” comes from this account. There are many attempts on his life, even by his own family. Everybody hated this dude.

Why? He spoke just what God told him to say. Words of defeat, death, and desolation. He urged the people to relent of their wicked ways and return to the God who made them to avoid the impending destruction. They didn’t like that message. So, they tried to silence him. Rather, they tried to silence God.

Alternatives to Jeremiah’s words began to sprout up like weeds in a garden. The first was by a guy named Hananiah. Jeremiah had prophesied that the Israelites would be in exile 70 years, Judah’s old king named Jeconiah would die in Babylon, and that those who brought their necks under the “yoke” of Babylon would survive. Hananiah announces later that same year that the exile would only last two years as the yoke of Babylon was broken and that Jeconiah would be brought back into Judah. Hananiah’s prophesy contradicted Jeremiah’s at every point. Obviously, Hananiah’s message was a little more palatable than Jeremiah’s and required no remediation of behavior.

While Jeremiah ironically hoped Hananiah’s message was true, he wisely reminded the people to examine a true prophet by seeing which actually happens. After 37 years of Babylonian captivity, Jeconiah aka Jehoiachin was freed – but he did not return to Judah. He lived in Babylon till his death, well cared for by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s son and successor, Evil-merodach. Hananiah didn’t see the end of that same year he made the false prophecy. He died because he turned the people from God and made them trust in a lie he created.

Even after, more weeds arose. Two men named Ahab and Zedekiah (not to be confused with the kings of Judah with the same names) spoke lies claiming to be from God while sleeping with their neighbors’ wives. In judgement, God consigns them to be “roasted in the fire” by Nebuchadnezzar. A so-called prophet named Shemaiah rebukes the priest Zephaniah for not chiding Jeremiah with stocks and neck irons for telling the people that their exile will be long, and they should settle in Babylon by building houses and planting gardens. Just like Hananiah, Ahab, and Zedekiah, God judges Shemaiah for making His people trust in a lie. Shemaiah’s family line is ended, and he is forbidden from seeing the redemption of the land that comes after the exile.

We see many here with a position of religious standing and influence proclaim something different than what God has actually spoken. The result is that people are ALWAYS driven AWAY from God. Had they listened to God’s words through Jeremiah, they would have repented of their sin, returned to God, and been saved from God’s wrath imposed through Babylon.

While those reading aren’t citizens of Judah and the nation of Babylon no longer exists, God’s words still do. He tells us that though all things will pass away, His words never will. His true word ALWAYS leads us TOWARDS Him. To change His words or claim He said something he hasn’t may not always be obvious, but it always results in death. Yours and those listening to you.

So, this begs the question– what is God’s word? What does it say?

The central message is one of His glory and our salvation through belief in the death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son Jesus Christ. Open it up to see true justice, amazing grace, and eternal hope. Sin is not justified. Instead it is explained in great detail and always exposed as leading to death. Judgement is promised, yet so is a way out for those who humble themselves before the Lord.

God’s word. It always points us to Jesus Christ. It always points us to our desperate need and His gracious supplication. It’s my prayer that you hear and see it in every post, action, and word I speak. No more, no less.

Scripture References:

Jeremiah 22:24-27 – Jeconiah won’t return to Judah but will die in Babylon

Jeremiah 25:12 – Babylonian exile will be for 70 years

Jeremiah 27 – Yoke of Babylon, death for those who rebel, life for those who submit and obey God

Jeremiah 28 & 29 – Hananiah, Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah’s false prophecies

2 Kings 25:27-30 – Jehoiachin dies in Babylon, but thrives under Babylonian captivity after surrender

Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 51 – Babylon destroyed (539 B.C.)

Matthew 24:35 – All will pass away, except for God’s words

Truth Seeker

/ brianhilton9 / 1 Comment

Why do you believe what you believe?

It’s a question that regularly crosses my mind as I scroll through my social media feeds. Housed in these digital courthouses, a plethora of issues are discussed daily. Sometimes in civil, respectful ways. Sometimes with toxic abhorrence.

There are times that logging onto Facebook feels like I’m walking into a 5th grade science fair where the majority of students have chosen to make one of those baking soda and vinegar “volcanoes.” Instead of these two common household items, insert any opposing commonly held belief system – whether political, religious, social, or even just about sports! Pressure builds, bubbles, and finally releases in an explosive decision. Maybe in the form of harmful language typed the person would never say to another’s face. Or possibly with the unfriending or eliminating someone from your virtual friend pool.

The contentious climate our nation finds itself in has created more of this than ever. Whether it concerns the COVID-19 pandemic, race relations and societal injustice, or the upcoming election, there’s a lengthy buffet of arguments to dish out onto your plate each day.

The upheaval of society and a recent study in the book of Jeremiah has me asking myself amidst this chaos,

“Are you looking for truth?”

I find it easier to speak my thoughts on something rather than listen to another’s. I find it easier to point out other’s flaws rather than my own. I find it easier to dismiss someone because I disagree with them than building a relationship while acknowledging differences. None of these instinctual pulls jive with truth seeking. In fact, I believe these tendencies lead us to an echo chamber where we only listen to people we agree with, which is a breeding ground for deception.

In the days of Jeremiah, his homeland of Judah was in peril. God had rescued the nation of Israel from Egyptian oppression and provided them with the land He promised to their forefather Abraham. Yet they were unfaithful to God and cheated on Him with false gods. They disobeyed God and lived double lives, surrendering their hearts to idols yet claimed to still be God’s faithful “spouse.”

For their sin, God promised judgement and appointed Jeremiah to relay this message to the people that they might repent, return to God, and once again enjoy His blessing on their land. They didn’t listen.

“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her. Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ yet they swear falsely. O LORD, do not your eyes look for the truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.” Jeremiah 5:1-3

Despite the discipline they received, the people were too blind and hardened to be convinced of the truth. They chose a lie instead. What did they do to one who told them something they didn’t want to hear? They persecuted Jeremiah. They sought his life, mocked, and berated him and regarded him as a laughingstock. However, the people of Judah weren’t laughing when the prophesied “disaster from the north…a destroyer of nations” or Babylon, came and conquered Jerusalem in 587 B.C.

Truth and justice, as mentioned in the text, was not sought by anyone in the streets of Jerusalem. If it had been, they undoubtedly would have returned to God who is truth and is justice, and God in His grace would have spared the whole city. The evidence didn’t matter to them and neither did truth. They sought what they wanted to seek, and it earned them desolation.

I want to be careful here. I’m not saying America is Judah. But I do see many modern parallels that are addressed by this text when examined in its context. Truth is impartial, as is its creator. It doesn’t have a political affiliation or skin color. Man is not the author of it, no matter how bad we might want to be. Nobody is immune to ignoring the truth and seeking a lie. As one deals with God, so they deal with truth.

I’m also reminded as I write of the maddening refusal of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day to accept the fact that He raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. Instead of considering that Jesus may be who He claimed to be with this miracle as proof, they conspired on how to kill Lazarus. They would rather destroy the evidence, than accept the conclusion to which it pointed.

This tragic rejection of truth would be outdone when Jesus rose from the dead after laying His life down that the sins of mankind may be forgiven. When the guards standing outside the tomb told the religious leaders what had happened, once again, they denied the undeniable and circulated a theory that the disciples had come and stolen Jesus’ dead body. They didn’t want the truth, so they didn’t want Jesus.

As we navigate the complex issues of our time, may we run to God who is the truth. Not a political talk show, not social media, not what we’ve always heard, and especially not ourselves. May we seek truth and examine the source of our beliefs. May this practice drive us to “the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus Christ.

Scripture References:

Jeremiah 2:26-28 – Judah’s condition during Jeremiah’s time.

Jeremiah 4:6-7 – A “destroyer of nations” is their punishment.

Jeremiah 4:14 – God calls Jerusalem (and all of Judah) to repent.

Jeremiah 5:1-3 – They refuse to repent.

John 12:9-11 – They would rather kill Lazarus than believe in Jesus who raised him from the dead.

Matthew 27:62-28:15 – Jesus rises from the dead before their eyes, they try and cover up the evidence.

John 14:1-7 – Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.