Lesson 5 for October 31, 2015

Message against the priests and the prophets (Jeremiah 23:14-15; 5:26-31)Reaction of the priests: Whipping Jeremiah and the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1-6)Reaction of the people: Killing Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:18-23)Reaction of Jeremiah: “Like a burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jer. 20:7-13) “Cursed be the day in which I was born!” (Jer. 20:14-18) A conditional message (Jeremiah 18:7-11) This week we studied the messages that Jeremiah received from God, and the reactions to them:

“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?” (Jeremiah 5:31) Which was the sin of the prophets? (see Jeremiah 23:14-15) Adultery, lies and hypocrisy. Above everything, they “strengthened the hands of evildoers” (Jeremiah 23:14); they didn’t condemn sin. No one repented form their sins because of them. Evil was spread throughout the country. Which was the sin of the people? (see Jeremiah 5:26-30) They grew fat by doing evil. They also benefited from the orphans and the poor. Which was the sin of the priests? (see Jeremiah 5:31) The priests should have taught God’s ways. Nevertheless, they let the false prophets guide them.

“Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 20:2) Jeremiah was called to prophesy at the atrium of the temple. It was a harsh message: God would bring “a catastrophe on this place” (Jer. 19:3). He would let His people “fall by the sword” and their corpses would be eaten by “birds and beasts” (Jer. 19:7). He would turn the Jews into cannibals (Jer. 19:9). Most messages the prophets passed on in the Bible were not happily received. In this case, the priest Pashhur attacked the messenger; he flogged him and locked him up in stocks. The next day, Pashhur received a personal message. He and his friends would be exiled and would die in Babylon, since they rejected God’s message (Jeremiah 20:6).

“Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.’” (Jeremiah 18:18) “In self-deception the people believed that the popular priest and prophets had given them sufficient instruction in the law, and that they could trust in this instruction despite Jeremiah’s warnings of the coming crisis.” (SDA Bible Commentary, on Jeremiah 18:18). The plans against Jeremiah that the people devised included murdering him (Jer. 18:23). Jeremiah’s attitude contrasted with the people’s. He interceded with God on the people’s behalf, asking for their sin to be forgiven (Jeremiah 14:7). Wouldn’t God protect him?

“Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9) Jeremiah complained at God only giving him messages about violence and destruction, causing him great trouble. Jeremiah had already been warned about the consequences of his message (Jeremiah 1:19). Nevertheless, he accused God of having deceived him. He decided not to deliver more messages from God. But he was unable to resist the call of the Holy Spirit. His message was a matter of life and death. How could he let them perish without warning them?

“Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!” (Jeremiah 20:14) Jeremiah still trusted God. Like Job, he didn’t let his problems overwhelm him, but relied on God. “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) Jeremiah was very confused. He was praising God (Jer. 20:13) and suddenly he felt deeply desperate (Jer. 20:14). The problems and weaknesses of those heroes of faith encourage us to cast our cares on the Lord. We can find comfort in Him when we can’t find a solution for our problems.

Jeremiah 18:7-8 “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,” “if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil,” “I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.” Jeremiah 18:9-10 “And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it,” “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice,” “then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’” (Jeremiah 18:11)

“The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines. The blacksmith puts the iron and steel into the fire that he may know what manner of metal they are. The Lord allows His chosen ones to be placed in the furnace of affliction to prove what temper they are of and whether they can be fashioned for His work.” E.G.W. (The ministry of Healing, cp. 40, pg. 471)