A Challenge to Live for Christ

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Jeremiah 15:1-21

 

Jeremiah 15:20

And I will make you to this people
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
    but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
    to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.

(ESV)

 

We live in the disposition of God’s grace, demonstrated to humanity through Jesus’ death on the cross for humanity’s sins.  Because of this, when we think of the relentlessness of God it is usually the relentlessness of his love for us by becoming flesh (John 1:14) and dying for us so that we can have eternal life (Romans 5:8).  However, to receive the gift of eternal life given to humanity because of the love of God, one must believe.  The people of Judah in the time of Jeremiah believed in God, but it was head belief with their hearts chasing after other gods.  While God has relentless love, He is also a righteous God, desiring hearts willing to surrender to his will in their lives.  Judah is about to suffer God’s relentless judgment for their failure to follow God with their whole heart. 

 

In this passage we see,

 

1)      The Lord rejecting Judah and asking Jeremiah to get them out of his sight (Jeremiah 15:1-9) – The people of Judah and Jerusalem have been told to repent from the Lord through Jeremiah but they ignored the call to repentance (Jeremiah 5:3).  The people of Judah and Jerusalem are guilty of saying with their mouth that they believe in God while having a heart that follows after other gods because of what Manasseh did as the king of Judah (Jeremiah 15:4; 2 Kings 21:1-9).  Such hypocrisy is not pleasing to God with even Jesus calling out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his time (Matthew 15:7-9).  Most of us reading this post are familiar with John 3:16 and the promise that those believing in Jesus will have eternal life.  However, the Greek word for believe in this verse is pisteuon which is a level of belief meaning to have faith and a level of entrustment.  In other words, it is not just saying I believe Jesus exists for even the demons believe and fear (James 2:19), but an entrusting of our lives to Jesus as our personal savior.  Judah lacked this level of belief and why a righteous God could not accept them.  However, Jeremiah had this level of belief, with God promising his deliverance (Jeremiah 15:21). 

2)      Jeremiah’s complaint (Jeremiah 15:10-18) – Upon hearing the stern rebuke of Judah and Jerusalem by the Lord, Jeremiah states his complaint to the Lord, lamenting his birth (Jeremiah 15:10).  He then reminds the Lord of what Judah and Jerusalem are to suffer for their sin but then offers his complaint seeking refuge as one not participating in the duplicitous belief of saying he believes in God while seeking other gods with his heart and instead, taking delight in the words of God (Jeremiah 15:16).  Jeremiah feels alone in his belief in God and his complaint is in feeling the pain and injury of those around him who have a duplicitous belief of God in their head while their heart seeks other gods (Jeremiah 15:18). 

3)      The Lord providing comfort to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:19-21) – The Lord provides comfort to Jeremiah by reminding him that he is acting as the mouth of God towards those rejecting God in their hearts (Jeremiah 15:19).  God promises that Jeremiah will be like a fortified wall of bronze to the people with them fighting against him, but not prevailing (Jeremiah 15:20).  God promises to deliver Jeremiah with him escaping the hands of the wicked people seeking to destroy him (Jeremiah 15:21).  By living in Judah at this time, Jeremiah will suffer some of the consequences of the sins of the nation but personally will have the Lord with him as his deliverer. 

 

Jeremiah feels isolated as he lives among a people of duplicitous belief in God in the head while their hearts seek other gods.  However, instead of being silent so as not to cause trouble, Jeremiah takes delight in the words of the Lord and boldly declares them to the people, bringing persecution upon himself (Jeremiah 11:18-20, 15:16).  The persecution brought upon Jeremiah is because he has chosen to believe in God which is not popular in the nation of Judah at the time.  However, Jeremiah knows this is not in a popularity contest and is reminded by God that He will be with him and deliver him (Jeremiah 15:19-21).

 

We live in a world where God is becoming less and less popular.  It is a world that condones the murder of unborn children who are precious to the Lord (Psalm 22:9-10; 139:13).  It is a world that perverts the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman through condoning sex outside of marriage and gay marriage (Matthew 16:3-6; Romans 1:25-27).  I pray those reading this post will be blessed and challenged to be like Jeremiah and boldly live for God in a sin-filled world, even though it is unpopular could bring persecution and alienation.