1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”
7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord…
24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.
REFLECTION:
Shiloh was the place where the tabernacle was set up after the Israelites occupied Canaan, and was destroyed by the Philistines in 1050 BC. “I will make this house like Shiloh” (v6) refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. God wanted Jeremiah to “not hold back a word” (v2) and speak His words as they were. It is possible that Jeremiah was weak and thought that some words were too harsh and could cause everyone to become enemies and bring him great danger, so he wanted to cut some of the content. However, God ordered Jeremiah not to change His words to suit Jeremiah’s own wishes, the tastes of the audience, and the environment he is in. Sure enough, the priests and false prophets were furious when they heard this, because the temple is the source of their power. People respect the temple, and they are also revered. Jeremiah said that the temple would be destroyed, undoubtedly challenging and shaking their power. Therefore, a mob of rebellious and foolish people was gathered to kill Jeremiah. Of course the almighty and righteous God will protect Jeremiah from harm through human hands. Today, when we preach the truth in the Bible to unbelievers, we may also feel that some messages are too harsh and may offend others. We always want to express or omit some messages euphemistically. We should understand that God is with us and He will add to our courage and strength, and we cannot change the word of God in order to please anyone.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to give you more courage to not be afraid to offend people when preaching the truth of God, not to delete, add, or change any of God’s words, but to clearly preach all the truths that God has entrusted us to communicate. Pray that God will enable you to have more commitment, so that you can live a holy and abundant life, not only in words, but also with your own practical actions to manifest the glory of God.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. 4 You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.
REFLECTION:
This message from Jeremiah was preached in 605 BC, the year when King Nebuchadnezzar officially took power. Jeremiah’s mission as a prophet began in 627 BC, and he had preached for a full 23 years before the seventy years of exile. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to keep preaching the same message for 23 years and being rejected constantly. This is what happened to Jeremiah. Because he dedicated his life to God, no matter how others reacted, he insisted on continuing to preach the message that God wants him to preach: “Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds.” (v5) Today, God also calls us to participate in His Great Commission, and we are often rejected in the process of preaching the gospel. Are we discouraged? May we be inspired by Jeremiah’s unswerving loyalty to God, no matter how others react, we will be faithful to bear witness to God and answer His call.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to fix your eyes on His abundance and power, and make Him a source of your strength, so that you can continue to serve Him faithfully. If you are rejected or even laughed at because of being a testimony for God, pray that God will grant you a brave and firm heart, no matter how others react, you can do what you should do, not to please people, but to please God.
1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 “But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
REFLECTION:
“Good figs” represent the Judahites who were taken captive to Babylon. This does not mean that they are good citizens themselves, but their hearts still respect God, so God will take care of them and bring them back to their homeland. “Bad figs” represent those who remain in Judah or fled to Egypt. They are self-righteous and think that they will be blessed if they stay in Judah or fled to Egypt. This is exactly the opposite of their thoughts. God wants to refine His people through the process of exile, take care of them, and bless them. We may think that a smooth life is a blessing, and a bad life is a curse. However, if hardships and difficulties can make us more persevere, adversity is also a blessing; if we leave God in good times, it becomes a curse. Therefore, when you are in trouble, ask God to strengthen you for Him; when your life is going well, ask the Lord to teach you how to use the opportunities to serve Him.
PRAYER:
Thank God for making you a “good fig.” This is not because you behave better than others, but because of God’s love and grace. Make a resolution to God, you are willing to take more practical actions to be grateful in the future, live in His words every day, obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, work hard to share the gospel, manifest Christ’s character of “loving others as yourself,” so that your life can be improved and bear more fruit.
