Jeremiah 26:16-24 Protected
Jeremiah is staring death in the face for sharing God’s word. God protected him through the words of a few elders. God holds the hearts of man in His hands.
Jeremiah has just rendered a dire prophecy for the land of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The people are NOT happy with what he had to say. They want him dead. But before their wishes can be carried out, Jeremiah presents the facts to them.
Jeremiah boldly tells the people again Who sent him with these words. He puts his life in their hands. And he tells them that IF they do kill him, they will be in even deeper trouble as they will be shedding innocent blood.
The hearts and minds of MOST of those calling for Jeremiah’s destruction changes. A moment ago, all the people were calling for his death. Now everyone EXCEPT the priests are calling for his release. Two separate elders stand up and personally stand up for him.
Two previous prophets are sited in Jeremiah’s defense; Micah who spoke to King Hezekiah and Uriah who spoke to King Jehoiachin. These men had VERY different outcomes. Hezekiah listened to Micah and God. God honored the people’s repentance and withdrew His judgment, for a time. Hezekiah was also before King Manasseh who was the WORST king Judah ever had.
Uriah did not fare well. The king he spoke to was evil. Uriah fled to Egypt in hopes of getting out of Jehoiachin’s reach. It didn’t work. Jehoiachin had him hunted down, brought back, and killed before his eyes. I have a question here. If Uriah had stood firm like Jeremiah is doing now, would God have protected him too?
There are a few reasons I ask this. First, we know that God told His people NOT to return to Egypt. I believe He even went so far as to tell them not to look to Egypt for their protection. This is exactly what Uriah did instead of trusting God to protect himself. The second reason Uriah was in more danger than Micah is because Jehoiachin was an ungodly king, whereas Hezekiah was a godly king. Hezekiah was open to listening and following the Lord. Jehoiachin wasn’t. The final reason I see a different outcome is because the people were modeling their king’s behavior. The people, including the priests were worshiping false gods and didn’t want to hear ANYTHING that was corrective of their behavior. In other words, Micha had a better audience.
One thing they all three had in common is their commitment to the Lord. All three were bringing messages straight from the Lord. All three messages agreed with one another; God was bringing judgment for the sins of Judah. Even though Uriah fled, he didn’t denounce the words that he spoke in the name of the Lord. I BELIEVE we can bank on him having an eternal future with the Lord.
Back to Jeremiah. God watched over Jeremiah that day. HE placed in the crowd a recognition of this word as the Lord’s. HE placed within the elders two men who stood in the face of opposition to do what was right. This escape of danger would not always hold true for Jeremiah’s ministry, but God protected his life when Jeremiah refused to be swayed by public opinion or bow down to sin.
We face the same decision Jeremiah did. 1) Change your message so people will like it; 2) stand firm in what you have been told by the Lord to say. These choices come with choices of their own. 1) Trust man to leave you unharmed because your message isn’t controversial; 2) trust GOD to protect you and His words. I’m sure you can tell which two belong together. We know which one Jeremiah took, and we know God worked it out for Jeremiah’s good.
My KLOVE verse of the day speaks directly to these decision choices. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13). Jeremiah didn’t have the ‘armor of God’ spelled out for him, but he had the Spirit of God watching over him just the same. Stand firm and be still and watch what God will do.
Father God, I’m forever grateful for Your protection on my life. Often, You are protecting me from myself. But most of all, You are safeguarding YOUR word. PLEASE ensure that I NEVER share something here that is not of You or runs contrary to Your character. In the ‘climate’ I’m in right now, I’m not concerned for my safety for speaking out for You. THANK YOU for that gift. I KNOW that won’t be the case forever. While it is Father God, help me share Your words with as many people as possible. Let me be a vessel that draws people to You; NOT to me.
