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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Because the Lord revealed their
plot to me, I knew it, for at that time He showed me what they were doing. I
had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they
had plotted against me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us
cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.’”
“But You, Lord Almighty, who judge
righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for
to You I have committed my cause.”
“Therefore this is what the Lord
says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, ‘Do
not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands’—therefore
this is what the Lord Almighty says: I will punish them. Their young men will
die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will
be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the
year of their punishment.”
Jeremiah 11:18-23
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
Doing God’s work is not for the faint of heart.
We only need to look to the cross to see that it’s true but
Jesus and His disciples faced persecution throughout His years of ministry. They
were in constant conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious
authorities of the day who eventually saw that the only way they could possibly
get rid of Jesus was to falsely accuse Him and have Him murdered. But the
religious authorities weren’t the only ones who rejected Jesus. Even those in
His hometown of Nazareth wanted to throw Him off a cliff after Jesus said:
“Truly I tell you,” He
continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Luke 4:24
You see, there is a danger in proclaiming the truths of God
which include the blessed gospel of salvation through the very Jesus who died
proclaiming that gospel. Those who would follow Him like the Apostle Paul and
believers like Him wouldn’t find things any easier but more on that later.
Before I move after Jesus, I want to go back in time to show that this matter
of danger in proclaiming was not just a New Testament experience.
For as we look at the closing verses of Jeremiah 11, we
find that even the Old Testament prophets were often in peril. Look again at
these words here:
“Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that
time He showed me what they were doing. I had been like a gentle lamb led to
the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, ‘Let
us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the
living, that his name be remembered no more.’”
“But You, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and
mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have committed my cause.”
“Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who
are threatening to kill you, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord
or you will die by our hands’—therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: I
will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters
by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring
disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah
11:18-23
Here’s what we know from these verses:
1. Jeremiah was fully committed to doing God’s will.
“For to you I have committed my cause.”
God expects nothing less than our all in response to His
call to service and as we see by his own admission, Jeremiah was all in when it
came to carrying out God’s will.
2. Jeremiah was in danger after prophesying about God’s
coming judgment upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
“I did not realize that they had plotted
against me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off
from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.’”
The people of Anathoth were plotting to kill Jeremiah.
Maybe they thought if they eliminated him, it would stop God’s consequences
against Him but such a notion would show just how departed the people were from
God’s word and commandments because one of the most fundamental orders God gave
their Israelite ancestors at Mount Sinai was to not murder (Exodus 20:13).
In other words, murdering Jeremiah would only bring more of
God’s wrath on them.
3. God was watching over and protecting His prophet.
“Because the Lord revealed their plot to
me, I knew it, for at that time He showed me what they were doing. I had been
like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.”
God wasn’t about to allow His messenger to be harmed and so
He warned Jeremiah of the plot being waged against him, revealing the scheme
before it had a chance to be launched.
4. God brought judgment on those who were plotting against
Jeremiah.
“Therefore this is what the Lord says about
the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, ‘Do not
prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands’—therefore this
is what the Lord Almighty says: I will punish them. Their young men will die by
the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left
to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of
their punishment.”
If there is danger in proclaiming, there is even more
danger for those who seek to harm God’s proclaimers.
In this case, we find the people of Anathoth staring down
the barrel of God’s punishment which included death and famine. God was
bringing disaster and not even a remnant would remain when He was finished.
Here’s the kicker about this city.
It was a city of priests connected to the tribe of Benjamin
and located about three miles outside of Jerusalem. You would have thought it
would be one of the holiest cities in Judah but as we see from this passage, it
was far from that. The actions of the people were far from holy and wickedness
had displaced any righteousness that may have existed at one time. The people
had obviously abandoned God and wanted no part of Him or anyone else who would
come in His name. And so they ceased to be as a people of God.
Did I mention that there is danger for those who seek to
harm God’s proclaimers?
Anathoth could be a posted child to highlight that truth.
So what about today? Is there still danger in proclaiming?
The answer is an absolute “yes”.
For ever since Jesus was crucified, His disciples have
faced persecution, from Paul to believers in this present day.
Statistically, around 332 Christians are killed, more than
200 churches or church properties are destroyed or vandalized, and over 700
acts of violence are committed against Christians every month for their belief
in Jesus and consistent Christian persecution occurs in 60 nations of the world
today. Just as in the days of Jeremiah and Jesus, God’s word and will are still
being rejected, even by people who profess a belief in God.
Of course, none of us should surprised by any of this.
Jesus Himself warned His disciples and us about what was to come:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that
it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.
As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18-19
“ You will be hated by
everyone because of Me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22
They hated Jesus and people of the world will continue to
hate those who, like Him, declare the good news of the kingdom of God, present
and future. There is truly a danger in proclaiming but those who are truly in
Christ never fear for like Jeremiah, the Lord is always with us and watching
over us, keeping us in His almighty care.
And even if our labors for Jesus bring us to death, we need
not fear for we know the salvation we have already gained through our Savior, a
salvation that cannot be taken away by anyone. They thought by killing Jesus
that they could stop the gospel. Today, we can see that they were wrong and as
others try and kill those who spread the good news of God’s saving grace
through Jesus Christ, we see that the proclamation of the gospel continues and
even grows stronger as believers who are already victorious in their Savior
work diligently to help others find their own salvation.
Yes, doing the work of Christ is not for the faint of heart
but we do so in the name of the One who has already triumphed over death and
the grave, the One who assured us that He would be with all disciples who
carried on His work until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), the One who
grants us the strength and courage to do all things when we do it through Him
and on behalf of His holy and precious name (Philippians 4:13).
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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