Tuesday, July 14
Read Jeremiah 26
Think About It:
Jeremiah’s courageous sermon is summarized in verses 3-7; you’ll note emphasis on hearing the Word of God. Jeremiah preached exactly what God commanded him to preach and didn’t alter the message in order to please the people. However, the false prophets preached what the people wanted to hear, but Jeremiah preached what the people needed to hear.
The people in the temple, encouraged by the priests and false prophets, rejected Jeremiah’s message and treated him like a false prophet who deserved to die. To them, it was blasphemous for Jeremiah to declare that Jehovah would allow the Holy City and Holy Temple to fall into the defiling and destructive hands of the heathen the way the Ark at Shiloh fell into the hands of the Philistines. The officials left the palace and came to the temple to see what was occurring. Jeremiah presented three arguments in his defense. First, what he had spoken was commanded by the Lord because the Lord had sent him. Second, they were the ones in danger. He was the one seeking to rescue them! Third, if they kill him, they would shed innocent blood and that would only make their impending judgment worse. Jeremiah was released thanks to the hearing of the evidence; the officials decided that the accusations were false, and Jeremiah should not die.
The illustration of Uriah seems out of place, for the king had executed him after he fled to Egypt. On the other hand, Jeremiah stayed in the land of Judah and even ministered in the precincts of the temple.
Family Time:
- As a family discuss, “Do not diminish a word” from verse 2. Reflect on this. Have there been times you have been afraid to speak ALL of God’s truth, or try to tip toe around the truth because you were afraid of man?
- Very important truths can be pulled from Jeremiah 26:2-3. If the Word of God is spoken boldly and not diminished, and if people listen and turn away from their evil way, then God may relent from the judgment He was planning to bring. Discuss how this applies to our world today.
