Was Jehoiakim's burning of the prophetic words of Jeremiah a
prophetic act without him knowing it?
Just as he burned the scroll of the prophecy, so too will the city be
burned to the ground by the Chaldeans.
King Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to pray for him and the nation and the
answer from the Lord is, "There is no hope." They perhaps were hopeful that the Egyptians
would rescue them from the Chaldeans but the Lord says they aren't going to
hang around and help, they're going home.
Even if you stand and fight, in the end it won't matter, the city will
be burned. Jeremiah is falsely accused
of deserting and going over to the Chaldeans when he is actually doing quite
the opposite. He is going to receive his
allotted land in his ancestral home and this becomes the way in which he is
imprisoned and questioned by the king.
We don't know a great deal about Zedekiah but we do know that he treated
Jeremiah well and respectfully even though he never prophesied good things for
him.
In Matthew's Gospel I always find something Jesus says to be
completely de-motivating. In the
sermon on the mount I find sin rampant
in my life when I realize I have to accept Jesus' definitions of murder,
adultery and the like. Here, I find that
if what He says about the world's reaction to the preaching of the Gospel is
true then I don't really want to go out and subject myself to the ridicule and
hatred of the world even though He suffered more than I am ever likely to
experience in my life. The disciples
would face such opposition in the beginning stages of establishing the
church. Some would die and almost all
would be truly persecuted for their proclamation and obedience to Him. Fear of man is a real issue and when we stand
before Him will we be able to say that we got over that fear and feared only
God or will we arrive safe and sound, no wounds, no scars, no glory. What are we willing to do to serve the Lord?
It seems clear that the tongues Paul is speaking of here are
not the same as in Acts 2. There,
unbelievers entered the meeting and the apostles were speaking in tongues yet
the unbelievers all understood what was being said in their own language. In this instance Paul is speaking of what we
more commonly know as the gift of tongues, unintelligible speech inspired and
led by the Spirit of God. Paul is clear
that he has this gift but in meetings it is more important to speak
intelligibly to instruct unbelievers.
Prophetic gifts are more important in this regard. He affirms that he speaks in tongues but it
would seem that he uses that gift privately not so much publicly. We need prophetic speakers who will tell the
world that it is passing away and this is the work of God but that there is
Good News, you can survive that and enjoy the new creation if you put your
faith in His Son, Jesus, and live for His glory. We need to be reminded of that more
regularly.
No comments:
Post a Comment