Jeremiah 43 reminds me of a frequent interview question; “Tell me about your current job”. Most hiring managers know that the way you speak about your current employer is a good indicator about how you will one day speak of them. While we can change jobs, we always take our attitude with us. In the same way, people hurl accusations at others while guilty of the very thing they denounce. In today’s chapter, Jeremiah the prophet had just spoken the Word of God to the remnant of Israel, warning them to remain in the Promised Land. The chapter begins, “When Jeremiah had finished telling the people… everything the Lord had sent him to tell them… Johanan… and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, ‘You are lying!’” Arrogance does not seek understanding, it stifles communication. Johanan continue, “The Lord our God has not sent you”. He even questions Jeremiah’ motives; charging that someone is “inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile”. The surest way to identify a lie is to know the truth. Every time the Hebrew people ran to Egypt, it ended badly. Are you listening to an accuser?
Sadly, “All the army officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah… Instead… Johanan… led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land”. Many innocent people were also dragged into the disaster, “They also led away… those whom… the imperial guard had left… And they took Jeremiah the prophet”. Deception frequently resorts to force in the end. “So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord”. Who are you following?
The chapter closes with Jeremiah refusing to remain silent, “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah”. God specifically told him to do this publically, “While the Jews are watching”. This was not an underground resistance; he boldly spoke God’s Word. God told him to “take some large stones… bury them in clay… at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace”. Then say to the people, “the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here… He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity’”. Our actions always reveal what we believe. If you believe you deserve nothing, you will accept anything. Today we live in a world where the enemy is trying to eliminate any standards in an effort to fool people into believing that God is not greater than His creation. Romans Chapter 1 describes our world, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator… so God gave them over to a depraved mind….They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity”. But God does not leave us without hope. Desperation often leads us to search. God gives each of us a choice to receive forgiveness in Christ, or to stand on our own. Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. God’s Word is greater than the wisdom of man. How do you speak of God?