Lessons from a Prophet 26/10/2021

You might wonder at the choice of this book from the Old Testament for our study in Day Shares. In fact, I was well over 60 before I resisted my prejudices and started studying this book. I had always thought the book of Jeremiah was a bit depressing. Indeed, it is true that the prophecy of Jeremiah does not make for light reading. Added to that Jeremiah could be regarded as a ‘loser’ when judged by today’s values. He was not popular and made many enemies among his own people. He could be regarded as a misfit and a failure. If Facebook had been around in the 7th Century BC., he would not have had many friends. He did not have many followers and he was certainly not short of enemies. He warned his fellow countrymen that God was going to judge them for their sin and disobedience, but they did not listen to him.

But I want to suggest that the book of Jeremiah is worth studying. It is not easy and in Day Share we will only take a few lessons from the surface of this Old Testament book. The Bible tells us more about Jeremiah as a person than about most prophets in the Old Testament. In a strange way, I have found him a fascinating character. How was he able to continue to proclaim God’s message when it was so unpopular? Was he ever tempted to water it down a little to make his message more attractive and more popular?

I want to make an important point in this first Day Share on Jeremiah. We should not be in any way surprised if the message of the Bible does not sit comfortably with the world’s values. We live in a celebrity culture which worships success and popularity. Whether they are business tycoons, sports personalities, pop stars or actors, they have become celebrities because of their success in their particular field, and this success brings fame and popularity. They have thousands of followers on social media. Jeremiah is the antithesis of this - the complete opposite. However, he won heaven’s approval and he received the divine commendation - “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The question for all of us is this. Who is our role model? Do we aspire to be great and famous or do we have ambitions to serve God even though it may involve unpopularity and suffering? In this godless 21st century society, God needs us to be faithful to Him like Jeremiah, the 'weeping prophet' or Paul the apostle, with his poor personal image. God is calling us to take our stand against the world's values and culture.

Go, labour on; spend, and be spent;

Thy joy to do the Father's will;

It is the way the Master went,

Should not the servant tread it still?

Go, labour on, 'tis not for naught;

Thy earthly loss is heavenly gain;

Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee, not;

The Master praises - what are men?

Go, labour on while it is day,

The world's dark night is hastening on;

Speed, speed thy work, cast sloth away,

It is not thus that souls are won.

Toil on, faint not, keep watch and pray;

Be wise the erring soul to win;

Go forth into the world's highway,

Compel the wanderer to come in.

Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice;

For toil comes rest, for exile home;

Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom's voice,

The midnight cry, Behold, I come!

[Horatius Bonar]

Picture by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. Not sure if the Bible is opened up at Jeremiah!