In times of evil people do not want truth. Each season in history has a reason for why they reject the truth-tellers but at the bottom line when people enjoy their sin they hate truth-tellers.
Jeremiah had been given a very clear call and commission—warn my people. He was being faithful to do that even at the risk of his life.
This was a test. A big one. Jeremiah told the truth saying that God was going to bring judgment. God so wanted to relent, but that if they didn’t repent they would face the consequences. The result?
The people wanted to kill Jeremiah, the truth-teller.
Jeremiah told them to go ahead but if they did so they were killing an innocent man. He spoke from the Lord. Their blood would be upon their hands.
The leaders still wanted to kill him, so some of the people and officials stood up. They recommended to the leaders that they not kill him.
After all, they recalled, the prophet Micah had warned them at one time in their history and they had repented. And God had relented. At that time the people didn’t kill him.
Then there’s a snippet in here about Uriah. This goes to show that this chapter is about Jeremiah. Jeremiah had been told to not ever back down from his commission of prophesying to the people. Either God would terrify them before Jeremiah or Jeremiah would be terrified before them.
Uriah too was a prophet of God sent to warn the people. He too spoke out the same warnings to the people under the same king just as Jeremiah did. And just like Jeremiah, the king sought to put him to death.
The difference though was Uriah feared for his life and fled to Egypt. It wasn’t good enough. The king of Judah sent his henchmen to Egypt and brought Uriah back to Jerusalem where he struck him down with a sword and threw his body among the common people.
The same could’ve happened to Jeremiah if he would’ve back down. I’m sure he thought about it a number of times. But he remembered the Word of the Lord to him to speak and not back down, to not be terrified. And so he did. He was faithful even when it looked like he would die.
But then Ahikam spoke up. Ahikam had been in the courts of Josiah when the Book of the Law had been rediscovered. He had had been one of the trusted five appointed to go and consult the prophetess Huldah to know what to do about that discovery (2 Kgs 22:12-14; 2 Chr 34:20).
Ahikam was a man of honor and a person of royal influence. As such he stood with Jeremiah and because of it Jeremiah’s life was spared.
What a history. Either be firm and do not back down Jeremiah (Jer 1), or if you fear they will pounce and kill you. Like Uriah.
The one who had run for his life lost it but the man who looked to lose his life was saved.
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Chapters like this are why I think the Book of Jeremiah is so very rich. And this chapter encapsulates so much of it.
- Without question God WANTED to relent. He did NOT want to bring judgment to the people. It says “again and again” he sent the prophets to warn them to just repent. But if they didn’t he would have to bring judgment. They didn’t.
- In times of wickedness people love sin more than truth. That makes for dangerous times to truth-tellers.
- When God gives clear instruction, we must obey even if it cost our lives. Most prophets actually did lose their lives. They weren’t all running away like Uriah but they were obedient even to death (like Isaiah). I think we are going to be tested in this in our lifetimes. Maybe or maybe not with us directly but with some that we know.
