A Powerful Witness

October 23

Jeremiah 42-43

Psalm 119:1-8

Proverbs 25:20-22

Hebrews 5:11-14

A Powerful Witness

“’Please let our supplication come before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, that is for all this remnant, because we remain but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that Yahweh your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.’  Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, ‘I have heard you.  Behold, I am going to pray to Yahweh your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which Yahweh will answer you.  I will not keep back a word from you.’  And they said to Jeremiah, ‘May Yahweh be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which Yahweh your God will send you to us.  Whether it is good or bad we will listen to the voice of Yahweh our God to whom we are sending you, so that good may come to us when we listen to the voice of Yahweh our God.”  Jeremiah 42:2-6  LSB 

For 40 years Jeremiah had been proclaiming the word of the Lord to the people of Israel and they had largely ignored his warnings.  Everything he predicted happened just as he said it would.  They really had no excuse not to believe him and yet their hardened hearts chose to follow their own path.  In His mercy, God repeatedly warned them of their fate but gave them a path to deliverance which they rejected.  But today’s passage shows us that they were paying attention.  They knew in their hearts that Jeremiah was speaking the words of God.  They had seen his predictions come to pass.  They had watched for 40 years as he faithfully proclaimed the message God gave him even while experiencing ridicule, persecution, imprisonment, beatings, etc.  He did not waiver in his message and did everything God told him to do.  In desperation, a remnant came to Jeremiah and asked him to pray to God on their behalf and tell them what to do.  They promised they would do whatever God told them and Jeremiah promised that he would pray and then tell them everything God said.  After 10 days, Jeremiah went back to the people and told them the message God gave him.  He told them to stay in the land and God would protect them and he told them specifically not to go to Egypt.  Unfortunately, they did not obey and they ignored Jeremiah’s words and went to Egypt.  They experienced the consequences of their disobedience and the ones who went to Egypt were all destroyed. 

People are watching our actions.  Even if they are laughing and scoffing at us or it seems that they are ignoring us completely, they are watching.  Deep down they know the truth.  Even though they might not understand what we do, they see that we are different and recognize the difference God makes in our life.  God expects us to just keep doing what He tells us to do remaining faithful to His message.  In difficult times, we may be the one they turn to for help.  Like the Israelites, they may still choose not to follow God, but we are not responsible for their decision.  We are responsible to do our part and be faithful to God.  And unlike the Jews, they may choose to come to Christ because of our faithful testimony.  The Israelites didn’t come to God willing to do what He said.  They came with an agenda.  They wanted Him to bless their plans and when His plan was different, they chose to reject His instructions and follow their own plans anyway.  Does that sound familiar?  Often when people pray, they are not seeking God and His help, they are wanting God to give them their wish.  That is not the purpose of prayer.  God is not Santa Claus.  We go to God seeking His wisdom and help.  He knows best in every situation and we don’t.  We lay our requests before God and ask Him, in His wisdom and sovereignty, to intervene.  Sometimes we get what we want, but often He gives us what we need, what is best in the situation.  If we listen to Him and follow His directions, things will work out for the best, but if we ignore what He says and go ahead and do what we want, it will not go well for us.