Welcome Home

Saturday, September 18, 2021

In one Bible survey text, the prophet Jeremiah is described as “only a young man when God called to him. The Lord forbade him to marry, he had no children…was not allowed to attend funerals or parties.” His service to the Lord was forty years of rebuff, rejection, and physical abuse. Yahweh had called upon Jeremiah to deliver bad news to the people of Judah, for them to, “Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.” The people had falsely believed that God would stick by them regardless of how they lived. What makes this situation so strange is that Jeremiah may have been delivering these words during the time of King Josiah’s reforms, bringing back God’s Word to be heeded and held up and cherished as God’s will for them, to be welcomed. During Josiah’s reign, a poll asking the Judeans of the prospects of the future, the people would likely have said that things were looking up. And Josiah certainly was a man and First Covenant king after God’s own heart. But Yahweh told Jeremiah to relay God’s condemnation of their unfaithfulness, saying to him, “Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen to them…” (Jeremiah 11:9-14)

To Read More
Subscribe Sign In
Continue reading with a subscription
Subscription options