Some things you just can’t hold in. We continue to see Jeremiah telling the truth and suffering persecution as a result. God’s judgement will come to Israel regardless.
Jeremiah 20: Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
1 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.
2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD.
3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror On Every Side.
4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword.
5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon.
6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely."
7 O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
10 For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonour will never be forgotten.
12 O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, "A son is born to you," making him very glad.
16 Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon,
17 because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great.
18 Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?
Jeremiah 21: Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying,
2 "Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us."
3 Then Jeremiah said to them:
4 "Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city.
5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath.
6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence.
7 Afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.'
8 "And to this people you shall say: 'Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.
10 For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.'
Message to the House of David
11 "And to the house of the king of Judah say, 'Hear the word of the LORD,
12 O house of David! Thus says the LORD: "'Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of your evil deeds.'"
13 "Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the LORD; you who say, 'Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter our habitations?'
14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her."
Things to think about…
1. Jeremiah opens his mouth again, Jer 20:1-3, but this time he is beaten and put in stocks. God did promise to protect Jeremiah, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t go through hardship. Pashur, the one who beat him, likely means ‘tear off’, but Jeremiah says his name will now mean ‘torn off’. Pashur’s words will be reversed and he and Judah will be ‘torn off’ when the Babylonians come. Faithfulness is an obligation and a calling for every Christian. Sharing the Word of God faithfully to a lost world is what is needed, otherwise we are in danger of healing slightly. The teaching of hell and judgement are part of the message and like the judgement that came for Judah from the Babylonians it cannot be left out if we are to represent our Saviour accurately. Pray for grace and boldness if this is a struggle for you.
2. In Jer 20:7-11 Jeremiah has another rant to the Lord about how the Lord has let him down. It is important acknowledge our true feelings before God. Sometimes the truth hurts! God sees our heart anyway. Let’s be honest with Him regarding our struggles. He can handle it. The important thing is to know it is a season and will pass. The Lord is doing a work of refining in our lives and is actually showing us His grace. It’s funny, Jeremiah praises God in Jer 20:12 & 13 and then goes back to whinging vss 14-18 ‘Cursed be the day on which I was born’ etc, etc. He is truly having a Job experience who fewlt the same way when his ‘friends’ were scorning his counsel. Jeremiah like Job despises the day he was born. While this is not the end of the story Jeremiah it is still a very tough chapter. We all have those in this life.
3. Another Pashur – the son of Malchiah, not the son of Immer as described in Jer 20 is asked by Zedekiah the king of Jerusalem, to ‘Inquire of the Lord’ regarding the king of Babylon who is coming with a large army, Jer 21:1. Jeremiah is again the Lord’s mouthpiece. Now what would you be thinking? The king is now seeking your council when you have faithfully relayed the same message for 30 years. Jeremiah doesn’t disappoint and tells them what they already know…judgement is coming, there is no other outcome for Jerusalem, don’t fight, but surrender to Nebuchadnezzar is Jeremiah’s message. This is the only way they will escape with their lives. In a very real sense this is what Christ calls us to. The only way we can be saved is if we surrender all our earthly strength and understanding to Him. This is what Paul means when he says we must ‘die to self’ Rom 6:4-8. In the end we will escape with our lives. Jeremiah says the same thing that Ezekiel would say a few years later, Jer 21:8, ‘behold, I set before you the way of life and death’. Let’s keep choosing life and encourage others to do the same.
4. There is a special message for the House of David, Jer 21:11-14. The Davidic line was supposed to last forever. Here Jeremiah is saying it will be judged and cut off. The true house of David of course survives through David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even king David had to be humbled in order to keep his throne. May our confessed weakness before God, show Christ’s strength!.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. People in the church and community who have Covid. Pray especially as some will have a severe reaction.
2. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
3. Praise, hope and Joy through this new year.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. CBC Leadership team – maintaining church and grounds as well as the weekly running of ministries. Thankyou.
2. Wonderful worship on Sunday – thankyou, Zac, Gina as well as Bec and Doug – technical team.
3. Joy in our service, great times in the cafe.
4. Word of God being blessed at CBC.
Announcements
1. All ministries on break until the start of February
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
