Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet,” for he loved his people and his heart was grieved over their rebellion and unrepentant sin against God. But don’t be fooled into thinking that because Jeremiah wept that he was in any way weak. Jeremiah knew the Lord was with him. He knew he was called by God to serve as one of His prophets. And although Jeremiah’s was a lonely existence, filled with trials and tribulations, he was courageous, patient, and showed great physical endurance and spiritual faithfulness.
The overall theme of the Book of Jeremiah is one of judgment against infidelity. Quite literally, Jeremiah was called by God to call His people to account for their sin of spiritual adultery. The nation of Israel was an idolatrous whore in the eyes of God. But while Israel broke covenant with God, God would never break covenant with them. Oh yes, they would be punished for their sin; but God is faithful, even when His people are faithless.
By today’s man-centered evangelistic standards, Jeremiah was an utter failure in ministry. For forty years, Jeremiah cried out like a lone voice in the wilderness, like a trumpet to deaf ears, only seeing two of his brethren repent and return to God—his scribe, Baruch and an Ethiopian eunuch named Ebed-melech who served King Zedekiah. Jeremiah saw only two converts in forty years.
But Jeremiah’s prophetic, open-air ministry was anything but a failure, for he was faithful to the call of God in his life. God gave him his marching orders and he stepped out in faith. He didn’t do it to please man, but to please his great God and King. He loved God and he loved people. And he preached as though lives depended on it, because the lives of his countrymen were weighing in the balance. So, the next time someone asks you for results—the next time someone asks you how effective you are when you hand out gospel tracts, or when you engage strangers in spiritual conversation, or when (if this applies to you) you herald the gospel on the streets—simply tell them that you are as successful as Jeremiah. For salvation is of the Lord and not a result of the efforts of man. And any effort to proclaim the gospel to the lost, so long as it is done biblically, is a successful effort, regardless of the response of the hearer.
The overall theme of the Book of Jeremiah is one of judgment against infidelity. Quite literally, Jeremiah was called by God to call His people to account for their sin of spiritual adultery. The nation of Israel was an idolatrous whore in the eyes of God. But while Israel broke covenant with God, God would never break covenant with them. Oh yes, they would be punished for their sin; but God is faithful, even when His people are faithless.
By today’s man-centered evangelistic standards, Jeremiah was an utter failure in ministry. For forty years, Jeremiah cried out like a lone voice in the wilderness, like a trumpet to deaf ears, only seeing two of his brethren repent and return to God—his scribe, Baruch and an Ethiopian eunuch named Ebed-melech who served King Zedekiah. Jeremiah saw only two converts in forty years.
But Jeremiah’s prophetic, open-air ministry was anything but a failure, for he was faithful to the call of God in his life. God gave him his marching orders and he stepped out in faith. He didn’t do it to please man, but to please his great God and King. He loved God and he loved people. And he preached as though lives depended on it, because the lives of his countrymen were weighing in the balance. So, the next time someone asks you for results—the next time someone asks you how effective you are when you hand out gospel tracts, or when you engage strangers in spiritual conversation, or when (if this applies to you) you herald the gospel on the streets—simply tell them that you are as successful as Jeremiah. For salvation is of the Lord and not a result of the efforts of man. And any effort to proclaim the gospel to the lost, so long as it is done biblically, is a successful effort, regardless of the response of the hearer.
No comments:
Post a Comment