Thousands of lives could have been saved. But people didn’t listen. The prophet Jeremiah tried to warn people against rebellion and sin. But they didn’t want to hear it.
They attacked Jeremiah instead. They beat him and put him into the stocks.
Attacking the messenger is not an uncommon response to God’s Law. Sinners generally don’t want to hear that sin is wrong, so they attack the church, or the pastor, or the Bible, or Christianity. You might have already noticed that.
Notice two vital things that God is showing us in the life of the prophet Jeremiah.
First, attacking the messenger didn’t stop God’s punishment. When people refused to listen to Jeremiah, it wasn’t Jeremiah’s voice they ignored. When they refused to repent, it wasn’t Jeremiah’s commands they broke. When they beat and imprisoned Jeremiah, it wasn’t Jeremiah’s judgment they would face.
God was warning them. God had been patient with them. But time had run out. Judgment was coming. The only thing that could save them was God’s grace and forgiveness.
They chose sin instead. And Jerusalem burned to the ground.
Second, persecution didn’t stop Jeremiah from preaching God’s Word. Jeremiah was God’s faithful servant and he obeyed God even when it hurt.
The world hasn’t changed that much. People still choose sin and still ignore God’s voice. God is still patient. And judgment is still coming.
The only thing that can save people is God’s grace and forgiveness. God’s faithful people still preach the Law and the Gospel. Sinful people still ignore it. Sometimes they attack the messenger. Sometimes it hurts. But Christians cannot remain quiet.
It’s God’s voice. We have to share it.
Jeremiah 19:14–20:6 (EHV)
14Then Jeremiah came back from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the House of the Lord and said to all the people: 15“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says. I will certainly bring on this city and on all its towns every disaster that I have proclaimed against it, because they have become stiff-necked, refusing to hear my words.”
20:1When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who served as the chief officer in the House of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying about these things, 2Pashhur ordered them to beat Jeremiah the prophet, and he put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the House of the Lord.
3The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor Missabib, 4for this is what the Lord says: I will certainly make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry the people captive to Babylon, and he will strike them with the sword. 5Also, the riches of this city, all its property, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah—I will give it all away into the hands of their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. 6As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon! You will die there, and you will be buried there, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
God bless you,
Pastor Tesch
Worship at Trinity
Come and worship with us! You can sign up here: https://trinitymarinette.com/events/july-05-06-worship/ or call Pastor or call the church office to let us know which service you prefer. It is wise to wait a bit if you are at risk or would just like to wait for the pandemic to fade. God willing, we will worship together when he ends this plague.
Here is this week’s bulletin: https://trinitymarinette.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-06-28-Announcements-The-Fourth-Sunday-after-Pentecost.pdf
Bible Class will start on Wednesday July 1 at 9:00 a.m. in the church basement. Please bring along your harmonies of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles. If you don’t have one, there will be copies available. Everyone is welcome! As with worship, masks are welcome, but not required. I will have some with me, tho, if someone wants one.
If you would like to support the Lord’s work at Trinity, you may contribute at trinitymarinette.com/giving/ or you can mail it to
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
1501 Thomas St.
Marinette, WI 54143