Hearing the Word of the Lord

Hearing the Word of the Lord

Jeremiah Chapters 34-36

Freedom

These chapters come from a section of Jeremiah where the threat from the Babylonians is somewhat less emanate, and it has been suggested that they correspond to a period in which Babylon was heavily occupied in a conflict with Egypt, and temporarily withdrew its siege of Judah. In Chapter 34, we read of a particularly cynical reaction on the part of the people to this temporary relief.

In verses 8-11, we are told that Zedekiah had led the people to a partial renewal of the covenant of the Lord, and that this renewal at least included freeing their Hebrew slaves. Of course, during the time of siege, this was a fairly easy thing to do, as slaves were extra mouths to feed, and with a reduced military heavily engaged in battle, control of the slaves may have been an issue. Once the siege was lifted, however, it was another matter. There was much rebuilding to do, there were crops to be replanted, and people’s lives generally needed to be put back in order. Slaves were needed for this. It was a matter of national security, and also of personal comfort.

Some of the people of Jeremiah’s day believed that the Lord did not exist, or would not act one way or another. We have read the message of Jeremiah to those people, that the Lord is actively seeking a loving relationship with us. Others believed that nothing would happen to them because they were a special people, living in a special place. In verses 17-18, we read the message of the Lord to these people, that it was the covenant relationship that made them special. But it is always our choice to participate in that relationship. The Lord said that these people were given their freedom, and would be separated from him, just as the two halves of the calf were separated in the original covenant ceremony (Genesis 15:7-17).

Faithfulness

In 34:7, we read that only two of the fortified cities of Judah remain against the onslaught of the Babylonians. As a result, refugees from the surrounding areas have begun to enter Jerusalem. In Chapter 35, we read about a group of these refugees, the Recabites. In the opening verses of the chapter, Jeremiah, under the instruction of the Lord, invites the Recabites into a public place and sets before them bowls full of wine and cups for them to drink the wine with, and tells them to drink. The Recabites refuse, because they have their forefather took an oath never to drink as a part of continuing the nomadic lifestyle the people had as they wandered in the desert. They never built houses, for example, but continued to live in tents.

In verses 12-17, we read that the Lord commended the Recabites for their faithfulness. It is important to note that the Lord had nothing to say about their specific practices. Though the Bible has passages dedicated to drunkenness, this passage does not teach temperance any more than it teaches us to leave outside the city in a tent. Instead, the Lord uses Recabites as an object lesson, just as the breaking of the clay jar and the buying of the field have been used in previous chapters. It was the faithfulness of the Recabites that was important, and the Lord says that these sons of Recab were faithful to the commandment of their forefather, but the people of the Lord were not faithful to the word of the Lord.

It is true that we can be faithful in earthly ways to earthly things, to our work, to the routine of our lives, even to our church, and somehow not be faithful to our Lord. If the Lord speaks to us, will we answer?

Hearing the Word of the Lord

Chapter 36 records the Lord’s instruction to Jeremiah to write down what the Lord has told him. This instruction is also recorded in 30:1-2. In that passage, we are not told of the consequences of the instructions, but in this later chapter, the consequences are very interesting. Jeremiah has been banned form the temple because those in authority no longer wish to hear his preaching. So, Jeremiah dictates his prophecy to Baruch, and sends Baruch to the temple to read it. Those in the temple react with fear. They send Baruch and Jeremiah into hiding and take the scroll to the king. In verses 20-26 we are told that the king had the scroll read to him and, as each section was read, the king cut it off and burned it in the fire. While the officials in the temple reacted in fear, the king and those around him reacted as if with complete indifference.

Yet, they could not have been completely indifferent. They had banned Jeremiah in an attempt to silence him, the king burned the scroll because he did not like what it said, and then he ordered both Baruch and Jeremiah arrested. They were not indifferent. They did not want to hear what Jeremiah had to say.

We, of course, have the benefit of history and the divine process of cannon. We now know that Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord. For Jehoiakim, there were other prophets who claimed to know the scriptures and speak for God, and they were saying things he wanted to hear. Why should he have listened to a prophet who was saying new things, terrible things about his own country, and things contrary to what everybody knew about the will of the Lord?

We do have the benefit of the divine process of cannon, and we accept by faith the Bible as God’s Holy word, but hearing the word of the Lord is still not easy. Jeremiah heard the word and it caused him to say and do unpopular things. Jehoiakim would not hear the word because it conflicted with his own plans. We, too, must be willing to come into confrontation with the word of the Lord. It may contain plans for our lives which we are not willing to hear. But it also contains such wonderful assurance. Just in recent chapters, we have read of the Lord’s covenant, “You shall be my people, and I shall be your God” (30:22) and of the Lord’s unfailing love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (31:3) This is the word of the Lord, and it will never pass away (Luke 21:23).