What shouts the loudest
07 September 2020
Key Verses: Jeremiah 20: 13 “Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.”
Jeremiah’s scathing condemnation of the leaders (Chapter 19) and his prediction of what is going to happen next to Judah is met with a prompt response from Pashhur, the temple overseer. Jeremiah is beaten and put in the stocks, he responds to this humiliation by Pashhur’s downfall and also gives him a nickname Magor-Missabib (King James Version) which means ‘terror on every side’. This is a name that stuck with Pashhur for the rest of his life and it has been passed down through the centuries and it can still be heard in South Wales today. I knew someone in the Navy who used to call our Drill Instructor this and he told us it meant ‘he is a real pain in the neck’.
As a result of his beating and humiliation we see Jeremiah again plunge into the depths of despair, accusing God of deceiving him, of failing him and of bullying him. Whilst looking at the life of Jeremiah we have seen him discouraged before but never as outspoken as we see in this chapter. His words seem harsh even disloyal, and the question is, will God let him get away with it?
God does what He has done many time with Jeremiah, He does not respond. A lesson for us all, we may be feeling low, unloved, victimised, hated and alone. Ask yourself this question “where I am in my relationship with God, am I right with Him, have I moved away from God?” God will never be far from us Matt 28:20 “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” and Hebrews 13:5 “for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Let us do as Jeremiah did – reflect on the clear call that was given to him in his youth and the word that God gave him to speak and when he did this something began to burn within him. Think back to when Christ called you and you gave your life to Him, think of the joy of that day knowing that your sins had been forgiven, washed whiter than snow (Psalm 51 :4-10) and that you belonged to a bigger family than you could have imagined (Matt 8 :11). “ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” I am reminded of the chorus ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.’ and also the chorus ‘Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done; Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.’
It is the message that God gave Jeremiah and He never told us that we would not be persecuted in fact the opposite John 15:19-20 “Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you”. Even though Jeremiah’s hurt and confused feelings were shouting out, we see God’s Word shouting louder. Jeremiah had allowed God’s Word to penetrate his whole being to such an extent that in that moment of overwhelming testing it was God’s Word that cried out the loudest. A lesson for all of us, if we allow God’s Word to live and take root within us, then when our hurts and frustrations shout within us we will find that God’s word through the work of the Holy Spirit will burn brightly in us with His warming love and we will hear His message above the storm.
Let us with Jeremiah “Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD!”