Ministry in Spite of Pain

Transcript

GR 465
6/10/1984
Ministry in Spite of Pain
Jeremiah 15:1-21
Gil Rugh

Chapters 14 and 15 of Jeremiah go together closely. Some commentaries fittingly treat them as a unit because the subject of both chapters is the judgment of God. The patience of God has been exhausted, humanly speaking. He is no longer willing to delay judgment awaiting Israel’s change of heart. The nation has persisted in rebellion so long that God now says He will intervene and bring the nation under judgment by having the nation Babylon take the Israelites into captivity.

In our previous study of chapter 14, Jeremiah expressed the feelings of his broken heart over Israel’s situation. He interceded for the nation before the Lord, but God instructed him not to pray for the welfare of the people. God had determined that it was time for judgment, so it was no longer His will to delay judgment. Therefore, Jeremiah was no longer to pray on their behalf.

Jeremiah intervened by raising the issue of the false prophets who were leading the people astray. Those prophets were telling them that they were all right and that God would not bring judgment. God responded saying that He would judge the false prophets who were accountable to Him for the distorted message they were preaching. But God also indicated that the people who followed the false prophets were also accountable to Him and would be brought under judgment as well. Jeremiah concluded the chapter expressing his heart’s concern and acknowledging that only God could bring deliverance and salvation to the nation.

Chapter 15 continues with that theme. As the chapter opens, God intervenes in response to Jeremiah by telling him again that his prayers for the people will do no good. There is no hope for Israel to be spared the coming judgment. Jeremiah will not be able to change God’s mind by his intercession. God tells Jeremiah in verse 1 that even if the greatest intercessors in Israel’s history were to stand before Him and request mercy, He still could not change His mind. “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!’” Jeremiah 15:1.

Moses and Samuel were two of the greatest intercessors Israel had ever known. But God says that His judgment is set. Moses and Samuel were used as the examples in this verse because they had interceded for Israel in the past and God had responded to their requests and preserved the nation. But God is saying that even if they would intercede for the nation now, He would not respond as He did in their day and preserve the nation.

We are well familiar with Moses’ intercession for the nation on a number of occasions. One such incident is recorded in Exodus 32 where God had spoken about His plan to destroy the nation Israel. “‘Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.’ Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou has brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, “With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth?” Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”’ So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people” Exodus 32:10-14.

God never intended in His eternal plan to annihilate Israel. Moses is right in saying that God cannot do that. He promised Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob) that He would give them descendants and make them a people forever. So in this instance, Moses is interceding according to the will of God, and God changed His mind as it had been expressed to Moses. That great man received the desire of his heart. His intercession for the nation on other occasions is recorded in Numbers 14 and Deuteronomy 9.

Samuel’s successful intercession on behalf of Israel is recorded in 1 Samuel 7. Israel had undergone a serious spiritual drought. They had been in bondage to the Philistines, so Samuel interceded for their deliverance from the hands of their enemies. “Then Samuel said, ‘Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.’ And they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah. Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.’ And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him” 1 Samuel 7:5-9. God responded to Samuel’s intercession and provided deliverance for the people.

The people submitted themselves to God, acknowledged their sinfulness, recognized Samuel’s position as their representative before the Lord, and then they cried out to Samuel to be their intercessor. That is different from Israel’s response in Jeremiah’s day. The people were not open to recognize Jeremiah as God’s spokesman. They were unwilling to recognize their sinfulness and their accountability before God. So Jeremiah’s intercession on their behalf is without impact as far as changing God’s mind.

God’s reference to Moses and Samuel in Jeremiah 15:1 is a tremendous statement about the impact of their prayers. We do not appreciate nearly as much as we should the ministry of intercessory prayer today. God places some people in difficult situations, perhaps immobilizing them in some way, so that they can give themselves to a ministry of intercessory prayer that far exceeds in importance many of the ministries of individuals who have prominence. These devoted intercessors uphold the servants of God in prayer. We ought to be challenged to diligence in prayer by the examples of Moses and Samuel, even by the example of Jeremiah, as these people were so burdened to uphold Israel before the Lord in those difficult times.

God continues His instructions to Jeremiah: “And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Those destined for death, to death; and those destined for the sword, to the sword; and those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’” Jeremiah 15:2. The finality of the judgment is set; God has determined various kinds of afflictions, and the people cannot go to the Lord for deliverance. There is no recourse.

“‘And I shall appoint over them four kinds of doom,’ declares the Lord: ‘the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy’” verse 3. It is hard for us to completely understand the horror such judgment would be for an Israelite. God is saying that they would not only be destroyed, but their bodies would be left unburied as food for the wild dogs and scavengers. This was the ultimate in disrespect for the body of a Jew. This shows how serious God is about judgment and how terrible that judgment is going to be.

God’s description of judgment continues in verse 4: “And I shall make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.” Here God brings into the picture a former king of Judah. The punishment for his sins and the sins of the people who willingly followed him will be rained down upon the people who are continuing Manasseh’s sin of rebellion against God.

Manasseh was one of the worst kings to ever rule Judah. Interestingly, he is the son of Hezekiah, a godly king and servant of the Lord, one of the most godly kings who ever ruled. Manasseh’s offenses are recorded in 2 Kings 21. “For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ‘In Jerusalem I will put My name.’ For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire [human sacrifice], practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord provoking Him to anger. Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, ‘In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever’” verses 3-7.

This description of Manasseh continues in verses 10 through 15. “Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger, since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.”’”

In Jeremiah 15:4 God makes reference to what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. He is saying that the sins of Manasseh which have continued down to Jeremiah’s day are now going to be visited on the people of Israel by judgment from God.

Verses 5 through 9 of Jeremiah 15 give a poetical description of Jerusalem’s fate. “Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will mourn for you, or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?” verse 5. As you continue reading this section, notice that the pronouns are very emphatic. “‘You who have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting! And I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land’” verses 6-7. Picture the harvesters throwing the grain and chaff into the air with wooden forks so that the wind would blow away the chaff. God is going to winnow the nation of Israel at the gates of Jerusalem, and the people will be marched out through the gates into captivity and scattered throughout the world.

The next description shows all the men being destroyed in the battles leaving only widows: “I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; they did not repent of their ways. Their widows will be more numerous before Me than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, a destroyer at noonday” verses 7-8. Battles were usually called off at noon because of the heat. However here, in the midst of the day, the destruction continues.

The description continues as the sons of Israel are seen being destroyed. “‘I will suddenly bring down on her anguish and dismay. She who bore seven sons pines away; her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was yet day; she has been shamed and humiliated. So I shall give over their survivors to the sword before their enemies,’ declares the Lord” verses 8-9. Seven sons was a picture of the ultimate blessing in the nation. Now these sons being wiped out and suffering death show a picture of ultimate sorrow.

The picture of Jeremiah’s inner anguish intensifies in verse 10: “Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me as a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!” Jeremiah thinks it would have been better if he had never been born. In this verse he uses some legal terms—strife and contention. He felt he was always taking his people to court. One translation of this verse reads, “You bore me to accuse and indict the whole land.” Jeremiah felt that his job was to constantly accuse the nation of sin, to hold trial for them and to demonstrate their guilt. That is what he does as he comes to them with God’s evaluation of them. They are indicted and proved guilty.

In the last half of verse 10 Jeremiah refers to the reason he is viewed as a man of contention. “I have neither lent, nor have men lent money to me, yet everyone curses me” verse 10. People feel the way they do about him not because of unfair business dealings, but because of the spiritual ministry that he has.

The Lord responded to Jeremiah in verse 11: “The Lord said, ‘Surely I will set you free for purposes of good; surely I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you in a time of disaster and a time of distress.” In his complaint to God, Jeremiah said that the reason people do not appreciate him is because all he has is a ministry of prosecution. But God is telling him that there will come a time when they will recognize him as a true prophet and will come to him and ask him to pray for them. This was fulfilled in Jeremiah 37:3 and 42:1-6 as the people later came to Jeremiah and asked him to intercede with God on their behalf and give them a message from Him. They will not obey his instructions, but they will recognize his status as a true prophet.

God predicts Israel’s coming exile in Jeremiah 15:12-14. “Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze? Your wealth and your treasures I will give for booty without cost, even for all your sins and within all your borders. Then I will cause your enemies to bring it into a land you do not know; for a fire has been kindled in My anger, it will burn upon you.” The exile for Israel is determined. When God’s anger burns, it is a terrible thing.

The next section of chapter 15, verses 15 through 18, is referred to as another of Jeremiah’s confessions. In these confessions Jeremiah speaks to the Lord directly and bluntly. Before the chapter is concluded, Jeremiah’s attitude will get so serious that God will call His prophet to repentance. This gives us an indication of how Jeremiah is struggling. The struggle is so great that it begins to engender bitterness and resentment in Jeremiah’s heart toward God. He wonders why God does not do something. When Jeremiah comes to the point of challenging God, then God intervenes and tells Jeremiah that he has crossed the line and that he must repent of his attitude or God will be through with him as a prophet.

Jeremiah makes a fitting request to God on his behalf in verse 15: “Thou who knowest, O Lord, remember me, take notice of me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Thy patience, take me away; know that for Thy sake I endure reproach.” Jeremiah mentioned in verse 10 that everyone curses him and that he has no one to turn to but God. The statement at the end of verse 15, “Know that for Thy sake I endure reproach,” indicates that the only reason Jeremiah was suffering was because of his stand for God and his faithful proclamation of God’s word. Jeremiah said that it all boils down to the issue of the message he faithfully proclaims. It is for God’s sake that he is enduring reproach.

Verse 16 is a tremendous statement, a verse many people have memorized: “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah had assimilated the words of God just like food. He had taken them into his life, absorbed them and made them a part of himself. When he said, “For I have been called by Thy name,” he was saying that God’s name was upon him and that he belonged to God. He took in and absorbed God’s word which produced joy and delight in his life.

This is the same expression the Lord used when speaking to Ezekiel about God’s word: “‘Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.’ Then I looked, behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back; and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.’ Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth” Ezekiel 2:8-3:3. Ezekiel took the Word of God and assimilated it into his life, then he went on as God’s spokesman.

That is the pattern God intends for us as His children. We are to assimilate the Word of God into our lives and then share it with others. This is the same thing that happens to John in Revelation 10:9 and 10 where he is given the book and is commanded to eat it. In so doing, he assimilates that message into his heart.

Jeremiah 15:16 is a key verse for believers, a verse we ought to memorize for our own good. As we get mired down in difficulties, it is easy to lose sight of the source of our joy. Our delight is to come from God’s Word. As we experience barrenness and a lack of joy in our lives, feeding on the Word of God is our source of joy and delight. Jeremiah had begun his ministry on that note, but something was lost along the way. Things had not turned out in his ministry as he had hoped.

We often start our new lives in Christ with high expectations. We are bubbling over with enthusiasm because of the joy of the Lord in our lives. With that enthusiasm and joy, we charge out into our ministry. But as the weeks, months and years go by, something happens. The opposition may intensify, and hatred may come from our families and friends. We may lose our friends and our jobs because we stand for Christ, and we may find ourselves isolated. Then we cry out, “Lord, this is not what I expected. I thought life was going to be better, but for me it has gotten worse.”

That is just what Jeremiah is saying in verse 17: “I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, nor did I exult. Because of Thy hand upon me I sat alone, for Thou didst fill me with indignation.” Jeremiah 15:17. He was not part of the happiness that was going on in the nation. He was not playing or fooling around, because God had filled him with indignation over Israel’s sins. God’s hand was upon him and he could not be a part of the frivolity. God’s hand upon him was an indication that God had set him aside for a special ministry. It had resulted in his isolation from the nation.

We need to keep these things in mind as we serve the Lord. Sometimes we experience loneliness. Jeremiah was so lonely that he cried out that nobody was with him. He had even been forbidden to get married because of the circumstances of the nation. In his loneliness he cried out, “I am alone! Your hand was upon me. I was against everyone because you filled me with indignation against their sin.”

Notice his complaint in verse 18: “Why has my pain been perpetual?” Here is a prophet of God whose message is set for eternity in the Word of God, yet he characterizes his ministry as continual, excruciating pain. We sometimes get it in our minds that serving the Lord is a bubbly, fun time. This prophet who is so mightily used by God describes his ministry as continual, excruciating pain.

We sometimes give up because we do not enjoy our work anymore. It becomes inconvenient or hard. Sometimes those hard times are the times when God is using us to the greatest extent. Sometimes we short-circuit the greatest potential for ministry when we quit because it gets inconvenient or unpleasant.

Jeremiah cried out, “Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” verse 18. He had been worn down. Bitterness had settled in because of his experiences. The battle had been long and hard for Jeremiah, and he just did not understand it.

He finally cried out to God, “Wilt Thou indeed be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is unreliable?” verse 18. Here Jeremiah crosses the line because he questions the integrity and faithfulness of God. He sees God as a deceptive desert stream. After a rain the stream is running with water, but then, after the rain, it dries up. You go to the stream expecting to get water, but nothing is there. Jeremiah is telling God that He has not come through for him. Jeremiah expected refreshing waters from God but they were not there. “You failed, God.” In that comment, Jeremiah crossed the line telling God that He is like water that is unreliable. “I cannot count on You, God!”

In one sense, humanly speaking, you may understand that Jeremiah labored year after year under intense opposition. You can understand that he would begin to feel the weight of that pressure. But look what has happened in just a few verses. From verse 16 to verse 18 he has gone from the height of joy and delight to the depth of despair. He is even saying he cannot count on God anymore because God is not reliable.

We believers can sometimes identify with that. We are so convinced that God is going to do something. We hold Him to His Word knowing that He is faithful and will come through. Then He does not do what we thought He should, and our confidence shatters. Has God changed? No.

Do you know why Jeremiah’s ministry was different than he expected it to be? God’s intention for him was to continue to the end of his days in this way. Jeremiah’s ministry will extend over forty years. It can all be characterized in the way he described it in verse 18—continual pain, continual opposition, continual resistance and continual hatred.

“My goodness,” you say, “that is not fair!” Yet, Jeremiah is given the greatest privilege of service for God. I wonder if, in light of eternity, we would say that Jeremiah was honored or dishonored to serve God in those circumstances. But Jeremiah has lost his perspective. He has lost sight of his responsibility to serve God faithfully. God did not promise ease. He did not promise that there would be an encouraging response. He simply promised to sustain Jeremiah.

Jeremiah thinks he cannot go on. He concludes that God is no longer faithful. We need to be careful that we do not cross the line as Jeremiah did. God is understanding and patient, but when we question the integrity of God or challenge His faithfulness, we have crossed the line.

In light of this trespass on Jeremiah’s part, verse 19 begins a stinging rebuke that God gives to Jeremiah. God told His prophet that if he had come to such a point of bitterness that he has challenged God’s integrity and faithfulness, then he is on the border of no longer being usable to God. What good is a prophet who cannot proclaim the faithfulness of God and stand on His integrity? Notice God’s statement in verse 19: “Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘If you return, then I will restore you—before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman.’” Jeremiah is on the brink of uselessness. God is telling him that if there is not a change, his ministry is finished.

Then He gives Jeremiah something else important to remember: “They for their part may turn to you, but as for you, you must not turn to them” verse 19. God tells Jeremiah that his responsibility is to lift the people up to his level, to turn the people to his position. But God warns Jeremiah that he must not allow the people to drag him down to their level. They may turn to Jeremiah, but he may not turn to them. Jeremiah is in danger of becoming like the people to whom he is ministering, but they are the opposite of what he should be. This is a strong warning to Jeremiah that he could throw away his ministry. If he loses sight of Whom he serves and becomes embittered by the experiences he is going through, he could sacrifice his ministry.

That has happened to many Christians. They have come through hard times and have been embittered by them. They have resented what God has chosen to do with their lives. They have allowed that resentment to take hold, and it has ruined their service for Jesus Christ. But God told Jeremiah that if he would repent and return, then God would restore him and he could stand again before God.

God makes this promise to Jeremiah in verses 20 and 21: “‘Then I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and though they fight against you, they will not prevail over you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you,’ declares the Lord. ‘So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.’” The exciting thing to me about this promise is that in it, God does not make any new promises. They are the same as those in the opening chapters of Jeremiah.

God does not say, “You are right, Jeremiah. Let us negotiate. I need to make your ministry easier.” Rather, He says, “Jeremiah, let Me get your ministry back on track to what I called you to do. You can serve Me and proclaim My truth, and I will be with you to protect you. They will fight against you, but I will protect you.” Jeremiah had lost sight of these promises. The opposition of the people had begun to wear him down, but he was still alive, he was still breathing, he was still preaching.

What was Jeremiah’s problem? He had lost sight of the fact that God had promised to protect and preserve him. But God had not promised to make his ministry easy. What about the excruciating pain that Jeremiah was going through? What about the constant burden that seemed to overwhelm him? That is as it should be. God promised Jeremiah that if he would keep on preaching, God would protect him. “‘For I am with you to save you and deliver you,’ declares the Lord. ‘So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent’” verses 20-21.

What else does Jeremiah need? I can almost hear a conversation between Jeremiah and God: “Lord, I do not want opposition in my ministry.” “Is it not good enough that I will save you and deliver you?” “Well, yes, it is good enough.” Jeremiah is called back to trust the integrity and faithfulness of God. He is reminded that God is with him, that He has kept him and that He has brought him to this point.

It is important for us to remember these things. If we are going to serve the Lord faithfully, there will be opposition and resistance. We do not face it in the same degree that Jeremiah did, but if you are going to stand for the Lord, you will face opposition and resistance. You may feel it from your family, your friends or from those you work with. Yet you must decide what is important. Our desire should be to faithfully represent Jesus Christ. We want the privilege of standing before God as He says in verse 19, “Before Me you will stand.” We must get our priorities straight. It does not really matter if the going is hard; it does not matter if we feel dragged out; it does not matter if we feel that this is more than we can handle. God is with us to keep us and deliver us. We may wish the Lord would make our ministry easier. We may wish there were not so many pressures and oppositions. But we must remind ourselves that God has promised to be with us and to deliver us. Our responsibility is clear—keep faithfully serving Him.

It is to Jeremiah’s credit that he got his act together. We do not find him again challenging God in such a way. Things did not get any easier. In many ways they seemed to get harder. But Jeremiah never raises a complaint in this way again in the book. He does not challenge again the integrity or faithfulness of God. The Lord continued to use Jeremiah to proclaim His word to unresponsive people. Jeremiah continued being the object of hatred and resistance. Yet he continued to hammer away with the truth of God.

Jeremiah is enjoying the glory of God’s presence. If he could come down and speak to us today, I doubt that he would say, “All that intense agony just was not worth it.” He would probably say, “You know, I can hardly remember it. The pain just hardly amounted to anything. Here I have been in glory for thousands of years, and eternity is just getting started. Praise God, I was privileged to suffer for Him those few forty years. Praise God that I was privileged to be hated because I represented Him.”

We need to be challenged by Jeremiah’s example. When things got hard in his ministry, he just kept going. We tend to use worldly evaluations too often. When things are going well, we think God must really be working. But when the going gets hard, when things get rough and when we face resistance and opposition, we often ask the Lord what we are doing wrong. We should stop and consider that probably we are starting to do something right. We should praise the Lord for opposition and resistance. We can praise Him that He is sufficient to give us the strength to serve Him and to accomplish everything He wants us to do for His glory.