Jeremiah - A Prophet With Backbone

Way before Jesus came to earth and uttered his famous rejection of the Jews, there were pronouncements (denunciations) against faithless Israel that happened repeatedly throughout their history. Jeremiah was commissioned by Jehovah to speak "the word of Jehovah" to the wayward Israelites. Here is just a few examples:

Jer.7:3, 4 This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to keep residing in this place. Do not put your trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah!’

Jer.8:5 Why is this people, Jerusalem, unfaithful with an enduring unfaithfulness? They hold fast to deception; they refuse to turn back.

Jer.8:8 How can you say: “We are wise, and we have the law of Jehovah”? For in fact, the lying stylus of the scribes has been used only for falsehood.

Jer.9:26 "all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

In verse 3, we discover that this was not merely Jeremiah’s words of disapproval, it was the God of Israel severely reproving Israel’s false, self-comforting, rationalizations. It was clear from the above that the Israelites were using both the Temple and the Law as talismans, or good-luck charms. They felt that by having the Temple and the Law, they could do no wrong, nor would God do anything but bless them. In Jer.7:4, Jehovah point-blank tells the Jews that they are only deceiving themselves by claiming the Temple means automatic approval and protection. The collective sin and refusal to change demonstrated who they really were. As far as Jehovah was concerned, "all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart." That is, they were spiritually unclean, which was just as objectionable as being physically unclean, which means they had no advantage over the other “nations” they so sneeringly degraded.

Today, in our era, the “Oral Law” seems to have supplanted the “Written Law” so much so, that Jeremiah 8:8 is still true, “the lying stylus of the scribes has been used only for falsehood” in claiming God’s approval.

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Splattering Blood Saves Lives?

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In preparing to exit Egypt, the Israelites had to trust that splattering the animal's blood would deliver them. Likewise, we need to trust that acceptance of Christ's sacrifice can and will save us.

Picture yourself back in Egypt when Moses was preparing the offspring of Jacob (Israel) to leave. For the final plague, God (Jehovah) was going to kill every firstborn of every household unless they demonstrated belief and trust in Jehovah's power by putting blood on the doorpost of their home. Try to put yourself in the mindset of the non-believing Egyptians. For instance, consider Pharaoh, the leader in Egypt, who arrogantly declared "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice...." (Exodus 5:2)

So now, even after suffering many plagues, would the Egyptians humbly demonstrate trust in God's ability to put to death the firstborn of anyone not obeying the directive to splatter blood on the doorpost? The record indicates they did not. What may have been going through their minds? Likely something to the effect: “How can so many people die in one evening? How could merely putting blood on a doorpost keep people alive? This sounds ridiculous.” From that perspective it was ridiculous. They neglected to appreciate that it was not the physical act that saved them, it was the demonstration of faith that saved those obeying the command.

Now that we have insight into the real issues (obedience and faith), we are in a position to gain even greater appreciation for the situation we are in today. While the majority of mankind feels no real obligation to God, has no real commitment to learning about him, we are not that way. We appreciate that, just as the Israelites very lives was dependent on obeying, we likewise must accept that real faith and trust in God comes down to obedience and accepting that, as creator, God has the right to indicate how to handle our relationship with him.

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