Jeremiah, A Prophet for Today
I just finished watching The Bible Collection: Jeremiah which is a dramatization of the life and ministry of the weeping prophet Jeremiah. Following his life from a young age, up till just after the destruction of Jerusalem it shows the near impossible situation that he was dealing with. I recommend checking it out as it brings the story to life (Watch The Bible Collection: Jeremiah | Prime Video (amazon.com))
We know Jeremiah was not believed by the leadership of Judah. They had failed to do what they were supposed to. Honor God in all things, and rule justly. The decrepit nature of the nation was becoming more apparent as they were falling into the same behaviors that landed the northern kingdom of Israel into exile. It is from this place that Judah was conquered, and the entire time Jeremiah went unheeded. His calls for repentance and justice fell on deaf ears.
The parallels seem to be deafening to our current day in various ways. While we don’t have the intertwining of faith and politics that existed in the OT period of Judah, there still is influence that has been missing. Since the early 19th century, much of the American Church has gotten so enthralled with “getting out of dodge” when it comes to our eschatology. Why does it matter what goes on here if we are going to be raptured up anyways! That or any other number of variations of the same idea. Instead of being the Kingdom of God on the earth transforming the creation through the spreading of the gospel we become so internalized with ourselves, and this has led to so much rot.
The Church in many places has left our mandate to take care of the orphan and widow to the government. We all can certainly agree this is a less than ideal situation. But as we know history doesn't always repeat itself, but it certainly does rhyme. This abrogation of our responsibility has led to what we have. A more often than not overbearing government that regularly interacts outside of its Constitutional bounds to “take care of us”. If we are truly desiring justice to prevail, we in the Church must take up the mantle and example of the Early Church.
What would happen if that changed? If the incentives were corrected and people looked to God’s people for what they were supposed to do as part of their mission of restoring creation through the spreading of the gospel.
Jeremiah 3:12-13, “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!
