Read: Jeremiah 19, 20: Daniel 1
Jeremiah is temporarily out of prison so God told him to buy a clay jar and ask the leaders of the political and religious sector to follow him. He took them to the garbage dump and gave him God’s word. They had allowed the land to be filled with wickedness and idolatry it resembled this garbage dump. Jerusalem would be reduced to ruins as a monument to their stupidity. He smashed the jar to the ground to give them a visual of what God was going to do to their nation. This got him arrested by the chief priest, Pashhur, who beat him and put him in prison for the night. When he released Jeremiah, Jeremiah changed Pashhur’s name which meant “increasing of white linen”, to “The Man Who Lives in Terror”. That would be the description of his life from then on.
Jeremiah was only human and he had been given a tough assignment for his life. He had a pity party cursing the day he was born. This is a reminder to us that our lives are not always going to be fun and roses if we follow Jesus. We are called to fellowship is Christ’s sufferings and this is not easy but totally rewarding in the end.
Babylon did come to besiege Jerusalem and take the best of their possessions and people. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were among the best students that Babylon took away. God tested them from the moment they got there. They were to assimilate into the Babylonian lifestyle, but these four took a stand and God stood up for them. They put their enemy to the test and won. We need to be like them in a world that is wanting us to compromise our convictions for the sake of coexistence. We must not bend! They rebelled in a very respectful way and won respect. That is the way we need to fight, not with muscle but with love.
Lord, help us to stand remembering that the greatest weapon we have is Your love.
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