(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, Yahweh’s word has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened. Yahweh has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear), saying, “Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forever more. Don’t go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don’t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; then I will do you no harm.” “Yet you have not listened to me,” says Yahweh, “that you may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.” Therefore Yahweh of Armies says: “Because you have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says Yahweh, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around. I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. “It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever. I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will make bondservants of them, even of them. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.””
(Jeremiah 25:3-14)
“We give thanks to you, God.
We give thanks, for your Name is near.
Men tell about your wondrous works.
When I choose the appointed time,
I will judge blamelessly.
The earth and all its inhabitants quake.
I firmly hold its pillars. Selah.
I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!”
I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn.
Don’t lift up your horn on high.
Don’t speak with a stiff neck.”
For neither from the east, nor from the west,
nor yet from the south, comes exaltation.
But God is the judge.
He puts down one, and lifts up another.
For in Yahweh’s hand there is a cup,
full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours it out.
Indeed the wicked of the earth drink and drink it to its very dregs.
But I will declare this forever:
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.”
(Psalm 75)
“Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let’s press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. This will we do, if God permits. For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame. For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it and produces a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this. For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.”
(Hebrews 6:1-12)
For twenty-three years Jeremiah had been proclaiming the word of the Lord. He wasn’t even the only voice. There had been others saying the same things. But the people, the false prophets, and the kings had not listened. They held to their own thinking. They thought they were great. They thought the Temple was so pure that God would never let it be taken down. They thought they were safe. God was clear, however, He was going to use the wicked nations to judge His children for their repeated decades-long rebellion against Him and the breaking of their covenant. And just so that they couldn’t say He was ignoring their wickedness, He made it clear: He was using them and then after they were used, they too would be judged. God was judging ALL wickedness: and His kids were first up because they knew better. He had been telling them for a LONG time.
God is just. He is a GOOD God. He judges wickedness. But He is a just God and a merciful God. He gives opportunity for repentance. He gives opportunity for us to change our path. He gives us opportunity for us to see what is really going on and make the right choices in our lives. We might not take the opportunity. We may scorn it and say its ridiculous or that there are many ways to the same end. We might not listen to Him. But He is still going to give the message. He is still going to make sure we all – every single person on the planet – has the opportunity to know the truth, choose the truth, and return to Him. But He is just. He will honour our choice. If we reject Him, He will honour that. If He will repent, He will honour that. He is a just and a good God.
God gives us the fundamentals. We need to follow them. He has not been shy about what the right thing to do is. He has not been shy about what the correct path is. He gave us Jesus as an example. He has given us His Word. He has explained it to us and will continue to explain it to us until we understand. Then we have to choose. Will we rely on Jesus and do what He says, or will we reject Him? We have the chance to hold onto the truth we were taught and encourage other people to do the same. We have the chance to repent and to accept His correction whenever we are given it. We can hold to the better things of the Kingdom, regardless of the pricks and wounds the world tries to inflict. We can choose Him. We can hold to Him. We can stand on Him.
Summary
The world persecutes us because we are showing them Jesus. They are attacking Jesus in us. They push us and reject our message because they don’t like the shame they feel when they see His righteousness. When they hear the Truth. So they attack us. They reject the message. Our calling is to keep talking. Keep doing what God says to do. Even if it’s uncomfortable. Even if it hurts. Even if we are mocked and scorned. We are to keep loving. We are to keep speaking. Not ignorantly. Not violently. But as He directs. Where, when, and how. To speak from love like Jesus did, not confrontationally for the sake of confrontation. To be living witnesses to the difference Jesus can make in a life. We don’t know when time will run out, so we need to keep speaking right up to the last minute. Living it out as a witness to the truth. Speaking truth. Spreading the message of hope and restoration. Being His Light in this world. We all need to hear it.
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