Jeremiah, a Prophet of Judgment

Hosea had to marry a whore; Jeremiah couldn't marry at all! I suppose that by now you have decided being a prophet is not for you. My young friend, if you are truly committed to the Lord, such a decision is not for you to make. Such a right should have been surrended at Calvary, for sure since. God chooses His prophets, God prepares His prophets, God sends His prophets. And by the time He gets around to the sending part, those prophets usually find their reluctance overcome by divine compulsion. The message has become their own and they would not silence it if they could.

The life of a prophet reflects the particular message God has given him. One of the reasons for this is that his life is brought into subjection to and molded by that message. One of the practical applications of this is that no prophet of God will allow anything in his life, whether good or evil, that will detract from his effective communication of his message. We have seen that in each of the prophets we have studied in this quarter.

So you think or know God has given you a message to your peers or to one of the other generations about you? Then let the message and the Spirit that gave it burn in you with enough heat to consume all things in your life that would either combat or frustrate the delivery of that message.

What impact does external opposition have on the shaping of a message? Opposition will either kill the message or give it new vitality. The difference is made by the confidence of the message bearer in the message Giver. Jeremiah faced all kinds of opposition to his message and, therefore, to himself. But his confidence in God was unswerving and undetered. The result was a resilient message and messenger. Nothing seem to beat him back effectively. Each wave of opposition that set him back only made him more determined and his message more sharply focused. He learned to weep, but not for himself. What a messenger! He just plain refused to give up.

Had Jeremiah's confidence in God been weak and circumstancial, he would have begun to question the authenticity and the necessity of his message. He could have concluded he had made a mistake somewhere in his determination of the message. But, praise God, he was not about to throw in the towel in the face of mere adversity, no matter how determined and harsh it was!

However, we must not overlook the salutory effects of external opposition. Everyone is suceptible to visions of grandeur, to misreading divine signals, and to improper timing and audience. We ought to recognize God's ability to use others to either postpone, modify, or even kill the message we think we have received from Him. Opposition does not a bonafide prophet nor message make.

God's messengers or would-be messengers must keep this foremost in their minds: THE VISION AND MESSAGE ARE GOD'S. I have found that to be most liberating. I will teach and preach the truth that is entrusted to me. That does not mean that it must always be me teaching and preaching that truth. If my person or personality stands in the way, I will let someone else present the truth. If, however, God wants me to do it in spite of the opposition, He will make it abundantly clear to me.

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