Jeremiah 11:1-23

Popularity is an infectious desire.  All of us like to be liked.  Jeremiah was an unpopular prophet with an unpopular message.  His job was not an easy one but it is what God called him to do.  His message was one of condemnation because of the nation’s refusal to obey the Lord.  Because of their rebellion God was about to reject them and lead them into captivity.  The people did not want to hear this message so instead of repenting they decided to try to remove the messenger.  The only comfort in all of this for Jeremiah was the fact that God had promised to protect Him in the face of unpopularity.

ISRAEL WAS UNFAITHFUL TO THE PROMISE: When God was about to take the children of Israel into The Promised Land for the very first time, He made a covenant with them.  It was a conditional covenant in that it called for Israel to obey the Law in order to enjoy the blessings of the promise.  It also warned of the consequences of disobedience.  Even though God had been faithful to keep His promise to them, the people were unwilling to obey the Law of the Lord.  Now God is calling Jeremiah to remind the people of this covenant and proclaim to the people that their consistent rebellion was now going to be met with the wrath of God.  We may escape the consequences of our actions initially, but eventually God will call us to account according to His Word.  God will not tolerate endless rebellion.

GOD WAS UNWILLING TO HEAR THEIR PRAYERS: Not only would the people be taken into captivity and suffer great loss in the process; but God was unwilling to hear their prayers for help.  God tells Jeremiah not to bother to pray for the people’s deliverance because His mind is made up and He is determined to bring the people to justice.  The people had worshiped different God’s in every city and erected altars to these false gods on every street.  Yet, somehow, they still thought they could turn to the Lord with their prayers and sacrifices.  God is not in need of our sacrifices what He demands is obedience and loyalty.  God requires exclusive worship or He will not receive any worship.  Their prayers and offering became no more than hollow words and dead animals because of their rebellion and idolatry.


JEREMIAH WAS UNDETERRED BY PERSECUTION: God’s message through Jeremiah was not a popular one.  The people did not want to hear what he had to say so they began to conspire against him and threatened to take his life.  This might have become a deterrent to many men but God was there to assure Jeremiah of His protection.  Instead of these men killing Jeremiah; they would be the ones who would fall under God’s wrath.  We can boldly proclaim the Word of God no matter how unpopular that message becomes because God is the One who has called us to proclaim it.  He is always faithful to protect those who do His work according to His will.

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