Coming Judgment
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north.”
Then the LORD said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. (Jeremiah 1:11-17)
Can you hear me now? God communicated to Jeremiah on several levels: he told him things, he showed him images, and he asked him questions. God made certain that Jeremiah knew what he was saying so he could communicate God’s message clearly to his people. God’s people understood Jeremiah so well that they got angry at him. The government repeatedly incarcerated him. It came close to having him executed. The Israelites understood precisely the message God had for them; they knew that God was promising them disaster at the hands of the invading Babylonians. They simply chose not to believe it.
The problem with God’s message to us most of the time is not so much that we don’t understand it, but that we don’t want to understand it. We have our own ideas, our own plans, and we believe whatever it is we are involved in is something very good. We want God to agree with our opinion about our activities and goals. We aren’t so interested in God’s opinion and plans—at least if they contradict ours.
God encouraged Jeremiah not to give up in the face of the difficult task that God had set him to perform. He could count on God to take care of him.
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