If You Will Not Listen

God's Prophets Demand Justice
God' Prophets Demand Justice

Advocates of Justice for All


A Choice to Be Just

Jeremiah 26:1-9  The Message

Change the Way You’re Living

26 At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this Message came from God to Jeremiah:

^2-3 “God’s Message: Stand in the court of God’s Temple and preach to the people who come from all over Judah to worship in God’s Temple. Say everything I tell you to say to them. Don’t hold anything back. Just maybe they’ll listen and turn back from their bad lives. Then I’ll reconsider the disaster that I’m planning to bring on them because of their evil behavior.
^4-6 “Say to them, ‘This is God’s Message: If you refuse to listen to me and live by my teaching that I’ve revealed so plainly to you, and if you continue to refuse to listen to my servants the prophets that I tirelessly keep on sending to you—but you’ve never listened! Why would you start now?—then I’ll make this Temple a pile of ruins like Shiloh, and I’ll make this city nothing but a bad joke worldwide.’”
^7-9 Everybody there—priests, prophets, and people—heard Jeremiah preaching this Message in the Temple of God. When Jeremiah had finished his sermon, saying everything God had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and people all grabbed him, yelling, “Death! You’re going to die for this! How dare you preach—and using God’s name!—saying that this Temple will become a heap of rubble like Shiloh and this city be wiped out without a soul left in it!”
All the people mobbed Jeremiah right in the Temple itself.

For Reflection 

When the TRUTH hurts...  When an authentic prophesy from an authentic prophet does not bear news that is consistent with common practice the result is this.  Assassinate the messenger. Fling dirt until few believe him credible.  Get others to bear false witness.  Lie.  Then, smugly go your own way.  What could possibly be more self-destructive.  The victory over Truth is short lived.

Pray

for the present day authentic prophets who, in God's name, speak the truths and lead us into justice, compassion, forgiveness and a loving community.