STEEMCHURCH ° JEREMIAH the Prophet; A man who was never afraid
Jeremiah the Prophet
A man who does not fear
People laughed at a young man, not knowing who he was. It is Jeremiah, a very important prophet of God.
Shortly after King Josiah begins to destroy idols from the land, Jehovah tells Jeremiah to be His prophet. However, Jeremiah believes that he is too young to be a prophet. But God tells him that He will give him help.
Jeremiah tells the Israelites to stop doing bad things. The gods that the people of the nations worship are false, he says. But many Israelites prefer to worship idols, and not Jehovah the true God. When Jeremiah tells them that God will punish them because of their wickedness, the people laugh at Jeremiah.
Years pass. Josiah dies, and three months later his son Joaquim becomes king. Jeremiah continues to tell the people: Jerusalem will be destroyed if you do not change. The priests will lay hands on Jeremiah and shout: Jeremiah must die; He has spoken against our city.
source Jeremiah does not fear
What will Jeremiah do now? He does not fear! He tells everyone: God sent me to tell you these things. If they do not change their bad ways of living, he will destroy Jerusalem. But you can be sure of this: If they kill me, they will kill a man who has not done anything wrong.
The princes let Jeremiah live, but the Israelite people do not change from doing bad deeds. Next comes Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he fights against Jerusalem. In the end, Nebuchadnezzar makes the Israelites his servants. It takes thousands to Babylon. Imagine what it would be like for strange people to take you to a strange country!.
conclusion that God had for Jeremiah
Although no one listened to the prophet, Jeremiah did his work because at all times the Lord protects him under the shade of his tenderness (the image of the almond tree). The almond trees (Jer 1,11-12) bloom in winter, and with their flowers they seem to keep other trees until they awaken to spring. It seems as if God revealed to him: I am an almond tree. It has been your turn to be my prophet during the winter of the history of my people. I send you to remind the Israelites that I am always by their side. Few will listen to you but, in discouragement, remember that next to you is the Lord who, like an almond tree, watches over your life and that of his people, until a new spring arrives in which Israel flourishes again.
Jeremiah had a difficult mission, it was the warm and demanding voice of God that accompanied Israel during the winter of its history (as the almond tree in winter is the presence of hope).
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Where did Jeremiah get the strength to fulfill this humanly unpleasant mission?
The story of his vocation and mission (Jer 1,4-12) offers the answer. The security of knowing that the Lord was at his side kept the prophet's hope and allowed him to accompany his people in the pain of failure.