"Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them... They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD (Jeremiah 1:17,19).

God commands Jeremiah not to be afraid of the king or the people to whom he is being sent to proclaim a message of judgement. God's command comes with a warning. If Jeremiah is afraid of his hearers, God will "terrify" Jeremiah before these same hearers. Jeremiah must choose. Who will he fear? God or men? In Jeremiah's case, God adds this promise. If he chooses to fear God rather than men, God will not allow these men to overcome him but rescue him from their hands. 

Friends, is there not a principle here that rings true for our experience today? While our situation may not involve an angry mob or king to whom we must bring a message of doom, do we fear what people may say about us or what our bosses may do to us if we stand for Christ and for truth? Do we fear financial difficulty or workplace uncertainty, so that we prioritize worldly responsibilities to the neglect of spiritual ones? Are we more fearful of our children's academic underperformance than we are of their spiritual dereliction? 

Friends, the Lord said that if we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us (Luke 9:26). If we do not make Him our chief love, we are unworthy of being His disciple (Matthew 10:37). If we do not prioritize the Lord, will He prioritize us? The Lord told Jeremiah that if he feared men more than God, then the Lord would not support him but terrify him. 

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us draw near to God that He may draw near to us (James 4:8). Let us fear God more than men (Matthew 10:28). Let us not allow our circumstances to dictate our priorities (Philippians 4:11-13), but let us seek first God's kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Today, as the stock market continues its downward plunge, I am reminded of these truths. Praise the Lord!

But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God (Jeremiah 3:24-25).

What is "the shameful thing"? It is likely a reference to Baal worship (cf. Jeremiah 11:13; Hosea 9:10; notice interchange of Jerubbesheth with Jerubaal in 2 Samuel 11:21 and Judges 6:32 as well as the interchange of Ishbosheth for Eshbaal in 2 Samuel 2:8 and 1 Chronicles 8:33). The prophet is reflecting on how their ancestors had squandered a lifetime of strength, resources, and children by giving them to the worship of the idol Baal. In a play on words, they are ashamed of how they worshiped this shameful thing. 

Friends, these "fathers" gave their best time, strength, wealth, and progeny to the shameful vanity of idol worship. Their whole lives were wasted in this humiliation and sin. Reading this witness from Scripture, we ought to reflect on what consumes our time, strength, wealth, and children. Are we consumed by things that have an enduring and eternal value or by things that will pass away with this world. What commands our attention each day? To what end do we invest our money? How do we direct our children to give their time and energy? Jesus taught,

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval (John 6:27).

For what do we labor? Let us trust and serve the Lord!

The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” “O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! (Jeremiah 1:4-9 NLT)

Friends, this passage teaches us that human life begins in the mind of God and certainly at conception. Jeremiah's calling gives us the evidence of this, because God says that He knew Jeremiah, set him apart, and appointed him even before He formed him in his mother's womb. Before human beings are conceived and born biologically, they are known spiritually by God. That is why the psalmist also writes:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (Psalm 139:13-16 NLT)

In view of these clear Scriptures, let us understand that human life is just as true at conception as it is at birth; therefore, to purposely destroy a "fetus" is tantamount to murdering a person outside the womb. When I think about this, I realize I have done woefully little to stem the tide of this kind of genocide in our country. But I perceive that some are working vigorously to address this legislatively.

Jeremiah 1 also teaches us something about the office of a prophet and the gift of prophecy. It is given not developed. Jeremiah, as Moses did before him, complained that he was unfit to speak for God. Jeremiah thought he was too young and inexperienced, while Moses felt he was ineffective as a speaker. Both were wrong, for the gift is given supernaturally, so that their ability or lack of ability had nothing to do with it. And prophecy is a unique gift such that its validity hinges on perfect accuracy and consistency with previous revelation. This is why God commanded Moses to test prophets by the complete accuracy and consistency of their prophecies. If the prophecies were inaccurate or contrary to revealed Scripture, such prophets would be deemed false and sometimes even put to death. 

Today, we have people like Mike Bickle (the founder of the International House of Prayer) and Wayne Grudem (a distinguished author and theologian) trying to argue that the New Testament gift of prophecy can be both wrong at times and/or can be developed with spiritual maturity. They have absolutely no biblical ground for such a conjecture, for all the clear teachings regarding prophecy show that the nature, practice and regulations regarding the gift requires perfect accuracy and consistency with revealed Scripture. Therefore, most if not all self-proclaimed contemporary "prophets" today, Mike Bickle included, are likely false.

Sometimes I wish that everyone who is bad be completely bad and everyone good be completely good. But the fact that there is good in the bad and bad in the good is the reality of our fallen world. Thus, while I can appreciate the 24/7 prayer room (International House of Prayer) as a great ministry, one that I desired long before such a ministry formed in 1999, it is connected with a misguided and dangerous prophetic ministry that continues unabated even after it has been discredited time and time again. And while I love certain sections in Grudem's Systematic Theology (e.g. his exposition on election), it pains me that at times he finds it necessary to try to defend the indefensible, even departing from the exposition of Scripture to employ slippery logic to prove his point.

So dear friends, you must read and discern for yourselves what is true from what is false. We are not accountable for what others know and teach. They will be judged on their own merit. But we have all been given God's infallible and inerrant Word, which God says is completely sufficient for us to know and do everything we need to know and do to fully please Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Therefore, it behooves us to know, study, and understand the Word of God to the best of our God-given abilities. We are accountable to know it, live it and share it with others accurately. Ignorance is not an option. 

Just as Isaiah began to speak God's word of judgment against Judah, Jeremiah continues this same oracle, as judgment is right at the doorstep. It will come from the North. Jeremiah's ministry begins in the thirteenth year of good king Josiah, probably right before Josiah insititutes national repentance and reform. Jeremiah 1-6 details God's faithfulness but Judah's persistent unfaithfulness. God recounts His goodness toward Israel and Judah but first Israel and then Judah have forsaken Him to run after the gods of other nations, even to trust in nations like Egypt and Assyria for help rather than in the LORD.

The LORD calls out to Israel and then to Judah to return to Him, calling on them to "only acknowledge your iniquity" (Jeremiah 3:13) and then He would heal and restore them. Even as God brings harsh discipline and they suffer the fury of God's wrath, they are still unrepentant (cf. Jeremiah 5:3). Both the low and the high, those who are ignorant of God's way and those who know it, together have forsaken God (cf. Jeremiah 5:4-5).

Therefore, God's coming judgment will be severe, the nation from the North (i.e. Babylon) "will devour your harvest and your food...will devour your sons and your daughters...will devour your flocks and your herds..." (Jeremiah 5:17). Even so, God will leave a remnant of His people (cf. Jeremaiah 4:27; 5:10, 18). Here is the distinction between God's judgment of His people vs. His judgment of the nations. There is hope for the progeny of God's chosen people. Yet, regarding Jeremiah's generation, there was no fear of God, no shame for sin, and no willingness to listen to reproof and change. So God proclaims,

"Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people. The fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words, And as for my law, they have rejected it also" (Jeremiah 6:19).

In that day people were saying "Peace, peace, but there was [is] no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14). In other words, most people believed everything was going fine. They just needed to get along and not rock the boat. I wonder if we are living in a generation much similar to Judah before her judgment. Prosperity theologians are preaching "peace, peace." Even evangelical preachers are growing their ministries with a message that is designed not to rock the boat. After all, you cannot grow your ministry if people are offended. Sin is no longer an offense against a holy God but is addressed like a psychological problem that just requires interventions and techniques to overcome it. We are amassing speakers, resources and "amazing" testimonies, yet giving little attention to the Word of God. Today, charismatic stories and persuasive appeals constitute ninety percent of a message and God's Word barely ten percent, and oftentimes this is just to read it.

Friends, hear me now. Devote yourself to God's Word and commit yourself to obey it. Don't chase after experiences and prophesies or revivals and retreats. Don't depend on preachers or pastors or teachers or counselors. In the day of judgment, you cannot appeal to their word to defend you. These are all helps, provided they are correctly handling the Word of truth, but the final responsibility is with you before God's Word. It is His Word that gives you faith (Romans 10:17). It is His Word that sanctifies you (John 17:17). It is in abiding in His Word that your prayers will be answered (John 15:7). It is His Word that gives you the weapon to fight your adversary, the devil (Ephesians 6:17). It is His Word that will keep you from sin (Psalm 119:9,11). It is on the basis of His Word that you will be judged (Hebrews 4:12-13). It is His Word that is all you need to fulfill all God's purposes for you in this life (2 Timothy 3:15-16).