Tag Archives: Priests

Day 115: The Priests, the Prophets, the Princes and the People

Jeremiah 26:10-16

When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to Yahweh’s house; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house. Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, “Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey Yahweh your God’s voice; then Yahweh will relent from the evil that he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for in truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: “This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.”

This was a horrible set of events for an innocent prophet that merely chose to obey God’s command, but it is a facinating study of God’s design of goverernment. The priests and prophets appear to have convinced the people that Jeremiah should be killed and when the princes came to investigate the issue, it appears that the people switched sides and with the princes determined that Jeremiah wasn’t doing anything wrong.

It’s wonderful to see Jeremiah stand strong in the face of opposition. He even said that they should decide for themselves what to do with him, but he made it clear that he was innocent because God had told him to say these words. Notice how his honest speaking to the government officials helped to convince them to do things differently. This appears to be an illustration of a proverb. Let’s look at that:

Proverbs 12:6

The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.

Can you imagine what would have happened had the priest, prophet and prince been the same person? It seems quite likely that Jeremiah would have been killed, but because the government was divided into different branches, the princes were able to hear what Jeremiah said and decide for themselves. The people actually changed sides as a result. This idea of going back and reconsidering things is also in proverbs.

Proverbs 18:17

He who pleads his cause first seems right;
until another comes and questions him.

Even as far as Judah had deteriorated as a nation, God still had powerful traditions built in that He could use to protect Jeremiah. It may seem like everything is lost, but only God can see everything. It may very well be that God is preparing to bring salvation anyway. This is also evidence that religion can go very bad and actually be used to kill the innocent. The prophets and the priests were clearly the ones who were wrong here. The wicked princes were still used by God to stop the false prophets and priests from doing harm.

Day 103: Two Very Important Jobs

Jeremiah 23:7-12

“Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that they will no more say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;’ but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will dwell in their own land.”

Concerning the prophets:
My heart within me is broken.
All my bones shake.
I am like a drunken man,
and like a man whom wine has overcome,
because of Yahweh,
and because of his holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers;
for because of the curse the land mourns.
The pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course is evil,
and their might is not right;
for both prophet and priest are profane.
Yes, in my house I have found their wickedness,” says Yahweh.
Therefore their way will be to them as slippery places in the darkness.
They will be driven on,
and fall therein;
for I will bring evil on them,
even the year of their visitation,” says Yahweh.

We have learned from the Bible that there were two very important positions that God set up in Israel in order for the people to properly to relate to God. Priests were required so that man would be able to communicate with God and prophets were raised up in order to be the voice of God to the people. It isn’t a surprise, then, that when priests and prophets become profane, that the people fail to have a proper way to communicate with God. When spiritual leadership goes bad, it doesn’t just pervert the communication between God and man, it also makes God very angry and results in wrath. That’s what we learn about here in Jeremiah. God had every intent to make Israel His nation, but first, He would have to deal with the leadership that had decided to pervert both the worship of the people to God and the voice of God to the people.

Do you remember that God calls Christians priests as well as prophets? We have the responsibility of both worshiping God and bringing concerns of others before God in prayer, and also to tell others what God’s word says and lead them to repentance so that they will become followers of Jesus. We all have these special jobs and as far as I can tell from the Bible, these jobs are more important than any earthly job. It is very important for us to not avoid our priestly jobs of worship and prayer for others. It’s also important for us to keep speaking God’s word to others in order to encourage them and help them continue to live their lives according to the truth. I don’t believe that a true believer will profane these positions, but we can certainly avoid performing our duties. Let’s remember that these spiritual activities are real jobs that God has given us to do, and remember how important those jobs are in our world today.

Day 102
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