Should I Stay or Should I Go; Jeremiah 8-9; 26

May the mumbling commence!

Should I stay or should I go?  It is an extremely relevant question when you know that the Lord will be bringing judgment and wrath on the people around you.  It would be great to be born with an innate sense to know when to remain and abide in a situation and when to pack up and leave.  In this sense, the animals have it easy.  Think about it, and read from Jeremiah 8:7.

Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons,

and the dove, the swift and the thrush

       observe the time of their migration.

But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.

There is much to learn from the animal kingdom, from the natural world that the Lord had created around us.  We can learn the lesson of who we can trust.  Read from Jeremiah 9:23-24.

This is what the Lord says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches, 

but let him who boasts boast about this:

            that he understands and knows me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, 

             justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight," declares the Lord.

We will find our answer to the question should I stay or should I go by seeking to understand and know the Lord.  The Lord alone is the one we can boast in and trust – even when the Lord sends us to a people with a message that will not be received kindly.  Notice the juxtaposition of Jeremiah with Uriah from Jeremiah Chapter 26 (and know that the parenthetical parts of Scripture do not mean they are unimportant).

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard.  Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you.  As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right.  Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." 

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God." 

Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'This is what the Lord Almighty says:

'Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.' 

"Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!" 

(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did.  When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt.  King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along with some other men.  They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.) 

Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death. (Verses 12-24)

Though Jeremiah and Uriah faced the same threat, they reacted to the threat differently.  Jeremiah stayed, knowing that being in the hands of the people was trumped by being in the hands of the Lord.  Jeremiah was safe.  Uriah fled in fear for his life but lost it instead.  Hmm…  Didn’t Jesus say try to save your life and you will lose it; give up your life for the sake of Jesus and you will find it?  Should I stay or should I go?  Trust the Lord; and, then, you’ll know.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out