Certainty for Uncertain Times Jeremiah 27-28

July 26, 2020 Jeremiah 27-28 Certainty in the Midst of Uncertainty Since Pilate asked Jesus of Nazareth, 'What is truth?' in John's gospel the battle for truth has intensified. People are still asking the same question because in spite of all our culture celebrates, truth matters. Example: Over 20 years ago a Pulitzer prize winning author published a biography of Ronald Reagan, titled, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan. Nothing unusual, right? Except that the author, Edmund Morris, noted that his intention was to "capture Reagan's essence in a mixture of historical narrative, biographical interpretation - and fiction."1 Indeed. Fiction re-interpreted as fact. Even the publishing house for the book asserted that the author was creating a new way of understanding history. I could list dozens, if not hundreds, of other examples. We are in a battle for truth that has been raging since Genesis 3 when the Enemy asked, "Did God really say...?" Today, as we continue our study of Jeremiah lets discover some benchmarks we can hold to in the battle for truth: Jeremiah 27 - 28 The book of Jeremiah is not in any sort of chronological organization. The events of these two chapters occur in the last couple of years of Zedekiah's reign. Josiah, under whom a religious revival had occurred, had died. His son reigned for just a matter of weeks and was taken to Egypt. Another son of Josiah reigned for eleven years under the authority of the Egyptian Pharaoh. When Egypt fell to Babylon this king reigned three more years. Zedekiah, the king named in Jer 27-28 was the last Davidic king to rule in Jerusalem. He was king when Babylon finally breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the city, including the temple. Early in his reign Jeremiah records a confrontation between himself and a prophet named Hananiah. Jeremiah 27:1-7 Making a yoke according to God's instruction - much like one might see on an ox enabling the ox to be paired with another for plowing or other heavy work - Jeremiah must have been quite a sight. Along with that instruction, Jeremiah was given a message for Zedekiah and the kings of smaller people groups around the region of Judah - vs. 4-7. The rest of the chapter describes what will happen to any nation that disobeys - the message is spelled out in vs 8-11. Jeremiah 28-29 details the confrontation between Jeremiah and Hananiah. Hananiah speaks words he claims were from God - Jer 28:2-4. Jeremiah responds with ironic hope - vs 6.In response Hananiah breaks the yoke on Jeremiah's neck and proclaims: vs 11. Throughout this exchange Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord, offers this statement: Jer 27:9-10. Hearing two opposing messages is not new. It's been happening since Genesis 3! The rise of social media, the 24 hour news channels, multiple religious programming with all sorts of messages and messengers fills our world with noise. Is there a way to hold on to truth? The message of Jeremiah and the exchange with Hananiah offer some benchmarks we can use as we try and make sense of the noise: 1. The unalterable sovereign plan of God Listen to Jeremiah's words, recorded in Jeremiah 27:8. The promise of destruction after rebellion against the ways of God was not new. Jeremiah's message had been spoken before by Moses, recorded in Deuteronomy. Samuel, the last judge who also spoke as a prophet reminded God's people of the same message. Through the years of the divided kingdom prophets in both Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom) spoke the same words. God's plan is not some secret, hidden away from us. His unalterable plan is clearly revealed in His Word. Disobedience has severe consequences. The unalterable sovereign plan of God reminds us that only God is able to maintain and sustain such a plan. the Old Testament books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles contain plan after plan devised by human minds, carried out by human effort. And one by one these plans fell apart unless they were in line with the unalterable plan of God. This unalterable sovereign plan of God culminates and finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. To David, a man after God's own heart, God spoke: 2 Samuel 7:8-16. God's plan, to the eyes of those being deported to Babylon must have looked as though it were permanently ending. If the plan had been of human origin, needing human ability to sustain it, the plan would have died. Listen to Peter, one of Jesus' earliest followers: Acts 3:29-36. 2. The unerring authority of God's Word One of the casualties of this assault on truth has been the very idea of words. Do words mean what they say? How do we know words mean what they say? If we - humans - are allowed to determine the meaning of words, then there will be an unending cascade of falsehood threatening to overwhelm us. Fortunately, we have an unerring authority. Jeremiah 27:14-17. Just because one claims to have heard from the Lord is no guarantee they have! John, another of Jesus' earliest followers wrote to Jesus followers some 30 years or more after Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1, HCSB) Paul, an early follower of Jesus had written to Timothy, a younger pastor similar counsel: "I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:1-4, HCSB) The standard had been explained in 2 Timothy 3 - "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness." (2 Timothy 2:15-17, HCSB) During the reign of Josiah the temple had been repaired after decades of misuse and abuse. In that temple they found a copy of the book of Deuteronomy - words God had given to Moses hundreds of year prior. These unalterable words were the foundation from which Jeremiah spoke. 3. The ultimate authority of God over life and death. Jeremiah 28:12-17 This must have been a sobering reminder for all who had been part of the exchange. Within a few months of Hananiah's direct rebuke to Jeremiah, Hananiah was dead, as God had spoken. In Acts 17 Paul was invited to speak to the philosophers in Athens. After spending some time getting acquainted with the city Paul spoke these words: "From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:26-27, HCSB) These two sentences are packed with important theology. Life would not exist apart from God's power and ability. God would exist, but we would not had He not chosen to create. No nation, no people group in the world is self-made. We are hearing the phrase Black Lives Matter often. I would agree, but would state it this way: Black Lives Matter because All Lives Matter. Every human being is a distinct creation of God. Where we were born, where we take root is not a random accident but a part of a plan that is so much larger in scope than we can imagine. Yet, God has created us to be here, to inhabit this land, to share this physical space - whether in person or via facebook - and God has in His hands the power to end our lives at any moment. One of Jesus' parables illustrates this truth powerfully: "Then He told them a parable: "A rich man's land was very productive. He thought to himself, 'What should I do, since I don't have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,' he said. 'I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I'll say to myself, "You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared-whose will they be?'" (Luke 12:16-20, HCSB) CONCLUSION Again hear Pilate, the Roman governor's question, 'What is truth?' Pilate was caught between an account of Jesus' life given by the chief priests and religious authorities that claimed He was a madman, making Himself out to be God. This claim, according to the religious scholars made Jesus a threat to Judaism AND to the Roman Empire by challenging the authority of the emperor. Pilate's wife had dreamt that this Jesus would be trouble - she shared with her husband a desire to stay clear of this man. The battle for truth begins, though, with Jesus. Hours prior to standing before Pilate, Jesus spoke these words: "Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6, HCSB) "I am the truth...." We find truth as we experience all that God gives through Jesus Christ: - freedom from the penalty of sin By Jesus' death on the cross, and by the power of His sinless life, the death Jesus died satisfies the penalty God established for sin: death. Jesus died in our place, paying in full the penalty for sin. - freedom from the power of sin By His resurrection and ascension we have life - as the Holy Spirit makes Jesus real in and through us we are free to live as God intended humans to live! - freedom from the presence of sin Ultimately, because Jesus is all that He claims, we will be where He is - a place that is free from even the slightest hint of sin. So, how do we fight for truth? Acknowledging our need of a Savior Believing that Jesus is God's Son who died on the cross and was raised again for me as an individual Confessing Him before our family, friends, and community. That begins here - with the people gathered physically and virtually. We fight for truth as we daily, weekly, systematically spend time in God's Word - listening as we read for the voice of God who speaks into our lives via the Holy Spirit. We fight for truth as we share together in Bible Study, Worship, and serving one another and our community. We fight for truth by standing with an unwavering commitment to God as sovereign over all things; a commitment to the authority of His word as delivered and protected for us; recognizing that God and God alone holds the key to life - life as He created it and means it to be! 1 R. Albert Mohler, "Truth and Contemporary Culture" in Whatever Happened to Truth, Gen. Ed. Andreas Köstenberger (Wheaton, ILL.: Crossway Books, 2005), 53. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------