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Chapter 26:16-24 (ESV)

Posted on September 19, 2024  - By Chris LaBelle  

Chapter 26:16-24 (ESV) - Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,

“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
    Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
    and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him, and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Question to consider: How does the response of Hezekiah to the prophets differ from his great-grandson, Jehoiakim?

From the very beginning when Jeremiah was declared to be a prophet and not a priest, the LORD promised to protect Jeremiah from those who would reject his message to the point of wanting to kill him. When the LORD made this promise, it was not merely the case that He looked into the future and saw that there would be those who would stand up for him.

While the LORD may use the circumstances in our lives to bring people to faith, we should not think of these circumstances as random happenings but from the sovereign hand of God. While God may engage a person’s intellect in the process, faith is a gift produced in us by the Holy Spirit. The word of the LORD does the work for which it is intended. This is why I provide scripture and context in each of my studies, and it is my goal to connect you with complementary scriptures that help illuminate the daily text and point us to Christ.

While the people at the time of Jeremiah may or may not have been exposed to the Torah depending on who sat on David’s throne, the true prophets were given the word of the LORD by the Holy Spirit, and there were some in Judah who could discern this word as truth because it was consistent with other messengers of God who also faced this unjust persecution.

Though Jehoiakim was the grandson of the wicked branch, Manasseh, there were those in today’s passage who remembered the righteousness of Manasseh's father, Hezekiah, and they understood that in hearing this message from the LORD and repenting, the LORD was known for His mercy.

The elders who spoke of Micah seemed to demonstrate repentance. They confessed the disaster that was going to come upon them if the kingdom of Judah did not turn from its sin, and they called upon the mercy of the LORD to relent from His judgment.

While the LORD may have protected Jeremiah, the elders noted that Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim was cut down by Jehoiakim for bringing the same message. While it may be scary to think that someone could be murdered for trying to get people to repent and turn back to the LORD, Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7)

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for people who are willing to risk their lives for the truth and for those who are willing to stand up and protect them. Please keep us from harm and danger while we proclaim the good news of Christ to the world. Amen.