Today's Daily Lesson comes from Jeremiah chapter 5 verses 14 and 30-31:
14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
Because they have spoken this word,
I am now making my words in your mouth a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them.
30 An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule as the prophets direct;
my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Jeremiah was a fiery preacher, his words hot and scorching. Reading through Jeremiah we see why a fiery and indicting word against one's own people is called a "jeremiad".
On the other hand there was the sermons of the false prophets. They scratched the itch, tickled the ears, confirming all the people's prejudice and condoning all their behaviors.
And the "people love[d] to have it so," Jeremiah said.
We still do.
William Sloane Coffin Jr. said: "There are three kinds of patriots, two bad, one good. The bad are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics. Good patriots carry on a lover's quarrel with their country."
Jeremiah loved his country. He loved it enough to tell it the truth in love. It was a heated love. The uncritical lovers despised it. The loveless critics misunderstood it.
Perhaps some of us can understand it for what it was and still is: the truth in love spoken white-hot -- hot enough to be dangerous, and also matter.
NOTE: We're reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson we stay in Job with chapters 7-9.
No comments:
Post a Comment