Refining Fire
Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. Jeremiah 20:8-9
Jeremiah had a tough assignment. He tried to refuse it, saying, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (Jeremiah 1:6). He didn’t even know the half of what was in store for him.
“You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” God promised—an assurance he gives all his reluctant servants. Then he touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:7-10).
Jeremiah was born into a priestly family during a revival. He would continue after Josiah’s death and serve under four other kings during one of the darkest periods in Israel’s history. Enemies threatened, and everyone expected God to protect “His people.” But God told Jeremiah why they had to go into exile: “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?” (9:7).
Was Jeremiah a successful prophet? He occasionally complained and questioned what was happening. But he faithfully related God’s words despite the beatings, plots against his life, imprisonment, and being thrown into a cistern.
As you read the book of Jeremiah, you’ll find it difficult to distinguish God’s words from Jeremiah’s. They both wept over Israel.
God said, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (9:23-24).
Jeremiah knew God—not only his kindness but also his justice and righteousness. Do you know God in this way too?
DIG DEEPER:
Read Jeremiah 1:18 and 6:27-30. How does God contrast Jeremiah and “the whole land”? How could he face such opposition? How could you face intense opposition?
How do other prophets use the symbolism of refining? See Isaiah 48:10, Zechariah 13:9 and Malachi 3:3. What part of their prophecies have yet to be fulfilled?
Read examples of intercessory prayer in Jeremiah 4:19, 8:21-22, 13:17, 14:17. Can you describe an experience you or someone you know had of such prayer? How is it characterized?
Nancy J. Baker
This devotion is part of a series on Jeremiah