Not Rending Their Garments Jeremiah 36

Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. Jeremiah 36:24

This passage is a sad commentary on people and the scriptures and prophets. Here is the set up to this incident.

God came to Jeremiah and told him to warn the people of Israel of the destruction He had planned for them. His hope was that if people heard, they would turn from their evil ways, have their iniquities and sins forgiven. (vs 3) So Jeremiah has Baruch come and write his dictation. Jeremiah isn't allowed in the house of God, so he sends Baruch. He reads the scroll and the people panic. They say, “We need to tell the king about this!” Another fellow takes it to the king's court and they agree that God means business and the king needs to hear this! So they take it into the king.

Now mind you that up to this point people are fearing the word of the Lord. They are not looking at this as mere words written by Jeremiah...they know God is trying to warn them that they are on a destructive path. Now if you just read the verse above, you would think that they just ignored the scroll and God's word. Nope. If only. As the scroll was being read, the king used it as firewood. He cut it off as it was being read and through it in the fire! No fear, no repentance, no honor of God. A few servants begged him to stop doing that. Word got back to Jeremiah of what had happened and God had him rewrite the message and add curses to the king's lineage.

Politicians and priests...there seems to be a battle between the two sects for time immemorial. The priests tell what God wants or thinks, and the politicians push them aside for their own personal power and gain. The history of Europe is riddled with politicians giving religious posts to those who would endorse their ill-behavior or at least look the other way. And prophets? Well, they tend to catch it from both sides. Poor Jeremiah was not looked at as the mouth-piece of God appealing to His people to turn from evil and avoid terrors to come, but as a political enemy out to harm his country. And not much has changed. Sad to say, the prayer breakfast yesterday was full of people proclaiming God's word, and met with one very powerful “king” who said we need to question whether God talks to Christians at all! We are to doubt that God's Word to the world is the only word for the world. Aren't all religions a way to God? Isn't there more than one way? Isn't it arrogant to think God only talks to us?

Well, he might as well have been taking the knife to every Christian speech there and throwing it into the fire. Men of God were ignored for political expediency, and I am afraid that this marks the same end for us as for Israel. You see, the king of then and the politician of now aren't the only ones to blame. They are the figureheads. I used to look at scripture and get a little upset with God for condemning a whole nation for the actions of a few. But God wrote those words through Jeremiah to the PEOPLE of Israel, not the king alone. The whole country had defied God through their actions and behaviors. They may have called themselves Jews, but they were not living it. They may have offered sacrifices and done the whole Passover deal, but their hearts were elsewhere. The actions of the king reflected the hearts of the people. A few were repentant and fearful, but none rend their garments. Fear was there, but the acts of repentance were not. Had they gone out in the streets with rent garments appealing to the masses to repent, maybe the results would have been different. But they took the issue to the king, to the politicians, and it got them nowhere.

We have this same mentality today. We look to political parties and powerful people to change the spiritual problems in our country. God appeals to us to appeal to our brethren, and we get them panicked instead of repentant. God doesn't just want us to fear His judgment. He wants us to fear HIM. He wants our attention, our love, our adoration. He blesses those who draw near to Him with peace and comfort. He withholds judgment if the people respond to His Word. He is gracious enough to send us prophets, even today, who hold up God's Word, often proclaiming to us this things that the church universal refuses to deal with for fear of driving people out of the church. We fear man, and not God. We fear offending man instead of offending God. Beware of who you are seeking God's wisdom from, but when you find one who rightfully divides His Word, take heed. Learn all you can, study for yourself, and don't poo-poo those who appeal to our spiritual side and look at even political issues as matters of God's concern. Our future could ride on your response.