The
Warnings of God Rejected
“Those who stir up
rebellion against the servants whom God sends to deliver His messages are
rebelling against the word of the Lord.”
{4T 185.4}
The Warnings of God Rejected
Jeremiah was already
deprived of his liberty because he would obey God and give to the king and
others occupying responsible positions in Israel the words of warning which he
had received from the mouth of God. The
Israelites would not accept these reproofs nor allow their course to be
questioned. They had manifested great anger and contempt at the words of rebuke
and at the judgments which were predicted to come upon them if they continued
in rebellion against the Lord. Although
Israel would not hear the word of divine counsel, it did not make that word of
less effect, neither did God cease to reprove and to
threaten with His displeasure and His judgments those who refused to obey His
requirements. {4T 176.1}
The Lord directed
Jeremiah, saying: “Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words
that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all
the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto
this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I
purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way, that
I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
{4T 176.2}
Here is shown the Lord’s
reluctance to give up His sinning people. And lest Israel had so far neglected
His reproofs and warnings as to let them pass from their memory, He delays His
judgments upon them and gives them a full rehearsal of their disobedience and
aggravating sins from the days of Josiah down to their own time, and of the
judgments He had pronounced in consequence of their transgressions. Thus they
had another opportunity to see their iniquity and repent. In this we see that
God does not delight in afflicting His people; but with a care that surpasses
that of a pitying father for a wayward child, He entreats His wandering people
to return to their allegiance. {4T 176.3}
The prophet Jeremiah, in
obedience to the commands of God, dictated the words that the Lord gave him to
Baruch, his scribe, who wrote them upon a roll. See Jeremiah 36:4. This message was a reproof of the many sins of Israel and
a warning of the consequences that would follow a continuance of their evil
course. It was an earnest appeal for them to
renounce their sins. After it was written, Jeremiah, who was a prisoner, sent
his scribe to read the roll to all the people who had assembled “in the Lord’s
house upon the fasting day.” Said the prophet: “It may be they will present
their supplication before the Lord, and will return everyone from his evil way;
for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this
people.” {4T 177.1}
The scribe obeyed the
prophet, and the roll was read before all the people of Judah. But this was not
all; he was summoned to read it before the princes. They listened with great
interest, and fear was stamped upon their faces as they questioned Baruch
concerning the mysterious writing. They promised to tell the king all they had
heard in regard to him and his people, but counseled the scribe to hide
himself, as they feared that the king would reject the testimony God had given
through Jeremiah, and seek to slay not only the prophet, but his scribe. {4T 177.2}
When the king was told
by the princes of what Baruch had read, he immediately ordered the roll brought
and read to him. But instead of heeding its
warnings and trembling at the danger that hung over himself and his people, in
a frenzy of rage he flung it into the fire, notwithstanding certain ones who
were high in his confidence had begged him not to burn it. When the wrath of this wicked monarch rose against
Jeremiah and his scribe, and he forthwith sent for them to be taken; but the
Lord hid them.” After the king had burned the sacred roll, the word of God came
to Jeremiah, saying: “Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the
former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim
the king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim
king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why
hast thou written therein, saying, The king
of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease
from thence man and beast?” {4T 177.3}
A merciful God had
graciously warned the people for their good. “It may be,” said the
compassionate Creator, “that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I
purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way; that
I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” God
pities the blindness and perversity of man; He sends light to their darkened
understanding in reproofs and threatenings which are
designed to make the most exalted feel their ignorance and deplore their
errors. He would cause the self-complacent
to feel dissatisfied with their attainments and seek greater blessings by
closer connection with heaven. {4T
178.1}
God’s plan is not to
send messengers who will please and flatter sinners; He delivers no messages of
peace to lull the unsanctified into carnal security. But He lays heavy burdens
upon the conscience of the wrongdoer, and pierces his soul with sharp arrows of
conviction. The ministering angels present
to him the fearful judgments of God, to deepen the sense of his great need and
prompt the agonizing cry: “What shall I do to be saved?” The very hand that
humbles to the dust, rebukes sin, puts pride and ambition to shame, lifts up
the penitent, stricken one, and inquires with deepest sympathy: “What wilt thou
that I shall do unto thee?” {4T 178.2}
When man has sinned
against a holy and merciful God, he can pursue no course so noble as to
sincerely repent and confess his errors in tears and bitterness of soul. This
God requires of him; He will accept of nothing less than a broken heart and a
contrite spirit. But the king and his lords,
in their arrogance and pride, refused the invitation of God to return; they
would not heed this warning and repent. This gracious opportunity was their
last. God had declared that if they refused to hear His voice, He would inflict
upon them fearful retribution. They did
refuse to hear, and He pronounced His judgments upon Israel; He visited with
special wrath the man who had proudly lifted himself up against the Almighty. {4T 178.3}
“Therefore thus saith
the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have
none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in
the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and
his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the
men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they
hearkened not.” {4T 179.1}
The burning of the roll
was not the end of the matter. The written words were more easily disposed of
than the reproof and warning which they contained and the swift-coming
punishment which God had pronounced against rebellious Israel. But even the
written roll was reproduced at the command of the Lord. The words of the
Infinite were not to be destroyed. “Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave
it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote
therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there
were added besides unto them many like words.”
{4T 179.2}
God does not send
judgments upon His people without first warning them to repent. He uses every
means to bring them back to obedience and does not visit their iniquity with
judgments until He has given them ample opportunity to repent. The wrath of man sought to prevent the labors of the
prophet of God by depriving him of his liberty; but
God can speak to men through prison walls, and
even increase the usefulness of His servants through the very means by which
their persecutors seek to limit their influence. {4T 179.3}
Many now despise the
faithful reproof given of God in testimony. I
have been shown that some in these days have even gone so far as to burn the
written words of rebuke and warning, as did the wicked king of Israel. But opposition to God’s threatenings
will not hinder their execution. To defy the
words of the Lord, spoken through His chosen instruments, will only provoke His
anger and eventually bring certain ruin upon the offender. Indignation often
kindles in the heart of the sinner against the agent whom God chooses to
deliver His reproofs. It has ever been thus, and the same spirit exists today
that persecuted and imprisoned Jeremiah for obeying the word of the Lord. {4T 180.1}
While men will not heed
repeated warnings, they are pleased with false teachers who flatter their
vanity and strengthen their iniquity, but who will fail to help them in the day
of trouble. God’s chosen servants
should meet with courage and patience whatever trials and sufferings befall
them through reproach, neglect, or misrepresentations because they faithfully
discharge the duty that God has given them to do. They should remember that the prophets of old and the
Saviour of the world also endured abuse and persecution for the word’s sake.
They must expect to meet just such opposition as was manifested by the burning
of the roll that was written by the dictation of God. {4T 180.2}
The Lord is fitting a
people for heaven. The defects of character, the stubborn will, the selfish
idolatry, the indulgence of faultfinding, hatred, and contention, provoke the
wrath of God and must be put away from His commandment-keeping people. Those living in these sins are deceived and blinded by
the wiles of Satan. They think that they are in the light when they are groping
in darkness. There are murmurers
among us now, even as there were murmurers among
ancient Israel. Those who by unwise sympathy encourage men in rebellion when their self-love
is smarting beneath merited reproof are
not the friends of God, the great Reprover. God will send reproof and warning
to His people as long as they continue upon earth. {4T 180.3}
Those who valiantly take
their position on the right side, who encourage submission to God’s revealed
will and strengthen others in their efforts to put away their wrong-doings, are
the true friends of the Lord, who in love is trying to correct the errors of
His people, that He may wash them and, cleansing them from every defilement,
fit them for His holy kingdom. {4T 181.1}
Zedekiah succeeded Jehoiakim in reigning at Jerusalem. But neither the new
king nor his court nor the people of the land hearkened to the words of the
Lord spoken through Jeremiah. The Chaldeans commenced the siege against
Jerusalem, but were diverted for a time to turn their arms against the
Egyptians. Zedekiah sent a messenger to
Jeremiah, asking him to pray to the God of Israel in their behalf; but the
prophet’s fearful answer was that the Chaldean army would return and destroy
the city. Thus the Lord showed them how
impossible it is for man to avert divine judgment. “Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely
depart from us; for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole
army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded
men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this
city with fire.” {4T 181.2}
Jeremiah considered his
work done and attempted to leave the city; but he was prevented by a son of one
of the false prophets, who reported that he was about to join the enemy.
Jeremiah denied the lying charge, but nevertheless he was brought back. The princes were ready to believe the son of the false
prophet because they hated Jeremiah. They seemed to think that he had brought upon them the
calamity which he had predicted. In their wrath they smote him and imprisoned
him.
{4T 181.3}
After he had remained in
the dungeon many days, Zedekiah the king sent for him and asked him secretly if
there was any word from the Lord. Jeremiah again repeated his warning that the
nation would be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. {4T 181.4}
“Moreover Jeremiah said
unto King Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants,
or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Where are now your
prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king
of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? Therefore hear
now, I pray thee, O my Lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be
accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan
the scribe, lest I die there. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should
commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him
daily a piece of bread out of the bakers street, until
all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of
the prison.” {4T 182.1}
The wicked king dared
not openly manifest any faith in Jeremiah, but his fear drove him to seek
information of him. Yet he was too weak to brave the disapprobation of his
nobles and of the people by submitting to the will of God as declared by the
prophet. At last men in authority who were
enraged because Jeremiah persisted in prophesying evil went to the king and
told him that as long as the prophet lived he would not cease to predict
calamity. They urged that he was an enemy to the nation and that his words had
weakened the hands of the people and brought misfortune upon them, and they
wanted him put to death. {4T 182.2}
The cowardly king knew
these charges were false; but in order to propitiate those who occupied high
and influential positions in the nation, he feigned to believe their falsehoods
and gave Jeremiah into their hands to do with him as they pleased. Accordingly
the prophet was taken and cast “into the dungeon of Malchiah
the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the
prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no
water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.” But God raised
up friends for him who besought the king in his behalf and had him again
removed to the court of the prison. {4T
182.3}
Once more the king sent
privately for Jeremiah and bade him faithfully relate the purpose of God toward
Jerusalem. “Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I
declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and
if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? So Zedekiah the king sware
secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I
will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men
that seek thy life.” Then Jeremiah again sounded the Lord’s note of warning in
the ears of the king. Said he: “Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God
of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes,
then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou
shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of
Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the
Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of
their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews
that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and
they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not
deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the
Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul
shall live.” {4T 182.4}
Here was exhibited the
long-suffering mercy of God. Even at that late hour, if there were submission
to His requirements, the lives of the people would be spared and the city saved
from conflagration. But the king thought he had gone too far to retract. He was
afraid of the Jews, afraid of becoming a subject of ridicule, afraid for his
life. It was too humiliating, at that late day, to say to the people: “I accept
the word of the Lord as spoken through His prophet Jeremiah. I dare not venture
to war against the enemy in the face of all these warnings.” {4T 183.1}
With tears Jeremiah
entreated the king to save himself and his people. With anguish of spirit he
assured him that he could not escape with his life, and that all his
possessions would fall to the king of Babylon. He could save the city if he
would. But he had started upon the wrong track and would not retrace his steps.
He decided to follow the counsel of false prophets and of men whom he really
despised and who ridiculed his weakness of character in yielding so readily to
their wishes. He yielded the noble freedom of his manhood to become a cringing
slave to public opinion. While he had no fixed purpose of evil, he also had no
resolution to stand boldly for the right. While he was convicted of the truth
as spoken by Jeremiah, he did not possess the moral stamina to obey his
counsel, but advanced steadily in the wrong direction. {4T 183.2}
He was even too weak to
be willing that his courtiers and people should know that he had held a
conference with the prophet, so far had the fear of man taken possession of his
soul. If this cowardly ruler had stood bravely before his people and declared
that he believed the words of the prophet, already half-fulfilled, what
desolation might have been averted! He should have said: “I will obey the Lord
and save the city from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the commands of God for
the fear or favor of men. I love the truth, I hate sin, and I will follow the
counsel of the Mighty One of Israel.” Then the people would have respected his
courageous spirit, and those who were wavering between faith and unbelief would
have taken a firm stand for the right. The very fearlessness and justice of
this course would have inspired his subjects with admiration and loyalty. He
would have had ample support, and Israel would have been spared the untold woe
of fire and carnage and famine.
{4T 184.1}
But the weakness of
Zedekiah was a crime for which he paid a fearful penalty. The enemy swept down like a resistless avalanche and
devastated the city. The Hebrew armies were
beaten back in confusion. The nation was conquered. Zedekiah was taken
prisoner, and his sons were slain before his eyes. Then he was led away from
Jerusalem a captive, hearing the shrieks of his wretched people and the roaring
of the flames that were devouring their homes. His eyes were put out, and when
he arrived at Babylon he perished miserably. This was the punishment of
unbelief and following ungodly counsel. {4T 184.2}
There are many false
prophets in these days, to whom sin does not appear
specially repulsive. They complain that the peace of the people is
unnecessarily disturbed by the reproofs and warnings of God’s messengers. As
for them, they lull the souls of sinners into a fatal ease by their smooth and
deceitful teachings. Ancient Israel was thus charmed by the flattering messages
of the corrupt priests. Their prediction of prosperity was more pleasing than
the message of the true prophet, who counseled repentance and submission. {4T 185.1}
The servants of God
should manifest a tender, compassionate spirit and show to all that they are
not actuated by any personal motives in their dealings with the people, and
that they do not take delight in giving messages of wrath in the name of the
Lord. But they must never flinch from pointing out the sins that are corrupting the professed people of God, nor cease
striving to influence them to turn from their errors and obey the Lord. {4T
185.2}
Those who seek to cloak sin and make it appear less
aggravating to the mind of the offender are doing the work of the false
prophets and may expect the retributive wrath of God to follow such a course. The Lord will never
accommodate His ways to the wishes of corrupt men. The false prophet condemned
Jeremiah for afflicting the people with his severe denunciations, and he sought
to reassure them by promising them prosperity, thinking that the poor people
should not be continually reminded of their sins and threatened with
punishment. This course strengthened the people to resist the true prophet’s
counsel and intensified their enmity toward him. {4T 185.3}
God has no sympathy with the evildoer. He gives no one liberty to gloss over the sins of His people, nor to cry, “Peace, peace,” when He has declared that there shall be no peace for the wicked. Those who stir up rebellion against the servants whom God sends to deliver His messages are rebelling against the word of the Lord. {4T 185.4}