“I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him!’ All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, ‘Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
~ Jeremiah 20:10
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you happy that you were born? Are you happy that you are living today on planet Earth? Are you really happy with your lives? Have you ever been criticized by another kid? Have you ever been bullied by another kid? Have you ever wished that you had not been born? Why do you think that you were born when you were born? Why do you think that things happen the way that they happen? Has your dad ever been beaten for what he believes? Why do you think that Jeremiah one day after he had been beaten was put in the stocks that were located at the Lord’s Temple at the Upper Gate of Benjamin? Why do you think that a priest would have a prophet beaten and then have the prophet put in stocks? Ask your dad to explain to you what stocks are? Would you like to be one day put in stocks? Jeremiah 20 is Jeremiah writing about the day when he was beaten and then put in stocks for a night. The priest and chief officer in the Lord’s temple was the guy who had Jeremiah beaten and then put in stocks for a night. Jeremiah had pushed Pashhur’s hot button when he would not stop telling God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Jerusalem that God was about to have Babylonia’s army overrun Jerusalem and that Babylonia’s army would take them and all their possessions to Babylonia. Jeremiah for fifty-three years was as a prophet a spokesman for God on planet Earth. Jeremiah would confront five different kings who were the rulers of the guys and gals who were living in Judah’s land area and in the city of Jerusalem – which was in Judah’s land area, about their need to be always obedient to God by only worshipping and serving Him or God would . . . Jeremiah did see reforms made during the reign of the first king – Josiah, who he counseled to be obedient to God but the rest of the time that God used him as one of His prophet spokesmen, Jeremiah seemed to be constantly just talking to a wall as Judah’s kings and Jerusalem’s temple leaders – like Pashhur, refused to listen to what he had to say.
How do you feel when another kid refuses to listen to what you want to tell him or her? How do you feel when another kid thinks that what you are saying to him or her is wrong and that what he or she is doing is okay to do when you know that the kid is absolutely wrong in what he or she is saying and doing? Do you think that it is okay to get angry at another kid if the kid has made you look really foolish in front of other kids? How do you think that Jeremiah felt when Pashhur put him in stocks? How do you think that Jeremiah felt having to sit in plain view with his arms and legs clamped in stocks in front of guys and gals who probably personally knew him? How would you have felt towards God if you had been Jeremiah and you had gotten beaten and then put in stocks because you were doing exactly what God had tasked you to do – which was to warn His specially chosen guys and gals to obey only Him instead of doing everything to please themselves? Jeremiah confessed that he was not a happy camper when this happened to him. Jeremiah confessed that he felt like every guy and gal was against him. Jeremiah confesses in verse 10 his feelings about having been put in stocks “I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him!’ All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, ‘Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”’ Jeremiah also confesses that he wishes that he had never been born. Jeremiah did know that God would ultimately bring vengeance on the guys who had beaten him and made him sit for a night in stocks but . . . even though Jeremiah was probably one of the best prophets – if not the best prophet, who has ever lived on planet Earth, Jeremiah was not immune from having to take physical and emotional abuse from the guys and gals who God wanted him to carry His warning message of doom to because they were . . .
Your grandpaa has never been beaten while preaching/teaching/explaining God’s message of hope to guys, gals and kids where your grandpaa has lived as a missionary. Your grandpaa has never been put in stocks for preaching/teaching/explaining God’s message of hope to guys, gals and kids where your grandpaa has lived as a missionary. Your grandpaa knows two guys who were murdered because of what God had asked them to do as missionaries. One of the guys who was killed serving God was John Tarzwell. John was on the same eight week South America Mission summer team that your grandmaa and grandpaa were on that went to Colombia in 1976. This eight week South America Mission summer team had thirty-nine participants on it. The summer team spent the majority of their time in Colombia in northern Colombia – in and near Barranquilla. John and your grandpaa became good friends during that summer. John was from Wynndel, British Columbia in Canada. When he was a small kid, John tipped a pan of boiling water over his feet resulting in the lost of several toes. John always wore open sandals. After their time together in Colombia, your grandpaa and John began exchanging letters. Not long after John was married, your grandmaa and grandpaa stopped in Wynndel to spend some time with John and Leeanne. Not long after this, John and Leeanne became missionaries with Operation Mobilization. John and Leeanne were first assigned to Bangladesh. After spending a term in Bangladesh, John and Leeanne were asked to go to Pakistan – to help Afghanistan refugees. When they could not get visas to remain in Pakistan, nine month pregnant Leeanne and their two boys went back to Canada while John stayed behind in Pakistan for a couple of extra days. John was doing a good thing but . . . an Afghan mullah purportedly killed John because he did not like it that John was helping guys who were leaving his country. John’s body was never found. Would you be willing to die in order to serve God?
Jeremiah 20 (364)