“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6
Jeremiah pleaded, prophesied, illustrated, and ministered for approximately forty years. As far as we can tell, he only had two converts. Over that time, he was mostly ignored by the dogs and pigs of his day. The rulers deliberately worked to ignore him. While Jeremiah was in the priestly line, his great grandfather had been replaced by Soloman, and a different family line was now leading. Jeremiah was not typically very polite. His messages were often critical of the leaders of his day. He did this out of faithfulness to the directions given to him by God. His reward? He was imprisoned, put into a pit to die, taken into captivity, and still ignored. How would we measure his success? As far as we can tell, he had two converts. That comes down to a pace of a convert every two decades. A modern church would have fired him in disgrace, being ineffective. He likely died feeling as though he had failed.
Jeremiah gave his best and most creative sacred work to dogs, and he threw his majestic pearls to pigs. The leader’s response should have been repentance. Our response as we read Jeremiah today must be repentance. But instead, the leaders of his day attacked, tortured, and teased him. They did all they could do to make him feel worthless and a failure.
What do we do today to our modern-day prophets? These are men and women who are calling us to fasting, prayer, and repentance. Do we ignore them and hope they go away? Many will listen to messages to justify their own sin and greed. Our ears perk up to hear messages that make us feel good about ourselves. Some will seek out messages to confirm and justify their hate.
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand spent 14 years in prison and was the voice for men and women who were treated much like Jeremiah. He once wrestled with a difficult truth. We are commanded to love our enemies. His prime enemies were the communists that had captured and tortured so many. However, he also was commanded to love his neighbor. His neighbor was, and is, oppressed by his enemies. How can he be true to both? If he bad mouthed his enemies by calling out their atrocities, he was not loving them. If he kept silent, he would not love his neighbor. He chose neighbors over enemies but never seemed at peace with that decision.
In reflecting on his challenge, I look to Paul who directed us to speak the truth in love. In this command, I look to those who are oppressing the poor and keeping prisoners behind bars all in the public declaration of justice, but in reality, are part of the poverty industrial complex. Forsake your idol of government, turn from your greed, and set the captives free. When you do so, you too will become free.
To my friends that are in captivity, turn your soul to the King of Kings and depend on Him and surrender the bribes and false compassion of the social workers and discover who God says that you are. You are not hopeless, life can be better, you can be free. Embrace real freedom.
