#DailyDevotion The Word Of Promise Will Sustain You
Jer 1:17-19 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. (18) And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. (19) They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”
Can you imagine going about your business as a priest and the Lord comes to you and gives you this message. With all the descriptions the Lord is giving Jeremiah, fortified city, iron pillar, bronze walls, you know the job he is calling you to will not be easy. You see what sort of shape Judah is in. Your job as priest is hanging on by a thread because the people, rulers, princes and king have already thrown away the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah and have turned to other gods. Now the Lord has called you to preach to them a message they will not want to hear. He has given you words which will call down their wrath and displeasure upon you. They will be fighting you every step of the way. Yet, if you get dismayed by all this the Lord says he will dismay you before them.
There are probably no shortage of pastors who have felt this way. Few are the persons who call themselves Christian who like to hear the word-repent! Everyone wants to follow their owns ways and do what is right in their eyes and they will find every justification for doing so.
Now these words to Jeremiah are not given to every Christian or every preacher to bear, well except for preach the word and do not fear what men will do to you. However, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet Jeremiah. Jesus is called to dress himself for work in his baptism. He was given the Father’s word to speak to the Jews everything the Father commanded of him.
Jesus indeed must have been fortified with these words to Jeremiah the prophet as Jesus had spoken them to Jeremiah as the Word of God. So now the Lord in human flesh, as the prophet of the Lord takes these words to heart, “behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” We can see this as Jesus interacts with the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. We see it as Jesus stands before the Sanhedrin, Herod and Pilate. He will not be moved.
For while they fought against Jesus, brought Jesus to the cross and the grave, the Lord was with Jesus to deliver Jesus. On the third day, the Lord indeed delivered Jesus from the dead and resurrected Jesus bodily. So now in similar fashion our Lord Jesus Christ encourages you as you face the world and all it has to throw at you, Mat 10:28-32 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell… (30) But even the hairs of your head are all numbered…So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,…” Again we are told, Heb 13:6 “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”’
Gracious God and Father, even as you upheld Jeremiah the prophet and our Lord Jesus Christ with your word of promise, give us your Holy Spirit that we too may be comforted and emboldened with your word of promise and persevere in faith unto life everlasting. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.