Family Bible Series for Feb. 12: Serving God is not without its costs

Posted: 1/31/06

Family Bible Series for Feb. 12

Serving God is not without its costs

• Jeremiah 26:1-16

By Donald Raney

Westlake Chapel, Graham

Serving God will be costly. There is simply no avoiding this fact. For some people, the cost will be financial. For others, service in God’s kingdom will cost personal dreams, goals, ambitions and plans. For still others, it may mean living a life without physical comforts or one of opposition from others.

Whatever the costs, the reality is that a life of service to God runs contrary to the values of this world and will require costs to be paid. The primary question that needs to be answered, then, is whether the individual is willing to pay the price for fulfilling God’s call to service.

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Few people in the Old Testament understood this as well as Jeremiah. God called Jeremiah to deliver a very unpopular message to the Israelites during a time of extreme national crisis. The Babylonian army threatened to overrun the small kingdom of Judah. Fear was a daily reality for the people, yet they held on to the belief that God would never allow his city, Jerusalem, to fall to a pagan nation.

Jeremiah was sent to tell the people Jerusalem would in fact be destroyed as God’s punishment on the sins of the people. Fulfilling this call placed enormous costs on Jeremiah. Through a study of his faithfulness and willingness to pay the price, we can gain encouragement and understanding of the benefits that accompany paying the price of serving God.

Jeremiah 26:1-7

Following the godly reign of King Josiah, Israel was led on a downward spiral by a succession of four ungodly kings. Each of these kings not only led the people into idolatry, but also sought to throw off Babylonian oppression through political rebellion only to meet with further oppression and eventually exile.

During the reign of one of these kings, God told Jeremiah to proclaim a message of God’s judgment on Israel in the temple courts. While chapter 26 provides only a brief statement of the central message of this proclamation, it seems likely that the content of this temple sermon is recorded in Jeremiah 7. If this is the case, it certainly would have been a difficult message to deliver, especially within the courts of the temple.

Yet in calling Jeremiah to this task, God warns him to speak all God commands him to speak. In this sermon, Jeremiah reminds the people of their long history of sin, beginning the day God led them out of Egyptian slavery. God was angry over the ways the people treated each other, especially the less-fortunate of society.

God also was angry over the people’s worship of idols. God and his temple were being taken for granted. In the minds of the people, their security came from the presence of the temple, yet they made sacrifices to Baal. God had forgiven this behavior for many years but now was preparing to punish the people.

God called Jeremiah to tell the people the day was coming when Jerusalem would be desolate and even the temple would be destroyed. Even though he surely knew the consequences would be difficult to face, Jeremiah answered the call and proclaimed this message.

Jeremiah 26:8-14

As expected, Jeremiah’s words were not well received by the priests and people. After Jeremiah finished speaking, the people crowded against Jeremiah and began condemning him for his words. They saw his words as heresy against God’s temple worthy of death.

Eventually news of this reached the royal palace, and the princes and leaders came to investigate. When they arrived at the temple, the priests and prophets immediately began to call on the leaders to kill Jeremiah for his words against the temple and Jerusalem.

Apparently before the officials could respond, Jeremiah spoke and reasserted that his message had come directly from God who had sent him as his messenger. Jeremiah added announced destruction could perhaps still be avoided, but only if the people repented of their sin and turned back to God. He then voluntarily submitted himself to the authority of the princes.

Jeremiah had a clear understanding of his role in God’s plan. He knew God’s message would not be accepted by those to whom it was directed. He knew they might choose to arrest or even execute him for speaking against God’s people. Yet Jeremiah was more afraid of not fulfilling God’s call than he was of the crowd. Jeremiah knew the personal costs to himself could be great if he chose to deliver God’s message. Jeremiah did not allow his fear or the pressure of the situation to divert him from carrying out the mission God had given him.

Jeremiah 26:15-16

Just as Jeremiah had considered the cost of fulfilling God’s call to deliver the message, he wanted the leaders to consider carefully the costs if they chose to kill him. He wanted them to consider the possible consequences of punishing a servant of God for doing his divinely appointed duty. Such an act would bring the guilt of innocent blood on themselves and the entire city.

While the law did prescribe death for false prophets, killing a true prophet of God could bring severe punishment from God. Having said all of this, Jeremiah was silent and awaited their decision. He had been faithful in doing what God had called him to do. Now the results and the consequences were up to God.

While Jeremiah verbally submitted to the leaders, in his heart he surrendered to the will of God. God repeatedly had promised to protect those who carried out their calling, and Jeremiah placed his trust in that promise.

Often today, we are hesitant to answer God’s call to a certain task because we feel ill-equipped to produce the desired results. We need to remember and understand that God simply asks we do as he instructs. God is in charge of the results. Success for us is found in counting the cost of obedience, paying those costs through the completion of the task and leaving the rest to God.

Discussion questions

• What are some possible costs associated with obeying God?

• What might be some of the personal costs for failing to obey God’s call?

• What has God called you to do for which you are considering the costs? How are you planning to pay the price to serve God?