Banned
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 36:1-10
Jeremiah had the unique combination of a steel spine and a tender heart. He was both courageous and compassionate. In chapter 36 Jeremiah tells us that he was banned from the temple. Excommunication is a legitimate form of discipline among the people of God. It both protects the church from being corrupted and calls the sinner to repent. But, as with all things, that which is appropriate can be abused. It was being abused in Jeremiah’s case.
There was no biblical basis for this ban on Jeremiah. It was used to keep him from having a venue to get his message out. It was also meant to punish him and bring him in line with what the political and religious powers wanted. One would think this would create animosity in Jeremiah’s heart. It didn’t.
In verse 3 we find that the reason for Jeremiah’s harsh message was God wanted it to awaken the people to what was coming to have them to “turn from his evil way and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” This was at the heart of what Jeremiah was trying to accomplish. So, when he sent Baruch to the Temple with the scroll, he wasn’t “fighting against the man,” he was fighting for them.
Jeremiah wanted nothing more than to see his people repent and find forgiveness and restoration. Those who were setting themselves against him would have been his best friends if only they would turn back to the Lord. What he did took courage, but his courage didn’t harden his heart. His was not the courage to seek the defeat and destruction of his enemies, it was the courage to seek the reconciliation and redemption of his enemies.
May God give us both courage and compassion, a steel spine, and a tender heart.
