Jer 15:19-21 – Heed the Word of the Lord, Not the Word of the Horde
There's an old saying goes that two heads are better than one. That means that two people working together can make a better decision than one person alone. Let's take a moment and update that saying a little. 325,855,376 people live in the United States according to the census bureau. That's a horde of people and the number is going up every minute. So let's just round it up and say, “326 million heads are better than one.” Is that true?
Politically we may have all sorts of viewpoints on what approaches serve the country best. It is generally what the majority thinks that counts, but history shows us that the horde is not always right in politics.
What about in spiritual matters? The prophet Jeremiah sure struggled with this thought. He was being persecuted. He was definitely not a part of horde of Israel. He prayed to God, “think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.” Jeremiah had been sent by God Himself to give the Word of the Lord to the people, but they rejected him and the One who had sent him. Worse yet, the people strengthened their resolve against God's prophet by speaking against him to one another. This is the word of the horde.
Our Savior also felt the strain of persecution, only far worse, because He was not just the messenger like Jeremiah. When the people spoke against him and spat on him and followed through on their scornful words, “Crucify, crucify.” it was much worse.
But the horde is wrong. It was wrong about the message Jeremiah delivered. God had sent him to warn all Judah, kings included, that it's sinful behavior and idolatry would soon lead to its downfall. The forces of Babylon were stirring to the east, and God would soon allow them to conquer and enslave the people.
At first the horde put fingers in its collective ears and said loudly, “I can't hear you.” But as the message given to Jeremiah came true a little at a time, the horde rose up against the messenger. It really doesn't make much sense either, does it?
Even Jeremiah would have liked to join in the horde mentality. He complained to the Lord. “You understand, O Lord; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering – do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for your sake. When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?” He was questioning God's loyalty, like the horde.
Sure there was peer pressure and persecution. But would heeding the word of the horde make more sense than heeding the word of the Lord? No, because the word of the horde is wrong. Jesus Himself was warning His disciples about what was soon to come. The forces of the devil were preparing what they thought would be the final annihilation of God's plan of salvation. And Peter who was nearly always the first to speak on behalf of the others, said, “This shall never happen to you!” Just who did Peter think he was talking to? This makes no sense either. The horde is wrong.
The Lord, however, is right. He has ever been right, because He is truth in the greatest sense of the word. He explains why the word of the horde is wrong, not philosophically but with history. He gave another prophet, Moses, the Book of Genesis, especially the ends of chapters 1 and 3. He shows us through Moses what happened at the very beginning of the world.
God created the first man and woman in His own image. That means that they knew the truth and were truthful. That means that they were sinless and perfect. But they gave in to the temptation to have yet more knowledge, so they looked outside of God's will for more answers. But that meant looking outside of the truth for answers. Ever since then the horde of their descendants has been looking outside of the truth for answers.
When Jeremiah was prophesying the fall of Judah and the Exile, the horde refused him, because they desired to look outside of the Word of the Lord for something more palatable.
Peter did the same thing, when he urged Jesus not to go to Jerusalem. He did not want to see that only Jesus could set things straight. He did not want to see that only the sacrifice of the Son of God could cover the sins of Adam and Eve and all humankind. That is why Jesus rebuked him so strongly, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Who do we listen to? The word of the horde or the Word of the Lord? We had better be very careful in answering this question, because we are part of the horde. We are no better than Peter, no different than Judah. Our every natural inclination is also evil. By nature we would rather flee from the Word of the Lord and take shelter in the word of the horde.
When we hear the Lord's rebuke, we would rather run than deal with it, mostly because we can't deal with it. We would rather ride the high horse and persecute than take God's Word to heart and repent. But God will not back down. His Word is truth. But more than that, God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast, steadfast love. He would rather that you repent than die. So His Word stands. It is immovable and unchangeable. It means just exactly what it has always meant. It pronounces condemnation for every sin, every thought, word and deed that are outside of God's will, contrary to His commandments. No amount of railing against it will ever change it. Persecuting the messenger will never help, no matter who he or she happens to be. It will always be the needle to the balloon of pride, the hammer for the heart of stone, and the sickle in Death's hands. That is why the horde would not listen to God Himself when He visited them and even died for them. That is why even today, His Word creates so much anger and animosity.
Yet God's Word also says, “For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Jesus rose from the dead. Does that fact not stop the word of the horde in its tracks? He is risen indeed. And that is God's response to sin. He deals with it. He sacrifices of Himself to end its grip on us and free us from being slaves to the horde. You didn't decide to believe, He came and sought you out. The vast numbers of sins that you and I have committed are washed away in the tide of Jesus' blood on the cross. Nothing can change that. You are forgiven.
It's true that you can choose to listen to the word of the horde and follow the horde over the edge of the cliff like lemmings down into hell. Do not listen to the majority of numbers, listen to the Lord. He is always the majority. It will ever be so, because of who He is. Listen and repent and find comfort and follow and learn and speak the truth in love.
Maybe you have been on the receiving end of the word of the horde, like Jeremiah and Peter. Think about it. Are you comfortable speaking to others about Christ, or have you been taught not to. Taught by whom? Who says it's right to stay quiet about religious matters. If you really care about your neighbor, you know that you cannot stay quiet. You know that they need the Word of the Lord not the Word of the horde. You know because you are constantly confronted by both, and you know that it hurts, but you also know the Lord and what's at stake.
When you feel that butterfly of persecution in your throat or maybe even the sting of its lash on your back, remember God's Word to Jeremiah, “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the Lord. And remember God's Word to Peter, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all things whatever I have commanded you. And lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.” This is God's promise, and He is always the majority. Heed the good Word of the Lord, not the bad word of the horde. Amen.