My treat for the summer was a new Eugene Peterson book based on the life of Jeremiah entitled ‘Run with the Horses’ (the title based on Jer 12:5 which says ‘If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out,how can you compete with horses?‘) On many of the online ‘Which Bible character are you?’ quizzes, the answer I come up with frequently is Jeremiah; I have a soft spot for this prophet who lived through such dark, difficult times.
Today’s chapter is looking at how Jeremiah responded to God’s initial call to be a prophet and how he felt so inadequate to the task (see Jer 1:4-6). Such a response is our inevitable reaction to God’s challenges to us, because we are well aware that He calls us to things that are far greater than we can accomplish in our own strength. God’s response is that those He calls, He also equips: ‘“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand 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 will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.‘ (Jer 1:17-19) In the Message version, these verses are translated ‘I’m making you as impregnable as a castle, immovable as a steel post,solid as a concrete block wall.You’re a one-man defence system against this culture…’
Garry’s sermon on Sunday about ‘culture clash’ was challenging, especially to those of a temperament like mine which tends to flee the moment conflict raises its head. I am definitely in the ‘retreat’ camp. I don’t like conflict; I hate arguments; I withdraw into myself and am afraid when people disagree and are vociferous and heated in debate. The thought of anyone being a ‘one-man defence system against this culture’ is pretty mind-blowing to me! When I consider Jeremiah’s temperament and the inner anguish which is clearly revealed through that book and Lamentations, I imagine Jeremiah’s eyes were opened rather wide by God’s answer! But a prophet is moved by two basic convictions: ‘the first conviction is that God is personal and alive and active. The second conviction is that what is going on right now in this world, at this time in history, is critical.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Run With the Horses’ P 48) Who we are is shaped by God and what we do is fuelled by Him. I suspect this verse is God’s clarion call to us now, to stand as a defence system against the culture and to listen to His still, small voice so that we do not conform to the pattern of this world but are transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Rom 12:1-2) After all, “Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next.” (William Ralph Inge Dean of St Paul’s 1911-34)