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7/27 Reading Portions: Judges 10:1-11:11; Acts 14; Jeremiah 23; Mark 9
Jeremiah 23:33
“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the LORD.’”
BURDEN
The devil often uses false prophets and false priests to portray YHVH God as weak or unwilling, as opposed to holy and almighty. This is why it was so easy for the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem to turn to Baal and other idols. These liars will say “all is well” when sin runs rampant among those who are supposed to be the people of God, representing the Holy One of Israel to an unbelieving world. They will use religious, sanctimonious words, such as, “the burden of the LORD…” In Jeremiah’s day, it meant “tribute” or “utterance” or “prophecy,” and it came from a Hebrew root word which meant “to lift,” often implying something heavy to carry. The LORD’s rebuke through Jeremiah to the religious liars held layers of ironic meaning. Two of the major implications were, first, that the false priests and prophets were a heavy, wearisome burden themselves; and second, that they themselves were a prophecy of the judgment which Jeremiah preached. We see this parallel through several examples of what is called the church in America today. One such case would be the “Health, Wealth, Prosperity” doctrine, whose prophets preach to “name it and claim it” in Jesus’ name. Another more subtle burden takes place in churches across America every Sunday, whereas a preacher may proclaim, “Now, God’s done everything He’s going to do through the death of His Son, the rest is up to you!” I’ve heard preached on several occasions in more than one church where the preacher has painted a portrait of Christ with words that make Jesus so weak and pathetic to save a soul that unless the lost soul gives the Lord Jesus the opportunity to save him or her, Jesus can never be King of kings. God forbid! You can be sure, this today across America, there will be pulpits rocking on earth (and shocking heaven) with sermons from the preacher’s own dreams (Jer 23:25) because the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not good enough or powerful enough to save. Is judgment coming? Yes, but beloved, in America, it’s already here.