Oh Lord, You Lied

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O Lord, You Lied

That wasn’t in the brochure. Coming out of high school I had some classmates join the Air Force. And, years later, they joked about what the recruiter told them. He told them “Aim high!” He told them that there was no limit to the places and positions they could go to if they enlisted. Years later they joked that cleaning out kitchens and bathrooms wasn’t exactly what they had in mind when they heard the words, aim high. That wasn’t on the brochure. There is a sort of brochure that every prophet in the Old Testament and every pastor has in the New Testament. And you could summarize that brochure with the words, joy and success. But, as we read these words here in Jeremiah, it’s not always joy. And it’s not always success. In Jeremiah 20, we read: “⁷ You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived. You seized me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all the time; everyone ridicules me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out, I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!” so the word of the Lord has become my constant disgrace and derision. ⁹ I say, “I won’t mention him or speak any longer in his name.” But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.” (Jeremiah 20:7–9 CSB17)

Jeremiah offers up this pain-filled plea. He tells the Lord that he lied. The public ministry was supposed to be fun. But instead, it was frustrating. Jeremiah was called on to correct people; to show them their sins out of love for them, and out of love for his Lord. But, instead of people seeing their sins and joyfully asking Jeremiah how to follow the Lord, what happened? They made fun of him. But my dear friends, the situation got even worse: “For I have heard the gossip of many people, “Terror is on every side! Report him; let’s report him!” Everyone I trusted watches for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we might prevail against him and take our vengeance on him.”” (Jeremiah 20:10 CSB17)

The ministry was supposed to be fun, but it became frustrating. Even worse, the ministry was supposed to be fulfilling. But it became fearful. It became fearful because the ones that were placed in his life to watch over him, care for him, and protect him, had turned against him.¹(Jeremiah 20:10 BHS-T)}} The caregivers became the backstabbers. Ever since the fall into sin, it has been this way. Moses’ worst difficulties were not with the Egyptians or the Moabites. His worst problems were with his own Hebrews. Jesus in our gospel lets the prophets of his time know that their real problem is not as much going to be with the people out there. No, instead, the problem was going to be with the people close to them that God had put there to take care of them. As Jesus says, “Brother will betray brother to death” (Matthew 10:21 NIV11-GKE)

And my dear friends, there exists the same temptation today. God has given the pastor a congregation as caregivers to him. But it’s ever-so-tempting to have the caregiving congregation work against the pastor. And, so that I’m not speaking in vague words, let me give a specific example in our own lives. We are facing challenges today that we did not face six months ago. And these challenges put you in a position where it is tempting to fall into factions. On the one side, there is the faction that see that in God’s word there are commandments to keep. So, in keeping with the fourth commandment, we obey our government. In keeping with the fifth commmandment, we make sure that we are not hurting or harming our neighbor. And even more so, if we might have a virus and not even know it.

On the other hand there is a temptation to look at the parts of God’s word which speak about control—God’s control and forget the commandments. That is the real and true danger that comes from knowing only a little about God’s word and not being willing to learn and then apply the rest of what God’s word says. And when people only attach themselves to one small part of God’s word, then factions begin to form. The next step then is that each faction then tries to get the pastor to do what their faction wants them to do. And if the pastor doesn’t do what they want him to do, they turn away. They just simply will not come to church unless worship is done their way. And the pastor becomes the punching bag. And the huge irony is that it’s not the people out there that apply the pressure. Instead, it’s the people in here. Those called on to care for the pastor then work against him.

And please remember, the reason I am using this illustration is to show that there’s nothing new under the sun. There will always be the temptation for the caregiving congregation to turn against the pastor. And then, after that, there will always be the real temptation for the pastor to say to his God above, “you lied.” But the Lord has real words to say to us: “¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed, an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten. ¹² Lord of Armies, testing the righteous and seeing the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to you.” (Jeremiah 20:11–12 CSB17)

Jeremiah has a pain-filled plea. The Lord responds with a promise. The Lord will repay. He will get his vengeance. And notice the how Jeremiah speaks. The Lord will not just avenge. He will will do so like a violent warrior.²(Jeremiah 20:11 BHS-T)}} These are words that scare us and move us to repent. But these are also words of comfort too. For, if we looked at our lives, what is at the heart of some of our concerns is fear. We are afraid that the government will start with restricting our churches and go from bad to worse. And it might happen that way. But look at these words and listen to them. The Lord is a violent warrior. He will pay back and avenge just fine on his own. How comforting that is for us. But there’s another promise God gives to us: “Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord, for he rescues the life of the needy from evil people.” (Jeremiah 20:13 CSB17)

The Lord doesn’t just repay. He also redeems. When pastors do not see the Lord protecting them and watching over them and then tell the Lord that he lies, they need redemption. When people in the pew are trying to make sense of these real problems and drastic changes and lash out against their pastor, just as they did in Jeremiah’s time, they too need redemption and forgiveness. We, all of us, and each of us, need that redemption. And in Christ that is what we have. The Lord reminds us that he is in control. The Lord reminds us once again that Jesus has paid for that sin—even the sins we give into when we lash out against God or his prophets because we are afraid. And the Lord promises to continue to watch out for us. One of my favorite passages that I use to remind myself of this fact is in our gospel for today: “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30 NIV11-GKE)

Who of us knows how many hairs we have on our head? Of course, if you’ve reached the point where you are bald, I suppose it’s an easier question to answer. But for the rest of us, who of us knows? And how amazing it is to consider that Jesus not only knows, he also protects our hair so that not one hair falls to the ground without his gracious care. If he’s that concerned about hair, just imagine how concerned he is about our lives, our souls, our care.

And so, my dear friends, there will be times when we will be tempted to cry out, “O Lord, You Lied” just as Jeremiah did. But the Lord answers our pain-filled pleas. He promises that if there needs to be vengeance, he will repay. And when it comes to our own sins, he will redeem. Amen.

¹ ”כֹּל אֱנ֣וֹשׁ שְׁלוֹמִ֔י שֹׁמְרֵ֖י צַלְעִ֑י“

² ”כְּגִבּ֣וֹר עָרִ֔יץ“