Jeremiah 28:5-9
Romans 6:12-14
Almost everyone wants peace, right? But at what price?
After World War I ended, the map of Europe was re-drawn and several new
countries were formed. As a result, three million Germans found themselves
now living in part of Czechoslovakia. When Adolf Hitler came to power, he
wanted to unite all Germans into one nation.
In September 1938 he turned his attention to the three million Germans
living in part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. Sudeten Germans
began protests and provoked violence from the Czech police. Hitler claimed
that 300 Sudeten Germans had been killed. This was not actually the case,
but Hitler used it as an excuse to place German troops along the Czech
border.
The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew to meet Hitler at his
private mountain retreat in Berch-tes-gaden in an attempt to resolve the
crisis. You may remember from history books or television documentaries
how Chamberlain came back from the meetings, declaring “peace for our
time.” Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland – and World War
Two was on.
True peace is NOT simply the absence of conflict. The Hebrew word
Shalom carries much more meaning – including the concept of well-being
and even flourishing.
Both Hananiah and Jeremiah were called by God to reassure the people of
Judah and their leaders while Nebuchadnezzar was solidifying his control
over them. While Jeremiah spoke God’s truth to them, Hananiah told them
what they wanted to hear:
“I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring
back to this place all the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring
back to this place Jehoiachin – son of Jehoiakim king of Judah – and all the
other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon …”
In other words, Hananiah was proclaiming peace when there was no peace.
A happy ending where there was none.
In fact, the only thing Jeremiah could tell them was the truth – and that was
that he wished he had better news for them:
"Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have
prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD's house and all the exiles
back to this place from Babylon.”
At some point during this exchange, Jeremiah had put a yoke – usually
used for oxen – around his neck to illustrate the yoke of captivity that the
Babylonians had imposed on them. So Jeremiah followed this up with his
own message from the Lord:
“From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied
war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But
the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by
the LORD only if his prediction comes true."
Which Jeremiah knew could not happen following Hananiah’s wishful-
thinking prophecy. He’s promising easy peace without sincere repentance.
Hananiah responded by taking the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and breaking it.
Then, he raised the stakes on his bogus prophecy:
"This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two
years.'"
Jeremiah just walked away. But God essentially told him, “Not so fast.”
"Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the LORD says: You have broken a
wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the
LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will put an iron yoke on the necks
of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
and they will serve him.’”
The reality was worse than the prophecy. The Kingdom of Judah fell after a
series of Jewish revolts. Jerusalem was destroyed, and the glorious first
Temple – built by King Solomon – was burned.
Following the conquest, the best and the brightest of the Jews were exiled
to Babylon, marking the beginning of 40 years of what we call “The
Babylonian Captivity.”
The truth for us in this story is that everyone wants peace, but we often seek
a cheap, conflict-free version instead of real shalom. That is far more
complex than a simple absence of conflict.
It has more to do with contentment with our circumstances – as Sheryl Crow
famously sang in her breakout hit “Soak Up the Sun” in 2002: “It’s not
having what you want – it’s wanting what you’ve got.”
And for those of us who have an ongoing relationship with God, true peace
comes from being in the right alignment with God. Which is where Paul’s
message to the Roman Christians comes in.
Romans 6:12-14 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that
you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him
as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but under grace.
Have you ever noticed how peace settles on us when we know we are living
according to God’s Will? And how unsettled we are when we are following
our own wills?
Here’s another pop music connection. Does anyone remember when Bob
Dylan released a Gospel album in 1979? The most popular track was
entitled, “You Gotta Serve Somebody:”
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord,
But you’re going to have to serve somebody.
Serving ourselves and our appetites – but not serving our Lord Jesus –
leads to a dead end. A spiritually dead end – which offers no peace.
So on this Independence Day weekend – do not make yourselves slaves to
sin – but servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you will find
true peace – that you can then proclaim to others. Amen.