…All the people from the small to the great approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our pleading come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God for all this remnant—since we have been left only a few out of many, just as your own eyes now see us—that the Lord your God will tell us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.” Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the Lord gives you as an answer. I will not withhold a word from you.” (Jeremiah 42:1-4)
You can hear the distance that the people felt from God in the words they say to Jeremiah, “the Lord YOUR God.”
But Jeremiah reassures them that God still sees them and loves them when he responds with the exact same words—not “the Lord my God” (as the people thought he would say) but “the Lord YOUR God.”
This word of encouragement from Jeremiah helped this same group of people to see God in the right light: “Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the Lord OUR God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well for us when we listen to the voice of the Lord OUR God” (v. 6).
This is a good reminder for all of us that we need to encourage one another whenever we have the opportunity. “Let’s approach [our] God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith … and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:22, 24).
You may want to check out my post A Unique Look At “Church” for some further thoughts about encouraging our brothers and sisters.
Craig T. Owens 