How Jeremiah got his groove back...

Jeremiah 39...

Sermon #5

DRIVING THEME:

God is still present and active in human affairs and intervenes on our behalf.

PROPOSITION:

God is faithful and would reward those who stay the course.

ANTITHESIS:

In 1998, our country was riveted on the release of the movie, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." Starring Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, and Whoopi Goldberg, it is the story of how a high-powered African-American woman falls in love with a more youthful Jamaican male. One hundred and twenty four minutes of drama and comedy brought hope to many hurting women that there is a promise after disappointment. Stella got her groove back after disappointment, and life became meaningful again.

Jeremiah must have spent many lonely hours wondering whether his day would ever come. It had been made unmistakingly clear to him that Jerusalem only had two options, surrender and live, or resist and die. Under Zedekiah Judah exercised its choice, and made the wrong choice. Now all the threats from God have come to fruition. The taking of the city was the result of a long siege lasting eighteen months (39:1-2). Zedekiah fled but was soon captured (39:4-7). The land is saturated with Babylonians, and Zedekiah is taken to Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah watches as his sons are executed, and then, in his blindness, he is deported with eight hundred thirty-two others (52:29).

Chaos reigns. The city is razed and the Davidic house embodied by Zedekiah destroyed. Where is God in all of this? Where is Jeremiah, the prophet who predicted this outcome? God is on God's throne and Jeremiah is in a prison cell.

THESIS:

Jeremiah is about to get his groove back!

Jeremiah is given preferential treatment by Babylon. He is singled out from the general deportation. He has always preached, "submit and live" to his people. He now has a decisive voice in his future. His future is significant in two ways:

He aligns himself with Gedaliah.
He lives out his message, "submit and live."
Verses 15-18 abruptly shift to an important drama to be played out. One the one hand, God is relentless in the resolve against Jerusalem. On the other hand, Ebed-melech is singled out for exceptional treatment. An exception is made of Ebed-Melech, this Ethiopian, because his rescue of Jeremiah from the muddy cistern was because he "trusted in God." Acts of faith are always salvific. Jeremiah got his groove back by a reminder that those who align themselves with God are never forgotten.

RELEVANT QUESTION:

When life becomes unexplainable, and when we have been alienated by circumstances that we didn't deserve, how do we remain faithful until God comes to the rescue?

SYNTHESIS:

SYNTHESIS: Jeremiah got his groove back because he took the time to understand how God operates.

Jeremiah got his groove back because he understood that the Symbol is not the Source. In chapter 7, Jeremiah got in trouble by telling the truth about Jerusalem's reliance on the temple. It was a symbol but not the source of God's abiding presence.
Jeremiah got his groove back because he understood God's Perspective. How did the Apostle Paul put it? "All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NRSV). God's perspective helps us to see things, to see situations, to see our problems, and to see our lives in a different light.
Jeremiah got his groove back because he understood God's Power. Jeremiah never relied on his own strength nor the military might of Jerusalem. He believed like the Apostle Paul, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13 NRSV).

Jeremiah got his groove back because he understood God's Prescription.Jeremiah had two prescriptions, one was a PRN and the other was a TID prescription.1 Jeremiah's PRN was15:19, "If you return, I will restore you, And you shall stand before Me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is base, You shall be My mouth." Jeremiah's TID was 29:7, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

Spiritual renewal and moral wholeness are available to us all.