Podcast Introduction Our reading today is Jeremiah 22-26.  I’m calling the episode “Courage.” Comments on Jeremiah 26 Jeremiah 26:1-6 (ESV) 1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’” Jeremiah 26:1-6 (ESV) A prophet of God is one who speaks what God has told him to say. Prophecy is not only telling what will happen. Prophecy is delivering God’s message. Here in chapter 26, God gave a very specific message to Jeremiah, and He told Jeremiah to speak “… all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.” Given the message that Jeremiah was to deliver, it took quite a lot of courage to do this. He was to go to the Temple court. This was a large area where a lot of people gathered. By all accounts, Jeremiah seems to have been a quiet man, a retiring man, not a man who relished the limelight.  And in His instructions, God told Jeremiah, “It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.” When God said, “It may be that they will listen,” He knew, of course, how His message would be received, but He wanted Jeremiah to deliver the message with a hopeful heart. He wanted Jeremiah to communicate to the people in a way that told them that their future was in their hands, not as if the decision to bring judgement was a foregone conclusion. So Jeremiah obediently followed the Lord’s instructions. To the letter.  And when the people heard the message, they “… laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!'” And the text says, “And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.” This was an angry mob. They were bent on killing him because they didn’t like his message. Even the priests and prophets said, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city…” They seem to have thought that Jeremiah was a traitor. They thought that he was against Jerusalem. And Jeremiah made his case to the officials and all the people. He said, ““The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.”  Jeremiah restated exactly what the Lord told him to say. He didn’t soften his words. He didn’t try to make it any easier to hear. He faithfully delivered the message. Do you think that was an easy thing to do? In the face of an angry mob who had just threa