「理不尽な扱いを受けても、なお主に従う」十一月第一主日礼拝 宣教 2025年11月2日
エレミヤ書 Jeremiah 32章1〜5節（37章） 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. It’s hard to believe, but November has already arrived this year. Amidst this, I am thankful that we can dedicate this first Sunday of the month to God together with all of you.
Due to computer-related issues, we have been unable to live-stream worship services for the past two weeks. However, one brother felt a strong sense of responsibility to provide the stream for those unable to attend in person, dedicating his time and effort to restore the service. We are also grateful for others working behind the scenes to ensure church activities continue smoothly, and for those diligently praying piano for worship. For Okubo Church to continue obeying the words of the Lord Jesus and living out its mission to proclaim the gospel in this land, we need the cooperation of everyone connected to this church through your love, prayers, and financial support. Please continue praying that this church may be further blessed and used more abundantly as a church that serves in encounters with those who need God’s love above all else, fulfilling the Lord’s work.
Now, as part of this year’s Old Testament series, we will be listening to the Book of Jeremiah starting in September. This morning, using Jeremiah 32:1-5 as our text, I would like to share a message with the theme: “Even when treated unjustly, let us still obey the word of the Lord God and live within His love!” Do any of you experience unfair or unjust treatment from someone in your daily lives? It would be wonderful if everyone could treat each other with kindness and live together with joy and gratitude. However, this world is filled with sin and evil. Therefore, we often face unfair treatment from those around us, from government agencies, or even from our own country. This can cause us to become deeply angry, hurt, distressed, or even lose the will to live. This has been true in every age.
While preparing this message, I also thought about cases where I personally feel unfairness—bullying, various forms of discrimination, taking it out on others, resentment, harassment, and so on. Recently, I read an interesting article titled “Ranking of Moments People Feel Unfairness at Work: Survey of 500 People.” It was a survey, and 83.2% (416 people) answered “often” or ‘sometimes’ to the question “Have you ever felt unfairly treated at work?” Among them, 75 people cited “evaluations are too unfair,” 64 cited “being scolded even though I did nothing wrong,” 44 mentioned “workloads being too unevenly distributed,” 38 noted “favoritism,” 23 pointed to “excessive quotas or workloads,” 22 complained about “instructions changing every time they ask,” and 19 mentioned “emotionally volatile bosses or colleagues.”
There’s also a ranking of coping methods when irritated by such unfairness, and while this might be unique to Japanese people, 252 people said they “endure and let it slide,” 97 people “consulted their boss or colleagues,” 66 people “argued back,” 40 people “vented their feelings through complaining,” 17 people “apologized to the other person,” 14 people “tried to change their mood,” and another 14 people “changed their environment by quitting or transferring.” Among these, there’s the baffling answer of “apologizing to the other person.” Digging deeper, we find answers like: “I apologize because it’s easier than dealing with it” from a man in his 30s; “I act humble to avoid trouble” from a woman in her 40s; and “I apologize without excuses to smooth things over” from a woman in her 50s. I was surprised, thinking “Huh, really?” What are your methods for relieving stress from unreasonable situations?
The issues I just mentioned are recurring problems within the workplace environment, but I believe they also recur in relationships with others, such as within families. If this were happening at the national level, it would be the worst possible situation, and yet such things happened to the prophet Jeremiah himself. Please look at Jeremiah 32:1 and the first half of verse 2. “and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. ” Historically, this was 587 BC. The Babylonian army had been attacking Jerusalem since the previous year, and the city was on the verge of falling.
In this context, the latter half of verse 2 states, “Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.” The circumstances and reason for Jeremiah’s confinement are recorded in verses 3 through 5, so let us read them. “For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?””
In other words, Jeremiah spoke the truth—God’s true words and words of judgment—directly to the king and the Jews living in Jerusalem, even when it was inconvenient for them. Because of this, he faced unjust treatment at the national level from the kings. If one’s actions or issues are indeed wrong, being admonished by others is not unjust treatment. However, even if one approaches people and matters with sincerity and earnestness, if one is envied, resented, or criticized, it should be acceptable to assert that this is unjust treatment, unreasonable treatment. What was the case with Jeremiah? Reading Jeremiah 32:6-15, we see that relatives visited Jeremiah while he was detained, indicating it was a relatively lenient confinement or detention. Even so, it was unjust treatment.
Chapter 37 provides a more detailed account of Jeremiah’s arrest and imprisonment, so I would like to read it. Verses 1 and 2 state: ” Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.” Who is at fault here, Jeremiah or Zedekiah? Undoubtedly, it is King Zedekiah, his officials, and the people who persistently rejected God’s word.
Let us read from verse 3 to verse 4. ” King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Messiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.” Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. “ King Zedekiah and his men, though facing their own troubles, did not repent of their sins before God. Instead, they asked, ”Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”
Verses 5 through 10. “The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”” Thus he proclaimed the Lord’s judgment.
Verses 11 through 16 continue: ” Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days,” What utter injustice! What an unjust treatment!
King Zedekiah, who thought only of himself, sent messengers in verse 17 to bring Jeremiah and secretly asked him in the palace, “Is there any word from the Lord?” But Jeremiah, who was being treated unjustly, replied, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” In verse 18&19, Jeremiah further pleads with King Zedekiah: ” Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ” he asks in return. At this very moment, many selfish and unreasonable people seek help from the true prophet sent by God, seeking salvation from God.
We too live among such people, suffering. We worry. We feel stress. We feel anger. Yet precisely in such times, we must fix our eyes on Jesus. We must remember the words of Jesus’ intercession—the One who was crucified to pay the price for our sins, who endured excruciating pain in our place, tasted suffering, and gave His life for us. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” These are the words of the Lord Jesus’ prayer, words of mercy spoken for us.
Jeremiah pleads in verse 20, ” Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there. “ But on the cross, Jesus pleaded to God the Father: ”Father, now please hear my prayer and request. Have mercy on those suffering unjust treatment, forgive them, and grant them salvation and eternal life.”
King Zedekiah took pity on Jeremiah and spared his life, giving him bread daily. But the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God rich in mercy and compassion, promises eternal life to those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. While we live on this earth, He nourishes us with the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Therefore, even if we face unjust treatment from others, let us trust in Jesus who is with us and in the God of love. Let us listen daily to Jesus’ true words, obey them, and walk in His grace. It’s okay because Jesus is always with us.