「神の言葉を拒み続ける民の末路」 九月第三主日礼拝 宣教 2025年9月21日
エレミヤ書 Jeremiah 6章10〜23節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. Rainy days have become more frequent lately, and it has grown considerably cooler. I am thankful to be able to offer worship together with all of you this morning as well. This month is “Church School Month,” but only about ten days remain in September. Please attend the Church School on the 28th. Alternatively, please join the classes held every Sunday morning at 10:10 AM in this sanctuary.
Now, let us continue our series listening to the Book of Jeremiah this morning. We will be listening to Chapter 6, but first, I would like to review last week’s message. In the previous message, we heard from Chapters 2 and 4 about how the people of Israel, having become arrogant, consequently devastated the land God had given them as their inheritance. This led to their being driven out of that land and becoming a people in captivity. The fundamental reason and cause lies in the Israelites forgetting the Lord their God, ceasing to obey His word, and consequently failing to keep their covenant with Him. As a result, they turned to idolizing worthless and detestable things, worshiping them instead.
God repeatedly urged the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah to repent and return to Him, but instead of repenting, they defiantly refused to return to God. They completely ignored their covenant relationship with Him. What astonished me was their defiant declaration: “We have gone astray and will not return to you.” What is unbelievable is not only that the people served useless pagan gods. The priests, who should have served God, amassed wealth, and the prophets uttered false prophecies. The entire nation abandoned God. Enraged by this act of turning away from Him, God even declared He would “contend” with His people. Through Jeremiah, He announced He would send a great army from the north to execute judgment.
Yet even so, the God who loves Israel repeatedly urges them through Jeremiah: “Return to me, Israel. Cast away the accursed things from before me. Then you will not stray again.” But because their hearts have become numb, or rather, stubborn, not a single one of the people of Israel is willing to return to God. God declares, “My people are utterly ignorant; they do not know me. They are senseless children, devoid of understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22). And so, God proclaims that He will send a great army from the distant north to judge Israel.
Now, here’s a question for you all. It can be from the past or the present. Do you know anyone who is truly arrogant, greedy, and stubborn? Someone who ignores warnings no matter how many times they’re given and just lives selfishly? Perhaps such a person exists within your family, workplace, or school. Dealing with or even just associating with someone like that is difficult enough, but standing between them and someone else to reconcile them or repair their relationship is an incredibly difficult task. Have any of you ever had such an experience?
Yet it was the prophet Jeremiah who was entrusted by God with such an overwhelmingly stressful role. Jeremiah repeatedly went out to the people of Israel, delivering the harsh words God had given him, pointing out their mistakes, and then enduring terrible treatment from them. During that era, God also used other prophets like Ezekiel, Isaiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. They were sent to deliver God’s message to the kings, religious leaders, and people of that time, who continued committing such great sins that the nation faced destruction. Their mission was to call them to repentance and return to God.
However, the arrogant and stubborn king, priests, and people refused to hear Jeremiah’s words as God’s message. They resented his words and never repented to return to the Lord. We can imagine Jeremiah’s stress was immense. In chapter 4, verse 19, we find Jeremiah’s honest cry: “My heart, my heart! I am in anguish. My heart is pounding within me.” The term “heart” here refers to the seat of emotions. This reveals Jeremiah’s heart was filled with unbearable pain and overwhelming stress. His blood pressure must have been dangerously high, and the strain on his heart was surely at its peak. The work of a true prophet sent by God is demanding, harsh, and lonely. It is a duty impossible to fulfill without being called by God Himself and His promise to be with and protect the prophet.
Reading Jeremiah 6:10-11, we find his lament: “To whom shall I speak and give warning? They have uncircumcised ears and cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become to them a reproach; they have not accepted it. I am full of the Lord’s wrath; I am weary of bearing it.“ This is Jeremiah’s lament. ”Their ears are uncircumcised and cannot hear” means they have completely forgotten their covenant with God, leading them to continually despise Him. It is Jeremiah’s complaint, weary of standing between God and His people.
Jeremiah’s suffering and extreme stress stemmed not only from his frustration over the Israelites’ refusal to heed God’s word, their unwillingness to repent and return, and their relentless march toward destruction under God’s judgment, but also from his sense of personal powerlessness. In our daily lives too, there are times when we feel that no matter how much time or effort we invest, our efforts will never be rewarded, leaving us feeling utterly burned out. When we become listless, we can lose sight of ourselves. What happens to us then? Dissatisfaction and anger begin to boil up within us. Can such a heart be called a blessed heart? No, it cannot. Therefore, we ourselves must first return to God and listen to His words of comfort, encouragement, and hope.
Now, let us return to this morning’s passage. We will read verses 13 through 15: “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; and all, from prophet to priest, practice deceit. They cure their people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. They have committed abominable things and brought shame upon themselves, yet they are not ashamed; they do not even know how to blush. Therefore, when people fall, they too will fall; when I punish them, they will stumble,“ declares the Lord.” Israel’s sins are: 1) greed, that is, coveting gain, and 2) deceiving both God and people—lying, deceiving, and misleading. They claim to keep the covenant with God while breaking it, and they casually despise their neighbors.
What was unforgivable to both God and Jeremiah was that the priests gathered wealth into their hands, sought only their own gain, and that the prophets spoke false prophecies. This is deceiving God. Verse 14 says of the false prophets, “They treat the wounds of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” This rebuke declares that the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah had completely ignored God, living without any peace with Him. Despite the imminent and severe judgment of God drawing ever closer, these prophets refused to speak the truth. Instead, they deceived the people with pleasant-sounding words. God declares that their irresponsibility and sin are all the more grievous.
Next, let’s read the first half of verse 16: “The Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask about the ancient paths, where the good way lies, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” As I mentioned in the children’s message, “various paths” means “crossroads (New Revised Version), crossroads (Common Translation), or fork in the road (Colloquial Translation).” There are paths before you and behind you, and there are “multiple” paths you can take to the left or right. God invites you to stand at that fork, look at each path, and seek the one that leads to happiness.
However, this “path to happiness” is singular. That is to say, there is only one path to happiness. The road stretching ahead, the paths branching left and right—all lead to unknown worlds we have yet to set foot in. We cannot know if misfortune awaits to the left, if happiness lies to the right, or what lies ahead on the path before us. When we find ourselves lost in such uncertainty, which path should we choose?
God says, “Ask the ancient paths.” The “ancient paths” refer to the era when the people faithfully kept their covenant with God and received His great blessings. Look back and see clearly the path God walked with you, protecting and guiding you. He invites you to remember how faithful the Lord God is and how deeply He loves you. Though the people of Israel repeatedly betrayed God and grieved Him throughout their journey, God’s love remained constant and unchanging, protecting Israel from various calamities. Therefore, He calls you to apologize to God for turning your back on Him and to return to Him.
God sent us Jesus Christ as our Savior, and this Jesus redeemed our sins on the cross. God raised Jesus from the dead and showed us the way to eternal life. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus Christ is the way we must follow. At the end of this way lies God’s eternal blessing for us.
Imagine this: When we stand at a crossroads, two people lie there. One is alive, and one is dead. When you ask which way to go, wouldn’t you ask the living person for directions, not the dead one? That living person is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Through Jeremiah, God cries out, “Repent and return to me, and I will restore your fortunes.” Yet in the latter half of verse 16, “They said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” And in verse 17, “I said, ‘I have set watchmen for you; listen carefully and wait for the sound of the trumpet.’ But they said, ‘We will not listen carefully and wait.’” Sadly, there are people who persistently reject God’s words. What will be the fate of this persistently rejecting people?
Read verses 18–19 and 21–22 to conclude. “Therefore, hear, O nations, what I am about to do to them. Hear, O land, what I am about to bring upon this people—the punishment they deserve. For they have not listened to my words; they have rejected my teaching.” “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I will set a stumbling block before this people, and they shall stumble. Father and son together, neighbor and friend—all shall perish.‘ The Lord declares: ‘Behold, a nation is coming from the north, a great nation stirring up itself from the ends of the earth.’” The Babylonian Empire, sent by God’s will to judge Israel, is coming.
But we are still alive today, and let us listen to and obey the words of Jesus Christ, who guides us with love even now. For Jesus is the way to true happiness.