The tongue is a Fire

October 6, 2016

Jeremiah 5:14-19

My pastor taught on James 3:1-12 and that is a lesson all of us need, and James tells us in verse six; “And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, set on fire by hell.”  I’m tempted to share more on the tongue for it has got me in a lot of trouble over my lifetime.  This morning as we explore God speaking to Jeremiah and He had this to say to him. “Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood and the fire shall consume them.”  I found it of interest that a man who allows God to control his tongue or mouth could be used to bless or curse a people or nation.  In James 3:5, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

God has plans for Judea’s rebellion, and they have become the wood, and Jeremiah's tongue is the fire that God is going to use in bring judgment.  Now here is the judgment found in verse 15-17, “Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.  It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors.  They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword.”  Jeremiah is God’s Paul Revere warning the people that the Babylonians are coming, but they will not accept the message till it is too late.

And the unhappy end of this was a message of hope, not all of you will be destroyed.  As we look at verses 18-19, that message is very clear.  “But even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. And when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”  Wake up U.S.A., wake up Europe for the message is clear, yes we have experienced grace, but judgment is coming, and yet we still have the same choice as Nineveh.  Will we be as wise as those evil people?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice