But Jeremiah was not put to death
Sun, 30 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.
In chapter 26, Jeremiah contrasts what happened to him and what happened to his fellow prophet Uriah. In this short tale of two prophets, we see they both bring the same message of God’s coming judgment, but Uriah is killed and Jeremiah is not.
What do we learn from this?
It is possible to read into this story and come to the conclusion that the reason God allowed Uriah to die was because of Uriah’s fear and lack of faith. Rather than stay and continue to prophecy, he became afraid and fled Jerusalem. Perhaps because he abdicated his post, and trusted in his own ability to flee rather than trust in God’s providence, God allowed Uriah to be killed.
That is speculation. The scripture simply tells us the facts without giving any word of the cause. Uriah prophesied (and fled) and was killed. Jeremiah prophesied (and stayed) and was protected.
We saw this same idea earlier in Acts when James was killed but Peter was spared. God sometimes allows one to live and another to die. We don’t know why. We can’t accuse God of being unfair, because it His right to do things as He sees fit, and He will always do what brings Him glory and what does good for His people. We are not required to understand His will, only to submit to it and trust Him.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Uriah brought the word of God and died for it. Jeremiah was spared but according to Jewish history, Jeremiah was later killed by the Israelites in Egypt, due to their opposition to the word of God he continued to preach.
Although we don’t often know why God allows such things to happen, there are some exceptions. Jesus Christ was also killed for bringing the word of God to the people who rejected it. But in this case, God has made known the reason, and He calls for us to tell the world. Jesus Christ died according to God’s plan for the salvation of His own people, and we share this message with the world around us by proclaiming the gospel.
