Daily Prophets
Day 125
“Azariah…and Johanan… and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, you are lying! So Johanan… and all the army and rest of the people did not obey God’s command to remain in the land of Judah. “Thus said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: I am sending my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and I will set his throne over these stones…”(Jeremiah 43:2,4,10).
We continue to see this formula throughout the book of Jeremiah and through the books of all the prophets; the people in charge ask for God’s command, God’s words and, when they don’t get the answer they want-they accuse the prophet of lying! This is a pattern that continues to this day, it seems.
The arrogance of people to ask for the sign, the word of God and then completely demean and degrade as well as de-humanize the person giving the message. We see this so often in the Bible, especially in the Books of the Prophets. Yet, Jeremiah did not flinch, did not change his message because it is God’s message. This is the dilemma of the prophet: if they speak truth to power, they may die; if they don’t speak truth to power, they will burn up inside as their betrayal of God and their mission will burn their soul. So, they choose to continue to speak truth to power and, even though their message is not received well-they continue to live and carry God’s message.
The response of the people is so chilling to me because we experience these arrogant people all the time. We are living in a time where some people do not obey God’s command to stay in their lane, to live a life of Truth, Justice, Compassion, Kindness and Love. Rather, they engage in false prophecy by telling people lies and outrageous slander from their pulpits (religious and secular pulpits alike). They defame others in order to make themselves look good. It is an old story and, at this time, one that has gotten totally out of hand.
Just like Johanan and the arrogant men, today’s deceivers will cause their own destruction and, unfortunately, take many others to their ruin as well. We have seen this with suicide bombers and, I am saying that the arrogant ones who are so sure they are correct will bring about destruction for all of us, as we saw with the Covid-19 response in it’s early stages. These arrogant people; elected officials, company CEO’s, Board of Directors in profit and non-profit arenas, who are so arrogant that they believe they can silence the voice of their prophets/founders/dissenters, so the Truth will not come out and their deceptions will be accepted as truth; will find that “my servant” will eventually win. This is the promise of God: God’s truth will win out, God’s name will be exalted and God’s ways will be followed. May it happen soon!
Rabbi Heschel teaches: “Worship preceded or followed by evil acts becomes an absurdity… The prophets of Israel proclaim that the enemy may be God’s instrument in history…Instead of cursing the enemy, the prophets condemn their own nation.”(The Prophets pg. 11&12). Johanan and the arrogant ones wanted to portray their piety by asking for God’s word and direction, and when they did not hear what they wanted to, they disobeyed. We live in absurdity when our leaders, great and small, preach their piety and do evil. When leaders of religious organizations can manipulate God’s words, God’s ways to suit their petty and small purpose of power, prestige and influence. We see this from the pulpit and from the Board Rooms as well as in the pews/seats of the sanctuaries. We see this in world of government and in the world of influence buying by corporations, individuals and in the followers of these deceivers and practitioners of mendacity. “When will they ever learn” asks the song, I pray it is soon!
In recovery, we no longer go shopping for the answer we want, we seek out God’s voice, God’s guidance and the help to carry out God’s will for each of us. We do this by belonging to a community of other seekers of God’s word-it is an arena where people from conservative to progressive, people of all colors and genders, people of all sexual types and religions all come together to hear from each other and to share God’s message of hope, community, truth, kindness, compassion and justice. In recovery we are not concerned with any of the differences that people engage in for their own benefit, we are concerned with engaging in the similarities that will help us live better each and every day. We know that our survival and our thriving depends on community, God, truth, decency and letting go of our deceptive paths and our own self-deceptions.
My experience with today’s reading is great. I have been the arrogant one and I have been Jeremiah. Being the arrogant one feels better in the moment, because of the rush of power it gives and the connection to other arrogant people it gives. Yet, living as a messenger of God is longer lasting, more fulfilling and suits me better. While I have made errors in my messaging in my recovery, I also know that living like Jeremiah; with all of the problems, disregard, betrayals, I have experienced; is still a better life because I am connected to God and so many of God’s truthful servants. This has to be enough, I cannot depend on the deceivers to validate me, nor can I allow them to deceive me into joining with them/capitulating to them. I know that hearing God’s call, following God’s message and will is the only way to truly live. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark