What is the meaning of Jeremiah 26:15? But know for certain Jeremiah opens with a phrase that removes all doubt. He is not offering an opinion but a sure word from God. • Similar prophetic certainty appears in Deuteronomy 4:39—“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” • Peter uses the same tone in Acts 2:36 when he concludes, “Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” • Such statements remind us that every revealed warning is as dependable as the God who gives it (2 Peter 1:19). that if you put me to death Jeremiah stands on trial for preaching what Judah did not want to hear. • God’s messengers have often faced violence (2 Chronicles 24:20-21; Matthew 23:37). • The possibility of execution shows how hardened the people’s hearts had become (Jeremiah 26:8). • Faithfulness may cost God’s servants their lives, yet obedience remains non-negotiable (Hebrews 11:36-38). you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves The prophet declares his innocence and warns of the moral boomerang effect. • Shedding innocent blood is one of the seven abominations the LORD hates (Proverbs 6:16-17; Deuteronomy 19:10). • Pilate’s hand-washing in Matthew 27:24 could not remove guilt; nor would Judah’s denial if they killed Jeremiah. • God holds individuals accountable when they harm His spokesman (Psalm 105:15; Acts 7:52). upon this city, and upon its residents Guilt for rejecting God’s word never stays private; it spills over into the community. • Achan’s hidden sin brought defeat on all Israel (Joshua 7). • David’s census error led to plague on the nation (2 Samuel 24:15). • Jeremiah elsewhere says, “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the produce of the land’” (Jeremiah 7:20). Personal rebellion invites corporate consequences. for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing The authenticity of Jeremiah’s mission leaves his hearers without excuse. • God set him apart and touched his mouth (Jeremiah 1:7-9). • Rejecting the messenger equals rejecting the Sender (2 Chronicles 36:15-16; John 12:48-50). • The Thessalonian believers were commended because they “accepted the word... not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Judah was being offered the same opportunity. summary Jeremiah 26:15 is a solemn warning: if the leaders silence the prophet by violence, they will bear full responsibility before God for murdering an innocent man, and the entire city will suffer divine judgment because the message they reject is God’s own word. The verse underscores the certainty of God’s warnings, the seriousness of harming His servants, the communal impact of individual sin, and the absolute authority of Scripture that still demands a response today. |
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