Many unpopular leaders and messengers have adhered to President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous quote: “It is better to be faithful than famous.” No one wants to be unpopular because popularity breeds acceptance, admiration, and leadership. But being a great leader doesn’t come easily, and nobody characterizes this better than the prophet Jeremiah, who experienced a plethora of hardships in his quest as God’s messenger. Even though he experienced much more ridicule and dissent than President Roosevelt, Jeremiah spent about 40 years as God’s unpopular messenger. And while the comparison might seem unlikely, as in the end Roosevelt’s popularity soared and Jeremiah’s failed, they had in common courage and obedience to their beliefs.

Young Jeremiah led a carefree life, with poverty and security issues far from his mind. As the son of Hilkiah, a well-respected priest, he enjoyed an upper-class environment and had the benefits of education and a career at his disposal. But then it all changed. God had plans for the young man and called him to be a prophet and carry his message to the people. By most, it was viewed as a step up as prophets were well received and enjoyed a most prestigious position.

Even so, Jeremiah responded with hesitation, pleading with God that he was too young and could not speak eloquently enough. The Lord’s response was firm. “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you” (Jeremiah 1:7, 8). It must have been hard to leave the pleasures of home and friends, yet Jeremiah loved God and obediently did as he was instructed. As for the step up, the political and religious climate of the day thrust Jeremiah into a tumultuous situation. Little did he know his new status as a prophet would be questioned, bringing poverty, ridicule, mockery, and rejection.

The land of Israel, sandwiched between Assyria and Egypt, was divided with Judah as the southern kingdom and Israel as the northern kingdom. The country was in turmoil with Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt battling for control and Judah caught in the middle. Paganism and the worship of idols were rampant as the country forgot God who had led them to safety and the promised land. Jeremiah’s job was to remind the people of God’s covenant and persuade them to return to worship the true God.

The message was simple and endures today. From the beginning of time, God’s plan was to provide salvation and security for humankind through a relationship with him. It’s easy to go along with the pack, but when the pack lives without Christ, disaster is not far away. God’s people needed to acknowledge their sins and repent. They had forgotten the covenant. “Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then, I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey—the land you possess today” (11:4, 5). Jeremiah prophesied that since they had broken the covenant, they would be punished and the country destroyed.

But no one listened. Instead, the message was ignored and the country continued entrenched in idolatry and immoral behavior. Still, Jeremiah trudged on delivering God’s message.

Roosevelt liked to use the ancient proverb, “Speak softly, carry a big stick, and you will go far.” God was Jeremiah’s big stick. Sometimes we need object lessons to get our attention. Jeremiah buried a linen belt (13) and later retrieved a rotted belt symbolizing Judah and Jerusalem’s pride. He watched a potter ruin a vessel and remake it, showing God would destroy the kingdom so he could remake it (18). He broke a pot in front of his audience representing how God would break his people (19). He wandered about Jerusalem with a yoke around his neck telling people to stand under God’s yoke rather than the yoke of pagans, and they would survive (27).

In the meantime the high priests and other prophets of the day were saying the opposite. God, they said, would not destroy Jerusalem and its people. After all, God was the one who had given them the land. Where false prophets were preaching peace, Jeremiah was a most unpopular messenger preaching doom and disaster. Resentment soared against him. They labeled Jeremiah as a false prophet and instructed their followers to discount the message. He survived threats of death from his hometown priests and prophets (20), but was thrown into the stockade for what his accusers said were false prophecies (26). He held fast as God’s messenger only to be imprisoned (32), thrown into a cistern (38), and exiled against his will to Egypt (43). To further defeat Jeremiah, King Jehoiakim burned the scrolls Jeremiah had his secretary so carefully write, detailing all the prophecies. Still Jeremiah was undaunted. He had them written again.

For Jeremiah, the future must have seemed hopeless, but God gave him a new message—one of hope (30, 31). The Jews and their land would one day be restored and God would make a new covenant with them. Jeremiah spoke about God’s power to rescue and forgive. He illustrated this hope by purchasing land while he was in prison even though it would be seized by Babylonian officials. Crazy? No, he was following God’s direction and it demonstrated that the land would be restored to God’s chosen people.

It was a stressful and tumultuous life. Friends, relatives, and leaders didn’t believe him. They scoffed at him, saying he was demented. He began to wonder if he was doing any good at all. How he must have longed for the comforts of his former life. But instead of bending, he turned to prayer, crying to God for help.

Today our world seems out of kilter with wars, threats of more wars, false prophets twisting the words of the Bible, and organizations promoting legislation to remove God from schools and workplaces. Through it all, there is one higher and stronger to deal with the problems. God loves his children and will not fail them. What a comfort to know we have someone to turn to in our troubles.

The book does not have a happy ending, as Jeremiah’s prophecies were fulfilled and Babylon’s armies invaded Jerusalem and destroyed it. Hundreds were exiled to Babylon (52). Jeremiah remained faithful and true to God’s direction.

In the book of Lamentations Jeremiah describes the agony of a broken heart. He had watched as his beloved Jerusalem was destroyed. Perhaps he thought he failed as a prophet. He wept for his homeland and its people with a broken heart. But once again he turned to God in prayer for instruction, guidance, and comfort.

Our nation faces great turmoil today. Families are breaking up and our religious freedoms are at risk. Let’s learn from Jeremiah and turn to prayer. President Roosevelt urged the same, advising his constituents to “Pray not for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs.” |L