Jeremiah 11:18-23

18 Now the LORD gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. 19 But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
20 But, O LORD of hosts,
You who judge righteously,
Testing the mind and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have revealed my cause.

21 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand’— 22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.’”
Jeremiah 11:18-23 NKJV

Jeremiah is faithful to God. He speaks God's words of warning and repentance to a hardened people. Because of his unwavering stand for God against the corruption of the hearts of God's people, he becomes hated. Plots are made on his life by those who personally knew him best, his hometown. It came as a surprise to him that some in Anathoth would not only try to keep him from speaking God's words, but they would go so far as to threaten his life and plan to kill him. Jeremiah called upon God to save him. He trusted God to judge him rightly, because he knew God. He realized that God judged righteously because God knew his mind and his heart. There was no hiding from God what was really in his heart and what he was really thinking. He and his thoughts and character were open to God. He was not afraid to be judged by His God. The people of Anathoth could not be trusted, they schemed his death behind his back as he went forward doing his best to be God's spokesman. The Lord spoke to the men of Anathoth. What they desired in their wickedness for Jeremiah, would be paid in full on themselves and their families. For those who refused to repent, their lives would not be ended just on the earth, but they would be lost for eternity. Had they accepted the words of God through Jeremiah, life would have been theirs. By allowing themselves to loose sight of God's truth, they ensured their own destruction. They had a choice to make and because they closed their eyes and hearts to what God wanted, their choice was inevitably wrong.

Lord,
Help me to be open to Your word. Help me to know You so well that I will recognize Your voice when You speak to me. Help me to choose You and Your salvation over the sinfulness of my desires. Help me to walk with You, so that I do not fight against You.