Hebrews 11:35, “…. Others were tortured, refusing to accept
release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.”
When the prophet Jeremiah stood in the Lord’s house and
shared the warning given that Israel would be punished for forsaking God’s
word, the priest Pashhur struck him and placed him in the stocks for
punishment. (Jeremiah 19 & 20)
Perhaps Pashhur hoped both to bully Jeremiah into silence
and to discredit him as a false prophet. But Jeremiah continued to witness to
God’s word. And continued to be beaten, discriminated against, thrown into
prison, placed under restraint and had his written words repeatedly destroyed.
For all of his estimated 90 years of life, he remained a faithful witness to
God’s words.
In the time of the Maccabees, when rulers tried to force
replace Jewish laws of worship with Greek rituals and polluted the temple in
Jerusalem, another faithful scribe of advanced years, Eleazar, chose death over
unlawful sacrifice. Those around him tried to convince him to fake it—pretend
to eat the swine flesh, just to stay alive. But he refused the pretense so as not to lead the young to
think he had turned to a false religion in his old age. He chose to “leave to the young a noble example of how
to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws.” He
walked to the rack himself.
In our times we may not face physical torture, but we might
be ridiculed, or discriminated against, or be ostracized within family or
workplace. How will we know if our choices or words will bring witness to
others or ‘pollute’ our spiritual lives by self-interest? Especially when what
is a danger to one person’s faithfulness to the Lord is not to another.
Sometimes we will need to speak out and other times remain silent.
Both Jeremiah and Eleazar faced a different attack on their
faith witness, but both responded by the power of the Spirit’s guidance in
their lives.
“For the word of God
is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far
as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to
judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4: 12
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 116: 14-15
“I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the
presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly
ones.”
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