by David Scott Robertson
"In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now" (Jeremiah 36:1-2).
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How would you like to have been in the prophet Jeremiah's sandals when God laid this homework assignment on him?
God basically was saying to Jeremiah: "I want you to write - word perfectly -no matter how long it takes - every single thing I ever said to you about Israel and Judah up to the present moment. Do not leave one detail out because thousands of years from now people will be reading this."
In the natural, of course, this assignment that God had given to Jeremiah would have been totally impossible! The prophet, left to his own intellect and memory, would have failed miserably in the task.
However, as Christ-followers who trust the reliability of Scripture know, Jeremiah completed his assignment flawlessly. How could Jeremiah have dictated to his assistant, Baruch, son of Meriah, every single word the Lord had spoken concerning Israel and Judah without leaving a single statement out?
I believe Jeremiah could successfully complete his homework assignment the same way that…
- Moses completed his assignment of writing the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch).
- Daniel completed his assignment of recording (in advance) the rise and fall of major world governments from his present day to the end of the age.
- Micah completed his assignment of predicting the Messiah's birth.
- Isaiah completed his assignment in describing Jesus' earthly ministry and subsequent suffering on the cross.
- King David completed his assignment and wrote (in the first person) about how Jesus felt while offering His body as the perfect sacrifice on the cross.
- Paul and the other apostles recorded New Testament scripture.
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).
This being "carried along" - mere men inspired by the Holy Spirit - is the reason each homework assignment given to men by God was able to be completed in completely reliable fashion.
This is why we can read our Bibles and be fully persuaded that "every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him" (Proverbs 30:5).
The good news for us who find ourselves on the timeline of history in the 21st century is that this same Holy Spirit who helped Jeremiah is available to help us.
If you have been handed what you feel is a "tough assignment" from God to fulfill then simply do what all these men of God I've mentioned did - call out to God for the Holy Spirit's help. Whether they or we can theologically understand it is irrelevant. It is God the Holy Spirit who will become for you the "Divine Enabler" to cause your assignment to get completed, turned in on time, and make the grade God intends.
When God gives you a homework assignment, don't stress over it--call out for help from the Teacher.
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me [Jesus] by taking from what is mine and making it known to you" (John 16:13-14).
I encourage you to purposely demote (humble) yourself to the position of God's little helper, His assistant, servant, scribe just like Jeremiah had Baruch and Paul had Tertius (Romans 16:22) to help write the copy.
The next time you get a homework assignment, a marching order, a prescription to fill (choose your own metaphor)--in other words, when God tells you to do something call out to the Holy Spirit for divine recall, supernatural support, heavenly help, and ingenious inspiration.
"So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).
DSR
2/28/05