Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Jeremiah 26 Devotional

The Door Left Open

“Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.”Jeremiah 26:3 (BSB)

God sends Jeremiah to the temple courtyard with orders not to leave out a word, and his reason is full of hope: maybe the people will hear and turn back, so that he can relent of the disaster he has planned (26:2-3). When he warns that the temple will become like Shiloh (26:6), the priests and prophets call for his death (26:8-11).

Then the officials and the people take his side, and elders remember that when Micah warned of ruin, King Hezekiah sought the LORD and God relented (26:16-19). Yet the chapter is honest about the cost. Another prophet, Uriah, preached the same message, fled to Egypt, and was brought back and killed (26:20-23). Jeremiah is spared through Ahikam (26:24). Faithfulness does not guarantee safety. What stays constant is God's patience, still offering to relent at the edge of judgment. Peter says the Lord is patient because he wants people to turn back rather than be lost (2 Peter 3:9). Every warning he sends is also an invitation, and it still stands.

To think about: What warning or invitation from God have you been leaving unanswered, and what would turning toward him look like today?

About Jeremiah 26: Jeremiah on Trial for His Life

Jeremiah warns in the temple that it will share the fate of Shiloh unless the people repent, and the priests and the prophets demand his death. The officials and the people refuse, and elders recall how Hezekiah heeded Micah. Jehoiakim had the prophet Uriah killed for the same message, but Ahikam protects Jeremiah.

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