Bible Reading: Jeremiah 20-22; 2 Timothy 1
Memory verse: “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” Jeremiah 20:9 (KJV)
There was this encounter between Prophet Elijah and the then King of Israel, Ahab, who met the prophet on the way in 1 Kings 18:17-18 (KJV), “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? [18] And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.” Elijah was considered by the King as a trouble maker.
Again, another King of Israel said he hated a prophet of God by name Micaiah because he does not prophesy good to him, but only evil (1 Kings 22:8). These kings, like many others, fail to recognize that a prophet is sent by God to the people. The prophet is not sent by the people. The word that comes out other prophet is as given by God.
Prophet Jeremiah made us know how heavy these words could be on a prophet whenever God sends them in the memory verse of today, “…But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” It is to our good to hear the word as it is from the Lord, whether it’s good or bad for therein lies the help we need from God. And it is to the detriment of the prophet not to dispense the word accordingly because he is carrying fire inside him.
Never you take the word of God lightly. Learn to esteem it the way a prophets do whenever the word comes. Fire helps purifies. It is the fire in the word that burns up and purifies any unwanted material around you. Learn to recognize this fire in the word and you will be saved. King Jehosaphat did not feel the fire of the word when the Prophets of the King of Israel prophesied victory in battle. Jehosaphat asked in 1 Kings 22:7 “And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?” This saved him from destruction.
The word of God can come to you too during your bible study and meditation periods. Learn to act on it quickly. There is always fire in the word ready to achieve the purpose for which it is sent.
Bro Worthmore Aghanenu