10/8/06 - Pentecost 18 - Jer. 11:18-20

LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
- You are under attack from the devil
- Commit your cause to the Lord

I can’t imagine what it was like to be Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah was in constant danger. He was hated by his own countrymen. And people wanted to kill him at many different times in his life. Why? Because he was a Christian! Because he told people what God said! That was it! People tried to kill him because he was a Christian! I can’t even begin to imagine that. I can’t even think of a situation in which people would be planning behind my back to kill me because of who I am. Our text today deals with one of those situations: a situation in which Jeremiah was like a lamb to the slaughter.
“Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. I had been like gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize they had plotted against me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.’” And the most amazing part about this situation was: the people who wanted to kill Jeremiah were from the city of Anathoth. Why is that amazing? Because Jeremiah was from Anathoth. He was born their and grew up there. People from his howm town wanted him dead - the people that knew him best! And Jeremiah apparently knew nothing about it. He was going about his Christian life completely naïve of the entire plot. He definitely was like a lamb to the slaughter.
Right now you are like a lamb to the slaughter. You are! Just like a naïve lamb led to the slaughter house, going about its life having no idea what kind danger is so near - you are like a lamb to the slaughter. And I’m not saying a person is plotting to take your life. But someone is. And it’s not a person. It’s the devil. We are all going about our lives here on this earth, enjoying the fine things that the Lord has blessed us with, going to church within our own cozy little circle, but we have no idea about the danger that is so near. As we are living peaceful lives inside our sheep pen Peter warns us, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” And just like any predator the devil is not going to come at you head on so that you can see him coming. Why would he do that? He’s going to stalk, he’s going to wait, he’s going to sneak up behind, tear you away, and tear you apart. These are the tactics of the devil - and he is a master of them.
Don’t think for a second that you are immune from them. Don’t think that you are standing so firm in you faith that you cannot be touched. Because “if you think you are standing firm,” Paul says, “be careful that you don’t fall.” Satan is tricky, he is crafty, and he wants to lead you like a lamb led to the slaughter. Especially you. Think about it: the devil doesn’t have to waste his time on unbelievers because they are already headed to hell. He just has to make sure they keep on that path. But you, you are a Christian. You are one of God’s children. You are headed for heaven and that’s the last thing Satan wants. He will try as hard as he possibly can to lead Christians astray. He will lie, he will cheat, he will deceive. He will not play by any rules because he wants to kill you without you ever knowing. He sees a target when he sees a Christian. So you are basically a walking bull’s eye. But he takes extra careful aim at those Christians who continually spread the Word, because the Word nullifies everything Satan tries to do.
Does Satan have to take extra careful aim at you? He wants your life because you are a Christian, no doubt about that, but are you a danger to him because you spread the Word? Does Satan sometimes have to drop everything and say, “I have to do something about that person, that Christian is spreading the Word too much, that sheep is disrupting my work?” Have you ever thought about it in that way? I would like to think Satan says that about every one of us here. But realistically, I don’t think that’s the case. And you can judge for yourselves. Looking at the way I go about life and how many times I spread the Word, I can’t imagine that Satan would be too concerned about me. There are bigger fish to fry, I would think that there are many more Christians who witness to the truth far more often than I ever do. But what does that say about me? If I don’t think Satan would be too concerned about my gospel proclamation to people, what does that say about me as a Christian? And look at your own lives. If you don’t think Satan would be too concerned about how often you spread the Word to others, what does that say about you as a Christian? Maybe we aren’t spreading the Word as often as we should. Maybe we aren’t acting as bold Christians, but as embarrassed Christians. Maybe we are sinning against our Lord because we are keeping the Word to ourselves.
Together as a congregation, let’s make it a point to spread the Word. Let’s look for more opportunities to tell others about Christ - individually and as a church. Because that’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re gathered as a congregation: to hear the Word and spread the Word. Our sole concern should be soul concern. I know that’s corny. But it’s true, isn’t it? Our sole concern should be soul concern. There are thousands of lost souls in our community alone who are in dire need of the Word. The Word that we have. The Word that we need to spread. And when we do that, when we are directing our efforts as a group of Christians to spread the Word in every aspect of our congregational life, you can be sure Satan will attack us. He will want to lead us away like a lamb led to the slaughter.
That’s what he wanted to do to Jeremiah. The devil knew Jeremiah spread the Word and did not hesitate to say what God says. And so Satan led some people to try to take Jeremiah’s life, to rid him from the face of the earth. But Jeremiah was not shaken. He was not depressed or downhearted because his life was in danger, rather he committed his cause to the Lord. “But, O Lord Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.”
When Jeremiah was under attack, when his life was in danger, he committed his cause to the Lord. That means he brought his case before the ultimate judge, the Lord, and left everything in his Savior’s hands. That is exactly what we are to do. When you are under attack from Satan, when you are tempted to sin, commit you cause to the Lord - to him who went through the same temptations.
When Jesus was in the desert he was attacked by Satan himself. For 40 days and 40 nights the devil attacked Jesus over and over again. And don’t think Satan held anything back. Don’t think he was easy on Jesus. You can bet the devil did all he could to make Jesus fall. And he did the same in the Garden of Gethsemane. He attacked Jesus. He tempted him. He tortured him with everything he could find. But the Lord did not fall. He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.” Commit you cause to the one who knows what you are going through, to the one who has been attacked by Satan himself, to the one who has survived for our sakes.
It can be said that Jeremiah’s situation here was pointing to what the Lord would go through many years later. Jeremiah even describes himself “like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.” This bring to mind the same picture that Isaiah paints in his book. When Isaiah prophesied about Jesus he said, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Jeremiah had most likely read these words written 100 years before his time, so it is no wonder why Jeremiah committed his cause to the Lord. He knew Jesus would suffer more than he ever would.
My Christian friends, when you have sinned, when you have fallen, commit your cause to the Lord, to the one who was led like a lamb to the slaughter for you. And we cannot deny it: we have sinned. We have not spread the Word boldly like we should. We have not stood up for Jesus’ name in public. We have not tirelessly encouraged those closest to us with the gospel. Commit your cause to the Lord. That’s why he allowed himself to be led like a lamb. He knew you deserved it. He knew you couldn’t take it. And so he did it himself. And by doing so, by being slaughtered on the cross, you are forgiven. You don’t have to do anything for it, you can’t. The Lord took it upon himself to take your punishment, to suffer your pain, to die your death, so that you could have life. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter so that you could be a sheep in his pasture.
But you know as well as I do, it isn’t over yet. As long as we still live as God’s sheep on this earth Satan will be looking to devour us. He will not stop until we leave this life. Let us commit our cause to the Lord, to the one who has destroyed Satan already. After all, John says that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” That’s exactly what he did. The devil is forever condemned to hell. He doesn’t run hell, he will suffer there for eternity because the work of Christ has gained us the victory. And now, although the Lord allows Satan to roam the earth in search for souls, he holds him back. He restricts what the devil can do like a dog on a chain. The Lord is always in control. The Lord loves us and cares for us. To him we commit our cause, as Christians and as a congregation.
What a joy it is to be sheep in the pasture of our Good Shepherd. He promises to feed us and guard us, just like he has fed and guarded Living Word for 60+ years. You can rest on your Shepherd’s shoulder, you can lean on his staff, you can rejoice at the sound of his voice. Because although the devil would love to lead you away like a lamb to the slaughter, the Lord promises to lead you to the green pastures of Paradise.
Amen.

“The Lord will rescue us from every evil attack and will bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
- 2 Timothy 4:18