Precious promise from the Old Testament

“O LORD, Thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in Thy longsuffering: know that for Thy sake I have suffered rebuke.” (Jer. 15:15).

Precious promise? This doesn’t sound like a precious promise! Look again. Look more closely. Hidden in there is something very beautiful.

It’s the part that says, “Take me not away in Thy longsuffering”. What Jeremiah was saying was, “Don’t let me die because Your love for my murderers is so long-suffering!” “Don’t let me die because of Your love for sinners!”

Jesus’ long-suffering love for sinners that caused Him to send prophets to them! God’s long-suffering love for the whole world so deep that caused Him to send the dearly beloved of His soul! Jesus must punish the nation that had professed His Father’s name. But, He must give them yet another chance to see how evil they were by attempting to kill His messenger. Nothing but hands dripping with blood would awaken their hearts and minds to the delusion of Satan’s Ashtoreth and Baal masks.

Jesus was trying to save sinners. He was trying to give them eternal life. At the risk of Jeremiah’s life He must save the group. It would be scary to Jeremiah to face death, but Jesus knew He would resurrect him at the last day. That would be well worth the salvation of many in Israel. Despite their murderous leaders and people, there were many who feared the Lord and sought to please Him. To them He said,

“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3).

Do we see the loving-kindness in Jesus toward filthy rotten, potential saints? Do we see His loving-kindness for us, today’s filthy rotten, potential saints? Are you filthy rotten? I am, as much as I hate being that way. My righteousness is filthy rotten. Will I let Jesus put me into His furnace of affliction for the sake of others’ salvation? Will we let Him put us into the same dangers that Jeremiah was put in because he spoiled the people’s fun by preaching the high standard, and the people hated him for that. In His loving-kindness and tender mercies Jesus sent Jeremiah to curb the apostasy in the church of his day. In His long-suffering He kept sending Jeremiah into one dangerous situation after another.

“Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” (Isa. 43:4).

Do we see the long-suffering of Jesus in the trials that we endure? Do we see the beauty of His holiness? “Take me not away in Thy longsuffering!” was pressed out of Jeremiah’s mouth in his own Gethsemane. He knew Jesus, that His mercy endureth forever. Like Jonah, Jeremiah feared that the mercy of Jesus would spare the evil-doers.

“Remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors,” is what most people think is the real man, Jeremiah. This is what Hollywood promotes, but not what the holy God or His holy prophets promoted.

“And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9,10).

That prophecy shows the 900,000 Counter-Reformation Christians dying for the long-suffering God of wicked and carnal Christendom. “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” (Rev. 6:11). This tribulation was a foretaste of the future final great tribulation such as never was. It’s the one that the 144,000 will pass through.

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:13-17).

Will we fight and avenge ourselves of our adversaries in the time of trouble ahead? Or will we cry to the Lord such as our Counter-Reformation forefathers did? Will we look unto Jesus and His long-suffering, and remain faithful by that look? Will we know Jesus like the prophets knew Him—“merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6,7)?

Do we see the merciful God who Jeremiah saw? Do we say what Jeremiah said, “O LORD…Thy longsuffering!”