TRUTH

Much evil in the world is committed under the guise of the excuse that it was not “my decision,” or it was “the leader’s choice,” or “I had no power to stop it from happening.” The fact is, we may not have the power to stop our leaders from doing wrong, but we certainly have the power to walk away or to verbally object. We can stand with those who are being hurt or simply stand for truth even if we stand alone.

Jeremiah was put away in jail, and his assistant, Baruch, had been writing Jeremiah's words, Baruch was instructed by Jeremiah to go and read these words out in public areas where people would hear the warning from God.

Some of the civic leaders heard the warnings, and they were scared.

Jeremiah 36:16 “Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.”
vs. 17 “And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?”
vs. 18 “Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”
vs. 19 “Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.”

These men knew their country was in trouble. They also knew that right would not be well-received by the king. These men told Baruch and Jeremiah to go hide somewhere; they also had the roll (the written document) hidden in hopes perhaps that the king would not find it and destroy it. Make no mistake, these men knew right from wrong. They were afraid because of the wrong in which they had been a part. The question now is, what were they going to do?

vs. 20 “And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.”
vs. 21 “So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.”
vs. 22 “Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.”
vs. 23 “And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.”
vs. 24 “Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.”

The king and his counselors listened to the Word of God, and then mocked and burned It, thinking that perhaps they could rid themselves of the Truth. You cannot destroy the truth. God instructed Jeremiah to rewrite every word and added more. The nation fell as Jeremiah had spoken, and the king went into captivity as God said he would.

The point this morning is about the men who knew right from wrong. These men heard the Word and feared. Deep down in their souls, these men knew the truth; what would they do?

vs. 25 “Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.”

These men urged the king not to burn the roll, but they did not stand for right. Greatness is exemplified in Daniel’s willingness to go to the lion’s den in order to stand for right. Greatness is the willingness of Daniel's friends to walk into the fiery furnace. Greatness is the boldness shown when the disciples said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)

These men knew right from wrong, but they were not man enough to stand up for it. They were not willing to risk their jobs or to endanger their lives for the truth. When truth is on one side and leadership is on the other, each person has to decide for which side he will stand. Will we stand with the truth regardless of cost, or will we turn our backs on the truth and allow evil to go unchecked? We may not be able to stop evil, but we can certainly make it clear that evil is not right and that no one else thinks it is either.

No one should stand idly by while leaders violate righteous laws and principles. A moral populace may not be able to stop the dictators, tyrants, and demagogues who rule, but we can certainly stand up and say they are wrong and that we refuse to act as if they are right.

God often mentions the fact that men do not care, and that they see wrong but do nothing.

Isaiah 59:14 “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”

Isaiah 57:1 “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.”

Jeremiah 12:11 “They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.”

Somebody must care about the truth of God's Word! We should stand up for the truth, even though it may mean we will lose our lives. That is what the founders of our country meant when they said, “…we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

Pastor