BURNING BONES

"Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.' But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not." (Jeremiah 20:9)

Pashur, son of Immer the priest and "chief governor of the house of the Lord," was irritated with the words of Jeremiah the Prophet. He beat Jeremiah and put him in stocks in the upper gate of Benjamin by the house of the Lord, making a public display of him.  The next day Pasher released Jeremiah, who prophesied in his face that he and his friends would fall, and all Judah be given to the king of Babylon (vs 2-6). Then, fatigued with the opposition of his own people, Jeremiah cried out to the Lord. He confessed God was stronger than himself, and had prevailed upon him to speak, even though he was "in derision daily," and everyone mocked him (v 7). The difficult times he was experiencing started when he began to cry out of the coming Babylonian captivity with its associated "violence and plunder." The Word of the Lord, he confessed, "was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily" (v 8). It was at that point the prophet determined not to mention the Lord again, or speak any more in His name. After all, of what value is it to repeatedly speak the Word of the Lord if no one listens, even opposing what is said and mocking the one who said it? If ever circumstances justified being quiet, these surely qualified! His preaching seemed to yield no good, so why speak at all! There was, however, a complicating factor. The Word of God was in Jeremiah's heart. It was part of himself. He could not push it to the back of his mind, or forget it. He thought upon it, pondered it, and respected it. His faith ignited the Word within him, and it began to burn like a fire. With David he could say, "My heart was hot within me" (Psa 39:3). It was also like a blazing inferno in his bones. The condition would not allow him to remain silent. Burning bones forced the Word out of his mouth. Keeping quiet was wearing him out, as the inner fire consumed all of His strength.
It may be that you have had the same experience as Jeremiah. Make no attempt to quench the fire within! Yield to it, and let the Word again come from your mouth. It is of no consequence to you how your word is received. It is, however, of great consequence to you how you respond to the Word that is in your heart, and has ignited passion and zeal within. You can say with Elihu, "I will speak, that I may be refreshed" (Job 32:20), and with David and Paul, "I believed, and therefore have I spoken" (Psa 116:10; 2 Cor 4:13). Honor your bones!
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