Today’s Scripture Reading (February
15, 2014): Jeremiah 11
Sometime
after 49 B.C.E., Gaius Julius Caesar developed a new constitution for the Roman
Empire. His purpose was to strengthen his Kingdom. He had watched the effect
that a weak government had on the nation and he wanted to set up a system of
government that would allow the Empire to grow and remain healthy and strong.
Caesar had three goals in mind as he set up the constitution for Rome. The
first was to suppress any armed resistance out in the provinces, basically
resistance in those areas of the empire that existed at a distance from Rome.
The aim of the first goal was to ensure that order could be established and
maintained within the borders of the Empire. The second goal was that he wanted
to create a strong central government. This government would be able to instill
a central purpose into the empire, rather than allowing the empire to chase
after smaller and more insignificant goals. And finally, he wanted to knit
together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit. The Roman Empire was to
be a single entity, rather than collection of smaller nations and provinces all
chasing after their own desires, run by a central political body – the Senate.
To a certain extent, the U.S.S.R during the 20th century, and maybe
to bit of a lesser degree the United States, were models of the type of
Government that Caesar had wanted to establish. But he also had a problem.
Caesar quickly realized that there was no way that he could establish the kind
of empire that he had imagined unless he was unquestionably the leader of the
nation. So, in order to accomplish the goals set out in the new Constitution,
Caesar had himself declared dictator for life.
While the
reasons behind the appointment of Caesar as Dictator for Life was for the
strength of the Empire, much of the Senate, including even some of his
supporters, began to question the future of the Empire with Julius Caesar at
the helm. And so they began to plot against their leader until on March 15 (the
Ides of March) in the year 44 B.C.E. Gaius Julius Caesar – historically one of
the great political figures of history – was assassinated. And there is every
evidence that Julius Caesar was surprised by the move against him.
Jeremiah was
never a dictator of Israel. In fact, he never held political power in the
nation. But he did have an influence and that was part of the problem. Those
that held political power were displeased by Jeremiah’s message, and so there
was a plot developed against the prophet intending to take his life. We know
very little about this incident, except that the plot was hatched by the people
of his own hometown. It is quite possible that some of the people involved in
the plot against Jeremiah would have once counted themselves among Jeremiah’s
friends. And there is no doubt that even though the plot failed, Jeremiah was
hurt by the attempt.
And maybe
the most important thing to know about Jeremiah is this – like Julius Caesar,
all Jeremiah wanted to do was to strengthen the nation. He wanted good to
happen to his country and his friends, but he understood that good often only happened
when hard problems are confronted and when hard decisions are made.
Most of us
want to change something about ourselves or about the situation we find ourselves
in. But we can never assume that change is easy. It isn’t. And confronting the
demons, even in just our own lives, is going to upset some of the people around
us. They are going to try to convince us that the change we are making is unnecessary.
But we remember the people that are willing to sacrifice for good; the ones
that stand up against the crowd and say that we are going to follow this path
no matter what others might say or do. It is the stance of a hero – and the
world definitely needs more heroes.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 12
No comments:
Post a Comment