“His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not refrain.” Jeremiah 20:9
Dear Ones:
When Moses approached the burning bush in the wilderness, he was intrigued by the fact that though it burned, it was not consumed. In other words, though the bush was on fire, the fire was not diminished in any way, nor was the bush. There was something eternal about the fire, and also, the effect that it had on the bush. That eternal reality made a deep impression upon Moses, especially when the Lord called Moses’ name out of the bush. There is no doubt that God had been working in the heart and mind of Moses for his entire life, to bring him to this moment, and the unveiling of his calling. The day of the burning bush was the beginning of Moses’ ministry. A fire was put into him that would never go out, one from which he could not flee, one which urged him on in his pursuit of God.
Jeremiah has been called by some theologians as the “weeping prophet.” Most certainly this was because of his sensitive nature, and the adverse reaction to the Lord’s words by the people. Though there would be some words of great hope, and consolation, there were others of judgment and suffering. As a result of the resistance that he encountered, and the general weariness that he experienced in ministering the Lord’s word to a resisting people, there were certainly times when he would have preferred to stop ministering, and speak no more to the people in the Lord’s name.(20:9) However, there was a fire burning in his heart that would not be diminished, nor altered. It was put there by God Himself. He described it like this: “But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.” (Jer. 20:9) He would go on to say that he was “…weary with forbearing,” which means that he was tired of putting up with the prospect of declaring to the people the word of God, and not seeing the people respond in a right and good manner. It was then that Jeremiah would write: “…and I could not stay, or refrain.” In other words, Jeremiah’s ministry was not an easy one. He experienced very plainly, and forcefully, that which the Lord had told him at the time of his calling: “And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord.” (1:19) But even though Jeremiah was tempted to give up, and cease with this ministry, he could not. There was something IN him, as it was in the burning bush that Moses saw. It was a fire, a burning fire in his bones. When the Lord’s word came to him, as was the case when Jesus spoke during His ministry, there was produced in him, something that he could not explain, but which he knew came from God. At one point during Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees sent men to apprehend the Lord Jesus. They returned without him, saying: “Never a man spoke as this man.”(Jn. 7:46) Unlike their scribes, Jesus spoke with power and authority. There was “something” in His words that was like a fire, like a “fire shut up in His bones,” which He communicated to others.
Does this same fire “in one’s bones,” belong to the church today, to all believers? “Did the tongues of fire at Pentecost just fall on a few of the disciples, or upon all who were present?” The answer is, upon all. The fire of the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer, and in a very real way, is “shut up in our bones.” It is when God speaks to the heart, taking the objective word of God in Christ, and quickening it to our hearts, that we again see and know this “burning in our bones.”
Dear Father, By Thy Spirit, make our hearts to burn when You speak to us. Please give us grace to embrace what You say, and never refrain from obeying it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad