God’s messages can be difficult to hear. Nephi’s brothers complained, “Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear” (1 Nephi 16:1). Jacob said, “it burdeneth my soul,” when he had to call his people to repent (Jacob 2:9). So the deliverer of the messages also feels their weight.
Maybe that’s why ancient Israelite prophets used the Hebrew word massa’ (מַשָּׂא), which means “burden,” to describe some of their prophetic pronouncements. Isaiah delivered burdens regarding Babylon (Isaiah 13), Moab (Isaiah 15), Damascus (Isaiah 17), Egypt (Isaiah 19), the desert of the sea (Isaiah 21:1-10), Dumah (Isaiah 21:11-12), Arabia (Isaiah 21:13-17), Jerusalem (Isaiah 22), and Tyre (Isaiah 23). Nahum, Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Malachi also delivered messages which they called burdens (Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Zechariah 9:1; 12:1; Malachi 1:1). But Jeremiah took a different approach.
In chapter 23 of his book, after condemning false prophets who proclaim lies in God’s name, Jeremiah shares some stark counsel that he received from God:
And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord. …
Jeremiah 23:33, 36
And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.
There is powerful irony in God’s refusal to provide a requested burden. Normally, if God’s people request feedback that is difficult to hear, one would expect Him to provide it. Perhaps the request was insincere. Some commentators, including John Calvin, have detected mockery or complaint in the request. The New Living Translation reflects that interpretation, rendering the people’s question as “What prophecy has the LORD burdened you with now?”
But another possibility is that the term “burden” had been abused by so many false prophets that the Lord no longer wanted to associate His words with it. “The burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more,” He said, and then He listed the simple questions that He wanted them to ask: “What hath the Lord answered thee?” and, “What hath the Lord spoken?” (Jeremiah 23:35, 37). The Lord urged the people to ask these questions to one another and to the prophet. Presumably, the goal is to hear the simple truth, regardless of what it might be, not to expect another “burden” like those pronounced previously by prophets, true or false.
Sincere questions, with an openness to learn whatever God chooses to reveal: this is how we approach Him productively, laying aside assumptions and expectations.
Today I will open my heart to learn God’s will for me. Instead of asking God for a particular type of answer, I will simply seek to know what He wants to teach me, either directly or through the words of others.
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