Psalm 150 (continued, part 15)
"It was the answer Jeremiah needed," said Scottish preacher Hugh Black. "He needed to be braced, not pampered."6 One of my relatives, when a boy, deliberately failed third grade so he wouldn't have to go into fourth grade and write with ink! Today, our grandchildren are learning to use simple computer programs in grade school so they'll be prepared to use more difficult programs in high school and college. There's no growth without challenge, and there's no challenge without change. As they get older, many people resist change, forgetting that without the challenge of change, they're in danger of deteriorating physically, mentally, and spiritually. God wanted Jeremiah to grow, and He also wants us to grow.
Jeremiah, however, was seeking more than answers to questions; he was also concerned for the welfare of his people. He saw the land distressed because of the sins of the leaders, with many innocent people suffering. God had sent drought to the nation, which was one of the covenant disciplines (Deut. 28:15–24), and the vegetation was withering and the animal life dying. But the evil leaders who were to blame for the drought were not only surviving but also were prospering from the losses of others.
This didn't seem fair, and Jeremiah complained to the Lord. "Why do all the faithless live at ease?" (Jer. 12:1 niv). "How long will the land lie parched?" (v. 4). "Why?" and "How long?" are questions that are easy to ask but difficult to answer.
Gilbert K. Chesterton put it this way: "The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us."7 God was concerned about the development within the prophet, not just the difficulties around him. God could handle the problem people in Judah, but God couldn't force His servant to grow. Only Jeremiah could make that choice by staying in the race, accepting new challenges, and thereby maturing in the Lord.
Jeremiah's suggested solution was that God judge the wicked and drag them away like cattle to be slaughtered (v. 3). After all, the men of Anathoth were ready to kill him like a sacrificial lamb (11:19). So why shouldn't they receive from God the same fate they had planned for him?
God's reply to Jeremiah, however, wasn't what he expected (12:5–6). God's focus was not on the wicked; it was on His servant Jeremiah. As most of us do when we're suffering, Jeremiah was asking, "How can I get out of this?" But he should have been asking, "What can I get out of this?" God's servants don't live by explanations; they live by promises. Understanding explanations may satisfy our curiosity and make us smarter people, but laying hold of God's promises will build our character and make us better servants.
Ignoring God's Warnings (12:7—13:27) God used what Jeremiah said and did to speak to the people of Judah and warn them of the terrible judgment that was coming. Comfortable in their false confidence and encouraged by the false prophets, the leaders and people of Judah were living in a fool's paradise, certain that nothing terrible could happen to either the Holy City or the temple. Note the eight vivid images that depict the judgment that was about to fall.
God's reply revealed three important truths to Jeremiah. First, the life of godly service isn't easy; it's like running a race. (Paul used a similar figure in Phil. 3:12–14.) Had he remained a priest, Jeremiah probably would have had a comfortable and secure life, but the life of a prophet was just the opposite. He was like a man running a race and having a hard time keeping up.
The rejected inheritance (vv. 7–17). The people of Israel were God's special inheritance (Ex. 19:5–6; Deut. 4:20; 32:9), and the land of Canaan was their inheritance from Him (Ex. 15:17; Ps. 78:55). The land belonged to the Lord and was only loaned to the Jews
Second, the life of service becomes harder, not easier.
Jeremiah 12—13
for them to use (Lev. 25:23). The people were to obey the laws that protected the land from abuse and defilement, but they disobeyed those laws and defiled their inheritance (Lev. 18:25, 27; Deut. 21:23). God disciplined them by taking them out of the Promised Land and deporting them to Babylon. This gave the land of Israel opportunity to be healed (Lev. 26:34–43; 2 Chron. 36:21; Jer. 25:9–12).
heart, the prophet saw the leaders getting drunk when they should have been soberly seeking the Lord (see Isa. 28:1–8), and he knew that a cup of wrath was about to be poured out on the land (Jer. 25:15ff.). The leaders and the people of Jerusalem were filling their jars with wine, preparing for a party, but God would fill them with a drunkenness that would lead to shameful defeat and painful destruction. They would crash into one another and destroy one another like clay pots smashed in a siege. Paul used the image of drunkenness to admonish the church to be ready for the Lord's return (1 Thess. 5:1–11).
You can't miss the anguish of God's heart as He spoke concerning His beloved people. Instead of loving Him, they were roaring at Him like an angry lion, and He couldn't express His love to them as He yearned to do.8 Judah's enemies were like birds of prey and wild beasts, just waiting to attack.
The stumbling traveler (13:15–16). When Jeremiah called to the people, "Hear ye and give ear [pay attention]" (Jer. 13:15), he was giving them opportunity to repent and turn to the Lord. He compared them to a traveler on an unfamiliar and dangerous mountain trail, without a map and without light, hoping for the dawn. Instead of the light dawning, however, the darkness only deepens. In centuries past, God had led His people by pillars of cloud and fire. Now He wanted to lead them through the words of His prophet, but the people wouldn't follow. If we reject God's light, nothing remains but darkness. The leaders were too proud to admit they were lost, and they wouldn't ask for directions.
The leaders of those nations ("shepherds," "pastors") and their armies would turn the beautiful vineyard into a wasteland, and the Jewish people would be uprooted from their inheritance. The people of the neighboring nations—Syria, Moab, and Ammon— who had attacked Judah in the past would also be punished by Babylon, and some of them would also be taken captive. The Lord, however, added a word of hope: "I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land" (Jer. 12:15). The people would be in captivity for seventy years (25:11–12; 29:10) and then be permitted to return to their land and restore their temple and nation. God would invite the people of the other nations to worship Him—the true and living God—and they would no longer teach His people how to worship false gods.
The captive flock (13:17–20). Jeremiah wept as he saw the Lord's flock being taken captive, defenseless sheep heading for the slaughter. What caused this great tragedy? The shepherds (rulers of Judah) selfishly exploited the sheep and refused to obey the Word of the Lord (23:1ff.). Jeremiah spoke to King Jehoiachin and Nehushta, the queen mother (2 Kings 24:8–20), and admonished them to repent and humble themselves, but they refused to listen. Babylon would swoop down from the north and the nation would be ruined. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18 niv).
The marred waistcloth (13:1–11). This was one of Jeremiah's "action sermons."9 The waistcloth was a thigh-length undergarment worn next to the skin. God had brought the nation close to Himself, but they had defiled themselves with idols and become "good for nothing." When the people saw Jeremiah bury his new garment under a rock in the muddy river, they knew it would ruin the garment, but they didn't realize they were passing judgment on themselves. God would one day take Judah to Babylon, and there He would humble the Judahites and cure them of their idolatry. The city and temple that they were proud of would be ruined, just as the prophet's garment had been ruined.
The woman in travail (13:21). This is a familiar biblical image of suffering, and it's usually associated with judgment (Jer. 4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 49:24; 50:43; 1 Thess. 5:3). The message of the verse is "The people you sought as allies will come and be your masters. Then what will you say? You'll be so gripped with pain that you won't be able to say anything." Had they looked to Jehovah as their ally, He wouldn't have failed them; but they trusted Babylon, and Babylon turned out to be their enemy.
But something else was involved in this "action sermon." For years, the leaders of Judah had turned to Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon for "help," instead of turning to the Lord, and this help had only defiled them and made them "good for nothing" in God's sight. Jeremiah was showing them that their flirting with the pagan nations was only alienating them further from the Lord and that it would ultimately end in national ruin.
The disgraced prostitute (vv. 22–23, 26–27). According to the law of Moses, prostitution was not permitted in the land (Lev. 19:29; 21:7, 14), and public exposure sometimes disgraced the prostitutes. If a prostitute discovers herself stripped, shamed, and abused, why should she be surprised? That's what she asked for! The people of Judah prostituted themselves to heathen idols and turned to godless nations for help. Now they were asking, "Why have all of these things happened to us?" People may live as though sin has no consequences, but those consequences will come just
The staggering drunkards (13:12–14). Jeremiah used a familiar proverb as his text: "Every [wineskin]10 shall be filled with wine" (13:12). The proverb expresses the assurance that there will be peace and prosperity for the nation, not unlike the American proverb, "A chicken in every pot."11 With a broken
Jeremiah 13
the same. Just as Ethiopians can't change the color of their skin or the leopard remove its spots, so the wicked nation can't naturally do anything good. These people are too accustomed to committing evil. Only God can change the human heart.
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12 nkjv). 6 Hugh Black, Listening to God (London: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1906), 282. 7 See his essay "The Romance of Rhyme" in his book Fancies versus Fads. 8 The statement in Jeremiah 12:8 that God "hated" His inheritance means that He had to treat them as though they were not His beloved. He withdrew His love by abandoning them to their enemies. God's love for His people is unconditional, but their enjoyment of that love is conditional (see 2 Cor. 6:17–18; John 14:21–24). 9 The big question relating to this "action sermon" is, where did it take place? The Euphrates was 350 miles from Anathoth, and that would mean four journeys of four months each for the prophet (Ezra 7:8–9). Could he make four such trips during such turbulent times? And how significant would his actions be to the people of Judah if he performed them hundreds of miles away? The Hebrew text of Jeremiah 13:4 reads Perath, which is the Hebrew word for the Euphrates, but some scholars think it refers to the town of Parah about three miles from Anathoth (Josh. 18:23), or that perhaps it is an abbreviation for Ephrata, the name of Bethlehem, located only five or six miles from Jerusalem. However, if Jeremiah did travel twice to Babylon, it would have made a tremendous impression on the people of Judah when he returned home with his ruined garment. He then could have preached the message that the garment symbolized. 10 The proverb speaks of wineskins, but the Hebrew word means "wine jars." The image in Jeremiah 13:14 is that of jars being dashed together and broken. The prophets used familiar sayings as springboards for teaching God's truth (see Jer. 17:11; 31:9; Ezek. 18:2). 11 Henri IV, King of France, said in his coronation address in 1589, "I hope to make France so prosperous that every peasant will have a chicken in his pot on Sunday." In 1928, the American Republican party used "A chicken in every pot" as a campaign slogan.
The blown chaff (13:24–25). God compared the wicked nation to chaff that will be blown away (Ps. 1:4; see Matt. 3:12). Chaff is the useless by-product of the harvesting process. The workers throw the grain into the air, and the desert wind blows the chaff away. Sin had so cheapened the kingdom of Judah that the people were worthless, fit only to be blown away. They forgot their Lord, believed lies, and would not repent of their sins.
How patient the Lord was with His people, and how patient His servant was to minister to them! Jeremiah was willing to walk alone and "vote with God" so his people might have an opportunity to be saved, but they spurned his message.
God is still "longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Unlike the people of Judah, let us listen to His Word and obey Him; for only then can we escape His discipline and enjoy His blessings.
1 Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays. Of course Emerson used the word man generically, referring to either men or women. 2 Jeremiah 11:6 suggests that Jeremiah may have itinerated in Judah and taught the people the law. This was one of the duties of the priests (2 Chron. 17:8–10; Ezra 7:10; Neh. 8:1–9). 3 Note the emphasis on love in the book of Deuteronomy. The word is used twenty times, and love is presented as the motive for obedience to the Lord (6:4–5; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22). The word heart is used nearly fifty times in Deuteronomy. In this "second edition" of the law, Moses moved the emphasis from mere outward obedience to inward love and a desire to please God. Why we obey God is a mark of maturity in the Christian life. 4 Eugene Peterson, Run with the Horses (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1983), 61. 5 See my book Why Us? When Bad Things Happen to God's People (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1984) for a discussion of this problem from a biblical/pastoral point of view. Other helpful books are: In God's Waiting Room by Lehman Strauss (Radio Bible Class); The Paradox of Pain by A.E. Wilder Smith (Harold Shaw); Through the Fire by Joseph M. Stowell (Victor); Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey (Zondervan); The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis (Macmillan); and Surprised by Suffering by R. C. Sproul (Tyndale). See also Be Patient, my study of the book of Job (Victor). The Old Testament system of rewards and punishments was suited to Israel in their "spiritual childhood" (Gal. 4:1–7), but it was never meant to be God's permanent arrangement for believers today. Jesus lived a perfect life and yet He suffered greatly, and nowhere in the New Testament is the church promised immunity from suffering. Quite the contrary is true: "Yes, and all
CHAPTER FIVE Jeremiah 14—17 SERMONS, SUPPLICATIONS, AND SOBS
Our modern age is a pushover for the shallow and the shortcut. We want to
B.The coming Babylonian invasion—14—16
change everything except the
human heart.
J. Wallace Hamilton1 P
reaching that costs nothing accomplishes nothing."2 The famous British preacher John Henry Jowett made that statement, and it certainly applies to the prophet Jeremiah. Pained by the sins of his people, declaring unpopular messages that majored on judgment, and perplexed by what the Lord was
Jeremiah 13—14
Because they couldn't plead for help on the basis of their repentance and God's covenant promise (Deut. 30:1–10; 2 Chron. 7:12–15), the people of Judah asked God to help them for His own name's sake. "After all," they argued, "it's Your reputation that's at stake, because we're called by Your name." The Hope and Savior of Israel was like a tourist in the land, unconcerned about either its present condition or its future destruction. The Lord was like a person shocked into paralysis or a warrior completely without strength.
allowing him to suffer, Jeremiah paid a great price to be faithful to his divine calling. If ever an Old Testament servant had to "take up his cross" in order to follow the Lord, it was Jeremiah.
In these chapters, the prophet delivered four messages, and interspersed with these messages are his own prayers to the Lord and the answers he received. Jeremiah was bold before men but broken before God, and yet it was his brokenness that gave him his strength.
When God disciplines us, it isn't enough that we pray and ask for His help; anybody in trouble can do that. We must repent of our sins, judge and confess them, and sincerely seek the face of God. To weep because of the sufferings that sin causes is to show remorse but not repentance. "Rend your heart and not your garments" (Joel 2:13) was the prophet Joel's counsel to the Jews during another time of great calamity; and David, when he sought God's forgiveness, said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17).
A Message about the Drought (14:1–22) Unlike the land of Egypt, whose food supply depended on irrigation from the Nile River, the land of Canaan depended on the rains God sent from heaven (Deut. 11:10–12). If His people obeyed His law, God would send the rains3 and give them bumper crops (Lev. 26:3–5), but if they disobeyed, the heaven would become like iron and the earth like bronze (Lev. 26:18–20; Deut. 11:13–17; 28:22–24). Over the years, Judah's sins had brought a series of droughts to the land4 (see Jer. 3:3; 5:24; 12:4; 23:10), and Jeremiah used this painful but timely topic as the basis for a sermon to the people.
God responded to the people's words, not by sending rain, but by announcing judgment (Jer. 14:10)! For the third time, He told His servant Jeremiah not to pray for the people (v. 11; see 7:16; 11:14). His longsuffering had run out, and He was determined to punish them for their sins. They could fast, pray, and bring sacrifices, but nothing would change His mind. The nation was destined for the sword, famine, and pestilence (14:12). The Babylonian army would bring the sword, and the results of its devastating invasion would be famine and pestilence.5
The plight of the land (vv. 1–6). Whether in the cities (14:1–3), the farms (v. 4), or the open country (vv. 5–6), no matter where you looked throughout Judah, you found suffering and privation. The land was in mourning and its citizens were lamenting, like people at a funeral. Because of the sins of the people, God was withholding the life-giving rains and thus keeping His covenant promise to Israel. It made no difference how rich you were, there wasn't any water to be found. The rivers were dry, the cisterns were empty, and both the servants in the cities and the farmers in the country covered their heads like people in a funeral procession. Even the animals were suffering because of the sins of the people. The doe, usually faithful to her young, abandoned her newborn fawn to starve to death, and the wild donkeys, their eyes glazed, could only stand on the barren heights and pant hopelessly for water.
The protest of the prophet (vv. 13–16). "But is it really the fault of the people?" Jeremiah asked. "Aren't the people being led astray by the false prophets who are promising them deliverance and peace? They are the real culprits" (see 5:12; 6:14; 8:11). God agreed that the prophets were leading the people astray through their false visions and lies, and He assured Jeremiah that these people would suffer for what they had done. The day would come when they and their families would be slain, and nobody would bury their corpses—one of the most humiliating things that could happen to a Jew.
It's a serious thing to enter into a covenant relationship with God, because He will always keep His word, either to bless or to chasten. If we are the recipients of His love, then we can expect to be the recipients of His chastening if we disobey Him (Prov. 3:11–12). God is always faithful.
The people, however, were responsible for their actions because they should have known that the Lord had not sent these prophets. There were two tests of a true prophet or prophetess in Israel: (1) their predictions were 100 percent accurate (Deut. 18:20–22),6 and (2) their messages agreed with the law of God (13:1–18). Any prophet who permitted the worship of idols, contrary to God's law, was a false prophet. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20). Even if a professed prophet performed miracles, he or she was a counterfeit if God's revealed truth in the Word did not support the message. Miracles are no guarantee of a divine call (2 Thess. 2:7–12).
The plea of the people (vv. 7–12). As people usually do when they're in trouble, the Jews turned to God and prayed, but their prayers were insincere and not linked with repentance. Jeremiah had already confronted these pious hypocrites with their sins when he asked, "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?" (Jer. 7:9–10 nkjv).
Jeremiah 14—15
them away from my presence! Let them go!" (Jer. 15:1 niv)
The pain and prayer of the prophet (vv. 17–22). How did Jeremiah feel about his people? The same way God felt: he wept for them (Jer. 9:18; 13:17) the way a father would weep for a virgin daughter who had been violated, beaten, and left to die. In prophetic vision, the prophet saw the land ravaged and the people taken captive to Babylon (14:18), and this led him to turn to God in prayer.
The people faced four possible judgments: death from disease, war, starvation, or, if they survived these calamities, exile in Babylon.7 The bodies of those slain by the Babylonian army would be desecrated and eaten by dogs, birds, or wild beasts; none would have a decent burial. It wasn't a bright future that God revealed to His people, but it was a future they themselves had chosen by refusing to repent of their sins. You take what you want from life and you pay for it.
Since Jeremiah had been commanded not to pray for the nation (14:11), he identified himself with the people and used the pronouns "we" and "us," not "they" and "them" (see Neh. 1:4–10; Ezra 9; Dan. 9; Rom. 9:1–3). In praying for himself, he was praying for them, and he asked God to honor His own name and keep His covenant by sending healing to the land. Although God was certainly willing to keep His part of the covenant, the people weren't willing to keep their part. Therefore, the prophet's prayer went unanswered. A faithful God cannot violate His own word.
God had chosen the Jews to be a blessing to the nations of the world (Gen. 12:1–3), but now they would become "abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth" (v. 4 niv; see 24:9; 29:18; 34:17; Deut. 28:25), an object of scorn, "a byword among the nations" (Ps. 44:14 niv). Not only that, but Jerusalem and the land itself would bear witness to God's judgment of their sins. "Their land will be laid waste, an object of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads" (Jer. 18:16 niv; see 19:8; 25:9, 18; 29:18). One of the causes for this terrible judgment was King Manasseh, who reigned for fifty-five years (697–642 BC) and was the most wicked king in Judah's history (2 Kings 21:1–18; 2 Chron. 33:1–10). He was the son of godly Hezekiah and the grandfather of godly Josiah, and yet he himself was an evil man who encouraged Judah in the sins that brought about the downfall of the kingdom. God wasn't punishing the nation for the sins Manasseh committed but because the nation imitated Manasseh in their sinning.
Sometimes God permits disasters to occur to bring nations, churches, and individuals to their knees in repentance. The plagues of Egypt should have made Pharaoh a contrite man, but he only hardened his heart even more against the Lord (Ex. 7—12). Israel's treatment of the nations in Canaan was God's judgment because these nations refused to turn from their sins (Gen. 15:16; see Dan. 8:23; Matt. 23:32–35). While we shouldn't interpret every calamity as an expression of divine wrath, we must be sensitive to God and be willing to search our hearts and confess our sins.
A Message about the Coming Captivity (15:1–21) Before the Jews even entered the Promised Land, Moses had rehearsed with them the terms of the covenant, warning them that God would remove them from the land if they refused to obey His voice (Deut. 28:63–68). No sooner did Joshua and that generation of spiritual leaders pass from the scene (Judg. 2:7–15) than the nation turned to idolatry and God had to chasten them. First, He punished them in the land by allowing other nations to invade and take control. Then, when the people cried out for help, He raised up deliverers (vv. 16–23). By the time of Jeremiah, however, the sins of the people were so great that God had to remove them from the land and punish them in distant Babylon.
In fact, the Lord lamented over the suffering that would come to His people because of their disobedience (Jer. 15:5–9). Would anybody pity Jerusalem or even ask about her welfare? Nehemiah did (Neh. 1:1–3), and centuries later, Jesus wept over the city (Matt. 23:37). For God to postpone judgment would have meant encouraging the nation's sins even more, and this He would not do. He was weary with repenting (Jer. 15:6).8
The coming judgment would be like separating wheat from the chaff (v. 7; see 51:2). The wives would become widows, and the mothers would be bereaved of their sons. A woman with seven sons would be considered especially blessed, but if all of them were killed in battle, it would be as though the sun went down at noon, cutting the day short. The light of her life would be gone because the future of the family had been destroyed.
Two responses are recorded in this chapter: the Lord's response to Jeremiah's prayer (Jer. 15:1–9) and Jeremiah's response to the Lord's answer (vv. 10–21).
We must not think that God enjoyed sending judgment to His people. If He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32), He certainly has no pleasure in the death of His own people! God is longsuffering, but when His people resist His gracious call and rebel against His will, He has no alternative but to send chastening.
The Lord's response to Jeremiah's prayer (vv. 1–9). No matter who sought to intercede for Judah, God's mind was made up, and He would not relent. At critical times in Jewish history, Moses and Samuel had interceded for the people, and God heard and answered (Ex. 32—34; Num. 14; 1 Sam. 7; 12; Ps. 99:6–8). But God's heart would go out to the people no longer. Instead, His people would go out into captivity. "Send
Jeremiah's response to the Lord's message (vv.
Jeremiah 15—16
became so angry he refused to help the very people he came to save (Jonah 4)! God doesn't want us to ignore our feelings, because that would make us less than human, but He does want us to trust Him to change our feelings and start walking by faith (see 2 Cor. 1:3–11).
10–21). This is the third of Jeremiah's recorded laments (see 11:18–23). If the mothers of the dead soldiers had reason to weep (Jer. 15:8–9), Jeremiah's mother had even more reason, for the people treated him as though he were the enemy. The soldiers died as heroes, but Jeremiah lived as if he were a traitor to his own people. Jeremiah wasn't a creditor, pressuring his borrowers. Nevertheless, everybody hated him. God promised to deliver him (v. 5), and He kept His promise, but God didn't promise to shield him from persecution. Jeremiah was now running with the horses, and it wasn't easy (12:5).
A Message about Jeremiah's Strange Conduct (16:1–21) In order to get the attention of the people, God sometimes told the prophets to do unusual things. Isaiah gave two of his sons odd names, which he used as a text for a message (Isa. 8), and he also dressed like a prisoner of war to call attention to a coming conflict (Isa. 20). We've already noted the many "action sermons" of both Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
In resisting Nebuchadnezzar, Judah was fighting a losing battle, for nothing could break the "northern iron" of Babylon. Judah would lose its treasures and become slaves of the Babylonians. This wasn't a popular message to proclaim, and Jeremiah knew it would arouse the opposition of the leaders and the people. Therefore, he asked God for the help he needed to keep going. His requests were "Remember me, care for me, and avenge me of my enemies."
Jeremiah's prohibitions (vv. 1–9). The Lord forbade Jeremiah from participating in three normal and acceptable activities: getting married, mourning for the dead, and attending feasts. All Jewish men were expected to be married by age twenty. In fact, the rabbis pronounced a curse on any who refused to marry and beget children. Certainly Jeremiah would have appreciated having a loving wife to encourage him, but this blessing was not his to enjoy. When you consider all the trials he endured and the enemies he made, Jeremiah was probably better off a single man. But his refusing marriage was a symbolic act, for the sons and daughters in Jewish families would either die by the sword or starve to death in the coming Babylonian invasion. Whenever anybody asked Jeremiah why he wasn't married, he had opportunity to share God's message of the coming judgment.
Jeremiah 15:15–18 reveals the turmoil that was in the prophet's heart and mind. One minute he was affirming the Lord's longsuffering and his own faithfulness to the Word,9 and the next minute he was crying out with pain because of the suffering of his people and the difficulty of his work. He even suggested that God had lied to him when He called him and that God was "like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails" (v. 18 niv; see Job 6:15–20).
Jeremiah was human and had his failings, but at least he honestly admitted them to God. Instead of piously covering up his true feelings, he poured out his heart to the Lord, and the Lord answered him. God's answer may have shocked the prophet, for the Lord told him he needed to repent! "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman" (Jer. 15:19 niv). Because of his attitude toward God and his calling, Jeremiah was about to forfeit his ministry! In some ways, he was mirroring the words and attitudes of the people of Judah when they questioned God.
The Jewish people in Bible times were experts at mourning and marrying, but Jeremiah was forbidden to attend funerals or weddings and the feasts connected with them. What did this unsociable conduct say to the people? For one thing, God had removed His peace and comfort from the nation. Moreover, the judgment that was coming would be so terrible that the people would be unable to express their grief. There would be so many corpses and so few survivors that nobody would bury the dead, let alone comfort whatever family member remained.
The Lord usually balances rebuke with reassurance. He promised once again to make Jeremiah a fortified wall and give him victory over all his enemies (v. 20; see 1:18–19). Jeremiah had to learn to walk by faith, which meant obeying God's word no matter how he felt, what he saw, or what others might do to him. God never promised Jeremiah an easy job, but He did promise him all that he needed to do his work faithfully.
As for wedding feasts, how could people celebrate with such a cloud of destruction hovering over the nation? The days would come when the happy voices of brides and bridegrooms would cease. In fact, all joy and gladness would flee from the land. The exiles would form a funeral march and go to Babylon.
Is it unusual for chosen servants of God to become discouraged and endanger their own ministries? No, because every servant of God is human and subject to the weaknesses of human nature. Moses became discouraged and wanted to die (Num. 11:10–15); Joshua was ready to quit and leave the Promised Land (Josh. 7:6–11); Elijah even abandoned his place of duty and hoped to die (1 Kings 19); and Jonah
Jeremiah's explanation (vv. 10–13, 16–18). It seems strange that the people would ask why the Lord decreed such a terrible judgment for His people. Surely they knew the terms of His covenant and the extent of their own sins, but they were led astray by the false prophets and comfortable in their sins, and their conscience was dead. Their unbiblical theology gave them a false assurance that God would never abandon His
Jeremiah 16—17
Mrs. Coolidge further inquired, and the president replied, "He was against it."
people or allow the Gentiles to desecrate the Holy City and the temple. How wrong they were!
Jeremiah was against the sins of his people, six of which he named in this chapter.
Jeremiah's explanation was simple: They had repeated the sins of their fathers instead of listening to the law of the Lord and turning from sin. Furthermore, they had not learned from the past judgments that God had sent. This made them even more guilty than their fathers. Had not Assyria taken the northern kingdom of Israel captive because of their idolatry? Had not the previous prophets proclaimed the word of God and warned the people?
Idolatry (vv. 1–4). Instead of giving their devotion and obedience to the true and living God, who had blessed them, the Jews adopted the idols of the nations around them and made these false gods more important than Jehovah. At the high places in the hills, they built altars to various gods and planted obscene symbols of the goddess Asherah. This defiled the land—their rich inheritance from Jehovah—and because of their idolatry, their inheritance would be plundered. They would lose everything, and it would be their own fault.
Jeremiah used several images to describe the captivity. The verb "cast you out" (Jer. 16:13) is used for hurling a spear or sending a storm against a ship (Jonah 1:4). God was violently removing His people so the land could be healed and the nation purified (2 Chron. 36:14–21). Jeremiah also used the metaphors of fishing, hunting, and banking (Jer. 16:16–18). The Babylonians would cast out their nets and catch the Jews (Ezek. 12:13), and not one "fish" would escape. If anybody tried to hide in the hills, the fishermen would become hunters and track them down. Why? Because the nation owed a great debt to the Lord for the way they had treated His law and His land. Now the note was due. "I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin" (Jer. 16:18 niv) means that God's judgment would be ample and complete.
God's holy law should have been written on their hearts (Prov. 3:3; 7:3; Deut. 6:6, 11:18; 2 Cor. 3:1–3), but instead their sin was engraved there. We may forget our sins, but our sins never forget us. They're inscribed on our hearts until we ask the Lord for forgiveness, and then He cleanses our hearts and makes them new (1 John 1:9; Heb. 10:15–18).
The apostle John's final admonition to believers in his first epistle is "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). There were many false gods in that day (1 Cor. 8:1–5), but there are false gods in our world today, such as money, possessions, fame, success, power, pleasure, achievement, and many more. Anything that we love and trust more than the true and living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is an idol and must be torn from our hearts.
Jeremiah's consolation (vv. 14–15). In wrath, God remembers mercy (Hab. 3:2), and Jeremiah gave the people a message of hope: The exiles will one day return to their land. So great will be this deliverance that it will be looked upon as a "second exodus" and far outshine the glory of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Later, Jeremiah would explain that the exiles will be in Babylon for seventy years (Jer. 25) and that a remnant would return to the land, rebuild the temple, and establish the nation (23:3; 31:7–9). They would return as a chastened people who would never again turn to the idols of the Gentile nations.
Unbelief (vv. 5–10). The leaders of Judah were prone to trust their political allies and lean on the arm of flesh instead of depending on the power of God. To emphasize the difference, Jeremiah contrasted a desert bush with a fruitful tree by the water (see Ps. 1:3–4). Unbelief turns life into a parched wasteland; faith makes it a fruitful orchard. Soon, the Babylonian army would overrun the kingdom of Judah, and the land of milk and honey would become a wasteland.
Jeremiah's affirmation (vv. 19–21). In a burst of faith and prophetic joy, Jeremiah saw not only the gathering of the Jewish remnant but also the coming of the Gentile nations from the ends of the earth to worship the true and living God of Israel. Isaiah had this same vision (Isa. 2:1–5; 11:10–16; 45:14), and so did Zechariah (Zech. 8:20–23). The Gentiles will confess their sin of idolatry and admit that the idols were worthless. Then they will be taught to know the Lord. Meanwhile, it's the task of the church today to spread the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth so that sinners might abandon their false gods, whatever they may be, and trust in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart, and the human heart is deceitful (Jacob in the Hebrew) and incurable. We often say, "Well, if I know my own heart," but we don't know our own hearts. God does. He searches the heart and mind and knows exactly how to reward each person. If we want to know what our hearts are like, we must read the Word and let the Spirit teach us. The hearts of the Jewish leaders were turned away from the Lord and His truth. Consequently, they made unwise decisions and plunged the nation into ruin.
C.The Sabbath message—17
The Jewish people have a record of unbelief. It was unbelief that kept the people of Israel out of the Promised Land (Num. 13—14). It was unbelief that caused them to worship idols and invite the chastening of God during the time of the judges. During the time of the kingdom, it was unbelief that kept the
A Message about Judah's Sins (17:1–27) President Calvin Coolidge came home from church one Sunday, and his wife asked, "What did the preacher preach about?" "Sin," the president said in his usual concise manner. "What did he say about it?"
Jeremiah 17
nation; and yet the people only hardened their hearts and stubbornly resisted God's truth.
leaders from repenting and turning to God for help, and they became entangled in the costly politics involving Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. Would they ever learn?
In an age of unconcern and indecision, Jeremiah was burdened and decisive, and God honored him. Humanly speaking, his ministry was a failure, but from the divine perspective, he was an outstanding success. We need men and women of Jeremiah's caliber serving in the church and the nation today. There's a price to pay, but there's also a crown to win.
Greed (v. 11). During those tumultuous days, the rich exploited the poor and became richer, and the courts did nothing about it. "For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness" (Jer. 6:13). Jeremiah quoted a familiar proverb about the partridge, who is supposed to hatch eggs she didn't lay and have the brood desert her—a picture of wealth deserting the rich people who unjustly acquired it. What good would their wealth be when the judgment fell on the land?
1 J. Wallace Hamilton, The Thunder of Bare Feet (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1964), 69. 2 John Henry Jowett, The Preacher, His Life and Work (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1921), 114. 3 The rainy season was from October to April, with the "early rains" coming in the spring and the "latter rains" in the autumn (Deut. 11:14; Jer. 8:3; 5:24). The "winter rains" began in November/December, the Hebrew month of Kislev. 4 The word drought in Jeremiah 14:1 is plural. 5 The three judgments of war, famine, and pestilence are mentioned often in Jeremiah (21:7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 29:17–18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; see also 5:12; 11:22; 14:13–18; 16:4; 18:21; 42:16; 44:12, 18, 27). 6 Jeremiah had predicted the invasion of the Babylonian army, but that invasion didn't occur until many years later. Since his prophecy didn't immediately come to pass, the people didn't take Jeremiah's messages too seriously. But God was watching over Jeremiah's word to perform it (1:12), and the disaster finally occurred. 7 For other references in Jeremiah to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, see 9:16; 13:24; 16:13; 18:17; 30:11; 46:28. 8 God is holy and never has to repent of sin. The word is used to describe His "change of mind" when He determines not to send judgment. Humanly speaking, God seems to repent. From the divine point of view, however, God's purposes never change, though His providential workings do change. 9 On eating the word (Jer. 15:16); see Ezekiel 3:1–3; Revelation 10:9–10; Job 23:12. Unless the Word becomes a vital part of our inner being, we can't receive nourishment and grow in the spiritual life. This is what Jesus had in mind when He spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:51–58). As we receive the written Word within, we are also receiving the living Word (1:14) and feeding on Christ. 10 Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament epistles for believers to obey, but the Sabbath commandment isn't among them. The Sabbath was a special sign given to Israel (Ex. 31:12–18), not to the church. Believers are free to honor special days as they feel convicted by the Lord (Rom. 14:1–23; Col. 2:16–17) and must not judge one another. To make Sabbath-keeping a means of salvation or a mark of special spirituality is to go beyond what the Scriptures teach, and to equate the Sabbath with the New Testament Lord's day is equally unbiblical. The Sabbath is identified with the law: You work six days and then you have rest. The Lord's day is identified with grace: You begin with a resurrected Christ and the works follow.
Forsaking the Lord (vv. 12–13). The throne of Judah was stained with sin and clouded by shame, but God's throne was glorious and exalted. The Jews considered the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies to be God's throne (Ps. 80:1; 99:1), but even if the temple were destroyed, God's heavenly throne would endure forever (Isa. 6:1). God had never forsaken His people, but they had forsaken Him. This is why Judah was facing terrible judgment. Instead of being written in the Book of Life, those who forsook God were written in the dust, where their names perished with them (Ex. 32:32; Ps. 69:28; Phil. 4:3).
Rejecting God's servant (vv. 14–18). This is the fourth of Jeremiah's personal prayers to God for help, and this time the emphasis is on deliverance from his enemies. The people called him a false prophet and kept asking when his dire predictions would come true. They didn't realize that God's delays were opportunities for the nation to repent and be saved from ruin. Except for one episode of unbelief (Jer. 15:15–21), Jeremiah had not tried to run away from his responsibilities, nor had he altered the messages God had given him to deliver. But he needed God's help and protection, and the Lord answered his prayers.
Profaning the Sabbath (vv. 19–27). God had given the Sabbath to the Israelites as a special token of their relationship with Him (see Ex. 16:29; 20:8–11; 31:13–17). It was to be a day of rest for the people, their farm animals, and the land. The people, however, repeatedly disregarded the law and treated the Sabbath like any other day. Their sin was evidence that their hearts were devoted to material gain and not to the Lord.
A mechanical obedience to the Sabbath law wasn't what God wanted, but obedience that came from their hearts because they loved and feared the Lord. If this were the case, then they would obey all His law, and God could then bless the people, their kings, and their city. If they continued to disobey the law and desecrate the Sabbath, however, God would have to punish them by destroying their city and their temple.10
Jeremiah faithfully and courageously delivered his sermons to the people; he lifted his supplications to the Lord; he poured out his grief over the sins of the
Jeremiah 18
the people of Judah and Jerusalem. It also calls for a personal response from us today.
CHAPTER SIX Jeremiah 18—20 THE PROPHET, THE POTTER, AND THE POLICEMAN
Interpretation (vv. 5–10). As the potter has power over the clay, so God has sovereign authority over the nations.4 This doesn't mean that God is irresponsible and arbitrary in what He does, even though He is free to act as He pleases. His actions are always consistent with His nature, which is holy, just, wise, and loving. God doesn't need any advice from us, nor do we have the right to criticize what He does. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?" (Rom. 11:34 nkjv, quoted from Isa. 40:13 and Jer. 23:18) "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?'" (Rom. 9:20 nkjv)
The clay is not attractive in itself, but when the hands of the potter touch it, and the thought of the potter is brought to bear upon it, and the plan of the potter
is worked out in it and through it, then
there is a real transformation.
D.The potter's house sermons—18—19
J. Wilbur Chapman1
The Lord presented two scenarios that illustrated His sovereign power over nations (Jer. 18:7–10). If He threatened to judge a nation and that nation repented, then He would relent and not send the judgment. He did this with Nineveh when Jonah's preaching brought the city to repentance (Jonah 3). On the other hand, if He promised to bless a nation, as He did Israel in His covenants, and that nation did evil in His sight, then He could withhold the blessing and send judgment instead. God neither changes in character nor needs to repent of His actions (Mal. 3:6; Num. 23:19), but He has the sovereign freedom to alter His actions depending on the responses of the people.
he prophet, of course, was Jeremiah. We don't know who the potter was, although he played an important part in the drama. The policeman was Pashur, the priest in charge of temple security, whose job it was to keep peace in the temple and punish troublemakers. Since Pashur considered Jeremiah to be a troublemaker, he punished him by making him spend a night in the stocks. Jeremiah is the chief actor in this three-act drama.
Jeremiah, the Threatened Prophet (18:1–23) These events probably occurred during the reign of Jehoiakim, the king who burned Jeremiah's prophetic scrolls (36:21ff.). Unlike his father, King Josiah, Jehoiakim had no love for either the Lord or His prophet. He wasn't the least bit interested in what Jeremiah had to say about things political or spiritual.
To be sure, there's mystery involved in the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility, but we don't have to explain the will of God before we can obey it. We live by divine promises and precepts, not theological explanations, and God isn't obligated to explain anything to us. (If He did, we probably wouldn't be able to grasp it!) "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29 nkjv). Jesus promised that if we obey what we know, God will reveal more of His truth to us (John 7:17). Application (vv. 11–17). Nations are made up of individuals, and individuals have the ability to receive God's Word or reject it. Yes, humans are made from the dust (Gen. 2:7) and live in a fragile body (Job 4:19; 10:9; 2 Cor. 4:7). Unlike the clay on the potter's wheel, however, we have the ability to resist. God uses many different hands to mold our lives—parents, siblings, teachers, ministers, authors—and we can fight against them. But if we do, we're fighting against God.
The sovereignty of God (vv. 1–17). Over thirty words in the Hebrew vocabulary relate directly to pottery, because the manufacture of pottery was a major industry in the Near East in that day. No doubt Jeremiah had passed the potter's house many times, but this time God had a special message for him that, after he preached it, would put him in jail. When you follow the Lord, you never know what will happen to you next.
"He did not get his flash of insight while he was praying but while he was watching a potter engaged in his daily work," wrote Charles E. Jefferson. "God reveals Himself in strange places and at unexpected seasons. For instance, He once revealed Himself in a stable."2
The potter sat before two parallel stone wheels that were joined by a shaft. He turned the bottom wheel with his feet and worked the clay on the top wheel as the wheel turned. As Jeremiah watched, he saw that the clay resisted the potter's hand so that the vessel was ruined3 but the potter patiently kneaded the clay and made another vessel.
God announced that He was framing evil ("preparing" niv; "fashioning" nasb; a word related to "potter" in the Hebrew) against the kingdom of Judah. If the people would repent, however, He would deliver them. But the people were so chained to their sins that they chose to follow their own evil plans. They would rather worship dead idols and suffer for it than serve the true
The interpretation of the image was national, relating to the house of Israel (vv. 6–10), but the application was individual (vv. 11–17), calling for a response from
Jeremiah 18—19
The agony of the prophet (vv. 19–23). This is the fifth of Jeremiah's private "laments" to the Lord concerning his situation and his ministry (see Jer. 11:18–23; 12:1–5; 15:10–18; 17:14–18; 20:7–18). His words seem terribly harsh to us and unlike the spirit of Jesus, but keep in mind that Jeremiah was a divinely appointed prophet who represented God to the nation. Those who opposed him were opposing God, and Jeremiah asked God to deal with them (Deut. 32:35; see Rom. 12:17–19).
and living God and enjoy His blessings! Truly, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9)!
In rejecting their God and choosing dumb idols, the people of Judah were acting contrary to everything reasonable. God made them for Himself, and they could not succeed apart from Him. The birds obey what God tells them to do (8:7); even the heathen nations don't abandon their gods, false as these gods are. Water in nature is consistent: On the heights, it becomes snow; at lower levels, it flows in the streams. God's people, however, were totally inconsistent, willing to enjoy God's blessings but not willing to obey the laws of God that governed those blessings. If nature acted like that, where would we be?
Like Elijah and all the other prophets, Jeremiah was "a man subject to like passions as we are" (James 5:17, "with a nature like ours" nkjv), and he felt deep pain because the leaders rejected the truth. I suppose if you and I were attacked by hateful enemies who lied about us, set traps for us, and dug pits for us, we'd get upset and ask God to deal with them. At least Jeremiah expressed himself honestly to God and left the matter with Him. He needed to remember God's promises when He called him (Jer. 1:7–10, 17–19) and rest in the assurance that the Lord would see him through.
Instead of walking on God's clear and safe highway of holiness (Isa. 35:8), the people were on a dangerous and painful detour because they abandoned the ancient paths of God's holy law. Because they wouldn't repent, God had to chasten them; this meant ruin for the land and exile for the people. Instead of His face shining upon them in blessing (Num. 6:24–26), God would turn His back to them and leave them to their own devices.
There is a righteous anger against sin that is acceptable to God. "Be angry, and do not sin" (Eph. 4:26 nkjv, quoted from Ps. 4:4). "You who love the Lord, hate evil!" (Ps. 97:10 nkjv; see Rom. 12:9). Jesus was angry at the hardening of the hearts of His critics (Mark 3:5), and Paul was angry because of professed believers who were leading others astray. "Who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn?" (2 Cor. 11:29 niv). Unrighteous anger takes matters into its own hands and seeks to destroy the offender, while righteous anger turns the matter over to God and seeks to help the offended. Anguish is anger plus love, and it isn't easy to maintain a holy balance. If Jeremiah seems too angry to us, perhaps some of us today aren't angry enough at the evil in this world. Thanks to the media, we're exposed to so much violence and sin that we tend to accept it as a normal part of life and want to do nothing about it. Crusading has given way to compromising, and it isn't "politically correct" to be dogmatic or critical of ideas that are definitely unbiblical.
Like the patient potter, God is willing to mold us again when we resist Him and damage our own lives. The famous Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte used to say that the victorious Christian life was a "series of new beginnings." No failure in our lives need be fatal or final, although we certainly suffer for our sins. God gave new beginnings to Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, and Peter when they failed, and He can do the same for us today.
The conspiracy of the enemy (v. 18). Proud sinners don't enjoy hearing about God's sovereignty or the threat of impending judgment. They think that by silencing the messenger they will silence the Lord. "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision" (Ps. 2:4 nkjv). Their argument was "We have plenty of priests, prophets, and elders, so we can do without Jeremiah!"
This wasn't the first time Jeremiah had faced a conspiracy that threatened his ministry and his life (Jer. 11:18–23; 12:6; 15:15), and it wouldn't be the last time. His enemies plotted a "smear campaign" consisting of lies about him (see 9:3). The plot probably included quotations from his messages that suggested he was a traitor to the kingdom of Judah. Like the men who plotted against Jesus, Jeremiah's enemies tried to prove he was breaking the law and stirring up the people (Luke 23:1–7).
Jeremiah, the Persecuted Prophet (19:1—20:6) The theme of the potter continues with another action sermon from Jeremiah, a sermon that cost him a beating and a night in the stocks.
Jeremiah preaches the sermon (19:1–9). At the command of the Lord, Jeremiah made a second trip to the potter's house, this time as a customer and not a spectator, and he took with him some of the Jewish elders. Knowing their evil plots against him, it's an evidence of his faith that he was willing to walk with them and then do so daring a thing as declare in their very presence that disaster was coming to the land because of their sins. Obviously his prayer to the Lord had brought him peace and courage.
Faithful servants of God don't enjoy opposition, but they learn to expect it. "In the world you will have tribulation," promised Jesus, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 nkjv). He also said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (15:18 nkjv). And Paul reminded Timothy and us, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12 nkjv).
The east gate was the Potsherd Gate, where the potters worked and the broken pottery was thrown. It overlooked the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, the
Jeremiah 19—20
had been threats now became a reality. Pashur, son of Immer,6 assistant to the high priest and chief security officer for the temple, didn't like what Jeremiah was saying. Therefore, he had Jeremiah arrested, beaten, and put into the stocks until the next day. The stocks were located at a prominent place in the temple area, in order to add shame to pain. Spending all night with your body bent and twisted wouldn't be at all comfortable, and when you add the pain of the beating, you can imagine how Jeremiah felt.
Jerusalem garbage dump (Gehenna). But Jeremiah turned the gate into a pulpit and declared impending disaster because of what the kings of Judah had done: forsaken God, worshipped idols, desecrated the temple, murdered the innocent, and offered their children in altar fires dedicated to Baal.
This valley had been a center for idol worship, but Josiah had desecrated it by making it a garbage dump. Topheth means a "fire pit, a hearth," because the little children had been put through the fires there. After the Babylonian invasion, however, the new name would be "The Valley of Slaughter." The siege would be so bad that the Jews would have to eat their own children to stay alive!
Being beaten and put into the stocks was the first of several acts of persecution the leaders inflicted on Jeremiah. They threatened to kill him (Jer. 26), they accused him falsely and imprisoned him (37:11–21), and they put him into a pit (38:1–13). He was an official prisoner until Nebuchadnezzar set him free (39:11–18).
Jeremiah announces judgment (19:10–15). "I will make void5 the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place" (19:7). To demonstrate this, Jeremiah broke a clay jar and said, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired'" (v. 11 niv). The nation was beyond discipline (2:23), beyond prayer (7:16), and now, beyond repair! They had so hardened themselves against the Lord that all hope was gone.
God, however, met with Jeremiah that night (see Acts 18:9–11; 23:11; 27:23–24) and gave him a special message and a new name for Pashur: Magor-Missabib, which means "terror on every side" (niv). Jeremiah had used this phrase before (Jer. 6:25) and would use it again (46:5; 49:5, 29). It described what would happen to Jerusalem when the Babylonian army finally moved in.
In the Near East in that day, kings and generals often smashed clay jars in a special ceremony before they went out to battle, symbolic of their total defeat of their enemies. This image is also used of the Messiah in Psalm 2:9: "You shall break them [the enemy nations] with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" (nkjv). But here it was God smashing His own people!
For the first time, Jeremiah named the king of Babylon as the invader (20:4).7 Previously, Jeremiah had announced an invasion from the north (see 1:13–15; 3:12, 18; 4:5–9; 6:1, 22–26; 10:22), but he hadn't named the invading nation. Now the tool of God's discipline was identified as Babylon, and Jeremiah would mention Babylon in one way or another about two hundred times in his book.
We can only imagine how angry the elders were who had accompanied Jeremiah to the Potsherd Gate. After all, they and the priests (and Jeremiah was a priest) had endorsed the "peace messages" of the false prophets as well as the political schemes of the civil leaders who hoped to get help from Judah's ungodly allies. But what Jeremiah did next made them even more angry, because he went to the temple and preached the sermon again! For a man who was broken before God, he certainly had courage before his enemies, but he was trusting God's promise of help (Jer. 1:7–10, 17–19), and the Lord was sustaining him. Can nations and individuals sin so greatly that even God can't restore them? Yes, they can. As long as the clay is pliable in the hands of the potter, he can make it again if it's marred (18:4), but when the clay becomes hard, it's too late to re-form it. Judgment is the only response to willful apostasy. The northern kingdom of Israel refused to repent, and the Assyrians took it captive. Now the southern kingdom of Judah was resisting God's truth, and Babylon would destroy the land and deport the people. The Jewish people rejected their King when they asked Pilate to crucify Jesus; forty years later, the Romans did to Jerusalem what the Babylonians had done six centuries before. "There is a sin unto death" (1 John 5:16).
Pashur's treatment of Jeremiah would receive just recompense, for he and his family would be taken captive to Babylon, and there they would die. For a Jew to be buried outside his own land was considered a judgment, for the Gentile lands were considered unclean. For Pashur and his friends, however, what difference would that make? They'd been preaching lies in the name of the God of truth and had been encouraging idolatry in the temple of the holy God. So why not live in a land of lies and idols and eventually be buried there? They'd be right at home!
If the events described in Jeremiah 18—20 took place during the reign of Jehoiakim (607–597 BC), then it didn't take long for Jeremiah's prophecy to be fulfilled. In 605, Nebuchadnezzar plundered the temple and took Jehoiakim and the nobles to Babylon. In 597, he carried off over ten thousand people, and eleven years later, he burned the temple and the city and left it in ruins. Five years later, he deported another group of exiles.
E.Messages to the leaders—20—24
Jeremiah, the Discouraged Prophet (20:7–18) This is the last of Jeremiah's recorded laments; it's a human blending of grief and joy, prayer and despair, praise and perplexity. When you call to mind the sensitive nature of this man, you aren't surprised that he's
Jeremiah experiences pain (20:1–6). What before
Jeremiah 20
another way to ridicule his prophecies before the people. They watched him and took note of what he did and said so they could find something criminal to report to the authorities. David had a similar experience (Ps. 31:13), and this is the way our Lord's enemies treated Him (Matt. 22:15ff.).
on the mountaintop one minute and in the deepest valley the next. Jeremiah, however, lived above his moods and did the will of God regardless of how he felt. In this honest expression of his deepest emotions, the prophet dealt with three important concerns: God's call (vv. 7–9), his daily peril (vv. 10–13), and his inner despair (vv. 14–18).
Jeremiah's mood swings from expressing courage to seeking revenge and then to rejoicing in worship (Jer. 20:11–13). Remembering the promises God gave him at his call, Jeremiah was confident that the Lord was with him and would deal effectively with his enemies. Instead of dishonoring him, his enemies would themselves be dishonored. Since his words in verse 12 are almost identical to his prayer in 11:20, perhaps it's one he prayed often.
His "deceptive" call (vv. 7–9). When the servants of God find themselves in trouble because they've been faithful in ministry, they're often tempted to question their call and reconsider their vocation. Then what do they do? One of the first things they ought to do is talk to the Lord about it and tell Him the truth.
The word translated "deceived" carries with it the idea of being enticed or seduced. Of course, God doesn't lie (Titus 1:2), but Jeremiah felt that the Lord had taken advantage of him and lured him into the ministry. "You overpowered me and prevailed" (Jer. 20:7 niv). Jeremiah felt like a helpless maiden who had been seduced then taken advantage of by a deceptive "lover." This is strong language, but at least Jeremiah said it privately to God and not publicly to others.
His deep despair (vv. 14–18). Having committed his cause to the Lord, Jeremiah had every reason to sing, for now the Lord would have to bear his burdens and help fight his battles. "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us" (Ps. 62:8 nkjv).
Jeremiah's euphoria didn't last long, however, because in the next breath he was cursing his birthday (Jer. 15:10; see Job 3). Jewish parents would rejoice at the birth of a son who could wear the family name and be able to sustain his parents in their old age. A priestly family like Jeremiah's would be especially grateful for a son who could carry on the ministry to the Lord.
When you review the account of Jeremiah's call (Jer. 1), you find no evidence that God had enticed him. The Lord had told him plainly that he would have a difficult time. If he trusted the Lord, however, He would make him a fortified city and a bronze wall before his enemies. God had warned His servant that the demands of ministry would increase and he'd have to grow in order to keep going (12:5). What Jeremiah's ministry was doing for the nation was important, but even more important was what Jeremiah's ministry was doing for Jeremiah. As we serve the Lord, our capacity for ministry should increase and enable us to do much more than we ever thought we could do.
But Jeremiah's ideas were different. The messenger who announced that a son had been born would bring joy to the family and expect a reward for bringing such good news, but Jeremiah asked that the messenger be treated like Sodom and Gomorrah! He wanted that man to awaken to weeping in the morning and to hear battle cries every noon! "Why didn't my mother's womb become my tomb?" asked the prophet. "My life is nothing but trouble and sorrow and shame! Better that I had never lived!"
After you've told God how you feel, what do you do next? Jeremiah resolved to quit being a prophet! He decided to keep his mouth shut and not even mention the Lord to anybody. But that didn't work, because the message of God was like a burning in his heart and a fire in his bones (see Luke 24:32). Jeremiah didn't preach because he had to say something but because he had something to say, and not saying it would have destroyed him. Paul had the same attitude: "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16 niv).
"Why came I forth out of the womb?" is an easy question to answer: because God had a special purpose for your life and designed you to fulfill it (Jer. 1:4–5; Ps. 139:13–16). God makes no mistakes when He calls His servants, and we should take care not to question His wisdom. All of us have had times of discouragement when we've felt like quitting, but that's when we must look beyond our feelings and circumstances and see the greatness and wisdom of God. As V. Raymond Edman, former president of Wheaton College (IL), often said to the students, "It's always too soon to quit."
His daily peril (vv. 10–13). Having settled the matter of his call, Jeremiah then looked away from himself to the enemies around him. Faith doesn't ignore problems; it faces them honestly and seeks God's help in solving them. No matter how much he was constrained to preach God's Word, Jeremiah had to deal with the fact that many people wanted him to keep quiet and would take the necessary steps to silence him.
And it is!
1 J. Wilbur Chapman, Revival Sermons (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1911), 231. 2 Charles E. Jefferson, Cardinal Ideas of Jeremiah (New York: Macmillan Co., 1928), 102. 3 The word translated "marred" is also used for the ruined girdle in Jeremiah 13:7 and 9. It means to "destroy or corrupt."
Borrowing the new name God gave Pashur (Jer. 20:3), it's possible that Jeremiah's enemies used "Terror on every side" as a nickname for the prophet. It was
Jeremiah 21
Nebuchadnezzar by refusing to pay tribute (2 Chron. 36:13; see Ezek. 17:11–18); now Judah was suffering the dreadful consequences of his foolish decision. In desperation, he looked to Jeremiah for help by sending Zephaniah the priest and Pashur, one of the court officers, to see whether the prophet could get guidance from the Lord.1 The king hoped that Jehovah would send a miraculous deliverance to Jerusalem as He had done in the days of godly King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18—19). Jeremiah, however, responded with dire pronouncements to the king (Jer. 21:3–7), the people (vv. 8–10), and the house of David (vv. 11–14). A pronouncement to King Zedekiah (vv. 3–7). Not only would God refuse to deliver the city from the enemy, but also He would fight with the enemy and bring about Jerusalem's defeat! Judah's military might would be ineffective against the Chaldean army. Whereas in the past, God's mighty "outstretched arm" and "strong hand" had worked for His people (Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 26:8), now He would work against them, because the nation had turned against God. "To the faithful you show yourself faithful … but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd" (Ps. 18:25–26 niv).
4. That God is sovereign over all the nations is proved by such Scriptures as Psalms 115:3; 135:6; Isaiah 46:9–11; Daniel 2:21; 4:17, 34–35; 7:14; Matthew 28:18; Acts 17:22–31; and Ephesians 1:22 to cite but a few. 5. The verb means "to empty" and is similar to the Hebrew word for jar. Perhaps Jeremiah had put water in the clay flask and then poured it out as he spoke these words. God would empty all the nation's plans and then break the nation that conceived them! 6. Three men named Pashur are found in this book: the son of Immer (Jer. 20:1), the son of Malchijah (21:1), and the father of Gedaliah (38:1). All three were enemies of Jeremiah and sought to silence his ministry. Whether the Pashur of 20:1 is the father of Gedaliah, we have no way of knowing for sure. 7. A century and a half before, Isaiah had predicted the captivity and named Babylon as the aggressor (Isa. 6:11–13; 11:11–12; 39:6). Therefore, any Jew who knew the Word of God would have recognized Jeremiah's witness as true. Jeremiah added the important facts about the seventy years' duration of the captivity (Jer. 25).