BELIEVER IN A DARK TUNNEL

The Confessions of Jeremiah

Lesson 5

Resignation not an Option

Jeremiah 20:7-18

INTRODUCTION 1. We have come at last to the fifth and final personal

crisis in Jeremiah’s life2. In this “confession” Jeremiah feels trapped.

He’d like to quit his ministry; but he cannot.3. This “confession” followed a confrontation with

the priest Pashur. a. Jeremiah had been beaten and thrown

overnight into the public stocks where he was, no doubt, subjected to additional insults and physical assault.

b. The next morning Jeremiah was released. 1) He had lost none of his bold courage. 2) He rebuked the priest. 3) He announced that the Babylonians would take

Judah into exile—along with Pashur the priest and his family.

c. Publicly Jeremiah was an iron pillar; privately he was a broken reed.

4. In his private moments with God Jeremiah broke down completely.

a. He looked upon his ministry, not as a high privilege, but as an intolerable burden.

b. He was discouraged with his task; he was disgruntled with his God.

Complaint20:7-10

7a O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived;

The complaint focuses on five perceived ways Yahweh had let him down in his ministry.

1. Jeremiah complained about his call. a. In a bitter moment he accused God of

deceiving him. I was enticed could be translated, “I let

myself be enticed.”

b. Of course this accusation against God was absolutely false.

God had not deceived his prophet in the least about his mission.

c.He pointedly had warned his prospective prophet that his mission was fraught with danger and disappointment (cf. 1:18).

d. The accusation continued: Overpowered is lit., you took hold of

me.The verb can also mean “to be

strong,” hence the translation “overpowered” in NIV and NRSV.

e. You prevailed is the same form of the word that was used to describe how Jacob prevailed over God and men (Gn 32:28).

f. Jeremiah was complaining that he had been compelled against his own will to preach the word of God.

7b you overpowered me and prevailed.

7c I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.

2. Second, Jeremiah complained about his circumstances.

a. Because of the nature of his ministry, Jeremiah had become the object of ridicule and mockery.

b. All the day suggests that the mockery was unrelenting.

c. Jeremiah found mockery harder to endure than physical abuse!

8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.

3. Jeremiah complained about his message a. This man faced physical torture without

flinching; but he cringed before the barbs of ridicule. b. He blamed his plight upon the nature of his

message. He must constantly cry Violence!

Destruction! c. The reference is to Jeremiah’s preaching,

not the violence and destruction perpetrated on him personally.

d. He is referring to the punishment that he announced to his nation.

Jeremiah’s message had brought him nothing but reproach and derision.

e. Again all the day underscores the unrelenting nature of Jeremiah’s misery.

9a But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,"

4. Fourth, Jeremiah complained about his compulsion (v 9a).

a. A tremendous battle raged in the heart and mind of this sensitive man of God.

1) On the one hand, he wanted to resign his ministry and retreat to the quiet life at Anathoth.

2) He could not bear to face the prospect of continued ridicule and opposition.

He wanted to forget all about his recent unpleasant experiences.

He never wanted to preach another sermon.

9b his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.

b. Jeremiah was in a proverbial catch 22. 1) When he spoke out for God he suffered

unbearable abuse; when he tried to remain silent he experienced an overwhelming urge to preach.

2) Though he wanted to quit Jeremiah's heart was burdened with a sense of prophetic obligation and divine mission.

3) The fire of God’s wrath against sin burned fiercely within him (v 9b).

9c I am weary of holding it in;

4) Jeremiah tried to hold back the compulsion to preach, but he could not.

He became utterly exhausted from trying to fight it.

c. In spite of himself Jeremiah had to follow the divine call; he had to resume his ministry.

In 6:11 it was the wrath of Yahweh that Jeremiah could not hold in; here it is the word of Yahweh.

9d indeed, I cannot.

d. Literally, “I do not prevail” --the same root used in v 7 where Jeremiah complained that Yahweh had overpowered him.

Here he admits that he cannot overpower Yahweh’s word.

10a I hear many whispering…5. Fifth, Jeremiah complained about the plot.

a. Jeremiah knew the dangers attendant upon the resumption of the prophetic ministry.

b. He knew his enemies were plotting against him.

Jeremiah seemed to hear them urging one another to bring false charges against him.

1) Whispering = Defamation--deliberate talk calculated to hurt someone’s reputation whether true (Gn 37:2) or false (Prov 10:18).

2) The many who were defaming him certainly included the false prophets; but Jeremiah had probably reached the conclusion that everyone was against him.

10b "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!"c. Report him = literally “declare it.”

Verb appears throughout the book in the introduction to prophetic discourse.

1) It appears that these words are spoken by the enemies.

2) The context suggests they were pretending to share his burden for the nation so as to deceive him.

10b All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."

d. Even his friends (lit., “all the men of my peace”)—those who greeted him with familiar greetings of friendship—were watching his every move.

1) They hoped to lure him into making some mistake, or saying something on which a charge of treason could be based.

2) They were out for revenge against the meddlesome prophet who had dared contradict their pro-Egypt policy.

3) In 11:20 Jeremiah prayed that Yahweh might take vengeance on his enemies; now his enemies plan to take vengeance on Jeremiah.

A Moment of Light20:11-12

1. The prophet burst forth in expressions of joyous trust in God.

This assertion of trust is both a genuine statement of faith and a motivation for Yahweh to intervene in Jeremiah’s situation.

2. Jeremiah suddenly realized that God was on his side after all.

a. In 14:9 Jeremiah compared Yahweh to a warrior paralyzed by fear.

Now he sees Yahweh as a warrior who will fight the battles of his prophet.

b. In 15:21 Jeremiah used the adjective mighty = fearsome to describe his enemies.

Now he sees that his Helper is the one to be feared.

11a But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;

11b so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

3. Jeremiah is confident that his enemies will not succeed.

a. Stumble means they will fail in their plans regarding Jeremiah and the nation.

They will be discredited (cf. 6:15). b. Prevail is used for the fourth time in

this passage (vv 7, 9, 10, 11). Clearly there is a tug of war going

on, but with much higher stakes.

11c They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;

c. As in 17:18 Jeremiah is confident that his enemies will be disgraced = put to shame.

d. Perhaps Jeremiah recalled the words of promise given to him at the time of his call:

They will not prevail! For I am with you to deliver you! (1:19)

11d their dishonor will never be forgotten.

4. Jeremiah wanted to forget God’s word (v 9); but he wanted Yahweh never to forget what the enemies had done to him.

a. The enemies will experience eternal and unforgettable shame.

In 11:19 the enemies did not want the name of Jeremiah to be remembered;

but here Jeremiah wishes that the sins of his enemies not be forgotten.

12a O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind,

b. Yahweh is righteous by nature. He also can see the unseen inner thoughts.

He is in a position to give all men exactly what they deserve.

12b let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

5. Jeremiah prayed for the very vengeance that his enemies sought in v 10.

a. He understood that vengeance is not within the proper range of response by the downtrodden.

b. He wanted Yahweh to execute vengeance that was in harmony with his righteous character (v 12).

c. Yahweh’s vengeance is not arbitrary and undisciplined. It is the embodiment of principles of his law.

d. Because Jeremiah is a righteous petitioner and the Judge is righteous the prophet anticipated a positive response to his petition.

Praise20:13

13a Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! 1. In view of the preceding verses some regard verse 13 as irony or sarcasm.

It is best, however, to see it as a momentary breakthrough in Jeremiah’s soul, as a speck of light in the dark tunnel of his discouragement.

13b He rescues the life [soul] of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

2. So confident was Jeremiah of deliverance from his foes that he burst forth in a song of praise to his divine deliverer.

Deliverance was the occasion of the praise. 3. The soul of the needy is Jeremiah’s self-designation.

He had referred to the needy in three other passages (2:34; 5:28; 22:16); now he identified with them. 4. From the hand of the wicked appears elsewhere only in 23:14 and Job 8:20.

In these passages hand is a symbol of power.

Curse20:14-18

14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!

1. The curse is not addressed to anyone in particular;

a. Jeremiah lashed out against the darkness of his own existence.

b. It is the day of his birth that came under curse.

c. Like Job he refused to transgress the boundaries of faith to curse God (Job 2:9). He refused to transgress the Law of Moses by cursing his parents (Lv 20:9).

15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you--a son!"

d. In hindsight, given the living tragedy of his life, Jeremiah wished he had never been born (v 14).

2. The man who brought the good news of his birth was cursed.

a. When news came that a son had been born Jeremiah’s father rejoiced exceedingly. How ironic.

b. The father rejoiced over the birth of one who would live a life of misery.

16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.

3. Verse 16 is often translated as a wish (e.g., KJV; NIV; NRSV); but there is nothing in the Hebrew that requires such a rendering.

a. This a declaration of what in fact will happen.

Jeremiah was expressing pity because that man who announced his birth was cursed.

b. He was cursed because that anonymous person was a citizen of a nation that was doomed.

4. Jeremiah made two ominous predictions about the messenger.

a. First, he will experience the judgment of the cities that God overthrew, i.e., Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Gn 19:21, 25, 29).

The point of comparison is not the manner of judgment (fire and brimstone from heaven), but the thoroughness of it.

b. Second, the messenger will hear the cry of the terrified inhabitants of the city when the enemy comes smashing through the walls in the morning hours.

He will hear at noontime the bloodthirsty battle cry of the invaders as they plunder the city.

17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.

5. Instead of announcing Jeremiah’s birth the messenger should have slain the infant.

a. The verb kill appears to refer to mercy killings.

18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?

b. If infanticide be thought too gruesome Jeremiah might simply have been left in his mother’s womb.

c. The point is that he could not understand why God allowed him to be born only to suffer such heartache, pain, distress and disgrace.

6. How is it possible that such a curse could follow immediately after the joyous confidence of v 13?

a. Some argue that verses 14-18 have been dislocated; they do not belong here. This explanation is hardly necessary.

b. Nor is it necessary to postulate an interval of time between verse 13 and verse 14.

c. Any saint who takes his eye off the Lord for even a moment may be engulfed by self-pity and despair.

Conclusion1. This passage is the brutally honest confession of a tortured soul.

Such passages indicate that Jeremiah is probably the most human and also the most heroic of all the Old Testament prophets. 2. Servants of God shall ever be indebted to Jeremiah for recording these autobiographical lines for they set in bold relief the grace of God. 3. Sinful, weak and frail as Jeremiah was God could forgive him and still use him.

The Lord does not reject his servant because of this momentary outburst.