Transcript Slide 1

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 life
2. 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.
Complaint
20:7-10
The complaint focuses on five perceived ways
Yahweh had let him down in his ministry.
7a O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived;
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).
7b you overpowered me and prevailed.
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.
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 Light
20:11-12
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.
11a But the LORD is with me like a mighty
warrior;
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.
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.
Praise
20:13
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 selfdesignation.
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.
Curse
20:14-18
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).
d. In hindsight, given the living tragedy of his
life, Jeremiah wished he had never been
born (v 14).
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!"
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 selfpity and despair.
Conclusion
1. 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.