Jeremiah 20:1-6
Pashur was the official who was to keep order at the temple. The prophecies of destruction that Jeremiah offered were obviously not popular. He reacts like we often do at the hearing of bad news; get rid of the messenger. He had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks. It's not clear what is meant by the stocks, it was something that immobilized his body in some fashion. On the next day, when Jeremiah was released, Jeremiah told Pashur that the Lord had assigned him a new name. He would be called 'magor' or terror on every side. It appears there was a pun or play on words present here that may not be as clear to us as it was understood to them at the time.
The Lord would make it so he terrorized himself when he would see all the words of Jeremiah come true, his eyes would see his friends fall by the sword, and he would be carried to Babylon with his family. All the valuables and treasures would be carted off. Pashur was part and parcel to prophesying lies to others. He, who was to keep order, would see the epitome of disorder.
Jeremiah 20:7-10
Jeremiah felt deceived, misled by the Lord. It's not the Lord lured him into this place though. He told Jeremiah from the beginning he would see trouble and hardship; He promised he would be with Him in these times. It's like Jeremiah saying he was led astray by God and he let himself be led astray. The message he brought angered them, telling the what they didn't want to hear. They simply attacked, to silence the messenger. The tone of the Lord's message through Jeremiah was 'violence and destruction'. Because of this, he suffered insult and reproach constantly.
It's not hard to imagine Jeremiah saying, "That's it!" and walking away, in a sense quitting. But you can't quit a calling easily. The Word was in his heart already. To keep it to himself caused physical and emotional problems. It was like a fire burning that couldn't be contained.
Jeremiah now sees terror around every corner, as if everyone was out to get him. He even pictures his friends plotting against him, hoping he might be deceived and they can move in. Jeremiah felt like God provided the deception to bring them their opportunity to prevail over him in revenge.
Jeremiah 20:11-13
Jeremiah remembers the Lord's assurance that He is with him. God will be like a mighty warrior and fight Jeremiah's battles. This is an assurance we always seem to slow to arrive at when we are suffering or being persecuted. The Lord alone can probe the heart and mind and know their intent.
Jeremiah 20:14-
Jeremiah delivers his 7th lament. He makes it sound as though it had all been downhill since the day of his birth. Like Job, he curses the day of his birth, as if he life was not worth much and would have been better had it been snuffed out. This would have been his only escape from being a prophet, the only way to escape the persecution he is suffering.
©2018 Doug Ford
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