The last post ended with the ninth verse of chapter 15. I ended it there because the subject changes
beginning with verse 10. In the last
post Jeremiah was lamenting the sins of Judah and their inevitable punishment. Now in verse 10 Jeremiah begins to lament
about himself.
15:10-21 - Jeremiah Complains
As you read these verses you will sense Jeremiah’s feelings
of frustration. He starts out
questioning why he was even born. In
Jeremiahs emotional state right now, he (like all human beings do) tends to exaggerate
the negative. He says that the whole
nation contends with him and that everybody curses him. {This is of course not true. There were many who were on his side in these
issues, but of course those in contention are usually the loudest voices.} In verse 15 Jeremiah addresses God Himself,
appealing to God’s sense of fair play.
Jeremiah reminds God that he has been an obedient servant, “stating his
case”. {Jeremiah is to be commended in
that he knew who to go to in times of trouble, but he went a bit too far in
verse 18. He suggests that it is God who
is causing all of his misery. {In this
verse Jeremiah gets dangerously close to blasphemy. No matter how frustrated we are, we must be
careful to be respectful when talking to God.}
His reference to the “deceptive brook” and “the spring that fails” are a
reference to springs that provide water for the community during the rainy
season, but fail when it is dry and the water is needed the most. Then, in verses 19-21 God responds. God instructs Jeremiah to repent. You might ask “repent of what?” God seems to have run short of patience for
Jeremiah’s self-pity and criticism of God. He promises Jeremiah that He will protect him,
just as He has been doing. He warns
Jeremiah not to become like those men of Judah.
This was a timely warning, as Jeremiah’s emotional state could weaken
his resolve. It is in these emotional
states that all of us are vulnerable to giving up the good fight.
16:1-18 - Jeremiah Gets Back to His Message
In this passage I see Jeremiah getting a grip on his
emotions and getting back to that for which he has been called: Delivering God’s message to the people of
Judah. Jeremiah is forbidden to take a
wife and raise a family. {This is
interesting. I think every man needs a
wife as a soul mate and a comfort throughout life. But raising a family takes time and
concentration. I think this would be a
good passage to help defend the forbidding of priests to marry.}
16:19 – 17:13 - Another Plea for Judah to Repent
In this passage Jeremiah writes in poetic form, speaking
again of Judah’s need to repent and turn completely to God and His
commandments. In verse 17 he urges them
to trust in the Lord, and they would not regret their repentance.
17:14-18 - Plea for God’s Help
Just a reminder that this entire book is not written in one
sitting. It is not in chronological
order. While still writing in poetic
style, Jeremiah shifts from talking to Judah, to talking to God, making yet
another appeal to God for help.
{Sometimes I think an appeal for help is actually an appeal for
encouragement. Remember, Jeremiah’s
ministry stretches over decades, making down periods frequent and long. Human beings do not have such stamina to “stay
the course” without some encouragement along the way. We are just not built that way.
17:19-27 - The Sabbath
As mentioned many times in this blog, God takes the Sabbath
very seriously. {In the early stages of
this blog I suggested that we may have made a mistake in dealing with the
Sabbath.} God instructs Jeremiah to go
to the main gate of the Temple and instruct the people about the requirements in
dealing with the Sabbath. In verse 27
God lays down an ultimatum, warning them that if they do not respect the
Sabbath according to God’s instructions, He will rain down destruction on Jerusalem. God makes it a point to be very clear on this
matter, but the Sabbath is only one of many of God’s commandments that are
being disrespected by His people.
18:1-12 - The Potter
In these verses God compare Himself to the potter and Judah
being the clay. He continues to urge the
people to return to God and His statutes as their only way to salvation and
protection against the pending disaster.
In verses 13-17 of chapter 18, Jeremiah speaks of how
utterly perplexing it is that the Israelites have turned so far from God. Then in the next six verses (very interesting
how Jeremiah has matured), he refers back to the conspiracy against him by the
people of Jerusalem. But this time he
seems to have peace with the knowledge that God will protect him. {Again, the chronology is difficult to
follow, so be careful not to over-think it in terms of calendar order.}
Chapter 19 – Another Attention-Getter
In this passage God instructs Jeremiah to purchase a clay
potter’s flask. His somewhat dramatic
instructions are just another attempt to make the people understand the dire
situation they are in.
20:1-6 - Pashur
Pashur was the captain of the Temple guards. As mentioned earlier, God instructed Jeremiah
to proclaim His message at the main gate of the Temple. When it was obvious that Jeremiah was making
an impact with his words (small impact, but nonetheless an impact), Pashur had
him arrested. When he arrested Jeremiah,
he had him beaten put in stocks, making a mockery of him while inflicting
much pain. This only served to embolden
Jeremiah, as he preached all the harder when he was released. As for Pashur, God pronounces that Pashur
will be punished by the Babylonians for this cruel treatment of God’s prophet.
To close this post, I want you to take a moment and read
20:7-18. This poetic passage is
considered by many theologians as perhaps the most powerful passage in all of
the writings of the prophets. It is
absolutely full, as Jeremiah pours out his soul on paper. He goes beyond being the weeping prophet in
verses 14-18 as he shows bitterness and actually calls for curses on those who
have made his life so painful. In this passage you will sense what kind of man Jeremiah is.
In the next post we will continue our study of Jeremiah,
starting in chapter 21.
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