Jeremiah 20:1-18
“Now Pashur the son of
Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard
that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and
put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the
house of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 20:1-2)
Jeremiah had prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem and
captivity of Judah, telling them what god said was going to happen if they didn’t
make changes. Pashur, who was what would
probably be called the senior pastor in churches today, didn’t like what Jeremiah
was preaching. Rather than considering
the message and checking it out, he lost his temper, hitting Jeremiah and having
him publicly arrested to humiliate and discredit him, similar to what we see
with political leaders today.
“And it came to pass
on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not
called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make
thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the
sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all
Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive
into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
Moreover I will
deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the
precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I
give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and
carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur,
and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come
to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all
thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.” (Jeremiah 20:3-6
Since there were no legitimate charges, Pashur could not legitimately
hold Jeremiah. When he was released, Jeremiah
said Pashur would no longer be known as Pashur, which means liberation. Instead he would be known as Magormissabib,
meaning affright from around. He would
be terrified and inspire terror in the hearts around him, demoralizing them and
seeing them killed as a result. The
survivors would be carried away captive into Babylon or executed. All the riches of Judah and all the things
they had built would be take or destroyed.
Pashur’s own family would be taken to Babylon, where he and all his
friends and the people that listened to him instead of God would die.
“O LORD, thou hast
deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed:
I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried
violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me,
and a derision, daily.” (Jeremiah 20:7-8)
Jeremiah had been prophesying about the punishment of Judah for
their sin. Instead, he had been beaten and
arrested. He felt like God had broken
his promise and betrayed him. People
made fun of him on a daily basis, and he was frequently attacked both verbally
and physically for his stand. He was
considered a fool or treated as a criminal for standing for what God said. Many times we develop that same feeling that
we have been betrayed or deceived. We
forget the warning in II Timothy 3:12, “…all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Every person who does right will experience
these things to some degree. It shouldn’t
surprise us, but we frequently are.
“Then I said, I will
not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in
mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not stay. For I
heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will
report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he
will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our
revenge on him.” (Jeremiah 20:9-10)
Frustrated, Jeremiah decided he’d just quit preaching or telling
them what God said and let them find out for themselves. He sometimes had to bite his tongue to keep
from telling peoplewhat they were doing was wrong, but when he heard them
slandering god and blaming God for what was happening, he couldn’t hardly hold
back. His own acquaintances and friends
were watching to see if he could walk by or if he’d speak up and force them to
take sides against to make him go along.
“But the LORD is with
me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they
shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper:
their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the
righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them:
for unto thee have I opened my cause. Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he
hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.” (Jeremiah
20:11-13)
God is all powerful, and those who attack his servants will
fail in their efforts to destroy us. In
John 16:33 Jesus said, “…In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jeremiah asks to see the day when their
judgment comes because he just couldn’t keep from warning them. He knows that ultimately he will see God’s
victory. Even though he knows it, he’d
much rather not have to go through it.
“Cursed be the day
wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my
father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities which the
LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and
the shouting at noontide; Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my
mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see
labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (Jeremiah
20:14-18)
Sometimes it seems as if our problems are more that we can
bear, and like Jeremiah, we begin to think it would have been better if we had
never been born. We need to be
reminded, “There hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it,” as I Corinthians 10 13
tells us. All that live godly suffer
persecution but God will make a way to overcome it.
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