A Prophet Despairs

For I am Persuaded

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 20

Jeremiah’s Lament

7 You have persuaded me, O Yahweh, and I was persuaded.

You have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all day long.

⌊Everyone⌋ is mocking me.

Jeremiah begins this Lament ( la·ment noun a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. "his mother's night-long laments for his father")

So, we ask the question “why is Jeremiah sad about his calling? First lets look at his calling:

Yahweh Appoints Jeremiah as a Prophet to the Nations

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, among the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you came out from the womb I consecrated you;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look, I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But Yahweh said to me, “You must not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for to ⌊whomever⌋ I send you, you will go, and ⌊whatever⌋ I command you, you will speak. 8 ⌊Do not be afraid of them⌋, for I am with you to deliver you,” ⌊declares⌋ Yahweh. 9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,

“Look, I have put my words in your mouth.

10 See, I appoint you this day over the nations

and over the kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

and to destroy and to tear down,

to build and to plant.”

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Je 1:1–10.

So, Jeremiah was called early in life; he was a youth. Is the call difficult to follow? 8 For ⌊as often as⌋ I speak,

I must cry out violence and destruction.

I must shout, for the word of Yahweh has become for me

a disgrace and derision all day long.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Je 20:8.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 20

9 But if I say, “I will not mention him

and I will no longer speak in his name,”

then it becomes in my heart like a fire burning,

locked up in my bones,

and I struggle to contain it,

and I am not able.

The very people that Jeremiah is appointed over are speaking against him. Jeremiah even claims that they are his close friends. In verse 10 we see that these people are calling for Jeremiah to denounce or dismiss this call. They actually are speaking about God, first they tell Jeremiah to denounce him and then they say they can also denounce him. The people go as far as to say that they can take revenge on God.

The people are pushing back against the message. Now I will be the first to say that I do not enjoy preaching a message of destruction. Perhaps I could preach hope as Scott did last week. Perhaps a message of hope more often would be easier to accept. Look back to verse 9.

Jeremiah then states an important fact that delivers him from that which troubles him about the message and from the threat of death for speaking for God. 11 But Yahweh is with me like a powerful warrior.

⌊Therefore⌋ my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail.

They will be very ashamed, for they will not achieve success.

Their ⌊everlasting insult⌋ will not be forgotten.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Je 20:11.

Jeremiah then turns to retribution against the very people who seek to destroy him.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 19

10 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the ⌊Israelites⌋ have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life.

If we look at Elijah and Jeremiah; Elijah was a Northern Kingdom Prophet and Jeremiah was a Southern Kingdom Prophet, and there was a whole generation of time separating them. But as we can see the threat is real. How hard would it be to accept a call to deliver the message of God if what you see is destruction against these people.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 20

Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh,

for he has delivered the life of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

Let us pray.