The Fire of Jermiah

The Fire of Jermiah

Jeremiah 20:7-9 (KJV) 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.

(20:7-18) Jeremiah, Response to Persecution, Prayer—Call, of God, Questioned—Discouragement, Example, Jeremiah—Word of God, Preaching, a Compulsion—Persecution, How to Conquer, Prayer—Despair, Example of, Jeremiah—Prayer, Results, Deliverance: the persecution Jeremiah suffered cut his heart to the core. The leaders and people had insulted, abused, and held him in contempt, hurting him very deeply. So he did what he knew to do: he went before the Lord in prayer and cried out for His help. Opening his heart to the Lord, God’s prophet poured forth his innermost thoughts and feelings. Crying out from the depths of his soul, he exposed four raw emotions with the Lord:

a. He was questioning God's call due to constant abuse: Was he deceived about his call?

1. Due to the constant abuse he had suffered, Jeremiah questioned God’s call to him (vv.7-8). He asked the Lord if he had been deceived about his call. It was difficult to believe that he had been deceived, for at the time of Jeremiah’s call, the Lord had already addressed his objections. And the Lord had thoroughly convinced him that he was truly called to preach God’s Word. Nevertheless, his preaching had borne no fruit. To the contrary, he had been ridiculed daily. Everyone was mocking him. Although he faithfully proclaimed God’s warning of His coming judgment, preaching the Word of God had brought him only persecution. People insulted and reproached him all day long (v.8). Jeremiah clearly needed what so many prophets of God need when they are discouraged: a reconfirmation of God’s call and mission.

b. He was still compelled to continue proclaiming God's Word

2. Despite Jeremiah’s discouragement, he knew that he could not deny or run from God’s call and mission. He knew that even if he left the ministry, he would still be compelled to proclaim God’s Word (v.9). God’s Word burned in his heart like a fire that consumed his bones, his entire being. He could not hide away the Word of God in his heart and mind and keep it only for himself. He could never stop sharing it with others.

c. He was continually persecuted

3. Clearly broken before the Lord, Jeremiah revealed the deep pain he felt because of the persecution he was suffering (vv.10-13). A scandalous campaign had apparently been launched against him in an attempt to defame his reputation as a prophet and keep the people from listening to him. They evidently took the saying that the prophet had so often used and turned it against him giving rise to a nickname for Jeremiah. When they saw him coming, his enemies would simply say, “Here comes ‘terror on every side!’” Whatever the case, Jeremiah’s enemies constantly opposed him. Even his friends turned against him. Seeking to stop his preaching, they sought to find out something criminal about him to report to the authorities.

But note the strong faith of Jeremiah (v.11). He knew that the Lord, like a mighty warrior, was protecting him (v.10). He knew not only that the Lord would cause his enemies to stumble and fall but also that God would punish them with eternal shame and dishonor.

Jeremiah’s major concern was that God vindicate Himself (v.12). He knew that the Lord examines the hearts and minds of people to determine who is righteous. Therefore, the Lord could execute true and just vengeance. The Lord could vindicate His prophet and the mission He had given him, the preaching of His very Word. The Lord was very capable of fulfilling everything Jeremiah had prophesied. By fulfilling the prophecies concerning His coming judgment, the Lord would vindicate both His Word and the cause of His prophet. Realizing this wonderful truth, Jeremiah broke out in praise to the Lord. He praised God for delivering the poor in spirit, true believers, from the wicked (v.13). With confidence flooding his heart, he knew that the Lord would deliver him. For since I spake, I cried out, etc.; rather, For as often as I speak, I must shout; I must cry, Violence and spoil; I can take up no other tone but that of indignant denunciation, no other theme but that of the acts of injustice constantly committed (not merely, nor indeed chiefly, against the prophet himself). Was made; rather, is made.

Verse 9

Then I said, etc.; rather, And when I say, I will not make mention of him, etc., then it becometh (i.e. I am conscious of a feeling) in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I weary myself to hold it in, but cannot. The prophet has repeatedly been tempted to withdraw from the painful duty, but his other and higher self (comp. 'Old Self and New Self' in the 'Lyra Apostolica') overpowers these lower bayings for peace and quiet. The fire of the Divine wrath against sin burns so fiercely within him that he cannot help resuming his work.

d. He was gripped by deep despair, 15:10; Jb.3:3-10

4. After the Lord gave Jeremiah a deep sense of joy at the triumph over his persecutors, a sense of shame and despair seems to have come over Jeremiah (vv.14-18). Although most commentators interpret this passage as a continuation of his despair over his persecutors, more likely he sensed that he had miserably failed the Lord by questioning Him and His call. Having just broken out in a triumphant song, Jeremiah now turned to the Lord and confessed that he was such a miserable failure before the Lord that it would have been better if he had never been born. The day of his birth should be cursed, not blessed. Most, if not all, prophets of God have experienced this sense of unworthiness, this feeling of having failed the Lord. Most have even confessed that, if it were not for Christ, it would have been better if they had not been born.

Apparently the man who had brought the news of Jeremiah’s birth to his father was one of the abusive friends who were persecuting him. For this reason, Jeremiah pronounced a curse upon the man, a curse like the one God pronounced against Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, this is a reference to the coming Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, an attack that would utterly destroy the capital, even as Sodom and Gomorrah had been destroyed. Feeling that he had utterly failed the Lord, Jeremiah said that it would have been better for that man to have killed him in the womb than

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