What did Jeremiah prophesy? He prophesied that where political and religious leaders burned others they would be burned. After that, he stood where many people could hear his voice and proclaimed to them God’s judgments on their sins.
“Then Pashhur struck 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 20:2
The fact that Pashur was of the same order and of the same family as Jeremiah intensified the prophet’s pain. In Mark 12:1-8, Jesus spoke against rogue priests pointing out their abuse of God’s prophets. John 12:42-43 says that “among the rulers many believed in Jesus, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Pashur locked up Jeremiah in stocks at the public gate. The stocks were an instrument of torture with five holes, in which the neck, two hands, and two feet were thrust, the body being kept in a crooked posture. Pashur assumed pain and humiliation would stop his preaching.
“And it happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has not called your name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.” Jeremiah 20:3
Did ill-treatment plunder Jeremiah’s passion for righteousness? No, after Pashur freed him from the stockade, Jeremiah had a new name for Pashur. It was Magor-Missabib. “Pashur means ‘fruitful on every side,’ but Magor-Missabib means ‘terror on every side.’” [1] Just as Jerusalem was destined to become a disgusting city, Pashur was destined to become an appalling priest. His popularity would plummet like a sinking ship in the sea. A pagan king would plunder his wealth. He and all who listened to his lies would be buried in a strange land. Symbolic of hell!
“For thus says the Lord: behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword.” Jeremiah 20:4
In due season, Pashur’s prophecies would be exposed as lies. His lies ruined those who trusted in him. He was a difficult to detect terrorist to himself and to his friends.
“Moreover I will deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and carry them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.” Jeremiah 20:5-6
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Pashur’s passion put personal possessions in the highest place. The city’s wealth! The city’s produce! All its precious things! The Lord revealed to him via Jeremiah that Babylon would plunder his prized possessions, take him captive, and bury him for prophesying lies.
“O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; everyone mocks me.” Jeremiah 20:7
Jeremiah was hurting. Likely, traumatized! In Jeremiah 1:19, the Lord had said to him, “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord.” God promised to rescue him, which he did, but God did not promise him a pain free life.
When circumstances went horribly against him, Jeremiah described his feelings to God. In Lamentations 3:14, he expressed similar pain to God, saying, “I became the laughingstock of all my people. They mock me in song all day long.”
“For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’ Because the Word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a derision daily.” Jeremiah 20:8
He didn’t just whisper a prayer to God, he cried out loud, “Violence and plunder.” He was painfully humiliated. Derision means to be treated with contempt. Author Selwyn Duke wrote, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”
Once, King Ahab accused Elijah of being a troublemaker. In 1 Kings 18:17-18, “When he saw Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that you, you troubler of Israel?’ Elijah snapped back, “I have not made trouble for Israel, but you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.” Rather than absorb the insult, Elijah turned it 180 degrees.
In 1 Corinthians 4:9, Paul wrote, “It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.”
In Revelation 2:9-10, Jesus told the saints of Smyrna, “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give life to you as your victor’s crown.”
Jesus was upfront with those who wanted to follow Him. In Matthew 8:20, Jesus said to one would-be follower, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” In Mark 8:34, Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, ““Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
“Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His Name.’ But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” Jeremiah 20:9
I wish that all of us who represent God had hearts and bones afire! That we could not restrain His Word from flowing from our lips!
In Acts 4:19-20, Peter and John told the corrupt leaders in their day, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
“For I heard many mocking: ‘Fear on every side!’ ‘Report,’ they say, ‘and we will report it!’ All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, ‘Perhaps he can be induced; then we will prevail against him, and we will take our revenge on him.’” Jeremiah 20:10
Jeremiah’s cheerleaders wanted him to fail. They wanted his credibility destroyed. The sooner his reputation was ruined, the sooner they could be rid of him.
Some religious and political leaders are like that. Satan has filled them with hatred for people who know Jesus and love Him.
Once, I met a man in China who confessed to me that he had killed many Christians, but when I spoke to him he seemed remorseful so I told him about the thief on the cross in Luke 23:42 who asked the Lord to remember him when He came into His kingdom. The Messiah was like a piece of shredded meat at that point. He had been mocked, slapped, flogged, pierced and spit on. But God’s Spirit gave a revelation to that thief. The thief’s words to Jesus were a profession of faith. In Luke 23:43, Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
When I think of persecution, I think of “P” for prayer, “P” for promise, and “P” for Praise.
Pray, “Deliver us from evil!” There are people in the world who hunt Christians for sport. They are like those who mount animal heads on walls! They consider each slain saint a trophy.
Both David’s King and his son attempted to kill him. but the Lord rescued him from both of them. In 2 Samuel 15:31, David prayed that a royal advisor would advise his son wrongly, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
In Luke 4:29-30, people led Jesus to the brow of the hill to throw Him down a cliff. Miraculously, “He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.”
Once, while in China, two soldiers stopped me as I walked on a city sidewalk. They told me to open my bag. I had Chinese Bibles in my bag. I was near the home of my Christian friends. In my heart, I asked the Lord what to do. He led me to pretend that I did not understand their speech nor their gestures. The Lord gave me peace to walk away from them. I did. They did not follow. They were quiet. I did not look back. All went well! I believe it was a miracle. Glory to God!
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told His disciples. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Serpents are crafty. Hunters camouflage their traps. Therefore, we who serve God cannot afford to be careless.
Another “P” is for promise. In Matthew 10:19-20, Jesus said, “When they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” Haters want to extract soundbites from us to use against us. In Mark 12:13, the enemies of Jesus sent Pharisees and Herodians “to catch Him in His words.”
The third “P” is praise. Peter, John, Paul, and Silas praised God after being arrested. In Acts 5:40-41, after a religious council beat the Lord’s apostles and let them go, they departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Lord’s Name. In Acts 16:22-25, officials ripped the clothes off Paul and Silas, beat them repeatedly with rods, imprisoned them, and fastened their feet in stockades. After all that, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. Praising God helped these men to remain resilient and to keep on testifying for Jesus.
“But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.” Jeremiah 20:11
“The Lord is with me!” Praise God! When the Lord abides with us and we with Him, there is victory! In Jeremiah 1:8, the Lord told Jeremiah, “Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you.” In due season, Jeremiah’s persecutors were carried away and he remained.
“But, O Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous, and see the mind and heart, let me see Your vengeance on them; for I have pleaded my cause before You.” Jeremiah 20:12
Jeremiah brought his case before God as defendants bring their cases before judges. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told a parable of a widow who relentlessly brought her case before an unjust judge, and though he did not want to help her, he grew weary of her continual coming to him and granted her justice. Jesus told this parable to encourage us to always pray and to not lose heart. Jesus promised, “I tell you that He [God] will avenge them speedily.”
“Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor from the hand of evildoers.” Jeremiah 20:13
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet, but he also sang praises to the Lord.
“Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! Let the man be cursed who brought news to my father, saying, ‘A male child has been born to you! Making him very glad.’ And let that man be like the cities which the Lord overthrew and did not relent; let him hear the cry in the morning and the shouting at noon, because he did not kill me from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always enlarged with me. Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” Jeremiah 20:14-18
Ministry to people can be an emotional roller coaster. High and happy when the Lord is speaking to you and refreshing your soul! Low and grievous when you feel you failed and doubt your self-worth. Suddenly, in a moment, Jeremiah descended from high praises to God to lowly hatred of himself.
When people are bent on evil, there is no happiness for a preacher of righteousness. Even when God deposes opposers, you may experience sadness. “Why didn’t they listen to God?”
There IS a happy ending to this story. First of all, Jeremiah’s life on earth was brief compared to his eternity with God in heaven. He is no longer concerned about personal provisions of food, drink, lodging, clothes, travel, and relationships. He is living in paradise with God. Heaven is filled with love. Secondly, his book has been a source of inspiration for many. The prophet Daniel read his book according to Daniel 9:2. Jeremiah is quoted or alluded to approximately 125 times in the New Testament. His book is extremely helpful when it comes to interpreting the Book of Revelation. In Matthew 16:13-14, when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” I am sure Jeremiah is happy now.
Remember! All who suffer for Jesus inherit eternal happiness!
[1] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 315
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