“Now Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.” Jeremiah 20:1
What did Jeremiah prophesy? He prophesied that the place in which political and religious leaders had destroyed the lives of countless children, they too would be destroyed. After that, he stood where many people could hear his voice and declared the judgements of God to them.
“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 Spirit of Jesus moved Jeremiah to oppose Pashur’s behavior. In Mark 12:1-8, Jesus brought to light the abusive behavior of rogue priests. 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 placed 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 him. It was Magor-Missabib. “Pashur means ‘fruitful on every side,’ but Magor-Missabib means ‘terror on every side.’” [1]
“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
Just as Pashur terrorized others, he would be terrorized. His popularity would plummet like a sinking ship. A pagan king would plunder his wealth. He and his accomplices would die in a strange place. Symbolic of hell!
“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. Wealth! Produce! Precious things! 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. 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.”
In 1 Kings 18:17-18, when Ahab 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 placed it where it belonged.
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 2:10, Jesus told the saints of Smyrna, “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 so that God’s Word would never cease to flow 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 silence him.
Some religious and political leaders are like that. Satan has filled them with hatred for people who know Jesus and love Him.
Once, a man in China confessed to me that he had killed Christians. He was remorseful, so I told him about the thief on the cross. In Luke 23:42, a thief asked the Lord to remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom. Jesus received the criminal’s profession of faith in Him, and 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 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 for praise. In Acts 5:40-41, after religious leaders scourged Peter and John, they departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Lord’s Name. In Acts 16:22-25, officials beat Paul and Silas with rods. Afterwards, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. Praising God helped these men to remain resilient and to keep 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. Though he didn’t want to help her, he grew weary of her continual coming to him and granted her justice. Jesus told this parable to urge us to always pray and to not lose heart. Jesus said that God avenges such prayers 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 have failed. Suddenly, in a moment, Jeremiah descended from high praises to God to lowly self-hatred.
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?”
Don’t let the devil steal your joy! God says in Isaiah 55:11 that His Word does not return void, but it accomplishes what He pleases. God says in Psalm 126:5-6 that those who sow with tears shall reap sheaves with shouts of joy.
Daniel quoted Jeremiah’s book in Daniel 9:2. Jeremiah is quoted or alluded to approximately 125 times in the New Testament. In Matthew 16:13-14, the disciples told Jesus that some people thought He was John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others that He was Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is now with God. He is no longer concerned about personal provisions of food, drink, lodging, clothes, travel, and relationships. He is in paradise with God. Glory to God!
[1] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 315
What did Jeremiah prophesy? He prophesied that the place in which political and religious leaders had destroyed the lives of countless children, they too would be destroyed. After that, he stood where many people could hear his voice and declared the judgements of God to them.
“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 Spirit of Jesus moved Jeremiah to oppose Pashur’s behavior. In Mark 12:1-8, Jesus brought to light the abusive behavior of rogue priests. 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 placed 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 him. It was Magor-Missabib. “Pashur means ‘fruitful on every side,’ but Magor-Missabib means ‘terror on every side.’” [1]
“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
Just as Pashur terrorized others, he would be terrorized. His popularity would plummet like a sinking ship. A pagan king would plunder his wealth. He and his accomplices would die in a strange place. Symbolic of hell!
“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. Wealth! Produce! Precious things! 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. 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.”
In 1 Kings 18:17-18, when Ahab 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 placed it where it belonged.
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 2:10, Jesus told the saints of Smyrna, “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 so that God’s Word would never cease to flow 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 silence him.
Some religious and political leaders are like that. Satan has filled them with hatred for people who know Jesus and love Him.
Once, a man in China confessed to me that he had killed Christians. He was remorseful, so I told him about the thief on the cross. In Luke 23:42, a thief asked the Lord to remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom. Jesus received the criminal’s profession of faith in Him, and 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 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 for praise. In Acts 5:40-41, after religious leaders scourged Peter and John, they departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Lord’s Name. In Acts 16:22-25, officials beat Paul and Silas with rods. Afterwards, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. Praising God helped these men to remain resilient and to keep 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. Though he didn’t want to help her, he grew weary of her continual coming to him and granted her justice. Jesus told this parable to urge us to always pray and to not lose heart. Jesus said that God avenges such prayers 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 have failed. Suddenly, in a moment, Jeremiah descended from high praises to God to lowly self-hatred.
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?”
Don’t let the devil steal your joy! God says in Isaiah 55:11 that His Word does not return void, but it accomplishes what He pleases. God says in Psalm 126:5-6 that those who sow with tears shall reap sheaves with shouts of joy.
Daniel quoted Jeremiah’s book in Daniel 9:2. Jeremiah is quoted or alluded to approximately 125 times in the New Testament. In Matthew 16:13-14, the disciples told Jesus that some people thought He was John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others that He was Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is now with God. He is no longer concerned about personal provisions of food, drink, lodging, clothes, travel, and relationships. He is in paradise with God. Glory to God!
[1] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 315
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