The Price to Speak - Jeremiah 26

“In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this Word came from the Lord, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.” Jeremiah 26:1-2

“The court of the Lord’s house” was a large area where many people gathered. Jeremiah could speak to a multitude of people here with only one speech. Kind of like a social influencer posting messages on a media platform to which people from around the world have access.

“Speak to them all the words that I command you. Do not diminish a word.” Jeremiah followed the Lord’s directions. He was not there to entertain them or to build a personality cult. He was a watchman on a wall sounding an alarm. That took courage! That took boldness!

In Acts 20:27, Paul testified, “I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul wrote, “We are not, as so many, peddling the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

“Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.” Jeremiah 26:3

The Hebrew word for repent is: shoove. Shoove means to turn from something and to turn to something else.

At one point King Ahab listened to Elijah and changed direction. In 1 Kings 21:29, the Lord said to Elijah, “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days...” Ahab obtained a stay of execution.

“And you shall say to them, thus says the Lord: if you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” Jeremiah 26:4-6

“When the people broke God’s commands, the ark was carried off by the Philistines, and Shiloh was made a ruins (1 Samuel 4). Thus, when God threatened to make the temple like Shiloh, He was threatening to tear it down.” ~ Phillip Ryken

Complaints against faithful ministers are complaints against God. People are contending with God. If they don’t like the message, they should take it up with God Himself, for God is the one warning them about judgment and calling them to repent.

“So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, ‘You will surely die!’” Jeremiah 26:7-8

When he finished speaking, the three P’s: priests, prophets and people did not give him an offering. No, they arrested him. Their verdict was, “You must die!” They asked him, “Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s Name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” They lynched him in God’s house.

They charged Jeremiah with lying. Deuteronomy 18:20 says, “The prophet who presumes to speak a word in My Name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” Jeremiah, however, spoke truth from God. In Deuteronomy 29:23-28, the Lord spoke of the whole land burning if they forsook His covenant with them to serve other gods.

“Why have you prophesied in the Name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant?’ And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.” Jeremiah 26:9

A huge mob has gathered against Jeremiah. A mob peppered with powerful princes!

“When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.” Jeremiah 26:10

The priests – “In the corrupt state of all kingdoms, the ecclesiastical officers always were the greatest enemies to the faithful ministers of God.” [JFBC]

Corrupt church leaders burned Jon Hus at the stake. Hus asserted the Bible’s supreme authority over church tradition.

Ezekiel and Jeremiah are contemporaries. In Ezekiel 22:27, he wrote, “Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain.”

“And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, ‘This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.’” Jeremiah 26:11

In John 7:7, Jesus said to His disciples, “The world hates me because I testify that their works are evil.”

Jesus spoke truth to leaders who “let go of the commands of God” and were “holding on to human traditions.” In Mark 7:8-9, Jesus told them, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”

In Matthew 27:20, “The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.”

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and judgment because the world’s evil spree is about to expire, and a new heaven and new earth are about to be revealed. In John 16:8, Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “When He has come, He will convict the world of sin... righteousness, and judgment...”

The consequences of unbelief are horrific. In John 16:8-9, Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me.”

“Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: ‘The Lord sent me to prophesy concerning this house and concerning this city with all the words that you have heard.’” Jeremiah 26:12

Jeremiah told the princes and people that God had sent him to prophesy. Rather than shrink back, he continued to preach.

“Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” Jeremiah 26:13-15

Jeremiah told those who wanted to execute him that his innocent blood would be upon them and upon their city.

In Revelation 16:6, the Lord promises retribution to those who slay His saints and prophets in the last days, saying, “They poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.”

“So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ‘This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.’” Jeremiah 26:16

In Paul the apostle’s days, the Jewish leaders wanted him executed, but in Acts 26:31, God moved judges to rightly conclude that he had done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.

“Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: ‘Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, thus says the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest.’” Jeremiah 26:17-18

Praise God! Some of the elders of the people were familiar with Scripture. They referenced Micah 1:1, 3:12. Their positions and references to Scripture influenced the mob to backdown.

“Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.” Jeremiah 26:19

Hezekiah spared Micah because he feared the Lord. He sought the Lord, and because he did, the Lord repented of the evil that He had pronounced against Jerusalem. In this way, the elders convinced the people not to execute Jeremiah.

Was Jeremiah’s life truly in danger? Yes indeed, it was. Another man named Urijah prophesied the same words as he did, but he fled from Jerusalem in fear afterwards. The king sent men after him. They arrested him, brought him back to Jerusalem and executed him.

“Now there was also a man who prophesied in the Name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.” Jeremiah 26:20-23

At the beginning of his ministry, the Lord promised Jeremiah that He would rescue Him from those who wanted to destroy him. Jeremiah 1:19 says, “They will fight against you, but they will not prevail. I am with you to deliver you.”

“Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.” Jeremiah 26:24

Shaphan and his three sons: In 2 Kings 22:8-13, Shaphan was the scribe who read the Book of the Law to King Josiah. In Jeremiah 26:24, Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, pleaded for Jeremiah’s life. In Jeremiah 36:25, Shaphan’s son, Gemariah, tried to prevent King Jehoiakim from destroying God’s Word. In Jeremiah 39:14, Shaphan’s son, Gedaliah, saved Jeremiah’s life when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.

God is a whole-hearted lover. His essence is love. His loving heart can only bear with defiant and evil behavior for so long. In Jeremiah 26:13, the Lord said to them, “Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.”

Someone once said, “Everything has a price, including both success and failure. Choose one or the other and be prepared to pay the price.”

Jeremiah paid the price to speak for God. The price was controversy, conflict and incarceration. He was almost martyred for his message. What price are we ready to pay to speak God’s Word?



[JFBC] = Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary