Year 3, Day 73: Jeremiah 20

Retribution

Passhur – it is an interesting name.  The name is derived from the word that means “to tear into pieces.”  I find it interesting that a guy by the name of Passhur should be made the chief temple official as the Babylonians are threatening Jerusalem and as Jeremiah is called to prophesy the Word of God.  In the moment where the Hebrew people need to listen more than any other, a guy whose name means “to tear into pieces” is promoted to the chief officer of the temple.  Seriously, folks, you just can’t make this stuff up.

What does Passhur do?  He takes Jeremiah and attempts to tear his prophecy to pieces.  He takes Jeremiah and beats him.  Then he drags him out to the stocks so that he can be publically ridiculed.  This is a mud-slinging campaign against Jeremiah if I’ve ever seen one.

Refusal to Change

I love Jeremiah.  Jeremiah gets out of the stocks and says, “You’ve just made God mad.  Now, rather than be called “one who tears to pieces” you are going to be called “one who is a terror on every side.”  Jeremiah refuses to change his tone because God has inspired him to greatness.

Oh, the irony.  Oh, the symbolism.  As dark and depressing as the book of Jeremiah is, this is one of my favorite moments.  Jeremiah takes the chief officer of the temple and makes his name a lesson for all the people.  Jerusalem was going to be torn to pieces.  Now it is revealed that there will be terror on every side of Jerusalem.  The people will be dragged away and made captive.  There will be no relief.

Mind you, this doesn’t happen because of the actions of Passhur.  God had already made up His mind about the fate of Jerusalem.  However, in Passhur God sees a great opportunity for an object lesson.  Passhur’s violence against God’s prophet is symbolic of the violence of the Hebrew people against God.  Passhur’s name would be symbolic of the fate of the Hebrew people.

In the End …

In the end, though, it doesn’t matter to the people of Jerusalem.  It matters to us, but it doesn’t change a thing in Jerusalem.  This is the part that I have to carefully remember.  It’s great to get all worked up about Jeremiah’s witness and uncompromising attitude.  But in the end all it did was get him beaten.

Mind you, I’m not saying that anything bad happened.  Jeremiah did what was asked of him and God protected him through the persecution to follow.  God is with His servants, even when they are proclaiming unfavorable messages.

But here’s a bleak reality.  Just because a message is from God doesn’t mean people will accept it.  In fact, I might be more likely to assert that a message from God has a high chance of being rejected!  Sometimes stepping out and proclaiming the message of God is going to get you in trouble.  It is just the nature of what we are doing as God’s people.

I am reminded of Jesus’ message to His disciples in John 17.  “The world is going to hate you guys.  The world is going to hate you because you have Me and you have My Word.”  I am willing to bet that Jeremiah can relate to what Jesus is trying to teach His disciples in that chapter of John.

Woe the Day I Was Born

This leads us to Jeremiah’s outpouring of his soul to God.  I feel for Jeremiah.  I really do.  It is hard to put yourself out there for God and have it come back.  It’s hard to be rejected again and again by the world.  It’s hard to try and live right and convince other people to pay attention only to have them grow weary of the sound of your voice.  It’s tough being the laughingstock.  That really isn’t much fun at all.

I can say I’ve been there.  I have asked God to curse the day of my birth.  I’ve asked God why I was ever born.  I know what Jeremiah is feeling.

I also know that in the end it’s wrong.  It may be human, but it is wrong.  It may be understandable given particular circumstances, but it is still wrong.  Ultimately, it is self-centered.  Life is not about me and my success.  The same is true for Jeremiah.  Life is about walking with God.  Life is about being willing to go into the Valley of the Shadow of Death with confidence knowing that God is with us.  Sometimes we must have the darkness of life to appreciate the light of God.

Jeremiah is very human in this chapter.  Given that he had been beaten and left in the stocks, I can honestly say that I can understand.  But that doesn’t make it right.  God’s plan is God’s plan.  If we are following God, who are we to critique the plan of God?

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