Year 9, Day 73: Jeremiah 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Jeremiah 21 gives us an interesting perspective into the life of the prophet.  So many Christians think it would be awesome to hear the voice of the Lord and be called upon to deliver messages from God to others.  This chapter answers that oversimplified fairy tale.

Jeremiah is thrown into the stocks because of the message he brings.  He tells the people that they will not be saved from the Babylonian threat and they toss him into the stocks.  He’s already been in prison, too.  His friends come by and mock him.  Worse, his friends come by and agree with the people who put him there!  To be Jeremiah means to bring an unpleasant message to a group that doesn’t want to hear it and then have to deal with the consequences of being the irritant in everyone’s life.

Of course, Jeremiah could choose not to do it.  He knew the people wouldn’t listen to him.  The fact that he’s being rejected is not really any surprise.  Had he chosen to not speak out because of the rejection he knew would come, though, he would have a burning fire within his chest.  To be a prophet means being put between a rock and a hard place.  He can either speak a message and deal with the people’s reaction or not deal the message and deal with the guilt of what he’s done to his relationship with God.

Jeremiah chooses the better option.  Better to obey God and deal with the wrath of mankind.  It may not always lead to the happiest of temporal consequences, but it will reap eternal reward.  What we really learn from this chapter of Jeremiah is that he is a man who has what it takes to choose the eternal over the temporal, the godly over the mundane.  He has the heart of God, and this chapter puts it on display.

<><