Jeremiah 20 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 20 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 19 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 21 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 20|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 20:1](Jeremiah%2020.md#^1) note > > Remember as we begin this chapter that Jeremiah is bringing the terrible message from God that God is going to destroy Judah and Jerusalem for their rebellion and wickedness, as we saw in [Chapter 19:15](Jeremiah%2019.md#^15). And, of course, no one wanted to hear or to believe that God had abandoned them. > > And now there was a man who ruled in the temple named Pashur, the son of Immer the priest. He was the chief governor. And the word *Immer* is commonly used in the Bible to mean *word*, it has to do with *speaking*, as we read in [Psalm 68:11](Psalm%2068.md#^11). So Pashur was the son of the Word, the priest. And we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is ultimately the High Priest Who is the Word. So Pashur represents those who are the sons of Christ, as Immer himself represents Christ. And the phrase that he was the *chief governor* in the Hebrew indicates that he was a *ruler* and an *overseer* in the house of the LORD. Today he would be like the elders and deacons who have the spiritual rule and oversee the congregations. And again, the verb form of the word translated governor here means *to say or to declare*. > > Sadly, we read in [Jeremiah 20:6](Jeremiah%2020.md#^6) that Pashur was prophesying lies in his role as official overseer. And like Pashur, there are those today who rule over the house of God who prophesy lies. And Pashur heard these words of warning that God declared through Jeremiah. ^jer20-1 > [Jeremiah 20:2](Jeremiah%2020.md#^2) note > > And what did Pashur do when he heard the word of God through Jeremiah? He "smote 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." The stocks are like a prison or a stockade. So Pashur put him in jail right by the house of the LORD. And this represents how it is those who rule in the congregations, those who are the overseers like Pashur, who seek to put the Truth to silence right from their midst (cp [Rev 11:3-8](Revelation%2011.md)). ^jer20-2 > [Jeremiah 20:3](Jeremiah%2020.md#^3) note > > From [verse 2](Jeremiah%2020.md#^2), we know that Jeremiah has just been struck and cast into jail. We don't know how badly he was beaten, nevertheless, we know there was tremendous enmity between the rulers and overseers (represented by Pashur) and those like Jeremiah who bring the Word of God. And the next day Pashur brings Jeremiah forth from the stocks and Jeremiah speaks very boldly to him, saying, "The LORD has not called your name Pashur, but Magor-missabib." Magor-missabib are 2 Hebrew words that mean *terror all around (or on every side)*. And we see in the next few verses ([verses 4](Jeremiah%2020.md#^4), [5](Jeremiah%2020.md#^5) and [6](Jeremiah%2020.md#^6)) that God immediately identifies this with the fact that Babylon is going to destroy Judah and carry many of them away captive. And then we'll see this phrase again when we get to [verse 10](Jeremiah%2020.md#^10), translated *fear on every side*. > > We find the same context concerning the destruction of Judah by Babylon in [Jeremiah 6:22](Jeremiah%206.md#^22), [23](Jeremiah%206.md#^23), [24](Jeremiah%206.md#^24). And in the next verse, [verse 25](Jeremiah%206.md#^25), we again see this phrase *fear on every side*. That phrase is the same 2 words that we find here in Jeremiah 20:3, "magor-missabib." And when Babylon came against Judah, it represents when the kingdom of Satan comes into the local congregations to bring them to spiritual desolation after God has abandoned them in our day. > > We see this again in [Jeremiah 46:5](Jeremiah%2046.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2046.md#^6), where it says that *fear was round about* -- and remember that the river *Euphrates*, where the swift and the mighty fall here, went through Babylon. > > It's seen yet again in this context in [Jeremiah 49:28](Jeremiah%2049.md#^28), [29](Jeremiah%2049.md#^29), [30](Jeremiah%2049.md#^30); and again in [Lamentation 2:22](Lamentations%202.md#^22) where this phrase is translated "terrors round about." This really locks it in that as God uses this phrase in this context that He is emphasizing Satan will overrun them, there is terror all around with no hope for them. There's no possibility of repentance on God's side as we approach the end. Sadly, they are being prepared for judgment. Though God had swaddled and cared for them as His people, as we read in Lamentations 2:22, yet the enemy will consume them. ^jer20-3 > [Jeremiah 20:4](Jeremiah%2020.md#^4) note > > Those who ought to know better, like Pashur, those who have been appointed by God as the rulers and overseers -- the prophets, the priests, the teachers and custodians of the Word of God and the managers of sending forth the Gospel into all the world -- are accountable to God. But they have rebelled against God and become a terror to themselves, that is, they have allowed themselves to be overrun by Satan. They set up their own kind of a gospel and hold that their churches, doctrines and creeds are the ultimate authority, even as they claim that the Bible is inerrant and infallible. So they then believe that their decrees and declarations *about* the Bible are also inerrant and infallible. And this gives them a cover or an authority that is false, because unless the whole Bible is taken into account then it is not truly their Authority. ^jer20-4 > [Jeremiah 20:5](Jeremiah%2020.md#^5) note > > Jeremiah is not shrinking back from his responsibility to declare the Word of God even as he was beaten and cast into the stocks by Pashur. And we'll see this even more in the next verse. He is speaking as authoritatively as ever that God is going to destroy them. It has nothing to do with whether Pashur, that is, it has nothing to do with whether the rulers and overseers like it or not. And that's how we, too, must resolve to declare the Truth of God's Word against the churches and congregations today. What God declares is absolutely going to happen, and is happening today. ^jer20-5 > [Jeremiah 20:6](Jeremiah%2020.md#^6) note > > Pashur was a ruler, an official overseer, he had position in the house of God. And yet here comes the indictment from God that he has prophesied lies. It's a very direct accusation from God -- if someone isn't bringing the whole counsel of God from the Bible, then it is a lie. ^jer20-6 > [Jeremiah 20:7](Jeremiah%2020.md#^7) note > > This is a very strong statement. Jeremiah, of course, is a true believer. And he represents all who are true believers and faithfully bring the Word of God. And he is perplexed here. Now, Jeremiah was very sensitive from the very beginning about representing the Word of God as God's spokesman, to declare God's judgment against Judah for their rebellion ([Jer 1:16](Jeremiah%201.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%201.md#^17)). And when we bring the whole counsel of God, we, too, must say some very ugly things against those who think that they're beautiful Christians and that all is well with them. And there's a consequence for this in that they will strongly oppose us ([Jer 1:18](Jeremiah%201.md#^18), [19](Jeremiah%201.md#^19)). So when things do not go well with us we might mistakenly feel that something is wrong, that God has somehow deceived us. In fact, as believers, we *suffer* on behalf of the Gospel ([Col 1:24](Colossians%201.md#^24)). We have become the enemy of Satan and of the world and are treated as traitors. So we can expect slander and reviling to be used against us. This happened with Jeremiah, and he didn't fully understand why they were so incensed against him for bringing Truth. > > To understand this, we must realize that God has made the Bible very difficult to understand. That's why there are so many who cannot see that they are under the wrath of God for holding some other authority by virtue of their wrong doctrines. They falsely believe they are under the grace and mercy of God, thinking that they have correct doctrines that lead to life, which ultimately is not the same as trusting implicitly in the Word of God itself. So, as we faithfully declare the Word of God we can expect that they will mock us and have us in derision as verse 7 declares. That's our expectation when we stick with the Truth of the Bible. ^jer20-7 > [Jeremiah 20:8](Jeremiah%2020.md#^8) note > > The word translated *since* can also be translated *when or whenever*. Jeremiah finds that the Word of God is a reproach and a derision to him that incurs the slander, mockery and vilifying of those around him because it is in opposition to them. And that's the problem for the true believer. We do not have the option of teaching whatever we want to teach. Isn't it nice to talk about the love, grace and mercy of God and the wonders of the new heavens and the new earth? Think about how glorious it will be when Christ returns and we receive our resurrected bodies. There are so many lovely, wonderful things we can speak about that will never cause anyone to be upset with us. But we cannot just pick and choose the passages that we like and bypass the rest. That's totally wrong. We must bring the whole counsel of God, including passages such as these in Jeremiah. And there are many, many such passages that speak about the wrath of God against our friends and loved ones and those out in the world. We must be faithful to proclaim everything. And the consequence is that we will experience their reproach and slander. ^jer20-8 > [Jeremiah 20:9](Jeremiah%2020.md#^9) note > > "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name." -- This is the temptation. We might think, "Well, if I have to bring the whole counsel of God, including all of this warning of judgment, I will simply stop speaking. I won't bring anything. Then I can't be accused of being impartial. I won't speak about the love of God and I won't speak about the justice of God. I'm just going to back away from the whole business so I won't be a target of those who don't want to hear the Truth from the Word of God, being slandered and reviled by them." But then what happened once Jeremiah did this? > > "But *his word* was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not *stay*." -- It just exhausted him in trying not to declare all that God has commanded him to declare. He could not stop, he *had* to tell it. And that is the position of the true believer. We have no option. If we are going to faithfully declare the Word of God we *must* bring the whole counsel of God even though it will bring the wrath of our friends and family upon us and cause us to be slandered, vilified and ridiculed ([v10](Jeremiah%2020.md#^10)). We must endure that. > > We see here in Jeremiah that he is speaking for all of us in our day as we bring the total message of God. It is disconcerting at times as we find those who ought to know better and they are against us as we sincerely bring the whole counsel of God. ^jer20-9 > [Jeremiah 20:10](Jeremiah%2020.md#^10) note > > "For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side." -- We saw the phrase *fear on every side* in [verse 3](Jeremiah%2020.md#^3), where it was translated *Magor-missabib* and Pashur was given this name. And it's a clue phrase that we found is only used a few times in the Bible. And we saw there that this phrase is commonly used in the context of God bringing Babylon against Judah in judgment to destroy them. And Pashur, who was an official and overseer in the temple during that time, was a dramatic picture of the spiritual elders and rulers in the local congregations in our day. Just as Pashur struck Jeremiah and cast him into the stocks, and as the religious leaders of Jesus' day condemned Him to death, so those who are in eminent positions today seek to silence the Truth of God's wrath against them once they have come to trust in their own theology. > > So this phrase "fear on every side" (or "terrors all around/round about") relate to the destruction of Judah by Babylon, then to the crucifixion of Christ, and then finally to the destruction of the churches and congregations by the kingdom of Satan at the end of time. > > Again, consider briefly the other 5 places this phrase is used, and they all have to do with the wrath of God in bringing the enemy (ultimately Satan) to destroy His rebellious people (called Judah, Egypt and Kedar): [Jeremiah 6:22](Jeremiah%206.md#^22), [23](Jeremiah%206.md#^23), [24](Jeremiah%206.md#^24), **[25](Jeremiah%206.md#^25)**; [Jeremiah 46:1](Jeremiah%2046.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2046.md#^2), **[5](Jeremiah%2046.md#^5)**, [6](Jeremiah%2046.md#^6); [Jeremiah 49:28](Jeremiah%2049.md#^28), **[29](Jeremiah%2049.md#^29)**, [30](Jeremiah%2049.md#^30); [Lamentations 2:20](Lamentations%202.md#^20), [21](Lamentations%202.md#^21), **[22](Lamentations%202.md#^22)**; and then in reference to Christ: [Psalm 31:**13**](Psalm%2031.md#^13). And these contexts are a type of God's judgment at the end of the world -- as God has acted to bring judgment in the past, so will He bring judgment at the end. > > "All my familiars watched for my halting, *saying*, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him" -- So during these 3 times in the history of the world, there are certain special conditions that prevail. We can look at what happened to Jeremiah here and what happened to Christ and expect the same things to happen today that we will be slandered and ridiculed and so on. And this will happen even from those who are very close to us, from our *familiars*, from those with whom we were at peace. That's what the Hebrew words convey that are translated *familiars* in verse 10. It speaks about those with whom we've been in harmony together without contention. But now that calm has been seriously and suddenly disturbed, and they look upon us as a threat and an enemy like we have lost our minds and gone crazy because we are no longer in line with them. As with Jeremiah, they think, "Who do you think you are? You are in opposition to the learned theologians, those in leadership positions, our church fathers and so on." And they're waiting to see us stumble so that they can prove themselves right and have us admit that we were wrong all along, so that they will prevail. It becomes a kind of contest to them as to who is right and and who is wrong. > > "...and we shall take our revenge on him." -- Since they are not true believers they are waiting to gleefully tell the world how they were right and we were wrong. They will get even, so to speak. They'll show us how shameful we are for declaring God's judgment is against them. This is what's actually in the back of their minds because *fear is on every side*, that is, God's judgment is indeed upon them as Satan comes against them as an angel of light, deceiving them that all is well. So they are like Pashur who struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks. ^jer20-10 > [Jeremiah 20:11](Jeremiah%2020.md#^11) note > > "But the LORD *is* with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble..." -- Now here is the assurance from God. Even as we suffer defamation and mocking from others, God is with us and our persecutors will fall. God is the One to Whom all must answer. He is the mighty terrible One Who will cause the persecutors to stumble, like the Jews stumbled on the stumbling-Stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. God will never leave us nor forsake us if we are His, but He will bring vengeance upon the unsaved of the world. And that includes those who deride us for trusting completely in the Bible alone ([Heb 10:30](Hebrews%2010.md#^30), [31](Hebrews%2010.md#^31)). > > "...and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: *their* everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." -- To be ashamed or in confusion, again, means to be under the judgment of God. It is to be ashamed for the guilt of sin ([Eze 16:52](Ezekiel%2016.md#^52); [Isa 50:6](Isaiah%2050.md#^6) - speaking of Christ as He bore our sins). ^jer20-11 > [Jeremiah 20:12](Jeremiah%2020.md#^12) note > > We'll look at the second half of the verse first: "...let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause." -- This is not a statement of hatred, it is simply a plea for the justice of God. Jeremiah doesn't have a personal vendetta against those who oppose him where he desires to see them suffer. Remember God says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay" ([Ro 12:17](Romans%2012.md#^17), [18](Romans%2012.md#^18), **[19](Romans%2012.md#^19)**, [20](Romans%2012.md#^20), [21](Romans%2012.md#^21)). It is a recognition that God is altogether in charge. Even as we pray to the Lord for the salvation of others, we never lose sight of the fact that God's perfect justice must be done. As much as we earnestly desire for our loved ones to become saved, we also desire that God's Will be done because He does everything perfectly. And God's program of justice must be carried out. But the fact that God must bring vengeance is a sorrowful thing, it is not something that brings us personal satisfaction. > > "But, O LORD of hosts, that tries the righteous, and sees the reins and the heart" -- God sees the *reigns*, that is, the very innermost recesses of our being, the heart -- the very essence of the person. God tries us through and through ([Heb 4:12](Hebrews%204.md#^12)). Nothing is hidden. But why does God try or test the *righteous*, and not the wicked to see how sinful they are ([Ps 11:5](Psalm%2011.md#^5))? Well, if we've become righteous before God it means that Christ has paid for our sins. But if God can find any sin left whatsoever in our being that Christ has not paid for, then the cross would not have been successful. The whole matter of salvation would not prevail. Even the slightest sin left would leave us under the wrath of God. So as God tries the righteous, He is effectively giving us an absolute promise that if we have become saved, we can be absolutely sure we are saved. Christ has done a completely perfect work of saving us. The payment has been *fully* paid. So in [Psalm 11:5](Psalm%2011.md#^5) God thus guarantees that our sins are absolutely covered so that we are not under the wrath of God, He tries the righteous. But the wicked and those who love violence, whom His soul hates, are still under the wrath of God. And this is ultimately the import of what we read here in [Jeremiah 20:12](Jeremiah%2020.md#^12) > > And because of this marvelous, wonderful salvation that Christ has accomplished for us, we see Jeremiah break forth into singing in the next verse ([v13](Jeremiah%2020.md#^13)). ^jer20-12 > [Jeremiah 20:13](Jeremiah%2020.md#^13) note > > Here God, in His perfect justice, emphasizes that He does have a plan of salvation! It is a beautiful, marvelous, tremendous statement of God's deliverance. So we continue to pray for God's mercy and sing praise to Him, recognizing that He is saving a great multitude that no one can number. So this verse gives us hope that as long as this world is still in existence there is still the possibility of salvation for our loved ones. God is our Strength, He is our Security, He will never leave us nor forsake us. He has looked into our hearts as He tries the righteous ([v12](Jeremiah%2020.md#^12)) and doesn't find one sin left that hasn't been paid for if we have become saved, we are safe and secure in Him. So in spite of the fact that we're going to suffer, we may be maligned and slandered or even physically hurt or killed by the enemy, it makes no difference -- we are absolutely secure because our sins have been paid for and we are safe in the Arms of Jesus. He is our Hope and Trust, He is our Everything. If He is on our side, who can be against us ([Mt 10:28](Matthew%2010.md#^28); [Ro 8:31](Romans%208.md#^31))? ^jer20-13 > [Jeremiah 20:14](Jeremiah%2020.md#^14), [15](Jeremiah%2020.md#^15), [16](Jeremiah%2020.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2020.md#^17), [18](Jeremiah%2020.md#^18) contextual note > > Throughout the next several verses to verse 18, a different perspective is being told concerning God's salvation. God turns right around after speaking about the blessing of salvation in [verse 13](Jeremiah%2020.md#^13) and uses the most terrible kind of language here, beginning with "Cursed *be* the day wherein I was born." Read these 5 verses to get the context. > > This kind of language is found in a couple of other places. For example, we find it in [Job Chapter 3](Job%203.md) (see all). Job is a great type or picture of Christ Himself Who came under the curse of God for our sins. To be under the curse of God is the supreme terrible place to be, nothing could be worse. Any "curse" that someone may place on someone else is child's play compared to being under the curse of God, on the way to eternal death and damnation. And everyone is under this curse before salvation. But Christ has become a curse for His people on their behalf. So here in Jeremiah 20, like Job in Job chapter 3, Jeremiah is a great picture of Christ Himself as He suffered for our sins. And in describing this here in this context it draws the parallel between the crucifixion of Christ with the wrath of God that comes upon the visible people of God -- Judah in the days of Jeremiah and the churches and congregations in our day. > > If we read this purely in the historical setting, we might conclude that Jeremiah finally just gave up. He has been laboring to bring the Word of God and complaining about how he has been slandered, vilified, punished, thrown into jail and beaten. And now he wishes that he had just never been born. But we really have to focus on the spiritual language. Christ Himself was cursed from the day He was born as He became a curse for us. And this passage gives us some clues as to how Christ suffered. ^jer20-14-18 > [Jeremiah 20:14](Jeremiah%2020.md#^14) note > > (Read the note for [verses 14-18↗](Jeremiah%2020%20FSI.md#^jer20-14-18) to get the larger context before proceeding here.) > > "Cursed *be* the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed." -- Who is *the Day* in the Bible? The Day is the Lord Jesus Christ ([Ps 118:2](Psalm%20118.md#^22), [23](Psalm%20118.md#^23), [24](Psalm%20118.md#^24)). He is the Light of the world, the Dayspring from on high, the Sun of righteousness, the bright and morning Star ([Jn 8:12](John%208.md#^12); [Lk 1:78](Luke%201.md#^78); [Mal 4:2](Malachi%204.md#^2); [Mt 17:2](Matthew%2017.md#^2); [Rev 1:16](Revelation%201.md#^16), [22:16](Revelation%2022.md#^16)). We find the same language in [Job 3:1](Job%203.md#^1), [2](Job%203.md#^2), [3](Job%203.md#^3), [4](Job%203.md#^4) where he cursed the *day* in which he was born, again, as a type of Christ Himself. And from the moment Christ was born He was under the curse of God. When He took on a human nature He took with it *our sins* and carried them until God poured out His wrath upon Him at the cross, even though He Himself was without sin. And only when He said, "It is finished," was the curse removed. ^jer20-14 > [Jeremiah 20:15](Jeremiah%2020.md#^15) note > > (Again, read the contextual note for [verses 14-18↗](Jeremiah%2020%20FSI.md#^jer20-14-18) before proceeding here.) > > Verses 15-17 speak of *the man* or *that man*. Cursed be *the (that) man* who brought tidings to his father of his birth and didn't kill him from the womb. And who is *that man* who brought Christ from the womb? Remember verses 14-18 represent Christ as He was under the curse of God for our sins. Then in [Psalm 22:1](Psalm%2022.md#^1) we find a Messianic Psalm that points to Christ's suffering, as we compare what He said on the cross in [Matthew 27:46](Matthew%2027.md#^46). And then in [Psalm 22:9](Psalm%2022.md#^9), [10](Psalm%2022.md#^10) we find that it is *God Himself* that took Christ out of the womb. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who became *man* in order to accomplish all of this. So in Jeremiah 20:15 it is God Who gave the message to God, in His eternal counsels in the Godhead, saying, "A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad." And it was indeed a very happy, glad message for Him. God was glad that Christ had become a curse because that provided salvation for His people, even as we read about all of the joy in Bethlehem that Christ the Savior was born! And this, even as Christ was on track for the most enormous, intensive suffering possible to endure the wrath of God on our behalf, even to the point where He cried out if it were possible to take the cup from Him ([Mk 14:36](Mark%2014.md#^36)), and as He sweat like great drops of blood in agony ([Lk 22:44](Luke%2022.md#^44)). We really have no idea just how super, super enormous all of this was. Yet there was joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels, and the Father was glad as Christ came to do His Will. > > We must always remember that the ultimate suffering of Christ had nothing to do with the fact He was derided and beaten to a pulp and physically killed on the cross. It had to do with the fact that He suffered for our sins under the wrath of God, which was infinitely greater than the physical suffering that He endured. It was the equivalent of spending an eternity under the wrath of God, the second death, for each person Christ came to save. Those who focus mostly on the physical suffering of Christ as the chief punishment have a different gospel altogether as they ignore the much greater spiritual suffering that He endured. The physical suffering was simply an earthly picture that pointed to something far greater. ^jer20-15 > [Jeremiah 20:16](Jeremiah%2020.md#^16) note > > (Again, read the contextual note for [verses 14-18↗](Jeremiah%2020%20FSI.md#^jer20-14-18) before proceeding here.) > > The word translated *cry* here is found in [Jeremiah 51:54](Jeremiah%2051.md#^54), [55](Jeremiah%2051.md#^55). It's the cry of being under the wrath and judgment of God. And again, that Man here is Christ, He is the One who suffered the wrath of God on our behalf. > > "...and the shouting at noontide" -- When Christ was hanging on the cross there were three hours of darkness beginning at noon, which represented the darkness of the wrath of God. And just after that Christ said, "It is finished." ^jer20-16 > [Jeremiah 20:17](Jeremiah%2020.md#^17), [18](Jeremiah%2020.md#^18) note > > Suppose Christ had died at childbirth. That would have meant there is no salvation because Christ had to pay for our sins. So this is a hypothetical situation that God has set up to indicate the awful horrors of what He had to endure. When someone is under the wrath of God, as we see here and in [Job 3:11](Job%203.md#^11), God uses the idea that it would have been better had they never been born (see also [Mk 14:21](Mark%2014.md#^21)). > > As we look back again at verses 14-18 in the context of this chapter, remember that God is tying together the fact that Judah and Jerusalem (the churches and congregations in our day) -- those who visibly identity with or represent the kingdom of God on earth but have gone after other gods, other gospels and other doctrines than the Bible alone -- are under the wrath of God, with the crucifixion of Christ. ^jer20-17-18 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI