Section IV Confessions and Predictions

Jeremiah 11:1—20:18

This section contains a miscellaneous collection of narratives and predictions, along with several dialogues between the prophet and God. The narratives and predictions shed light upon the career of Jeremiah, but the dialogues have special value in that they reveal to us the inner life of the prophet. There is no chronological arrangement of the material, but most of it seems to come from the time of Josiah (640-609 B.C.) and the earlier years of Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.). The prophet's dialogues with God are his prayers that came to the surface in times of great crisis. They have long been called the “confessions of Jeremiah.”

A. JEREMIAH AND THE COVENANT, 11:1—12:17

1. Judah's Violation of the Covenant (11:1-17)

Jeremiah is commanded to speak to the men of Judah (2), cities of Judah (6), and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (2), concerning the covenant. The use of “Amen” (5, margin, KJV) and reference to the curses pronounced upon those who violate the covenant indicate that Jeremiah is talking about the Sinai covenant (Deuteronomy 27—30) with its emphasis on the moral law. It is also possible that the recent renewal of that covenant under Josiah (II Kings 23:3) was in the background.

God reminds the people that, on His part, the covenant has been sealed by His redemptive acts in their behalf, I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (4). This is evidence of His grace (unmerited favor) and concern for them. The iron furnace is a furnace in which iron is smelted and thus a figure of severe suffering. Rising early (7) indicates God's special attention to Israel. In turn, He demanded good faith on the part of His people: Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them (6). But, God declares, Israel has not kept the vows made at Sinai. Your fathers (7) obeyed not, nor inclined their ear (listened), but walked … in the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart (8).

God said to Jeremiah, There is a conspiracy … among the men of Judah (9). They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers (10). The words turned hack may refer to the fresh violation of the covenant so recently renewed under Josiah. Because of this flagrant disloyalty, judgment is pronounced upon Judah, I will bring evil upon them (11). It is foreseen that when this evil comes, the people will cry to all the false gods that they worship, but they shall not save them … in the time of their trouble (12). For v. 13 see comments on 2:28; 7:17-18. Because of these things, Jeremiah is again forbidden to intercede for Judah, Pray not thou for this people (14).

The condemnation of God is further enforced in 15-16 by the lines of what seems to be a mutilated poem. The Hebrew is difficult to translate. RSV has gone to the Septuagint rendering, which at least fits the context, and is perhaps the best solution. “What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows and sacrificial flesh avert your doom?” (15) The prophet seems to be saying, “No [sacrificial] offering, however costly, could ever be a substitute for wholehearted dedication.”¹

The poem continues as Judah is likened to an olive tree, which in the beginning was beautiful and productive but has become diseased and unfruitful. Her branches will be consumed by fire—with the noise of a great tumult (16). Since God had planted it, He could also destroy it. However, it is Judah's violation of the covenant that has brought her to this place of ruin (17).

2. Confessions of Jeremiah (11:18—12:17)

While carrying on his prophetic duties, Jeremiah suddenly discovered that his relatives and neighbors in Anathoth had conspired to kill him. The discovery left him greatly tortured in mind. The rest of the passage is taken up with a dialogue between God and the prophet about the value and meaning of his task.

a. The plot at Anathoth (11:18-23). Jeremiah's knowledge of the plot against his life seems to have been revealed to him by God, Thou shewedst me their doings (18). He is amazed at how naive and unsuspecting he had been, I was like a lamb … brought to the slaughter (19). In this passage the prophet shows his acquaintance with Isaiah 53.² Let us destroy the tree … (19) seems to have been some kind of proverb. In great distress of mind, Jeremiah appeals his case to the bar of God's justice. He asks vindication for himself and vengeance (20) for his enemies. The reins would be the thoughts.

God immediately asserts himself in behalf of His servant with a word of assurance, I will punish them (22) … there shall be no remnant of them (23). The year of their visitation means “the year fixed for their punishment” (Moffatt). The words of God bring a measure of relief to the prophet's heart. But Jeremiah has, for the first time, looked death fully in the face, and it has left his mind greatly troubled.

b. Jeremiah questions God (12:1-4). Deeply shaken by the treachery of his relatives and neighbors, Jeremiah complains to God. He confesses his faith in the integrity of God, Righteous art thou, O Lord (1), but admits that he is painfully distressed and puzzled by what is happening. Wherefore doth … the wicked prosper? It would seem that God is on the side of the wicked, Thou hast planted … they grow (2). They succeed in their schemes, but their hypocrisy is shockingly evident. The name of God is on their lips, but far from their reins (hearts) ! How can God permit these things to go on? This was Job's problem (Job 12:6) and the problem of many a good man who suffers.

Jeremiah reminds the God who knows all things of the purity of his own intentions (3). He requests that God evidence His concern for moral values by vindicating him in the wrongs that he has suffered. In his discouragement and despondency he cries, How long shall the land mourn because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein? (4) The Septuagint renders the latter part of 4 as, “God will not see our ways,” which seems to catch the meaning of the Hebrew if not the words.

c. God questions Jeremiah (12:5-6). God does not give Jeremiah a direct answer to the above questions, but counters with some questions of His own. It is up to Jeremiah to interpret the signals and obtain his answer from the questions that God asks. God queries, If … footmen … wearied thee, … how canst thou contend with horses? (5) If in a land of peace (your hometown) you stumble, what will you do in the swelling (lion-infested jungle) of Jordan, i.e., when real trouble comes? Both questions are cast in the form of proverbs. The import of God's word startled the prophet; the worst is still to come!

After letting this truth penetrate the consciousness of Jeremiah, God attempts to prepare him for future events. He warns him not to trust his own family or his neighbors at Anathoth. Although they may speak fair words (6), they cannot be trusted. They have called a multitude after thee is better, “They have raised a hue and cry after you” (Moffatt). This revealed to the prophet how utterly alone he was. Jeremiah against the whole land!

d. The divine lament (12:7-13). Just as Jeremiah must forsake his family and friends because of treachery, God is compelled to forsake His people for the same reason. Thus God's lament over Israel is parallel to Jeremiah's sorrow over his home and family. Several different figures are used to describe Israel: she is God's heritage but forsaken by Him (7), a lion turned against her Maker (8), a speckled bird about to be attacked by others (9), a vineyard trampled and ruined (10). As ruthless pastors (lit., shepherds) tear and trample a vineyard, so Israel will be crushed and dismantled by foreign rulers. The land will become utterly desolate from one end to the other because no man layeth it to heart (is concerned, 11). Although Israel has sown wheat, she has reaped thorns (13). They shall be ashamed of your revenues (harvests). She has exhausted herself in her endeavors, but to no profit.

e. The divine plan (12:14-17). This oracle seems to say that God is interested in all men—even the enemies of Judah. Therefore Jeremiah has a message for the Gentile nations of his day. Such a ministry was in keeping with Jeremiah's commission (1:10). These nations will certainly be punished for what they do to Judah (14), but if they repent and learn the ways of my people (16; i.e., the ways of the Lord), then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But the nation (17) that does not learn will be destroyed. This passage teaches the universal sovereignty of God. All nations are under the power of His control. He blesses those who are righteous, and punishes those who are wicked.

B. PARABLES AND PRONOUNCEMENTS, 13:1-27

1. The Parable of the Waistcloth (13:1-11)

Scholars have held various views concerning the historicity of this incident. It seems improbable (though not impossible) that Jeremiah would have made two 400-mile trips (see map 1) to the Euphrates River just to bury a dirty loincloth and dig it up again. With the change of one Hebrew letter in the text it could refer to a place five or six miles northeast of Jerusalem (Wadi el-Farah), which would fit the description in the story very well. It is perhaps best to take the incident as a parable and not try to press the historical aspect too far.

The parable teaches that any object is of value only when used for its intended purpose. A loincloth designed to be worn on the loins of a man is not useful when buried in the damp earth (4) and never washed (1). It would certainly become marred (7)—soiled and rotted. Likewise Judah (9) is useless as a nation unless she is fulfilling God's purpose for her. The imagination of their heart (10) would be the way of their own proud choosing. The parable implies that Judah is as corrupt morally as Jeremiah's waistcloth was physically—the fabric is rotten and broken. Sin decays the moral sensibilities of man and reduces him to a useless object, fit only for the scrap heap of the universe.

God had bound Israel to himself in covenant relations as closely and intimately as a man would bind a waistcloth around his loins. It is a moving thought to remember that God clothes himself with those who profess to follow Him. Despite the special privileges the covenant brought, Judah failed God. Consequently, as a man casts away a useless waistcloth, so God will mar the pride of Judah (9) by casting her out of her land.

2. The Parable of the Wine Jar (13:12-14)

God commands Jeremiah to speak a commonplace proverb concerning a wine jar (12) to the men of Judah, with the express purpose of getting a peevish reply. Apparently the occasion was a festival where wine jars were in clear view of prophet and people. God tells him what their reply will be, and how he is to answer them. Thus a bit of wry humor becomes the occasion for a rapier-like thrust of divine truth: I will fill all … this land … with drunkenness (13) … I will dash them one against another … I will not pity (14).

Drunkenness is often taken in the Bible as symbolic of the “wine of God's wrath,” i.e., His judgments (Jer. 25:15; 51:7; Ps. 75:8; Isa. 19:14; Rev. 16:19). This idea, without doubt, is present here. But there is something more. The contents of the wine jar seem to represent the people of Judah. As the particles in a wine jar jostle against each other in the process of fermentation, just so the inhabitants of Judah will dash against each other in civil strife and moral confusion. As the turmoil and confusion of the fermentation process is transferred to the man who drinks the wine, so Judah will be as confused and bewildered as a drunken man in the day of judgment. From the king on the throne to the peasant in the field the land will be in a state of bewilderment and confusion. This state of bewilderment in Judah is symbolic of the confusion there is in the life of an individual who has not found (or has lost) the organizing power of the Spirit of God.

3. Sinners, Be Not Proud (13:15-19)

In this oracle Jeremiah pleads with his sinful countrymen to turn from their pride and give glory to the Lord (acknowledge His sovereignty; 16), lest darkness come upon them and they stumble as in the night (John 12:35). Pride blinds one to proper values and brings darkness. The alternatives are clear for Judah. Give ear (heed, 15) to the voice of God, else the light shall be turned into the shadow of death (16). But if ye will not hear … my soul shall weep in secret places … because the Lord's flock will be carried away captive (17). If there is no turning, exile is inevitable.

Verses 18 and 19 are addressed to the king (probably Jehoiachin, cf. II Kings 24:8-12) and the queen (mother). Humble yourselves (18) … else your principalities (crowns; “head tires,” KJV, margin) shall come down, i.e., you will no longer rule. There will be no help from the south (19; i.e., from Egypt). Exile threatens Judah and her ruling family. This prediction probably came true in 597 B.C. when Jehoiachin, his mother, and thousands of the people were carried to Babylon (II Kings 24: 14-16).

4. The Deep-seated Nature of Sin (13:20-27)

Jerusalem (or Judah) is addressed as a shepherdess who has lost her flock (20; probably the best of her inhabitants). “What will you say when he [the Babylonian conqueror] shall set as head over you those whom you have taught to be friends to you?” (See 21; II Kings 20:12-13.) Great will be the shame and humiliation of Jerusalem when her former allies become tyrannical rulers over her. And if the city wants to know the reason for all this, she shall be told it is because of the greatness of thine iniquity (22). Moffatt translates, “It is for a host of sins that you are exposed and stripped.”

The prophet elaborates by describing the deep-seated nature of Judah's sin. Can the Ethiopian change … or the leopard? (23) We may as well expect the Ethiopian to change the color of his skin and the leopard the spots in his coat as to expect the men of Judah to alter their evil habits by their own power. Sinning had become a second nature³ with them. There is no denial of man's freedom here, but there is an acknowledgment that man's moral perversity is so deep-seated that he cannot change himself unaided. Man therefore needs God to do something for him that he cannot do for himself. This is the rationale behind all the redemptive acts of God. An inner transformation of man's moral nature is needed. Only God can do that (4:3-4).

Verse 24 describes what the lot of those will be who refuse to turn to God for help; I will scatter them as the stubble blown by the wind. The figure is that of the chaff blown away from the winnowing floor. Their shame will be so evident that all will know and see the humiliation of Judah. The sin of the nation is described in the baldest terms, adulteries, neighings (“lustful cries,” Moffatt), lewdness (27). This deplorable condition, says God, has come about because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood (lies, 25). In disconsolate tones the prophet cries, “O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?” (27, RSV)

C. THE DROUTH AND ITS MORAL IMPLICATIONS, 14:1—15:9

1. The Ravages of the Drouth (14:1-6)

A fearful drouth gave the prophet an occasion to teach some moral lessons to the people. The date of the drouth cannot be fixed, but the horrors of it are depicted in graphic terms. The whole land mourneth … the cry of Jerusalem is gone up (2). They are black unto the ground means, “Her people are mourning on the ground” (Berk.). The rich and the poor, men and animals, suffer because they can find no water; little ones (servants) return with their vessels empty (3). The ground is chapt (“cracked,” ASV), for there was no rain (4). The hind (doe) forsook her newborn calf because there was no grass (5). The glazed eyes and the gasping breath of the wild animals reveal the terrible plight of the land. Jeremiah apparently believes that this natural calamity has come upon the people as a direct result of their sin.

2. Frantic Prayers Are Evil (14:7-9)

There now follows an example of what it means to pray when frantic. The people in great distress cry to the Lord, but not in genuine repentance. They rush through their confession with more self-pity than deep acknowledgment of sin. O the hope of Israel … why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land? (8) Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished (astounded, confused) … that cannot save? We are called by thy name; leave us not (9). Underneath there is a tendency to blame God for their suffering. They practically demand that He get them out of their dilemma. In doing so they reduce God to a being who is as fickle and shallow as themselves. It is evident that their problem Hes in a wrong conception of God.

3. The Verdict of God (14:10-12)

God seems to see through the veneer of Judah's pretended religiosity. There is no deep-seated sorrow for sin. Their prayers are but lip service; they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet (10) from going to false gods. Therefore, says the Lord, I will remember their iniquity, and visit (punish) their sins.

God says to Jeremiah, “Do not pray for the welfare of this people” (11, RSV). He saw that their prayer was shallow, and that they sorrowed only because they suffered. He would be less than God if He acceded to their frantic praying when it had in it no element of genuine faith. When they fast … I will not accept them … I will consume them by the sword (12).

4. The Root of the Trouble (14:13-16)

Jeremiah attempted to excuse the people by pointing out that the false prophets had misled them by prophesying lies and saying, Ye shall not see the sword (13). The Lord seems to agree that the prophets are at fault; I sent them not … (they) prophesy lies (14). A false vision and divination would be “a lying vision, a hollow superstition” (Moffatt). But the inference is that the people (16) were willing to be deceived, for the lies flattered their sinful passions. They had heard the true prophets preach repentance, but to this truth they had closed their ears. The root of the trouble was that the people preferred a lie to the truth. Therefore, people and prophets must share the same punishment; they will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem … they have none to bury them (16).

5. Lamentation and Confession (14:17-22)

Jeremiah here gave vent to his grief over the plight of the nation. But somehow the prophet's grief is also an expression of God's own deep sorrow. Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day … the virgin daughter of my people is broken … with a very grievous blow (17). He then describes the results of the drouth as being civil strife, plunder, and death. If one ventures into the field he sees those killed by the sword; inside the city people are sick with famine and disease. All the while the false prophets and priests traffic in “pseudo-holiness” throughout the land (see 18, RSV).⁴ Everywhere there are wickedness, frustration, and death.

Perhaps encouraged by God's own grief to intercede for the nation, the prophet breaks out in new lamentations. He asks whether mercy and healing could yet be obtained: Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? (19) With a bitter cry he confesses the iniquity of the fathers (20), and then reminds God of the jeopardy to His own name and begs Him to remember His covenant with the nation. Jeremiah gladly acknowledges that the Lord is the only God: Are there any among the vanities (gods) of the Gentiles that can cause rain? (22) The prophet is convinced that there is no hope but in the living God. He declares his intention to wait upon the Lord until his petition is granted.

6. The Verdict Reaffirmed (15:1-4)

Despite Jeremiah's strong avowal of faith, God refuses his intercession “with a decisiveness that allows for no repetition.”⁵ The people are rejected once for all: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight (1). The people had not repented as Israel had done in the days of Moses and Samuel; consequently there was no hope. If they say … whither shall we go? (2) the prophet is instructed to reply, Such as are for death, to death, etc. Four kinds of punishment will be inflicted on them. Also four instruments will be used in their destruction, the sword to slay … dogs to tear … fowls … and the beasts … to devour and destroy (3). Furthermore, Judah will be removed (“tossed to and fro,” ASV). She will thus become “a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth” (RSV, 4). The reason for all this is that the nation has never recovered from the wicked reign of Manasseh (II Kings 21:1-26; 24:3-4). The idolatrous practices that he introduced were still loved by the people of Jeremiah's day (cf. 44:1-30).

7. A Lamentation over Jerusalem (15:5-9)

These five verses form a poetic dirge (cf. Smith-Goodspeed). Seeing that the sinful people are to be ill-used by all the kingdoms of the earth, Jeremiah begins another lamentation. He bewails the fact that there will be no one to look with pity (5) on the city. No one will so much as inquire about her welfare. To make matters worse, he hears God saying, Thou hast forsaken me … thou art gone backward … I am weary of repenting (relenting, and giving them another chance, 6). “I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork” (RSV) but “they have not turned from their [wicked] ways” (7, ht.).

The description of the plight of the city is continued by saying that her widows have increased as the sand of the seas (8). The mother city, and its widowed mothers, are suddenly spoiled at noonday because the death of her sons leave her defenseless. She who is still in full bodily vigor (having borne seven sons) hath given up the ghost (ht., “breathed out her life”); her sun is gone down while it was yet day (9). Thus is described the unnecessary and premature death of the city and the nation. The epitaph over her ruins might well have been, “If love could have saved thee, thou needst not have died.” This is also the case of every man who rejects God.

D. CONFESSIONS OF JEREMIAH, 15:10-21

1. The Conflict of a Soul (15:10-19)

Jeremiah's dialogue with God here is one of the most poignant passages in Sacred Writ. It lifts the curtain for a moment on the inner life of the prophet—the wrestling of his soul with God.

This is the first of what scholars have long called “the confessions of Jeremiah.” (Others will be found in 17:12-18 and 20: 7-18. Some scholars would also put 1:4-19; 4:19; 6:11; 8:21—9:1; 11:18-23; 12:1-3 in the same category.) They have been given this title because in them the prophet lays bare the innermost secrets of his heart and confesses to the spiritual pain and mental anguish that he passes through at times. He reveals that uncertainties and perplexities haunt him. He acknowledges that on occasion the hopelessness of his predicament and God's inscrutable methods of operation all but drive him to despair. These passages partake of the nature of prayer, meditation, and of intimate conversation with God.

a. Life tumbles in (15:10). Jeremiah is overwhelmed by the events that have been taking place. There was the opposition of his king and people, and the plot against his life by his own family and former friends. The horrible drouth that came upon the land, what he saw as a prophet concerning his nation and its fate, and the terrible isolation that had come to him were almost more than human flesh could bear. As the years passed and there seemed to be no hope of a change for the better, the human spirit rebelled. The prophet is plunged into a period of great despondency. He wrestles with the awful temptation to doubt God. In this he is not alone, for the holiest men of all ages have suffered similar moments of dark temptation: Abraham, Job, Elijah, and Paul. In bitter anguish of soul he cries, Woe is me … a man of contention to the whole earth! (10) He feels himself pitted against the entire world. He sees himself as despised as a money lender who is cursed by every one he meets. Life has tumbled in on the prophet, and he carries his complaint before the Lord.

b. God speaks to his need (15:11-14). The Hebrew is obscure here, and many things have been conjectured about this passage. The ASV has the most literal translation and is to be preferred to the KJV at this point. God replies in 11 to the prophet's complaint and gives words of encouragement. It shall be well with thy remnant, i.e., “I will leave you some who shall prosper again” (Berk.). Verse 12 has been variously interpreted, but appears to be Jeremiah's answer to God's statement in 11. The ASV margin has the literal rendering, “Can iron break iron from the north?” i.e., Can my strength break the strength of Babylon? From the depths of self-pity he makes a rather facetious response, “Do you expect me to stem the Babylonian tide?” (paraphrase). Jeremiah is so despondent that God's promise seems to mock him.

Verses 13 and 14 are much like 17:3-4 (see ASV). In both places they appear to refer to Judah, and are interpreted as a prediction of exile. However, it should be noted that in some respects 14 fits Jeremiah's case. He did pass with his enemies into a land that was strange to him (cf. 43:4-7).

c. The “valley of the shadow” (15:15-18). Thus far Jeremiah's dialogue with God had not lifted his spirits. Indeed, it seems to have deepened the gloom that had fallen across his soul. His pleading cry of pain is renewed with greater vehemence, O Lord, thou knowest … revenge me … take me not away in thy longsuffering with my enemies … for thy sake I have suffered (15). A fleeting glimpse of previous joys passes before his mind, Thy words were found, and I did eat them … the joy and rejoicing of mine heart (16).⁶ However, the remembrance of the past only plunges him deeper into gloom, I sat alone because of thy hand … “sharing all thine indignation” (17, Moffatt). He sinks in despair. In 18, Jeremiah reaches bottom emotionally. In the bitterness of his soul he cries, Why is my pain perpetual … my wound incurable? All the frustration of thirty years of opposition and ridicule are gathered up in this outburst of grief. Has he suffered all these things for nought? In desperation he cries, “Wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful brook, as waters that fail?” (18, ASV) He cries out in his agony of soul, searching for some shred of meaning to his predicament. He reminds us of Job at this point (Job 3; 6—7).

d. The voice of iron (15:19). God does not seem to show much sympathy with Jeremiah's outburst. “Instead of praise for the past or tender comfort for the present, we have an implied rebuke.”⁷ There is a touch of iron in the voice of God: If thou return, i.e., repent of your lack of faith, then will I bring thee again (restore you, 19). If thou take forth (bring out) the precious (highly valued words) from the vile (base or insignificant), then thou shalt be as my mouth. God is saying, If, instead of this doleful wail which is unbecoming to a man of God, you speak forth truth and faith, then you shall be My spokesman. God requires utter commitment, if one is to fill His high calling. The touch of iron in the voice of God seems to shock the prophet back to himself again.

2. The Comfort of God (15:20-21)

Now that the emotional storm has passed and the chastened prophet has become a sadder but wiser man, he finds the comfort of God surrounding him. For His broken ones, God's severity is always followed by His consolation. The promises that God had given to Jeremiah when he was inducted into the prophetic office are now renewed: I will make thee … a fenced brasen wall (20) … I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible (21). Jeremiah had battled against “principalities and powers” and had won a signal victory. However his days of deprivation and suffering were by no means over.

E. MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS, 16:1—17:18

This cluster of material is a good example of the composite form of the Book of Jeremiah. In these two chapters there is a mixture of personal vignettes, prophetic indictments and predictions, hope for the future, and two prayers. Some of these have only a casual relation to the others, but all of them fit appropriately under the theme “Confessions and Predictions.”

1. The Prophet's Personal Loss (16:1-9)

Jeremiah, whose sensitive and affectionate nature craved companionship and social intercourse, is now forbidden these things. He stands isolated from his fellows, a lonely figure against a darkening sky. God forbids him the comforts of home and family: Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place (2). Jeremiah is the only one of the prophets who was forbidden to marry. But there are tragedies greater than loneliness. The prophet was instructed to use his Concerning the sons and … daughters … born in this place … their mothers … and … fathers … all shall die of grievous deaths (3-4).

Jeremiah was next forbidden to go to the house of mourning (5). This was strictly contrary to custom, and could be used as an object lesson for the people. It was a sign that the coming destruction would be so great that the rites for the dead would not be performed. Carcasses would not be buried, no lamentation made, no making themselves bald (6), no cup of consolation (7) offered. The meaning of 6-7 is clarified by Moffatt thus:

Throughout the land both high and low shall die

and all unburied lie,

with none to lament or gash themselves

or cut their hair for them,

with none to press the mourner to take food

on their account,

and none to hand a cup of comfort

for a father or a mother's death.⁸

For a Jew this was the darkest picture that could be painted.

The final prohibition had to do with the house of feasting (8). This was to be a sign that all pleasurable things would soon be cut off. No longer would there be the happy sounds of the wedding festival—the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness (9) would cease. Only the silence of death would prevail over a once joyous city.

2. The Meaning of Judah's Fate (16:10-21)

The prophet is warned that the people will inquire of him as to why God's punishment would be so severe. The meaning of Judah's fate is found in the answer he is instructed to give.

a. The stubbornness of an evil heart (16:10-13, 16-18). In his answer to their inquiry, Jeremiah traces the doom of the nation to a disposition of mind in the people themselves; Ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart (12). The expression “imagination of their evil heart” is mentioned eight times⁹ in the Book of Jeremiah. These words apparently refer to a state of mind which had become characteristic of the people. This disposition manifested itself in a resentment toward authority—a settled determination to gratify one's own desires regardless of the cost. This temper of mind had been characteristic of the fathers, but had become even more firmly set in the hearts of the men of Jeremiah's day. Although Judah and Jerusalem knew that their fathers had suffered grievous punishment because of their sins, people still had the temerity to defy God to His face. In fact, they had now become shameless in their sinning and deliberate in their perverseness.

This lawless spirit was opposed to all the gracious overtures of God. Social mores, cultural patterns, and natural desires had crystallized in the direction of the evil and the vile. Nothing short of utter catastrophe could ever change this pattern or break the mold. This is why exile was inevitable: Therefore will I cast (hurl) you out of this land … I will not shew you favour (13).

The intention of God to shatter the structure of an evil civilization is further confirmed in 16-18. Here He indicates that the shattering process will be performed with deliberate thoroughness: I will send for many fishers … will … send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them (16). No stone will be left unturned to ferret them out for punishment. Besides, their ways … are not hid from my face (17) … and I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double (18).

b. The prediction of a new exodus (16:14-15). These verses have no apparent connection with those that precede or follow. They are hopeful, while the material on either side is very dark. Some scholars feel that they are misplaced, for they appear again in 23:7-8, where they fit the context better. They break in here like a shaft of light in the midst of deepest gloom. It may be that they are placed here to soften the blow that verses 10-13, 16-18 deliver to the nation. However, as they are seen here, they contain the prediction of a “new exodus.” It shall no more be said, The Lord … brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt: but … from the land of the north (14-15). This time it will be an exodus from the north country, i.e., from exile. These verses stress the fact that beyond judgment there will be a return—a new beginning. A new vessel is to be formed out of the marred clay (cf. 18:1-10).

c. A vindication of God's wrath (16:19-21). This passage is a magnificent affirmation of faith in the living God. The prophet firmly believes that the divine severity in dealing with Judah will be vindicated in the future.¹⁰ He envisions a day when the Gentiles will be converted and will say to God's people, Surely our fathers have inherited lies (idolatry, 19). They will acknowledge the vanity of idols, and will turn and worship the true God. What a moment of shame this will be for Judah, who has clung so stupidly to these same false idols! God further affirms concerning the Gentiles, They shall know that my name is The LORD (21), i.e., that I AM THAT I AM, the Eternal, the living One! In that day Judah will see that God has dealt justly with her in every situation.

3. The Nature of Judah's Sin (17:1-4)

A pen of iron and the point of a diamond (1) are used here to emphasize the ingrained quality of Judah's sin. The iron stylus and the diamond were used for engraving on the hardest substances known to the ancient world. The prophet declares that the sin of Judah had become so deeply engraved on her heart (inner being) that ordinary means are insufficient to remove it. Sinning had become her nature—her settled disposition. Her affection, her habit of mind, her will had crystallized in one direction, so that evil had become the dominant tone of life—a state of being. Forgiveness could never change this situation. God has no way of dealing with a sinful disposition except to break it to pieces, as a potter breaks an earthen vessel. Out of the fragments He forms a new creation.

The latter part of 1 and all of 2 are difficult to translate. The Hebrew apparently means that Judah's sin is as indelibly written on her religious rites (the horns of your altars) as on her heart. Pagan ideas and practices had so corrupted Temple worship that the children can remember (2) only heathen ways of doing things. Revealed religion had fallen upon such difficult days, and Temple worship had become so distorted and twisted, that there was no possibility of reform. God had decreed that both nation and Temple were to be broken in pieces in order that a completely new start could be made.

The outlook for the present is only punishment and loss. I will give thy substance … thy treasures to the spoil (3) … I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not (4). God's hatred of Judah's sin is revealed in the assertion, Ye have kindled a fire … which shall burn for ever. He has sworn eternal vengeance on the disposition in man that is opposite to the nature of God. “A fallacy of his [Jeremiah's] day was that the people thought God could easily and would readily forgive sin, that the standard ritual [would] at once atone for it and comfortable preaching bring assurance of its removal.”¹¹ But the facts are to the contrary. Nor does God pamper sin today, as some would believe. He has but one plan for sin and that is to destroy it (Rom. 6:6; I John 3:8). The groves, green trees, high hills, and mountain refer to typical places of idol worship.

4. A Psalm of Contrasts (17:5-8)

In a manner reminiscent of Psalms 1, Jeremiah contrasts the fate of him who trusts in man with the fate of one who trusts in God. “Dependence upon the flesh, the antithesis of the spirit, sets forth the vanity and perishableness of man and all earthly things.”¹² The man¹³ who trusts in flesh (5; all temporal things) shall be like the heath (dwarfed juniper) in the desert (6). The picture of parched places, salt land, and wilderness is drawn to discourage sinners.

On the other hand, the man who puts his trust in the Lord flourishes even in time of drought. Shall not be careful (8) means “is not anxious” (Berk.). Since he has found the secret springs of God, he can safely endure all the misfortunes of life. The evil man is in distress even in times of plenty, for he can be cut off at any moment.

In 7-8 we see “Characteristics of the Blessed Man.” (1) He flourishes in adverse circumstances; (2) Hidden resources are the secret of his strength; (3) He lives without anxiety; (4) He produces fruit.

5. Sin Is a Disease of the Heart (17:9-11)

These verses could well have followed 1-4 with their discussion of Judah's sin. Although cast in a different literary form (that of two proverbs), they seem to carry on that discussion.

In order to understand 9 and 10, one needs to recall the Hebrew custom of using the physical organs to symbolize the activities of man's inner life. The term heart as used here signifies the “inner man,” or “the essential self” from which all action, will, and reasoning spring. Likewise, reins, or the kidneys, were thought of as the seat of the emotions.

Jeremiah is saying: The heart (man in his essential being) is ‘aqob¹⁴—deceitful and treacherous (9). Furthermore, it is “desperately sick” (or diseased—’ anush is more accurately rendered “sick” or “incurable” than wicked). Jeremiah's penetrating eye has perceived that Judah's trouble can be traced to the heart or inner disposition of her people. “Treacherous is the heart [of the man of Judah] above all things, and incurably sick—who can understand its true nature?” (paraphrase) Since the pagan nations were considered even more vile than Judah, this treacherous heart must be characteristic of all men.

The passage clearly teaches that “something indeed is desperately wrong about man, and Jeremiah with all the skill of a physician was pointing precisely to the source of man's illness as well as to the One who can bring healing.”¹⁵ I the Lord search (am constantly searching) the heart, I try (am constantly testing, examining) the reins (man's deepest longings and greatest loves). Jeremiah sees that man in his “existential predicament” is a bundle of contradictions. He does not even understand himself. God alone is capable of dealing with him. The second proverb (11) “emphasizes the insecurity of ill-gotten gain.”¹⁶ It was believed by the Hebrews that the partridge (species uncertain) took over the nest and hatched out the eggs of other birds. For a little while she struts in great pomp with her illegitimate brood, but the fledglings soon desert their foster mother at the very time she needs them most to bolster her ego. She is left looking like the fool she is. So it is with ill-gotten gain; it is apt to fly away just when a man needs it most.

6. Faith and Petition (17:12-18)

a. A prayer of hope and praise (17:12-13). The Hebrew text is difficult, and the passage has been variously interpreted. But these two verses seem to be a confession of faith on the part of Jeremiah. “A throne of glory, lofty from the beginning is the place of our refuge. The Hope of Israel is the Lord. All who forsake Thee shall be ashamed. They who turn aside from Me¹⁷ [i.e., spurn My message] shall be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters” (lit.). These are words of hope and praise. Sanctuary here means a place of refuge or security for the nation. Those who do not trust in the Lord will pass away like writing in the earth (dust).

b. A prayer of petition (17:14-18). While keenly aware of the might and power of God, Jeremiah suddenly remembers his own miserable predicament and the taunts of his enemies. He cries, Heal me … save me … Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? (14-15) Moffatt translates the last part of 15, “Where is the Eternal's word? Come on with it!” The prophet defends himself before God, insisting that he has not desired the task of delivering a message of doom, nor has he sought to bring in the day of calamity. He calls God to remembrance that the persecutors are not only his enemies, but God's enemies. He asks for protection and vindication: “Let the double crushing crush them” (18, lit.).

F. SYMBOLIC ACTIONS: MEANING AND RESULTS (17:19—20:18)

Jeremiah now performs certain symbolic acts which bring various reactions from the people. Each of these incidents has a message for the inhabitants of Jerusalem (20). Both kings and people (19) come in for a portion of the prophet's invective. As a result, Jeremiah suffers at their hands. A storm of protest is gathering around the head of the unfortunate prophet. His message of doom is not acceptable to the pleasure-loving people, and they react with characteristic viciousness.

1. The Sacredness of the Sabbath (17:19-27)

Jeremiah is given a message to deliver at the Gate of the People¹⁸ in the city of Jerusalem. He is instructed to address both kings and people concerning the keeping of the sabbath day (22). Apparently the people of Jerusalem had been profaning the Sabbath by carrying on their secular activities. They brought their produce from the field to the city and marketed their wares in utter disregard of the law. Jeremiah set about to rectify the situation, not because he was a legalist, but because of the deeper implications of their actions. The secularization of the sabbath was a straw in the wind; it symbolized the moral decay of the nation. It spoke of greed for material gain, of wickedness in high places, and of forgetting God.

Moses himself would agree that the sabbath was not instituted merely to bind men to a law, or make it the negative, joyless day that was observed by the Pharisees of the New Testament. On the other hand, both in the Old Testament and the New it was meant to be a day of joyful honor to God, and spiritual and physical refreshment for the people. The nation which dishonors the Sabbath soon forgets the God who made the Sabbath. The promise to the people was that, if they kept the Sabbath, the city shall remain for ever (25). If they did not, there would be kindled a fire … that would devour the palaces of Jerusalem (27).

2. The Potter and the Clay (18:1-17)

Jeremiah was informed that a message from God awaited him at the potter's house (2), ¹⁹ to which he now journeyed. As he watched the work he became keenly aware of the potter (4), the wheels (3), and the clay (4). As he watched the practiced hand of the potter knead the clay, he perceived that a message from God was beginning to form. Before the eyes of the prophet an exquisite vessel began to take shape. Then suddenly, to Jeremiah's surprise, the vessel was marred in the hand of the potter. Did a wave of deep sadness pass across the face of the potter? If so, it did not stop his skillful hands. He broke the marred vessel into a shapeless mass and began anew to knead and pummel. After sufficient working and refining, he returned (note KJV margin, “returned and made”) and made it again another vessel.

a. The symbolism of the incident (18:1-6). God spoke to Jeremiah and the message came clear and plain to his mind. God is the potter, Israel is the clay, and apparently the wheels represent the circumstances of life. All along God has had a purpose for Israel. On the wheels of life God has been working out His purpose for the nation. But something has happened to spoil God's plan. Something in Israel—“a stone of stumbling” or “a rock of offence”—has marred the work of the Master Craftsman. God is grieved over the impurity in the nation's life. Things cannot continue as they are. In this situation, forgiveness alone will not suffice. Judgment is inevitable. There is no other way except for the existing form of national life to be broken and refined, and then reshaped into another vessel (4).

The process of life is seen in the wheels. Every man and every nation is present and involved because God has a purpose for men and nations. The object lesson teaches the sovereignty of God: Cannot I do with you as this potter? (6) But it also teaches the freedom of man²⁰—the response of the clay had thwarted the potter's purpose. Men are free to respond to the dealings of God. If they respond positively to the touch of the Master Potter, His purpose is achieved in the formation of a vessel such as He has planned. If men respond negatively, God's work is marred. If on the wheel of life men and nations resist God's will, the breaking process ensues. This is never a pleasant moment for either the potter or the clay. Although there is an element of hope in the fact that another vessel will be formed, it does not relieve the rigors of a judgment now! After refinement there comes the moment of reshaping into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make it (4). How long this breaking and re-forming process goes on is here hidden in the purposes of God, but it is clear from subsequent verses in Jeremiah, and from the Gospels, that men come to a point beyond which there is no hope.²¹

G. Campbell Morgan sees in this passage: (1) The principles—the sovereignty of God, and man as free to surrender to Him; (2) The purpose—God has a plan for men, the universe is bathed in purpose; (3) The person—at the heart of the universe is a Person, and we see Him in Jesus.²²

b. God's method with men (18:7-12). These verses teach that God deals with men on a moral basis²³ rather than a strictly legal one: If that nation … turn … I will repent of the evil that I thought to do … (8). Since God operates on a moral basis, He can deal with men as they respond to Him. This presupposes that man is not an inanimate piece of clay, but a free person like God himself. This makes it possible for God to repent (change His mind) concerning proposed judgment, and instead of destroying men or nations, forgive them. The reverse of course is also true. At what instant (7, 9) means “If at any time” (RSV).

If law alone had been God's method of operation, the race would have been destroyed long ago. There would have been no divine revelation, no sacrifice for sin, no mediating priest, no prophets preaching repentance, no Temple, and no prayers. If men were judged strictly by the law, none would survive.

Since this is true, “God's threats, like God's promises, are conditional (and contingent).”²⁴ “The people are told that it is only by reason of their stiff-necked persistency in wickedness that they render threatened judgment certain, whereas by returning to their God they might prevent ruin of the kingdom.”²⁵ When there is no longer any hope, the shattering process begins.

Despite the offer of God to spare the nation on the grounds of moral obedience (repentance), the people disdainfully reply to God's threat of judgment; There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices (desires, plans, 12). This leaves God with no alternative but to punish.

c. The moral stupidity of Judah (18:13-17). God now chides the people because of the unnaturalness of their evil practices: Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things (13). The reference to Israel as a virgin only magnifies the enormity of her sin. Verse 14 is difficult to translate, but it appears to mean that the waters of Lebanon (perhaps Mount Hermon, see map 2) are constant and dependable year after year, “but Judah's conduct is fickle and unnatural”²⁶ (cf. 2:13; 8:7). Because of her faithlessness to the living God, and because of her devotion to vanity (false gods that have no existence), Judah has wandered far from the ancient paths, and finds herself on “a dead-end street,” a way not cast up (15). Because of her moral stupidity, Judah's once proud land will be an object of derision and hissing (16). She will not be able to stand before her enemies in battle, and will be scattered in utter confusion. God's back will be turned to the people in the day of their calamity (17) because they have forsaken “the fountain of living waters.”

3. A Plot and an Unworthy Prayer (18:18-23)

Jeremiah discovered that the religious leaders of the nation had plotted against him. The priests, prophets, and even the wisdom teachers, felt that his denunciation of corrupt worship and his prediction of the destruction of the Temple was leveled at them. If allowed to go on, they knew that Jeremiah's mesage would undercut their position with the people—the law would perish from the priest (18). His blistering words of doom apparently drew forth a malignant conspiracy. They fiercely rejected Jeremiah's prophecy that they and their offices would soon perish. Let us smite him with the tongue means that, by premeditated libel, they would undermine any influence that he might have had with the people.

The old wounds suffered from the plot at Anathoth (11:21-23) were reopened and their hurt was now multiplied tenfold. With the religious leaders of the nation against him, Jeremiah's future—and the future of the nation—was indeed dark. It was these very people he had sought most to help. Jeremiah's whole soul revolted within him at their treachery and at what their attitude foreshadowed for the nation. These religious leaders were the prophet's last hope for national reform. With this hope gone, he turned in great bitterness of spirit to God in prayer. He complains about his unhappy state, Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul (20). He reminds God of how he had interceded for these very people and had begged God to turn away His wrath from them. Now with this deeper insight into the magnitude of their wickedness he breaks out in earnest demand that they, and their households, receive their just reward: Forgive not their iniquity, etc. (23).

Some scholars think that this vindictive prayer is unbecoming to Jeremiah, and view it as an editorial addition. The words are filled with wrath, at least in part, because the prophet conceived his enemies to be even more the enemies of God, as indeed they were. To this extent his indignation is not an unholy thing, but partakes of the quality of God's own wrath. But even when reasonable allowance is made for these moods and words, we must admit that they are sub-Christian in the light of New Testament teaching and experience (cf. Matt. 5:38-48; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:58-60).

4. The Earthern Flask (19:1-13)

In another symbolic action Jeremiah is instructed to take an earthen flask (a baqbuq—the most delicate and expensive of ancient ceramic objects) and go to the Potsherd Gate (a reading better than east gate), which opened out on the valley of the son of Hinnom (2).²⁷ On his excursion Jeremiah was instructed to take some of the elders of the people and some of the older members of the priesthood. Older people are usually serious-minded and would more likely take his message to heart. The story is best followed by reading 10 after 2. At the Potsherd Gate, in the sight of (10) all the elders, Jeremiah shattered the bottle and proceeded to interpret his actions.

He declares that in a similar fashion, because of their grievous and persistent wickedness, Judah and Jerusalem will be shattered by their enemies. And just as the broken vessel cannot be made whole again (11), so the old Judah cannot be mended. The past is gone forever. If there is to be a future for the nation, it will be vastly different from what it could, and would, have been. Here we see the “once-for-all-ness” of opportunity.

The prophet went on to describe what was going to take place in the city and why. In the coming destruction, the city of Jerusalem would become like Tophet (cf. 7:32), a rubbish heap. This will be her fate because of the idolatrous practices carried on in the homes of Jerusalem, upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods (13). The kings of Judah had been just as guilty as the people. In that day the slaughter will be so great that every available place about the city will be used to bury the slain. All of Jerusalem will become unclean like the valley of the son of Hinnom (6).

Verses 3-9 seem to be the message given by Jeremiah in the Temple court (14-15) to the kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem (3). The message is essentially the same as in 11-13, but in greater detail. Here are found such expressions as his ears shall tingle, indicating the magnitude of the coming destruction. I will make void (baqqothi, empty out) the counsel of Judah (7). The evil plans of Judah and Jerusalem will be emptied like water from the flask (baqbuq). Before the siege is over and the city is taken, the hunger will become so great that men will eat the flesh of their sons and … daughters (9). The last half of 9 has been translated, “through the stress of the siege which their enemies—even those who seek their lives—shall press upon them” (Smith-Goodspeed). In the end the city will be so thoroughly destroyed that people who later pass by will hiss (8; lit., whistle) in astonishment.

5. Jeremiah in the Stocks (19:14—20:6)

From the Potsherd Gate, Jeremiah returned to the Temple court (14-15), where he apparently repeated his message (as contained in 3-9) to all the people. Such caustic words must have created a riot among the people, for Pashur, the chief governor (chief of the Temple police) in the house of the Lord (20:1), hearing these things, arrested Jeremiah. After beating the prophet, Pashur (whose name seems to be of Egyptian origin) put him in the stocks … in the high gate of Benjamin,²⁸ where he was exposed to the ridicule and jeers of his enemies. In this torturous position Jeremiah remained all night. This is the first time that hands had been laid on the prophet. There had been threatenings before, but now the rising tide of hatred among the religious leaders made this type of affliction inevitable.

The next day, when Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks (3), the prophet seized the opportunity to supplement the message he had delivered the day before. He told Pashur (no doubt the crowd was listening) that God had changed his name, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib, which means “terror on every side.” The incident centers in the fact that Pashur had prophesied lies (6) to the people. The passage implies that he had been refuting Jeremiah's preaching by telling the people that Egypt would come to the help of Judah if Babylon attacked. He had deceived them by saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (8:11). Jeremiah now tells Pashur that henceforth in accordance with his change of name he will be a terror (“a cause of fear,” Basic Bible) to himself and to all his friends. The prophet then reminds the people that the king of Babylon (4) would surely come and take all the precious things (5) of the city, and the treasures of the kings of Judah for a spoil. Strength and labours are interpreted to mean “riches” and “gains” (ASV), and are thus parallels to precious things and treasures. Pashur will see all these things, and will himself be taken captive to Babylon (6). There he will die in disgrace among the very people he had deceived.

6. Jeremiah's Anguish (20:7-18)

This is one of the most powerful and impressive passages in the book. It is certainly Jeremiah's saddest and bitterest complaint. For a moment the curtain is pulled aside and the reader is given a glimpse of the inner feelings of the prophet. “It is significant that Jeremiah's inner struggles and persecutions never led him to doubt the reality of his divine commission, and his sense of being overpowered by God never made him lose his own personality.”²⁹

a. Jeremiah's complaint (20:7-10). This time of dark reflection may have come directly out of the anguish and pain of Jeremiah's day and night in the stocks as he reflected on that experience. Or it may be that these moments came periodically to a man of the poetic emotional temperament of the prophet. In either case, life for the moment had come to the point of despair—he felt boxed in from every side. All that was human and finite cried out against the odds that faced him. The days, months, and years of his prophetic career seem to have flashed before him. He remembers again the details of his call, and how he sought to be released. He recalls the insistence of the divine voice (1:7-10). What has God done to him? His emotions rise to the breaking point! Broken, suffering, finite man cries out in the bitterness of his grief: Thou hast deceived (enticed, seduced; cf. same Hebrew word in Exod. 22:16) me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed (7). He continues by reminding God that he is daily a laughingstock; all who meet him mock him. When he opens his mouth to prophesy, nothing but predictions of violence and spoil (8) come out. It is this kind of preaching that has made him a reproach and a derision. A bearer of evil tidings is never popular, and the prophet's very humanness rebels against the painfulness of his situation.

However, when he had resolved: I will not … speak any more in his name, he discovered that the will of God was still the great driving force in his life—His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones … I could not stay (9). Still, frustrated at every turn, he felt that there was no way out, no place to hide, no alternative. He constantly heard his enemies whispering behind his back, calling him “Old Mr. Terror-on-every-side.” The name he had given to Pashur was being thrown back in his face, probably at the instigation of that gentleman himself. But it was heartbreakingly true that terror, violence and spoil (8) was the theme of every message that he delivered. To make matters worse, those who had been his friends had turned against him with bitter hatred, and were watching for the slightest slip in his words or actions. Peradventure he will be enticed (deceived, seduced) … and we shall take our revenge on him (10).

b. An outburst of praise (20:11-13). Just at the breaking point the tide changes (cf. I Cor. 10:13). Jeremiah's thoughts shift to the greatness of God. Immediately there is a difference. As he ponders the character of God, his spirits begin to rise. He cries to himself, The Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one (terrifying warrior); therefore my persecutors shall stumble (11). His faith takes firm hold of God. They shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed. When he remembers that it is God who triest the righteous, and seest … the heart, he launches into an appeal for the vindication of his cause (12). At the remembrance of these things his faith begins to soar. He bursts into a song of confidence. In characteristic Hebrew fashion, he proclaims that what he believes God for is already done!

Sing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers (13, RSV).

c. Jeremiah curses the day of his birth (20:14-18). From the heights of religious ecstasy Jeremiah lapses into even greater despair. The fact that these verses come immediately after a song of confidence is puzzling. Many scholars think they do not logically follow here, but come from some other occasion in Jeremiah's life. Binns quotes Buttenweiser: “It would be psychologically impossible … for such faith, such surrender, such exultation … to be followed immediately by such utter dejection and bitterness of spirit.”³⁰

On the other hand, these verses may be given to reveal the inner workings of Jeremiah's mind: “the ebb and flow, the rise and fall, of the inner thoughts” of an extremely human individual.³¹ Although a true prophet of God, he was subject to all the limitations of the human. The direction in which he looked, the thing that caught his attention, made all the difference. Certainly when seen from the human side alone, the prophet's despair is understandable. Jeremiah was just earthling enough that his emotions followed the direction of his gaze.

Apparently then, at v. 14, Jeremiah's attention is caught again by the hopelessness of his human situation. A pall of intense gloom falls upon his spirit. In great bitterness he cries, Cursed be the day wherein I was born. All outward conditions are against him. He feels the merciless hatred that swirls around him. His deeper instincts tell him that matters will never be any better, and his utter helplessness causes him to continue his lament: Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father (15). It was customary to reward the man who brought tidings of the birth of a son; but Jeremiah cried, Let that man be as (16) Sodom and Gomorrah because he slew me not from the womb (17).

The passage must be taken rhetorically rather than literally. No particular man is meant. It is worth noting that the curse of despair does not fall upon God, nor upon “those who bore him, nor even [upon] the fact of his being born, but rather it points once more to the curse of Israel's betrayal of her heritage.”³² Momentarily crying out of deep human frustration, Jeremiah is saying that, with the kind of life he was compelled to live, it would have been better for him to have been slain at birth, or for his mother to have been killed while he was yet in her womb (17). If the latter could have happened, then neither of them would have lived to see this wretched day.

The ultimate question is, Why? Wherefore came I forth … to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? (18) Jeremiah would certainly have heen less than human had he not felt the torture of the question. His conduct is no worse than Job, who is called a perfect (blameless) man by the inspired writer (Job 1:1; 2:3), or the Man on the middle cross, who in His agony cried out, My God, my God, why … ? (Mark 15:34) The Scriptures record for the encouragement of all subsequent generations the fluctuations of Jeremiah's emotions and the range of his thoughts and feelings under extreme pressure. Although he may not be admired for having these thoughts, he is to be respected, and imitated in not succumbing to the temptation to doubt God. That he maintained his integrity in the face of stupendous odds, the rest of the book gives ample evidence.