Monday: Jeremiah in the Stocks
The job of the prophets has always been to convey God’s message, not to count how many people accept or reject it. Generally, the number of those who accept what the prophets preach at the time they are preaching it is low.
Image © Gilbert and Arlisle Beers from GoodSalt.com
For example, though we don’t know how many were alive at the time of Noah, we can reasonably assume that the majority was not very receptive, given the small number that got in the ark. All through sacred history, this seems to be the pattern.
Read Jeremiah 20:1-6. What kind of reception did his message get?
To gain a better understanding of what was going on here, it’s best to read just what the words were that Jeremiah had prophesied, the words that got him in trouble with such a high official. In Jeremiah 19:1-15, we have some of that prophecy: God will bring evil upon this place
(Jer. 19:3), He will cause the people to fall by the sword and their bodies to be eaten by birds and animals (Jer. 19:7), and He will cause the Judeans to cannibalize each other (Jer. 19:9).
Though no one would have been too happy to be the focus of such a prophecy, as a leader, Pashur was especially offended. As with most people, his initial reaction was to reject the message; after all, who would want to believe something that horrible? More than that, using his position, Pashur made the mistake of punishing the messenger. He had Jeremiah beaten according to the law (Deut. 25:1-3) and locked him up in stocks. Though Pashur released him the next day, this painful and humiliating experience didn’t stop Jeremiah from continuing to give his prophecy, this time not just against Judea but specifically against Pashur and his own family. Before long, the fate of Pashur and his family would be a horrifying example to all who would see them in the chains of captivity. This is also the first place in the book of Jeremiah in which Babylon is mentioned as the place of exile. (The chapters, and even sections of the chapters, are not in chronological order.)
Imagine hearing something like that prophesied against you. What do you think your initial reaction would be, as opposed to what it should be? (What should it be, anyway?) (See Acts 2:37.)
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It is not for mankind to determine the extent of punishment which the Creator may inflict on any, for none is more righteous than Jehovah, and all who have sinned deserve death anyway (Romans 6:23). Still some of the judgments which may seem extreme (Jeremiah 19:7) are actually better appreciated when the grievous nature of the sins are considered (Luke 12:47).
The people who were well schooled in proper worship and knew better than all other nations the Creator’s standards sunk to unimaginable levels of depravity. Among the abominations was the sacrifice of innocent children in the valley of the son of Hinnom (valley of slaughter, also called Gehenna), passing the little ones through fire to honor strange gods (Jeremiah 19:4; Jeremiah 7:31-33).
Today people may underestimate their capacity for sin, thinking they would not do certain things like the people of Judah did, but there is no telling how far humans may go given circumstances, power and opportunity when they refuse to follow the counsel of God, even the simple ones (Genesis 6:5).
Modern forms of evil may mask the corrupt nature of sin and deceive transgressors into thinking they are not that bad (Revelation 3:13-18). However as the Spirit withdraws influence and the winds of strife are released by the four angels more is to be seen (Revelation 7:1-3)
If all the evils of mankind were revealed, including the intent of the heart the regrettable seven last plagues would not seem so severe after all (Revelation 16:1-21). This is one reason in the end all of both righteous and unrighteous will confess the just nature of the Creator (Romans 14:11-12).
I would like to give an insight to the questions raised in the lessons;
1). Jeremiah's message was of judgment. How is our message different from Jeremiah's?
Judgment in its language and purpose is always rejected for it is deemed and categorized as negatives just like the Decalogue full of negatives for the sole reason that if one does not heed the message destruction, captivity and demise will be their lot. However, it is just the inkling attempt of Yahweh and the Son to deliver His wayward, sinful and hopeless people. Thus primarily Judgment is about deliverance rather than punishment of God to unrepentant sinners. Secondarily it refer to woes and the result of not relenting to the message. Thus it is no different from the 3 Angels message full of negatives just like Jeremiah's Judgment message but it is primarily for Deliverance. So I don't see any difference in the two for they warn for the coming destruction for the people of God, Jeremiah to the people of Judah, while ours is on a larger scale for the end of the world.
2). Imagine hearing something like that prophesied against you. What do you think your initial reaction would be, as opposed to what it should be? (What should it be, anyway?)
I would detest it and be offended and insulted. Anyhow, I should consider it with soul searching, prayer and fasting with humility of spirit since it is from God and should remove pride and ego from myself and only God could do that.I am no better than the Israel of the OT.
The people deceived themselves, they had convinced themselves that they were still following Jehovah even though they were not obeying Him.
Jer 19:3-4 And say, Hear the Word of Jehovah, O kings of Judah, and people of Jerusalem. So says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil on this place, which shall cause the ears of him who hears it to tingle. (4) Because they have forsaken Me, and have made this place famous and have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents.
When people don't seem to accept the message they will hate the messenger. Jeremiah is now talking to God saying, "God, you know, here I've been prophesying and they threw me in jail. Speaking in Your name I got put in the stocks. Lord, what's going on here? And is that any way to treat Your servants and those who are prophesying in Your name?" And so he's really upset.
Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.
Lord, I'm through. Here's my resignation. I'm finished. Thrown in jail and put in the stocks and all, because I'm speaking Your Word. Going to treat me like that, I'm through, Lord. I've had it. Not going to speak again in Your name. That's all. Treat me like that.(Jer 20:7-9).
As Christian's let this be a lesson to us that we may learn to know that being a faithful servant of the Lord does not mean that our life has no speed bumps. In fact we have opposition but let us be strong when we approach the speed bumps of life putting on the ‘sword and helmet’ which is Jesus Christ.
On the christian jorney there will always be trials and struggles just always remember who you stand for and who will stand for you.
I suspect that the illustration of the man laying flat in the stocks is not quite the way it was. The Hebrew word rendered "stocks" is based on the idea of distorting, or twisting. (And so I doubt that the person was in a 'nice' flat position.) I've read some explaining that it may in fact have been a small dungeon or cage in which the person was necessarily contorted for lack of space.
We should always do our work as per our mission on earth no matter the Circumstances 'to preach the gospel' not every one is to understand and believe it. It is by the grace of God that people believe in God's Word.
A Thought on Jeremiah and Pashur. (Jer 20)
Pashur, the "chief governor in the house of the Lord" (20:1), was a very senior man in the church. This man also claimed the prophetic office, and "prophesied lies" to the people. (20:6.) The tenor of his prophetic message was, "You shall NOT see the sword, neither shall you have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place." (14:13.) Pashur was certainly a leader among the false prophets, and he took the lead in having Jeremiah beaten and put into the stocks (20:2) as an act of public degradation.
The "stocks" were very public. They were situated near one of the main entrances to the Temple courtyard (20:2), and anyone placed in the apparatus was regarded as being under the curse of God.
The very fact that Pashur had power to beat, and to publicly shame Jeremiah, appeared to be evidence that God was with Pashur, and that Jeremiah was without the Divine support or sanction. The event was much more than a personal rivalry. In the eyes of Pashur (and in the eyes of a great many people,) he was like a victorious Elijah on Mt. Carmel.
Pashur Is Re-named.
Soon after the public degrading of the true prophet, Pashur is given another name. Jeremiah says to him, "The Lord has not called your name Pashur, but Magor-missabib [literally, 'Fear is on every side']. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself, and to all your friends : and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall behold it..." (20:3-4).
He would be made "a terror" to himself. What does this mean? The following comment offers, I suggest, a correct explanation of the terrible pronouncement:
When Pashur "saw the dreadful slaughter of his countrymen, Jehoiakim put to death, his young son dragged into captivity, and the land stripped of all that was best, his conscience so condemned him as the guilty cause of such great misery that in the agonies of remorse he became a terror to himself and his friends." (Barnes Comments.)
Because he worked to reassure the people that the country would NOT fall to Babylon... Because he spoke with an assumed Divine authority, guaranteeing that the sword and famine would NOT come, it came to pass that when the Babylonian forces DID arrive, and overwhelmed them, his conscience condemned him as the guilty cause of the great misery in Jerusalem and Judah. Jeremiah's warnings might have been accepted, and the destruction might have been averted, (just as it had been in the time of Jonah), but Pashur had taken a leading role in resisting, and fighting against, the Lord's hand.
In fear and in shame Pashur lived out the remaining years of his life. Many of his countrymen would be killed in Babylon, but how would it be for him? He would simply "die" there (20:4,6) -- not a victim of the Babylonian sword, but a victim of a tormented conscience. For the remainder of his life, his name was truly "Fear is on every side". He became a terror to himself and to his friends.
The question that begs to be asked is why bad things happen to good people?
We certainly don't have the answers to all of life's questions. I am glad that we serve a merciful God. God will not always intervene to deliver us everytime we get into difficulty, but he certainly knows how to save us. Let's continue to trust him. We was the human-ness of Jeremiah, sometimes as christians we feel that way too. Let us get back on track like Jeremiah and continue to cry against sin.