Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
7 O Lord, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 For I hear many whispering.
Terror is on every side!
“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
say all my close friends,
watching for my fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
they will not overcome me.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
who sees the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
13 Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
making him very glad.
16 Let that man be like the cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
let him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
17 because he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb forever great.
18 Why did I come out from the womb
to see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame? Jeremiah 20 ESV
Jeremiah 20 Jeremiah Persecuted by a Priest
…13And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!” 14“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” 15And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.… Mark 15: 13-15
1-6. Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in stocks - Pashhur is a priest, and apparently the muscle of the temple, or carrying such authority, as did Saul of Tarsus, when he persecuted the Christians. Jeremiah is being beaten because of what he said; they didn't like what he said, it didn't fit with what they were perpetuating. What he said was so horrific to them that it justified public humiliation, beating, and being placed in stock which provides a most unnatural confinement. When a man is whipped or beaten in stocks, he is already uncomfortable, but the body will naturally rise and respond to each lash. The muscles will contract, and the stocks will provide no easement.
“The stocks (MT mahpeket, from a root ‘to distort’) were a form of scaffold in which prisoners were detained in a crooked or confined position which produced cramped muscles.” (Harrison)
iii. “The Hebrew word is formed from the verb to twist, implying that this ‘twist-frame’ clamped the victim in a position that would become increasingly distressing.” (Kidner)
The Lord does not call your name Pashhur - His given name meant any of these things: freedom, peacefulness, ease or tranquility, but God was reversing that, the very thing these false teachers were promising. His new name would be "Terror on every side." His name would represent what was actually going to happen, the invasion of Babylon, destruction and captivity, the result of Judah's sin and unrepentance.
To whom you have prophesied falsely - Jeremiah's message did not change with the beating, destruction is coming, and Pashhur will be a bystander, it will not be lost on him. Those that believed his lies will go with him, and being a priest will not help him.
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.… James 3: 1-2
…19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?… Romans 2: 19-21
7-12. O lord, You have deceived me - Jeremiah did not see all these things in advance, and even what we see we have not yet felt or experienced, but he did not sign up for this. He didn't go looking for God, had no desire to be the prophet of gloom or head of the ministry that fell upon deaf souls and angry ears. He notes that God had prevailed, because, like Jonah, God was stronger than the aversion. So much for free will.
I have become a laughing stock - The priests did not respect him, nor the other leaders, and this emboldened a people who already didn't like his message.
I shout, "violence and destruction" - He was warning of what God said was to come, but the people are looking around and saying, I don't see it, where is this destruction? They had prosperity, money still came in the gates, wine flowed from the vineyards, but Babylon had not yet come for them, and the false prophets said that wasn't going to happen anyway.
A reproach and derision all day long - Repeating what God said was not the glorious job of the prosperity teachers. Their message was well received, but Jeremiah is beaten and mocked for the message of God.
…4For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily. 5 I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.… 2 Corinthians 11: 4-6
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “ For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.… Romans 8: 35-37
There is in my heart as it were a burning fire - He would swear off the mention of God or speaking in His name, yet there is this burning within him, this call that will not be ignored. Logically, from purely human reasoning, what has it profited him to be the mouth piece of God? Why persist in something that only gets a negative response?
I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot - Try as he might, there is no escaping it, like Jonah fleeing on the ship, running away from his call to Nineveh, it is useless. He is compelled, their is no other choice.
“This is the burden of the Word of Jehovah. Perhaps only those who have experienced it can understand it. To publish that word at times brings suffering; but to refrain brings far more terrible suffering. Paul understood this when he said, ‘Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.’“ (Morgan)
I hear many whispering, "terror is on every side" - It is a way to mock him, they have taken his own words to make a joke of it, he is chicken little, and to them the sky is not truly falling, nor is that possible. "Precept upon precept", they probably make the yawning face, and respect him as Isaiah's listeners did.
63The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him. 64They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?” 65And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.… Luke 22: 63-65
Let us denounce him - This is the response of his "close friends"; they wanted to alienate themselves from him quickly.
…33Peter said to Him, “Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will.” 34“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “ this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.… Matthew 26: 33-35
Perhaps he will be deceived - They hoped they could catch him in some unlawful act, that compromise would reveal the manner of person he was, so they didn't have to listen to him. So far he has led an uncompromised life, which will be an even greater reproach to those hypocrites who would hold him to a standard they do not hold themselves. Is he greedy? Well, if so, his message won't help that, it's not nearly as marketable. They are the ones preaching peace and prosperity. Is he an immoral man? If so, they would have brought such charges right away, and or looked for ways to test him in this. The Pharisees will do the same to Jesus later, only there is nothing in Christ for them to latch on to. Jeremiah is being often tempted to quit by way of mockery, now beating, and he will be accused of more. We are told to look at fruit when it comes to people's professions of faith and also especially when they claim to be called as ministers of God. This is a call not just to speak but also to live a godly life. Sadly, the men that hated Jeremiah did not look at their own motives, for there they would have seen that they were wrong.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7: 15-20
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time.… 1 John 4: 1-3
10For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, 11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. 12As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”… Titus 1: 10-12
They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,[f] while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery,[g] insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves[h] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2: 13-19
But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior - God will keep Jeremiah from stumbling, from going the way of Balaam, from saying what God has not said, from the life style that is unfitting of His prophet. These other prophets are playing with strange fire, and they will find the end of it. They will be shamed for their words will not hold and God will judge the sins they flagrantly commit and encourage others to do also.
To You I have committed my cause - This is the only way to do the Lord's work, let the offense pass to Him, because Jeremiah will otherwise go mad worrying about the injustices brought to him by unjust creatures. Trust that God who gave Him the message knew the response, and He is working all things together for the good.
13-18. Sing to the Lord - In everything give thanks for this is the will of God.
Cursed be the day on which I was born - From the mountain top back down into the valley, a song of praise to bitter lament.
“The whole poem in its final setting comes strangely from the lips of one who had taken his divine call so seriously. Rarely has the question ‘Why was I ever born?’ been asked so tellingly. To his cry of distress and poignant question Yahweh gave no answer. But what answer could he give?” (Thompson)
ii. “These verses do belong together. They may not belong together by logic, but who says the life of the soul is always logical? Jeremiah’s curses follow his praises because that is the way it was during his dark night of the soul.” (Ryken)
To see toil and sorrow - For this it seems the prophet was born, as Christ was born always in the shadow of the cross. Jeremiah's ministry lasted some 40 years, hated by his own people, family, and carrying the cross of indignity most the way.
…36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” 38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.… John 18: 36-38
