Jeremiah More Woes for the Prophet

Lesson #5 for October 31, 2015

Scriptures: [Jeremiah 18:1-10,18-23; 20; 23:14-15; Acts 2:37; Job 3][i].

1.    In this lesson we will discuss some of the problems that Jeremiah experienced from the opposition and persecution that he received from his fellow Jews.

2 Timothy 3:12-13, GNB: Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted; 13 and evil persons and imposters will keep on going from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.

2.    Have you ever suffered because of your Christian beliefs? If we are not being persecuted, is that an indication that we are not really Christians and/or not witnessing for the Lord as we should be? Because of the opposition he faced, Jeremiah became so discouraged that he wanted to die. He even went to the extent of wishing he had died in his mother’s womb.

3.    Should we expect to suffer persecution since we are in the middle of the great controversy? Should that be a part of the great controversy? If we understand the issues in the great controversy, does it make it easier for us to stand firm? Jeremiah lived more than 2500 years ago. How well can we understand the context in which he lived and worked? Is it a waste of time to try to understand what was happening to him?

4.    Read Jeremiah 23:14-15; 5:26-31ii. God was willing to come to this earth and die to save all who would respond to His love. But, in these verses we read about prophets who were practicing adultery, lying, and were evil; and we also read about priests who were following those prophets commands. Evildoers were lying in wait, stealing, cheating orphans, even oppressing the poor; and no one objected. How would you describe the society in which you live today? Isn’t a prophet supposed to be a spokesperson for God? Aren’t the priests supposed to have the job of teaching others the truth about God? How could things have deteriorated so badly? In Jeremiah’s day, false prophets claiming to be speaking for the Lord tried to contradict the messages that Jeremiah received from the Lord. (Jeremiah 28:1-4iii)

5.    Why do you suppose all those evils developed in Judah? Didn’t they have clear instructions from God on how to avoid all of those problems? What is incredible is that despite all this evil and despite the fact that they almost universally had turned against God, He continued to send messages that He was willing to forgive them, heal them, and even restore them to a right relationship with Himself. But, when people continue to refuse God’s generous offers, what can God do? In order to respect their freedom, God must let them go.

6.    As we know, the prophet’s job is to give God’s messages and not just to do the popular thing. Jeremiah was certainly not one whose guiding light was to be “politically correct”!

7.    Consider the story of Noah and of other groups down through biblical history. Even in Revelation 12:17iv, God’s final faithful people are called a remnant. Does that suggest that the faithful people of God are always in the minority?

8.    Read Jeremiah 20:1-6[v]. Why would a priest in charge of the temple want to have Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks? Look at the warnings that God gave them through Jeremiah in the previous chapter.

Jeremiah 19:4-9: I am going to do this because the people have abandoned me and defiled this place by offering sacrifices here to other gods—gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah have known anything about. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people, 5and they have built altars for Baal in order to burn their children in the fire as sacrifices. . . 9The enemy will surround the city and try to kill its people. The siege will be so terrible that the people inside the city will eat one another and even their own children.—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed., Jeremiah 19:4-9). New York: American Bible Society. [Italic type is added.]

9.    Pashhur, the priest who persecuted Jeremiah, did not like what Jeremiah had to say. So, he set about punishing God’s messenger. We can assume that he tried to follow God’s direction by having Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks as if he were guilty. (See Deuteronomy 25:1-3vi.) After being released from the stocks, Jeremiah announced a God-given message against Pashhur and his family as recorded in Jeremiah 20:3-6vii. How do you think you would have responded after receiving such a message? How should we respond when we receive a message of discipline from the Lord? See Acts 2:37viii. Look at how people responded following Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. The people asked, “What should we do?”

10.    Despite the fact that Pashhur was so unfair to Jeremiah and then had that very serious prophecy directed at him, we need to read Nehemiah 7:41ix. Apparently, a large number of Pashhur’s descendants were still faithful to God and came back to help rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.

11.    We need to make note of something that makes the book of Jeremiah more difficult to understand. It is not chronological. Why do you suppose that happened? Was this arrangement intentional? Or, accidental? What happened to Jeremiah’s first copy of his messages from God? (See Jeremiah 36:23[x].) The book of Jeremiah was burned and destroyed (Jeremiah 36:20-26xi) and then rewritten as Jeremiah remembered parts of it. (Jeremiah 36:32xii)

If the book of Jeremiah were organized chronologically and compared with the reigns of the kings of Judah, it would look something like this:

Manasseh (696/695-642 B.C.): Jeremiah born about 645 B.C.

Amon (642-640 B.C.): Jeremiah still a child.

Josiah (640-609 B.C.): Jeremiah 1-6; 14-16.

Jehoahaz (609 B.C.): Reigned only three months.

Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.): Jeremiah 17; 7-11; 26; 35; 22:1-19; 25; 18-20; 36:1-4; 45; 36:5-32; 12.

Jehoiachin (598-597 B.C.): Jeremiah 22:20-30; 13; 23.

Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.): Jeremiah 24; 29-31; 46-51; 27; 28; 21; 34; 32; 33; 37-39.

After the fall of Jerusalem: Jeremiah 40-44; 52.

Jeremiah Died: Sometime around 580 B.C. (Adapted from SDA Bible Dictionary)

12.    Adding to the problem [of the lack of chronologic order of the book of Jeremiah] is the fact that the Septuagint [LXX] leaves out one-eighth of the book and places the prophecies against the nations (Jer. 46-51) after Jer. 25:13. No one has been able to give an adequate solution to the problems of chronology. (Believer’s Study Bible) [Content in brackets and bold type are added.]

13.    Nevertheless, we must remember that these words were not the words of Jeremiah as a human being but rather they were the words of God given to His human agent, Jeremiah.

14.    But, how do you explain the words in Jeremiah 20:7-14xiii? Do you think those words were given to him by God? Or, was Jeremiah crying out as almost any human being would have from the way he was being treated? His life had become a nightmare. He was ready to curse the day he was born. Are those words truthful? Do they sound even blasphemous?

15.    So, why didn’t Jeremiah just keep quiet? Read Jeremiah 20:9xiv. What was Jeremiah trying to tell us? What does it mean to say that God’s word is like a fire burning in one’s bones? Compare Amos 3:8xv and 1 Corinthians 9:16xvi. Have you ever felt like you were in the middle of the great controversy? Are we like Job? Or, Jeremiah?

16.    It is important to note that even harsh critics of the Bible have to concede one important point: The Bible does not gloss over the human foibles of its most famous characters. There are almost no biblical heroes whose faults are not exposed in the Bible. Does God allow us to cry out in pain and distress when we are troubled? God certainly recognizes that we are all sin-damaged creatures. Consider the following words from Ellen White.

I have no merit or goodness whereby I may claim salvation, but I present before God the all-atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is my only plea. The name of Jesus gives me access to the Father. His ear, His heart, is open to my faintest pleading, and He supplies my deepest necessities.—Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p.106.0; FLB 102.3; OFC 289.4; RC 75.4; Signs of the Times, July 4, 1892, par. 3.

17.    Read Jeremiah 20:14-18xvii. Why do you think God allowed Jeremiah’s cries of pain to be included in Scripture? Why would someone want to have died before he was born? Was Jeremiah expressing his depression?

18.    At times, we may understand some of the issues in the great controversy. We may intellectually know how God wants us to respond to our circumstances. But, He is very sympathetic to our humanity if we do not always do what we know we should.

19.    Do you think the day is coming when all God’s people will have Jeremiah-like and Job-like experiences?

Jeremiah 18:1-12: The LORD said to me, 2“Go down to the potter’s house, where I will give you my message.” 3So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else. 5 Then the LORD said to me, 6“Haven’t I the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter’s hands. 7If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would. 11Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives—to change their ways and the things they are doing. 12They will answer, ‘No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.’”—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed., Jeremiah 18:1-12). New York: American Bible Society.

20.    What very important principle of Bible interpretation can we gain from these verses? Clearly, God was suggesting to Jeremiah that His prophecies are at least sometimes conditional. If and when people change their ways, God changes the way He deals with them. We learned in an earlier lesson that when Josiah turned back to God and tried to correct the evils of his father and grandfather, God was pleased with him and assured him that he would not see the evils coming upon the people of Judah. God is always willing to forgive the sins of those who turn back to Him. What about Jonah’s message to Nineveh?

21.    Was the prophecy discussed above in Items #9 and #10 against Pashhur and his descendants a conditional prophecy?

22.    How can we know when a prophecy is conditional or not? Is the second coming of Christ conditional?

23.    Read Jeremiah 18:18-23xviii. Once again, Jeremiah was crying out. Why do you think the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s day objected so strongly to his messages? How good are we at deceiving ourselves? Why do people believe what they want to believe instead of believing the truth supported by the evidence? Are we ever guilty of doing that?

24.    There is much evidence in Scripture suggesting that false prophets and false messiahs will come, especially at the end of time. (Matthew 24:3-4,11,23-24; Deuteronomy 13:1-3; Revelation 13:3-4,7-8)xix In light of such warnings, how can we know for sure which messages come from the Lord and which messages are not from the Lord?

25.    Read Jeremiah 18:11-17xx. How do you understand verses 11 and 12?

The Lord then tells what He will do because of their disobedience. This is one of many places in the Bible that show that God’s foreknowledge of our free choices in no way infringes upon those free choices. After all, why would the Lord have pleaded with them to turn from their evil if they didn’t have the freedom to obey or disobey Him? Then, too, why would He punish them for not obeying if they didn’t have the freedom to obey? What’s clear is that the Lord knew exactly what their free choices would be even before they made them. This crucial truth is also seen, for instance, in Deuteronomy 31:16-21xxi.

Even before the children of Israel enter the Promised Land, the Lord tells Moses that He knows they will “turn to other gods and worship them” (Deut. 31:20, NIV). Here is more evidence that God’s foreknowledge of our choices does not impinge on the freedom we have to make those choices. (Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Friday, October 30.)

Deuteronomy 31:16-18: The LORD said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. 17When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. 18And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshiped other gods.”—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation (2nd ed., Deuteronomy 31:16-18). New York: American Bible Society.

26.    Have you ever felt like there was a fire burning in your bones? Have you ever felt compelled to speak out on God’s behalf?

27.    How can we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, form within ourselves a foundation based on Scripture that is so solid that we cannot be deceived? (Matthew 24:24-25xxii) In light of the great controversy, could you explain to a fellow Christian who is going through a time of terrible suffering why such things happen? Or, do you think that we are simply chess figures being moved around on a board, either by God or Satan?

28.    The Christian church has a long history of being persecuted. In A.D. 197, Tertullian wrote a message he called the Apologeticum. In that message he said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Do you think that might be true? If so, why? Those who remain faithful during a time of persecution do so because they have a serious conviction.

29.    Read Jeremiah 20:7-9xxiii. Would it ever be correct to say that God has deceived us? How do you explain this complaint from Jeremiah against God? Have you ever felt like it was impossible to keep quiet?

30.    On April 18, 1521, Martin Luther was standing trial before Emperor Charles V at the Imperial Diet of Worms in what today is Germany. He was being commanded to recant his writings. While we do not know for sure that he said at the time of his trial those famous words: “Here I stand. I can do no other,” we do know that he said this near the end of his speech:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.—Heiko A. Oberman, Luther: Man Between God and the Devil (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989), p. 39.

31.    Is this not a statement of someone who has a fire burning in his bones?

32.    How would you compare the troubles Jeremiah was going through as discussed in this lesson with those of Job? Of course, Jeremiah was told by God that He would be with him but that he would suffer that kind of persecution. Apparently, at the time, Job did not know anything about why those things were happening to him.

33.    So, when trials come upon us, is it all right to cry out against the evil that may be affecting us at that moment? What did Jesus do on the cross? (Matthew 27:46xxiv)

34.    Many of our Christian friends who believe in the supreme sovereignty of God do not accept the idea that something that we might do here on planet earth could affect God in any way. According to their theology, He is so far above us that nothing we can do could affect Him in any way. Does your understanding of the books of Job and Jeremiah agree with that idea? What about Luke 15:7,10xxv?

35.    Can you name any other prophet who seemed to feel like he was at the end of his rope? What about Elijah at Mount Horeb? (See 1 Kings 18 and 19.)

36.    Read Jeremiah 18:1-23xxvi. What is your understanding of this passage? Are we no more than clay in God’s hands? Or, when we mess things up, does God do everything possible to try to help us get back to the right shape or on the right track? (See Romans 8:28xxvii, GNB.)

37.    We know that there are a number of prophecies in the Old Testament that were never fulfilled in the way God wanted to fulfill them. Consider for example Ezekiel 40-48 regarding the “Future Temple.” Is that a good example of the idea of a conditional prophecy?

38.    Do you find that true Christianity is a popular idea among those who live around you? Or, has Christianity become despised? Is there anything we can do individually to help our neighbors and friends have a more positive attitude toward God? Toward our church? And even toward us?

i-Jeremiah 18:1-10 Jeremiah at the Potter's House

18 The LORD said to me, 2 “Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.” 3 So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4 Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else.

5 Then the LORD said to me, 6 “Don't I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. 7 If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8 but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9 On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would.

18-23; A Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then the people said, “Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him and stop listening to what he says.”

19 So I prayed, “LORD, hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21 But now, LORD, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22 Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23 But, LORD, you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry.”

20;

20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger.

23:14-15; (GNT)

14 But I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem do even worse:

they commit adultery and tell lies;

they help people to do wrong,

so that no one stops doing what is evil.

To me they are all as bad

as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

15 “So then, this is what I, the LORD Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem:

I will give them bitter plants to eat

and poison to drink,

because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land.”

Acts 2:37;

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

Job 3Job's Complaint to God

3 Finally Job broke the silence and cursed the day on which he had been born.

Job

2-3 O God, put a curse on the day I was born;

put a curse on the night when I was conceived!

4 Turn that day into darkness, God.

Never again remember that day;

never again let light shine on it.

5 Make it a day of gloom and thick darkness;

cover it with clouds, and blot out the sun.

6 Blot that night out of the year,

and never let it be counted again;

7     make it a barren, joyless night.

8 Tell the sorcerers to curse that day,

those who know how to control Leviathan.[a]

9 Keep the morning star from shining;

give that night no hope of dawn.

10 Curse that night for letting me be born,

for exposing me to trouble and grief.

11 I wish I had died in my mother's womb

or died the moment I was born.

12 Why did my mother hold me on her knees?

Why did she feed me at her breast?

13 If I had died then, I would be at rest now,

14     sleeping like the kings and rulers

who rebuilt ancient palaces.

15 Then I would be sleeping like princes

who filled their houses with gold and silver,

16     or sleeping like a stillborn child.

17 In the grave wicked people stop their evil,

and tired workers find rest at last.

18 Even prisoners enjoy peace,

free from shouts and harsh commands.

19 Everyone is there, the famous and the unknown,

and slaves at last are free.

20 Why let people go on living in misery?

Why give light to those in grief

21 They wait for death, but it never comes;

they prefer a grave to any treasure.

22 They are not happy till they are dead and buried;

23     God keeps their future hidden

and hems them in on every side.

24 Instead of eating, I mourn,

and I can never stop groaning.

25 Everything I fear and dread comes true.

26 I have no peace, no rest,

and my troubles never end.

Footnotes:

1. Job 3:8 Some take this to be the crocodile, others a legendary monster. Magicians were thought to be able to make him cause eclipses of the sun.

ii-Jeremiah 23:14-15; (GNT)

14 But I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem do even worse:

they commit adultery and tell lies;

they help people to do wrong,

so that no one stops doing what is evil.

To me they are all as bad

as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

15 “So then, this is what I, the LORD Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem:

I will give them bitter plants to eat

and poison to drink,

because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land.”

5:26-31

26 “Evildoers live among my people; they lie in wait like those who lay nets to catch birds,[a] but they have set their traps to catch people. 27 Just as a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich, 28 why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.

29 “But I, the LORD, will punish them for these things; I will take revenge on this nation. 30 A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31 prophets speak nothing but lies; priests rule as the prophets command, and my people offer no objections. But what will they do when it all comes to an end?”

iii-Jeremiah 28:1-4Jeremiah and the Prophet Hananiah

28 That same year,[a] in the fifth month of the fourth year that Zedekiah was king, Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple. In the presence of the priests and of the people he told me 2 that the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, had said: “I have broken the power of the king of Babylonia. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia. 4 I will also bring back the king of Judah, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, along with all of the people of Judah who went into exile in Babylonia. Yes, I will break the power of the king of Babylonia. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

iv-Revelation 12:17

17 The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.

v-Jeremiah 20:1-6Jeremiah's Conflict with Pashhur the Priest

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was the chief officer of the Temple, heard me proclaim these things, 2 he had me beaten and placed in chains near the upper Benjamin Gate in the Temple. 3 The next morning, after Pashhur had released me from the chains, I said to him, “The LORD did not name you Pashhur. The name he has given you is ‘Terror Everywhere.’ 4 The LORD himself has said, ‘I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to your friends, and you will see them all killed by the swords of their enemies. I am going to put all the people of Judah under the power of the king of Babylonia; he will take some away as prisoners to his country and put others to death. 5 I will also let their enemies plunder all the wealth of this city and seize all its possessions and property, even the treasures of the kings of Judah, and carry everything off to Babylonia. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your family will also be captured and taken off to Babylonia. There you will die and be buried, along with all your friends to whom you have told so many lies.’”

vi-Deuteronomy 25:1-3

25 “Suppose two Israelites go to court to settle a dispute, and one is declared innocent and the other guilty. 2 If the guilty one is sentenced to be beaten, the judge is to make him lie face downward and have him whipped. The number of lashes will depend on the crime he has committed. 3 He may be given as many as forty lashes, but no more; more than that would humiliate him publicly.

vii-Jeremiah 20:3-6

3 The next morning, after Pashhur had released me from the chains, I said to him, “The LORD did not name you Pashhur. The name he has given you is ‘Terror Everywhere.’ 4 The LORD himself has said, ‘I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to your friends, and you will see them all killed by the swords of their enemies. I am going to put all the people of Judah under the power of the king of Babylonia; he will take some away as prisoners to his country and put others to death. 5 I will also let their enemies plunder all the wealth of this city and seize all its possessions and property, even the treasures of the kings of Judah, and carry everything off to Babylonia. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your family will also be captured and taken off to Babylonia. There you will die and be buried, along with all your friends to whom you have told so many lies.’”

viii-Acts 2:37

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

ix-Nehemiah 7:41(GNT)

39-42 This is the list of the priestly clans that returned from exile:

- Jedaiah (descendants of Jeshua) - 973

- Immer - 1,052

- Pashhur - 1,247

- Harim - 1,017

x-Jeremiah 36:23

23 As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up.

xi-Jeremiah 36:20-26The King Burns the Scroll

20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the court secretary, and went to the king's court, where they reported everything to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He took it from the room of Elishama and read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him. 22 It was winter and the king was sitting in his winter palace in front of the fire. 23 As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up. 24 But neither the king nor any of his officials who heard all this was afraid or showed any sign of sorrow. 25 Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he paid no attention to them. 26 Then he ordered Prince Jerahmeel, together with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest me and my secretary Baruch. But the LORD had hidden us.

xii-Jeremiah 36:32

32 Then I took another scroll and gave it to my secretary Baruch, and he wrote down everything that I dictated. He wrote everything that had been on the first scroll and similar messages that I dictated to him.

xiii-Jeremiah 20:7-14Jeremiah Complains to the LORD

7 LORD, you have deceived me,

and I was deceived.

You are stronger than I am,

and you have overpowered me.

Everyone makes fun of me;

they laugh at me all day long.

8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out

and shout, “Violence! Destruction!”

LORD, I am ridiculed and scorned all the time

because I proclaim your message.

9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD

and no longer speak in his name,”

then your message is like a fire

burning deep within me.

I try my best to hold it in,

but can no longer keep it back.

10 I hear everybody whispering,

“Terror is everywhere!

So let's report him to the authorities!”

Even my close friends wait for my downfall.

“Perhaps he can be tricked,” they say;

“then we can catch him and get revenge.”

11 But you, LORD, are on my side, strong and mighty,

and those who persecute me will fail.

They will be disgraced forever,

because they cannot succeed.

Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

12 But, Almighty LORD, you test people justly;

you know what is in their hearts and minds.

So let me see you take revenge on my enemies,

for I have placed my cause in your hands.

13 Sing to the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

He rescues the oppressed from the power of evil people.

14 Curse the day I was born!

Forget the day my mother gave me birth!

xiv-Jeremiah 20:9(GNT)

9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD

and no longer speak in his name,”

then your message is like a fire

burning deep within me.

I try my best to hold it in,

but can no longer keep it back.

xv-Amos 3:8

8 When a lion roars, who can keep from being afraid?

When the Sovereign LORD speaks, who can keep from proclaiming his message?

xvi-1 Corinthians 9:16

16 I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!

xvii-Jeremiah 20:14-18(GNT)

14 Curse the day I was born!

Forget the day my mother gave me birth!

15 Curse the one who made my father glad

by bringing him the news,

“It's a boy! You have a son!”

16 May he be like those cities

that the LORD destroyed without mercy.

May he hear cries of pain in the morning

and the battle alarm at noon,

17     for not killing me before I was born.

Then my mother's womb would have been my grave.

18 Why was I born?

Was it only to have trouble and sorrow,

to end my life in disgrace?

xviii-Jeremiah 18:18-23A Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then the people said, “Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him and stop listening to what he says.”

19 So I prayed, “LORD, hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21 But now, LORD, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22 Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23 But, LORD, you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry.”

xix-Matthew 24:3-4,Troubles and Persecutions

3 As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”

4 Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you.

11,

11 Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people.

23-24;

23 “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3;

13 “Prophets or interpreters of dreams may promise a miracle or a wonder, 2 in order to lead you to worship and serve gods that you have not worshiped before. Even if what they promise comes true, 3 do not pay any attention to them. The LORD your God is using them to test you, to see if you love the LORD with all your heart.

Revelation 13:3-4,

3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?”

7-8

7 It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race. 8 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

xx-Jeremiah 18:11-17(GNT)

11 Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives—to change their ways and the things they are doing. 12 They will answer, ‘No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.’”

The People Reject the LORD

13 The LORD says,

“Ask every nation if such a thing

has ever happened before.

The people of Israel have done a terrible thing!

14 Are Lebanon's rocky heights ever without snow?

Do its cool mountain streams ever run dry?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me;

they burn incense to idols.

They have stumbled in the way they should go;

they no longer follow the old ways;

they walk on unmarked paths.

16 They have made this land a thing of horror,

to be despised forever.

All who pass by will be shocked at what they see;

they will shake their heads in amazement.

17 I will scatter my people before their enemies,

like dust blown by the east wind.

I will turn my back on them;

I will not help them when the disaster comes.”

xxi-Deuteronomy 31:16-21

16 The LORD said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. 17 When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. 18 And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshiped other gods.

19 “Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them. 20 I will take them into this rich and fertile land, as I promised their ancestors. There they will have all the food they want, and they will live comfortably. But they will turn away and worship other gods. They will reject me and break my covenant, 21 and many terrible disasters will come on them. But this song will still be sung, and it will stand as evidence against them. Even now, before I take them into the land that I promised to give them, I know what they are thinking.”

xxii-Matthew 24:24-25

24 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. 25 Listen! I have told you this ahead of time.

xxiii-Jeremiah 20:7-9Jeremiah Complains to the LORD

7 LORD, you have deceived me,

and I was deceived.

You are stronger than I am,

and you have overpowered me.

Everyone makes fun of me;

they laugh at me all day long.

8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out

and shout, “Violence! Destruction!”

LORD, I am ridiculed and scorned all the time

because I proclaim your message.

9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD

and no longer speak in his name,”

then your message is like a fire

burning deep within me.

I try my best to hold it in,

but can no longer keep it back.

xxiv-Matthew 27:46

46 At about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”

note: Incorrect translation: Jesus is NOT calling to GOD, Eli should be translated Elohim which means my family members {all intelligent beings in heaven and earth} why have you abandoned me, not listened and learned from my teaching. ed.JB

xxv-Luke 15:7,

7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

10

10 In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

xxvi-Jeremiah 18:1-23Jeremiah at the Potter's House

18 The LORD said to me, 2 “Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.” 3 So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4 Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else.

5 Then the LORD said to me, 6 “Don't I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. 7 If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8 but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9 On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would. 11 Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives—to change their ways and the things they are doing. 12 They will answer, ‘No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.’”

The People Reject the LORD

13 The LORD says,

“Ask every nation if such a thing

has ever happened before.

The people of Israel have done a terrible thing!

14 Are Lebanon's rocky heights ever without snow?

Do its cool mountain streams ever run dry?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me;

they burn incense to idols.

They have stumbled in the way they should go;

they no longer follow the old ways;

they walk on unmarked paths.

16 They have made this land a thing of horror,

to be despised forever.

All who pass by will be shocked at what they see;

they will shake their heads in amazement.

17 I will scatter my people before their enemies,

like dust blown by the east wind.

I will turn my back on them;

I will not help them when the disaster comes.”

A Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then the people said, “Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him and stop listening to what he says.”

19 So I prayed, “LORD, hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21 But now, LORD, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22 Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23 But, LORD, you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry.”

xxvii-Romans 8:28

28 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him,[a] those whom he has called according to his purpose.

Footnotes:

1. Romans 8:28 in all things God works for good with those who love him; some manuscripts have all things work for good for those who love God.

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