Jeremiah 20:7-9
Chapter 20
7
Jeremiah’s Confessions: End
O Lord, you have deceived me, and I allowed myself to be deceived. You have taken me by force and overcome me. I am a laughingstock all day long; people mock me,8
because every time I speak, I have to shout: “Violence! Devastation!” The Lord’s word has brought me insult and ridicule all day long.
9
So I decided to forget about him and stop speaking in his name. But his word in my heart becomes like a fire, burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I just can’t do it.
Commentaries
Jeremiah’s Confessions: End.
Jeremiah feels betrayed by God, who had enticed him with beautiful promises. Now he finds himself abandoned before a hostile crowd, enduring mockery and scorn. In this distress, the prophet recognizes that the Word of the Lord is deeply engraved on his heart and must be proclaimed (8-9), and that his God, even in his failure, is with him (11), as he had promised (1:8). The prophet is a man of God’s Word. His faithfulness to it brings rejection and suffering. It is from this place of deep pain that his song of victory and praise emerges (11-13).