T E A R I N G A P R O P H E T A P A R T
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
3/8/2016
It was going to get ugly, and it wouldn’t be nice. There would be agony and anguish greater than he ever knew. It was entirely uncalled-for, and he couldn’t stop it. The prophet of the Most High would be torn apart before the sight of everyone, and there was nothing to be done about it. The young Jeremiah would experience deceit and being overpowered, and yet, the perpetrator behind this suffering was not the pagan hordes of invading Babylon, nor his own idol-enamored countrymen, but the very Deity who called him to be a voice of prophetic power and might. That’s right; Jeremiah would experience a true calling and a subsequent dismantling of his hopes by none other than the Holy One of Israel Himself.
It goes against what we are commonly taught about the nature of the Most High, and His dealings with His covenant people. It doesn’t immediately make sense to our minds, but it is right there in the Word for us to witness with shaking heads and sorrow in our hearts. Furthermore, it is starkly revealed to us in a passage that is oft-quoted by a preacher or evangelist in anecdotal fashion: “The Word of the Most High was like a fire shut up in my bones!” It sounds beautifully poetic at first glance, doesn’t it? The Word of the Holy One is indeed a powerful fuel in the life of the believer, moving us forward and allowing us to see in the darkness of a sin-bound world. However, the context of the statement made by Jeremiah and quoted in part above is actually seated in a revelation that threatens to tear apart the spiritual perspective of the prophet concerning the One who called him to be heaven’s mouthpiece to Israel. The verse quoted can be found in Jeremiah 20:7-9, which provides us with a bit more context for why it is promoted here that the exclamation is one of trepidation and an unraveling of his former viewpoints of the Most High.
“You have seduced me, YHWH, and I was seduced. And you have raped me, and prevailed. I am for a laughingstock every day; all mock me. For since I spoke, I exclaimed, ‘Violence and destruction!’ I cried out, for the Word of YHWH was to me for a contempt, and for a derision every day. And I said, ‘I shall not recall Him, and no more speak in His name!’ And it was in my heart as consuming fire, retained in my bones, and I was exhausted [from] containing [it], and I could not prevail.”
The passage shared here is a direct translation I have made from the Hebrew text of the book of Jeremiah. The rendering may come as somewhat of a surprise to the reader, if they are not particularly familiar with the passage at hand. The ideas of “seduced” and “raped” are incredibly troubling language to promote as being in the prophet’s mouth as descriptions of what the Holy One has done to him. Other English translations have opted for such wordings as “deceived,” and “stronger than I,” (KJV); “enticed,” and “laid hold of me,” (Darby); “deceived / persuaded,” and “overpowered me,” (NIV). The fact of the matter is that the Hebrew terms used here are decidedly negative in connotation.
The first is the word PATHAH, which the Torah uses to describe the seduction of a virgin (see Exodus 22:16), and the turning of a person’s heart to follow after other deities than the Most High (see Deuteronomy 11:16). In the concept of enticing or seducing a person, it is also sometimes used in the sense of “deceive,” as the person is being coerced or persuaded in order to bring them to a point they would not normally arrive at without an outside prompting. Most translators have chosen this particular concept over the overtly-inappropriate nature of the word’s actual concept.
The second term is used in reference to the sexual overpowering of a woman by a man (see Deuteronomy 22:25), and similarly in reference to the sexual overpowering of a man by a woman (see Deuteronomy 25:11). The etymological concept of the Latin RAPERE, being the origin of the word “rape,” actually means “to take by force,” and in that way, was eventually adopted when discussing being sexually overpowered. Understanding this allows us to see that the Hebrew term of KHAZAQ, when used in proper context, can take on the exact idea of the English “rape.” In this case, most translators have again opted for a less-offensive choice of rendering, given the Divine identity to whom it is ascribed, but the shocking reality of what the prophet is saying about the Most High in context cannot be denied.
Therefore, the words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah that are so strongly negative in nature can rightly be rendered into English just as my above translation displays: he was coming apart at the seams, and his words reflect the feelings he was experiencing towards the Most High at this grim turn of events. He felt seduced concerning the nature of his prophetic call, and then violated when things did not go as he had been told they would. The passage goes on to speak of him being mocked and derided by those who should have instead given heed to his calls to repentance. Jeremiah’s words about holding in and not speaking what He knew must be said take on a whole new tone when understood in proper context. The “fire in the bones” is thus not in any way a pleasant feeling or an experience any believer should seek to have in their walk of faith. Rather, his exclamations are of the futility of his attempts at resisting the will of the Holy One, and the overpowering of the Spirit who had called Him to be His voice to the nation.
The “fire” in his bones was not something he enjoyed, but was a reality he could not ignore. Every believer has a purpose that is specifically ordered by the Most High, and when we attempt to ignore that purpose, things don’t go so well for us. In fact, in Jeremiah 5:14, the Holy One specifically stated that His Words would be in the prophet as fire, and that they would be directed towards the people to consume them. By refusing to do what he was called to do, Jeremiah then felt the full force of what he should have been giving to the sinful people. Jeremiah’s words about the fire in his bones are his declaration that even though he did not like or approve of what the Holy One was doing to him at that time, he had no choice but to acquiesce to the Master of his soul: the Word would go forth exactly as was planned, and he would be a key factor in its dissemination, whether he liked it, or not.
Once it is clear that the context of the passage does indeed read so troubling and unpleasant, the question must be asked: why did Jeremiah say these things? How could he make such an accusation against the One whom He worshiped? Was there any basis to his meltdown, or was this an overreaction on his part? The answer is that he was not being dramatic, which may come as a surprise for all of the poetic prowess he is recorded to have exhibited in both this book of his namesake and that of Lamentations. No, his gripe against the Most High is actually very unfortunately valid. The reason for these harsh words of the prophet in the midst of his dismantling can be found only by going back to the beginning of the book of Jeremiah, and carefully noting some of the events that culminate with this painful exclamation. When the details are noted, a complete answer to the question can be presented, and it is one that will likely grip us all with a newfound appreciation for why this horrible event had to happen to one who only wanted to be used by the Holy One.
The call of the young Jeremiah has some important details in it that should be brought to light to properly see how he ended up in such a desperate place in his prophetic mission. Specifically, Jeremiah 1:5, 8-10 holds the initial information relevant to this study:
The call of the young Jeremiah has some important details in it that should be brought to light to properly see how he ended up in such a desperate place in his prophetic mission. Specifically, Jeremiah 1:5, 8-10 holds the initial information relevant to this study:
“Prior to Me forming you in the belly, I knew you, and prior to you coming forth from the womb I sanctified you; a prophet to the nations I placed you … Fear not their faces, for I am with you to save you,” says YHWH. And then YHWH sent forth His hand, and touched my mouth, and YHWH said unto me, “See, I have placed My Words in your mouth. Look, I have ordained you this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to pluck, and to break, and to destroy, and to pull down; to build and to plant.”
The ordination of Jeremiah was one of blatant authority and power. His call to the people with the divine decree of coming destruction and repentance to the Most High was laced with the promise of him standing firm and undefeated against the raging of those who would not listen. The Holy One clarified that he would be protected as he spoke heaven’s judgment against the idolatrous people, as recorded in Jeremiah 1:17-19.
"And you, do gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all which I have commanded you. Do not be broken from their faces, lest I break you before their faces. And I, see, I have placed you today for a city fortified, and for a pillar of iron, and for walls of bronze over all the land; to kings of Y’hudah and to princes there; to priests there, and to people of the land. And they shall battle against you, and not prevail against you, for you I am with," says YHWH, "to save you."
This promise of the Most High to Jeremiah concerning his prophetic ministry to the people of Israel is repeated again in the intervening passages leading up to his disturbing proclamation against the actions of the Holy One. In Jeremiah 6:27, the Holy One again speaks of Jeremiah being an impenetrable witness against the people.
[As] a watchtower have I placed you with My people; a fortress! And you shall know and examine their way.
This verse shows that his purpose would be to stand tall and withstand the evils of the people, and to examine the nature of their ways. In fact, the Hebrew presents a beautiful wordplay between the terms BAKHON “watchtower” and BAKHAN “examine” in that they arise from the same root of “search.” As a watchtower, Jeremiah could properly examine their ways and call them to repentance, and as a fortress, he need not worry of their retributions. However, the mission of Jeremiah is one that begins to fall apart. The people are not repenting, and the destruction decreed upon them is looming, on the horizon, not yet annulled with a repentance they refuse to engage in. The Babylonian army is on the brink of playing the hand of judge that has been dealt to them by the Most High, for the people of Israel are not listening to the prophet’s voice.
The problem of their obstinate hearts becomes so bad that the Holy One finally must speak in Jeremiah 7:16 and 11:14 a harsh decree to the prophet that he refuses to accept at first – not to pray for his countrymen!
“And you – pray not on behalf of this people, and neither lift up on behalf [of them] a wail and a prayer, and neither do intercede with Me, for I will not hear you … And you – pray not on behalf of this people, and neither lift up on their behalf a wail and a prayer, for I will hear at the time they cry unto Me at the time of their evil.”
The decree uttered here by the mouth of Most High is quite arguably one of the darkest moments in all of Scripture. The Creator of man is commanding His prophet not to intercede for His covenant people. Their obstinate hearts are hardened to the point of no hope, it seems. The second decree is almost identical to the first, with a small caveat at the end that makes the statement even harsher: The Holy One does not desire prayer for His people by the prophet, because He expects to finally hear their cry to Him even at the time of the consequences to their evil ways – and yet still, there will be no hope for relenting from the judgment to come. Most translations insert the non-existent term “not” in the latter part of 11:14, but the fact that it is absent makes the declaration made there even more ominous. This is a terrifying look at the heart of the Holy One when He has moved from mercy to unflinching judgment. It should strike fear into the hearts of His people to know that He is capable of such resolute wrath against those who are consistently opposed to His ways, so that our hearts may ever be soft enough to never again drive Him to this unmerciful point.
The purpose of the prophet was to speak the words of heaven, to intervene with the hope that the righteous message would be heeded, and some would be saved from the coming destruction brought about by Babylon. It would go against the entire mission of the prophet to not be listened to in the very calling to which he was ordained. Yet, that is exactly what Jeremiah was experiencing – the Father was no longer listening, and the reason for this horrific turn of events is actually because the people were no longer listening, either, as Jeremiah 7:27 makes clear.
“And you shall speak to them all these words, and they shall not hear you; and you shall cry to them, and they shall not answer you.”
Despite the blatant declaration to him, Jeremiah continues to prophesy and hope for repentance for the people, while seeing firsthand the destruction that is falling hard all around him. The agony of the experience begins to break him, and he gives voice to the evil around him. This placement of being the voice of heaven to the people did not exempt his own family from reacting just as the rest of the people. When the Most High said that the people would not listen, surely Jeremiah did not think for a moment those without ears to hear would be his own family. In a stunning and heartbreaking admission, we find in Jeremiah 10:19-20 that his purpose of an unheeded witness to an unrepentant people came as close to him as his own children and home!
Woe to me, concerning my breaking! My wound is sickened, but I said, ‘Surely this is my disease, and I bear it. My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are torn! My sons have gone forth, and are not! There is no more to stretch my tent, and to raise my curtains!’
This statement is brutal in regards to how his family has received the message. Not only did his countrymen reject the message of repentance, but so too did his very own sons. He laments the fact that his home is desolate. The import of this statement may also mean that his wife left him with his sons. While this is only conjecture (perhaps she had died prior to this), we know he had no wife at a later point, for he is commanded by heaven not to take a wife or to have sons (see Jeremiah 16:1-4), for their future would only be disease and death. What is known is that he had lost his sons in their opposition to his ministry. This degree of rejection was never hinted at in the initial words of his calling by the Most High. We can see his turmoil and anguish building, and how he must feel like this is unfair.
The prophet’s troubles were only increasing, and his hope and mercy for the people were waxing thin. The persecution he was receiving was wearing away his compassion for the spiritual future of his wayward countrymen. Jeremiah 11:19 and 12:3 display his faltering feeling to them.
The prophet’s troubles were only increasing, and his hope and mercy for the people were waxing thin. The persecution he was receiving was wearing away his compassion for the spiritual future of his wayward countrymen. Jeremiah 11:19 and 12:3 display his faltering feeling to them.
And I was as a lamb [or] ox brought to a slaughter, and did not know that against me they had reckoned reckonings: “Destroy the tree with its bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, and his name shall no more be remembered!” …. But You, YHWH, know me. You have seen me, and have examined my heart toward You. Pull them as sheep to a slaughter, and sanctify them for the day of killing!
These unexpected troubles for Jeremiah began to take their toll on his view of those to whom he was directing the message of coming judgment and hopeful repentance. His heart was darkened by the reaction of his own family, and the persistent refusal of the people of Israel to hear his words was wearing away his compassion. The end of the above passage shows the turning point of the prophet’s feelings from hope for their salvation to that of hopeless judgment, a fact that Jeremiah 17:15-18 records unfortunately begin to grow as his situation turned worse.
See, they are saying to me, “Where is the Word of YHWH? Do let it come now!” And I, I did not go forth from being a shepherd after You, and the fatal day I did not desire. You know what came forth from my lips was straight before Your face. Do not be to me for a breaking – You are a shelter for me in the evil day! Those persecuting me shall be ashamed, and I shall not be ashamed! They shall be broken, and I shall not be broken. Bring upon them the evil day, and from a double destruction destroy them!”
The words of Jeremiah are startling.
His breaking is in full swing. It is a difficult thing to read at first his words here reminding the Holy One how he did not wish evil to come upon the people of Israel, and how that had changed to the point of blatantly asking for evil to come upon them, and for a double destruction to fall over them. Think about the drastic shift he himself admits and acknowledges. The prophet’s change of heart is painful to watch. The eroding of his mercy continues until he does not wish only for judgment upon them, but in Jeremiah 18:19-23, he desires utter and merciless punishment – reaching even unto the children of his persecutors, with no remission of their sins.
His breaking is in full swing. It is a difficult thing to read at first his words here reminding the Holy One how he did not wish evil to come upon the people of Israel, and how that had changed to the point of blatantly asking for evil to come upon them, and for a double destruction to fall over them. Think about the drastic shift he himself admits and acknowledges. The prophet’s change of heart is painful to watch. The eroding of his mercy continues until he does not wish only for judgment upon them, but in Jeremiah 18:19-23, he desires utter and merciless punishment – reaching even unto the children of his persecutors, with no remission of their sins.
Do attend unto me, YHWH, and hear the voice of my contenders! Shall there be recompensed evil instead of good, for they have dug a pit for my soul! Recall I stood before Your face to speak unto them good, and to turn Your wrath from them. Therefore, give their sons to famine, and pour [them] out over the hand of the sword! And let their wives be childless, and widows! And let their men be killed dead; their young men sword-stricken in battle! Let be heard a cry from their homes, as You bring upon them a troop surprisingly, for they have dug a pit to catch me, and traps they have hidden for my feet. And You, YHWH, You know all their counsel against me, to slay me. Do not atone concerning their iniquity, or their sins from before Your face, but let them stagger before Your face; at the time of Your anger do [it] to them!
If it seems like the prophet has stepped over a line, it can rightly be argued that he has. His mission was not to call for the people’s devastation and condemnation, but to warn of the impending judgment with the hope that someone would listen and obtain compassion from the Most High. It was not his ministry to seek their damnation by the wrath of the Holy One. Up to this point, Jeremiah had been pained at what he saw and what was happening to him, but he had retained a degree of mercy for his fellow Israelites. With these shocking words added to those similarly difficult ones of chapter 17, we see that Jeremiah has succumbed entirely to anger and hopelessness, no longer possessing any expectation for the people to repent. In his darkened vision of their future, unrelenting judgment is what awaits them.
It is this final straw that falls which brings about a judgment upon the prophet that ends up eliciting the equally shocking words we first dealt with in Jeremiah 20. The prophet has gone too far. His mission did not include an authority to ask for the remorseless destruction of his own nation. Jeremiah was barred from praying to the Holy One for mercy for the people, which should have been the type of prayer they needed, thus, how much more so would a prayer for their outright damnation be inappropriate? His words and feelings had to be addressed, and we find that he is told to perform an action by the Most High that ends up getting him imprisoned by his own people in Jeremiah 20:1-2.
And Pashekhur, son of Immeyr the priest, and who was principle governor in the House of YHWH, heard YirmeYahu the prophet speaking these, and Pashekhur struck YirmeYahu the prophet, and placed him upon the stocks which were at the high gate of Binyamin, which was by the House of YHWH.
The prophet found himself suddenly imprisoned by doing exactly what he was ordered to do by decree of heaven. He was beaten and placed in the twisting pain of stocks for all his fellow Israelites to see. While he had warned them of bondage and consequence for their careless deeds and evil words against the King in heaven, he was the one who was treated to imprisonment for his pointed deeds and righteous words for the King of Heaven!
The soothing, comforting words promised to him by the Most High seem to have fallen away – he was not the impenetrable tower and fortress he had been told he would be. The wickedness of the unrepentant heart of the people had overflowed onto him, and he felt the persecution like he never imagined he would. These developments brought him to the brink of his faith, and culminated in his agonizing accusation against the Holy One that began this study from Jeremiah 20:7-9.
The soothing, comforting words promised to him by the Most High seem to have fallen away – he was not the impenetrable tower and fortress he had been told he would be. The wickedness of the unrepentant heart of the people had overflowed onto him, and he felt the persecution like he never imagined he would. These developments brought him to the brink of his faith, and culminated in his agonizing accusation against the Holy One that began this study from Jeremiah 20:7-9.
“You have seduced me, YHWH, and I was seduced. And you have raped me, and prevailed. I am for a laughingstock every day; all mock me. For since I spoke, I exclaimed, ‘Violence and destruction!’ I cried out, for the Word of YHWH was to me for a contempt, and for a derision every day. And I said, ‘I shall not recall Him, and no more speak in His name!’ And it was in my heart as consuming fire, retained in my bones, and I was exhausted [from] containing [it], and I could not prevail.”
Jeremiah had been torn apart. His trust in the Holy One of Israel had brought him to a place where he could no longer keep silent. The betrayal he felt towards His heavenly King cannot be more blatant. The torment he felt over what had transpired delivered him to this moment of sheer and undiminished crisis: the Most High had done this to him on purpose. It was no accident that all of this had transpired, and he set the blame solely on the Holy One for not informing him of the horrors he would experience as the prophet of Judah’s judgment.
It is hard to read his words. Jeremiah was not crazy, and neither was he overly-dramatic. His words may well elicit a gasp from believers today who read them, but they are honest words of a believer to his Deity. The scandal of his exclamation to heaven is thus not to be underplayed. Most importantly, it should be noted that he is not reprimanded as falsely accusing the Holy One. He is never corrected in the book for these words he utters. The One who called him to the ministry of the prophet did not call him out for these very un-prophet-like allegations.
Why was he not corrected? For what reason did the Holy One refrain from telling the prophet his charges were in error? How could the Most High overlook the severity of such accusation? The answer to these questions is one that helps us to see the situation in a much different light than we would typically view it. It will enable us to appreciate the context for what transpired and hopefully have a better understanding of our Creator.
It is hard to read his words. Jeremiah was not crazy, and neither was he overly-dramatic. His words may well elicit a gasp from believers today who read them, but they are honest words of a believer to his Deity. The scandal of his exclamation to heaven is thus not to be underplayed. Most importantly, it should be noted that he is not reprimanded as falsely accusing the Holy One. He is never corrected in the book for these words he utters. The One who called him to the ministry of the prophet did not call him out for these very un-prophet-like allegations.
Why was he not corrected? For what reason did the Holy One refrain from telling the prophet his charges were in error? How could the Most High overlook the severity of such accusation? The answer to these questions is one that helps us to see the situation in a much different light than we would typically view it. It will enable us to appreciate the context for what transpired and hopefully have a better understanding of our Creator.
The answer is found when looking at the matter from the perspective of the Holy One. The judgment of Judah was not a pretty thing. The northern Kingdom of Israel had previously felt the wrath of the Most High for their idolatry, and they were subsequently taken into an unrelenting captivity by Assyria for their crimes. Now, the southern Kingdom of Judah was receiving similar sentence for their spiritual unfaithfulness. The Creator’s heartbreak is revealed painfully in Jeremiah 2:5, 20-21.
Thus says YHWH: “What depravity have your fathers found in Me, that they have moved away from Me, and have walked after vanity, and are vain? … For from old you broke your yoke, and tore your bands, and you said, ‘I shall not serve,’ when upon every high hill, and under every green tree you bent over, a whore! And I had planted you a choice vine, a true seed! And how you turned for Me into a degenerate strange vine!”
The inheritance of the Holy One is Israel, and yet His people had forced His hand to honor His Word and mete out a punishment for their unfaithful actions. The people He had cultivated from the Chaldees so long before, starting with Abraham, and who had been led out of Egypt with astounding wonders and shows of His faithfulness; those who had seen the promise of inheriting the land of Canaan come to pass, were now being judged with a severity they had never known: a pagan king with pagan gods was being brought upon them, and they would be taken into exile to serve those idolatrous souls in a foreign land. The heart-wrenching reality of it all is that it was orchestrated by His own hand in the ancient words of His very covenant Law.
Therefore, let us look at the situation from the eyes of the Most High. It was going to get ugly, and it wouldn’t be nice. There would be agony and anguish greater than He ever knew. It was entirely uncalled-for, and He couldn’t stop it. The Most High would be torn apart, and there was nothing He could do about it – except to bring a witness to His heart-rending situation: the young Jeremiah would experience deceit and being overpowered, he would experience a people whose hearts were set against him and his words of repentance. That’s right; Jeremiah would know a true calling and a subsequent dismantling of his hopes by none other than the Holy One of Israel Himself. The Most High had to let a human witness know the torment of His soul, the sheer agony of a people turned away from Him. There was no way He could prompt the prophet’s mind for the experience he was going to have as heaven’s mouthpiece. For the Holy One to be able to share the pain He was feeling with the prophet He loved and cared for, Jeremiah could not know beforehand the severity of what was to happen, but had to feel the deceit in truth in his heart, and that meant not being told the severity of the horrors he was going to experience. It was tearing apart the heart of the Most High to send His beloved people into an exile with the deadly judgments that would fuel their journey, and so the prophet would not be immune to the terrifying realities being felt by the Holy One. The agony of exile and judgment was full-force for the Most High, and so would also be felt by the prophet who spoke the heart of the King. He so desired healing for His people, but knew they would not return before judgment would fall. Passages such as Jeremiah 3:1, 12, 20 make this unfortunate reality very clear.
Therefore, let us look at the situation from the eyes of the Most High. It was going to get ugly, and it wouldn’t be nice. There would be agony and anguish greater than He ever knew. It was entirely uncalled-for, and He couldn’t stop it. The Most High would be torn apart, and there was nothing He could do about it – except to bring a witness to His heart-rending situation: the young Jeremiah would experience deceit and being overpowered, he would experience a people whose hearts were set against him and his words of repentance. That’s right; Jeremiah would know a true calling and a subsequent dismantling of his hopes by none other than the Holy One of Israel Himself. The Most High had to let a human witness know the torment of His soul, the sheer agony of a people turned away from Him. There was no way He could prompt the prophet’s mind for the experience he was going to have as heaven’s mouthpiece. For the Holy One to be able to share the pain He was feeling with the prophet He loved and cared for, Jeremiah could not know beforehand the severity of what was to happen, but had to feel the deceit in truth in his heart, and that meant not being told the severity of the horrors he was going to experience. It was tearing apart the heart of the Most High to send His beloved people into an exile with the deadly judgments that would fuel their journey, and so the prophet would not be immune to the terrifying realities being felt by the Holy One. The agony of exile and judgment was full-force for the Most High, and so would also be felt by the prophet who spoke the heart of the King. He so desired healing for His people, but knew they would not return before judgment would fall. Passages such as Jeremiah 3:1, 12, 20 make this unfortunate reality very clear.
For it is said, “If a man sends forth his wife, and she walks from him, and becomes for another man, shall he return unto her again? Shall not her land be certainly polluted? And you have whored with many lovers, yet return unto Me?” says YHWH … Do go and cry out these words to the north, and say, “Return, backsliding Yisra’El!” says YHWH, “I will not let My face fall on you, for I am merciful,” says YHWH. “I do not keep [angry] forever.” … “Surely as a wife deceives from her lover, so you have deceived Me, House of Yisra’El!” says YHWH.
The unrelenting horror of their sin had to be answered. The Most High could not allow His own people to live before Him in absolute apostasy. His pain would be paralleled in the heart of the prophet. Jeremiah would feel the intimate betrayal from the One he trusted and cared about most, just as the Holy One had known it from those for whom He had done so many wonders. Judgment had to fall, and it would come from the One who loved them the most. Jeremiah 8:12 shows us that He knew they had no shame at all for their crimes against Him, despite all He had done to prove His love.
“Were they ashamed for the abomination they performed? They were not even ashamed, and neither did they know to blush. Therefore, they shall fall with the fallen; at the time of their punishment they shall stagger,” says YHWH.
The sorrow and anguish He felt in all of this overflowed to the prophet: the deception of the people towards the Most High was experienced by Jeremiah when the Holy One kept the truth of the matter from him. He felt the full force of all the deceit and treachery that Yah was feeling from Israel, and it was breaking him. The Creator spoke of Israel symbolically as a bride and as His sons, and Jeremiah’s experience with sharing the heart of the Father with the people also brought about the loss of his sons for certain, and very likely, so too, his wife. The pitiable prophet knew well the horror the Holy One was going through. As the sins of the people of Israel tore apart the heart of the Most High, Jeremiah’s own heart was also rent by the deception he perceived in his disastrous ministry. If the prophet was wounded by his experience of knowing the heart of the Most High, how much more were the wounds of the Holy One over the judgment of the people?
It may be a difficult thing to accept, but the grief of the Mighty One of Israel was grafted upon the prophet Jeremiah. The Most High suffered more than we can understand, but He allowed the prophet a glimpse of the pain and deceit that had been doled out to Him, so that in the end, the Holy One did not suffer alone the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah. Jeremiah was His vessel for honor, and although he was tossed and torn by the experience of sharing in the sorrow of the Most High, his faith would weather the storm of judgment, and he would go on to faithfully utter the heartbreaking words of heaven to a people who were in desperate need of repentance. As painful and terrible were the words he spoke in his distress, Jeremiah was able to partake in the Holy One’s hurt over all that the people had done against Him. He promises us that He will not leave us, but that His faithfulness is true. He is with us in the difficult times as well as the good. That is covenant. The prophet Jeremiah was given the opportunity to be with the Most High in that most difficult time, to mourn and wail with the Holy One over the sins of His people. If it tore him apart, it was worth the intimacy of knowing the heart of the Father at His darkest time.
It may be a difficult thing to accept, but the grief of the Mighty One of Israel was grafted upon the prophet Jeremiah. The Most High suffered more than we can understand, but He allowed the prophet a glimpse of the pain and deceit that had been doled out to Him, so that in the end, the Holy One did not suffer alone the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah. Jeremiah was His vessel for honor, and although he was tossed and torn by the experience of sharing in the sorrow of the Most High, his faith would weather the storm of judgment, and he would go on to faithfully utter the heartbreaking words of heaven to a people who were in desperate need of repentance. As painful and terrible were the words he spoke in his distress, Jeremiah was able to partake in the Holy One’s hurt over all that the people had done against Him. He promises us that He will not leave us, but that His faithfulness is true. He is with us in the difficult times as well as the good. That is covenant. The prophet Jeremiah was given the opportunity to be with the Most High in that most difficult time, to mourn and wail with the Holy One over the sins of His people. If it tore him apart, it was worth the intimacy of knowing the heart of the Father at His darkest time.
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.