Jeremiah’s latest prophecy – which involved taking an earthen jar that represented Judah and smashing it to smithereens in the Valley of Hinnom – well… it didn’t sit well with the High Priest.
The high priest is a man called Pashhur. According to Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon his name means…
Jeremiah smashing the pot and prophesying death and destruction (again) was the last straw. Pashhur had him arrested, beaten, and held overnight in the stocks.
So the Lord gave Pashhur a name-change.
“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.”
Jeremiah 20:3 ESV
In Hebrew it is Magor-missabib. Two words:
He went from being freedom and prosperity on every side, to terror on every side. Remember these two words.
Passhur and Jeremiah were engaged in a battle of prophecies. Jeremiah is saying that a bunch of ‘em are gonna die, the city will be destroyed and anyone not dead will be dragged off in chains. Pashhur is also prophesying:
“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.”
Jeremiah 20:6 ESV
Perhaps Pashhur was one of the voices saying “Peace! Peace” when there is no peace, (Jer. 6:14, 8:11).
As Jeremiah tends his wounds from the beating, he talks to the LORD. I’m sure he’s not thrilled to be the prophet of doom and gloom. He has tried keeping his mouth shut.
“When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!”
Jeremiah 20:8-9 NLT
And then there’s this twist in verse 10 on the name God gave to Pashhur. Only it seems that people are applying it to Jeremiah.
“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.””
Jeremiah 20:10 ESV
It doesn’t seem like the people are saying “terror on every side” because they believe it. It’s more like they are mocking Jeremiah.
👳🏽♂️ There he goes, “Mr. Terror 360.”
👱🏼♂️ ooo… Look at me! I am so afraid!
👳🏽♂️ Yeah, God is gonna wipe us all out. Pretty sure I’m dying already.
👴🏽 Get some therapy, Loser!
😐 I dunno. Maybe Jeremiah could’ve used some therapy. He kinda swung from “Praise the Lord” to “I wish I had never been born.”
🤓 Yeah. Sounds a little unstable to me. If he was alive today I bet he’d be on Prozac. Or Ashwagandha.
Just goes to show you that God can still use us even if our feelings are all over the place.
They mocked Jeremiah… until Nebuchadnezzar and his army showed up. Then suddenly, the leaders of Judah want Jeremiah to pray for them.
“Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”
Jeremiah 21:2 NLT
😲 Are you serious?! Can you believe these people?! For like a hundred years or whatever the prophets have been telling them to repent or this would happen. And they didn’t believe it. Now they want another chance?
Some people are like this. I’ve seen children like this too. You tell them to stop and they don’t. You tell them to stop or a paddling will happen. They don’t believe you and they continue. It takes bringing out the paddle and walking toward them before they realize you were serious. Only, by that point, it’s too late to decide to obey. The paddling is coming.
Hmm. You know what?
😐 What?
I think I just realized why I never needed to be paddled as a child.
😐 Why’s that?
I believed my parents. It never occurred to me to test them to see if they were serious about the rules.
😐 Huh… That is so weird.
Not really. I saw my older siblings get paddled and I knew, “Yup. They mean business.”
So… Jeremiah prays. And he gets the kind of answer to prayer you never want to hear.
God basically says, “No. Not only am I NOT going to rescue you, I’m going to tear you completely apart. You can surrender to the Babylonians and live as slaves, or stay in the city and die. Take your pick.”
It’s actually a MUCH longer answer than that. It starts in 21:4 and continues through the end of chapter 23. And it’s not good news for anybody.
To The Reader 