Jeremiah (1-31) 17:15 Commentary and Bible Study

Here in verse 15 Jeremiah has this complaint: ‘Behold, they say unto me,’ – the princes, the leaders of the people, the false prophets and a great many others in Jerusalem; they constantly attack him and their scornful words are – ‘Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.’ In other words, ‘You are not a true prophet. You are of no significance. You constantly speak these words of warning: the destruction of Judah, the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming of the Chaldeans, and it still doesn't happen.’ They were convinced that God would not allow it to happen, because they considered themselves to be God's special people, irrespective of how they behaved at that time. But judgment is coming, and punishment is coming, and the prophet has warmed them day and night. But now it is just a taunt after taunt: ‘Where is the word of the LORD?’ Tell us something that actually is going to come to pass.’ And they say these words in our King James Version: ‘Let it come now’, which is really not an exact translation, but it's language which means, as you might hear it said today, ‘Bring it on!’ Show us; let it happen and quickly; come on; call it down.’ It's a cynical taunt that they hurl at Jeremiah.So then he turns to the Lord, and he prays to him. Verse 16: ‘As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor’ – I have not run away from the task, because of all the abuse and the scorn; I have held on; ‘I have not hastened [run] from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day.’ It would appear that those that offered these taunts were some that said that Jeremiah just wanted this to happen. He kept talking about a catastrophe and about an invasion, because he was a very negative individual who hated everybody, and that is what he wanted; that is what he longed for; that was the general view of Jeremiah. ‘Neither have I desired the woeful day’, and he hadn't. He had given the warning, but he didn't want it to happen. ‘Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee’, and the Hebrew says ‘before your face’. In other words, ‘I have said everything that was given to me to say, and I have done it, and I said these things as one watched by my God, and doing it all in his sight, before his face. So the prayer continues, but it is one of confidence. Verse 17: ‘Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil’, and he prays to God that he will not be terrorised, that God will not allow it, and God is his hope. He believes in the justice of God, in the power of God, in the faithfulness of God to his servants. He may allow these things to happen for so long, but ultimately he will show his hand, and Jeremiah will be vindicated or delivered. So he is able to say, ‘Thou art my hope [my anticipation] in the day of evil’, the day of harm, the day of persecution.Verse 18 throws yet more light on what they meted out to Jeremiah. ‘Let them be confounded [ashamed]’ – that is what they tried to do to him: to abase him, to make him ashamed – ‘Let them be confounded [or ashamed] that persecute.’ And the Hebrew word translated ‘persecute’ is literally ‘pursue’ or ‘hunt’ or ‘chase’ That is what it felt like from Jeremiah's point of view: he was one who was hunted down by the constant hostility. ‘Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded’, ashamed, let down, embarrassed, but a thousand times worse. ‘Let them be dismayed,’ – ‘terrified’ is the word – ‘but let not me be dismayed.’ They terrified him. They sought to alarm him constantly. ‘Bring upon them the day of evil.’ That is precisely what they were trying to bring upon Jeremiah. They were evildoers; they opposed the word of God, and he called upon God ultimately to bring them unto judgment. ‘Destroy them with double destruction’, which may mean something like this: that the people are going to be taken into captivity; they are all going to be judged, but let there be even further trouble for the people who led them, and attacked the prophets.