Jehovah, thou hast enticed me, and I was enticed; thou hast laid hold of me, and hast prevailed; I am become a derision the whole day every one mocketh me.
Here Jeremiah charges God with misleading him, then admits that God was too strong for him. Two questions follow: what does the word translated "deceived" mean, and how did such a man keep preaching?
The outburst has a cause. It follows time in the stocks. Even under that treatment, Jeremiah answered his persecutor with more judgment, not less.
This chapter (Jeremiah 20) draws out the persecution of Pashur, the son of Immer the priest and chief officer in the house of the Lord. He struck Jeremiah and put his feet in the stocks. But the next day the prophet gave his enemy a name from the Lord: Magor-missabib, that is, terror on every side. With it came a still more exact threat of swift judgment on all Judah. It would fall on the strength of the city and on the treasures of the kings, which would go to Babylon.
Commentators differ over how strong the charge is. One writer weighs Jeremiah's love for the city he had to condemn, and holds that the English wording misstates the Hebrew:
He felt it all deeply, and the more so because he knew how much this people and city mattered to the Lord and to the whole world. He loved them, and he knew how the Lord loved them; but he also knew the judgment must come. It is a wrong translation in verse 7 which makes Jeremiah accuse the Lord of deceiving him. It should read, "Lord, You have enticed me," being the same word as in verse 10.
Others keep the older wording. They read it as the cry of a crushed heart, not a settled charge against God. It is what happens to any believer who looks at the hard road and forgets where it ends:
Jeremiah found the Lord's word the joy and rejoicing of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16). Yet afterwards he was so discouraged that he says, "O LORD, You have deceived me, and I was deceived." Of course this is only a strong expression of sorrow… When the saint finds what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing. The Lord wants to purge out whatever would hinder our blessing and keep us from setting our hearts and hopes on the end. He also wants to humble us.
"You are stronger than I" describes defeat by God, not by enemies. Jeremiah wanted to stop speaking and could not. The reason was not courage.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony. He does not have the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mockery followed him without a break. They watched for him to stumble, so he would gladly have been silent. But the word of the Lord was like fire in his bones. We understand all this. We know the deep wickedness of men who are called the people of God. We know how the feeble heart shrinks back before wickedness that has neither heart nor conscience. And we know how at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The mockery was not about the man. It came with the message, and it came every day.
It was "because of the word of the Lord" that he could say it was made "a reproach to me, and a derision daily"; "Everyone mocks me."
One writer quotes the whole outburst, down to Jeremiah cursing the day of his birth. He still refuses to condemn him:
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. No doubt sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his prophetic work drew it out of him. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could acquit ourselves any better under the same pressure.
The chapter does not end here. A few verses later the same man says something entirely different. That pattern held for a lifetime.
He might curse the day of his birth. He might tell the Lord that He had enticed him (Jeremiah 20:7), and that he was mocked all day long. But his faith becomes strong again, and he says, "The Lord is with me" (Jeremiah 20:11)! Tossed and tried, opposed and persecuted, he still laboured on to the end of his long, tiring journey.
- Struck — Pashur beat Jeremiah and put him in the stocks. The prophet answered by naming him "terror on every side."
- Enticed — Some hold the Hebrew means "enticed," not "deceived." Others keep the older wording and call it a strong expression of sorrow, not a verdict on God.
- Overpowered — He wanted silence. But the word was like fire in his bones, and he could not hold it in.
- Mocked — The scorn came because of the word of the Lord, not because of the man.
- Continuing — Four verses later he says, "The Lord is with me." He laboured on to the end. Weigh your own strength before condemning his.
For as oft as I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and spoil; for the word of Jehovah is become unto me a reproach and a derision all the day.
Jeremiah has just been beaten and locked in the stocks by the priest Pashhur. This verse is part of his answer — not to his persecutor, but to God. His complaint is strange. The message God gave him to speak is what turned his life into a joke.
The words he cried were not his own opinion about the nation. They were an announcement of coming ruin, and that announcement was the whole of his public life.
Jeremiah reminds God that it was not his desire to be a prophet, but that Jehovah had "enticed" him and had prevailed. What had he gained from it? Nothing but derision and mockery. "For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, 'Violence and destruction!' For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach." He had said to himself, "I will not make mention of Him." But the Word had been in his heart as a burning fire. He grew weary with holding it in, and he could not.
Earlier Jeremiah had said God's words were the joy of his heart. That did not shield him from what those same words would cost.
The word was joy and rejoicing to the heart of Jeremiah, but it brought suffering and reproach. That is always the way it works! Jeremiah thought he would keep silent. But the word was in his heart, like a fire burning in his bones, so he had to speak.
One writer puts this alongside Israel leaving Egypt with a song and arriving in a desert. The pattern is the same: joy first, then a road nobody expected.
And so it often is with the saints of God. When they have had joy, and have sung the song of triumph in being delivered from the power of Satan, they are afterwards astonished to find themselves not in Canaan but in the wilderness… When the saint finds out what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing.
Commentators differ over the cry that opens verse 7, and it sets the tone for verse 8. Some hold that the familiar wording is wrong.
It is a wrong translation in verse 7 which makes Jeremiah accuse the Lord of deceiving him. It should read, "Lord, You have enticed me," being the same word as in verse 10. The word of the Lord became a reproach to him and a derision daily.
Others keep the harsher word, but hear grief in it rather than accusation. One writer calls it "only a strong expression of sorrow." A third reading treats it as a real inner struggle:
What follows now is a most passionate outburst. It reveals a feeling in the soul too deep for words, perhaps unmatched anywhere else in the prophetic Scriptures… He admits he was deceived, or enticed. He is troubled with doubt. He speaks of his great trials. He is a laughing stock — he is a reproach and a derision all the day.
The ESV keeps "deceived."
Daily mockery produces one temptation above all: stop speaking. Jeremiah felt it, and could not carry it out.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony… He was the subject of constant mockery. They watched for him to stumble, so he would have been glad to keep silent. But the word of Jehovah was like fire in his bones. We understand all this. There is deep wickedness in the men who are called the people of God. The weak heart shrinks back before that wickedness, which has neither heart nor conscience. And at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The same pull reaches anyone whose hearers stop listening. The answer is not a bigger audience.
When his ministry is no longer received, he is tempted to retire. He may fall into silence. He may resolve with Jeremiah not to speak any more in the Lord's name to the people… The servant must learn to draw his strength and courage not from the faces of the people, but from steady, secret communion with the Lord.
It is easy to condemn Jeremiah for speaking like this. One writer asks a fairer question first.
This was the language of the weeping prophet. No doubt sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his ministry drew it out of him. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could do any better under the same pressure.
And the reproach he carried points beyond him to One who carried it perfectly.
He could say it was "because of the word of the Lord" that it became "for me a reproach and derision all day long"; "Everyone mocks me." The Gospel of John shows us in a very special way the precious reality behind this. There we see the Prophet raised up by God, who perfectly fulfills what was foretold and foreshadowed about Himself.
- The word given. God sent Jeremiah to shout ruin over his own people, and he got "nothing but derision and mockery" in return.
- The word tasted. The word was "joy and rejoicing" to his heart, and that same word brought him suffering. Sweetness first, cost after.
- The word disputed. Writers differ on verse 7. Some read "enticed" and deny any charge of deceit. Others keep "deceived" as the cry of a man troubled with doubt.
- The word contained. He resolved to stop speaking and failed, because "the word of Jehovah was like fire in his bones."
- The word fulfilled. Before condemning him, ask whether you would do better. Then look past him to the Prophet who bore the reproach perfectly.
And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not.
Pashhur the priest had just attacked Jeremiah. This verse is Jeremiah's account of what happened inside him afterwards. He decided to stop preaching, and found he could not. The words show a man torn between the pain his message costs him and the pressure of that message in his own heart.
The attack opens a window into the prophet that his public preaching never gave.
Pashur, the son of Immer the priest, was furious, and he attacked the prophet in person... This attack by Pashur opened up his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. He did not steel his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like steel, no doubt, but his heart was very soft. He felt deep agony because of what he had to say against his enemy.
This resolve was not a passing mood. It came at the end of a ministry that had brought him nothing but ridicule.
Jeremiah reminds God that it was not his desire to be a prophet, but that Jehovah had "enticed" him and had prevailed. What had he benefited from it? Nothing but derision and mockery... From every side they were defaming him. His neighbours, the people of Anathoth, watched for him to stumble, so they could take revenge on him.
Commentators differ over the words of verse 7 that lead up to this — some read them as "deceived," others insist the sense is "enticed."
What broke his silence was not new courage. The message itself had more force in him than his fear.
The Lord compelled him, as it were, to bear this testimony. He does not have (and it is the same with the remnant) the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit... Alas! we understand all this. We know the deep iniquity of the men who are called the people of God. We know how the weak heart shrinks back from that iniquity, which has neither heart nor conscience. And we know how at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The same compulsion appears in Elihu, one of the speakers in the book of Job.
So it is clear too that Elihu had a message from God and was not free to hold it back. He would find relief only by speaking.
Such discouragement has a purpose behind it.
Jeremiah found the Lord's word the joy and rejoicing of his heart. Yet afterwards he grew so discouraged that he says, "O Lord, You have deceived me, and I was deceived." Of course this is only a strong expression of sorrow... When the saint finds what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing. The Lord desires to purge out that which would hinder our blessing and keep us from having our hearts and hopes set upon the end, and to humble us.
The same temptation meets anyone serving God today. Paul wrote to Timothy about it.
When people no longer receive his ministry, the servant is tempted to withdraw, to fall silent, or to decide with Jeremiah not to speak any more in the Lord's name to the people. Paul knew Timothy's heart and his tendency, so he guards him against this trap. He urges him to rouse himself, and to stir up by constant use the gift he had received... The greater the confusion and departure from the truth, the greater the need for a real and living ministry. But to keep this ministry going, the servant must learn to draw his strength and courage not from the faces of the people, but from abiding and secret communion with the Lord.
The picture of fire also sorts real calling from short-lived zeal.
When we are truly called, faith may fail. Yes, but we are miserable if we abandon it — as Jeremiah said when he no longer wished to speak: "his word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones." If it is only a fire that crackles in the thorns, it will soon go out. But if you feel that the Lord has entrusted you with His word, and has put it into your heart not only for yourself but for others, then fear nothing. Faith tested is faith strengthened. You have learnt your weakness, but you have also learnt the faithfulness of God, and His tender care even in sending the difficulties.
- Pressure. Pashhur's violence and daily mockery pushed Jeremiah to his lowest point. His mouth was like steel, but his heart was very soft.
- Retreat. He decided to stop speaking in God's name. Paul guarded Timothy against the same trap.
- Fire. The word was too strong in him to be shut up; like Elihu, he could only find relief by speaking.
- Testing. A fire that only crackles in the thorns soon dies. A word entrusted by God outlasts the servant's fear.
- Purpose. Discouragement on the road is not the end of the story — God uses it to humble us and fix our hopes on the joy at the end.