Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends: I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.

The Lord said, “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress.” (Jeremiah 15:10-11)

Poor Jeremiah! He was going through one of his days of despair. It was a day when he felt that the whole world was against him. There is a similar passage in chapter 20: “Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me be not blessed!” (v14). It was probably his birthday and he felt terribly alone. No-one in Jerusalem wanted his company and he could not even go home to Anathoth to be with his own family, because they had actually threatened to kill him if he did not stop speaking against the Temple, where his words were deeply offending the priests.

Jeremiah’s family of country priests were suffering because of his words. They would undoubtedly have been warned by the chief priests to deal with their renegade relative, who was constantly undermining the authority of the Temple priesthood by his preaching.

These priests assured the people that God would never allow an enemy to conquer Jerusalem or violate the Temple; whereas Jeremiah’s message was that God would not protect the city or the Temple unless there was repentance for a whole range of sins that he had identified in his notorious ‘Temple Sermon’ – delivered outside the Temple gates (Jer 7).

Unpopular and Isolated

The little conversation with God in our reading today gives an insight into Jeremiah’s character and his relationship with the Lord. His great strength was most apparent on days when he knew that God was speaking to him, which gave him the boldness to declare a defiant message in the face of fierce opposition. The leaders of the nation, both the Temple priesthood and politicians, hated it. They were enjoying a period of prosperity during the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim and they saw no reason for the repentance that Jeremiah was demanding.

When Jeremiah knew that God was speaking to him, it gave him the boldness to declare a defiant message in the face of fierce opposition.

Jeremiah was also unpopular with the ordinary people because he spoke scathingly about adultery and sexual sins, as well as greed and corruption that abounded in the city. He spoke most fiercely against idolatry and the pagan shrines that could be seen in the streets of Jerusalem as well as in the countryside. So his preaching gained him few friends and he was increasingly isolated.

Scorned and Rejected

But Jeremiah’s worst enemy was his own impatience. Right at the start of his long ministry God had warned him of the danger of a Babylonian invasion and this dominated his thinking for the next 40 years. He was totally convinced of the rightness of the message he had received and of the graphic warnings of death and destruction at the hands of the Babylonians.

Day after day, month after month, year after year, Jeremiah proclaimed the same message of death and destruction. The people grew tired of hearing it. Here he was again, on the same street corner or outside the Temple, giving the same warnings and calling for repentance and trust in God. The political leaders countered with assurances that they had made a treaty with Egypt who would come to their aid if Babylon attacked; and the Temple priests said that the presence of the Temple in Jerusalem guaranteed its safety, so there was no need for worry.

Jeremiah was a lone voice. No-one loved him. He had even been told by God that he was not to marry or have children, “You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place” (Jer 16:2), because they would all die in the forthcoming slaughter. So he was denied the love and companionship of marriage just as he was cut off from his own birth family. Everything in his life was centred around the message he had been given by God.

But when the months and years passed and nothing he had prophesied actually happened, he was scorned and ridiculed. This was the hardest part of Jeremiah’s ministry. He was accused of being a false prophet!

Day after day for 40 years, Jeremiah proclaimed the same message of death and destruction. The people grew tired of hearing it.

Encouraged and Fortified

The popular prophets who were promising a revival of the nation’s fortunes and great days of prosperity were all enjoying the favour of the people. Crowds flocked to hear their message while Jeremiah was shunned. He complained to God: “I sat alone because your hand was on me and you filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?” (Jer 15:17-18). Had God really deceived him by giving him a false message?

God’s response was that he would strengthen Jeremiah, making him like “a fortified wall of bronze” (Jer 15:20), but there was to be no change in the message. He was told that the people would fight against him but they would not be able to overcome him, because God was with him.

Jeremiah Was Right

It was 40 years from the time Jeremiah was shown “the boiling pot tilting away from the North” (Jer 1:13) to the day when Nebuchadnezzar broke through the walls of Jerusalem and began its destruction.

When the message was given it was not inevitable – it was a message of warning and a call for repentance and change of direction in the nation. There was plenty of time for change. But the religious leaders and the political establishment refused to listen to the truth and the rest is history.

Should not this bring a message to us today?

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments.