Jeremiah: Persecution of a Prophet 15/11/2021

Most of us know very little about persecution. I know that some people from other parts of the world read this blog, so you may know much more than I do about the reality of daily suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. In Scotland we know very little about overt persecution. Away back in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Jeremiah was faithful to his God and he suffered for it. God had promised that he would be preserved and that he was, in a sense, indestructible but he suffered at the hands of his own people because his message was so unpopular.

We have already referred to the plot to assassinate Jeremiah which is recounted in chapter 11 [see previous Day Share

Entitled "Jeremiah: Family infidelity 07/11/2021"]. The people who lived in his own village of Anathoth and his own family members were plotting to kill him to stop his prophecies of judgement. On another occasion, a priest by the name of Pashhur (the chief officer of the temple) was so angry at Jeremiah's words from God that he ordered the prophet to be beaten and put into stocks. Jeremiah had touched a raw nerve when he had publicly intimated that God was going to bring disaster on the city of Jerusalem and the villages round about. So Jeremiah became a public spectacle of hatred for all those who passed by him at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple (Jeremiah 20:1-6). There was the discomfort of being locked in a very uncomfortable position as well as the public humiliation associated with this punishment. By the way, the church in Scotland carried out similar punishments at the time of Robert Burns. You might have imagined that when he was released from the stocks, that Jeremiah might have slunk away quietly to nurse his wounds. He was even more outspoken in his words - even renaming Pashhur and giving him a name linked with the terror that would come upon the people of Judah.

The temple is again the scene for another confrontation between priests, false prophets and large numbers of people and the lone voice of Jeremiah. As soon as Jeremiah finished speaking, they sentenced him to death. "You must die," they shouted. They were very upset with his message that the temple was going to be destroyed in the same way as a place called Shiloh, which was where God used to meet his people. Jeremiah had proclaimed that the temple and the city would become desolate and deserted (Jeremiah 26:7-11). This is reminiscent of the cries of the people of Jerusalem against the Saviour - "Crucify him." (Matthew 27: 22-23) God had promised Jeremiah that he would be a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall (Jeremiah 1:18). In other words, God would protect him from his enemies while he was acting as His mouthpiece to the people.

They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you. [Jeremiah 1:19 NIV]

And God did rescue Jeremiah that day. God used some of the elders of the land as His mouthpiece and they intervened to protect Jeremiah. They pointed out that there had been a previous prophet named Micah of Moresheth who had been a prophet during the reign of Hezekiah and his prophecy about Jerusalem was very similar to Jeremiah but he had not been executed. There is an individual mentioned who took steps to protect Jeremiah against the anger of the people - his name was Ahikam, son of Shaphan. This family were particularly loyal to Jeremiah (See 36:10 a brother of Ahikam named Gemariah and another brother is mentioned in Jeremiah 29:3).

When Jeremiah was prophesying that the country was going to be invaded by the powerful Babylonians, he also proclaimed that resistance was futile. He was telling his own people to surrender to the enemy and that this was God's plan for the nation. This made him very unpopular. He was considered to be disloyal to his own country and his own people. He was labelled a traitor.

Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’ ” [Jeremiah 38:1-3 NIV]

Notice that Pashhur is still opposed to Jeremiah and so is his son, Gedaliah. These verses are helpful in explaining the hostility to Jeremiah. He was telling them that the way to escape the judgement of God was to submit to the Babylonian invaders. If they decided to stay, they would die by the sword, famine or plague but they would survive if they surrendered to the enemy. So these officials went to King Zedekiah, who was a very weak individual and not strong enough to defend Jeremiah (a bit like Pontius Pilate with Jesus) and they demanded that Jeremiah be put to death. Reluctantly, the king agreed and they seized Jeremiah and put him into a cistern (nothing to do with a toilet). This would have been a pit dug in the ground to store rainwater. They lowered him down by ropes into the dark depths of this pit which did not contain drinking water - it was full of mud. Jeremiah sank into the mud. This was destined to be a long slow death by starvation and thirst. But again God intervened. He used a black man by the name of Ebed-Melech (a Cushite from Ethiopia). This man was brave enough to go to the king and tell him about Jeremiah's plight. King Zedekiah gave permission for Jeremiah to be rescued. Ebed-Melech was given 30 men from the king's bodyguard to rescue the prophet from the mud. This must have been quite an operation. They threw some old rags and worn out clothes down to Jeremiah and they then lowered ropes down to him. They instructed him to place the rags and old clothes under his arms to protect his weak and wounded body as they pulled him out of the muddy cistern (Jeremiah 38: 6-13). By the way, this kindly man from Ethiopia was himself looked after. He did not die in the streets of Jerusalem. He was rescued by the Babylonians by God's intervention (See Jeremiah 39:15-18)

This was not the only time that Jeremiah found himself in prison. In chapter 40, Jeremiah is released from his chains by a Babylonian commander named Nebuzaradan.

Jeremiah did not die in Judah as many of his own people did from famine or disease or warfare,. The Babylonians treated him with humanity and kindness and he was allowed to remain in Judah while many of his own people were taken away captive into Babylon. His own people took him captive to Egypt where they went to escape the Babylonians. We do not read of Jeremiah's death but we do know that God kept his promise to him. He was preserved despite the venom and hatred towards him and despite the repeated cries for him to be executed. He was indeed a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall - not because he was particularly strong. He was safe because of God's promise for I am with you and will rescue you. [Jeremiah 1:19]

[Picture by Kaley Dykstra on Unsplash]