Jeremiah 15:10-14

II. PROPHETIC AGONY Jeremiah 15:10-21

Jeremiah suffered a great deal of mental anguish during his ministry. The rejection of his prophetic intercession on three successive occasions plunges Jeremiah to the depths of despair. This is the second personal crisis in the life and ministry of this great man of God. In response to the complaint of the prophet (Jeremiah 15:10) God offers consolation (Jeremiah 15:15-18). But Jeremiah is not satisfied. He feels that God has deceived him and he does not hesitate to tell God so (Jeremiah 15:15-18). To these wild accusations the Lord does not even bother to respond except to tell his disgruntled prophet that if he will repent he may be reinstated in the ministry (Jeremiah 15:19-21).

A. Prophetic Lamentation and Divine Consolation

Jeremiah 15:10-14

TRANSLATION

(10) Woe to me, O my mother, because you gave birth to me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole land. I have not lent nor have they lent to me, yet every man curses me. (11) The LORD said, surely I will set you free for good; surely I will cause the enemy to entreat you in the time of evil and in the time of distress. (12) Can iron break iron from the north and bronze? (13) Your wealth and your treasures I will give for plunder without price, even for all of your sins and in all of your borders. (14) And I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land you do not know; for a fire is kindled in My anger; against you it will burn.

COMMENTS

The divine refusal to hearken to the intercession of the prophet has caused Jeremiah to sink into the slough of despondency. He begins to reflect upon his ministry and to think of the trouble that had come to him as he attempted to carry the message of God to his people. His preaching had produced no repentance. He had only succeeded in arousing the animosity of those to whom he preached. This tender and timid soul from Anathoth had become the center of controversy. He wishes he had never been born. To bring a thundering message of accusation and condemnation was contrary to the personality of this man. People viciously curse him just as they might curse a hard hearted creditor. Dealings between money-lenders and debtors in antiquity were anything but cordial. This is the kind of relationship which now exists between Jeremiah and his countrymen (Jeremiah 15:10).

The introductory formula the Lord said occurs only in Jeremiah 15:11 and in Jeremiah 46:25. Surely is a free rendering of what in Hebrew is part of an oath formula. God in effect is taking an oath to perform His promises to the prophet. The translation of the first verb describing what God will do for Jeremiah is difficult. The American Standard Version in the text renders it strengthen and in the margin offers the alternative release. The King James Version gives an altogether different translation, it shall be well with thy remnant. Probably the best rendering is set free or release. God promises to release Jeremiah from the hostility and animosity which he has been experiencing in this phase of his ministry. Those who are currently so bitter against him will humbly come to him to seek his aid and advice when the calamity befalls Jerusalem. They may question his prophetic credentials now but before long they will be forced by the fulfillment of his prophecies to recognize Jeremiah as a true prophet of God. King Zedekiah on numerous occasions during the siege of Jerusalem consulted with Jeremiah, sometimes personally (e.g., Jeremiah 21:1-2) and sometimes through intermediaries (e.g., Jeremiah 37:3). After the assassination of the governor Gedaliah the remnant came to Jeremiah to seek an oracle from the Lord (Jeremiah 42:1-3).

Jeremiah 15:12 is enigmatic. It is not clear whether God is still speaking to the prophet or whether these words are addressed to the people. Iron from the north, the region of the Black Sea, was of the strongest sort. Bronze, a mixture of copper and tin, was one of the strongest metals known to the ancients. Common iron cannot break iron from the north or bronze for that matter. But who is this unbreakable metal? Is it Jeremiah himself? God has told him at his call that he would be an iron pillar and a bronze wall (Jeremiah 1:18). Is God here reminding Jeremiah of that promise? Possibly so. But it is more likely that Jeremiah 15:12 is a transition to the two verses which follow. God would then be assuring Jeremiah that his prophecy of an invincible foe from the north would indeed be fulfilled, and the fulfillment of that prophecy would serve to vindicate Jeremiah as a spokesman for God.

The description of the invincible foe from the north continues in Jeremiah 15:13-14. The enemy will roam throughout the land plundering and looting because of all of the sins which the inhabitants of the land had committed. The phrase without price (Jeremiah 15:13) has been understood in more than one way. Perhaps it means that the enemy will not need to be paid for attacking Judah. On the other hand the phrase may be taken to mean that God will give Judah to the enemy without receiving any compensation in return. The former interpretation is preferable. The inhabitants of Judah will be forced to serve their enemies in a foreign land. Borrowing an expression from Deuteronomy 32:22 God declares a fire is kindled in My anger (literally, in My nostril). The judgment described in the Song of Moses centuries earlier is now about to fall on Judah.

What consolation is it to the despondent Jeremiah to know that his land and his people will be destroyed? None unless it would be the thought that if he continues to preach this message of doom he certainly will not be discredited. His message was controversial to be sure. But it was a true message and it had to be preached. The warning had to be sounded. Jeremiah needed this reassurance at this juncture in his ministry.