Jeremiah 15:19-21

C. The Reply of the Lord Jeremiah 15:19-21

TRANSLATION

(19) Therefore thus says the LORD: If you return, then I will restore you; before Me you shall continue to stand. And if you cause the precious to come forth from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return unto You; but as for you, do not return unto them. (20) And I will make you to this people a fortified brazen wall. They shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you. For I am with you to deliver you and to save you (oracle of the LORD). And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the power of the ruthless.

COMMENTS

God does not bother to directly answer the blasphemous accusation of his prophet. Rather His reply consists of an invitation to re-enter the ministry, an exhortation to remain stedfast and a repetition of a wonderful promise. Jeremiah has gone too far. As far as God is concerned Jeremiah's accusation is tantamount to his resignation from the prophetic ministry. But God does not chide or rebuke His prophet, not directly at least. He simply suggests that Jeremiah needed to do two things: (1) return, i.e., go back to the original point of departure; and (2) separate the precious from the vile and worthless within his own heart. The refuse of doubt and mistrust had somehow gotten mingled with the precious gold of faith, love and trust within the heart of Jeremiah. Inward purification is now essential. If Jeremiah complies with these conditions God will take him back. It is interesting that God does not even ask whether or not Jeremiah wants to re-enter the ministry. That he does so is taken for granted.

The reinstatement in the prophetic ministry is described in three expressions in Jeremiah 15:19. (1) I will cause you to return. The reinstatement is not automatic. Only God can make a prophet. If Jeremiah returns to God, then the Lord can return him to a right relationship to Himself so that he might continue to be God's minister. (2) Before Me you shall continue to stand. The figure here is of a servant standing in the presence of his master waiting for commands. Counselors and courtiers are said to stand before a king (1 Kings 12:6; Proverbs 22:29). Angels are said to stand before God (Luke 1:19). Elijah and Elisha used this expression to describe their relationship to God (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 3:14). To be permitted to minister before the Great King would be the highest privilege accorded a man. (3) you shall be as my mouth. The prophet is not only the servant of God to carry out His commands, he is also the mouthpiece of God to proclaim His word. Jeremiah can occupy this high and holy office once again if he will only repent.

The invitation to repent is followed by the exhortation to remain stedfast. The last sentence of Jeremiah 15:19 is not a simple future as in the American Standard Version but a jussive as in the King James: Let them return unto you, but do not let yourself return unto them. He must not allow the skeptical inhabitants of Judah to drag him down to their level, but, on the contrary, he should by his continued preaching raise them up to a higher plane. In effect God is saying do not join them, let them join you! Jeremiah is weakening, he is giving in. His enemies are getting to him. He must remain stedfast. This exhortation implies that Jeremiah will in fact repent and be reinstated in his prophetic office.

Jeremiah had accused God of forsaking him. But that simply was not true. God had warned him at the time of his call that people would fight against him. But God had promised to make Jeremiah like a fortified brazen wall against which the assault of the persecutors would ultimately fail. God assured him at the time of the call that He would always be near him to deliver him from death at the hands of the enemy. God has not forgotten that promise and neither should Jeremiah. So God simply quotes the promise as originally given in Jeremiah 1:18 f. only He adds at the end the precious and powerful formula oracle of the Lord (Jeremiah 15:20). And then, as if it were not enough to cite the original promise, God rephrases that promise in more specific terms. The wicked and ruthless men who would attempt to suppress the message of God will not prevail over Jeremiah. God will deliver and redeem, i.e., save him from their power (Jeremiah 15:21). Though times may get difficult and no way of escape seems apparent God will bring His prophet through. God is no deceptive stream!