Jeremiah 26:7-10

3. An angry response (Jeremiah 26:7-10)

Those who were assembled in the court of the Temple that day listened sullenly and indignantly as the mighty man of God delivered the word (Jeremiah 26:7). Though Jeremiah saw the scowling faces, the clenched fists, the threatening gestures yet he continued boldly to rebuke, threaten and exhort his audience. At the conclusion of his sermon the people, led by their priests and prophets, seized Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:8). Death! they cried. You have spoken words worthy of death, Jeremiah! Buffeted, battered and berated by the angry throng Jeremiah remembered the words God had spoken to him at his call: they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail (Jeremiah 1:19).

One wonders what the fate of the prophet might have been had not certain princes arrived from the royal palace (Jeremiah 26:10). Apparently they had heard the commotion in the Temple court and had hastened there to determine the cause of the tumult. Their arrival seems to have had a soothing effect upon the hostile crowd. After order was restored the princes sat down at the entrance of the New Gate to conduct a formal, legal inquiry into the matter.