Jeremiah Chapter 20 "Jeremiah's Prayer, Complaint." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org Jeremiah 20:1 "Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things." The word "Pashur" means "most noble" in the heathen Aramaic tongue, and this Pashur was the son of the chief priest. This son of the chief priest heard of Jeremiah's prophecy concerning Jerusalem and the people, and he did not like what he heard. Pashur was in the center of the top religious families in the temple, and Jeremiah had just called them all false prophets and liars. Jeremiah, a man from the sticks is walking into the temple and telling all the people that they are about to go into captivity, when the religious tradition is teaching that God will keep His children of Judah out of captivity. Does it sound sort of like something we have heard today from those rapture specialists, and their sorted traditions? Pashur didn't like it when someone called his father a false prophet, and he was going to do something about it. Jeremiah 20:2 "Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD." Pashur took Jeremiah to another gate, one where the religious leaders could keep an eye on Jeremiah, and prevent him from spreading any more of his prophesies. They were trying to soften up Jeremiah and scare him into changing his story. Remember that this is the church that did this to Jeremiah, the prophet that was sent from God. Jeremiah 20:3 "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib." There is a secret hidden within this, and it is simple. Though Pashur's father gave him a noble name, God renamed this fool "Magor-missabib" through Jeremiah. "Magor-missabib" being translated back into the Hebrew reads means "Terror-round-about", or "fear on every side". It is important that we remember this for the rest of the chapter. There is irony in this name. So you see that God is telling the priesthood , you can put Jeremiah in stocks, but I still have my eye on you. Jeremiah 20:4 "For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword." This prophecy came after the name change, and God is telling him that because of what he did to Jeremiah, Magor-missabib is going to be a terror not only to himself but to all of his friends. God is recommitting that all of his family and friends are going into captivity at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army. He is going to see this captivity of himself and his friends and they shall see it come to pass exactly as God announced that it would happen. This is exactly as it will be also in the end times, and Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon are the types used in Revelation to give us a warning as to how it would be. Friend, the church world today chooses to be blind to the truth of God's Word, and trust in their false prophets, exactly as the people of Jerusalem chose, in Jeremiah's day. They will rejoice as they follow into the service of the Antichrist, for their traditions have prepared them for the service of Satan's rule. It is just as absolute as the captivity as in Jeremiah's day, yet the priests of our day have not taught the Word of God, but the traditions of men. Jeremiah 20:5 "Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon." This is God speaking and promising to keep His promises that He has spoken before. This first captivity of Jeremiah's day was done with war, and soldiers, and military might, However the captivity of our generation will take place on a spiritual battlefield, and that battle ground is in the minds of men and women. God took care of Jeremiah when the Babylonian Army came into Jerusalem, and He provided for Jeremiah through the captivity. We read throughout the Word of God that Satan, the Antichrist comes into power under the deception of peace and prosperity. We read of this in Daniel 8:23-25; Daniel 8:23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." This is why we were told by Jesus and Paul to put on the "whole gospel armor". We are told in Ephesians 6:11; "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The one that we will do battle with is Satan the devil himself, and his army of fallen angels. Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." That armor is stated in Ephesians 6:13-20, and it is the Word of God. You put the armor on when you place it in your mind, and have the knowledge of the things and events that are going to face you in this generation. Our fight is against the power of "dark sentences", and the "king of fierce countenances". That king is Satan himself. Friend if all you know is John 3:16, and the rapture theory, you are in trouble. When you know the Word of God, and understand how Satan and his offspring the Kenites work, which is the "dark sentences" they use to trick you, then you will be prepared for the spiritual battle facing us. The spiritual battle is not to be feared, but to be understood. Daniel 8:24 "And his power shall be mighty, but no by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy People." Satan is the king that shall "destroy", which means "deceive" many. The way that Satan deceives is "wonderfully", which in Strong's Hebrew dictionary, # 6381 says, "by miracles, and (hard to believe) works". Satan will have his bag of tricks. Though Satan is supernatural, he gets his power through the craftiness of the one world governmental system. The mighty and holy people that shall be destroyed, "deceived" are those dear Christians that took the word of their pastors and did not prepare themselves for the time of Antichrist, because they were told that they would be gone, and fly out of here. They followed traditions and not the Word of God. They were told that the Old Testament was not necessary to study, and that the book of Revelation does not need to be studied. Daniel 8:25 "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy man: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hands." When Satan comes to earth he will appear to be the true Messiah, Jesus Christ but he will be a fake. Those that see the deceptions of his hands, the peace that he brings to the earth, and the prosperity that appears to all those that follow him, will think he is the Messiah. The destruction that comes to the holy people is a spiritual destruction, and when he says trust me, they will trust and follow the Antichrist on a massive scale. It will appear to be genuine, and even the elect would fall for it, except they know and understand that there is a false messiah that comes first, before the true Christ. To the elect of God, Satan will be an abomination, because they understand the chronological order of events that will happen before the true Christ comes to earth. You can only understand what shall happen when you study the Word of God in its entirety. The Word declares the king of Babylon of the end times shall come first. God gives you the events that shall come to pass in Revelation 6; he rides a white horse, he looks like a savior, the only problem is that when he comes he brings death spiritually. It is no different now then it was in Jeremiah's day; for people love to hear good tidings, and have money to meet their needs. The new world order is preparing the way for the so-called church to meet their new messiah, but the only problem is, he will be an imposter. Jeremiah 20:6 "And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies." Remember that Pashur is a priest and his father is the top priest, and all his friends are the religious community in Jerusalem, of that day. Did you get that, God is telling you that all these priests had spoken only lies, and the people loved to hear those lies. It is because of those lies that they all turned their backs on God's Word, to follow after their own traditions. God is telling them that they are going to even lead their congregations into the trap of Babylon captivity. The captivity that takes place in our generation, when the one world system finally controls the world with Satan the Antichrist ruling, is a spiritual captivity. To become captive then is to be deceived into accepting Antichrist as the True Christ, while in your flesh body. This is the number one thing that Christ said to be aware of; "DECEPTION". Jesus said in Mark 13:5 "Take heed lest any man deceive you" When you worship the very thing that God hates, and call it "of God" it is deception, and brings spiritual death. You do that by putting Satan before God, and it is done in ignorance when you do not know the Word of God, and follow the traditions of men that shall lead you to Antichrist. Jeremiah 20:7 "O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me." There are human aspects when one teaches the truth, because teaching the truth of God's Word will bring on persecution. We are entering a time that you better get use to it. Let the word of those deceived flow off your back like water of a ducks back. Mockery can not hurt you when you are teaching the true Word of God. The word "deceived" here, in the Hebrew is "pathah", and means to be "induced, enticed, or persuaded". The truth will entice you, God doesn't deceive anyone. Jeremiah does show his human frailty in this chapter. It should be a comfort to us as we are living in a similar condition, where the religious community is just as it was in Jeremiah's day, filled with lies and deceptions through their traditions. Jeremiah 20:8 "For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily." Jeremiah did cry out, he told them the king of Babylon is coming. In other words, when I told the people the true Word of God, the people mocked me, and became angry and closed their ears. To Jeremiah it seemed that he was a failure because when he gave the people the true Word, he felt that no one would listen. Though Jeremiah didn't know the effect of his words, there were those few that did listen to him, and heed the warning. Jeremiah 20:9 "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Jeremiah did not see one person visibly believe him, and he was ready to throw his hands up, and quit. Jeremiah was ready to stop being a prophet. Jeremiah knew the truth of God's Word was absolute truth, and he could not sit by quietly and allow all God's wrath to come without giving the warning. The Word of God exploded within Jeremiah and had to come out, the prophecies had to be made. God knew the kind of man Jeremiah was from the first earth age, and it was then that God selected Jeremiah and ordained him as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I know thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." So we see that God was not all that concerned of the human weakness within Jeremiah, for He is in control anyway. When we are in the flesh we will all have our down times, but the Holy Spirit will take over when we are physically down, and are mentally low. Jeremiah 20:10 "For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him." The people did listen, but not in the sense of believing what Jeremiah had to report. They listen to see where they could trip up Jeremiah by his own words, and take revenge upon him. We see it happening all the time today. You say the words, and another will twist what was spoken, and many will swear to that lie or create lies that were made of the spoken words. The gossipers and backbiters seem to find great pleasure in outright repeating twisted lies, and trying to make it sound like truth. Those that listen to those gossipers are just as bad as the ones telling the lies. Church houses are filled with this type of person wherever you go. Friend, before you start becoming involved in doing such a thing, read Romans 1:28-32. The backbiters, and the proud are listed right along with the murderers, and the rest. Then in Romans 1:32 we read; "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them," When old Mrs. Wide mouth's tongue starts wagging about someone, do you find pleasure in the words, whether truth or not you are becoming attached to everything that she says. This applies to men as well as women, and it is such a sin to pass that gossip on, or attest of any lie. It is natural that when people hear the truth, they don't appreciate it, especially when it is directed to them. Jeremiah was speaking the truth and many people just didn't want to hear what he had to say. It went against what was being said in their traditions down at the old synagogue. Finding out that your traditions are false and a lie is hard to take. This is why there was a movement to take revenge on Jeremiah. Jeremiah 20:11 "But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." Friend, when you become a part of that confusion of false teaching, babel, and playing Church you will always be ashamed. You will be accountable for those that listened to what you had to say, and believed and staked their soul on what you said. God gave you His Word and He expects you to check it out for yourself. When you hear the truth, and place traditions over His Word, you will answer for your actions before Him. Jeremiah realizes here that it is those that are mocking him that are going to fall and be take captive, and not himself. Those that are persecuting Jeremiah are the ones that shall be taken in to captivity, and many shall even die when the Babylonian army comes. Jeremiah 20:12 "But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause." Jeremiah knows that God can see right into their hearts and he knows the deceit and lies that they are saying about him, and Jeremiah wants to see the revenge that God takes on them. Jeremiah is telling the Lord that His cause is my cause, and I am completely committed to you. Jeremiah asks the Lord to investigate me and try me, for he knows that the judgment of the righteous brings rewards and blessings and not destruction. Jeremiah 20:13 "Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers." Even though there are times when Jeremiah was week and mentally down, he continued to sing praises unto the Lord. Jeremiah knew that God would deliver him from the hands of them that would do him harm. Jeremiah also knew that God would deliver the soul of those that continued to trust in Him and His Word from those that were evildoers. Jeremiah 20:14 "Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed." Many so-called scholars think this verse should be following verse seven, however when we see the content of the verse it belongs right where it is. Jeremiah is saying that there are times when he had wished that he would have never been born. This can run through the minds of Christians at times when things are not going well. It is not fun when all the people around you are cursing you, lie about you and making light of everything that you say. Jeremiah 20:15 "Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad." What this is saying is that when my mother delivered me, they sent a messenger to tell my father that I was born. Jeremiah is saying that he wished that he could curse the man that took the news of my birth to him. You can see Jeremiah at his lowest mental condition, and you must understand that it is his flesh man talking. Don't let it make you on edge, but the next time you have one of those days, remember this time of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 20:16 "And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;" "That man" is the man that carried the message to Jeremiah's father. Jeremiah is saying let that man be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, let God just destroy him. Jeremiah hears all the time in his ears and mind the prophecies that shall come upon Jerusalem, and the people of Judah. He can't get out of his mind the destruction that is coming upon the them, and no one will take him seriously. Jeremiah is saying, let that man that carried the message be driven to anguish like he is over that news. Jeremiah knew that the very ones that he loved were going to be destroyed and all they did was make fun of him when Jeremiah tried to warn them. The difference between the destruction of our generation and Jeremiah's day, was that the destruction then was by war and the power of the arm, and the destruction in our day will come by lies, deception, and peace. The people will be taken captive by words and ideas that sound so good that no one can resist them. However the elect of God will see through the deception of Satan, the locust army of fallen angels, and his serpents, the Kenites that are preparing the way for him through their one world system. When the people see the supernatural powers of Satan they will think he is the Savior, and they will be completely deceived. This will happen because of their traditions and doctrines which they have placed over the Word of God. The wounds of the war of our generation is far more serious, because what dies is the spiritual part of you, it is your soul. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28? "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him Which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Don't let you flesh rule your most important part of your being, your spiritual soul. Jeremiah 20:17 "Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me." It is obvious that Jeremiah is not enjoying being an important messenger from God. Jeremiah is saying, why didn't that messenger slay me when I came from the womb, or why was I ever conceived in the womb? Jeremiah is acting like a whipped puppy over the mocking that he is taking from the people. Yet Jeremiah continued to preach the warning from God. Don't ever let your flesh body do your thinking for you, but your inner man that is guided by the Spirit of God. Jeremiah 20:18 "Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?" We see here that Jeremiah is taking the role of Job. The lesson is the same that we saw in Job 3, and it is the flesh speaking. The flesh was saying "if I had never formed and come out of my mother's womb." Flesh is week, and when it is in command of anyone, you will see a beaten man. Jeremiah was a great prophet, and probably the strongest of his day, or any day. Yet when the pressures came down on him, and he took his eyes off of God, he allow the flesh man to take control. When these moments of depression come upon you, and you feel under spiritual attack, shake it off and get back to God in prayer, and in a sound frame of mind. When you listen to the flesh side of your mind, that is when you get into trouble. Jeremiah was a great man of God, and he would not allow these moments of weakness to take control of him.
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