Jeremiah 20-22

Jeremiah 20

Pashhur, temple official, arrests Jeremiah and Jeremiah is beaten and placed in stocks.

Jeremiah renames Pashhur: “Magor-missabib” מָגוֹר מִסָּבִיב terror on every side.

• Babylon will take them captive 

Jeremiah complains to God:“You deceived me…”

• He feels mocked constantly.
• Yet: God’s word is like fire in his bones. He cannot stop speaking even though he wants to. 

Jeremiah affirms:

• The LORD is with him.
• Enemies will fail.
• God sees the mind and the heart.

Jeremiah curses the day he was born. He wishes he had died in the womb.

Jeremiah 21

FAST FORWARD 20 YEARS!!! Chapter 20 was the reign of Jehoiakim and now King Zedekiah 

Babylon threatens Jerusalem.The king asks Jeremiah to pray for deliverance. He hopes for another miracle like Exodus.

Instead of rescue God will fight against Jerusalem

Outcomes mentioned:

• Pestilence
• Sword
• Famine
• Exile
• The king will be handed to Babylon.

God sets before them:

• Choose the way of life → surrender
• Choose the way of death→ resist Babylon

God calls House of David to do their job leading the kingdom, but God will be against them. 

Jeremiah 22

Requirement for King of Judah – possibly still Zedekiah (?):

• Do justice.
• Protect oppressed.
• Stop violence.

If not: The palace will become ruins.

God reminds Judah of the coming judgment against them. Judgement brought on by them forsaking the covenant of the LORD.

 Judgment on Shallum (Jehoahaz)

• He will die in exile.
• No return to Judah.

Judgment on Jehoiakim

Condemned for:

• Forced labor
• Luxury building
• Injustice
• Contrast with his father Josiah:
  • True kingship = justice for poor.
  • Jehoiakim will receive dishonorable burial.

God says all of Jerusalem’s lovers are destroyed and they did not obey God. 

Judgment on Jehoiachin (Coniah)

• Given to those who seek his life (Babylon and Chaldeans)
• Cast out to another country where he will die
• Never to return
• Neither he or his descendants will prosper

Application

We see a span of Jeremiah’s life in these three chapters. We start with Jeremiah telling God that he had been deceived by Him! But no matter how he felt, God’s word was like fire in his bones. Judah saw that when repentance was refused long enough, God allowed consequences instead of a miraculous rescue. We end these chapters seeing the result of bad leadership that ended up destroying the nation. 

From: https://www.everlastingstrength.org/content/biblestudy/oldtestament/jeremiah/completestudyofjeremiah/timeline/Timeline%20of%20Jeremiah.pdf