Few men have ever received such a direct call from God as Jeremiah did. God spoke directly to him and touched his mouth. God promised to give him the message to speak, the guidance on where he would speak, and protection from those who rejected his message. Jeremiah would be a fortified city, a pillar of iron, and a wall of bronze against all adversaries, the princes, the priests, and the people. How could such a person fail or become discouraged with such direct experiences with God, with such clear direction and guidance from God? If we only had such direct communion with God, our ministries, it seems, would be without the discouragements, problems, and misunderstandings that inevitably attend the ministry today. Yet, with all the divine promises and the direct communion that he experienced with God, Jeremiah experienced as much suffering and abuse as any minister or servant of God has ever suffered. His ministry was as difficult as any ministry that God has given to man.
Jeremiah furnishes us with biographical detail, supplying us with information about his personality. Historically, artists and scholars have viewed Jeremiah’s personality as a doleful or melancholy temper. Indeed, Jeremiah was a man of deep sympathies and compassion, who piously lamented the death of God’s servant, Josiah (2 Chr 35:25), the sinful state of the people of Judah (Jer 8:18-9:2), and the destruction of Jerusalem (the book of Lamentations). Jeremiah’s sensitive nature comes out again and again when he considers the condition of the nation and impending doom of the people (Jer 4:19-22). At times, he seemed depressed and despondent over the hopelessness of the situation. In fact, he may have been prone to mood swings. In Jeremiah 20:13, the prophet is singing praises to the Lord, and then in the next verse, he curses the day of his birth. Such traits may have been personality flaws, but more likely, they are the burdens and responses of a man who understands the seriousness of his times, who loves what his nation once stood for, and who realizes the absolute necessity and justice of God’s purifying judgment.
Yet, Jeremiah was also a sign to the nation (Jer 16); therefore, God restricted his social relations. God did not allow the prophet to marry because the women and children would suffer untold misery and hardship. If Jeremiah had married, this would have sent the wrong message of an optimistic future. This would have belied his messages and undercut his own ministry. Moreover, God did not allow the prophet to express his emotions publicly. Jeremiah was not stoically indifferent to suffering, but rather demonstrated God’s disfavor with the people and foreshadowed the coming judgment when no one would be mourned for because of the abundance of death. Furthermore, God forbade Jeremiah to go to the celebrations and feasts of the people because in the coming days, celebrations and feasts would not be heard. Jeremiah, as a sign to the nation, attracted curiosity and interest, giving the prophet an opportunity to share and to reinforce the Lord’s message to them.
Yet, Jeremiah, like everyone, had a more complex personality. Jeremiah could thunder forth the messages of God’s judgment as well as Elijah or any other prophet. He could pray judgment down upon his enemies in the spirit of the imprecatory psalms. He could stand before kings, prophets, priests, and the people and fearlessly declare the word of God. He calmly, yet heroically, faced imprisonment, beatings, and threats of death. After terrible ordeals, when it would have been easy or convenient to soften his message, Jeremiah never wavered, never compromised, never quit. He was a man of iron character. Although the palace, temple, and market square were all moving together against Jeremiah, he stood fast to God. He was, of course, a solitary rock. From all indications, he could not seek aid and comfort from converts—he apparently had few, if any, converts.
Although God made Jeremiah “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall,” he suffered diverse hardships and many setbacks in his ministry. At least twice in his ministry—but probably many other times unrecorded—Jeremiah was beaten. In one case, Pashhur, a priest probably over temple security, heard Jeremiah’s message, spoken in the temple. Outraged at Jeremiah, Pashhur beat the prophet and put him in the stocks at the temple (Jer 20:1-6). Jeremiah later recalled the constant insult and reproach this brought to him (Jer 20:8). On another occasion, Irijah, the captain of the guard, falsely accused Jeremiah of treason. Though Jeremiah denied the charge, Irijah beat and imprisoned the prophet. In fact, Jeremiah was probably imprisoned for the last months or perhaps for a few years before Jerusalem’s desolation in 586 (Jer 37:15). But prison did not prevent Jeremiah from preaching the word of God. For this, royal officials tried to starve or to kill him by exposure, placing him in a cistern. Though waterless, it was full of mud, deep enough for Jeremiah to sink down into it (Jer 38:1-6). Such sufferings are almost unimaginable.
Of course, there were many other plots and attempts on Jeremiah’s life. Jeremiah certainly felt that his life was in serious danger when the military commander, Irijah, beat him and imprisoned him. Jeremiah told King Zedekiah that if he sent him back to that prison, he would die (Jer 37:20). Although Jeremiah came from a priestly family and was a prophet, both the priests and the prophets demanded the death of Jeremiah for prophesying against Jerusalem (Jer 26:11). Such threats were real and intimidating. Another prophet, Uriah, also similarly prophesied against Jerusalem, and king Jehoiakim eventually murdered him. Such a message was not lost on Jeremiah—speak the word of the Lord at the risk of your own life (Jer 26:20-23). Perhaps the most troubling threat on Jeremiah’s life came from his own hometown, Anathoth. The men of Anathoth, clearly troubled about their hometown prophet, rebuked Jeremiah, ordering him to cease prophesying or to suffer the consequences (Jer 11:18-23). This threat was particularly worrisome to Jeremiah, because he was completely unaware of the threat, like a sheep to the slaughter. God had to reveal the plot to Jeremiah. Also, this plot came from his own town. These people may have been old friends and relatives. “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” (Matt 13:57) Of course, there were other rejections and oppositions to Jeremiah’s ministry. He was frequently attacked verbally. He was plotted against secretly (Jer 18:18). Jeremiah had to hide from the wrath of King Jehoiakim (Jer 36:19). From king to commoner, the nation did not listen to Jeremiah (Jer 37:2). Zedekiah, on one occasion, sought Jeremiah’s advice, but he never acted on it. Surely, this brought only more frustration to the prophet. In fact, even after Jeremiah’s prophecies proved true, the people still rejected the messages of the prophet. When Jeremiah pleaded with the remnant after the fall of Jerusalem to remain in the land and not to go to Egypt, Jeremiah was branded a liar (Jer 43:2).
Such trials and afflictions brought on perhaps Jeremiah’s greatest struggle—his struggle with his own call. Few men have ever experienced such a direct call from God, but few men have ever faced such persecutions and difficulties. Jeremiah accuses God of deceiving him about his call (Jer 20:7). God had promised to protect him and to make him a fortified city. God did not tell the prophet the fine print about the difficulties. God’s call had overpowered him, and he had received only abuse since. God’s message had brought only insult and reproach. Jeremiah wanted to give up, to forget the name of the Lord, to speak his word no longer. Jeremiah had had enough. Jeremiah wanted out. God’s call and ministry meant simply, “terror on every side,” to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah had no one to turn to, so he turned to God. Rejected by all, he was aided by God. Though he wanted to quit, though all, including friends, waited for him to slip, God was his mighty warrior to protect him, his righteous judge to exonerate him and condemn his enemies. Even when he wanted to quit, God empower the prophet with his word, “But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire shut up my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jer 20:9). God’s call prevails over all difficulties, over all disappointments. Jeremiah struggled with God’s call, but the call of God overcame.
Certainly, God’s call did not overcome all opposition in one night, nor was the prophet’s character made in a night. God’s call and presence sustained him over a forty-year ministry through many doubts, fears, and toils. God shaped and fashioned the character of the prophet for over four decades, like a potter with clay. When the men of Anathoth plotted to kill Jeremiah, early in his ministry, God responded to Jeremiah’s complaint with one of the most beautiful statements in the book of Jeremiah, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (Jer 12:5) In other words, if this relatively light problem—of someone planning to kill you!— wearies you, what will you do when more difficult challenges confront you? If you stumble in relatively safe lands, what will you do in dangerous lands? The ministry is a process. We must first be able to run with men before we can run with the horses. The Lord used all Jeremiah’s difficulties to conform him to the image of God’s own dear Son. Although Jeremiah could not run with the horses early in his ministry, he certainly outran the horses at the end of his ministry.
Jeremiah also struggled with the hopelessness of his message and call. His message was predominantly negative and very unpopular. The prophets and priests, Jeremiah’s most bitter enemies, declared his prophecies false. The military viewed his messages as treasonous and demoralizing to the troops. The king and his court viewed him as disloyal and subversive. But Jeremiah, for forty years, preached a hopeless message to a hopeless people. Even his messages of restoration and of hope could be realized only after the national calamity. But the hopelessness of the message and hopeless call did not mean a hopeless ministry. Though his ministry seemed useless to his own generation, it clearly helped countless other generations unto the present. His ministry of uprooting and of tearing down ultimately laid the foundation for his continued ministry of building and of planting.
About the Author
Dr. Fuller graduated with a business degree and a Masters in Bible at Bob Jones University. He attended Dropsie College in Philadelphia for its last year, then studied at Hebrew Union College and received MPhil and PhD degrees. He taught at Mid-Continent College for two years and at Southern Seminary for 22 years.
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