15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!

 

Jehovah answered Jeremiah’s third intercession (from last chapter) with another rejection. During the Exodus, Jehovah planned to exterminate Israel three different times. However, Moses interceded three different times and changed Jehovah’s mind. Samuel’s intercessions also saved Israel during her apostasy days. Jehovah told Jeremiah that even the prayers of these two Old Testament saints would be able to save Judah. Their cup of iniquity was full.

 

15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.” 

 

If Judah asked Jehovah where they were to go, then Jeremiah was to give them four answers. Some will die by the sword. Some will die by famine. Some will die by disease. Some will be taken captive by a foreign nation. Compare this message of Jeremiah to the seeker-friendly pastors of today.

 

15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.

 

Jehovah was not a seeker-friendly pastor. He appointed dogs and birds to devour the corpses of his congregation.

 

15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” 

 

The judgment of Judah was a result of the sins of one man (King Manasseh of Judah).

 

15:5 The Lord cried out, “Who in the world will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will grieve over you? Who will stop long enough to inquire about how you are doing? 

 

No one will come to Jerusalem’s funeral.

 

15:6 I, the Lord, say: ‘You people have deserted me! You keep turning your back on me.’ So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you. I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!” 

 

Judah deserted Jehovah. She continually regressed into deeper sin. Therefore, Jehovah was forced to use His divine power to fulfill the curses of the Mosaic Covenant which were promised to Israel for her disobedience.

 

15:7 The Lord continued, “In every town in the land I will purge them like straw blown away by the wind. I will destroy my people. I will kill off their children. I will do so because they did not change their behavior. 

 

Jehovah will enter the cities and towns of Judah like a powerful wind. This wind will destroy the people, kill their children, and disperse them into the Gentile nations.

 

15:8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous than the grains of sand on the seashores. At noontime I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of their young men. I will cause anguish and terror to fall suddenly upon them. 

 

During the Babylonian invasion, sword, famine, and pestilence will kill so many men, that Jerusalem will be full of widows.

 

15:9 The mother who had seven children will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. She will suffer shame and humiliation. I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” says the Lord. 

 

Mothers during the Babylonian invasion will lose all of their children to the sword, famine, or pestilence. Some mothers will lose all seven of their children.

 

15:10 I said, “Oh, mother, how I regret that you ever gave birth to me! I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land. I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone. Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt.” 

 

In verses 10-21, Jeremiah dialogues with God. He offers his first complaint. He wishes that he would never have been born. He is depressed that his teachings always start arguments with the people. The people despise Jeremiah, because he is not a seeker-friendly pastor.

 

15:11 The Lord said, “Jerusalem, I will surely send you away for your own good. I will surely bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress. 

 

In verses 11-14, Jehovah encourages Jeremiah. He informs Jeremiah that his prophecies will bring enemies upon him. 

 

It is important to note that any person who teaches the Word of God will have enemies. It is important to have the right kind of enemies.

 

15:12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze break that iron fist from the north? 

 

Just as iron cannot be broken by the people, then Jeremiah cannot be broken by the people.

 

15:13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder. I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land. 

 

Jehovah will give away the wealth of those who attack Jeremiah.

 

15:14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about. For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.” 

 

The enemies of Jeremiah will go into captivity.

 

15:15 I said, “Lord, you know how I suffer. Take thought of me and care for me. Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me. Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me. Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake. 

 

Jeremiah asked God to take care of his enemies.

 

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you. 

 

During the reign of the good King Josiah, the Book of Deuteronomy was discovered in the temple. It had been lost for ages. Jeremiah most likely devoured this Book and made it a part of him. This Book brought great peace and happiness to him.

 

15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people, laughing and having a good time. I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you and because I was filled with anger at what they had done. 

 

Jeremiah did not let entertainment deter him from serving God.

 

15:18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish? Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound? Will you let me down when I need you like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?” 

 

Jeremiah was suffering greatly under his enemies. Jeremiah pictured himself stepping into a wadi and being gushed away. He asked Jehovah to pull him out of the wadi, so that he would not drown.

 

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, “You must repent of such words and thoughts! If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless, I will again allow you to be my spokesman. They must become as you have been. You must not become like them. 

 

Jeremiah was about to get fired from his job as a prophet. Jehovah asked Jeremiah to stop this foolish talk and confess his sins. Jehovah wanted the people to become more like Jeremiah was before his complaint. He did not want Jeremiah to become more like the people.

 

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people, a fortified wall of bronze. They will attack you, but they will not be able to overcome you. For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” says the Lord. 

 

Jehovah will turn Jeremiah into a strong wall which the people will not be able to break down. Jehovah promised Jeremiah that his enemies would not be able to kill him.

 

15:21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked. I will free you from the clutches of violent people.” 

 

Jehovah will not free Jeremiah from suffering, but He will save him from death. The attacks on Jeremiah will intensify, but Jehovah’s words encouraged Jeremiah enough that he did not back down from his message.