20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord’s temple.
Pashhur was the chief priest over temple security. He heard Jeremiah prophesy that Jerusalem was to be shattered like a clay pot (Chapter 19). He did not like this message, so he began to conspire against Jeremiah. Notice that when a man teaches the truth of the Word of God, then conspiracies against him often will start in organized religion.
20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. Then he put him in the stocks which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple.
Can you imagine flogging a prophet of God? Jeremiah was placed in stocks for public ridicule. His hands, feet, and neck were fastened in holes. This bent his body in a distorted position, causing terrible pain.
20:3 But the next day Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. When he did, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not ‘Pashhur’ but ‘Terror is Everywhere.’
Jeremiah did not change his message, but he did change Pashhur’s name. This new name warned Pashhur and everyone around him that terror would come to them.
20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword.
Babylon will be the one who is to bring terror to Pashhur and his friends. His friends were most likely priestly and civil leaders of Jerusalem. Instead of listening to the true prophecies of Jeremiah, these friends listened to the false prophecies of Pashhur. This prophecy will be fulfilled in Jeremiah 29.
20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
Pashhur and his friends were most likely living in luxury. Babylon will plunder the city of Jerusalem.
20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ”
Pashhur, his family, and his friends will die in Babylon during the captivity.
20:7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.
This was Jeremiah’s first encounter with physical torture and mental abuse. Jeremiah never wanted to become a prophet. He was seduced into the prophetic office by God, who is more powerful and persuasive than Jeremiah. Jeremiah had become a laughingstock to the community. He was beginning to get discouraged. Being a prophet or a teacher of God is a tough job in the satanic world system, because Satan targets these types of ministries.
20:8 For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, “Violence and destruction are coming!” This message from the Lord has made me an object of continual insults and derision.
Jeremiah can only speak the truth. He can do nothing else.
20:9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message. I will not
speak as his messenger any more.” But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it.
When Jeremiah refused to prophesy, then he received a burning fire inside of him which caused him to recite the prophecy.
Whenever a believer masters bible doctrine, then it is difficult for him to remain silent. There is a fire burning inside of him which will not allow him to contain the gospel message. This is why it is important for believers to study the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. This type of study ignites the fire which is available to all believers. If a teacher does not possess this internal fire to teach the Word of God, then he should not be teaching. Those who possess the gift of teaching want to study and teach as often as possible.
20:10 I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.
When one masters and proclaims bible doctrine, then his enemies watch him carefully, hoping that he will make a mistake so that they can pounce on him. The modern media is always looking for this type of news story.
20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me. They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed. Their disgrace will never be forgotten.
Jeremiah was standing on the ground floor and teaching the biblical truth. The people did not like it and began to physically and mentally persecute him. The Lord made sure that Jeremiah’s message was a success. Those who attack Jeremiah will be disgraced.
If a believer teaches the Word of God at a deep level, then he needs to expect members of his own family, church, and community to attack him. However, his message will be successful and the attackers will eventually be disgraced.
20:12 O Lord who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people’s hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.
Jeremiah prayed that God would avenge him. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. If a person exacts his own vengeance, then he is taking the place of God.
20:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers.
Jehovah should be praised, because He will eventually rescue the oppressed ones from evil. One of the purposes of the Great Tribulation is to purge evil out of the world.
20:14 Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me.
The pressures of being a prophet for God were beginning to cause depression in Jeremiah. He wished that he would never have been born.
20:15 Cursed be the man who made my father very glad when he brought him the news that a baby boy had been born to him!
Jeremiah wished for curses upon the man who announced his birth to his parents.
20:16 May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.
Jeremiah wanted the man who announced his birth to be cursed like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20:17 For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.
Jeremiah wished that this man would have killed him in his mother’s womb.
20:18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.
It is interesting to note that Jeremiah was called by God from his mother’s womb, but he cursed the day that he was born. Jeremiah had become a person of "sorrow and grief" (as prophesied in Isaiah 54). When Jesus came to earth, He was also regarded as a man of sorrow and grief. For this reason, many people thought that Jesus was Jeremiah resurrected.