Jeremiah 15:1-21

15:4 | Manasseh was the grandfather of Josiah and one of Judah’s worst kings. Over his 55-year reign, he worshiped idols, filled Jerusalem with violence, and even sacrificed his son to the pagan gods (2 Kgs. 21). Judah’s return to his evil ways following Josiah’s godly reign meant that judgment was unavoidable (2 Kgs. 24:3-4).

15:10-21 | Jeremiah once again lamented the misery of his situation and the unfair persecution he suffered for his faithfulness to God’s calling. The Lord does not promise that ministry is an easy life, but he does assure His servants that He will give them the strength to endure.

15:16 | Even though his message was one of unrelenting judgement, Jeremiah took great delight in God’s Word, and the power of his ministry was due to the fact that he internalized it (Ps. 119:72). God had required him to be a living representation of the message he had been called to preach.

15:17-19 | Jeremiah was deserted, all alone, standing in the breach of a nation that was deteriorating, crying out what God had called him to preach. The Lord allows the prophet to vent his frustrations, but his charge that the Lord had become like an unreliable stream brought a rebuke. Jeremiah had called the people to “turn” from their sin, but now it was Jeremiah who would need to “turn” from the people and back to the Lord if he were to fulfill his commission.