Jeremiah · chapter 15 of 52
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Jeremiah 15 opens with a severe answer: even if Moses and Samuel interceded, the Lord would not change his decision about the people, because of what Manasseh did. Then Jeremiah complains of his pain, that God's words were once his joy and delight but now he suffers rejection, and asks whether God will be to him like a deceitful brook. The Lord calls him to return and renews his promise to deliver him.
Jeremiah 15 continues the series of the prophet's confessions. Here the dialogue with God is more personal and more raw than in earlier chapters. Jeremiah does not only ask about the justice of the world; he voices his weariness and loneliness, and God answers with a surprising call to repentance directed at him.
The Lord says that even if Moses and Samuel stood before him, his heart would not turn toward this people; let them go out from his presence. Those destined for death, to death; for the sword, to the sword; for famine, to famine; and for captivity, to captivity. Four kinds of destroyers will come against them: the sword, the dogs, the birds and the beasts. He will make them a horror because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem. No one will have pity on Jerusalem. The Lord says he is weary of relenting and will winnow them with a winnowing fork. He has made their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea, and the mother of seven languishes.
Jeremiah cries: woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all curse me. The Lord promises to set him free for good. He asks whether anyone can break iron, iron from the north, and bronze, and announces that he will give their wealth as plunder.
Jeremiah prays again: you know, O Lord; remember me. Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name. I did not sit in the company of revelers; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?
The Lord answers: if you return, I will restore you and you shall stand before me; if you utter what is precious and not worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. I will make you a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but not prevail, for I am with you to save you and deliver you.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord says that even if Moses and Samuel, Israel's great intercessors, stood before him, he would not change his decision. It shows how far the judgment had advanced and how serious the people's rejection was.
Jeremiah says God's words were found and eaten, and became to him a joy and delight of heart, because he bore the Lord's name. The Word is not only duty but also food and delight for the one who receives it.
The prophet dares to ask whether the Lord will be to him like a deceitful brook, a stream that dries up. It is one of the strongest complaints in the Bible, spoken honestly before God.
The Lord answers that if he returns, he will restore him, and that if he draws out the precious from the worthless he will be as God's mouth. Even the prophet needs to repent of his doubts, and God offers him restoration.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Moses and Samuel. — Jeremiah 15:1
Answer: Because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah did in Jerusalem. — Jeremiah 15:4
Answer: A joy and the delight of his heart. — Jeremiah 15:16
Answer: Because of the Lord's hand upon him, who had filled him with indignation. — Jeremiah 15:17
Answer: Whether the Lord will be to him like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail. — Jeremiah 15:18
Answer: He will restore him, he will stand before the Lord and be as his mouth. — Jeremiah 15:19
Jeremiah dares to tell God he feels deceived, and God does not cast him out but calls him to return. This is a comfort to those who go through the wear of service, whether in church, family or work. We are allowed to say what we feel, and also to hear how God answers and reorients us.
Verse 16 invites us to ask how much we enjoy the Word. For Jeremiah it was food and joy, even in the middle of rejection. A group can share which passages have been a source of joy in hard times and how to keep that habit.
Jeremiah 15 ends with the promise that God will make Jeremiah a wall of bronze. In chapter 16 the Lord asks for a life marked by the message: no marrying, no attending funerals or feasts, as a sign of what is coming.
Manasseh was one of Judah's worst kings, according to 2 Kings 21: he rebuilt the high places, set up altars to foreign gods in the temple and shed much innocent blood. Biblical texts treat him as a deep cause of the exile, though the people themselves kept to those ways.
The expression describes that God had softened or postponed the punishment many times, and the people always went back to the same things. It shows both his patience and his limit in the face of persistent rebellion.
In dry lands some streams ran in the rainy season and dried up in summer, leaving travelers without water. Jeremiah asks in pain whether God will be like that to him, a source that cannot be trusted.