For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:8-9)
This is an interesting look into what Jeremiah was experiencing, feeling, and thinking as a prophet of God in the midst of an evil culture. The people around him do not follow God, they do not walk in his ways, and they don’t want to hear about it.
Every time Jeremiah opens his mouth, he feels as if he is only bringing bad news, like he is constantly proclaiming “Violence and destruction!” And he was. He was proclaiming the Lord’s intentions to destroy the nation and send the people into captivity. Not a happy message, at least not on the face of it.
The people in Jeremiah’s day, his own countrymen, the culture at large, responded with “reproach and derision“. In other words, they got angry, told him to shut up, and made fun of him. They laughed at what he said. They probably called him names and said he was a crazy zealot.
The gospel is Good News, but it is also an offense (Galatians 5:11). The cross offends people’s pride. It requires humility to admit that we are so evil, so corrupted, that we can’t save ourselves and that God’s own son would need to die to atone for our transgressions. If this is the message you are proclaiming, don’t be surprised when people take offense and get upset.
Also, don’t be surprised when they laugh and jeer. The gospel is “folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1.18). It doesn’t make sense, it seems like foolishness, in a world system built on self-justification, where mankind is seen as the highest authority.
At times these responses were too much, and Jeremiah just wanted to stop proclaiming God’s message. He wanted to be quiet and not have people mocking him, laughing, and telling him to zip it. But he couldn’t stop. Why?
The message of God was like “a burning fire” inside him, trapped in his bones. He had to let it out or he would burn up from the inside. He felt the urgency and direness of the message for those around him and he couldn’t keep quiet, he couldn’t keep it to himself.
This led me to ask two questions of myself.
1. Do I want to speak God’s message to the world, even if some find it offense or foolish?
2. How do I reach a point where God’s words are like “a burning fire shut up in my bones” so that I can’t contain it any longer and must speak?
If you are a Christian, your answer to the first question should be a yes. You should at least want to share God’s message with those around you, even if you don’t know how, or feel scared or intimidated and foolish when you try.
The second question is key though. How do we get where Jeremiah was? To the point where we must speak, even if we fear the reaction? To answer that we have only to look to Jeremiah’s own words.
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot. (Jeremiah 20:9b)
Remember, it is “the word of the Lord” that is the source of this fire he can’t contain within himself. God put this word in Jeremiah for him to speak. We are the beneficiaries of Jeremiah’s ministry (along with the other human authors of scripture) so that we now have God’s words in written form. Notice that the word it is in Jeremiah’s heart. Elsewhere, scripture tell us the importance of taking God’s word into our hearts and meditating on it.
When I say heart, I’m not talking about the seat of our emotions. It is that, but so much more. The heart is our innermost person, our mind, will, and emotions. And for the Word to enter our will and emotions, it must first enter our mind. We must read it, memorize it (If you need an example, look to Jesus!), meditate (think) on it, and let it sink deep into our soul so that it shapes who we are. Then it will shape both our thoughts, our will, and our emotions. Then it will become a burning fire in our bones that compels us to open ourselves to those around us. Then we will be able to say with Paul.
“So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2.8)
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