This document summarizes a lesson about the messages of the prophet Jeremiah and the reactions they received. It discusses how the priests whipped Jeremiah and put him in stocks for his warnings about coming disaster. It also describes how the people plotted to kill Jeremiah for his messages and Jeremiah's internal struggle with continuing to deliver God's warnings despite facing opposition. The document analyzes Jeremiah's conditional message that if the people repent from evil, God will relent on the planned disaster, but if they continue in evil, the disaster will come.

1. Lesson 5 for October 31, 2015

2. Message against the priests and the prophets
(Jeremiah 23:14-15; 5:26-31)
This week we studied the messages that Jeremiah received
from GOD, and the reactions to them:
Reaction of the priests:
Whipping Jeremiah and the stocks
(Jeremiah 20:1-6)
Reaction of the people:
Killing Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 18:18-23)
Reaction of Jeremiah:
• “Like a burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jer. 20:7-13)
• “Cursed be the day in which I was born!” (Jer. 20:14-18)
A conditional message (Jeremiah 18:7-11)

3. “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power;
and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?”
(Jeremiah 5:31)
Which was the sin of the prophets? (see Jeremiah 23:14-15)
• Adultery, lies and hypocrisy. Above everything, they
“strengthened the hands of evildoers” (Jeremiah
23:14); they didn’t condemn sin.
• No one repented form their sins because of them. Evil
was spread throughout the country.
Which was the sin of the people? (see Jeremiah 5:26-30)
• They grew fat by doing evil. They also benefited
from the orphans and the poor.
Which was the sin of the priests? (see Jeremiah 5:31)
• The priests should have taught God’s ways.
Nevertheless, they let the false prophets guide them.

4. WHIPS AND
THE STOCKS
“Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet,
and put him in the stocks that were in the
high gate of Benjamin, which was by the
house of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 20:2)
Jeremiah was called to prophesy at the atrium of the temple. It was a harsh
message: God would bring “a catastrophe on this place” (Jer. 19:3). He would
let His people “fall by the sword” and their corpses would be eaten by “birds
and beasts” (Jer. 19:7). He would turn the Jews into cannibals (Jer. 19:9).
Most messages the prophets passed on in the Bible were not happily received.
In this case, the priest Pashhur attacked the messenger; he flogged him and
locked him up in stocks.
The next day,
Pashhur received a
personal message. He
and his friends would
be exiled and would
die in Babylon, since
they rejected God’s
message
(Jeremiah 20:6).

5. “Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise
plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not
perish from the priest, nor counsel from the
wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come
and let us attack him with the tongue, and let
us not give heed to any of his words.’”
(Jeremiah 18:18)
“In self-deception the people believed that the popular priest and
prophets had given them sufficient instruction in the law, and that
they could trust in this instruction despite Jeremiah’s warnings of the
coming crisis.” (SDA Bible Commentary, on Jeremiah 18:18).
The plans against Jeremiah that the people
devised included murdering him (Jer. 18:23).
Jeremiah’s attitude contrasted with the
people’s. He interceded with God on the
people’s behalf, asking for their sin to be
forgiven (Jeremiah 14:7).
Wouldn’t God protect him?

6. “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His
name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my
bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
Jeremiah complained at God only giving
him messages about violence and
destruction, causing him great trouble.
Jeremiah had already been warned
about the consequences of his message
(Jeremiah 1:19). Nevertheless, he
accused God of having deceived him.
He decided not to deliver more
messages from God.
But he was unable to resist the call
of the Holy Spirit. His message was a
matter of life and death. How could
he let them perish without warning
them?

7. “Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not
be blessed in which my mother bore me!” (Jeremiah 20:14)
Jeremiah still trusted God. Like Job, he didn’t let
his problems overwhelm him, but relied on God.
“casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Jeremiah was very confused. He was praising God (Jer.
20:13) and suddenly he felt deeply desperate (Jer. 20:14).
The problems and weaknesses
of those heroes of faith
encourage us to cast our cares
on the Lord. We can find
comfort in Him when we can’t
find a solution for our
problems.
“CURSED BE THE DAY IN WHICH I WAS BORN!”

8. Jeremiah 18:7-8
“The instant I speak
concerning a nation and
concerning a kingdom, to
pluck up, to pull down, and
to destroy it,”
“if that nation against
whom I have spoken
turns from its evil,”
“I will relent of the
disaster that I thought to
bring upon it.”
Jeremiah 18:9-10
“And the instant I speak
concerning a nation and
concerning a kingdom, to
build and to plant it,”
“if it does evil in My sight
so that it does not obey
My voice,”
“then I will relent
concerning the good with
which I said I would
benefit it.”
“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and
devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make
your ways and your doings good.”’” (Jeremiah 18:11)
A CONDITIONAL MESSAGE

9. “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster
and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and
make your ways and your doings good.”’” (Jeremiah 18:11)
God shows us the result of our
acts so we can choose to
change our destiny.
God, “by no means clearing the
guilty,” (Exodus 34:7) is willing
to forgive those who sincerely
repent from their sins.
Jeremiah’s message is still valid:
Don’t walk by the roads of your sins
towards death; walk by the path of
Calvary towards eternal life.