Don't Be Silenced!
Jeremiah 20.7-13
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois June 21, 2026
Introduction
A Christian student was sitting in a college psychology class in which the professor said that the Bible was a book of fairytales and should not be taken seriously. After going on about this for several minutes, the student raised his hand and asked, "Have you ever compared the Bible to actual fairy tales? Do fairy tales have historical facts in them such as names and descriptions of real cities, geography, weather, systems of money, roads, maritime, military, and politcal procedures? Do historians use fairy tales to create chronologies, or do archeologists use fairy tales to locate the remains of cities?" The professor was flumexed and quickly returned to the teaching of psychology rather than theology. After the class something very interesting happened. As the students were leaving at least three of them came up to the Christian student and said, "I was thinking the same thing. I'm so glad you spoke up!"
We all have the temptation to be silenced by those who do not want God's word to be heard or believed. Those who don't believe in God ignore His word, reject it, and even reproach it. Today we are going to see how a prophet of God, Jeremiah, handled those who were trying to silence him in order to keep people from hearing and believing God's word. We will especially see how God gives us grace not only to believe His word for the forgiveness of our sin and our salvation, but we will also see how He strengthens us to speak it faithfully to others so that they might believe and be saved.
1. The World's Reproach Against God and His Word
7 O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. 8 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. (Jeremiah 20.7-8)
Jeremiah lived six hundred years before Jesus. He began serving God as a priest, teaching God's word and leading people in worship. But God called him to be a prophet during the reign of Josiah, the last good king of Judah. After him, all the kings were bad, and they were leading Judah into evil and toward the wrathful judgment of God. Is wasn't long before Jeremiah realized that the task God had given him wasn't what he signed up for. In chapter 20.7 he said to the LORD, "you have deceived me, and I was deceived." The Hebrew word here (pthha) means "to persuade." However the root meaning of this word is "to be simple" or "to be gullible." What Jeremiah was saying is this: "When You called me to be a prophet (1.4-10), I was recluctant, and I told You that I was a youth! You said, 'Do not be afraid... for I am with you..." Now look at the mess I'm in. Your enemies are trying to kill me. This is way more than I bargained for - You 'decieved me!'" Jeremiah was overwhelmed as we certainly would be if we were in his situation. No one likes to get yelled at or threatened, let alone know that people are plotting against your life.
All of the prophets of the Old Testament faced either strong opposition to the messages that God had given them, or they were ignored. The Israelites rebelled against Moses. Ahab and Jezebel tried to kill Elijah. Isaiah was ignored. Jeremiah was beaten, thrown in stocks, and into a cistern. This why Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23.27).
So what was this prophetic message than no one wanted to hear and for which they got so mad they wanted to kill the prophets? It was the main message of the Bible throughout: Repent of your sins, believe in God's forgiveness and grace, and begin living according to His will. This is the message than stired up so much anger and opposition. It did this in the past, and it still does so today. The Bible calls this opposition "reproach." In Hebrew this means that they didn't just disagree with the prophets, they hated their message and considered it evil and shameful. Because of this they thought that the message of repentance and faith in the grace of God had to be mocked and silenced. There was no tolerance for it.
2. The Temptation to Keep Quiet
9 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. 10 For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” (Jeremiah 20.9-10)
What do we do when people tell us the things we believe from the Bible are fairy tales or worse that they are hateful, bigoted, and evil? The great temptation that we all feel and that Jeremiah felt was to be silent. If people tell us to shut up, we often comply because we don't want to start an argument, and we don't want to become the "skunk at the garden party." Our first thought is that this is not the right time, and in some cases this is true. But we have to remember that in the minds of some people there will never be a "right" time to hear anything from the Bible. They don't want to hear it, and, much worse, they don't want anyone to hear it. When we find ourselves in this situation we must not take the silent approach.
Jeremiah tried the silent approach, but he could not do it. He said there was "a burning fire shut up" in his bones and he couldn't hold it in. Even though people were whispering and plotting his destruction, he had to speak up for God. We have all been in situations where someone says something that is completely wrong. Often times we just let it go especially when the matter under discussion doesn't really matter that much. But when the discussion is about God and our relationship to Him, we must not lay back and let the unbeliever and God-scoffer hold the floor. We can't hold the truth of salvation in because we know that this truth does matter. It matters more than anything else in the world. Is God real? Did He give us commandments to show us our sin and the way we must live our lives? Does He love this world, and did He send His Son into this world to suffer and die for it and rise again for the forgiveness of all? Does His Spirit unite with our spirit through His word to give us faith and to transform our lives? Does He hear our prayers for holiness and healing, for faithfulness and endurance in the face of evil? The answer to all these questions is "Yes, yes, and Amen."
3. God's Desire for Us to Speak Up and His Grace to Do So
11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior. (Jeremiah 20.11a ESV)
God does want everyone to hear what He has promised for their salvation. In Matthew chapter ten Jesus sent the twelve apostles on a mission trip to the villages and towns of Israel to proclaim the kingdom of God. That is short hand for, "Tell them what they need to believe in order to be saved." But Jesus also knew there would be strong resistance. "I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves" (v. 16). God met that resistance with a very special promise: "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. (vv. 19-20). Jeremiah said it this way: "The LORD is with me as a dread warrior."
Those who hate God love to use threatening words and violence to accomplish their goal of eliminating any faith in God. But this is never their first step.The first step is to sweet talk people away from God, to speak of peace and love. But it is not the peace and love that comes from the repentance of sin, its forgiveness and living by God's will. It is the peace and love of the acceptance of sin and the denial of God's will. We see that clearly in the denial of marriage, the denial of creation, the denial of human life, the denial of justice for all, the glorification of indecency, and the excusation of indulgence and indolence, and the ultimate false teaching that we can all somehow be happy without God. Jeremiah had already seen this. That is why God had told him in chapter twelve: "Do not believe them, Even though they speak smooth words to you" (v.6).
When the smooth words fail, the sharp words follow. When the sharp words fail, the sharp knives come out. This is reality. This is why there was a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem long ago. But "the LORD is with me as a dread warrior." To understand what this means let's go to the next verses in our text.
4. God's Response to the World's Reproach
... therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (Jeremiah 20.11-13 ESV)
The Christian faith is known for its love. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. When people come to hurt us because of our faith and in order to drive that faith out of our hearts, we don't respond with violence. This doesn't mean Christians can't defend themselves against those who just want to rob us or hurt us because they are full of hate and sin. Yet even this is done in defense and never in revenge. But when the issue is faith itself, love is our only defense just as Jesus' only defense against those who wanted to silence Him was love. Why is this? Why doesn't God want us to take up weapons to further His kingdom? The first answer is because His kingdom is built on love and forgiveness. Thus the only way we can build it and defend it is on the foundation of love and forgiveness.
But there is a second answer. There is a second reason, and Jeremiah knows it well. We don't respond to those who hate God and suppress His word with violence because we know what is coming to them when God's patience with them runs out. This is the Bible teaching of judgment. The Bible very clear about this: "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to the thousands who love Me and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20.5-6). Jeremiah knew that though God had sent him to the wolves, those wolves would not have the last word. Some would believe. Thank God for that. But for the rest, they would meet God, who is "the dread warrior." The book of Revelation John also said that those who hate God and refuse to repent will one day pray for the mountains to fall upon them so that they do not have to face "the wrath of the Lamb" (6.16).
The truth of God's ultimate judgment upon this world is a great motivator for us to speak up. When we face those who hate God and want to silence us and even crush us if they have to, we just have to remember what they will face one second after they die. They will face the dread warrior, the jealous God, and the wrath of the Lamb. This thought will drive all hatred of them from our hearts and replace it with pity. This thought will cause us, like Abraham, to plead to God for their deliverance just as he prayed for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah. God's love inspires us to love, but His promise of judgment also inspires us to love while there is opportunity.
Conclusion
Today is Father's Day, and this message based on the ministry of Jeremiah is very fitting for it. God called Jeremiah to say what God wanted all people to hear whether they wanted to hear it or not. What are fathers called to do according to the Bible? They are called to point their children to the ultimate Father - to God the Father. In this world that is never easy. There will be push back. Expect it. You won't always be popular. But do not be silenced, if indeed you really do love God and the children He has allowed you to raise. Talk to them about God's laws and God's love. Bring them to Jesus, to God's beloved Son, whom He gave up for all of us and for our salvation. Amen.
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