A significant feature of Jeremiah’s writing is that he often expresses his own personal response to the visions he has received from the Lord and the message he was sent to preach. The words Jeremiah speaks in Jeremiah 4:10 are almost a prayer to the Lord. He is protesting the awful judgment that is coming and is trying to present mitigating circumstances. As the prophet who spoke on behalf of the Lord, Jeremiah took no pleasure in the message of judgment, but rather felt a deep compassion for the people of Judah.1 Part of what he wrestles with here is the fact that the Lord has allowed false prophets to say that judgment is not coming. Jeremiah knew they were false prophets, but he grappled with the fact that the sovereign Lord allowed them to speak, and allowed the people to be deceived. He must even have wrestled with the thought, even the longing, that just maybe the false prophets were right. He hoped that maybe his message of judgment would not come to pass.2
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”