This section (Jeremiah 11:18–12:6) is the first of what many commentators have called a series of confessions by Jeremiah that occur in Jeremiah 11:1–20:18. These confessions are different from his laments in which Jeremiah expresses his deep sadness at the judgment that is coming to his people. The Confessions are more an expression of Jeremiah’s grief and anger at the task he has been given and the opposition he experiences from his own people who are even plotting to kill him. These Confessions, however, are a vital part of Jeremiah’s message because they go beyond just his personal experience and reveal something of how the sovereign Lord brings about his purposes through his word in an unbelieving world.1
Some commentators see two possible confessions in this section (Jeremiah 11:18–23 and Jeremiah 12:1–6), both of which take the form that is typical of the psalms of lament, even if the content is not typical of these psalms.2 The parts of the lament structure are seen as follows in both confessions:
Invocation: Jeremiah 11:18 and Jeremiah 12:1a
Complaint: Jeremiah 11:19 and Jeremiah 12:1b, Jeremiah 12:2
Prayer: Jeremiah 11:20 and Jeremiah 12:3–4
Divine response: Jeremiah 11:21–23 and Jeremiah 12:5–6
In his first Confession Jeremiah begins by saying that he now knows something because the Lord has made it known to him. The reader only finds out in Jeremiah 11:21 the precise detail of what the Lord has revealed to Jeremiah, but at this point Jeremiah simply describes it as the deeds
that some party has committed. Jeremiah is expressing the uncertainty and confusion he experienced as these events unfolded. He needed the Lord to show him what was taking place.3
18 The LORD made it known to me and I knew; then you showed me their deeds.