Jeremiah again uses the word good
to describe his ministry to Judah. He has spoken good to the people by warning them to turn away from the Lord’s wrath. Jeremiah addresses these words to the Lord as he reminds him that he stood
before the Lord when he spoke these warnings to Judah. The use of the word stand
here, as in Jeremiah 15:1, describes someone who is in the presence of a king waiting to do his will. As someone who had access to the Lord, he had made intersession for the people, that they should be saved from judgment.1 This shows Jeremiah’s deep conviction that he was indeed faithfully serving the Lord as he warned Judah, and by doing so he had done good to his people.
18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”