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 intercession 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.
20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.