Jeremiah had been so overwhelmed by the mocking and opposition that at some point he had made the decision to stop preaching. I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name.
That decision had not worked. Keeping quiet was simply not an option for the Lord’s prophet. There is something like a burning fire in Jeremiah’s heart and bones, deep inside him, that compels him to speak. As much as he tries, he simply cannot stay silent. He tries to overcome the Lord, but once again, the Lord overcomes him.
Many prophets use fire as a metaphor to describe the Lord, Jeremiah is the only prophet who uses it to describe the Lord’s word (Jeremiah 5:14, Jeremiah 5:23–29). It describes something that is powerful and cannot be controlled or contained, probably referring especially to his word of judgment. In the end Jeremiah knows that this message simply cannot be kept silent. It is too important that Judah hear the message, even though it is such a difficult one. This shows again how aware Jeremiah was that his message was indeed a word from the Lord and not something he had made up for himself.1
These words give significant insight into the call to be a prophet. The call was inescapable. The word of the Lord which had been an outward reproach now became an inward torture – the Lord had brought him into a strait from which he can find neither exit nor retreat.
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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.