Why did Jeremiah not sit in the company of revellers or rejoice and rather sat alone because the Lord’s hand was on him?

The Hebrew word sahaq, translated as revelers can be used in Scripture in the negative sense of someone who mocks, or positively for those who are laughing and making merry. Jeremiah seems to be using it in the positive sense and is saying that he has been excluded from the joys of normal daily life in the community.¹ Jeremiah complains that he has sat alone. The Hebrew word used here (badad) recalls the requirement that lepers should sit (dwell) alone, outside the camp (Leviticus 13:46). Jeremiah is saying that he has become a social leper, an outcast among his own people. This happened because the Lord’s hand was upon him. He has been rejected by people because of his ministry as the Lord’s prophet.² Much of the isolation Jeremiah felt was due to the fact that the Lord had filled him with indignation. The message of judgment left Jeremiah feeling torn and isolated. On the one hand he felt the Lord’s anger at the unfaithfulness of Judah, but on the other he felt the horror this judgment would bring on his people, and even on himself.