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Jeremiah 20-22: Failure to Thrive

January 14, 2026 at 4:46 PM 6 comments

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Jeremiah’s Lament (20:7-10)
Jeremiah is angry here in these verses, thinking God had deceived him. He was so frustrated, that Jeremiah tried to stop giving the LORD’s messages but his heart burned within him – he had to say the messages. He could not stop speaking.

Of course, the people complained about Jeremiah’s messages of terror. They didn’t want to hear them because the messages were “negative.” Yet Jeremiah remains confident in God’s presence and purpose. His persecutors would not prevail.

Jeremiah’s Brokenness at his birth (20:14-18)
It got so bad for Jeremiah, he wished he had never been born. Let’s not be too hard on the prophet because he was up against a great deal. It’s easy to sit there and wonder why he simply didn’t trust God. But think of the times you may have reacted to something in life that didn’t play well for you. We all go through times of despair. But the good soldier in Christ finds a way to move on in Him.

Jeremiah wonders why God brought him forth if only to see misery and shame? It must have been horribly frustrating for Jeremiah. He was doing what God called him to do yet in spite of his obedience, things were not looking good at all. In fact, they were looking dismal. However, we know that Jeremiah persevered. He was faithful.

Today’s “prophets” and “apostles” experience no such shame or misery as they are held in high esteem by folks who follow them and hang on every word. Their words are lies, yet Jeremiah’s were truth. He spoke on behalf of God, yet the false prophets of then and today claim to speak for God, but aren’t. They present words of comfort and seeming wisdom and people feel warm inside. That is how too many decide on what is true; how they feel about it, not what God’s Word actually says!

Jeremiah’s discouragement came from standing against the tide of evil. That must have been difficult to see the constant reaction of the people God was speaking to through Jeremiah reject God’s Word out of hand. Many times, they called God a liar.

In circumstances like these, God expects us to carry on. He doesn’t expect or want us to throw in the towel. God wants us focused solidly on what He wants us to do and willingly submit to His will for our lives, regardless of the cost. Ultimately, though it was difficult for him, Jeremiah did just that.

Oracles Concerning Judah’s Kings (21-23)
In these chapters, Jeremiah proclaims oracles regarding the leadership of Judah. King Zedekiah sought out Jeremiah for advice (21:1-10), concerning what to do about Babylon. This passage probably dates from the time of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 588-586 B.C. Zedekiah saw that Nebuchadnezzar was preparing for war against Judah and wanted to know if God would save Judah.

Gee, talk about being “thick” in the head! How many times has God already indicated that He would bring serious judgment against Judah if they do not turn back to Him in full repentance? Many times since the opening pages of the book of Jeremiah and yet here we are again in these chapters, where Jeremiah has to proclaim similar things he’s already proclaimed (and the leadership and people rejected it), and King Zedekiah acts as though God has never said anything about any sort of judgment.

Jeremiah’s response is that not only will God not save Judah but He – the LORD – will fight against Judah. I think it is safe to say that God had become fed up. He was done with trying to urge the Judahites to return to Him because they continually showed no sign of wanting to do so. God was bringing Babylon against Judah because of their waywardness and refusal to repent.

Oracles Concerning Judah’s Kings (21:3-10)
Imagine what it must have been like to see the armies of Babylon gathering outside the walls of Jerusalem? God had warned and warned, yet to no avail. The Babylonians were hardcore soldiers. They not only knew how to fight, defeat and slaughter their opponents, but they knew how to build siege ramps that allowed them to climb over any way. So even though Jerusalem was surrounded by a huge wall, Nebuchadnezzar’s armies would gain access over it. So imagine how that felt to the people inside Jerusalem. Daily they heard the noise and saw the effort put in by Babylon’s soldiers to build the ramp that would allow them to gain access to Jerusalem. Imagine the terror the people of Jerusalem felt.

After the Babylonian siege, Zedekiah would be taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and killed. In essence, God was going to use Babylonian armies to do His bidding against Judah, the same way He had used foreign armies to conquer and destroy Israel, the northern kingdom. Instead of seeing that destruction as an object lesson, the Judahites fell into the same error because of their stubbornness.

The people remaining who survived famine, etc., would also be killed. God ensured that Nebuchadnezzar would show no mercy. If anyone remained in the city to try to defend it, they would die. God had decided He would turn over Jerusalem to Babylon and the city would be burned.

Yet, in all of this, God extended His mercy to those who trusted and believed in Him who lived in Judah. Those who willingly went into captivity would have their lives as a reward. Those were probably the faithful ones, the ones who believed God and were counted righteous for it. Let’s face it, no one except God can turn anyone else around. No one can open another person’s eyes. All they can do is tell them the truth and see what God does. God always keeps for Himself a remnant in every generation. He did that then and He does it today. Anyone who is authentically part of the Church, the Bride of Christ, is part of that remnant. But we are surrounded with naysayers and people who proclaim to be Christians and yet are not. This is part of the problem with trying to address the problems in the world. What needs to be addressed are the problems in people’s hearts, not necessarily all the political drama that we see constantly.

Message to House of David (21:11-14)
In this section, Jeremiah likely presented these oracles/warnings in the Temple court, not directly to the ruling leadership of Judah. We can break it down into three sections:

1. There is admonition (vv11-12)
2. There is accusation (v13)
3. There is judgment (v14)

God is covering all His bases here, ensuring that everyone in Judah knows why He is angry and what the outcome will be if they continue to refuse to repent. God still offers hope here. If they would repent, God would relent.

Message to Unknown King (22:1-7)
We don’t know who this particular king was that Jeremiah was warning. It certainly could have been Zedekiah and I tend to think it was, but some conservative commentators indicate we don’t and can’t know. But Jeremiah was instructing the king and his administrators to practice justice in civil matters. It always seems to go back to that. Too many of Judah’s (and Israel’s) kings practiced injustice. It’s similar to today’s “rulers” in Congress and state and local offices. Too many use their positions to gain access and an influx of money. It’s amazing how many elected officials are arrested or accused of inappropriate behavior while in office. They go in worth a few thousand and a few years later, they are millionaires.

In Jeremiah’s day, the leaders then were suppose to protect the weak and not shed innocent blood. However, too many exposed the weak to injustices and shed innocent blood. Remember Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21)?

If people in power would take the time to do what is right and protect the vulnerable, this is true “social justice,” which the Lord demands. What we have today is not actual social justice, though it is seen as that by the Left. Instead, they are posturing over things like DEI and other things that give preference to people based on skin color or culture. This should not be, but it exists.

God warns this unknown king that if he refused to do what God wanted him to do, God would destroy the palace. Because the kings of Judah refused to acquiesce to God, they sealed Jerusalem’s fate in destruction.

Message to King Jehoahaz [Shallum] (22:10-12)
Jeremiah tells the people not to mourn for Josiah who had been killed in battle against Egypt (Pharoah Neco II; 2 Kings 23:31-35). No one knows why King Josiah went out and got involved in a battle that was not really his business and resulted in his death. Was that part of God’s plan?

Following King Josiah, Jehoahaz/Shallum, who was Josiah’s second son, reigned 3 months, a pitifully short time to rule. He was taken captive Egypt and died in captivity. Jehoiakim (son of Josiah) was the next king and Jeremiah has a message for him (22:13-17). Interestingly enough, Jehoiakim was reprimanded more severely than any king – he had completed rejected Josiah’s reforms and Josiah had instituted some major reforms in Judah.

Jeremiah Calls Down Woes
Josiah had meted out justice to all people regardless of their social standing in Judah. In this he acted like God who also provides justice. Jehoiakim, another king, acted only in his own self-interests even resorting to covetousness, extortion, shedding innocent blood and violence. I imagine having the power of a king can go to a person’s head and they soon believe they are above the law and can do anything they want to do. Jehoiakim lived only for himself using innocent lives around him to gain more wealth and power. When Jehoiakim died at age 36, no one mourned for him. They were likely glad to see him gone.

Following Jehoiakim, we come to King Jehoiachin (aka Coniah or Jehoiakim’s son, 22:24-27). God would hurl him into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands. Why? Because Coniah was a covenant-breaker. The Lord promised none of Coniah’s descendants would ever sit on the throne (22:30). Coniah had 7 sons and none ever became king.

Interestingly, Zerubbabel – a grandson of Coniah – returned to the land later as one of the foremost leaders of the restoration community (cf. Ezra 1—6), but he was not a king. However, the Davidic line though was revived through Zerubbabel. God always keeps His promises.

Application for Christians Today
First, Christians need to speak the truth in love regardless of any persecution that rises against it. We need to preach the Gospel with our words and our actions. We need to show the world what love is, the love that God has for us. This speaks volumes. Second, we should support true justice and righteousness in the world.

Third, we should always choose God over worldliness and sin. That’s difficult at times and impossible to continually do because we are sinners, saved by His grace. Without His grace, we would not have life eternally. Fourth, we need to comprehend the fullness of our eternal covenant with Jesus through our salvation. What does that mean? How does it look? How is it worked out in our lives?

Fifth, we need to recognize that sin’s pollution needs Christ’s cleansing, not simply our willpower to overcome it. Without Christ, we can do nothing. With Him, there is nothing that we cannot do. God judges our heart, not simply our actions.

May our words and actions tell the world we are saved and answer a higher calling. May our lives penetrate the darkness, reaching out to those who do not know Him. We might come up empty where the world is concerned, just like Jeremiah. Nonetheless, we need to push on and persevere in our high calling and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. That is the process of sanctification we find ourselves in right now.

Onward. Upward. Seek Him daily.

Entry filed under: christianity, israel, Judaism, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, sanctification. Tags: Jeremiah 20-22.