1-6 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, ‘The Lord’s name for you is not Pashhur, but 'Terror on Every Side.'  For this is what the Lord says: “I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.  I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies – all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.”’

7-8 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out  proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in;  indeed, I cannot.

10-13 I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!’ All my friends  are waiting for me to slip, saying, ‘Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.’ But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonour will never be forgotten. Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause. Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. 14-18 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!  Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,  who made him very glad, saying, ‘A child is born to you – a son!’ May that man be like the towns  the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave,  her womb enlarged for ever. Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? Jeremiah 20:1-18 New International Version

We might wonder how anyone could think and say the things we read in vs 14-18! But it was the result of truthfully and faithfully preaching over a long period of time the terror of God's coming judgement on people so deceived that they thought God would never do such a thing to them – even though their lives were full of wickedness. And while the pain of the beating he received (vs 1-6), and the humiliation of sitting in stocks in the market place and being ridiculed by people, must have hurt; what was Jeremiah's deepest wound? (vs 7-8)

He felt let down by God! All he got for his faithfulness was mocking and scorn. He was despised and rejected by all. Does that sound familiar? Did not even the Son of God cry out on the cross “My God, my God . . .why have YOU forsaken me?” The nails did not pierce Jesus as much as that moment when He felt abandoned by God. So too Jeremiah knew that it was 'the word of the Lord' he was preaching that had brought insult and reproach all day long. He wanted to give up preaching doom and gloom. But could he? (vs 9)

What Jeremiah experienced has been true of many of God's people all over the world when they faithfully spoke His word. And it may become (or already be) our experience too. People resent hearing that if they don't turn from their sins and seek God's forgiveness they will face Him one day as their judge and be condemned to hell. But it is a part of God's word we must not keep silent about – even if it brings us hardships and humiliation.