What is the meaning of Jeremiah 18:20? Should good be repaid with evil? Jeremiah opens with a rhetorical cry that spotlights the injustice of Judah’s response to faithful ministry. • Scripture assumes that good should be met with gratitude (Proverbs 17:13; Psalm 35:12). • David raised a similar protest when Saul hunted him after receiving mercy (1 Samuel 24:17). • The Lord calls His people to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), making Judah’s hostility toward Jeremiah not only personally painful but covenant-breaking. • In light of God’s moral order, Jeremiah’s question exposes sin, preparing the ground for divine judgment if unrepented. Yet they have dug a pit for me. The imagery turns from moral reasoning to lethal reality. • “They spread a net for my feet…they dug a pit before me” (Psalm 57:6) mirrors Jeremiah’s experience. • A pit suggests premeditated, hidden violence—echoing earlier plots against the prophet (Jeremiah 11:19). • The contrast is stark: the prophet offers life-giving words (Jeremiah 26:2-3), while the people engineer his death. • Such betrayal fulfills warnings that rejecting God’s word leads to attacking His messenger (2 Chronicles 36:16). Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them. Jeremiah reminds the Lord of his intercessory role. • Like Moses pleading for Israel after the golden calf (Exodus 32:11-14) and Samuel praying during Philistine oppression (1 Samuel 7:8-9), Jeremiah “stood before” God for the nation (Jeremiah 15:1). • His petitions aimed to “turn Your wrath,” foreshadowing the ultimate Mediator who would intercede even from the cross (Luke 23:34; 1 John 2:1). • The prophet’s appeal underscores the tragedy: the very one shielding the people from judgment becomes their target. • This also affirms God’s willingness to relent when confronted with sincere intercession (Psalm 106:23). summary Jeremiah 18:20 captures a heartbroken servant who: 1. Exposes the moral absurdity of repaying good with evil. 2. Describes the calculated hostility aimed at silencing God’s message. 3. Appeals to God’s memory of his faithful intercession, highlighting the irony that those he sought to save now seek his life. The verse calls believers to honor God’s messengers, trust His justice when righteousness is mistreated, and continue interceding for others even when that love is not returned. |
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