O Lord, you have DECEIVED me

God commissioned Jeremiah in 1:

18 "I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

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God warned him of the coming struggle between the kings of Judah and him. They would challenge him.

God promised Jeremiah in 15:

11 “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will intercede with your enemy in your time of trouble, in your time of distress."

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Pashhur persecuted Jeremiah in 20:

1 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord.

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Jeremiah suffered violence. This was the first recorded act of violence against him. Then God interceded as promised:

3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends.

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Jeremiah pronounced judgment on Pashhur after he released him. However, Jeremiah continued to feel the turmoil. He complained to God:

7 O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived;

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He expressed anguish and frustration. He felt that God had deceived him. It wasn't a propositional assertion.

Did God deceive Jeremiah?

No, God didn't promise him that there would be no violence against him. On the contrary, right from the beginning, God warned him that his enemies would fight against him. Jeremiah's expectations were a bit off. Nevertheless, he resigned to God:

you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.

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He continued to disclose his inner fears:

10 For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!”

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He feared conspiracy against him.

All my trusted friends watch for my fall:

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He feared that he couldn't even trust his friends.

“Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”

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His enemies used the word 'deceived' against him before. Then they beat him up. He complained to God in v 7 using the same word that his enemies used.

11 But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail.

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He hanged on God's promise. But his feelings flip-flopped:

14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.

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He questioned why he was born at all.

18 Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?

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Did God deceive Jeremiah?

No, but he felt like God did. Jeremiah 20 contained an emotional response to his suffering from physical violence for the first time. He was overwhelmed by emotions, flip-flopping between highs and lows. He was not being balanced.

See also

• God sends them a strong delusion. Is God a deceiver?