Jeremiah 11: Bu18-23 First of Jeremiah's Confessions

Moreover, the Lord made it known to me and I knew it, because the Lord showed me their deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know that they had devised plots against me saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living. Let his name be remembered no more." O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, who tries the feelings and the heart, let me see your vengence on them. To you I have committed my cause. The Lord says concerning the men of Anathoth, "Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die at our hand." Therefore the Lord of Hosts says, "Behold I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword, and their sons and daughters will die by famine, and a remnant will not be left to them for I will bring disaster
on the man of Anathoth in the year of their punishment."

There are six areas in the Book of Jeremiah that are referred to as his confessions. Here he pours out his heart and makes known to God his inner-most feelings. Some people believe that the first confession goes back to support for King Josiah's temple reforms. The reform went against the priests power over worship in Jerusalem. This confession is why Christian tradition has set Jeremiah as a figure of Christ, who was also rejected by his own people. The Lord's answer is harsh; explaining that the suffering is only the start, and he will need to prepare for greater sacrifice.

Daily Prayer: Lord it seems that suffering is part of your expectations for the people of God. In my life, I too suffer, and so does my family. Let me not complain, but instead endure in order to follow in the example you gave me in the person of Jesus Christ. It is in his name that I pray Amen.