Jeremiah 23:33 - Meaning and Application

The people’s profanity, along with that of the priests and prophets, is rebuked here in one particular case. It may seem small compared with their larger sins, but careless talk and the corruption of a nation’s language are clear signs that sin is spreading. So it is no surprise that this matter is pressed so strongly here.

The sin charged against them is that they mocked God’s prophets and made jokes about sacred things. They asked, “What is the burden of the Lord?” (Jeremiah 23:33, 34, 38). This was the phrase that offended God, because whenever they spoke of the word of the Lord, they used “the burden of the Lord” in scorn and ridicule. The prophets had used that phrase seriously, to show how weighty God’s message was, how important it was, and how strongly it should press on those who heard it.

The false prophets’ words had no real weight, but God’s words did. Their sayings were like chaff, light and useless, while God’s words were like wheat, full and life-giving. The scoffers took a solemn phrase and turned it into a joke and a catchword, so that people would laugh when the prophets used it and not be moved to take it seriously. Satan has always used this tactic, turning holy things into sport and ridicule to weaken their power.

Perhaps they also mocked the phrase because they thought it was an improper word, a new expression invented by the prophets and not found in classical writers. But if people are free to make new expressions in other areas of learning, why should there be objection to such language in theology? More importantly, the Spirit of God is not bound by our rules of speech.

Some think that because “the burden of the Lord” often referred to words of warning or judgment, the scoffers used it to imply that God was always laying heavy demands on them, always troubling them, and always frightening them. In that way, they made God’s word a constant annoyance to themselves, and then blamed the ministers for making it feel burdensome. So it is still today: people who despise heaven and salvation often accuse faithful ministers of preaching only hell and judgment.

In all of this, God sees the disrespect shown to sacred things, and he is deeply offended by it. People may laugh at such wit, but there is no wisdom in it, and that will become clear in the end. “Do not be mockers, or your chains will become stronger” (Isaiah 28:22). Those guilty of this sin were likely some of the false prophets, perhaps trying to steal the word of God from the true prophets, some of the priests, perhaps looking for grounds to accuse them, and some of the people who had learned this irreverence from corrupt priests and prophets. The people would not have treated the prophet and his God this way if the priests and prophets, the leaders in evil, had not shown them the path.

When they are rebuked for this irreverent speech, they are told how to speak more properly. The prophets are not told to stop using the word entirely. It is still used later in Scripture (Zechariah 9:1; Malachi 1:1; Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1), and Jeremiah himself is not shown using it this way before or after. In many cases, it is wise to avoid words that have been badly misused, even if they are innocent in themselves. But here God tells the prophet to keep to his calling, “Let them turn to you, but do not turn to them” (Jeremiah 15:19). He should not stop using the word; instead, they should stop abusing it.

They are told not to use the phrase “the burden of the Lord” in this profane and careless way any more (Jeremiah 23:36), because that twists the words of the living God and misuses them. That is a sinful and dangerous thing, especially when we remember that he is the Lord of hosts, our God. If we truly saw God as great and good, and if we felt our duty and relationship to him as we should, we would not dare to mock his words. It is a bold and shameful thing to abuse the living God, the Lord of hosts, and our God.

So how should they speak? “What has the Lord answered you?” and “What has the Lord spoken?” (Jeremiah 23:37). They should use that language when they ask a prophet, and they should speak that way when they ask one another (Jeremiah 23:35). We should always speak of the things of God with reverence and seriousness, as fits the words of God. It is a good thing to ask after God’s will and to ask our fellow believers what they have heard from God, or to ask prophets what message they bring from him. But if we do that rightly, we must do it in a right spirit and in a proper manner. Ministers can learn here that when they correct people for wrong speech or conduct, they should also teach them a better way.

Because they would not stop this bad way of speaking, even after being warned, God threatens them with ruin. They kept saying, “The burden of the Lord,” even after God had forbidden it (Jeremiah 23:38). They showed little respect for divine authority when they would not even stop after being told. But God makes clear what will happen. Those who twist God’s words and speak wrongly about them will be dealt with severely, and it will be shown that mocking his messengers is a great offense. “I will punish that man and his house,” whether he is prophet, priest, or common person, “for saying, ‘The burden of the Lord’” in this way (Jeremiah 23:34). To distort God’s word and ridicule those who preach it brings judgment on families and can leave a lasting curse on a household.

Another warning is given in Jeremiah 23:36. Every person’s word will become his own burden. That is, the guilt of this sin will be so heavy that it will drag him down into ruin. God will make their own tongue fall back on them (Psalm 64:8).

God will give them enough of their joke, so that they will no longer want to speak of the “burden of the Lord.” It will be too serious a matter to mock. They are like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death around while pretending he is only playing.

2. God’s words, though twisted by these people, will still come true. Do they ask, “What is the burden of the Lord?” Let the prophet ask them, “What kind of burden do you mean? Is it this: ‘I will completely forsake you’?” (Jeremiah 23:33). This is the burden that will be placed on them and tied to them (Jeremiah 23:39-40): “Look, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you. I will leave you and not think of returning to you.” Those are truly miserable who are forgotten and abandoned by God, and human mockery cannot stop his judgments.

Jerusalem had been the city God chose for himself as a holy city, and then gave to them and their fathers. Now it would be forsaken and forgotten. God had chosen them as a people close to him, but now they would be cast out from his presence. They had once been great and honored among the nations, but now God would bring on them lasting shame and perpetual disgrace. Both their sin and their punishment would remain as a permanent disgrace, written down for all to see and remembered to the end of the world.

This is a warning that God’s word will be honored and shown to be true, while those who mock it will be brought low and made contemptible. Those who despise him will be held in low esteem.