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.'" – Jeremiah 20:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 1, 2023): Jeremiah 20

I have to admit that I have a dark interest in the stories of various Nazi officials who held high military positions during the Second World War. And part of the intrigue for me is trying to puzzle out why they performed the crimes during the war of which they were found guilty. And maybe there were several reasons for their actions. There is no doubt that some were true believers. They simply believed strongly in the story and plan unveiled by their Supreme Leader, Adolph Hitler. So, they eagerly followed the plan. But the reverse is also true; some simply went along with the plan because they felt they had no other choice. They were threatened and forced to play a role they didn't want to play but didn't have the courage to choose a different direction. But most men and women I have studied have fallen somewhere in between.

All of this begs a second question. When the war ended, if Germany lost, what did they think would happen? Were they so secure in a German victory that they never allowed themselves to consider any other outcome? Or maybe they believed that their rank would save them.

I am not sure that I know the answer to the question. Still, I think it was more that these German officials were secure in the thought of a Nazi victory than that they were secure in their rank because as the Second World War drew to a close, these men began to scatter, some running to distant lands and others hiding in plain sight. But both attempted to hide by using different strategies to accomplish the task. And both likely tried to leverage friendships in the pursuit of their goals. And ultimately, none of them worked, as those who have searched for war criminals have found the vast majority of the more significant missing officials.

Pashur was an important official in the Temple. And he had a problem with Jeremiah's prophecies. Pashur would have been one of the prophets arguing that Jerusalem would never fall, and there is little doubt that Pashur was likely a true believer. And, as a true believer, he believed that the Babylonians would fail in taking the city just as the Assyrians had a century and a half earlier. And so, he had Jeremiah locked up in stocks as a punishment. But he didn't leave him stocks for long. Pashur released Jeremiah the next day, but he likely hoped that Jeremiah had learned his lesson and would stop with his prophecies.

But, if that were his hope, he would be disappointed. Released from his punishment, Jeremiah immediately let Pashur know that he would not stop his line of prophecy. Not only did Jeremiah insist that Jerusalem would fall, but he insisted that Pashur and his family would be sent into exile in Babylon and that they would never return. Jeremiah's message is that Pashur would die in Babylon a nobody, and his importance and rank in Judah would not be able to save him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 46