This village in Israel, located about three miles northeast of Jerusalem, was the birthplace of the Prophet Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:1) It was a Levitical city. (Joshua 21:18) The villagers threatened to kill Jeremiah, and God promised to punish the village. (Jeremiah 11:21-23)
Reform of Josiah: Jeremiah ministered during the days of King Josiah, when reforms took place in the nation. Jeremiah shut down the unauthorized sacrifices in the high places, which were outside the altar at the temple of Jerusalem. One of the high places was Anathoth, the village where Jeremiah was born. Hence, they were angry with Jeremiah.
Proclaiming truth: Jeremiah did not follow their kinsmen, but followed the Lord. The Levites of the village were more concerned about their own benefit, that is, earning from performing the sacrifices. They did not bother whether God was pleased with those sacrifices. For their personal gains, they were misleading seekers of truth and devout people who offered sacrifices. As a prophet, Jeremiah rebuked his fellow villagers. As the Lord Jesus Christ said, prophets are not honored and regarded in their own hometowns. (Mark 6:4)
Threat: The villagers who were Jeremiah’s kinsmen, relatives, and neighbors threatened to kill Jeremiah. They said to Jeremiah: ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand.’ The villagers hated discipline, rules for sacrifice, and also the message proclaimed by Jeremiah.
God’s punishment: “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:15) The villagers knew this commandment of God, which warned them. Yet, they threatened Jeremiah. God is not mocked; what the villagers intended for Jeremiah would come upon them. The punishment would be that the young men of the village would die at the sword of the Babylonians, and sons and daughters would die of famine caused by their invasion.
Grief: Jeremiah must have grieved and interceded about God’s punishment for his own villagers, at the same time grateful for His protection as he did the ministry.
Am I selfish and get angry against the preachers of truth who rebuke me?