The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And 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.” Jeremiah 1 ESV
Jeremiah 1 Called
Jeremiah: “The precise meaning of the name is unknown, with suggested interpretations including ‘the Lord founds’, ‘the Lord exalts’ and ‘the Lord throws down’.” (Harrison)
ii. “The name Jeremiah was common in Judah. It occurs several times in the OT. At the time of David there were two, and possibly three Jeremiah’s among David’s mighty men (1 Chronicles 12:4, 10, 13).” (Thompson)
4-5. Now the word of the Lord came to me - God's call upon his life is revealed to him. Given the nature of his call, the weight of it, the unpopular message that he is to carry, much like Isaiah, he is given a vision or encounter to fix and fuse his will to the predetermined will of God.
Before you were born, I consecrated you - If your view of God is a being who is reacting, then fix your view, for before He created time, He set the limits from eternity.
…15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will remain— so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 17This is My command to you: Love one another.… John 15: 15-17
…12even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You. 13For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.… Psalm 139: 12-14
I appointed you a prophet to the nations - His ministry is far reaching, and it starts before the Babylonian captivity. Daniel sites reading Jeremiah to know that the captivity will only last 70 years. I am reading it much later, and so his prophecies have taught Judah, the surrounding nations, both directly and indirectly for thousands of years.
6-8. I don't know how to speak, for I am only a youth - This seems to be a problem common to the prophets. To be fare, I know men that seem to have no reservations about themselves, and they are usually in more danger of misspeaking. It is a holy fear that causes a man to despise the idea of saying something that God would not want him to say, or misrepresenting the cloth.
10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?… Exodus 4: 10-11
12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.… Acts 4: 12-14
…11Command and teach these things. 12Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.… 1 Timothy 4: 11-13
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.… 1 Corinthians 2: 1-2
Do not say, "I am only a youth" - God was already aware of this, and whom He calls, He prepares. Samuel was young when God called to him, Mary and Joseph were teenagers given the responsibility of birthing and raising the Son of God.
To all whom I send you, you shall go - It's not aimless, there is not a lot of guess work here.
Whatever I command you, you shall speak - It's good you distrust yourself, because I don't want you running around making stuff up, no, say only what I tell you to say and to whom I send you to say it. It's not your age, social standing, eloquence, appearance, you are a messenger, a delivery boy, don't freak out.
1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.… 2 Timothy 4: 1-3
14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. 15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16
Do not be afraid of them - Huh? I would really start wondering now, but God is giving him, as He gives to everyone who will read His word and understand that He is sovereign, this word to go back to, to draw strength from. "For I am with you to deliver you."
…2They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me. 4But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.… John 16: 2-4
…17Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”… John 21: 17-19
9-10. Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth - Similar to the vision of Isaiah, where Isaiah encountered the holiness of God, and his response was woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips amongst a people with unclean lips. Jeremiah thought he was too young, and the message definitely wasn't a fun one, but God touched both men in different ways to let them know that He was with them and would provide them with the words to say.
I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms - God is sovereign over all that He has created, this includes governments and kings. Jeremiah will be the mouth piece of God and so rejecting what He is saying is to reject God, attacking him is to attack God.
…10So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?” 11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.” 12From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”… John 19: 10-12
…6Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.” 7Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.…
…9Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.…
13Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die. 14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”… 2 Samuel 12: 6-14
…6So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” 7But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?” 8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.… 1 Kings 22: 6-8
11-19. I see an almond branch - Jeremiah lives in a place known for it's almond trees, so God is using something simple but familiar to him. The prophet doesn't say a branch or a stick, but "an almond branch." It is not the extending of the olive branch of peace, but rather the almond branch signifying that what's coming is fast approaching. The almond branch and blossoms were familiar to Israel and used at other times for signs as well.
…7Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. 8 The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds. 9Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.… Numbers 17: 7-9
“Before you can make an impression upon another person’s heart, you must have an impression made upon your own soul. You must be able to say, concerning the truth, ‘I see it,’ before you can speak it so that your hearers also shall see it.” (Spurgeon)
The significance of the branch of an almond tree was important in two ways. First, the almond was well known as the first tree to bud in the spring. This indicated that God was ready to quickly fulfill His word, just as the almond tree seems ready to bud.
iv. Secondly, the Hebrew word for almond tree is close to and derived from the Hebrew word for watchful, and this word is used in God’s response to Jeremiah. “These verses contain a play on words that is lost in English but is vital for the force of the vision. The ‘almond tree’ is saqed and God is ‘watching’ (soqed) over his word to fulfill it.” (Feinberg)
I see a boiling pot - It is facing away from the north, and God gives further description of disaster, that He is calling, these tribes, other nations, are coming at His command to set up around Jerusalem for her judgment. This is the pouring out of God's wrath through the vehicles of Babylon. It has come to a boil, they have forsaken the true God and made offerings to idols that they made with their own hands.
…7but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another. 8For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs. 9But I will proclaim Him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.… Psalm 75: 7-9
But you, dress yourself for work - Set your face like a flint, you have your marching orders, go and prepare, wait for my command.
Lest I dismay you before them - Fear God rather than man. Keep your eyes on Him, don't change it up or water it down, that shows you elevate their acceptance above His, or you fear them more than Him.
…27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.… Matthew 10: 27-29
They will fight against you - Your words will have a slightly different effect than being lifted up on their shoulders and praised for your work. You will probably get mocked, beaten, imprisoned, but the Lord is with you, and in the end you will prevail. This is a call to a discouraging ministry, and I have seen pastors consistently rejected for refusing to preach another gospel, but hold tight, God sees, He is with you.
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