Introducing Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1-3)
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. This is probably the only line I remember from the required readings of Charles Dickens in high school. Yet as I opened the book of Jeremiah and read the first few sentences, it was the first thing that came to my mind. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. We are told in Jeremiah 1 that Jeremiah is a priest in the village of Anathoth which is in the tribal boundaries of Benjamin, just a few miles from Jerusalem. But Jeremiah receives the word of the Lord in the days of Josiah, the king of Judah. The nation of Judah had a very imbalanced history in which there were good kings who arose and served the Lord and led the people in righteousness. But there were also wicked kings who arose and rejected the Lord and led the people in evil and idolatry. The scriptures name two kings in particular who reigned over Judah in which they obeyed the Lord like no other kings in the nation’s history. Those two kings were Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:5-6) and Josiah (2 Kings 23:25). The reign of Josiah was an amazing time of reforms and spiritual restoration. This was very important because the prior two kings did great wickedness. In fact, Josiah’s grandfather was Manasseh who is described as the most wicked king Judah ever had reign over them (cf. 2 Kings 21). Josiah tore down idols, cleansed the temple, restored the Passover, and pressed the people to obey the Lord. Jeremiah 1:2 records the best of times. But Jeremiah 1:3 records the worst of times. Jeremiah will be a prophet not only in the days of Josiah, one of the best kings Judah ever had, but he will also prophesy through the reigns of the final kings of Judah, ending with Zedekiah which is when the city of Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians. Jeremiah is going to prophesy during a time of great spiritual fervor and prophesy during a time of great rebellion to the Lord, all the way to the destruction of the nation in 586 BC. Jeremiah prophesied during the best of times and during the worst of times.
Jeremiah’s Call (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Sometimes God calling his prophet into service is quickly stated. But you will notice that Jeremiah’s call is lengthy and informative. Listen to what the Lord tells Jeremiah in verse 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.” (Jeremiah 1:5 ESV)
What an amazing introduction of God to Jeremiah! The Lord formed Jeremiah in the womb and before he did this, he knew Jeremiah. Why is this so important? The Lord is telling us that you are not an accident. You are not just an experiment in reproductive science. You are formed and made by God. We should know this as God’s people because science cannot explain the life spirit that is put into each human. Science cannot explain the soul that everyone has. We can explain all we want to about reproduction and genetics but at the end of it all, God forms us in the womb. Life comes from God. We have no right to decide who is worthy of life and who isn’t worthy of life when we see that God forms each baby. We have no right to abort what God creates and forms. God says that even before birth, he knows that child. Every person comes from God. God is the author of every life. Babies are not balls of tissue but are formed in the very image of God by God. You are not random and you are not an accident. You are formed by God. God knew you before you knew God.
Notice what else God says to Jeremiah in verse 5. God tells Jeremiah that even before he was born he was set apart or consecrated. Remember that holiness and consecration does not have to do with intrinsic purity but about being set apart for a particular purpose. The Lord tells Jeremiah that he has been set apart and appointed to the task of being a prophet to the nations. Let me state this another way and I think is important for our consideration. God had a purpose for Jeremiah. God knew what he had in store for Jeremiah. Friends, each one of us is formed with a purpose and God has expressly told each of us his purpose. Listen to what Paul says about this to the Ephesian Christians.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 CSB)
You were made for this moment, Jeremiah. In the same way, friends, you were also made for this moment. You have been formed by God to do God’s good works.
Fearing The Calling (Jeremiah 1:6-8)
Now we usually do not embrace our calling. Jeremiah did not embrace his calling. Look at what he says in verse 6. Jeremiah tells the Lord that he has the wrong person. Jeremiah says that he is too young for this and does not know how to speak. Does this excuse sound familiar? You might remember that Moses gave the same excuse when God called him to lead his people (cf. Exodus 4:10). We like to do the same thing. We are too young. We are too old. We are too busy. We do not know what to say. We are not good speakers. We like to come up with every excuse we can think of for why we do not need to fulfill the calling and purpose that God has given to us.
God’s answer to Jeremiah is clear. Do not say you are too young because age does not matter when it comes to doing God’s work. But I want us to pay attention to how God gives his solution. His solution to Jeremiah has nothing to do with age or excuses. God’s solution is simple. You are going to say my words. You will go where I send you and will say the words I give you. The first answer to our fear and our excuses is that we do not have to come up with what to say. We just need to say God’s words. Now, since we are not prophets we might think that this answer from God does not apply to us. But I would like you to listen to what the apostle Peter instructed.
8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:8-11 NASB 2020)
God has formed you and knows how he made you. Use what God has given to you to do God’s will. Speak God’s words to people. Serve with the strength God gives. Do all things so that God is glorified in Christ. Do not fear your calling because God has called you to it. You will notice that God tells Jeremiah this in verse 8. Do not be afraid of them because I am with you to deliver you. God always tells us that he is with us as we carry out our calling.
Understanding the Message (Jeremiah 1:9-19)
What did Jeremiah have for a message to proclaim? You see what his words would be as he did God’s word in verse 10. You are going to uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow, and build and plant nations and kingdoms. I want us to see that Jeremiah would do this work with his words. This building up and tearing down was not going to happen through political activism, social action, or any other worldly action. Nor would this building up and tearing down happen through miraculous activity. Jeremiah was simply to proclaim God’s word and let God’s word do the work. Jeremiah had God’s authority to proclaim sin and the need to tear down the evil of the nations and proclaim the way of righteousness for the nations. Think about how this is exactly what you see when we come to the New Testament. The disciples simply went out teaching God’s word and it was that word that turned the world upside down (cf. Acts 17:6). We often simply underestimate the power of God’s word, thinking that we need to change it, adjust it, or hide it. The way for changing the world is simply telling others what God says.
God gives Jeremiah two quick visions to prove this truth. The first vision is in verses 11-12 and God gives the simple message that God is watching his word be fulfilled. God will see what he says come true. God’s word is always fulfilled. The second vision is in verses 13-16 where God gives a simple message that he is pronouncing his judgments because of their wickedness.
Now listen to how God ends Jeremiah’s calling. Look at verse 17. Get ready and be dressed to do the work. Get yourself ready to say God’s word and do not be dismayed. Now look at what God says in verse 19. They will fight against you but they will not prevail because God will be with him. Please notice that Jeremiah is not told to keep quiet because they will fight against his message. Rather, Jeremiah is told that he must say God’s words and be ready for the outcome, even when they fight against you. Peter gives us the same encouragement to get ourselves ready for action.
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13 NRSV)
Made For This Moment
So what is God’s message to us through Jeremiah? You are formed by God and made with his purpose for your life. We should be excited that we are not accident but part of God’s purposes that he has for the world. Each one of us were made to carry out God’s will and God’s image in the world. Second, we cannot have an excuse for not doing God’s work because we were made for his work. We should not think that our excuses change why God has made us. Rather than emphasizing our weaknesses, we must emphasize God’s strength. We all feel inadequate. Even the apostle Paul felt inadequate.
For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. Who is adequate for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:15-16 CSB)
God’s answer to our excuses is that we have God and we have his words. This is all we need. He will be with us and all we need to do is use God’s word to carry out his good works. Third, we will have resistance. People will fight against us. It might even be our own people that fight against us just like it was Jeremiah’s own people that fought against him. But this does not excuse us from our God-given purpose. We dressed for the work, prepare your minds for action, and set all your hope on the grace to come when Christ is revealed. Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, God gives us the strength to do his work and removes the fears we have. We all have gifts to be used and we all have God’s words to say. We are his workmanship. We are his handiwork. We are formed the way God made us. Fulfill your purpose without excuse. Our work is to take God’s word to do God’s work.