Scripture Reading: Jer. 1:4-19
In this message we will consider 1:4-19. This portion tells us first how Jeremiah was called by God and then how he was commissioned by Him.
In verses 5 through 8 we see Jeremiah's call.
In verse 5c God said to Jeremiah, "I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Literally, the Hebrew word translated appointed here means "given." God gave, appointed, Jeremiah to be a prophet not only to the nation of Israel but to all the nations.
In verse 5a God said to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Realizing the poor situation of Israel in relation to Him, God knew Jeremiah even before He purposely formed him in his mother's womb to be a prophet.
God also said to Jeremiah, "Before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you" (v. 5b). How good it is that before Jeremiah was born he was already sanctified!
Verse 6 tells us that to God's call Jeremiah responded with excuses.
"Then I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! / Behold, I do not know how to speak" (v. 6a). Jeremiah seemed to be saying, "Lord, how can I be a prophet? I do not know how to speak!" Many of the saints in the Lord's recovery today offer such an excuse for not functioning in the church meetings. If they are encouraged to prophesy in the meetings, they may say that they do not know how to speak.
Jeremiah also excused himself by saying, "I am a youth" (v. 6b). He felt that he was too young to be a prophet. Some of the new ones among us may have the same feeling about speaking for the Lord. To such a person God would say, "You are not too young. As long as you have been born of Me and baptized, you are not too young to speak for Me." God does not regard as legitimate the excuse that we do not know how to speak or the excuse that we are too young.
In verses 7 and 8 Jehovah affirmed Jeremiah's call. "But Jehovah said to me, / Do not say, I am a youth; / For everywhere I send you, you shall go; / And everything I command you, you shall speak. / Do not be afraid of their faces, / For I am with you to deliver you, declares Jehovah." Here God seemed to be saying to Jeremiah, "Do not care about human faces. They mean nothing. I am with you, and no one is stronger than I or greater than I."
Verses 9 through 19 speak of Jeremiah's commission.
Verse 9a says, "Then Jehovah stretched out His hand and touched my mouth." Since God is absolutely spiritual, how could He have touched Jeremiah's mouth with His hand? We do not know and we cannot explain this. We only know that Jeremiah was in fact touched on his mouth by Jehovah's hand.
After touching Jeremiah Jehovah put His words into his mouth. Jehovah said to him, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth" (v. 9b). This enabled the prophet to speak for Him. The principle is the same with us today. When God puts His words into us, we have much to speak for Him.
"See, I have appointed you this day / Over the nations and over the kingdoms / To pluck up and to break down, / To destroy and to tear down, / To build up and to plant" (v. 10). On the negative side there was to be the plucking up, the breaking down, the destroying, and the tearing down; on the positive side there was to be the building up and the planting. Here we are reminded of the two meanings of Jeremiah's name: "Jehovah exalts" and "Jehovah tears down." The plucking up, the breaking down, and the destroying are Jehovah's tearing down. The building up and the planting are Jehovah's exalting. Surely every negative thing — everything of Satan, sin, and the world — must be torn down. Along with this we have Jehovah's building up and His planting, both of which involve His word. God's word is a building up of Christ and a planting of Christ. This is for the exalting of Christ.
According to verses 11 through 16, in his commission Jeremiah was given to see two visions.
The first vision was of the rod of an almond tree. "Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, I see the rod of an almond tree. And Jehovah said to me, You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it" (vv. 11-12). The Hebrew word for watch is the root of the word for almond. Here the rod of an almond tree signifies that God was watching over His word (the word of punishment) to perform it.
Moses had warned Israel that if they did not obey the voice of Jehovah their God, they would be cursed in every way (Deut. 28:15-68). For example, Moses said, "Your heaven, which is above your head, will be brass, and the land, which is under you, iron. Jehovah will make the rain of your land powder and dust" (vv. 23-24a). After Moses spoke these words, God sent prophets to the people of Israel to remind them to keep His word. However, Israel did not obey God's word. Therefore, at Jeremiah's time, many centuries after the time of Moses, God came to watch over His word in order to fulfill it, that is, to execute His word to punish Israel.
The second vision given to Jeremiah to see was of the boiling pot facing away from the north. "Then the word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north. And Jehovah said to me, Out of the north evil will be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land" (Jer. 1:13-14). Here the word north refers especially to Babylon, and the word evil refers not to sinful things but to calamities. Thus, the boiling pot facing away from the north signifies that out of the north calamities would be let loose (4:6b) upon all the inhabitants of the land of Israel. Prior to this time, the calamities had been restricted. But now God will call all the families from the kingdoms of the earth, and they will come and set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah (1:15). In this way Jehovah will utter His judgment on Israel concerning all their wickedness — their forsaking Him, offering sacrifices to other gods, and worshipping the work of their own hands (v. 16). Because of all these things, God was coming in to punish Israel.
In verses 17 through 19 we see that Jeremiah was charged by Jehovah.
Jeremiah, who was born a priest but was called to be a prophet, might have been a timid, fearful person. This timid person was given a charge by Jehovah. In the first part of this charge, God said to him, "You therefore gird up your loins, and rise up and speak to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you in their presence" (v. 17). If Jeremiah had been dismayed before the people, God would have dismayed him.
Today, in the matter of functioning in the church meetings, many saints are dismayed. But we should not be dismayed by anyone, and we should not be afraid of anyone. No matter who is present in the meeting, we should not be dismayed. Rather, we should function to speak for the Lord.
In verses 18 and 19 we have the second part of Jehovah's charge to Jeremiah. "I am now making you today into a fortified city and into an iron pillar and into brass walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. And they will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you, declares Jehovah, to deliver you." Why was it necessary for God to make Jeremiah into a fortified city, into an iron pillar, and into brass walls? This was necessary because a battle was raging. The kings, the princes, the priests, and the people of the land were enemies not only to Jeremiah but also to God. These enemies were fighting against God, and Jeremiah was sent to represent God and fight for Him. Those who fought against Jeremiah fought against Jehovah because Jeremiah and Jehovah were one. For this reason, God wanted Jeremiah to know that He was with him and that He had made him into a fortified city, into an iron pillar, and into brass walls.
The Bible tells us that on earth there is always a battle raging between God and those who oppose Him and fight against Him. God does not fight by Himself directly but through His servants who have been sent by Him. This was the situation in Jeremiah's time. God sent His army — a young man named Jeremiah — to fight against those who opposed Him. Jeremiah was equipped by God to such an extent that he became a fortified city. Because God was with him to deliver him, the opposers would not prevail over him.
In the Lord's recovery today, we also face opposition, condemnation, and rejection, and we also must fight for God. As we are sent by God to fight for Him, He fights through us. In this fighting our weapons are God Himself and the truth revealed in the Bible.
