Tell the Story
1 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 almond1 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 disaster2 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;3 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.”
Being one of God’s prophets was hard work.
It may sound easy—all you had to do was tell people how much God loves them.
That was definitely one of the messages the prophets gave, but the people needed to hear more than that. Many of the Israelites were good to go on God’s love. What they weren’t very good at was loving God back.
Time and time again, the Israelites decided to do things their own way. Actually, that’s only half right. Time and time again, the Israelites decided to do things everyone else’s way. They were supposed to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people set apart. But instead of living like special people following God’s way, they wanted to be normal people doing things the world’s way. God raised up the prophets to rebuke his people, warn them of judgment, and call them to walk according to God’s commands.
Now that’s a hard job!
And no prophet had a harder job than Jeremiah. When Jeremiah was a young man, the Lord spoke to him. “I knew you even before you were a baby in your mom’s belly,” the Lord said. “I have appointed you to be my messenger.” When Jeremiah said he couldn’t do the job because he was too young, the Lord replied, “Do not be afraid. I will be with you and put my words in your mouth.”
Jeremiah would need the Lord to be with him, because the words he gave Jeremiah to speak were hard words. God showed Jeremiah a vision of a boiling pot from the north. It was a picture of the kingdoms of the north coming to attack Jerusalem. God was angry with the people of Judah. They had ignored his commands, worshiped other gods, and wandered from the good paths they used to walk in.
Sounds like an unpopular message. And it was! No one liked Jeremiah. They wanted him to announce good news. But sometimes the only way to get to the good news is to hear the bad news first. The Lord said, “Don’t be discouraged, Jeremiah. I will make you like a strong city, like an iron pillar, like bronze walls. The people will fight against you, but they will not win.”
Jeremiah is sometimes called the weeping prophet because he had to give such bad news and saw so many hard things. But he was also a faithful prophet. Like Jeremiah, we must always say and do what is right. God will be with us, even if everyone is against us.
