The Call to Jeremiah
After a more than 2 month break the devotional material is back – 3 days a week (Mon., Wed., Fri.).
Aug. 7 - Jer. 1:1-10
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, 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 King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
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! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ 7 But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’
Jeremiah is often an overlooked prophet in the Old Testament, for three reasons. First, he has a reputation of being a pessimist and people don’t like those who are negative. Second, the book of Jeremiah is not written in chronological order, so the story line is not always clear. Third, much of the book is poetry and we have lost the ability to read and unpack poetry with its images and metaphors. But Jeremiah is in the Bible, therefore is the Word of God for us, just as the “nicer” parts of the Bible are the Word of God for us.
Vs. 1-4 tell us three important things – Jeremiah grew up in a priestly (religious) family, living in a small town outside Jerusalem called Anathoth. He spoke God’s word to the kings who sat on the throne for Judah for about 40 years, ending in 586 BCE.
Vs. 5-10 are God’s call to Jeremiah to be God’s spokesperson (a prophet). The best guess is that Jeremiah was 20 years old when God called him, “before you were born I consecrated you to be a prophet” – both thrilling and terrifying news. That God saw Jeremiah and knew Jeremiah was an assurance of God’s presence, but Jeremiah knew being a prophet for God would be difficult. So Jeremiah responded, “I am too young.”
God would not be dissuaded from the call on Jeremiah’s life. God promises to be with Jeremiah, giving Jeremiah the words to say and therefore Jeremiah should not fear.
Jeremiah is given a two-fold task. To declare the end of what has been: “to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow”. But also to declare a future of hope on the other side of the tear down: a time is coming to “to build and to plant.”
God still calls people, calls us, to tasks that seem both thrilling and terrifying, we are invited to trust God’s presence and say “yes” to God’s call.
PRAYER:
Lord God, you know us, and you call us to serve you where you have placed us. Help us to say “yes” to your call. Help us to take the risk of following your leading in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.