The Call to Jeremiah – Part 2
Jeremiah 1:11-19
11 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’ 12 Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching[b] 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, tilted away from the north.’
14 Then the Lord said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgements against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17 But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. 18 And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its princes, 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, says the Lord, to deliver you.
The call to Jeremiah continues with further clarity given in two visions or metaphors, followed by a promise.
In the first vision/metaphor Jeremiah sees an almond branch. The Hebrew word for almond is “saqed” – the Hebrew for watching is “soqed”. The dialogue is Jeremiah: “’saqed’ is what I am seeing.” God replies “’soqed’ is what I am doing.” The play on words leads to the affirmation that God is watching to see that his word is fulfilled.
In the second vision, a boiling pot is being poured out, coming from the north. Here the explanation is more obvious. The judgment against Jerusalem and Judah will come from the north. The judgment is coming because the people of Judah have forsaken God, turning instead to worship the work of their own hands. They have turned from God who is beyond human understanding to worship that which they can control and manage (the work of their hands.)
God is honest with Jeremiah, to proclaim these truths will be dangerous, proclaiming this message will require a courage that comes from putting service to God above fulfilling the wishes of human beings. For God promises to make Jeremiah like a fortified city, an iron pillar – that is good news; then comes the sobering comment – against the whole nation of Judah – kings, leaders, priests, people. Jeremiah will be ridiculed, attacked, insulted, imprisoned for proclaiming God’s word. But God will protect Jeremiah and bring him through.
Following Jesus, living God’s way in the world, is a costly choice, but it is the choice that leads to salvation. Before taking the hard, narrow way of following God (see Matt. 7:13-14) that leads to life, we are invited to count the cost.
PRAYER:
O Lord, we want to follow the way of your Son Jesus Christ, give us the courage to take up our cross and follow him. Give us the courage to the count the cost and still choose to follow Jesus. In his name, we pray. Amen.