Jeremiah 1 - Call and Comission

LINK: Jeremiah 1

Please read the Introduction to the Prophetical Books if you have not already done so. 

BACKGROUND 

Introduction to Jeremiah

2 Chr. 34-35:  640-609 (2 Kings 21-23)

                       636-623: ZEPHANIAH 1-3

                       627-574: JEREMIAH 1-52

                       574-538: LAMENTATIONS 1-5

                       621-609: HABAKKUK 1-3

2 Chr. 36: 609-538 (2 Kings 24-25)

Jeremiah's ministry spanned from 627-574 B.C. He was believed to have been around 20 years old when He started out. His ministry spanned from good King Josiah through the four remaining bad kings (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah) and into and past the Babylonian Captivity. His years of prophecy cover the events in 2 Kings 22-25 and 2 Chronicles 34-36. These are all events we have already covered. Zephaniah proceeded him and Habakkuk was his contemporary. 

Judah was on the verge of being taken captive by the great Babylon, but they were living lives of affluence and self-satisfaction, oblivious to the threat. Jeremiah was called by God to wake his countrymen up from their slumber of complacency to true repentance, but the nation continued to sleep. 

Basic theme: 

Repent and turn to God, or He will punish you.

Key verse: 

"Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And the dread of Me is not in you,” 
declares the Lord God of hosts.  
 Jeremiah 2:19

His prophecies are not in chronological order so HERE is a sheet that shows how Jeremiah and other prophets align with the historical events recorded in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

This may also be helpful:

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1126

He was "set apart/consecrated" (1:4) to proclaim God's Word to both Judah (Jeremiah 2-45) and Gentile nations (Jeremiah 46-51). 

Throughout the book, God would give pictures of who he would have to be in his ministry:

• destroyer and builder (1:9-10)
• pillar and wall (1:17-18)
• watchman (6:17)
• tester of metal (6:27-30)
• physician (8:11, 21-22)
• sacrificial lamb (11:19)
• long-distance runner (12:5)
• shepherd (13:17, 20-21; 17:16, 23)
• troublemaker (15:10, 15-17) (adapted from Be Decisive by Warren Wiersbe)

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah was a tenderhearted son of a priest of Anathoth, three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin. His father, Hilkiah, was probably not the same Hilkiah of Josiah's time (2 Kings 22:2-14). 

He was born into the priestly line, but he was called to be a prophet in the 13th year of Josiah's reign (627 B.C.). He felt he was too young to be a prophet, but God said not to argue with His calling on His life and to just do what He told him to do and He would give Jeremiah the words. 

God gave Jeremiah two visions that confirmed this calling:

1. Almond tree branch - There is a play on words here. The almond trees bloomed as early as January and February. The Hebrew word for the tree is šāqēd which means "the waker" because it is the first indication that spring is coming.  The word for "watch" or "be awake" is šōqēd.  God will be watchful and punctual in carrying out His Word of judgment on Judah. 
2. Boiling Pot - God was preparing Babylon to the north to carry out His scalding judgment on Judah. The people would think Jeremiah was crazy because Babylon was not yet a world power. The leaders of Babylon really will set up thrones in the gates of Jerusalem (39:1-3).

God specifically points out that Judah's judgment was due to idolatry which God had commanded against in Exodus 20:3-6.

REFLECTION

God, at a very young age, gave me a message of truth-telling to give to those who were much older than me. I argued with God, just like Jeremiah, and He pretty much gave me the same answer: youth is no excuse for disobedience.

It can be a very intimidating thing to do, but if God gives us something to say, we need to obey! Our age, feelings of inadequacy, or a positive response from the recipients should not determine whether we do it or not. We can be assured of His presence with us knowing that all we need to accomplish is what He desires; no more, no less.

Jeremiah answered the call of God and obeyed even when people ignored, rejected, and persecuted him. He was not successful by human measurements, but He faithfully followed God. 

APPLICATION

Sit quietly, offer yourself to God, and listen to what He would have you do. 

Is He calling you to something? How will you respond?

PRAYER

Lord, we offer ourselves up to You. Accomplish Your purposes in our lives today. Amen. 

Read Katrina's Jeremiah 1 post in the first cycle of the Bible Book Club.