Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Then said I, "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:4-8)
Jeremiah's call was pre-ordained, in other words, Jeremiah was "known" by God and "chosen" by God before he was ever born, before he ever had time to prove whether or not he would be worthy of the call. But God's choosing of us never has anything to do with worthiness or deservedness.
God chooses us because He can. Because He is all-knowing, and all-powerful, sovereign GOD.
Somehow, I don't think Jeremiah was the only man that God "knew" before he was even born. Somehow, I think He "knew" each of us BEFORE we were even in the womb. I think this because God is who He is.
If we could just get that into our heads and keep it there, then what more could we expect out of life than to be so blessed as to have been known by God before we were even born and then to be chosen by Him before we ever proved or disproved our worthiness (because it isn't our strength anyway, it is His).
Maybe we do know this. Maybe our discontent comes not from the lack of this knowledge about our blessings in God, but more from the fear that we will not be found worthy, or the fear that it is all a big lie, or the fear that somehow we have already rejected Him. It is all about fear, isn't it, if we are not too proud to admit it?
No matter what doubts assail us, about either ourselves or the truth of the Lord, if we search, I know that we will find that glimmer in us that says, "Trust! Believe Me! Hold tight to that which you have and stand!"
And so we must. And so we go on, for His Word is filled with hope for such as us. As long as we breath, there is hope. God's unconditional love for us assures of that hope. But because He provides each breath we breathe, we are to receive Him TODAY while there is still breath, for we have no assurance of the next breath, ever. God is sovereign in that as well.
In Jeremiah's time, the message God sends to His people are both warnings of judgment and promises of hope, if they will just surrender to God's judgment. The judgment is sure because of the sins of the people, but the judgment can be mitigated somewhat by their surrender, by their acknowledgment of the fact that they deserve the judgment, that they brought it on themselves by their rejection of Him.
However, to wave their fists in God's face, and proudly declare, "We will not surrender!" is to invite an even harsher judgment upon themselves, as we will see.
God called Jeremiah to this task that would make him despised, rejected, and lonely. But God also provided signs and assurances to Jeremiah that He was with Him and that the enemy could not prevail against God's chosen servant.
The first sign in Jeremiah 1:11-12 is the branch of an almond tree and indicated God's faithfulness to His Word as an encouragement to Jeremiah. What God promises to us, HE WILL DO!
The second sign in Jeremiah 1:13-16 is of a seething pot, whose face was toward the north, indicative of the fury that would come from a northern nation against Judah, a northern nation that God would call forth in judgment against Judah. This sign was to assure Jeremiah that he would not be speaking about a judgment that would not come, and would be set aside as a false prophet, for judgment WOULD indeed come.
Then the Lord gave Jeremiah the assurance of His own strength and power to sustain Jeremiah:
"Thou therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee: but they shall not prevail against thee, for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee." (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
The assurances that the Lord gives Jeremiah are very familiar to the believer in Christ as well, are they not? The charge that God gave Jeremiah applies to us as well as the assurance: "Do not be dismayed at their faces." In other words, do not fear. Trust. Believe me. Hold tight to that which you have and stand!
God's living Word encourages and gives life to us today with all that we have been called to face and endure, just as surely as it did for Jeremiah with all that he had been called to face and endure. With so much encouragement already in the opening chapter of Jeremiah, be prepared to be blessed as we continue this study.
Then said I, "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:4-8)
Jeremiah's call was pre-ordained, in other words, Jeremiah was "known" by God and "chosen" by God before he was ever born, before he ever had time to prove whether or not he would be worthy of the call. But God's choosing of us never has anything to do with worthiness or deservedness.
God chooses us because He can. Because He is all-knowing, and all-powerful, sovereign GOD.
Somehow, I don't think Jeremiah was the only man that God "knew" before he was even born. Somehow, I think He "knew" each of us BEFORE we were even in the womb. I think this because God is who He is.
If we could just get that into our heads and keep it there, then what more could we expect out of life than to be so blessed as to have been known by God before we were even born and then to be chosen by Him before we ever proved or disproved our worthiness (because it isn't our strength anyway, it is His).
Maybe we do know this. Maybe our discontent comes not from the lack of this knowledge about our blessings in God, but more from the fear that we will not be found worthy, or the fear that it is all a big lie, or the fear that somehow we have already rejected Him. It is all about fear, isn't it, if we are not too proud to admit it?
No matter what doubts assail us, about either ourselves or the truth of the Lord, if we search, I know that we will find that glimmer in us that says, "Trust! Believe Me! Hold tight to that which you have and stand!"
And so we must. And so we go on, for His Word is filled with hope for such as us. As long as we breath, there is hope. God's unconditional love for us assures of that hope. But because He provides each breath we breathe, we are to receive Him TODAY while there is still breath, for we have no assurance of the next breath, ever. God is sovereign in that as well.
In Jeremiah's time, the message God sends to His people are both warnings of judgment and promises of hope, if they will just surrender to God's judgment. The judgment is sure because of the sins of the people, but the judgment can be mitigated somewhat by their surrender, by their acknowledgment of the fact that they deserve the judgment, that they brought it on themselves by their rejection of Him.
However, to wave their fists in God's face, and proudly declare, "We will not surrender!" is to invite an even harsher judgment upon themselves, as we will see.
God called Jeremiah to this task that would make him despised, rejected, and lonely. But God also provided signs and assurances to Jeremiah that He was with Him and that the enemy could not prevail against God's chosen servant.
The first sign in Jeremiah 1:11-12 is the branch of an almond tree and indicated God's faithfulness to His Word as an encouragement to Jeremiah. What God promises to us, HE WILL DO!
The second sign in Jeremiah 1:13-16 is of a seething pot, whose face was toward the north, indicative of the fury that would come from a northern nation against Judah, a northern nation that God would call forth in judgment against Judah. This sign was to assure Jeremiah that he would not be speaking about a judgment that would not come, and would be set aside as a false prophet, for judgment WOULD indeed come.
Then the Lord gave Jeremiah the assurance of His own strength and power to sustain Jeremiah:
"Thou therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee: but they shall not prevail against thee, for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee." (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
The assurances that the Lord gives Jeremiah are very familiar to the believer in Christ as well, are they not? The charge that God gave Jeremiah applies to us as well as the assurance: "Do not be dismayed at their faces." In other words, do not fear. Trust. Believe me. Hold tight to that which you have and stand!
God's living Word encourages and gives life to us today with all that we have been called to face and endure, just as surely as it did for Jeremiah with all that he had been called to face and endure. With so much encouragement already in the opening chapter of Jeremiah, be prepared to be blessed as we continue this study.
2 comments:
This study fits me so well! Having just gotten back in step with the Lord, I am hesitant to "speak up". I am fearful of appearing "hypocritical" or letting "words not worthy of the Holy Spirit" out. Our pastor the other day just asked, "when someone gets engaged to be married they get excited and tell everyone, but why is it we don't get excited to tell people the great things that Jesus has done for us today?" I know one thing for sure, when the Lord wants to get a message to you, he will have several different people ALL tell you the same thing! You know the Holy Spirit is "thumping" you on the head with each word you receive and God's message WILL be delivered. Amen to that!!
I believe even the disciples had the same problem, since we are told in the book of acts that even after the Day of Pentecost they asked for "boldness" from the Lord, at which point He sent them a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. Our flesh is weak, but if we live in the Spirit and in His power, we are less fearful of man.
So happy you are here!
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