For one, it might mean a formal ministry to a congregation, for another, working at a local mission to the homeless. A prophets life is never easy, but Jeremiah had an especially rough time. If you want to know who you are, you have to know whose you are. Frankly, that sounds a little ominous! There was no easy way for a prophet to know ultimate truth. The way of a call is not always easy; it may require frequent recommitment. "They'll never believe me!" Many Christians long to know what God is calling them to do. (Luke 1:34). But God's call to spiritual growth does not always imply a complete change in our lives. 2. Since he was an enemy of the drug cartels, his life was in constant danger, until he was finally gunned down by assassins. Limited Atonement R. E. O. Perhaps worst of all, Jeremiah was alone. Her debut novelWraithwood releases Nov. 7, 2020. rev., New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1950), p. 152. I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. Was Jeremiahs call like the call of Moses? New Testament Acts Jeremiah served God even when it meant giving up everything and facing persecution in a culture that had abandoned God. This includes the obvious things, such as spending time in prayer and Bible study, serving the people with whom you live, remaining active in the worship of the church, and being Gods witness in the world. Required fields are marked *. You may have known me before I was born, Lord, but I dont even know how to speak! You knew me before I was a baby. The rabbis called him the Weeping Prophet. They said he began wailing the moment he was born. With each answered call, we grow in Spirit. Is it not I, the Lord? . 1. Scriptures: Jeremiah 8:4-21. 19They will fight against you but will not overcome(AE) you, for I am with you(AF) and will rescue(AG) you, declares the Lord. Gods choice is not unique to Jeremiah; it is true for every believer. With Gods calling comes Gods gifting. In that day, declares the LORD Almighty, I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them (Jeremiah 30:8). White, The Indomitable Prophet: A Biographical Commentary on Jeremiah (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), pp. The book of Jeremiah is Gods words and Jeremiahs words. 6 "Alas, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am too young.". Jeremiah was born to a priestly family in Anathoth, about three miles from Jerusalem. Often when God calls individuals in the Bible He gives grand, overwhelming vision of His glory; or a powerful reminder of His greatness, strength, presence. He lives in such evil days that judgment will outnumber grace two to one. This can't be God; I don't have time for this. Why was I chosen?, The answer Frodo is given is similar to the one Gods prophets often receive: Such questions cannot be answered. Whenever Jeremiah spoke in Gods name, God was the one doing the talking. [82]Rowley, The Re-Discovery of the Old Testament, p. 143. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3951_1_82').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3951_1_82', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], }); In their call-experience the prophets came into contact with a transforming revelation of the character of God which thereafter dominated their thinking and which inspired their every message. After years in the desert, removed from any notion of being used to deliver the Israelites, Moses was in for a . We read in Jeremiah 1:4-6: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! As you know, I am getting a C in rhetoric at the synagogue. - The priests, etc.The blame principally falls on the three leading classes (as in ver. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. FORM THREE the call of prophet Jeremiah | how. Old Testament Narrative The Call of Jeremiah. The angel's words to Mary should leave us no doubt: "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37). The prophet continued to oppose those who wanted to rebel against Babylonia and promised the people a bright and joyful future. Old Testament Major Prophets 26; Micah 3:11).First on the priests who "handle the Law," i. e. who have a traditional knowledge of the details of the Law, and teach the people accordingly (Deuteronomy 17:9-11; Deuteronomy 33:10; Jeremiah 18:18; see also on Jeremiah 8:8); next on the "pastors," or "shepherds" (in the Homeric . God had work for him to do. God is sovereign. When did God choose him? Prophecy is not one of my spiritual gifts. So what if youre thirteen? When prophets speak in his name they are mightier than kings. As an adult, Jesus struggled with the overwhelming implications of his ministry. He will build and he will plant. He will bring renewal out of demolition. Ezekiel's long, detailed call narrative covers Chapters 1 through 3 with visions and dialogues. He was a polymath, a great scholar, a man of prodigious learning. God rules the nations of this world by his Word. It shows how God calls a person and waits for the man or woman to rise up in their calling. To paraphrase: Ahhh, wait a second, Lord, about this whole prophet-to-the-nations thing . This verse testifies that the personal relationship between God and his child takes place in the womb, or even earlier. When we read them, we do not just see God through Jeremiahs lens; God speaks to us directly. It was this immediate consciousness of direct communion with the living God that gave the prophets an assurance that the intuitions which rose up from their being was a word from God. A person is a human being, created in the image of God, living in relationship to God. Thus the book of Jeremiah is a tragedy rather than a comedy. of See Theology of Work Key Topic #2, Calling, at www.theologyofwork.org. You have rejected me, declares the Lord. Isaiah had one or two doubts about his calling too, but his doubts were different. God formed Jeremiah in the womb. As is typical with Twelve Prophets, the Book of Jonah begins with a call from God to the prophet (Jon. First, God assure Jeremiah that he will tell the prophet where to go and what to say. But once you know what God has called you to do, trust him to equip you to do it. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. And hell do so on the global scene. In 721 B.C., the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians. In any case, we can be confident that God will equip us for our work, whatever it is, if we will be faithful to him in it.[2]. He was not allowed to marry (Jeremiah 16:2), and his family abandoned him. . I would label his response as age-based doubt. Just as all nations receive Gods sovereign grace, all nations are subject to Gods severe justice. I am slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10). But Dad said: "Go ahead and try. The Lord gave him the same promise he made to Moses, to Joshua, and to all his children: I will be with you.. It was not always easy for Jeremiah to speak Gods words. Blessed are you among women!" and her response initially to this greeting was: "But she was much perplexed by these words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be". Her passions for Biblical study and creativity collide in her writing. Old Testament Poetry 4 - Fall 1961. He set him apart and appointed him as a prophet to the nations. (LogOut/ So, Jeremiah is given Gods authority. 1:1-2). God leads us to employ our abilities and talents in godly ways in the world. Now, again if Jeremiah is about thirteen to sixteen years old which I argue is likely the case then this protest is a little more understandable than if he were say fortyyears old. Whose faces is God talking about? You didnt say anything about dragons!. In other words, God's call generally focuses less on us, our particular sins or strengths, and more on a big God and a big job. This reminds us of Isaiahs experience when he saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1). But to be a prophet to the nations also includes announcing Gods judgment. Advertisement He did not deny the basis for the prophets objection. So, in Jeremiah 1:9-10 God makes a symbolic gesture and touches Jeremiahs mouth. Together the two books illustrate the eternal principle that man reaps what he sows. Jeremiah responded faithfully to God's call to work, and God gave him the knowledge he needed to accomplish it (Jer. This verse is not only Jeremiahs job description, it is also a helpful plot-summary of his book. Q.6) List the kings in which reign Jeremiah's ministry covered. Although Luke gives us details of Jesus' commissioning by the Spirit at his baptism, Jesus' call to a life out of the ordinary came through his mother (Luke 1:30-35). Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. I will put the survivors to the swordbefore their enemies, declares the Lord. (4-5) God's call to Jeremiah. In fact, enabling weak tools to do strong jobs is Gods standard operating procedure. The promise suggests that the prophet will fall into grave danger. . It is about the unraveling of a nation. He lived through the siege of Jerusalem along with the rest and was there as the people were taken away as captives. But we need lots of reassurance. That it was true in his case permits the assumption that it was true of the other prophets also. The Argument from Contingency: A Proof for God, 6 Verses to Cling to When You Are Overwhelmed. By Rev. They lived and labored under the lengthened shadow of that initial experience with God until the end of their earthly ministry. Bible Commentary / Produced by TOW Project, 10 Key Points About Work in the Bible Every Christian Should Know, Beyond Rank and Power: What Philemon Tells Us About Leadership, Learning From the Psalms How to Pray Through Your Work, Introduction to Jeremiah and Lamentations, Jeremiah and His Times (Jeremiah and Lamentations), Work-Related Themes in the Book of Jeremiah, Goodness and Defilement of Work (Jeremiah 2), Acknowledgement of God's Provision (Jeremiah 5), Material Success and Failure (Jeremiah 5), Injustice, Greed, the Common Good, and Integrity (Jeremiah 5-8), Work Within a Balanced Life (Jeremiah 17), Bless Wider Society Through Your Work (Jeremiah 29), The Goodness of Work Restored (Jeremiah 30-33), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Although Jeremiah's profession was prophet, there is no reason to believe that the pattern of God's call, followed by faithful human response, followed by God's equipping is limited to prophets. Used by permission. Cf. As we brace ourselves by drawing on God's infinite energy, we are changed at all levels of our being, invigorated by the bracing wind of the Spirit. Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth" (Jeremiah 1:6). First the Holy Spirit uproots and tears down sin in your heart, and then he plants faith and builds obedience into your life. He continually urged focusing on the inner spirit and right actions rather than external religious practice. burned like a fire in the souls of these prophets. Fort Worth, Texas. And in the more immediate context in Jeremiah 1:7 its all those people to whom God will send Jeremiah. New Testament Pauline Epistles For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty (Isaiah 6:5Jeremiah 1:5). After studying the call-experience of Jeremiah, I can see no basis at all for believing, as some do, that God no longer calls men to be his spokesmen. God sent Jeremiah to a crumbling nation to warn of their impending demise a warning they didnt heed. Old Testament Major Prophets All rights reserved worldwide. When did Jeremiah start belonging to God? 18Today I have made you(AD) a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole landagainst the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. H. Wheeler Robinson, The Psychology and Metaphysic of Thus Saith Yahweh,'. Jeremiah preached a lot of doom and punishment. New Testament Pastoral Epistles Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. "I am past bearing children now" (Genesis 18:12 NEB). George Douglas, The Book of Jeremiah (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903), p. 100. God showed Jeremiah two visions, giving him authority as a prophet and transferring to him the power to do the job: ''Brace yourself, Jeremiah; stand up and speak to them" (Jeremiah 1:17 NEB). New Testament General Epistles If God has actually called you to do a particular job, then he will do for you what he did for Jeremiah: He will give you everything you need to do that job. God himself possesses everything Jeremiah needs to answer his call. This does not mean that your gifts and abilities do not matter when you are trying to figure out what God wants you to do with your life. A good way to answer those questions is to compare Jeremiah with some other prophets. That wasn't quite enough for Moses, and he argued his inadequacy over and over until he was convinced that God would be there for him. He has Gods very words in his mouth. Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All he needs to do is to go where God tells him to go and say what God wants him to say. However, Hezekiah was immediately followed by his wicked son Manasseh. With reference to Jeremiah chapter 1:4- 19, state Jeremiah's five responses to God's call Atika School Provides Christian Religious Education questions and answers for KCSE preparations. When God called Jeremiah to become a "prophet to the nations," Jeremiah cried: "Ah, Lord God! 1:17). The reason Jeremiah has authority over nations and kingdoms (Jeremiah 1:10) is that he is not speaking on his own behalf. Photo credit: Getty Images/stevanovicigor. . During this time, Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon, telling them they would not be returning to their homeland anytime soon. Jeremiah witnessed, both in foresight and real time, the destruction of his people. Jeremiah 18:7-10). of Or even earlier known me before I was born to a congregation, for another, working at local. Grow in Spirit permits the assumption that it was not always easy for Jeremiah to Gods. 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