Jeremiah 1
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
God’s word through Jeremiah’s mouth written down by both he and Baruch his scribe across about 40 years (maybe more in Egypt) of ministry with a do-over along the way:
Jeremiah 36:2 “2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.”
Jeremiah 36:23 “23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he (king Jehoiakim) cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.”
Jeremiah 36:32 “32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.”
That’s a picture of most of the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah, he gives them the word of Yahweh then in response he’s:
made fun of, scorned, and the subject of a plot to kill him
beaten, put in prison and thrown in a cistern to die
forced into Egypt against his own prophesy for the remnant to not flee there from the Babylonians
Most of us have heard Jeremiah called “the weeping prophet” both due to the number of times we see in scripture he cries and due to the afflictions and struggles he faced.
Just coming out of Isaiah, this line caught me: “Another way of introducing Jeremiah is to see him as the most “human” of all the prophets.” —F.B. Huey
We see in Jeremiah: courage, compassion, and sensitivity. We also see a darker side of moodiness, introspection, loneliness, doubt, and asking for Yahweh’s vengeance on his personal enemies.
We read Isaiah and he seems majestic, greater than us. Ezekiel has more self-discipline than we could ever be. Amos stands with a fire we’d love to ever be able to have.
Jeremiah, though, he’s one of us. He seems closer to being a man like we are.
A real man wrestling with the real God and suffering real hurt and loss from following the real Word of God in a culture bent on chasing every god BUT Yahweh!
Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Not Hilkiah who discovered the book of the law in the temple in 2 Kgs 22:8 but a priest who lived in Anathoth
Present day Anata is built on the ruins of Anathoth. Maybe 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem, an hour or so walk to get back and forth.
Jeremiah’s ministry lasts five kings: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. The two not in verse 3 only lasted months and Jeremiah skips them.
began during Josiah, when as the last “good” king of Judah, he tore down all the high places and according to: 2 Kings 23:25 “25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”
even sparking a “revival” where the people followed: 2 Kings 23:2–3 “2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.”
the problem Jeremiah shows us is the fact the people turned out to be superficial at best and all for show at worst: Jeremiah 3:10 “10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.”
Then we come to the meat of this morning's lesson…
Jeremiah’s Calling
Jeremiah’s Calling
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 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.
Vs 5 — His calling came before he was born. Yahweh’s plan as providence coming forward in practice
“knew”: yada is more than we read in English as just information or acquaintance. The Hebrew carries relationship and love. So when we read Jeremiah 31:3 “3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” we can see Yahweh’s love was from before everlasting or eternity.
“knew..sanctified…ordained”: God’s “plan A” was Jeremiah singled out and set apart for a purpose. To be a prophet to Judah AND unto the nations. That purpose comes from God’s love
most prophets were only to Judah and Israel, Jeremiah will be a prophet to other nations as well. God’s love and purpose is for Judah, Israel, the nations, and individuals.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 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. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Vs 6 — Jeremiah’s objection to the call was fear. Fear that he couldn’t do it.
“child”: whatever we think of when we hear or read that isn’t here
the same Hebrew word (נַעַר, na'ar) that Jeremiah uses of himself in 1:6, "I am a child." covers Moses in the basket (Ex. 2:6) and Joseph at seventeen (Gen. 37:2) — it's a range, not an age.
Jeremiah was probably late teens early twenties, but I get his feeling every time I stand up here to teach. More so every time I get a chance to witness to somebody. And it almost terrifies me at the moment I think of or begin to walk someone down the Romans road and show them how the Bible says to be saved!
But Yahweh’s answer to Jeremiah is the same one to you and I in our fear:
verse 7 answers “I can’t” and verse 8 answers “I’m scared”
We are trying to teach the youth the companion message: 1 Timothy 4:12 “12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Yahweh tells Jeremiah “don't use youth as an excuse”. Paul tells Timothy — “don't let others use your youth against you.”
The take away for them and us: go where God sends, speak God’s word, and God will take care of the rest
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Vs 9 — the remedy
Back in Isaiah 6 a burning coal is touched to Isaiah’s mouth when Isaiah objects he’s “a man of unclean lips”
Here, Yahweh’s hand touches Jeremiah’s when he objects “I am a child”
Same instrument, same commissioning, different fix: Isaiah's lips are cleansed because his objection was uncleanness; Jeremiah's mouth is filled because his objection was inability.
Vs 10 — authority
it’s not Jeremiah’s plan, it sure wouldn’t be ours! But Jeremiah isn’t going on his ability and here we see it’s not his authority either. It’s God’s authority!
“to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build, and to plant”
four negative first then two positive
The idols and immoralities of judah and the nations have to be pulled down and cleansed before God builds anything good in their place.
A new building can’t be built until the old one it replaces has been demolished.
Jeremiah’s Charge
Jeremiah’s Charge
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
We see Jeremiah given two visions, 1st:
Vs 11 — the sign of the almond rod
The almond tree was called the “awake” tree because it blossoms early in the spring while other trees remain dormant
The reason the almond appears is a Hebrew pun that doesn't survive into English.
Almond is shaqed (שָׁקֵד);
Vs 12 — hasten
"I will hasten/watch over" in v. 12 is shoqed (שֹׁקֵד). Same consonants, near-identical sound.the verb under hasten is "watch/keep watch over"
God shows Jeremiah the "watcher tree" and then says "I am watching over my word to perform it."
The warning was that God’s announcements of judgment through earlier prophets hadn’t been forgotten.
Whenever Jeremiah and the people of Judah saw the almond tree, they were to remember that their God was watching them
13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
The second vision is the boiling pot
the pot is tipping away from the north, spilling its contents down onto Judah
God’s judgment that was going to come on Jerusalem by an enemy invasion from the north. It was coming for sure and will be scalding
Babylon is east of Judah, but armies always came down the Fertile Crescent and entered from the north, because the desert made a straight-east march impossible.
So "out of the north" is geographically how invasion actually arrived, not just a picture
Vs 16 — why is judgement coming?
they forsook God, burned incense to other gods, worshipped the work of their own hands
God is awake over his word (almond), and the word is coming (pot), because of idolatry
17 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. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen 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. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Vs 17:
there’s a time to be still, and a time to act
Jeremiah’s call was given, and now it was time for him to act on that call. Not “pray about” not “think on” but GO!
Vs 18-19 —
His enemies would be his own people; but the Lord promised to make him as unconquerable as a fortified city, as strong as an iron pillar, and as impervious to attack as a bronze wall
His only offensive weapon would be the word of the Lord
We’d say that Jeremiah had to be hardheaded and thick-skinned in order to defend himself against kings, priests, and all the people of the land, we have to be the same today to withstand the hostility and ridicule of an unbelieving world
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jeremiah's call was about announcing coming judgement to an unbelieving crowd
He didn’t think he could and was scared to go
His only help was the God of creation that promised to go before him and keep him
We do have that same call today to a lost and dying world
God isn't only tearing down — after judgment he builds and plants his people again, and that restoration hope is the seed of the new covenant in ch. 31
And the grace and strength of God is still the only way!
