Jeremiah 1 4-10 eSerm

Dabar Adonai
Sermon by Tony Everett

Twenty-five young teenagers are sitting at their desks in the classroom, minds focused on anything and everything except the complex algebra problem that their teacher is writing on the board. Suddenly, their reverie is broken by the word of the teacher: "I need a volunteer to come to the board and solve this simple binomial equation." Immediately, students become deeply involved with books under their desks. Pencils suddenly drop to the floor. Eyes become engrossed on a page, any page, in textbooks. No one dares look at the teacher. "Jerry, what about you?" asks the teacher. "I know you can do it."

Jerry's heart sinks to the bottom of his new high-top shoes. "Why me?" he thinks. "I can't do this. I'll be humiliated in front of everybody. I can't do this. That teacher has it in for me for no reason." Jerry rapidly sorts through his mental file of excuses: bad back, flu, torn hamstring muscle, chalk allergy, dentist appointment. None seem appropriate. Jerry slowly drags himself to the board. "Come on, Jerry. I'll be up here with you," encourages his teacher. "We'll go through this together." Jerry picks up the chalk. His mind goes blank. Poor Jerry.

We know that sinking feeling all too well. Each of us has been challenged to accomplish a task that seemed to require more of us than we thought we were able to give. Each of us has a prepared list of reasonable excuses for just such occasions. Each of us, like Jerry, remembers times in which refusal was not an option.

This is precisely what happened to another young boy, Jeremiah, about 627 B.C. in a small town just three miles northeast of Jerusalem. It was not the words of an algebra teacher that startled Jeremiah. It was the word of the Lord, in Hebrew Dabar Adonai. It was not a call to solve a complex math problem that Jeremiah resisted. It was a call to be a prophet to nations in great political, military, and religious turmoil (v. 4). It was not a call to stay in the classroom. It was a call to "go wherever I send you and speak whatever I command you" (v. 7). The Lord did not ask Jeremiah to perform a relatively easy task based on a previous homework assignment. The Lord asked Jeremiah to shatter the complacency of an entire people, "to break down, to destroy, and to overthrow" (v. 10), and while incurring the wrath of both his peers and government leaders, "to build and to plant" seeds of renewal and hope. This surely was an impossible mission, a mission that would definitely lead to rejection, beatings, and banishment. In other words, Jeremiah saw himself to be in serious trouble.

Poor Jeremiah. He lived in tumultuous and troubled times of upheaval. Sudden and violent pendulum swings were occurring on the international scene. Once-powerful Assyria to the northwest had become overextended in its vast empire. Egypt to the south was regaining its military strength. Babylonia to the northeast was beginning to flex its military muscles. And here was tiny Judah and its capital Jerusalem, right in the middle of these behemoths, struggling to survive the certain cataclysm that was on the horizon.

Judah's leaders attempted all sorts of political treaties. The religious leaders even incorporated the worship of Assyrian and Babylonian gods into temple worship of the Lord. And now God was calling young Jeremiah to speak the word of the Lord in the midst of this chaos. Poor Jeremiah. He tried the best excuse in his repertoire to get out of this awesome request: "Ah, Lord God, I don't know how to speak, for I am only a boy" (v. 6).

But the word of the Lord, Dabar Adonai, came to Jeremiah. This phrase, Dabar Adonai, is not merely a static stringing together of sounds. When you read this phrase in the Old Testament, especially in Jeremiah, the word of the Lord is a powerful, active, dynamic force. Dabar Adonai, the vital power of the Lord, came to Jeremiah, moving him to accept a new task and a new relationship which he was reluctant to assume. It was this word of the Lord that continued to be a driving force for Jeremiah throughout his forty-year ministry. There are more than fifty references to Dabar Adonai in the book of Jeremiah. For Jeremiah, for us, the word of the Lord moves, challenges, supports, and compels. It permeates our existence. It envelopes us and nourishes us in everlasting relationship.

Notice how the Lord reminds Jeremiah of a loving relationship that began even before birth. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you" (v. 5). Here, "knew" in the biblical sense describes a deep and profoundly intimate relationship of love. Before Jeremiah was born, God took the initiative in beginning a loving relationship with him. God set apart Jeremiah for a holy mission, and the word of the Lord was the force that would see that to its accomplishment.

We also have been chosen in and for a deep, intimate relationship with God, from birth (Psalm 139:13-16). We also have been set apart at baptism; launched by the word of the Lord on a holy mission. Jesus told his disciples, and he tells us, "You did not choose me, I chose you, that you should go and bear fruit" (John 15:16). The word of the Lord takes initiative in our lives, too.

Fear and excuses don't work very well when the word of the Lord has come upon us. They surely didn't work with Jeremiah. You see, Jeremiah was not to be alone in his holy mission. Neither are we. Are you afraid of rejection and suffering? "Be not afraid ... for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord" (v. 8). Are you anxious and uncertain about what you might say or do? The Lord touched Jeremiah's mouth and said, "See, I have put my words into your mouth" (v. 9). The dynamic, vital power of the Lord was with Jeremiah. That power of the Word of God is with us as well.

It was not easy, even then. Throughout his entire ministry Jeremiah wrestled mightily with his fear and perceived weakness. Jeremiah's anxiety often came into conflict with his prophetic mission. His heartrending struggles with the Lord are described in chapters 9, 12, 15, and 20. Yet, in pouring out his inner turmoil to the Lord, he found renewal and strength. The word of the Lord did not desert him. Jeremiah was never on his own. Neither are we. The word of the Lord is also with us.

Relying only upon our own insights and initiative, we are bound to experience confusion and helplessness. Admiral William T. "Bull" Halsey was an Allied commander in the Pacific during the Second World War. He had a reputation for devising ingenious battle plans, often waking from a sound sleep to dictate them to his aide. Admiral Halsey often remarked that this dialogue served to bring him fully awake and resulted in precise and detailed plans. On one particular night, his aide was absent and gave the admiral a pencil and note pad so that he could jot down his ideas for himself. The next morning, when he awoke, Admiral Halsey eagerly looked at his notepad, anticipating the discovery of a solution to a particularly complex problem of naval logistics. Instead, he saw, in his own handwriting the phrase, "the skin is mightier than the banana." Needless to say, this plan was never implemented.

Left on our own, without continuing dialogue with the word of the Lord, we, too, are in hopeless confusion. "Be not afraid ... I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord" (v. 8).

A young woman was packing for her first year at a distant university. Until her very last day at home, she appeared to be eager to venture out on her own. Then, as the last suitcase was loaded into the car, tears came to her eyes and she threw herself into the arms of her parents. "All right, I admit it. I'm scared, too. I might not make it. I'll miss you." Her parents, who were also in tears by this time, presented their daughter with a plaque on which these words were engraved: "The word of God will never lead you where the love of God cannot keep you." That plaque remains prominently displayed in her law office today. "Do not be afraid ... I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord" (v. 8).

God has delivered us from confusion and hopelessness. In Jesus Christ, the word of the Lord has entered our lives. In and through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the word of the Lord has indeed come to us with dynamic, vital, forgiving power. Do not be afraid to embark on a holy mission. The Lord is with you. "

Where Is God In All This, Tony Everett, CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, 1997, 0-7880-1028-x