Answering While God Calls (Jeremiah 8:20) on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 AM. This verse is not only Jeremiahs job description, it is also a helpful plot-summary of his book. There is no essential difference in the manner of their being inspired by God. Part of this requires a partial overview of the history of the Israelites in the Promised Land. Change). 27 When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. Meanwhile, Assyria had been conquered by Babylon. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Jeremiah 10:13 (NIV) "When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. New Testament Acts Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you (Jeremiah 1:7-8). Old Testament Minor Prophets Jeremiahs sufferings began with a divine call: God did wonderful things for Jeremiah before he was even born. NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, Comfort Print: Follow Gods Redemptive Plan as It Unfolds throughout Scripture, NIV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture. Theology of Work Project Online Materials by Theology of Work Project, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Jeremiah doesnt need to fear. Because of the nation's refusal to listen and change, God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed by the Babylonians, making it an example of the fate of the unrepentant. His eyes also are cast down, as if he can no longer bear to see Gods people suffer. He labored as Gods prophet for forty years or more, from 627 b.c. By the way, were not told if this is a vision or not. I am not made for perilous quests, cried Frodo. The central theme of the prophetic message. " " You knew me before I was a baby. But you have been chosen and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.3. The prophet had a mission to accomplish and a message to deliver to his generation. New Testament General Epistles Moses knew that he was to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians, but he wanted to do it in his own way and on his own timing. The dialogue begins in Chapter 2 as a voice speaks from out of the throne vision: "Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you" (Ezekiel 2:1). We seek that kind of reassurance when we feel called to do something that seems beyond our present capabilities. burned like a fire in the souls of these prophets. God's response to Moses was "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:12). A daily quiet time of return to the Source recenters us so that the Source may well up in us to be expressed in the world. For Sarah and Mary, pregnancy served as an indisputable sign of the veracity of the call. You cannot expect to be ready for Gods call, or even to recognize Gods call, unless you are obeying what God has already revealed to you. Is it not I, the Lord? After several years of preaching, Jeremiahs family turned against him and even plotted to kill him (Jeremiah 1:8, 11:21-23, 12:6). This is Gods plan for the kingdoms of this world (cf. Rev. Once God had issued his divine call and dealt with his dubious candidate, he gave him a dangerous commission: You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Unfortunately, the governor was murdered two months later, and Jeremiah was carried off to Egypt against his will by Jewish rebels. All these actions Jeremiah will perform with his God-given words. 1901 NW Blue Parkway (LogOut/ God gave opportunity after opportunity for repentance. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Ezekiel was set as a watchman over Israel in order that he might warn them to turn from their wicked ways (Ezek. The book of Jeremiah is Gods words and Jeremiahs words. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to be a bold prophet, not because of his preaching ability or because of his age and experience, but because he was called to speak Gods own words. King Solomon ruled over the Israelites, Gods people, in the tenth century B.C. When God called Jeremiah to become a "prophet to the nations," Jeremiah cried: "Ah, Lord God! Start for FREE. To put it plainly, he said, Dont give me that stuff! Do not say, I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you (Jeremiah 1:7). The prophets job description includes six tasks, and four of them are negative. From another point of view, however, these are the words of God himself: The word of the Lord came to him (v. 2). As we have seen, God prepared Jeremiah from before his birth for the work of a prophet (Jer. They were warned, over and over and over, but they did not repent. His face is turned to one side, like a man who has been battered by many blows. Page 2 Section 1 continued Q.5) Give the reasons why God had intended to bring judgment upon his people. It's ironic then that Jeremiah responds back to the Lord here - " I don't know how to speak ". In reply to his distraught parents, he asked incredulously, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 1:6). This article appeared in Unity Magazine. And just as God transfers responsibility to Moses (''you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" in Exodus 3:10), we are grasped by the responsibility for hearing and following the call of Spirit to a greater life. Jeremiah had periods of despondency when he expressed the wish that he had never been born or that he might run away and live alone in the desert. He served and suffered through the administrations of three kings: Josiah the reformer, Jehoiakim the despot, and Zedekiah the puppet. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Images/Rembrandt. Jeremiah spent forty years telling the people what would happen. 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. It comes from an Inner Voice that says, "This is right; this is exactly what I need to be doing.". God did not disqualify Jeremiah on the basis of his youth and inexperience. Jeremiah lived when little Israel was tossed around by three great superpowers: Assyria to the north, Egypt to the south, and Babylon to the east. God called the entire nation of Israel to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" ( Exodus 19:6 ). (Exodus 3:11) Like Jeremiah, Moses is bold, even quarrelsome, in his discussions with God. I think it was a good answer. 2 But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. [1], God knows how we like Jeremiah are knit together according to Gods design. Cheyne, Davidson, T. H. Robinson, and Skinner. It is about the unraveling of a nation. Isaiah complained of "unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5). Cf. The memory of that experience remained with them as a constant challenge and as a compelling force to be Gods spokesmen of eternal truth. During this time, Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon, telling them they would not be returning to their homeland anytime soon. But God's call to spiritual growth does not always imply a complete change in our lives. Cf. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Second, God promises to deliver Jeremiah from all danger. A hobbit named Frodo has been chosen to make a long and dangerous quest to destroy the one ring of power, a quest he himself would not wish to choose. When did God choose him? New Testament Epistles 4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew[ a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.". Lamentations gives voice to the deepest agonies, with the hope that some comfort may come from crying out to God for mercy. Among its important teachings are the following: 1. This was a captivity for the long haul. (K), 9Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched(L) my mouth and said to me, I have put my words in your mouth. The great prophets of the Old Testament had divine authority when they spoke for God because of their vital experiential knowledge of God. God does not promise that Jeremiah has nothing to fear or that he will not need to be rescued. Rescued from what? Jeremiah was known for his dramatic object lessons. Perhaps you are still trying to figure out what Gods plan is for you. You did not choose me, Jesus said to his disciples, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit (John 15:16). Quoted in Parker Society Vol. Scriptures: Jeremiah 8:4-21. So what if youre thirteen? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Calvinism Isaiah had one or two doubts about his calling too, but his doubts were different. Was Jeremiah being modest or faithless? This is not to imply that the prophet received his inspiration once and for all in one single experience, but it does mean that he received the seed or germ of every great idea that he was to proclaim to Israel in that experience. Yet shortly before he died, he said, I know that I am absolutely immortal until I have finished the work that God intends for me to do. Gods servants are indeed immortal until they have completed their service. Not only did he experience the horrors of war, starvation, siege, and captivity, he was called upon to tell the people of it, urging them to repent. Therefore, it is for the comfort of every Christian. Since he was an enemy of the drug cartels, his life was in constant danger, until he was finally gunned down by assassins. When the Prophet Jeremiah was called to become a prophet, he made an excuse. to some time after 586 b.c. 4. God had work for him to do. And with those words, Jeremiah will perform the actions listed in Jeremiah 1:10. She is a literary agent atC.Y.L.E., the publicity manager atMountain Brook Ink, and a freelance editor withSherpa Editing Services. (LogOut/ To destroy is another word for knocking things down. Almost always gives a huge, overwhelming task to accomplish. He was not allowed to marry (Jeremiah 16:2), and his family abandoned him. (Luke 2:49) His words have the childlike innocence of one who has not yet faced the full responsibility that his call would engender. Moses sees the burning bush and hears the voice of God calling him to deliver the Israelites (Exodus 3:1-10). There is a general call, of course, to believe in Jesus Christ. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. For example, when emissaries from surrounding nations came to Judah asking the nation to join a rebellion against Babylon, Jeremiah put a yoke on his neck and went about urging the nations to submit to the yoke of Babylon and live (Jeremiah 27:2-11). 1:5) and, at the right time, appointed him to that work (Jer. Taken from Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope by Philip Graham Ryken. To be called by God is to be chosen by God for certain purposes. But they also speak to us today, helping us to hear the summons of Spirit in our own lives and to answer that call of our own potential. Every resource on our site was made possible through the financial support of people like you. God is sovereign over the nations, and he rules them by his Word. Twice in Luke we read that Mary kept all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19 and 2:51). 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! By this, the Lord is signifying that he has put and will continue to put his words in Jeremiahs mouth. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. After years in the desert, removed from any notion of being used to deliver the Israelites, Moses was in for a . All rights reserved. Dec. 1, 2010. If you think you know what the Lord wants you to do with your life, get busy, trusting him to give you the grace to answer his call. " You may have known me before I was born, Lord, but I don't even know how to speak! The Babylonians placed Zedekiah on the throne of Judah. He is the one who is in charge of the beginnings and endings of history. And she pondered them. No matter how low we have fallen, we have not fallen from the love of God, and we are not beyond the reach of His plans. 1:17). Then the word of the LORD came to me: Jeremiah had a personal encounter with . But once you know what God has called you to do, trust him to equip you to do it. Not only did Jeremiah have Gods presence at his side, he also had Gods words on his lips: Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, Now, I have put my words in your mouth (Jeremiah 1:9). Many times, he cries out to God, even lashing out, as in Jeremiah 15:18. He began proclaiming God's messages and continued to do so through trial and peril. He lived in a time very much like our own, when people no longer think God matters for daily life. The spiritual problems we face at the dawn of the twenty-first century were the same problems that Jeremiah found depressing 2,500 years ago. (M) 10See, today I appoint you over nations(N) and kingdoms to uproot(O) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.(P), 11The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah?(Q). 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). You are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), and remix (to adapt the work) for non-commercial use only, under the condition that you must attribute the work to the Theology of Work Project, Inc., but not in any way that suggests that it endorses you or your use of the work. God is with you! You have rejected me, declares the Lord. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Sign up for Unity newsletters! You have found favour with God." By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Who makes him deaf or mute? That bicycle I wanted to ride looked so big! The Bible is never embarrassed to speak this way. He sent dozens of messengers proclaiming repentance, but these messengers were killed, abused, and mocked. . study God's Word and apply it to your life! Yet how often we ignore the prompting of Spirit! 1:17). I have loved you with an everlasting love, God says in Jeremiah 31:3. The angel's words to Mary should leave us no doubt: "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37). If God has done all that for you, will you go wherever he tells you to go, and say whatever he wants you to say, even if it turns out to be a dangerous commission? When we read them, we do not just see God through Jeremiahs lens; God speaks to us directly. H. H. Rowley, The Nature of Prophecy in the Light of Recent Study, The Harvard Theological Review, XXXVIII (January, 1945), 1-33; Alfred Guillaume, W. F. Lofthouse, Thus Hath Jahveh Said,. Jeremiah preached a lot of doom and punishment. He did not deny the basis for the prophets objection. I am slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10). Just as all nations receive Gods sovereign grace, all nations are subject to Gods severe justice. There was no easy way for a prophet to know ultimate truth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses." Jeremiah 10:13 (MSG) "He thunders, and rain pours down. Her debut novelWraithwood releases Nov. 7, 2020. With each answered call, we grow in Spirit. As an adult, Jesus struggled with the overwhelming implications of his ministry. He reached the point of calling God "a deceitful brook,waters that fail" and even accused God of deceiving and overpowering him. Would you feel comfortable preaching to so-and-so? I was asked. Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. God knew your child, and he knows your child. "I am past bearing children now" (Genesis 18:12 NEB). Answer: It is told there that he responded to Yahweh's (God's) call to prophesy by protesting "I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth," but he received Yahweh's assurance that he would put his own words into Jeremiah's mouth and make him a "prophet to the nations." A few scholars believe that after his call Jeremiah . A good way to answer those questions is to compare Jeremiah with some other prophets. God intended his ministry to be international in scope. Even a child which Jeremiah claimed to be and probably was can do that! 14The Lord said to me, From the north(T) disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. Concerning this truth, Skinner has stated that the ultimate secret of true prophetic inspiration is found in an immediate consciousness of having the mind of God.[84]Skinner, p. 195. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3951_1_84').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3951_1_84', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], }); The concept of God which the prophets received in their call was an in ward and spiritual criterion by which they tested the truthfulness of their message. The call and preparation of the Prophet Jeremiah. See Theology of Work Key Topic #2, Calling, at www.theologyofwork.org. When a person is aware of that call and surrenders to it, he or she starts living out God's purpose for him or her (see Jeremiah 1:4-5; Isaiah 49:1; Galatians 1:15 ). To uproot is to dig up nations by the roots and turn them under. For this, he was arrested. New Testament General Epistles Perhaps God was extraordinarily direct with Jeremiah because Jeremiah was so deeply reluctant to accept Gods call. "They'll never believe me!" The Prophets message was but a proclamation of what he knew about God and the divine purpose. Michigan, Milford | 220 views, 6 likes, 1 loves, 9 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Christ Lutheran Church and School: Service from Christ. R. E. O. Unity is a global, inclusive, spiritual community. Jeremiah was called to be "a prophet to the nations" (Jer. Old Testament Poetry We don't know when he perceived that he was to have a public ministry, but Jesus was still a child when he stayed behind in Jerusalem in the temple, dialoguing with his teachers. Get Unity news, prayers, and resources straight to your inbox. Time very much like our own, when people no longer bear to see Gods people, in discussions... Have committed against me on the throne of Judah Moses sees the burning bush and hears the voice God! To turn from their wicked ways ( Ezek you may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at time... Knowledge of God calling him to equip you to and say whatever command. Logout/ God gave opportunity after opportunity for repentance the right time, appointed him to that (. Am slow of speech and tongue ( Exodus 3:12 ) to fear or that he will need... What Gods plan is for you word of the old Testament Minor prophets Jeremiahs sufferings began a! To your Inbox Every Morning and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me will! ; ( Jer of God Exodus 3:11 ) like Jeremiah, Moses was in a... Like you, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 am answered call, of,... 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