Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He authored both the Old Testament books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. Jeremiah lived during a trying time for the kingdom of Judah. In the introduction to his writings Jeremiah mentions that he was the son of Hilkiah. This is not the same Hilkiah that discovered the book of the law in the temple. Rather, Hilkiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth which was located in the region of Benjamin. “Jeremiah lived during the final days of the Kingdom of Judah. The revival under King Josiah (who ruled from 640–609 b.c.) and the fall of the Assyrian empire (in 612–609) seemingly offered some hope for Judah. The nation’s rebellious spirit, however, coupled with the rise of the Babylonians as the new power of the Near East, made calamity inevitable.”[1] Jeremiah was called as a prophet to proclaim a word from the Lord, primarily, a word of warning and of judgement. Thus, the theme of the book centers around God’s judgement on the people of Israel. The Holman Commentary says, “Like so many of the other writing prophets of the Old Testament, Jeremiah promised that God would ultimately fulfill His ideal for Israel, but only after a time of purifying judgment and exile. God would not tolerate unfaithfulness among His people. Judgment would sweep away covenant violators and pave the way for the establishment of a new covenant.”[2] The first several chapters of the book of Jeremiah includes conversations between God and Jeremiah. We see Jeremiah crying out to God as he is burdened with the weight of certain judgement on the people of Israel.
In the first half of the first chapter we see the call of the prophet and the work of the prophet. Our text at hand is concerned with the call of the prophet. One of the things that concerns me in modern day Christendom is the lack of a sense of calling. Unfortunately, I meet far too often men and women working in the church and in Christian organizations that do not have a sense of calling. They do what they do simply as a job or a way to gain influence or advance one’s career rather than being called of God. We desperately need a revived sense of calling in the church today. When you have a sense of calling your entire attitude and perspective is different. When you know that God has called you, whatever issue or problem that may arise will not deter you from the mission because you have been called by God. Your calling is higher than yourself or your personal well-being. You stay faithful in the work through the good and the bad because you know that you have been called by God. This idea of being called by God is not reserved simply for those in vocational Christian ministry. Rather, it must be understood that all believers are called by God. In Jeremiah 1:4-8 we learn how Jeremiah was called to be a prophet. He was a man with a definite sense of calling. “Jeremiah would have been considered a failure by today’s standards of success, but in God’s evaluation he was an outstanding success. Why? Because God judges us by a different standard from the world’s criteria for success. If we are obedient to his commands for us, then we will receive his commendation (Matt 25:21). Jeremiah was a “success” because he faithfully proclaimed the word of the Lord.”[3] When one is called by God and obediently answers that call, it is difficult to ever contemplate doing anything else. “God has a person for every task he wants accomplished. The person comes to understand that task through what is referred to as a “call” experience. A comparative study of the prophetic calls reveals that although they were different, each created an irresistible constraint on the prophet’s life. In spite of indifference, physical abuse, or rejection, each was driven to proclaim the messages he received from God. What God appoints and initiates God enables (Phil 2:13; 4:13).”[4] In consideration of Jeremiah’s call, there are several principles that apply to us today.
You are chosen. Verse 4 tells us that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Have you ever received a word from the Lord? Have you ever had a time in your life when you knew that God was speaking directly to you? God speaks to us in several ways. Primarily He speaks to us through His written Word. The Bible is a ‘lamp to our feet and a light to our path.’ It teaches us how we are to live and give direction for our lives. Therefore, Bible reading and Bible study is vitally important to the life of the believer. You cannot know what God is saying to you if you do not read His Word. God also speaks to us through the Holy Spirit who lives within us as a believer. One who walks daily with the Lord through prayer and Bible study will often hear the sweet small voice of the Holy Spirit guiding them through life. God also speaks to us through other people. He will bring people into our life to speak into us. To encourage us and to challenge us. The key question is whether or not we are listening.
The word that came to Jeremiah began with a reminder of how he was chosen by God before he was even born. It must be understood that God has purpose for your life. He created you with a purpose. That purpose may or may not be fully realized. The fulfilment of that purpose is dependent on your obedience. The sad reality of life is that many people, perhaps the majority of people, never experience God’s purpose for them. God’s purpose for our lives begins with His desire that we would know Him in a real and personal way. He sent Jesus to be our Savior. To do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He came to save us from the penalty of sin and to give us a hope and a future. He came to give us abundant life. A full, complete, and purposeful life. The issue is not whether or not God has chosen you, for He has. The issue is whether or not you are obedient to His call. It should be a great encouragement and comfort to us all, that God wrote our names in the book of life before we were born and He gave us a purpose in life and has called us to a life of obedience to Him. He planned from the very beginning that we would know Him and serve Him. However, when we refuse to trust in Jesus as our Savior and we die in our sins, our names are blotted out of the book of life and we are separated from God forever. One should not be concerned over if God has chosen them. For God has chosen all of us. The question is: have you chosen Him? Have you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus? Have you answered His call? Are you living in obedience to that call? Are you fulfilling your God-given purpose?
You are set-apart. The Lord tells Jeremiah that he has been ‘set-apart.’ To be ‘set-apart’ is to be ‘sanctified.’ It is to be designed and created for a purpose. God has gifted every individual with a certain personality and certain gifts. He has uniquely created each of us to bring Him glory by advancing His Kingdom in a manner consistent with the way He made us. Therefore, in addition to God’s desire for you to know Him personally, He also has a specific plan for your life. There is a path that God has paved for your life. Each milestone on that path builds upon another. Each step on that path is a learning and developing process in which God is working in you to form you into the image of Christ. He is sanctifying you. The path that God has planned for you is a path that makes you fitted for the specific task to which He calls you. Every person’s path is different. The path that God has taken me on to bring me to Himself and to live a life of obedience to Him is different than the path He has designed for you. This should bring us great encouragement. To think that God loves and cares for me in such a specific way that He has a specific plan just for me is simply beyond comprehension.
You are appointed. Jeremiah reveals that the Lord also told him that he was appointed by God to be a prophet to the nations. This is very significant to understanding our own purpose in life. God not only had a path for Jeremiah’s life to sanctify him and prepare him, but God also had a specific task that He called Jeremiah to do. For Jeremiah, his task was to be a prophet to the nations. Your appointment differs from everyone else. Perhaps God’s task for you is to be a stay at home mom as part of the path that he has designed for your children. Perhaps it is to be a mechanic and God is using you to be a help to others and has placed you where you are to be a witness for Him. Perhaps God has placed you for such a time as this in a school room to teach specific children as part of God’s path for them. Maybe God has appointed you to be a pastor or a missionary. Whatever it may be, understand that God has an appointed task designed just for you as part of His sanctifying plan and purpose for your life. Great fulfillment is found in living according to His plan and in faithful obedience to the task that God has called you to.
The Protest. As God extends the call to Jeremiah, there is a protest that comes from Jeremiah. He tells the Lord that he cannot do what was being asked of him. Jeremiah alludes to his youth as an excuse. Matthew Henry puts it this way: “Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak to great men and multitudes, as prophets must; I cannot speak finely nor fluently, cannot word things well, as a message from God should be worded; I cannot speak with any authority, nor can expect to be heeded, for I am a child and my youth will be despised.”[5] Having reservation to answer the call to serve the Lord is expected from the faithful believer. Matthew Henry continues: “Note, it becomes us, when we have any service to do for God, to be afraid lest we mismanage it, and lest it suffer through our weakness and unfitness for it; it becomes us likewise to have low thoughts of ourselves and to be diffident of our own sufficiency. Those that are young should consider that they are so, should be afraid, as Elihu was, and not venture beyond their length.”[6] It is normal to feel unworthy. If you feel that you are worthy or you do qualify, then you will be humbled very quickly. God cannot use someone who thinks he or she is God’s gift to humanity. God cannot use someone who thinks highly of their own credentials or education or experience. Those whom God uses are those who, like Jeremiah, have a real sense of unworthiness. I am often asked if I get nervous when I preach. My answer is simply: yes! When I stand to preach, I have the responsibility to be the mouth piece of God. I am to proclaim a message from the Holy Scriptures. Preaching is a powerful and weighty thing. If there ever comes a day when I no longer tremble at the thought of proclaiming God’s Word, it is time for me to hang up my cleats. This protest from Jeremiah was not necessarily a bad thing. It does not show that Jeremiah had a lack of faith in God, as some may suggest; rather, it showed a lack of faith or confidence in himself which is exactly where God wants us to be in order to be used of Him.
The Encouragement. As Jeremiah gives protest to God’s call, he receives great encouragement from the Lord. He is told not to say that he is just a youth, but to have confidence in the God who is sending him. The encouragement given to Jeremiah is three-fold. (1) You will go where I send you. God did not leave Jeremiah to figure things out on his own. He tells Jeremiah that He will direct his path; He will show Jeremiah exactly where to go. I am a firm believer in the call of God on one’s life. God not only calls people to a specific ministry, He also calls people to a specific place of ministry. The place where God calls you may change throughout your life depending on how God leads through the circumstances of your life. He will lead you to a specific church where you can serve at a specific place and for a specific time. As a pastor, I believe that not only has God called me to be a pastor, He has also called me to the specific church where I serve. Throughout my life, God has led me to various places for specific purposes and seasons. Once I did all that God had me to do in one location, He would open a door to send me to another location for a specific purpose. One thing I have discovered in my life is a pattern in the places God has called me to. In every church I have served in, I find the same theme. I find the same need. In each step of the way God has prepared me for the next step to provide the help and leadership that the church needs. It must be understood that in God’s call to the prophet, He calls the prophet to a specific location at just the right time. The same is true for all believers. The Holy Spirit places people in the body as He wills. You are in the job you are in for a reason. You are in the school you are in for a reason. You are in the church you are in for a reason. God has something for you to do for His Kingdom and for His glory in the places and positions where He has placed you. Therefore, be obedient to God’s call and go where He sends you. (2) You will speak what I tell you. One of the excuses Jeremiah made was that he was not a good speaker. The Lord encourages Jeremiah by telling him not to worry, for He will give him exactly what he needs to say. “When God calls, he equips us with what is needed to carry out the assigned task.”[7] One thing I am thankful for is that I do not have to come up with sermons on my own. The task of creating a sermon is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one that tells me what to preach and when to preach it. It is really a powerful thing. The words that come out of my mouth are not my words. They are the words that God put in me. God has given us the words to speak in a book called the Bible. If we just preach the Bible, we cannot go wrong. God not only gives the preacher what to preach in the pulpit, but He also gives every believer just the right words at just the right time to be an encouragement and a witness to others. Every time I walk into a hospital room to make a visit, I have no idea what to say. Every time I sit in my office to counsel a troubled soul, I have no idea what to say. Every time I walk into a difficult situation and people are looking to me to provide a solution, I have no idea what to say. Every time I am confronted with a question or a criticism, I have no idea what to say. Yet, every time, God gives me exactly what to say at just the right time. The key is to trust God’s Word and lean on Him. The closer you are in walking with the Lord, the more sensitive you are to His promptings and the more you are enabled to speak what He tells you to speak. (3) Do not be afraid of anyone. God tells Jeremiah to not be afraid of anyone for He will rescue him. Jeremiah was given the difficult task of proclaiming the judgement of God. Naturally, such a message will invite opposition and personal attacks. Jeremiah was a bit nervous about this prospect. But, the Lord encourages Jeremiah to not be afraid. He reminds Jeremiah that his protection is found in the Lord. God’s hand would be upon him and he needed to trust in His protection. When the Word of God is faithfully preached there will be opposition. The preacher will take the brunt of personal attacks as people are convicted from the preaching of the Word. However, the preacher must not be afraid. He must not allow opposition and personal attacks to distract him from being obedient to preach exactly what God gives him. This is why Paul tells Timothy to “preach the Word in season and out of season.” Preach it when it is well received and preach it when it is rejected. The prophet must not be afraid of what man can do. He should be more afraid to disobey God rather than to not please man.
Though the focus of this passage is on God’s call on Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations, it is important to note that God is calling all of us. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, God is calling you to Himself. He is drawing you to the cross of Christ. He is calling you to repent and to trust in Jesus as your Savior. Will you answer that call? If you are a believer in Christ, God is calling you to serve Him. He has gifted you with different abilities and passions and has placed you where you are to serve Him as a faithful ambassador of His Kingdom. Will you be faithful to that call? Will you be faithful to what God has gifted and called you to do? Will you be faithful in the place where God has called you? Will you answer the call?
[1] Chisholm, R. B. (1998). The Major Prophets. In D. S. Dockery (Ed.), Holman concise Bible commentary (p. 292). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Chisholm, R. B. (1998). The Major Prophets. In D. S. Dockery (Ed.), Holman concise Bible commentary (p. 292). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 48). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 49). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1219). Hendrickson.
[6] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1219). Hendrickson.
[7] Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 51). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Pastor Chris Noland 