Jeremiah 1 - God Put His Word In Your Mouth

Believe it or not, you have quite a bit in common with Jeremiah!

Bible.com

Jeremiah 1:1–10 (NASB95)

¹ The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who 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, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴ Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you;

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD!

Behold, I do not know how to speak,

Because I am a youth.”

⁷ But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.

⁸  “Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

⁹ Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

¹⁰ “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To pluck up and to break down,

To destroy and to overthrow,

To build and to plant.”

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 54

Q. What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”?

A. I believe that the Son of God

through his Spirit and Word,

out of the entire human race,

from the beginning of the world to its end,

gathers, protects, and preserves for himself

a community chosen for eternal life

and united in true faith.

And of this community I am and always will be

a living member.

Summary

Jeremiah wasn’t planning to have the LORD reach out to him. He was a young priest from a small and largely unremarkable town right on the edge of the desert wilderness. The nation around him was outwardly religious, but inwardly unspiritual. Jeremiah began as an unknown and unassuming figure, and the more we get to know him, the more it will become clear that he would have been just fine keeping it that way.

The LORD makes a stunning introduction to this young man. He comes with an announcement that only a omnipotent Creator could make, but He communicates it with an intimacy that only a Father could muster.

The LORD tells Jeremiah that He knew him even before I formed you in the womb, and that He'd consecrated Jeremiah - that is, He set Jerimiah aside for a holy purpose - even before Jeremiah had been born. The LORD's holy purpose for Jeremiah was for him to be a prophet - one who represents God to the people - not just to Judah or even Israel, but to the nations!

Believe it or not, you have lots in common with Jeremiah! Ephesians 1:4 is just one of the places that God reiterates these same claims to you. God didn't just know you before you were born, but He chose you in Him before the foundation of the world. He consecrated you as well - that is, He set you aside that you would be holy and blameless before Him.

  Dig Deeper  

Jeremiah doesn't exactly jump for joy at the LORD's pronouncement. Just like Moses, he tried to wriggle out of his commission, telling God that I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.

It's in moments like this that God's patience is so magnified. The One who spoke all of creation into existence has just condescended to an image bearer He had formed and equipped especially for the task of communicating the Word of the LORD to the nations, and that young man quite clearly spoke back about his inability to speak. We'd not be at all surprised to read that the LORD struck Jeremiah with dumbness as He would later do to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

But the LORD only lightly scolds his new prophet before covering him with words of immense comfort: Do not be afraid of them, the LORD says (interestingly, the text doesn't specify exactly who the them is). The LORD continues, for I am with you to deliver you. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and put His words in Jeremiah's mouth. He literally and physically removed Jeremiah's excuses.

You've not likely been called to be a prophet to the nations, but the LORD has given you the same command He gave Jeremiah: All that the LORD commands you, you shall speak. And just like Jeremiah, you're likely an expert at giving excuses as to why you're not the person for the job.

But you've also been equipped just like Jeremiah. God has put His words in your mouth! Jesus tells you to not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say (Luke 12:11-12).

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who knew us before He formed us;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will lay down your flimsy excuses and speak as the LORD leads and equips;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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