Jeremiah 1

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we switch from the New Testament. We just finished up 1 John. We're going to go back to a different J. We're going to start the book of Jeremiah. So Jeremiah, the first of the J's with the classical prophet. So how did Jeremiah even become a prophet? That's what we're going to look at this morning.
So let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. We pray now that your Holy Spirit would please be with us, not just this morning, but through this entire series going through the book of Jeremiah. We pray that you would give us endurance, give us patience, and give us consistency, but more than all of this, Lord, we need you to teach us. Please help us, Father, to read, to understand, to believe, and to live. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Here we go, Jeremiah chapter one.
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, pardon me, 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 carrying away of Jerusalem, captive, in the fifth month."
So right there it is giving us identifier marks. So who was he? Name is Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah. He's of the priests. He lived about three miles away from Jerusalem in a town called Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. And he came and the word of the Lord came from Josiah and it lasts in his life all the way until the exile. And so when until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. So it's got a long tenure as a prophet. So let's see about his actual calling.
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 I said, ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, do not say, I am a youth, for you shall go to whom I will send you. And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.
Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Thee I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.
Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then he said to me, you have seen well, for I am ready to perform my word. And the word of the Lord came to me the second time saying, what do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north. Then he said to me, out of the north calamity shall break forth. on all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord.
They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah. I will utter my judgments. against them concerning all their wickedness, because they have forsaken me, burned incense to the other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
Therefore, prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against all the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
Well, we need to ask ourselves our three questions. A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So what's this about? This is the call of Jeremiah. So Jeremiah, it just starts off, then the word of the Lord came to me. It starts off that God knew his plan all along, right? Verse five, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. He knew that before he was born, he was going to be ordained as a prophet. Jeremiah was predestined to this office.
And so he said, ah, Lord, behold, I cannot speak for I am a youth. And so what's going on here? I'm too young. You should have called one of the old guys. The Lord says, don't say I'm too young. Don't say I'm too young. The Lord has chosen this. And so who is he to tell the Lord, I can't do this. And the Lord's got a plan. For you shall go to all whom I will send you. And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. Notice how the Lord assures him. He doesn't say, oh, you're smart enough. You're good enough. You're handsome enough. You're good looking enough.
No, you're going to go before them and don't be afraid. because I'm with you. God has put his words in his mouth. God has called him to do it. God is going to be with him. This is the call of the prophet. God is calling him to go and preach his word. That's the prophetic office. He says, don't be afraid, I'm going to be with you. And then he gives them a series of different kind of visions of how he knows that God is with him and that this is true.
First, he gets this vision of the Lord touching his mouth. And God says, I put my words in your mouth. That's what verse nine said. Behold, I put my words in your mouth.
See this day that I have set you over nations and kingdoms to root out and to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build and to plant. That's Hasinga. The work that you're gonna do is because I'm the one who gave you to do it. You're gonna outlive kings. You're gonna have authority, but that authority is because the Lord himself is the one who's putting Jeremiah to speak judgment even to kings, to build up and to tear down. And so the word of the Lord comes to him again. He gets this vision of the olive tree. It's the right season for the time.
And then he sees the boiling pot and it's facing away from the north. And the whole idea is that there's going to come an enemy from the north. It's going to be calamity. It's going to be a hardship. And Jeremiah is going to be preaching in the face of this threat of destruction.
I will utter my judgments against them concerning all their wickedness because they have forsaken me, burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands." This is judgment. God told them this was going to happen long ago. He told them that in Deuteronomy with the curses.
We looked at that last year when we were in the book of Deuteronomy. And so, this is not a surprise. God's not a dummy. God doesn't make vain threats or empty threats. It's coming true. He says, prepare. Get ready and get up, man, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. He said, they're not gonna prevail against you. I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
He warns Jeremiah, this young man, they're going to fight against you. They're not going to like this. And indeed, Jeremiah's life is going to be hard. As we go through the book of Jeremiah, we're going to see this is not an easy deal. But he's faithful. He's faithful in this. And the Lord is with him. So this is the call of Jeremiah. God putting his words in his mouth, God assuring him that he's young, yes, but God chose him, he ordained him before he was born. God knew this was gonna be his work. And he's gonna have people who are going to fight and oppose him. But the key with all this is that the Lord is with him.
So, what's the best verse to summarize this section? I really like verse four. But, I also like verse eight and verse 19. I think verse four is his calling, right? And God saying he chose him to be a prophet. He ordained him before he was born. But why do I say verse eight and verse 19?
Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. He's gonna face hardships, there's gonna be challenges in Jeremiah's life, but he's got God's word in his mouth. And he can trust that God is with him. So, I think that's what this is about. That's what I would underline as best verse to last, calling, what are we called to do?
I don't think the classical prophets exist in the same way anymore. And yet, there is such a way in which we ought not to be concerned when we're hauled before princes and judges But our testimony now is that of Jesus Christ. And we hide his word in our heart and we don't worry about what's going to happen, but we are prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have and to do so with gentleness. We want to be ready to tell the testimony and we ought not to be afraid. to say to the world, and especially to those who say they are of the family of God, as they go after idolatry, especially in America, we see people just chasing after the imaginations of their own heart, being able to say, that's wickedness. The Lord will judge. God will not be mocked. We ought to know that when we say the things that may be hard for people to hear, We can do so with kindness, we can do so with gentleness, but if they hated Christ, they'll also hate us. But we need not fear, because we know the Lord is with us.
Much more so today than in Jeremiah's day, when Jesus in his resurrected body told his disciples at the Great Commission, To go, therefore, into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. To disciple the nations, to teach them all that I have commanded you.
And the very last words, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Forever. Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit. Our life is hidden in Him. So we can stand with grace and with gentleness, but also with a bold confidence. Stay the things the Lord says. Let the chips fall where they may, knowing that the Lord is with us. Take confidence. God is with you. Let's pray.
Father, we confess to you that often we have fears and concerns just like Jeremiah. We're not called to that same prophetic office, and yet we might shrink back and think, Lord, we're too young. We haven't gone to Bible college. We haven't gone to seminary. We don't know enough. Why would we speak into this? We're concerned about people getting mad and setting their faces against us. We may get concerned about violence or being ostracized.
We pray that we would be about your glory. And we pray that we would be assured of your presence with us. Lord, we thank you that it was better for you to go than to stay, for you have sent the helper, the one who abides in our hearts so we could abide in you. So Father, give us a confidence that could only come from your Holy Spirit as we testify the grace that you have given us in this life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, may you have confidence that God is always with you, even till the end of the age. I'll see you next time. Bye.