Jeremiah 1

Verses 1-10, “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 Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 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 carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. 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! 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 all to whom I 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. See, 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.”

Jeremiah was a prophet called by God during the reign of King Josiah, who attempted to reform the nation by removing the idolatries from the land.  Jeremiah thought his age prevented him from being God's messenger, but that was certainly not the case. God does not need the wise and the mighty of the world in order to accomplish His will. He uses to humble and broken in order to demonstrate His own power. I Corinthians 1:26‭-‬29, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

Verses 11-19, “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 the Lord 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 the Lord 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 other gods, And worshiped 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 the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

The message that Jeremiah would deliver was not going to be positive or encouraging, which is why God tells them more than once not to be afraid of their faces. And giving that extra push of motivation, God tells Jeremiah that if he is dismayed before them, God would dismay Him. God would not only give Jeremiah the words to speak, but also the strength to speak them...if he walked in faith.  Likewise, God can equip us to do difficult things that seem out of our range of ability, but we need to trust God and actually step out in faith. Obeying fear can cripple you from doing anything for the Lord. We only need to fear the Lord who has power over our souls, and that fear should lead to obedience.  Luke 12:4‭-‬5, “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”

God promised to make Jeremiah like a fortified city or an iron pillar, meaning He would protect Jeremiah from those who wanted to cause him harm due to the message that was being delivered. They would fight against him because they did not like the truth shining on their darkness. If you are truly born again, the world will not like you either. By carrying the light of Jesus, we give off the aroma of death to those who are unsaved.  II Corinthians 2:14‭-‬16, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”  If we hide our light in fear of men, we are ineffective and useless to the kingdom. But when we shine, we can trust that God will protect us as well.