The Word of the Lord in the Words of Jeremiah

And so first, we'll talk about Jeremiah's context, and then his consecration, and lastly, his commission as we go through this together.

So first, let's begin by looking at Jeremiah's context.

In verses 1 to 3, the author Jeremiah himself, he tells us about who he is and the historical period in which he lived.

Verse 1 says,

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

So it tells us that Jeremiah is the one who wrote this book, and that he had a priestly ancestry, and that he's from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

It's possible that Jeremiah is descended from Abiathar, who was David's priest but was deposed by Solomon, his successor, and replaced with Zadok the priest.

And then, because Abiathar then went back to his hometown of Anathoth in 1 Kings 2, 26 to 27.

So if that's the case, then Jeremiah actually descended from the priesthood of Eli.

And so he belongs to the priesthood, the house of priests that was rejected by God because of their unfaithfulness to God.

And so if that's the case, this really shows God's faithfulness and his steadfast love.

It does not punish children for the sins of their parents, but he is able to redeem and to use them again.

And there remains to this day a town named Anathoth in the same area where Anathoth was.

It's a Palestinian town in Israel in the West Bank.

And in the ancient times, it belonged to the land of Benjamin.

It belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.

And so by this point, as I mentioned, Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

And the southern kingdom of Judah only included two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, that remained loyal to David and his sons.

And so that's the context in which Jeremiah ministered.

And so this book contains the words of Jeremiah, as it says in verse 1, but it's also so much more than that.

Right?

So that verse 2 continues.

24 times in the book of Jeremiah, the expression, the word of the Lord came to me is used.

And the word, referring to the word of the Lord, occurs approximately 200 times in this book alone.

So it's not an exaggeration to say that the word of the Lord is one of the main characters of this book.

And the word of God, the word of the Lord, is the divine self-expression, the self-disclosure of God.

And the word of God, even though our words are powerful and we could cause much damage or do much good with what we say, our words can fall short.

Right?

We can say something and not follow through with it.

And we can say, promise something and not keep it.

But with God, that's never the case because whatever he says happens.

His word has always substance behind it.

It always has power behind it.

It is always efficacious.

And so in Genesis 1, God creates the universe by his word.

And then he reveals himself by his word.

And then it says in Psalm 107.20 that he even saves us by his word.

He sent out his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.

So the word of God is powerful.

It's active.

It's a self-expression of God in redemption and salvation.

And because of the authority of God, the kingship of God,

God, he comes with always with decreed force.

It never falls to the ground.

And that word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

So while these are truly the words of Jeremiah, they're not merely the words of Jeremiah.

It's the record of the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah.

The words of the Lord in the words of Jeremiah.

And verse 2 tells us when this word came to Jeremiah.

So it's...

The word of the Lord seems to have come over a span of...

A period of time to Jeremiah.

And the first time, it seems, was 627 B.C., which was the 13th year of King Josiah's reign.

And then it lasted to 586 B.C., which was the year of the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

So these were tumultuous times that Jeremiah ministered.

And it was a time when the Assyrian Empire was declining and the Babylonian Empire was rising in the north of Judah and in Israel.

And during that time, Judah was repeatedly subjected to other nations.

And Jeremiah was charged with bringing the message of God's judgment and future restoration during this tumultuous time.

So you're probably wondering at this point, so why does this matter?

Why include these biographical details?

Who cares?

Jeremiah is not around right now.

It's in God's word for a reason.

Acts 17, 26 to 27 tells us this.

That God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,

having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him

and find Him.

These details about Jeremiah's context teach us that God sovereignly placed Jeremiah in that particular location,

at that particular time, to fulfill His salvation purposes.

And that truth would have been of tremendous comfort to Jeremiah because he faced a lot of persecution and suffering and difficulties.

And when he's tempted to ask himself,

why me?

Why do I have to be the one to deliver this message of judgment to Israel, to Judah?

Why do I have to live in Judah at a time of faithlessness and disobedience rather than in a time of faith and obedience and prosperity?

Why me?

And we ask similar questions in our lives, don't we?

Why me?

Why am I here?

Why now?

Why does this have to happen to me now?

But this passage teaches us that we serve a sovereign God who is Lord over our lives,

Lord over our world, Lord over our history,

so that no detail of our life is a mistake or an accident.

God's not caught off guard by the twists and turns of this life,

so we can trust Him and persevere in faith.

And that's what this truth did for Jeremiah.

Why me?

Why all this?

Well, God placed you here at this particular time,

in this particular place,

to fulfill His saving purposes.

That's Jeremiah's context.

Then in verses 4 to 10,

we see Jeremiah's consecration.

It says in verses 4 to 5,

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

And before you were born, I consecrated you.

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

God's saying to Jeremiah,

Before you were formed in the womb, I knew you.

Before you came out of the womb, I consecrated you.

When God says, I knew you,

He doesn't merely mean that, oh, I know who you are.

When He says that, it means it's God's knowledge.

It's referring to His electing love, that He chose Jeremiah.

That He consecrated Jeremiah for Himself.

That's why those two phrases, two words, are used in parallel.

And in Amos 3.2,

it says,

God says to His people,

You only have I known among all the families of the earth.

So obviously, when God says that God is the all-knowing God,

He's the omniscient God,

when God says,

You only have I known in all the nations of the earth,

He's not saying,

Well, I don't really know anything about those nations,

but I know who you are.

That's not what God is saying.

God is saying,

I know you.

I knew you.

I chose you as my special possession

to have a special and intimate relationship with you.

You are my chosen people.

You only have I known among the families of the earth.

So when God tells Jeremiah,

I knew you before you were formed in the womb,

He's saying that I singled you out

and chose you for myself

even before you were conceived.

And God also says,

Before you were born,

I consecrated you.

And the word consecrate means to set apart for a special purpose.

When a couple gets married,

they enter into a special exclusive relationship.

They are set apart for each other

and commit to knowing each other

in a way that no one else can share with them.

That's what it means to be consecrated.

To Jeremiah is consecrated to the Lord,

set apart specially for him as his sole special possession

to belong to him and to no one else.

It's an honor to be consecrated to God in that way.

And so God says,

I knew you.

I consecrated you.

And that's why I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

In times of discouragement during his prophetic ministry,

it must have brought Jeremiah no small comfort to know

and to remember this truth.

God who knew him before he was conceived,

God who consecrated him before he was born,

he's the one who appointed him to be prophet to the nations.

Given the gravity of this calling,

it's really not surprising to see Jeremiah's response.

Look at what he says in verse 6.

Follow along with me.

Ah, Lord God, behold,

I do not know how to speak,

for I'm only a youth.

Of course, Jeremiah is not saying

that he literally doesn't know how to speak.

He's speaking excuses just fine, right?

So what he means is that he doesn't know how to speak well,

for I am only a youth.

He says, I'm just an inexperienced youth, God.

Who am I to be a prophet to the nations?

It's similar to the excuse that Moses gives in Exodus 3.11.

Moses says to God,

Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh

and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?

And he says,

Oh my Lord,

I am not eloquent,

either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant,

but I am slow of speech and of tongue.

Same response.

It's interesting, isn't it?

And when we look at Moses and Jeremiah

and their response to God,

we should not look down on them as being faithless and weak

because that's really the appropriate response

when God calls you to something

so majestic,

so amazing,

so significant.

Because who in this world is worthy of speaking

the very words of God?

When we are called to minister God's word to others,

and I don't mean just the preachers like me,

but everyone who assumes any evangelistic,

discipling,

or teaching role

that involves opening up the very word of God

to people,

there should be an appropriate humility

and reticence.

Isaiah 66, 2 says,

But this is the one to whom I will look,

he who is humble

and contrite in spirit

and trembles

at my word.

Do we tremble

at God's word?

Are we humble in our approach to God's word?

Or are we confident in our own abilities?

In our own training?

In our own experience?

In our own maturity?

It doesn't matter how gifted we are,

we must always approach the word of God

with humility,

in submission,

because it's in our humility

that the glory of God

shines forth more brightly,

because it's in our weakness

that the power of God

is made perfect.

And we see this reality at work

in God's response to Jeremiah

in verse 7.

Look with me.

I love God's response here.

Do not say,

I am only a youth,

for to all to whom I send you,

you shall go.

And whatever I commend you,

you shall speak.

Notice God doesn't deny

that Jeremiah is only a youth.

God doesn't say,

Oh no, Jeremiah,

you're actually quite old enough.

God doesn't say,

Oh, Jeremiah,

no, you're actually quite immature.

That's okay.

You can do this.

He doesn't say that.

God does not ground

Jeremiah's mission

on Jeremiah's competence,

but on Jeremiah's call.

The fact that God himself

called him.

God says,

You are my chosen ambassador

to go wherever I send you,

because you are my chosen messenger

to speak whatever I command you.

What gives Jeremiah confidence,

then it's not his own competence,

but God's calling.

Not that he is qualified,

but that God has consecrated him.

So God continues in verse 8,

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you

to deliver you.

I went to Revere Beach last Monday

with my wife and two kids,

and my older daughter was,

she's not here, thankfully,

so I can mention this,

she's afraid of the waves.

She had a hard time going to the water,

and so I kept holding her

and telling her,

this is what I kept reminding her,

I will carry you.

I will go in with you.

You don't need to be afraid.

The waves will not overwhelm you.

God's doing the same thing

with his servant here in Jeremiah.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you

to deliver you.

Notice the contrast.

Don't be afraid of them,

for I will be with you.

They are mere men.

They are mere flesh.

They are mortal beings,

but I am the immortal God.

I am the sovereign Lord

of the universe.

Don't be afraid of them.

I will be with you.

Let the whole world oppose you

and come against you in full force

and throw at you

all its wiles and weapons.

Let Satan and all his minions,

all his hellish crew,

be unleashed upon you,

even yet I am with you

to deliver you.

Do not be afraid of them.

Children of God,

that's who we are.

Is that not sufficient for us?

Is it not enough assurance

for us to go wherever

God calls us to go

and to speak whatever

he calls us to speak?

Why fret and worry,

but I don't have this gnat.

I can't do this gnat.

God says,

I am with you.

Then it says in verse 9,

the Lord put out his hand

and touched my mouth

and the Lord said to me,

behold,

I have put my words

in your mouth.

Jeremiah is consecrated to God

not to air his own opinions

and ideas,

but to proclaim

the very words of God.

And notice how personal

and intimate that description is.

It pictures God

taking his hands

and putting his words

in Jeremiah's mouth.

Here,

be my mouthpiece.

Here,

be my spokesperson.

And it continues

in verse 10,

See,

I have set you this day

over nations

and over kingdoms

to pluck up

and to break down,

to destroy

and to overthrow,

to build

and to plant.

This verse

really functions

as a thesis

of the book of Jeremiah.

And earlier in verse 5,

God said,

I appointed you a prophet

to the nations,

right?

And this is what

Jeremiah's call

as the prophet

and his appointment

as a prophet entails.

It's to be set over nations

and over kingdoms,

to pluck up

and to break down,

to destroy

and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.

Jeremiah wields this

awesome,

magnificent authority

only because

he is representing God.

God.

And notice that Jeremiah

is not merely appointed

as a prophet

over Judah,

but over nations

and over kingdoms.

Why?

Because

God is not

God

only over Judah.

God

is God

over all nations.

Since the sovereignty

of God

is not limited,

the scope

of Jeremiah's ministry

is not limited.

Do you believe this?

God is not merely

the God

of the United States

of America.

but God

is God

over all

nations.

God is God

over Tokyo,

over Shanghai,

Jakarta,

Delhi,

Lagos,

Sao Paulo,

Cairo.

God is God

over all the cities,

all the nations

and that's why

foreign missions

must exist

because there are

still places

in this world

where the word

of God

has not been

proclaimed,

where the word

of God

has not yet

been received.

God's not merely

the God

of you and me,

of our families.

God is also

the God

over your friends

and neighbors

and that's why

it's necessary

that we share

the word of God

with them

because God

is God

over all

because he alone

deserves to be worshipped

because

every tongue

should confess

that he is Lord

because every knee

should bow down

to worship

the one true God.

That's why

it's so important

to proclaim

the word of the Lord.

Do you believe this

and do you long

for this?

As those who are

consecrated

to the sovereign Lord,

we should boldly

declare the word

of the Lord.

that's Jeremiah's consecration.

And finally,

having told Jeremiah

of his consecration

prior to his birth,

God speaks

in greater detail

about Jeremiah's commission

in verses 11 to 9.

It says,

verse 11

and following,

And the word

of the Lord

came to me

saying,

Jeremiah,

what do you see?

And I said,

I see an almond branch.

Then the Lord

said to me,

You have seen well

for I am watching

over my word

to perform it.

The word almond

looks and sounds

very similar

to the word

watching

in Hebrew.

So this is a word play

and Jeremiah

is looking

at an almond branch

presumably

and the region

of Anathoth

where Jeremiah

comes from

is still to this day

known for its almond trees

and almond trees

is the first tree

that blooms

in that region.

So he's presumably

looking at an almond tree

and the word of the Lord

comes to him.

Almond,

watching.

The Lord God

is watching

to fulfill

his word.

Just as surely

the blooming

of the almond tree

announces

the coming of spring,

God is watching

over his word

and soon

he will surely

perform it.

Then Jeremiah

receives another word

of the Lord

in verses 13 to 16

this time

while he is looking

at a boiling pot.

It's as ordinary

an object

as you can imagine.

The word of the Lord

came to me

a second time

saying,

what do you see?

And I said,

I see a boiling pot

facing away

from the north.

A boiling pot

facing away

from the north

it means

that the mouth

of the pot,

the boiling pot

is facing south.

So it's being poured out

from north to south.

And then in verses 14 to 16

God explains

what that picture means.

Out of the north

disaster

shall be let loose

upon all the inhabitants

of the land.

For behold,

I am calling

all the tribes

of the kingdoms

of the north

declares the Lord

and they shall come

and everyone

shall set his throne

at the entrance

of the gates

of Jerusalem

against all its walls

all around

and against all

the cities of Judah.

and I will declare

my judgments

against them

for all their evil

in forsaking me.

They have made offerings

to other gods

and worshiped the works

of their own hands.

Jeremiah prophesied

this judgment,

this outpouring

of God's wrath

when Judah

was doing well.

When the Assyrian empire

that had been

their oppressors

was declining

and they were beginning

to exert their strength

as a nation,

Jeremiah prophesied

this and it came

exactly true

because the Babylonian empire

rose from their north

and they invaded Judah

from the north

and they did establish

their own throne

at the gates

of Jerusalem

because Israel

had forsaken God

and had made offerings

to other gods

and worshipped the idols

that they made

with their own hands.

In light of this

impending judgment of God,

Jeremiah's commission

is explained

with a series of commands

in verse 17.

Look with me.

But you dress yourself

for work.

Arise and say to them

everything that I command you.

Do not be dismayed by them

lest I dismay you

before them.

So there's three things,

main things here.

First, Jeremiah is to dress himself

for work and arise.

Right?

So they're really related commands.

Translated more literally,

it means to gird up your loins

and stand up.

This is a familiar metaphor

in the ancient world

because men wore long robes

and before they could do anything

that requires any kind

of physical exertion,

they had to gird up their loins,

literally pull up their robes

and tuck it under their belt

so that they could run

or engage in more rigorous

physical activity.

And so what Jeremiah is about to do

requires rigorous work,

hard work.

It's not something

that he could do casually.

Proclaiming the word

is not something we do casually

in our free time

or lackadaisically.

So Jeremiah should roll up

his sleeves, he says.

So just get up

and brace yourself,

dress yourself for action.

That's the first command.

The second command is

say to them everything

that I command you.

Jeremiah's commission,

like I mentioned,

is a prophet and a herald.

He is not to edit

the message God's given him

nor to add or subtract

from the message God

has given him.

But he is to speak

the very words

that God puts into his mouth.

No more and no less.

He is to say everything

that God commands him.

That's the second command.

And the third command

is at the end of verse 17.

Do not be dismayed by them

lest I dismay you before them.

This is the final warning of sorts.

It's similar to what God said

earlier in verse 5.

Do not be afraid.

But this part includes

almost a warning,

a threat.

He's saying don't fear them

or be dismayed by them

because if you're dismayed by them,

I myself will dismay you

before them.

That's what God is telling Jeremiah.

A Bible commentator

named John Thompson

explains this really helpfully.

He says it this way.

If Jeremiah draws back in fear

and flees from his mission,

he will encounter

not merely men as adversaries,

but God himself.

If Jeremiah was afraid before men

and lacked trust

in his divine commissioner,

he would be defenseless.

A man who fears man

has also got to fear.

Being dismayed by people,

what the Bible sometimes calls

the fear of man,

ensures that we will act

to please people,

please men and women,

not to please God.

If we fear people

more than we fear God,

man, not God,

becomes the ultimate authority

of our lives.

So that we can no longer

call ourselves

truly servants of God.

For this reason,

God says,

if we are dismayed by people,

because when we are dismayed

by people,

we will not be pursuing

his will,

we will be going against

his will,

then God himself

will oppose us

and dismay us.

And lest this charge

be too daunting for Jeremiah,

God assures him yet again

in verses 18 to 19.

And I behold,

I make you this day

a fortified city,

an iron pillar,

and bronze walls

against the whole land,

against the kings of Judah,

its officials,

its priests,

and the people of the land.

They will fight against you,

but they shall not prevail

against you.

For I am with you,

declares the Lord,

to deliver you.

Wonderful images, right?

God will make him

a fortified city

that is impervious

to the arrows of the enemy.

God will make Jeremiah

like an iron pillar

that cannot be toppled.

This image reminds me

of the bollards.

You guys know

what bollards are?

I just learned this week.

I knew,

I've seen it before,

but I didn't know

what it was called

and looked it up.

And you know how

sometimes government

puts these kind of

low post,

heavyweight iron

kind of posts

in front of buildings

so that you can't

drive into it.

So to protect against

terrorist attacks

and such,

so that people can't

ram cars into the building.

They have these bollards.

And these things are,

they're really strong.

They're made of iron

or steel usually.

And when a car

runs into them,

it kind of gets crushed

like a can of soda.

It's really sturdy.

That's the kind of image

that I see

when he talks about

iron pillars.

God's going to make

Jeremiah like an

immovable iron pillar.

And then God will make him

like an impenetrable

wall,

bronze walls.

Yes, he will face

much opposition

from people

in positions of power.

From kings,

officials,

priests,

and all the people

of the land.

They will fight against him,

but they will not

prevail against him

for, again,

the same reason

God gave earlier,

I am with you

to deliver you.

And if you're with us

through the series,

you'll see at the end

that God keeps

that promise.

So this was Jeremiah's

context and consecration

and commission,

but in our own context,

we too have been

consecrated and commissioned

by our Lord.

1 Corinthians 8.3

and Galatians 4.9

both describe the Christian

as someone who has

become known by God,

who has been known by God.

The same wording

that is used to describe

Jeremiah's call

and consecration.

Just as God knew

Jeremiah before he was born,

God chose us in Christ

before the foundation

of the world.

He knew us.

Likewise,

in John 17,

17 to 19,

Jesus says this

for all of his followers.

Sanctify them

in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me

into the world,

so I have sent them

into the world.

And for their sake,

I consecrate myself

that they also

may be sanctified

in truth.

The words consecrate

and sanctify

are the exact same words

in Greek.

So God,

Jesus is praying here,

Lord,

just as I consecrate myself

for your service,

I now consecrate your people

and send them out

in your name

to do your work.

That's us.

In the very same way

Jeremiah was known by God

and was consecrated

for his service,

we have been known

by God.

And we have been consecrated

for his service.

And what is the word

that we are to proclaim?

I mentioned earlier

that Jeremiah's

consecration and commission

very closely resemble

that of Moses.

And I don't think

that's a coincidence.

I think Jeremiah

is intentionally

styling himself

as a prophet

that's in the tradition

of Moses.

Because in Deuteronomy 18.18,

God promised Moses this,

I will raise up for them

a prophet like you

from among brothers.

And I will put my words

in his mouth

and he shall speak

to them

all that I command him.

Sounds similar, right?

Those last two phrases.

I will put my words

in his mouth

and he will speak

whatever I command him.

Those two phrases

were used exactly

to refer to Jeremiah's

calling in verses

7 and 9.

And so Jeremiah is hopeful

that he is in this

tradition of Moses,

that he is a prophet

like Moses

who is to come

for God's people

to proclaim it.

But Jeremiah was

neither the last prophet

like Moses

nor the greatest prophet

like Moses

because Acts 3.22

tells us that

Jesus Christ who came

was the ultimate prophet

like Moses.

The one to whom

Jeremiah and Moses

were pointing to.

Jesus is the greater Moses

and the greater Jeremiah.

Why?

Because not only does he

have the word of God

in his mouth,

Jesus is the very embodiment

of the word of God.

He's the word made flesh.

John 1.14 says,

Jesus is the word of God.

made flesh.

He is the word of God.

So then,

the word of the Lord

that came to Jeremiah

also came to us

in a much greater,

deeper sense.

Because Jesus ultimately

fulfilled the message

of judgment

and restoration

Jeremiah proclaimed.

Right?

Jeremiah proclaims

Judah's imminent judgment

and prophesies

that the nations

will be judged

in the future

and God's people

will be restored.

But Jesus fulfilled that

ultimately.

He fulfilled the judgment

of God

by dying on the cross

for our sins.

He bore the judgment

of God,

absorbed the wrath

of God,

bore the due punishment

that we rightly

should have received.

And not only did he

fulfill the judgment

of God,

he also fulfilled

the restoration

that people like

Jeremiah prophesied.

Because in dying

for our sins,

God the Son,

Jesus Christ

gives us his righteousness

so that we can be

restored to fellowship

with God

and be reconciled

to him.

That's what we call

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the word of the Lord.

If you're not yet

a follower of Jesus Christ,

I plead with you

to believe this word today.

To receive Jesus Christ

into your life.

We all,

like Judah,

as described in verse 16,

have forsaken our Lord.

We have made offerings

to other gods

and worshiped the works

of their own hands.

Every single one of us,

though we were created

to worship God,

we have turned

to our own ways

and we have been living

for ourselves.

And apart from Christ,

apart from he who fulfills

this judgment

and restoration,

we cannot be restored

to our creator.

And if you're already

a follower of Christ,

let me remind you

that as those who

are consecrated

to the sovereign Lord,

we should boldly declare

the word of the Lord.

Because this message of Christ

is not merely for us,

it's for the nations,

it's for our neighbors,

it's the good news

of Jesus Christ,

that's the vehicle

of God's saving power,

so we have to declare it

boldly.

Let's not say,

I do not know how to speak.

I'm only a youth.

Let's not be afraid of them.

For God is with us

to deliver us.

Please, let's take some time

to reflect on that truth.

Think about in what ways

God may be calling you

to respond to this,

in what contexts,

in what relationships.

God may be calling you

to declare boldly this word,

this gospel of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.