THE PROPHETS: JEREMIAH’S CALL Lesson # 4
JEREMIAH 1:1-10
I. Introduction:
A. Understanding What It Means To Be With God As Revealed In The Bible:
“He has not only a value for us, but a right over us”. P.T. Forsyth
Q What do you think that quotation means? What does the first part “a value for us” mean?
Q What are the advantages of being a Christian?
Q Is God our personal genie or is God the one who has a right to rule over us?
Q It is possible that God’s rule over us will not include fulfilling all our dreams?
II. Jeremiah’s Call: Jeremiah 1:1-10.
A. Superscription: Jeremiah 1:1-3
>>>> Have someone read Jeremiah 1:1-3.
The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
Q What do we learn about Jeremiah from verse 1?
An = We learn whose words we will read, namely Jeremiah’s. Then we learn his father’s name: Hilkiah, his occupation which was being a priest and his home town: Anathoth in Benjamin. Jeremiah was not a space alien but a real human being whose town, family and occupation we can know.
Q What are verses 2 and 3 trying to accomplish?
An = They locate Jeremiah in time. His message was given to a particular people in a particular situation. God has special messages for a specific time. Jeremiah spoke just before the collapse of the Jewish nation. He was a prophet called into service at the edge of a deep plunge into national destruction. He spoke on “The Eve of Destruction”.
B. Jeremiah’s Call: Jeremiah 1:4-10.
>>>> Have someone read Jeremiah 1:4-5.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Q Who is speaking in verses 4 and 5?
An = It is Yahweh or the Lord.
Q Whose decision was it that Jeremiah should become a prophet?
An = It was God’s. He made that decision before Jeremiah was even born.
Q What is Jeremiah’s ministry job to be?
An = He was to be a spokesman to the nations. He was to be of national and international influence.
Q Would you be excited if God told you that when you were in your late teens or early twenties?
>>>> Have someone read Jeremiah 1:6.
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
Q Who is speaking here?
An = Jeremiah.
Q Is Jeremiah happy with the job description? Why?
An = Jeremiah does not want the job! He explains that he is too young and that he is not occupationally gifted for such duties. He is called to be a speaker and seemingly in his view he cannot speak well!
Note: A lot of folks say they want to be prophets but are not called of God and have nothing to say from the very “Presence of the Glory”. Some are discontent with life and are natural complainers or naturally ambitious and happen to be religious and so fancy themselves prophets.
Q Is Jeremiah trying to “call” himself to the role of being a prophet? Does his ego want the job?
An = The funny thing is that God has called a man who does not want the job! So watch how the Lord handles this “hesitant employee”.
>>>> Have someone read Jeremiah 1:7-8.
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Q Who is speaking in these two verses?
Q Is God accepting Jeremiah’s excuses of being “too young”?
An =. The Lord basically tells Jeremiah in 1:7 that He does not accept Jeremiah’s excuses of being “too young” and that he will take the job!
Q What do you think the Lord is doing in 1:8?
Q For those of you with some background in counseling, what is a “presenting problem”?
An = It is a problem that the counselee gives to the counselor but is merely a decoy and not the real problem. Most people start with a presenting problem because they do not want to bring up the real issue or are not aware of what the more basic and underlying issue is.
Note: Remember the Lord made the human mind and can see the beginning from the end and knows just a bit about psychology…so….
Q What is the real issue in Jeremiah’s heart about taking on the role of a prophet to the nations?
An = He is afraid. God saw past what was really bothering Jeremiah. The real problem is that he was afraid and so the Lord had to get down to that problem and give Jeremiah the real answer to such a difficulty.
Q Was being a prophet an easy and prestigious job if you were a true prophet?
Q What is the ultimate answer to our fears associated with ministry?
An = “I am with you”. It is this answer that is the greatest promise in all of Scripture. If God is for us, who can be against us? In Matthew 28, the Lord’s last words to His disciples are, “Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). It is this fact that can stop fear. Though this does not mean that Jeremiah will be free of fear! He has great battles ahead of him, horrendous battles!
Note: If God is not more to us than a fact of our societal upbringing then we will not understand the power of these words. God can really be among us. The meaning behind the name “Immanuel” can really be true in a difficult and horrendous situation or a tremendous blessing.
>>>> Have someone read Jeremiah 1:9-10.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Note: Notice that “action” precedes the “speech” by the Lord this time.
Q According to 1:9 what is Jeremiah’s message to affect?
An = National and international politics. Jeremiah is to affect the “real politic” of his day. There will be international results from his ministry.
Note: The final words are also striking. A series of six verbs follow: four negative and two positive. The negatives precede the positives. This order will be important for Jeremiah’s audience. Real ministry often includes destruction as well as rebuilding. Jeremiah is not sent out to first build, but first “pluck up, to break down, to destroy and to overthrow”. Then he is sent to build and to plant. Bringing salvation, according to the Bible, first entails destruction of what will destroy the nation so that it can be built and planted in truth and righteousness. Our ministry sometimes has to take on the aspect of plucking up or breaking down before there can be building. The destruction is not an end in itself but a pre-phase to a true building.
Q When God saved some of you did God first destroy part of your life? Would you be willing to share either your story or that of another?
Note: The fact that God’s words were in Jeremiah’s mouth. Note that the Word is what has power. It is God’s Word, not our talent or gifts, anointing or money, that will destroy and build the kingdom of God.
Q Why did God touch Jeremiah’s mouth in verse 9?
An = This episode narrated in 1:4-10 is an ordination service.
Q Are ministers “touched” in their ordination or installation?
An = Yes, usually by the laying on of hands. Such action was to be part of any ordination ceremony in the Old Testament. The priests were touched with blood on the ear, thumb, and toe in their ceremony of ordination. Kings had oil poured on them. God was about to ordain or commission Jeremiah as a prophet.
Write on the board or pass out on a card:
Jeremiah’s Ordination
God began the Ordination: verses 4-5,
Jeremiah interrupted the ceremony: verse 6
God answered Jeremiah’s objections: verses 7-8.
God completed the ceremony or commissioning: verses 9-10.
Q Does God call people today? Does He call us to specific tasks that we may not want to perform in the coming days?
Q Are we allowed according to this passage to question Almighty God?
An = Yes, God does care how we feel. God does care about how frightened we are. We can tell Him the truth or what we think is the truth. He will listen without killing us or punishing us, but answer us with a good and deeper answer than what we expect.
We are to tell the Lord what we really feel and we may find ourselves on the path of one like Jeremiah.
Note: Everyone is called to Jesus Christ. Whether we are (or are not) called to a special professional ministry is another question. God calls some to certain tasks that are difficult.
Q Are some in full time ministry that are not called?