#DailyDevotion The Lord Has Left Us With His Word

Jer 1:4-10  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 appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  (6)  Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”  (7)  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever 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 put 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 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.”

We don’t have a whole lot of instances which show a prophet’s call. Here we have Jeremiah’s call from God. Jeremiah was a young Levite priest. Most men’s calls into the ministry are mediate i.e. through a congregation, and not immediate as we see here. Now the Lord is preparing Jeremiah for a pretty difficult call. His call is indeed one of the hardest. For he will be one of the last prophets to call the nation of Judah to repentance before the Lord sends them into exile. No one generally likes to be called to repentance. Just look at the world today when we point out and call people to repent of their immorality. The response to it, “Don’t judge me!” Which is soon followed by lots of judging by those who say it and hatred.

So the Lord encourages Jeremiah, “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 most definitely had a plan for Jeremiah. We should be hesitant to make this applicable to all people in all situations. Perhaps this would be a better text for that: Pro 16:9  “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” No, this is a particular calling for Jeremiah. It establishes his word to Judah and to us. He is a prophet to the nations.

Now Jeremiah objects because he is but a youth. The Lord will have nothing of it. As he responded to a similar objection by Moses, it is the Lord who gives men speech and he will place his words on the prophets mouth. He comforts Jeremiah with the promise, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” Indeed, while Jeremiah gets into a number of jams, people putting him in pits naked, people wanting and trying to kill him, the Lord preserved the life of the prophet all his days. Jeremiah is given the power, the authority over nations and kingdoms, “to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” And this the Lord worked through him.

So what does this have to do with you? Just this, Jeremiah’s word proved true. His words concerning Judah and Babylon but also concerning Jesus, the Messiah are true. You can read them and have faith in those words. Also just as the Lord promised to be with Jeremiah, Jesus has made a promise to you, Heb 13:5 …“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And again, Mat 28:20 …”And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Heavenly Father, you called the prophet Jeremiah and give him your word. Give us eyes that read and ears that hear all he has told us that we may repent of our sins and trust in your Jesus Christ unto eternity. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.