1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 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. 3 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 exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 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 have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord [a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all that 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 stretched 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 appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.”
As we begin the book of Jeremiah, we see the setting where Jeremiah lived and would soon begin to prophesy. In short, Jeremiah began his ministry as a prophet, speaking the words of God, in the days of Josiah, who was trying to do things right. His father Amon was wicked and evil and men conspired against him, and then other people killed the conspirators and made Josiah king at the age of 8. His sons turned back to evil, and Jeremiah continued during their reigns.
For now though, we see Jeremiah wrestling with God a bit. God tells Jeremiah that He wants him to be a prophet. And Jeremiah responds and says, “I’m too young, I’m not ready for that responsibility!” God replies helpfully, “Not only will you speak my words, but there’s going to be a lot more weight, to destroy nations, and build them up…”
That was the weighty responsibility, and I think Jeremiah kind of expected as much, which was why he didn’t want to accept it. Yet God gives him a few important facts to keep in mind in vv. 4, 8, & 9. First, Jeremiah was created for this. God formed Jeremiah in the womb, and was saying, “Look, don’t tell me you can’t do this! I know what I made, and I made you to be a prophet.”
Second, God reminded Jeremiah that He would be with Jeremiah. He doesn’t say, “Oh, don’t worry, you won’t get in any trouble…” No, God confirms there will be trouble and that God will have to deliver Jeremiah. But He will deliver Jeremiah and will be with Jeremiah the whole time.
Lastly, in v. 9, we see that God will put the words in Jeremiah’s mouth. It won’t be of his own doing, because he is so smart and educated and eloquent. Rather, God wants it known that these are His words, and not the words of a young boy, and it will be evident because they will be better than anything Jeremiah could have come up with.
So, whatever God has called you to, God knows what He made, and He doesn’t make mistakes. And yes, as Jesus reminded us, you’re going to have trouble and trials, and people will say nasty things about you. And through it all, God will be with you. And if that isn’t enough, and it should be… God will not only be with you to protect you, but He will give you words to speak, and ideas that are beyond your own making.
Put your trust in God, not in your own abilities–sure, God may have given you some amazing ones, but you’ll need more than that. You’ll need His strength, and wisdom, and peace. And He’s there for that, all the time, all in… Trust God, He knows what He is doing, and it’s part of a pretty amazing plan, as Jeremiah is about to find out. Maybe not the most fun all the time, but it’s God’s way, and that is enough.