Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Jeremiah came from Anathoth, a priest’s city near Jerusalem. He was a young man when he answered God’s call. He ministered under the reign of Josiah for eighteen years, under Jehoahaz’s reign three months, under Jehoiakim eleven years, under Jehoiachin three months, under Zedekiah eleven years, and to the Jews who took him to Egypt an undetermined number of years. All told, his prophetic ministry ran about forty-two to forty-three years and he died in his sixties – by tradition stoned by the Jews he prophesied to in Egypt (the ones who kidnapped him there) at 63 years old.

Jeremiah was called and sanctified to this prophetic ministry before he was born. He did the same thing with David (1 Samuel 13:14). God doesn’t look at what we accomplish or what our natural talents are before He chooses us. He chooses us before we can mess up or prove ourselves. He does it regarding salvation (Ephesians 1:4). He does it regarding what He has for us to do in life. We are born with His plans and the abilities we need to fulfill those plans already formed within us (Galatians 1:15). There is very little guesswork in life when we are attuned to the Lord and His Word. He calls to His call within us and if we would listen when He spoke, much of the worries and anxieties of ‘learning His will’ would dissipate like smoke.

The Lord called to Jeremiah and told him that God had called him to minister the prophetic from the womb. Jeremiah’s answer is much like many of ours: I’m not ready. I’m too young. But God told him NEVER to say he was too young. God had empowered him to speak. Wherever God sent him and to whomever God told him to speak, Jeremiah was empowered to speak the words of God firmly, and boldly. When God commanded, Jeremiah would be able to answer. He did not need to fear the people, for God was able to deliver him. [We have the same call. In ourselves, we are nothing, but in Jesus we are all he calls us to be – John 15:5]

God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put His words there. He set Jeremiah over the nations and kingdoms he would minister to. He was empowered to pull down, root out, destroy, throw down, build up, and to plant (Mark 7:13). God asked Jeremiah what he saw. Jeremiah saw an almond branch. This is just what Aaron’s rod had become in the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16). It was the sign that Aaron was God’s chosen high priest. Here Jeremiah was the chosen spokesman and God told him that He was able to bring His words to pass. The almond tree is the earliest blossoming tree in Israel. It blooms when other trees are still hibernating. It points toward the spring that is coming. The harvest that cannot be seen. It is a symbol of what is about to come – in this case, the judgment of God on Judah.

God spoke to Jeremiah again and asked what he saw. Jeremiah saw a boiling pot that was facing away from him toward the north. Judgment was ready. And it would come from the north (Babylon). The Lord prophesied the conquest of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1-7). The fullness of the judgment came in Zedekiah’s time and it was severe. The Lord warned Jeremiah that people would not react well to this news. But he was not to fear them. He was not to shrink from his task. He was to speak ONLY what God told him and not water anything down. Jeremiah had been made a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls. This was a promise of protection if Jeremiah stuck to his task and didn’t deviate. The Lord told him they would fight against him, but they would not prevail against Jeremiah. The Lord was with him and the Lord would deliver him.

“Thus says Yahweh: “What injustice did your ancestors find in me that they were far from me, and they went after the vanity, and they became vain?” (Jeremiah 2:5)

For the third time now, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah to go and proclaim in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem the word of the Lord. The Lord was calling them to remember their youth – as far as their national relationship with Him. To remember when they walked with Him in the desert, seeking Him there. When they experienced His goodness and provision. Israel was separated to Him and protected by Him. He asked them what He had done to be rejected? What fault did He have? What badness had He brought on their ancestors to have their ancestors forsake Him and choose idols? They stopped seeking Him. Stopped looking to the One who had brought them out of Egypt, through deserts and barren places, protected them from those who attacked them, and sustained them in places no one else could call home.

The Lord had brought them to a bountiful land. He made available to them all its food and goodness. But when they entered the land, they defiled it. They turned from the Lord and made the heritage He had provided an abomination to them. The priests didn’t represent the Lord properly to the people. They spoke of the idols. They helped people walk where they should not. [Note: this was NOT happening in the country at the time Jeremiah was prophesying. This was during the reign of Josiah, a godly king who led the people in revival. But their ancestors – even recent ones – had NOT followed the Lord and judgment was coming.]

The Lord does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Lamentations 3:33). The Lord does not enjoy death for ANY reason (Ezekiel 33:11). But the Lord challenged them to look across the world and see whether ANY nation or ANY people had forsaken their gods the way the Israelites had forsaken Yahweh. The Lord pointed out that people had more loyalty to demons and empty idols (in spite of them not being able to help or sustain them) than God’s children had shown Him. This injustice stank. They had forsaken the Fountain of Living Waters (Jesus) and had made for themselves a source that was no real source (idols). Instead of living as children of God, they were living as slaves. Instead of enjoying goodness, they were reaping poor harvests. They had rejected His covenant in spite of Him having the best plans for them.

Judah was being warned in harsh language because the northern kingdom of Israel had already been judged. They had done the same things and been taken captive. They had brought it on themselves with their hardhearted refusal to submit to God and keep the covenant. Now Judah was doing the same thing. They would not be able to escape the judgment. Egypt was not a safe haven. Neither was Assyria. They would not have peace. Their wickedness would find them out. They would see and taste that evil is a bitter thing. Reverence for God was not in their hearts. The Lord had punished (corrected) them in the past and they had promised to be faithful, but they had broken their promises. They had NOT been faithful. The Lord was crying over them. They were like wild donkeys following their base nature. They were doing horrible things in their heart and in the past (not during Josiah’s reign physically, but their heart hadn’t changed). Their claim was that they had no choice, they couldn’t help themselves, and it was just how they were made to be [sounds familiar, doesn’t it?]. But the Lord was calling them out. He was showing them that was a LIE and they knew it in their heart.

They had taken things they had made and called them father and god. He asked them, where were these idols? Where were the victories? Where was the salvation? Had they helped Israel? Would they help Judah? He had corrected them and it had done no good. Their claim was that they didn’t need Him anymore. He was asking for proof. They were claiming that since they had ‘no choice’ they were innocent. And since they were innocent, they would NOT be judged. The Lord was crying out with a full heart of sorrow for them to realise they WERE going to be judged. Egypt wouldn’t help them. Assyria didn’t help them. Their idols couldn’t help them. They had hardened their hearts to this course of action and was going to reap a harvest. They would NOT prosper in their rebellion.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jeremiah

Key Verse(s): Jeremiah 1:4-14, 17-19; 2:2-4, 9, 17-19, 31-37