The Call of Jeremiah
1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
- JER 1:1[NOTE]JEREMIAH. His name means Yahweh lifts up or Yahweh throws down. He was a priest's son from Anathoth, a village about three miles north of Jerusalem.
- JER 1:1[NOTE]A DIFFERENT ORDER. The Greek Old Testament has a shorter Jeremiah, in a different order. See the Big Question Why Is the Greek Jeremiah Shorter?
2The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
4The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- JER 1:5[NOTABLE]God knew you before you were born and made you for a purpose.
- JER 1:5[NOTE]BEFORE I FORMED YOU. God knew Jeremiah and set him apart before he was born. Paul says the same about himself, Galatians 1:15. Many Christians read this verse as a sign that God values life in the womb.
6“Ah, Lord Yahweh,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
7But Yahweh told me:
“Do not say,
‘I am only a child.’
For to everyone I send you,
you must go,
and all that I command you,
you must speak.
8Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,”
declares Yahweh.
9Then Yahweh reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words
in your mouth.
10See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and plant.”
11And the word of Yahweh came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
“I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
- JER 1:11[NOTE]A WORD PLAY. Almond is shaqed, and watching is shoqed. The almond is the first tree to wake up in spring, and God is wide awake over His word.
12“You have observed correctly,” said Yahweh, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.”
13Again the word of Yahweh came to me, asking, “What do you see?”
“I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”
14Then Yahweh said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh.
“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
- JER 1:15[PROPHECY]Kings from the north would set their thrones at the gates of Jerusalem → JER 39:3
16I will pronounce My judgments against them
for all their wickedness,
because they have forsaken Me,
and they have burned incense to other gods
and worshiped the works of their own hands.
- JER 1:16[DEMONIC]They burned incense to other gods and worshiped their own work
17Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18Now behold, this day I have made you like 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. 19They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.