Week 3: Prophet Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah is often called the "Weeping Prophet".

He receives this nickname because much of his prophecy warns Southern Israel of the coming judgment from Babylon. Called at a young age, Jeremiah was a prophet during the final years before the Exile. His book is not in chronological order but is instead a collection of his sermons and poems with brief episodes from his life to bridge the book's themes. This was compiled by a scribe named Baruch after Jeremiah received special instructions from the Lord to record all his revelations (Ch 36).

Israel was in bad shape at the time of Jeremiah. We briefly mentioned the extent of Israel's sinfulness in the Isaiah article, but here is a recap. The nation split into two parts: Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Jeremiah was operating in the Southern Kingdom, Judah, which eclipsed the Temple and capital of Jerusalem.

The people still worshipped God in the Temple but worshipped idols and other gods outside the city in the Valley of Gehenna. Many of these idols required child sacrifice as part of the worship rituals. The rulers and elders of the people had become corrupt and had introduced the people to these new idols. Jeremiah's words characterize the disappointment God felt by his people's disregard for the covenant he had made with them. In the book's first section, Jeremiah equates the nation to an unfaithful wife, forsaking her first love for others. Even though the prophet uses heavy language, allusion, and grief, there is a thorough line of hope. Even though God will allow Israel's enemies to sweep them away, he will use even this for their good.

Calling of Jeremiah:

Young Faith and Hope

Today’s Readings:

Jeremiah 1:4-19

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Jeremiah's calling is the passage that has launched a thousand youth groups! This is due to two very famous verses in his calling story. The first one is in verse 5, where God starts the conversation by telling Jeremiah he knows him. Not only does God know him, but he was also known before he was even created. This verse implies that whatever is in Jeremiah was first in God. Then God says,

“I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

The word "appointed" has a primitive root, meaning it is a mix of many ancient words conveying the same idea. The main idea of this word is "to muster; to pay attention to." God had given Jeremiah the sight to notice a problem and permitted him to speak about it. This whole calling narrative is about sight! How God sees Jeremiah, how Jeremiah sees himself, and later, God will train him to notice sure signs. There was a divine hard-wiring inside Jeremiah to catch and see. God put this there for what he was being prepared for as a prophet.

What Jeremiah does with this news is the same thing Moses and Isaiah did. "I can't speak well." This time, it isn't a speech impediment like Moses or a cleanliness issue like Isaiah. This time, it's an age problem. This leads to the second famous verse in this passage. Jeremiah tells God he can't be a prophet because he is just a child. The word child here needs to be clarified; we don't know precisely how old Jeremiah is in this passage. He could be an actual child, or youth, or a preteen. Children in ancient Hebrew culture were not considered people until they transformed into a man or woman at their Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Maybe the Divine is calling Jeremiah when society wouldn't think of his voice or what he had to say. In some ways, the fact that God is calling a child to be a prophet is telling of how corrupt Israel had become. This isn't to say that God can't use children at any time because, of course, he can and has. However, through a cultural lens, Jeremiah is just a boy with many rings of power and influence over him. Yet God is calling him to speak out.

Around the time of Jeremiah, Israel had just received a new king named Josiah. Josiah was an essential king in Israel's history. His reign came after his grandfather, infamous for introducing the nation to various idols and new gods. However, Josiah was an unusual king. He was unique because he became king at the age of eight. During his reign, he discovered the scroll of the Law and began efforts to point Israel back to God.  

Let's look at this. You have people who have turned their backs on God and culturally didn't even consider children as people until their teenage years. Their voices didn't matter. But a new king arises, and he is eight! God calls Jeremiah, a little boy, to be a prophet! God was working with the things society dismissed to shake up their sight! God is continually working to shift our perspective. The universe is entirely of breadcrumbs leading us back to him.  

Throughout his life, Jeremiah's words got him in trouble. He wasn't the prosperity guru the people were looking for. Instead, he was an agitator, constantly shaking up the perspective of the religious leaders, kings, and people. In Chapter 32, we see this lands him in prison. The passage tells us that Jeremiah threatened King Zedekiah with his message that Babylon would overthrow the city. But the exciting thing is the Lord tells Jeremiah to purchase land. Why buy land that is about to be occupied and destroyed by the enemy? Up to this point, Jeremiah has prophesied time and time again that Babylon would take the region and the land would be destroyed. God would restore the land later, and a remnant would be saved. God shows Jeremiah this vital lesson: you have to invest in your faith. It was evident that Babylon would win! They were surrounding the city! But it takes faith to invest in what might not be yours for a while. Jeremiah 32:10 says," I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed and weighed out the silver on the scales." 

SIGNED

First, there was a confession of faith. Jeremiah had to take the first step in obedience.

SEALED

Imagine a seed planted in the earth. So much trust goes into leaving a precious seed in the vulnerable dirt. That's what this deed was for Jeremiah. Jeremiah was planting a seed into the future of the nation.

WITNESSED

People saw it. Jeremiah wasn't consumed with a message of judgment, just for the sake of it. He was deeply troubled by how the nation had forgotten its covenant with God. Buying the land was his way of showing the hope that God had spoken for the other side.

WEIGHED

It wasn't going to be easy. The Babylonian army approached and surrounded the city. From every night in prison to every night on the run, Jeremiah would hold this deed as a reminder of God's promised hope. Jeremiah would never receive the land on that deed in his lifetime. Jeremiah would never see the hope God pledged to firsthand. But it was never about that! It was about Jeremiah's faith and trust in what God would always do with or without him.  

What is causing you to doubt your purpose?

What is a reminder of the hope God promises that I can take with me daily?

Mackie, Tim, and Jon Collins. “Jeremiah.” BibleProject.Com, https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/jeremiah/. Accessed 2 March. 2024. 

Carroll, R. P. “Jeremiah.” Jeremiah: A Commentary, DK Publishing, 1998, pp. 206–207. The Complete Bible Handbook.