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What do you find to be the hardest part of being a Christian?
Is it remaining faithful to God, is it spending time each day reading your
bible and praying, is it being a witness of the gospel to others? It's hard
to overcome the temptations that Satan throws before us isn't it? He seems
to know exactly where our weaknesses are most of the time. It's hard to
set aside a regular time to study God's word and to pray to him. There are
so many competing demands on our time. And it's especially hard to be a
faithful witness to Christ. It's hard to stand up before people who have
no interest in Christianity and share the gospel with them. Sometimes it
feels like an impossible task to convince people of the truth of God's word
to them. If you feel like that then you have something in common with Jeremiah,
because that's certainly the way he felt when God gave him the task of speaking
to the nation of Israel on his behalf. Had I realised the timing of this
sermon when I planned it in January I might have titled it "Mission
Impossible." Jeremiah is a man who is given an unenviable task: to
speak as God's prophet in a time of gloom and doom, of defeat and destruction. |
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Jeremiah is writing
and he says: "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." There were three high
callings of the people of God in the Old Testament: prophet, priest and
king, and Jeremiah is called to the first of these. God has consecrated
him. That is he's set him apart to speak God's words to the nations. You'd
think he'd be flattered. You'd think he'd jump at the opportunity of speaking
for God. Think of the people whose footsteps he's to follow in. Samuel,
Elijah, Elisha, who had but to speak and what they said came to pass. People
healed, the dead raised, the weather controlled. What a great calling to
be the Prophet of God! |
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But Jeremiah doesn't
seem too pleased with it does he? "Then I said, 'Ah, Lord GOD! Truly
I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.'" Like Moses before
him, he was daunted by the enormity of the task. It isn't clear whether
at this stage he realised just how hard a task he would have, though God
warns him of it in the verses that follow. But if he had any spiritual insight
at all he would have understood the situation from God's point of view and
therefore would have been in no doubt about the sorts of things that God
might be about to say to his people. When he was born, Judah was ruled by
Manasseh, one of the worst of the Kings of Judah. During a reign of 55 years
he had undone all the reforms of Hezekiah and had taken the people back
to the pagan worship of the Canaanites. He'd rebuilt the high places, erected
altars to Baal, put altars to the stars inside the Temple, and had even
sacrificed his own son by fire. It was said that Manasseh shed so much innocent
blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end. And of course it wasn't
just Manasseh. Even 15 years after his death and into the reign of Josiah
who did more than any other king to restore the worship of God to Jerusalem,
the people were stilled steeped in pagan worship. And as a result, God's
judgement was about to fall on Jerusalem. |
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So the message
that Jeremiah was to be given to speak wasn't going to be a very popular
one was it? Who wants to have someone walking around warning that God was
about to knock down the walls of the city? Who wants to hear that disaster
is about to be poured out from the north on all who live in the land? No
wonder Jeremiah didn't want to speak! |
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But this wasn't
the sort of call that Jeremiah could ignore. Notice where the call comes
from. God says: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecrated you." God isn't asking Jeremiah to apply
for the job. He isn't asking if he can spare the time. He chose him for
this task before he was born; before he was even conceived. God in his foreknowledge
has picked Jeremiah out to be his messenger. |
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Notice, by the
way, that there's no mention here of any particular characteristic that
would make Jeremiah a better prophet than anyone else. Sometimes when we
think about God's call we get the mistaken idea that God calls people who
he knows will respond to him, as though there's some inherent godliness
about the person that responds more easily to God's call than if God called
someone else. But that isn't what happens at all. Look at what we're told.
Everything about the call of Jeremiah comes from God. He knew him. He consecrated
him. He appointed him as a prophet to the nations. As we go further we discover
that God will give him the words to say. God will put the words in his mouth.
God will rescue him. Everything that Jeremiah does and says comes from God.
I'm reminded of the words of Ephesians ch 2: (Eph 2:8-10 NRSV) "For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God-- 9not the result of works, so that no
one may boast. 10For we are what he has made us, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."
As Christians, we're not that much different from Jeremiah. God has chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world, Eph 1:4 tells us. By his
grace, that is his free gift, we've been saved through faith which itself
is the free gift of God. And we've been appointed by God to do good works
which he prepared long ago for us to walk in. I know a few Christians
who have been just as daunted as Jeremiah by the call of God to speak on
his behalf, to share the gospel with their friends. You may be in that number.
But the situation of your call is the same as it was for Jeremiah. The origin
of your call is the knowledge and will of God. "Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart."
And the empowering for your call is the same as well. |
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Jeremiah complains
that he's only a child. "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak,
for I am only a boy." It's the classic plea: "I'm only little!"
It's the natural response isn't it? When you're offered mission impossible,
you'd be foolish to accept it. You'll only make a fool of yourself. You'll
end up being an embarrassment to yourself and others, maybe even to God. |
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But what does
God say? There are actually 2 parts to God's reply to Jeremiah. The first
part is the promise of God's strengthening presence and his protection:
"Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send
you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, 8Do not be afraid
of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." The important
issue isn't Jeremiah's age, or ability, or standing in the community. It's
God's presence with him. God had a similar message for Timothy: (1 Tim 4:11-14
NRSV) "These are the things you must insist on and teach. 12Let
no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and
conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I arrive, give
attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.
14Do not neglect the gift that is in you." Timothy was to
speak the words of God, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, not worrying
about the fact that he was still young. |
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Notice by the
way, that the promise to Jeremiah of God's presence is in the present continuous
tense. I am with you to deliver you. There's an ongoing sense to it. God
is with him now and will continue to be with him. Similarly, Jesus' promise
to his disciples, and to us, was "remember, I am with you always, to
the end of the age." (Mat 28:20 NRSV) God's presence is an ever
present reality. And he says "I am with you to deliver you." There's
no question that Jeremiah's task will be tough. As the song says, God doesn't
promise him a rose garden. Jeremiah can expect opposition and hostility.
He can expect people to try to stop him from speaking God's words. But the
Lord will be with him to protect him, to see him through. I wonder did Jeremiah
remember those words as he was being lowered into an almost dried up water
storage cistern; as he sat there ankle deep in the mud did he think to himself,
"I'm glad God's protecting me now!" But he was, wasn't he? It
might not have been very comfortable for Jeremiah in the cold and wet, but
all the plots of the Jewish leaders to kill him had come to nothing. He
was still alive and would continue to preach until the things he was foretelling
had come to pass. You may remember Terry Waite, who was a hostage in Lebanon
for nearly 5 years from 1987-1991. In his autobiography he records how his
Christian faith kept him going. Even in solitary confinement he was able
to remember Christ's death on the cross and the celebration of the Lord's
Supper became an important part of his routine. (Excerpt from p259 of 'Taken
in Trust'.) Jesus said "If the world hates you keep I mind that it
hated me first." This will always be the case for those who follow
God, and especially for those who proclaim God's word to the world. God's
word will bring out opposition. But God will be with you as you do it, strengthening
you and protecting you. |
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The second part
of God's answer is this: "Then the LORD put out his hand and touched
my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your
mouth.'" The message that Jeremiah has to proclaim isn't just a human
message. It isn't a set of ideas thought up by highly religious people who
thought they knew best. No, these are the very words of God. Just as God
did with Isaiah, he touches Jeremiah's mouth as a sign of his cleansing
and empowering; as a sign that the words he will speak are those that God
will give him. And what do we know about the word of God? (Isa 55:10-11
NRSV) "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not
return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and
sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so
shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me
empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the
thing for which I sent it." |
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Part of Jeremiah's
confidence in speaking the word of God is the knowledge that God's word
is powerful, that it accomplishes what God intends for it. The power of
God's word here is shown in the statement: "today I appoint you over
nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and
to overthrow, to build and to plant." All Jeremiah has to do is to
proclaim God's judgement and it will be accomplished. When God's word is
proclaimed it does what God intends it to do. |
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Do you believe
that? Do you believe that "the gospel is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who has faith"? (Rom 1:15-17 NRSV) That should give us
confidence in preaching the gospel to our friends and neighbours shouldn't
it? That when the gospel is preached, people will come to faith in Christ?
That when they hear the gospel people will respond, that they'll cry out
"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news"? |
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Finally, let's
think about the message that Jeremiah is given. As so often happens in this
sort of situation, the message is given in the form of a vision, in fact
2 visions. |
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The first is a
vision of the branch of an almond tree. A common enough sight in Jerusalem
I imagine. But the significance isn't in the almond tree so much as in the
interpretation that's given. You see the Hebrew word for almond is virtually
the same as the word translated here, "I am watching." The almond
was the tree that watched for signs of spring. It was the first of the trees
to burst forth in new life each year, so each year as it sprouted new leaves,
new blossoms, Jeremiah would be reminded that God was still watching, still
at work. The point of this first vision is that God is watching to see that
his word is fulfilled. Here's the solution to the mystery of how God's word
does what God intends it to. It's because God watches over it. He's ever
wakeful, ever ready for the right moment when his word will be able to do
it's job most effectively, to pierce the heart like a 2 edged sword. It's
a great encouragement to us as we seek to proclaim the gospel, to know that
God is watching over his word, moving in people's hearts through his Holy
Spirit, to bring them to a living faith in Christ. |
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The second vision
isn't quite as comfortable is it? Here we see a boiling pot tilting away
from the North. This signifies the disaster that God is about to pour out
on the land from the north, in the form of the Babylonian army. The reason
for this judgment is summed up in v16: "I will utter my judgments against
them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings
to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands." It's the
age old problem of God's people turning away from worshipping the true and
living God to the false worship of idols made by hands. As we read on into
the book we find further descriptions of their failure to worship truly,
of their rebellion against the LORD, of their injustices, of their unfaithfulness.
But this sums it up. "They've forsaken me; they have made offerings
to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands." |
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Jeremiah is called
to stand against this unfaithfulness, to call the people back to worship
the true and living God; to wait for him to rescue them, just as he promises
to rescue Jeremiah. This won't be a popular message. His opponents will
do all they can to overpower and to frighten him, to break him. But God
warns him that he is a far more terrifying prospect than any of his human
enemies. |
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No, Jeremiah is
to stand firm. In fact it's God who will strengthen Jeremiah's resolve.
He says: "I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron
pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land--against the kings of
Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land." These
days it'd be a titanium wall. Immovable, impregnable, able to withstand
the worst opposition they might throw against him. "They will fight
against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you,
says the LORD, to deliver you." God says the same thing to us in Romans
8: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As
it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we
are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
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Jeremiah was called
to speak the words of God to those who were facing God's judgement. The
message was to be a warning to them to turn back to worship of the true
and living God. We've been given a similar task. To proclaim the gospel
of salvation in Jesus Christ. To turn back to worship God through faith
in Jesus Christ. It's not an easy task, but God promises us, just as he
promised Jeremiah, that he'll be with us, to strengthen us, to surround
us with his love, to keep us safe against all the attacks of the evil one.
So stand firm, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power, be
ready to speak the word of the Lord, the gospel of salvation to those whom
God gives you to speak to and trust God's word to do its work. |
