seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 1:1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b] to see that my word is fulfilled.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”
“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”
14 The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.
“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.
17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
a. Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
b. Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.
This morning... the commentary starts with Bible-studys.org.
We will find in this book why Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He was born to a priestly family. He was born in Anathoth, which was a suburb of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah was reluctant to answer the call of God, because he was just a teenager when God called him. He is like many of us, who feel unworthy to do the task God calls us to.
His ministry covered a period of sad times. Judah is overrun and the Hebrews are carried away captive to Babylon. He, as many other prophets, brought warnings from God. The people did not heed the warning and were taken captive. He later prophesies of the return of the Hebrews to Jerusalem.
This book is of course, penned by Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied during the reign of 5 kings.
We will find that Jeremiah preached, as well as prophesied. When the Hebrews were taken captive, Jeremiah was given the privilege of staying in Jerusalem if he wished, and he stayed. A band of Jews forced him to go to Egypt, and he prophesied there.
Jeremiah did not choose to be a prophet, God chose Jeremiah. God had placed such a burden for the people on Jeremiah, that he was compelled to prophesy. God touched his mouth and put His words in Jeremiah's mouth. The message then was God's message, spoken through Jeremiah.
The name "Jeremiah" means “Jah will rise”. Jeremiah was a contemporary of Ezekiel and Daniel. Daniel was God's choice to prophesy in the Babylonian palace. Ezekiel prophesied and acted as priest to the rural people. Jeremiah stayed in Jerusalem and saw it destroyed.
The Bible contains the second edition of what God wanted “Jeremiah” to say to His people. The original was cut up and destroyed by King Zedekiah (36:21-16).
“Anathoth” had also served as a hometown for two of David’s mighty men: Abiezer (2 Sam. 23:27) and Jehu (1 Chron. 12:3). Anathoth was a town in Benjamin, 3 miles north of Jerusalem, assigned to the Levites (compare Joshua 21:18), where Abiathar had once lived (1 Kings 2:26).
“Jeremiah” was the major prophet during the decline and fall of Judah’s southern kingdom. He prophesied during the reigns of the last five kings of Judah. Jeremiah was born in the village of Anathoth, situated north of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin. Called to the prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of godly Josiah’s reign (about 627 B.C.), Jeremiah’s ministry lasted more than 40 years, extending beyond the fall of Jerusalem (in 586 B.C.). His call actually had been planned by God before his birth. The nature of his ministry consisted of tearing down and rebuilding, uprooting and planting. Jeremiah was a prophet of doom, who was even forbidden to marry so that he could fully devote himself to the preaching of God’s judgment (16:1-13). After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was taken by some Jewish zealots to Egypt, where he continued to preach.
The word translated “child” is sometimes used not only of young children (2 Kings 2:23), but also of servants (2 Sam. 16:1; 2 kings 4:12). It is likewise used of military trainees or young professional soldiers (1 Kings 4:12; 20:14-15). Jeremiah here seems to emphasize his lack of experience more than his youth.
Illustrations of God’s charge was twofold. First, there was the sign of the almond rod. The almond tree was literally “the wakeful tree,” because it awakened from the sleep of winter earlier that the other trees, blooming in January it was a symbol of God’s early judgment, as Jeremiah announced (605 – 586 B.C.). Second, the boiling pot pictured the Babylonian invaders bringing judgement on Judah.
The boiling pot vision pictures impending doom. The bubbling heat of God’s judgment is about to boil over. The scalding effects will flow against the “gates” and “Walls thereof”. God’s Word through Jeremiah will have to root out and destroy before it can build up and plant.
The nature of the Lord’s dealing with Judah and “Jerusalem” is underscored in the second vision. Like a “seething pot” (or caldron), ready to spill over, God’s judgments were about to descend from the “north” against His sin-hardened people. Some have suggested that the phrase “seething pot” might better be translated “kindled thorn,” evoking the image of wildfire consuming the land. Either way, the figure of speech suggests imminent judgment. Jeremiah was commanded to deliver a difficult message in critical times. His would be no easy task.
Jeremiah was a teenager [not a bull frog.... I know... it had to be written to get it out of my head]..... anyway....Jeremiah was just a teen when God called him. I know that a teen in those days and the teens of today are two completely different animals. The teen in those days... was a man.... at a very young age they had to start to work and if called... take up arms. There was no sitting around with homework and video games..... at a very young age.... Jeremiah was a man.... a young man.... but a man.
A teenager had to tell people that the Babylonians were coming. He wasn't riding a horse.... running through the night.... shouting like Paul Revere.... but he did come with some authority.... He was part of a priestly family.... He lived in a town rich in heroic stories.... His home town had been home town of one of king David's mighty men. He came from good stock but he was only a teenager....
What do you think would happen if one of the teenagers in one of the churches or chapels.... started talking about an impending invasion? The invasion Jeremiah was tasked with warning people about.... was particularly brutal. Women were raped... babies were murdered.... men were murdered or castrated and everyone [accept a few poor people] in Jerusalem was force marched to Babylon.... a three month trip on foot. Jeremiah was from a little town 3 miles outside of Jerusalem..... If a teen had warned us that a gunman was going to shoot up a mall, movie theater, school, or country music event..... he would be ignored.... put in a nut ward.....or jailed....
This is from the easy English site.
The Babylonians appointed Gedaliah as the ruler of Judah. The chief officer in the army freed Jeremiah from prison. They invited Jeremiah to go to Babylon. But Jeremiah preferred to stay with the people in Judah. Ishmael and his followers killed Gedaliah. The people asked Jeremiah what they should do. He told them not to leave the country. But, against his advice, they ran away to Egypt and they took Jeremiah with them. Jeremiah continued to prophesy in Egypt
The kingdoms in the north were probably Babylon and the nations that fought with Babylon. The rulers of a city used to meet at the gates in the city. So the rulers from Babylon replaced Judah’s rulers. The LORD used Babylon to punish the people in Judah. They had worshipped false gods. They had worshipped idols. They had made those idols themselves. Isaiah had laughed at the people who did that (Isaiah 44:12-20).
The LORD warned Jeremiah that everyone would oppose him. The rulers, the religious leaders and the rest of the people would not like his message. But Jeremiah had to be brave. He had to declare the whole message that the LORD had given to him. The LORD would be present with him. Jeremiah would be as strong as a city with walls. He would be as strong as very strong metals. The LORD ordered Jeremiah to be loyal. But the LORD also promised to defend his servant, Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was the Teenage Prophet. 