Jer 1:6-10; 26:8-9, 12-15
SS Lesson for 10/05/2025
Devotional Scriptures: Ezek 2:1-8
Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry began in 627 BC, about 70 years after Isaiah. He was a priest at Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1), therefore from the tribe of Levi and an educated person. About this time, the last great Assyrian king died, ending the dominance of this cruel nation over the people of Israel. But other foreign menaces came to dominate Judah: first Egypt, then Babylon. This climaxed in 586 BC when the armies of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and destroyed both the city walls and the temple (see 2 Kings 25:1, 8-11). Jeremiah’s career spanned the reigns of the last five kings of Judah before this catastrophe. Jeremiah is known as the “Mournful Prophet.” His name contributes to the English term “jeremiad,” a bitter railing against opponents. He is credited as the author of the book that bears his name as well as the book of Lamentations.
But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
6 Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."
7 But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant."
6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 "Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
10 Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." 11 The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
14 The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." 16 The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates, all the Hittite country, to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ' Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
14 Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.
18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You will surely die!
9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant'?" And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
5 No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?
23 I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you." 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,
16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard.
13 Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.
14 As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you.
15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
22 But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
23 Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.
The "words" (Heb. debarim, writings, prophecies, deeds, and events of his life) that follow are those of Jeremiah (meaning Yahweh founds, establishes, exalts, throws down, hurls, or loosens [the womb]). This was a common name in Israel. The Old Testament refers to many different individuals who bore it. His father was Hilkiah (also a common name), who may or may not have been the high priest who found the book of the Law in the temple during Josiah’s reforms (2 Kings 22:3-13). Jeremiah’s father was a priest who lived in Anathoth, a village three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin where other priests also lived (cf. Joshua 21:15-19). Thus Jeremiah was a priest by ancestry. The book never refers to him as serving as a priest, and he was often a severe critic of the Levitical priests. According to one writer, the words "to whom the word of the Lord came," and similar phrases, occur 157 times in Jeremiah out of a total of 349 times in the entire Old Testament. [Note: James G. S. S. Thomson, The Old Testament View of Revelation, pp. 60-61. This is about 45 percent of its occurrences.]
Most of the prophetical books begin with some indication of authorship and date to put them in their historical contexts, and this is true of the Book of Jeremiah.
Verse 2
The word of Jeremiah was the word of the Lord (cf. Jeremiah 1:1). Jeremiah received his first instructions from Yahweh as a prophet in the thirteenth year of King Josiah of Judah’s reign (640-609 B.C.), namely, 627 B.C. (cf. Jeremiah 25:3). [Note: See A Graeme Auld, "Prophets and Prophecy in Jeremiah and Kings," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 96:1 (1984):66-82, for a study of the history of the terms "prophet" and "prophecy" in the Old Testament.]
Verse 3
Jeremiah also received prophecies from the Lord during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.), and until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)-namely, 586 B.C.-even until the exile of the residents of Jerusalem began in the fifth month of 586 B.C. The writer evidently omitted Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin from this list of kings because their reigns each lasted only three months, in 609 and 598-597 B.C. respectively.
"There is particular significance in the reference to the deportation (galut) of Jerusalem. This event was the climax to Jeremiah’s preaching and a demonstration of his authenticity as a genuine prophet of Yahweh, for in that event the basic thrust of his prophecy was fulfilled." [Note: Thompson, p. 141.]
We know from elsewhere in the book that Jeremiah also prophesied after the fall of Jerusalem (cf. chs. 40-44). So the dates in this verse fix the period of Jeremiah’s main ministry and set it in a historical context.
"We only begin to understand the power of Jeremiah’s book if we grasp something of the chaos of his world." [Note: Craigie, p. 5.]
This preface sets the stage for what follows.
Verse 4
The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf. Jeremiah 1:11; Jeremiah 1:13; Jeremiah 2:1; Jeremiah 2:4; Jeremiah 3:6; Jeremiah 3:11; Jeremiah 4:3; Jeremiah 4:27; et al.). These references are not the only indicators of a new section of text, but they usually indicate the beginning or ending of a section when they appear.
This account of Jeremiah’s call prepares the reader for the prophet’s ministry that unfolds beginning in chapter 2. The events recorded here prepared Jeremiah for that ministry, a ministry that frequently discouraged him and made him wish that God had never called him.
Verse 5
Yahweh knew (Heb. yada’, committed Himself to) Jeremiah before He had formed him in his mother’s womb (cf. Genesis 4:1; Psalms 1:6; Hosea 4:1; Amos 3:2). Jeremiah existed as a human being during his gestation period (cf. Psalms 139:13). God had set him aside (Heb. hiqdish) from all other uses for prophetic ministry even before his birth (cf. Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1-3; Amos 7:10-17). His prophetic ministry would involve many nations (chs. 46-51), not just Judah (chs. 2-45).
"The thought that his very existence was a conscious part of divine purpose and not an incidental biological occurrence must have given him a special sense of destiny. This in turn doubtless contributed to his determination to fulfil his prophetic mission regardless of personal considerations." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., pp. 50-51.]
"God identified Himself to be sovereign over Jeremiah in that He (1) foreknew Jeremiah before he was born, (2) had caused him to be born, and (3) had separated him for a holy service. On this basis, He also had the sovereign prerogative to appoint Jeremiah to be a prophet." [Note: Irving L. Jensen, Jeremiah and Lamentations, p. 19.]
Verse 6
When the Lord revealed his calling to him, Jeremiah expressed dismay: first, because he was still a youth, and second, because he had not yet learned how to speak confidently and effectively.
Jeremiah’s age at his call is not clear except that he was a youth (Heb. na’ar, a word that elsewhere in the Old Testament describes children through young men; cf. Genesis 14:24; Genesis 22:3; Genesis 34:19; Exodus 2:6; Exodus 33:11; 1 Samuel 4:21; Judges 8:14). Jeremiah was probably about 20 years old. The estimates of several reliable commentators range from about 16 to 25 years old.
Jeremiah’s response to his call reveals the first of his many similarities to Moses (cf. Exodus 4:1-17). The people to whom they spoke did not believe either prophet, and both men claimed to be inadequate as speakers, to name only two likenesses. Jeremiah’s contemporaries could very well have mistaken him for "the prophet like Moses," which Moses predicted would come after himself (Deuteronomy 18:18).
Verse 7
The Lord refused to accept Jeremiah’s reasons for resisting his call. It did not matter that he was young and inexperienced, because the Lord had called him. He would go where God sent him and say what God told him to say.
Verse 8
He was not to fear the response of his audience, because the Lord promised to be with him and to deliver him from his threatening hearers (cf. Genesis 15:1; Numbers 21:34; Deuteronomy 3:2; Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:9; Daniel 10:12; Daniel 10:19; Matthew 28:20; Luke 1:30; Luke 5:10; Acts 27:24). The Lord always supports the servants whom He sends on His missions (cf. Exodus 3:12; Joshua 1:1-9; Matthew 28:19-20; et al.).
Verse 9
By stretching out His hand and touching Jeremiah’s mouth, the Lord symbolized the transfer of His words to the prophet’s mouth (cf. Deuteronomy 18:18). He also explained the meaning of His act. This was a powerful way of visualizing that the Lord Himself would participate in all that Jeremiah would undertake (cf. Isaiah 6:6-7; Ezekiel 3:1-3).
God uses ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary work if they trust in Him in spite of their fears, obey Him in spite of their inexperience, and proclaim His Word in spite of their feelings of inadequacy. [Note: Charles H. Dyer, in The Old Testament Explorer, p. 591.]
"The word of God is a power that carries out His will, and accomplishes that whereto He sends it, Isa. Leviticus 10 ff. Against this power nothing earthly can stand; it is a hammer that breaks rocks in pieces, xxiii. 29." [Note: Keil, 1:42.]
Verse 10
The Lord appointed Jeremiah to a position of authority over the nations in the sense that he would announce God’s will for them. He would announce both good news and bad, oracles of judgment and messages of comfort and encouragement. The verbs in this verse anticipate the whole message of this book, as one might expect in an introduction. [Note: See Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, p. 243-44.] Four of them are destructive, and only two are constructive, reflecting the predominantly negative emphasis of Jeremiah’s ministry. The Lord compared Jeremiah’s work to that of two types of workers: a farmer and an architect.
"This is a paradigm of the spiritual life, for God has first to remove the sin before the sinner can begin to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:15; 2 Peter 3:18)." [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., p. 50. See also Kenneth L. Barker, "Jeremiah’s Ministry and Ours," Bibliotheca Sacra 127:507 (July 1970):223-31.]
". . . the Bible gives us a realistic message that Jeremiah preached into his own days, a message I am convinced the church today must preach if it is to be any help in the post-Christian world." [Note: Schaeffer, p. 36.]
"First, we may say that there is a time, and ours is such a time, when a negative message is needed before anything positive can begin. There must first be the message of judgment, the tearing down. There are times, and Jeremiah’s day and ours are such times, when we cannot expect a constructive revolution if we begin by overemphasizing the positive message. . . .
Second, with love we must face squarely the fact that our culture really is under the judgment of God. We must not heal the sickness lightly. We must emphasize the reality." [Note: Ibid., pp. 70, 71.]
"What we are is God’s gift to us; what we do with it is our gift to Him." [Note: Warren W. Wiersbe, "Jeremiah," in The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets, p. 77.]
(Adapted from URL:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/jeremiah-1.html)
Jeremiah knew from an early age that obeying the Lord’s call would be difficult, even dangerous. His messages of future destruction would be unpopular among the ruling elite of Jerusalem, and they would sway the people against him. Yet he faithfully delivered these hard words, even at the risk of his own life. Today, you may not be called to deliver God’s words to elites in places of societal power. Your roles may be confined to your church, family, school, or workplace. Nevertheless, speaking truth may be just as challenging as it was for Jeremiah. As with Jeremiah, this may come upon you at a young age. Ministries of truth and service are not just for mature believers. What inhibits you from assuming a more active ministry for the Lord? Do you think you are too young? Too inexperienced? Do you think you are too old? Do you think you don’t know the Bible well enough? Do you think you are too busy? Are you slowed by fear of rejection? Jeremiah likely felt many of these things. He could have lived a respectful life as a priest enjoying the quiet stability of a small village. The Lord had other plans for him. He was called to be God’s spokesman of judgment to the elites of his land, even the great nations of his world. Although he did not seek or relish this responsibility, he faithfully carried it out. May we follow the example of brave Jeremiah in the calls to ministry that the Lord extends to every Christian.