Tuesday, October 3, 2017

October 3

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30; Philippians 4:1-23; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20

I am no Esther McCurry, but I will attempt to give a few words of background information as we begin this new book of Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah was called to be a prophet when he was very young. Some scholars place him as young as fourteen years of age. He began his ministry in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, around 626 BC. He continued to prophesy through the brief reigns of four other kings, until after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, which took place sometime after 586 B.C. 

Jeremiah was prophesying to the nation of Judah in the last days of their last kings. The nation of Israel had already fallen, and Judah was the only Jewish nation left intact. According to Jeremiah 1:1, he lived in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, which would have placed his home within a few miles of Jerusalem. So he was able to see first-hand the destruction of Jerusalem that the Lord had commanded him to prophecy.

We see Jeremiah's reluctance to become a prophet in 1:6 when he says, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." Is it any surprise that he is reluctant? He lived in days when prophets were more common. While he lived after Isaiah had already died, his ministry was immediately preceded by Zephaniah. Both Habakkuk and Obadiah were probably contemporaries of his, possibly Ezekial as well. I am sure he saw firsthand what the life of a prophet would mean: ridicule, oppression, hostility, harsh treatment, and possibly imprisonment.

However, once Jeremiah accepts his calling to the office of prophet, he embraces it whole-heartedly. He has often been referred to as the "weeping prophet" because of how much lament and sadness is contained in his writings.

But how could he not weep and wail? He sees everything that is dear to him, and the world as he knows it, falling apart on every level. He is faithful to deliver words of warning and calling to repentance, but it falls on deaf ears. Yet he continues to speak out the words God has put in his mouth (see Jer. 1:9) throughout his lifetime.

As we begin Jeremiah, let us take encouragement from his willingness and boldness to speak the words of God, no matter how unpopular or unaccepted they may seem. I know I am so often hesitant to speak hard truths if I think it's going to make me look odd or unpopular. Or, sometimes, I talk myself out of exhorting someone in love if I think they are just not going to listen to me anyway. But Jeremiah wasn't called to make them listen; he couldn't control that. He was only called to speak faithfully the true words of the Almighty God. Father, may I be more faithful to speak your truth in boldness and without fear.


- Mary Matthias


How did God speak to you in Scripture today? Click here to share your reflections on God's word or read past posts. We'd love to hear from you.

No comments:

Post a Comment