CHAPTER 1

(629 B.C.)

INTRODUCTION

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the Priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (the name Jeremiah means Jehovah is high, Jehovah raises up or launches out. As we shall see, the Ministry of Jeremiah was, in many ways, typical of the Ministry of Christ):

²To whom the Word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. (From that time to the fall of Jerusalem was approximately 40 years. No doubt, Jeremiah was greatly encouraged at the beginning of his ministry, in view of the fact that Josiah was one of the Godliest kings that ever graced the throne of Judah [II Ki. 22:2]. But yet Josiah will be cut down in his prime, possibly fulfilling the Prophecy of Isaiah [Isa. 57:1].)

³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. (In this Verse, we have the fulfillment of the Prophecies of Moses, as well as others [Deut. 28:36-37]. The length of the time mentioned in this Verse was approximately 40 years, during which Jeremiah continued to prophesy. As well, he prophesied even after the fall of Jerusalem [Jer. 40:1; 42:7; 43:1-44:30].)

GOD CALLS JEREMIAH

⁴Then the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying (this is the first Prophecy that is given in this Book, and concerns itself with the call of Jeremiah),

⁵Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a Prophet unto the nations. (In this, one can easily see the doctrine of predestination. But only that the Lord through foreknowledge knew what kind of man that Jeremiah would be, and not that Jeremiah had been denied the power of choice and had been forced by God into a certain course of action.

The words, I sanctified you, refer to the call of Jeremiah, that he had been set apart for this particular use.

The words, Ordained you a Prophet unto the nations, rather mean appointed. His message would involve not only Israel, but also those nations which had to do with Israel.)

⁶Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. (This does not speak of a preteen child, but a young man ranging from that of a teenager to twenty-five or thirty years of age.)

⁷But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatsoever I command you you shall speak. (Almost immediately upon Gods Commands, the flesh, lacking faith, withdraws. So did Moses and Jonah. The call demanded absolute leading and absolute obedience!)

⁸Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. (This Verse implies, and by the Lord at that, that Jeremiah will face great opposition; however, he had the Promise of the Lord to deliver him, but only if Jeremiah fully obeyed.)

⁹Then the LORD put forth His Hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put My Words in your mouth. (I have put My Words in your mouth, explains Inspiration. The mouth was Jeremiahs, the Words were Gods [Acts 3:21; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:21].)

¹⁰See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. (As there is so much more threat than promise in Jeremiahs writings, the destructive side of his activity is expressed by four verbs; the constructive, only by two.)

VISION OF AN ALMOND TREE BRANCH

¹¹Moreover the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. (The almond tree is, in the east, the first to awake after the sleep of winter. It, therefore, symbolized the nearness of the predicted event.)

¹²Then said the LORD unto me. You have well seen: for I will hasten My Word to perform it. (The urgency was impressed upon Jeremiah that inasmuch as his Call was given, that the Prophecies must begin, because the time of their fulfillment was at hand! It would be some thirty-five or more years, at least concerning Jerusalem and Judah, regarding the fulfillment, but the warnings were to begin immediately.)

VISION OF A SEETHING POT

¹³And the Word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. (The seething pot symbolized the eruption of the Babylonians into Judah.)

¹⁴Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. (Out of the north, refers to the invasion route. Actually, Babylon was due east of Judah. However, the caravan road which the Chaldean armies had to take entered Judah at Dan, which was due north of Jerusalem.

The words, an evil, refer to the calamity, which in deepening gloom forms the burden of the Prophets discourses.)

¹⁵For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. (This was fulfilled approximately thirty-five years later. The word against occurs eight times in this Chapter. This emphasizes the fact that man is estranged from God. Scriptural teaching is, therefore, opposed to human teaching. Doctrines which appeal to the natural heart, and which are in harmony with the assured results of modern thought, must, therefore, be false; for the natural mind is enmity against God, and is not appealed to by Divine teaching [Rom. 8:7].

The prediction in this Verse is that the kings and generals of the mighty Babylonian Empire would set up the high seat of power and judicial authority near the gate of the city of Jerusalem. And so it ultimately happened [II Ki. 24:12].)

¹⁶And I will utter My Judgments against them (against Judah) touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. (God always makes clear the reasons for His Judgments in time for men to avoid them, if they will only listen. Jeremiah did not go into the detail as did Isaiah concerning these idol gods. It is as if the Lord is weary of His Explanations being rejected; therefore, He only alludes to these other gods, as if to say that if Jerusalem and Judah do not now know better, there is nothing else He can say!)

¹⁷You therefore gird up your loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command you: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound you before them. (A Promise and a warning is given in this Verse. The Promise is that God would give him the Words that he is to say. The warning is that if there is a want of confidence on Jeremiahs part, his enemies would utterly discomfit him.)

¹⁸For, behold, I have made you this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the Priests thereof, and against the people of the land. (The Lord would give Jeremiah the strength to stand against the king, the Priesthood, and the people of the land, but only if he stood strong.)

¹⁹And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you. (The opposition of the land was predicted. To be sure, the opposition by the modern Church against true prophetic utterance is almost always the case; however, the Promise of Deliverance for the Prophet against this opposition is given here, at least until the Message has been properly delivered.)