What God’s calling involves (Jeremiah 1)
Jer 1:1-19
A few years after I came to faith, I led some Bible studies in a church camp. During that time my pastor asked me if I had ever thought of training to be a pastor myself. I dismissed the question then but remembered it years later when I was considering full-time Christian service. The significance of that comment for me was not so much an actual calling towards pastoral ministry, which I did not feel then or since. In my pastor’s context, the only way to serve the church full time was as a pastor, so he could not have envisaged the kind of work I do now. Nevertheless, I found it interesting that long before it ever entered my head, someone discerned a leaning in me towards Christian ministry.
Long known and purpose planned
When God called the prophet, He assured Jeremiah that His choice of him was not a snap decision but one planned long before (Jer 1:5). He was known to God, and the Lord had a purpose for him. While not all are called into ministry and some may not even think of their job as a calling, we can all be encouraged that we have a place in the Lord’s plans of building His kingdom whether it means being salt and light in a secular workplace, raising children in godliness, helping others in practical ways, or contributing to the life of the church in some way. Moreover, when God plans, it is never a hasty afterthought, and we can be assured that our abilities and life experiences all have a place in what we can give to others.
Inadequacy and enabling
Jeremiah’s calling is a weighty one and the job ahead overwhelming. Although his ministry mainly addresses Judah, the events that will overtake God’s people will also hit the nations around her, so that his prophecies will have a wider significance applicable to other peoples. In this sense, he will be a prophet to the nations to pluck up and destroy as well as to build and to plant (Jer 1:5, 10).[1] No wonder Jeremiah feels inadequate to such a task (Jer 1:6) and, like others before him, he appeals to his inability to speak (cf. Exod 4:10) and to his youth (cf. 1 Kings 3:7). Who has not known a sense of inadequacy in serving God? Yet, like Jeremiah, God does not simply send us, He comes with us (Jer 1:7). Moreover, our enabling is from the Lord, just as Jeremiah’s message was (Jer 1:9).[2]
Challenges ahead and a God who delivers
God also knows that Jeremiah is a sensitive young man who will face a great struggle in ministry. Therefore, he is given two visions as reminders when the difficulties come. In the first, there is a word-play involved: an almond branch (shaqed) is an aide-memoire that God is watching (shoqed) to bring His Word about (Jer 1:11-12).[3] This is important because the delay in the coming judgment will lead to mockery for Jeremiah to the point that he himself will wonder if he got God’s Word right (see my Introduction to Jeremiah).
The second vision of a cauldron boiling over from the north is a reminder of the coming ‘disaster’ (the Hebrew ra‘ah can mean moral evil or simply something bad; Jer 1:13-16), though Babylon is not mentioned by name. Nevertheless, the further explanation makes a military conquest clear. The description of thrones set up in front of the city gates evokes surrender after siege with the conquering powers sitting in judgment over a subjugated population (v.15).[4] The importance of this for Jeremiah is not so much the message of judgement itself but the way a besieged Jerusalem is contrasted with a besieged prophet. The city will be conquered because they are unfaithful to God, but Jeremiah will be delivered, if he obeys the Lord (Jer 1:17-19). Thus, the very words of judgment that the prophet must speak to others will also be a warning for himself. Nevertheless, the message concludes on a note of encouragement. No matter how painful and hard God’s service might be, it is possible to overcome with the Lord’s help because the One who sends is also the One who delivers (v.19).
[1] For instance, the passage in Jer 18:7-10 describes God’s responsiveness. While it primarily has Judah in mind, it is phrased more generally to include any nation. If they repent, God will relent from intended judgment (cf. Jon 3:10), if they continue in sin, He will bring judgment even if earlier He promised blessing. Later in the book, envoys from the neighbouring countries come to Judah’s king and Jeremiah gives them the same message to pass on to their respective rulers that he also gives to Judah, namely, to submit to Babylon (Jer 27:1-11; 12-22). Thus, what applies to Judah often applies to the nations as well. Further, Jeremiah speaks not only of judgment but also of restoration for Judah, as well as the nations (e.g. Egypt – Jer 46:26; Moab – Jer 48:47; Ammon – Jer 49:6). Thus, Jeremiah’s prophecies about/to the nations involve both ‘plucking up’ and ‘planting’.
[2] Putting words into someone’s mouth (Jer 1:9) is a phrase typically used of prophets to indicate that their messages came from God (Deut 18:18; Isa 51:16).
[3] If the connection between an object in a vision and its significance seems obscure, readers should suspect a wordplay in the Hebrew. Another example is in Amos 8:1-2 where a basket of summer ‘fruit’ (qayits) is a reminder of judgement, the ‘end’ (qets), for Israel.
[4] Ancient cities were crowded affairs with narrow streets and a square just inside the city gate (where court cases were dealt with). Conquering powers normally set themselves up just outside the gate where there was more space. Often, they executed prominent leaders of the subject people and made decisions about what happened with the rest (e.g. Jer 52:9-11, 15-16, 24-27).
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