Jeremiah 1:1-19

It is always amazing to evaluate the people God chooses to use to accomplish His purposes on the earth.  We would expect God to be on the lookout for the most talented, movers and shakers on the planet.  God prefers to use the lowly and humble who tend to shrink away from the limelight and have very little confidence in their own abilities.  He does this so all the glory for what is accomplished will belong to Him and not the men He chooses to use.  Jeremiah is an unlikely candidate for the work of the Lord from man’s perspective but was just exactly the man God decided to use to accomplish His work.  Israel was about to go into captivity but God had a message to deliver to Israel and to the nations and chose Jeremiah to be His mouthpiece.

GOD EXPRESSES HIS EXPECTATIONS: God makes it very clear to Jeremiah that He had chosen him to be a prophet.  This purpose was determined, not because of Jeremiah’s actions, but before he was formed in his mother’s womb.  God expects for His creation to accomplish the purpose for which He created them.  He expects us to be involved in the task of calling the nations to be reconciled to Him.  He expects us to proclaim His Word to all men everywhere.  In short, God expects obedience.

GOD EXPOSES OUR EXCUSES: Jeremiah, like many of us, is much more apt to make excuses than he is to obey the Lord.  Jeremiah takes a page out of Moses’s play book and claims that he is unable to speak eloquently.  He also tries to use his age as an excuse as to why he cannot obey the call of God on His life.  The truth is that none of us are eloquent enough, experienced enough or equipped enough to do the work God has called us to do.  God exposes the fallacy of these excuses by pointing out that He has made our mouths and He provides the power and ability to do the work to which He has called us.  We do not have the ability to transform the lives of His people.  God does this work in the hearts of men and can use any of us as He sees fit.  We must not use excuses about our abilities to justify our disobedience.


GOD EXPLAINS HIS EXPERTISE: God assures Jeremiah that He will be given supernatural power from Himself in order to accomplish the task ahead of Him.  He shows Jeremiah a vision and explains the meaning behind the vision so he can proclaim it to all.  He lets Jeremiah know that the message he will need to proclaim will not be popular nor will it be easy but He explains to him that He will be with him each step of the way.  God promises to protect him in the face of kings and nations that will come out against him and the nation he represents.  No circumstance we ever face in the fulfillment of God’s will takes God by surprise.  He is the expert and He makes His expertise available to those who are willing to serve Him in humility.

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