Jeremiah 1:1-3
THE SUPERSCRIPTION... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUPERSCRIPTION... [ Continue Reading ]
The words of the word of the Lord came in the days of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, this being one of the four cities within the territory of Benjamin allotted to the Kohathites, Joshua 21:18;... [ Continue Reading ]
to whom Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.... [ Continue Reading ]
It 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, that is, of its inhabitants, CAPTIVE IN THE FIFTH MONTH. Note that Jeremiah expressly claims divine authority... [ Continue Reading ]
Then, namely, at the time designated in the introduction, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CALL AND COMMISSION OF THE PROPHET... [ Continue Reading ]
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, before ever his conception had taken place, the Lord had destined him to be His prophet; AND BEFORE THOU CAMEST FORTH OUT OF THE WOMB, I SANCTIFIED THEE, separating and consecrating him, setting him apart for the sacred office, AND I ORDAINED THEE A PR... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said I, with some realization of the difficulty and danger of the divine commission. AH! LORD GOD, BEHOLD, I CANNOT SPEAK, FOR I AM A CHILD, a young man below the age at which the Israelites took an active part in public work. The sensitive nature of Jeremiah shrank back from a position which w... [ Continue Reading ]
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, in an effort to make his youth and inexperience an excuse for refusing to follow the Lord's call; FOR THOU SHALL GO TO ALL THAT I SHALL SEND THEE, AND WHATSOEVER I COMMAND THEE THOU SHALT SPEAK. It was not a matter to be argued, but the Lord, by a ca... [ Continue Reading ]
Be not afraid of their faces, in an excess of awe which would interfere with the effectiveness of his message; FOR I AM WITH THEE TO DELIVER THEE, SAITH THE LORD. He thus imparted the necessary courage to His servant to enable him to stand before the mighty of the world. Cf Matthew 10:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, this, of course, being a symbolical act experienced by Jeremiah in a vision, its meaning being that God Himself would give His servant the right utterance, would inspire him to proclaim His message in its full truth. AND THE LORD SAID UNTO ME, B... [ Continue Reading ]
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, the naturally timid and fearful prophet being appointed to their oversight, TO ROOT OUT, AND TO PULL DOWN, AND TO DESTROY, to extirpate, exterminate, and eliminate, AND TO THROW DOWN, to pronounce the divine judgment upon His enem... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? Jehovah wanted to give His prophet some signs confirming his call. AND I SAID, I SEE A ROD OF AN ALMOND-TREE, a shoot or branch of the tree which was the first to awaken to life after the winter's sleep and was therefore... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen; for I will hasten My word to perform it, literally, "wakeful (or intent) shall I, on My part, be with regard to My words to do them," the allusion to the wakeful tree thus being justified.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? a second vision being vouchsafed the prophet. AND I SAID, I SEE A SEETHING POT, one of the large kettles used to prepare vegetables for many guests; AND THE FACE THEREOF IS TOWARD THE NORTH, so that its contents threaten... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth, out of a great and wide opening, UPON ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND. A boiling kettle is an Oriental symbol of a raging war, and since Babylon was regarded by the people of Judah as situated toward the north, it was clear that... [ Continue Reading ]
For, lo, I will call all the families, the tribes or clans, OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH, SAITH THE LORD, all the great chieftains of the Chaldeans uniting in an effort to overthrow Judah; AND THEY SHALL COME, AND THEY SHALL SET EVERY ONE HIS THRONE AT THE ENTERING OF THE GATES OF JERUSALEM, the con... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will utter My judgments against them, the wicked inhabitants of the land, TOUCHING ALL THEIR WICKEDNESS, pronouncing their condemnation and doom, WHO HAVE FORSAKEN ME AND HAVE BURNED INCENSE UNTO OTHER GODS AND WORSHIPED THE WORKS OF THEIR OWN HANDS. Thus the Lord, by His stern judgments and p... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou, therefore, gird up thy loins, like a soldier or a man on a journey, to remove every hindrance in traveling, AND ARISE AND SPEAK UNTO THEM ALL THAT I COMMAND THEE, the fact of his being the Lord's messenger and representative once more being stressed; BE NOT DISMAYED AT THEIR FACES, shrinking b... [ Continue Reading ]
For, behold, I have made thee this day a defensed city, one fortified most strongly, AND AN IRON PILLAR, AND BRAZEN WALLS AGAINST THE WHOLE LAND, enduing him with strength which no power of the enemies would be able to overcome, AGAINST THE KINGS OF JUDAH, AGAINST THE PRINCES THEREOF, AGAINST THE PR... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall fight against thee, a fact of which Jeremiah was to be aware from the outset, BUT THEY SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST THEE; FOR I AM WITH THEE, SAITH THE LORD, TO DELIVER THEE, this assurance serving as the source of the prophet's strength in the coming trials. It has happened more than on... [ Continue Reading ]