Good morning. He was known as “the weeping prophet.” This may be an indication of the difficulty of his message. It was very challenging for Jeremiah to be God’s spokesman when the message he was given to speak was one that predicted the ruination of the people he was speaking to.
Jeremiah was the author of the Old Testament books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. He was called by God to be His prophet in those years immediately before God would allow Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem, the temple, and to murder and enslave His people. The words of Jeremiah are considered to be of God by the Jews, Christians, and Islam. He served during the reign of five kings from Josiah to Zedekiah, who was the last king before the Babylonian invasion. I think it is worth our time to read the words of his calling by God: The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:1-10
Jeremiah was called by God to be His prophet when he was 24 years old. He argued that this was too young an age for such an important job. God told him that his age wasn’t important. What was important was that God was with him.
Jeremiah told God that he wasn’t an eloquent speaker. God didn’t care about that either; and again, God told him that all that mattered was that He was in control.
God gave His chosen prophet Jeremiah, whom He had chosen from before Jeremiah’s conception, these commands: do not be afraid, stand tall and speak, say what I give you to say without exception or excuse, and go where God would tell him to go when God would tell him do so.
The message Jeremiah was given to speak was harsh. He told the people, as God gave him the words, that destruction from the north was soon to come (Babylon). He told them that they would suffer famine, conquest, plunder, captivity, rape, murder, and all of this was due to their sins. His message was not well received. The people didn’t want to hear it.
Why was God’s message so harsh? Because His people had turned away from Him and were worshipping a form of Satan called Baal. God pointed out through Jeremiah that of all the sins of the people the abomination that would never be tolerated was the sacrifice of their children. They were putting their infants to death in order to win the favor of Baal which would mean, they hoped, greater harvest and success. God would not stand for the sacrifice of infants for human profits or convenience. He still doesn’t, by the way, and many people still don’t want to hear it.
Jeremiah faced all manner of persecution and threat. His fellow priests, among others, conspired to murder him. Jeremiah complained about this to the Lord who told him that it was going to get worse not better. Jeremiah wasn’t happy. In fact, Jeremiah lamented bitterly about his fate, his role in God’s plan, but it was a job that needed doing. Jeremiah had this to say about leaving his God directed calling behind: But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah: the weeping prophet. His message wasn’t accepted, and he wasn’t appreciated, but if you think he deserves our pity, read on in Jeremiah 20:10-13 I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Sing to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.
We learn from Jeremiah that it isn’t always easy, but it is always blessed! No matter how tough it may seem, the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so… Give praise to the Lord!
Vern