The Call of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1:4-12

One of the reasons I’ve always been so moved by the Bible’s accounts of God calling people is because in each lies remarkable and beautiful truth about God, his saving mission, and ourselves. “Abram!”, “Moses!”, “Samuel”, God’s summons to Ezekiel, “Son of man!”, “Hail favored one!”, or “Saul, Saul!” in some way tells us about how ‘the word of the Lord came’ from God, about sovereign, saving mercy, how we are called into communion with him, the purpose for which he’s summoning us, and the strength he will give us to carry out his will.

This is true in Jeremiah as well. Here is Jeremiah’s call, recorded in 1:4-12

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

While God’s call on Jeremiah was for and in a particular people, place, and time, it was located in eternity, in God’s heart and sovereign will long before Jeremiah - or the world! - even existed. God’s call comes not because we seek it but because God seeks and sets us apart for his will. 

God had ‘formed’ Jeremiah for the call, and this ‘forming’ consisted not only of Jeremiah’s culture, family, education, and other life experiences but of something far deeper and mysterious. The Hebrew word for ‘formed’ in this text is used in Jeremiah 18 of a potter’s hand ‘forming’ the vessel. Jeremiah reminded Judah they were not their own but God’s people, formed and shaped by him for his will.  

This ‘forming’ of Jeremiah in the womb was preceded by God’s election of Jeremiah as his spokesman. God has appointed him to the office and set him aside for the office in eternity past and brought him to his people at the perfect time. 

One might suppose all of that God-ordained activity and sovereign selection might’ve made Jeremiah confident in his calling. That wasn’t his response. Like Moses, Jeremiah drew back from God’s calling. “I’m too young for such a thing!”, he protested. The Lord was having none of that, of course. “I will put my word in your mouth”, he said, “And you will go everywhere I send you.” He added a vision of sorts to strengthen Jeremiah. It was the image of an almond tree. This was a sign-play on words to help strengthen Jeremiah’s faith. “Almond” in Hebrew looks and sounds very much like “Watching”. In a way, God said to Jeremiah, “Don’t forget the almond. I am watching over my word to bring it about. You’re right, Jeremiah - you can’t do this, and it isn’t just because you’re young. It’s because it’s impossible. But it is my  word in your mouth, and I will keep watch over that word so that, no matter what opposition you face or weakness you experience, I will bring it to pass.”

Is this a comfort in the call we all experience? Of course! We recognize that God has sovereignly called us to himself and then into his mission in the world. We did not choose him; he first chose us. We did not first love him; he first loved us. This is our rest, that we are the Lord’s not because of anything we have done but because of everything he has done. 

But there is a yet more central lesson here. This call begins with “the word of the Lord came…” It is the arrival in the world of the word of God which is the central concern of this text and of every text in the Bible. Ultimately, the call of Jeremiah does not point us to our calling as much as it points us first to the calling of Jesus Christ. He is the elect one from all eternity, and our election is 'in him’. He is the word of the Lord who has come into the world. Christ is the one formed by the Spirit in the womb of Mary, the elect & consecrated servant of God prepared to bring salvation to the world at just the right time. He is the One who has authority over the nations to pluck up and break down, build and plant. It is not only that he is the One in whose mouth is the word of God, but whose mouth is the very word of God, for the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. 

We are his prophetic people and called by his voice into communion with his heart; let us rejoice today in his mercy and serve him fully.