The verse begins the account of Jeremiah's call to his prophetic work and ministry. He was very young, a child and timid ordinary man, when the call came in the thirteenth year of Josiah around 626 B.C. in the closing days before the Babylonian captivity in a work reaching to Zedekiah and the exile. The coming of the word of the Lord means he was personally chosen, sanctified and sent to speak for God, known before he was formed and ordained before birth to be a prophet unto the nations, for his calling originated with God and not with himself. The Lord forbade him to say he was a child, charged him to go and speak all he was commanded without fear, touched his mouth and put His words in it, and set him over nations and kingdoms to root out and pull down and to build and to plant. This proves God chooses and appoints men beforehand and calls them even before birth, yet He is no respecter of persons but calls all from infancy to salvation and service, so that bearing His yoke from youth shows the value of early submission to Him.
Call and Historical Setting
Then the word of the LORD coming to Jeremiah introduces and begins the account of his call to his prophetic work, ministry and mission. It marks the beginning of his prophetic career when he received the Lord's word and was called to prophesy. It introduces the Lord's message to him, whose opening chapters hold promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of destruction for continued disobedience.
The call came when he was very young, at an early age, when he was a child. He was a youthful priest, a timid child, an ordinary man like everyone else.
His ministry began in the early days of Josiah, in Josiah's thirteenth year around 626 B.C. It came in the closing days of Israel before the Babylonian captivity and continued through the period leading to the exile. It stood at the beginning of a work reaching from Josiah to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah who was carried away to Babylon. The verse stands in its proper time sequence at the beginning of his ministry in the opening section up to chapter 20, which stands in fairly chronological order, unlike chapters 20 to 46 where messages from Zedekiah's reign are placed before messages from Jehoiakim's reign and the chapters are not chronologically arranged.
Divine Appointment and Application
The coming of the word of the Lord to Jeremiah meant he was personally chosen, sanctified, and sent to speak for God to a rebellious people, for God knew him before forming him in the belly and ordained him before he came forth out of the womb to be a prophet unto the nations. His credentials as a true prophet were thereby established as those of a holy man of God moved by the Holy Ghost to speak. His prophetic calling originated with God and not with himself, for it was God's own wise appointment in selecting a youthful priest for prophetic work and using him mightily. It is an example of the principle that ministry exercised in God's name originates with God, and that God raises up and appoints people for particular purposes and important places of service.
God does not use one fixed method to call everyone to ministry, but calls different people in different ways according to their individual qualities and His knowledge of them, though He called Jeremiah directly. Before God calls men into His work He gives them humbling views of themselves and removes their self-sufficiency, so that His strength is made perfect in their weakness. Jeremiah felt the solemn responsibility of the mission and shrank from undertaking it in his own strength, tremblingly shrinking from its awful responsibility in felt ignorance and weakness. Those truly called to sacred ministry are thus brought to a deep acquaintance with themselves and know the awful responsibility of the work, so that nothing but the authority of God can induce them to undertake it.
When Jeremiah answered that he could not speak because he was a child, the Lord forbade him to say he was a child and charged him to go to all to whom he was sent and to speak whatsoever was commanded, without fear of their faces. The assurance of divine presence to deliver him was given with the command not to be dismayed, and with the promise of standing as a fortified city that enemies would fight against but could not overcome. The Lord put forth His hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth and put His words in his mouth. That acquaintance with the Lord, when God put His own words in the mouth of a timid child and ordinary man, gave him authority to witness and made him unable to keep from testifying.
He was set that day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down, and to build and to plant. His words would thus pluck up and break down or build and plant nations in a hard task, and the opening chapters contain promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of destruction for continued disobedience. As with John the Baptist filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb, and with Saul, Samson, and John the Baptist separated from the mother's womb unto God's gospel and work, the verse proves that God calls men before their birth to fill prominent positions in His work. Chance does not rule, but God chooses and appoints men beforehand, and as Jeremiah was chosen to his prophetic work every soul is chosen to salvation and each man is appointed his work as a witness for God.
This does not mean God is a respecter of persons giving special privileges to a few individuals over the rest of the race while leaving other children without the influence of the Spirit. A holy, just, and infinite God has no respect of persons, Christ has redeemed all, and God calls all from their infancy. Jeremiah's bearing God's yoke from youth gave firsthand experience of the value of early submission to God's service and control and shows early conversions desirable.
The verse begins the account of Jeremiah's call to his prophetic work and ministry. He was very young, a child and timid ordinary man, when the call came in the thirteenth year of Josiah around 626 B.C. in the closing days before the Babylonian captivity in a work reaching to Zedekiah and the exile. The coming of the word of the Lord means he was personally chosen, sanctified and sent to speak for God, known before he was formed and ordained before birth to be a prophet unto the nations, for his calling originated with God and not with himself. The Lord forbade him to say he was a child, charged him to go and speak all he was commanded without fear, touched his mouth and put His words in it, and set him over nations and kingdoms to root out and pull down and to build and to plant. This proves God chooses and appoints men beforehand and calls them even before birth, yet He is no respecter of persons but calls all from infancy to salvation and service, so that bearing His yoke from youth shows the value of early submission to Him.
Call and Historical Setting
Then the word of the LORD coming to Jeremiah introduces and begins the account of his call to his prophetic work, ministry and mission. It marks the beginning of his prophetic career when he received the Lord's word and was called to prophesy. It introduces the Lord's message to him, whose opening chapters hold promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of destruction for continued disobedience.
The call came when he was very young, at an early age, when he was a child. He was a youthful priest, a timid child, an ordinary man like everyone else.
His ministry began in the early days of Josiah, in Josiah's thirteenth year around 626 B.C. It came in the closing days of Israel before the Babylonian captivity and continued through the period leading to the exile. It stood at the beginning of a work reaching from Josiah to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah who was carried away to Babylon. The verse stands in its proper time sequence at the beginning of his ministry in the opening section up to chapter 20, which stands in fairly chronological order, unlike chapters 20 to 46 where messages from Zedekiah's reign are placed before messages from Jehoiakim's reign and the chapters are not chronologically arranged.
Divine Appointment and Application
The coming of the word of the Lord to Jeremiah meant he was personally chosen, sanctified, and sent to speak for God to a rebellious people, for God knew him before forming him in the belly and ordained him before he came forth out of the womb to be a prophet unto the nations. His credentials as a true prophet were thereby established as those of a holy man of God moved by the Holy Ghost to speak. His prophetic calling originated with God and not with himself, for it was God's own wise appointment in selecting a youthful priest for prophetic work and using him mightily. It is an example of the principle that ministry exercised in God's name originates with God, and that God raises up and appoints people for particular purposes and important places of service.
God does not use one fixed method to call everyone to ministry, but calls different people in different ways according to their individual qualities and His knowledge of them, though He called Jeremiah directly. Before God calls men into His work He gives them humbling views of themselves and removes their self-sufficiency, so that His strength is made perfect in their weakness. Jeremiah felt the solemn responsibility of the mission and shrank from undertaking it in his own strength, tremblingly shrinking from its awful responsibility in felt ignorance and weakness. Those truly called to sacred ministry are thus brought to a deep acquaintance with themselves and know the awful responsibility of the work, so that nothing but the authority of God can induce them to undertake it.
When Jeremiah answered that he could not speak because he was a child, the Lord forbade him to say he was a child and charged him to go to all to whom he was sent and to speak whatsoever was commanded, without fear of their faces. The assurance of divine presence to deliver him was given with the command not to be dismayed, and with the promise of standing as a fortified city that enemies would fight against but could not overcome. The Lord put forth His hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth and put His words in his mouth. That acquaintance with the Lord, when God put His own words in the mouth of a timid child and ordinary man, gave him authority to witness and made him unable to keep from testifying.
He was set that day over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull down and to destroy and to throw down, and to build and to plant. His words would thus pluck up and break down or build and plant nations in a hard task, and the opening chapters contain promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of destruction for continued disobedience. As with John the Baptist filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb, and with Saul, Samson, and John the Baptist separated from the mother's womb unto God's gospel and work, the verse proves that God calls men before their birth to fill prominent positions in His work. Chance does not rule, but God chooses and appoints men beforehand, and as Jeremiah was chosen to his prophetic work every soul is chosen to salvation and each man is appointed his work as a witness for God.
This does not mean God is a respecter of persons giving special privileges to a few individuals over the rest of the race while leaving other children without the influence of the Spirit. A holy, just, and infinite God has no respect of persons, Christ has redeemed all, and God calls all from their infancy. Jeremiah's bearing God's yoke from youth gave firsthand experience of the value of early submission to God's service and control and shows early conversions desirable.