The Call Of Jeremiah, And His Heavy Burdens

by G. PRASHER, SR., Maidstone | Category: General | Sept 1964

Jeremiah was one of the priests in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, and the word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah. He had a long period as the prophet of the LORD, it would seem about forty years, if we count up till the carrying away in the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. From Jeremiah's point of view these were years of severe trial, as may be gleaned from the words of the LORD to him, "I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land" (Jeremiah 1.18).

But those many years testify to the patient waiting and forbearance of the LORD as He continued to send His messenger to a people whose hearts were hard, and whose necks were stiff, and who continued to refuse to obey the voice from heaven.

In approaching His servant the LORD revealed His foreknowledge, and the truth that He foreordains according to His will. "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations"(5). A very pleasing response came from Jeremiah. He said, "Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child." It is characteristic of men whom God has used that they have a small estimation of themselves. Moses, Gideon and Solomon all were conscious of their nothingness, and they learned in consequence that the LORD'S power was made perfect in weakness, as was made known to Paul the apostle. Here is something for all the Lord's servants to consider, for His work is the result not of an army, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, as see Zechariah 4.6.

The LORD then gives to Jeremiah two rather interesting visions, the first perhaps an encouragement to him to trust the LORD in the matter of bringing to pass all that he prophesied. The vision was that of a rod of an almond tree. The almond tree is among the early trees to send forth its leaves and buds and blossoms, and as it watches for the first opportunity so to do, so the LORD says He watches over His word to perform it. The second vision is that of a seething caldron the face of which was from the north. Here is plainly revealed the judgement which rebellion on the part of Israel must bring, for said the LORD, "They have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them" (16, 17). Thus from the start Jeremiah was made aware that he was entering upon a conflict, but he had the blissful assurance, "I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee."

In chapter 2 the LORD commences to give His messages to His people, and it is so like His ways to start with commendation before He resorts to condemnation. It was so in the message which the risen Lord Jesus sent to the church in Ephesus. That church had lost its first love, concerning which the Lord speaks firmly and solemnly, but before doing so He has much to say which is to their praise. "I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them which call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and didst bear for My name's sake, and hast not grown weary." So in the opening message to Israel Jeremiah has to cry in the ears of Jerusalem, "Thus saith the LORD, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase: all that devour

him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD" (2, 3).

We should note well the words, "thou wentest after Me". This, with the fact that the place to which they followed Him was an unsown wilderness, gave the LORD great delight. Faith honours God. Unbelief grieves Him. He loved them greatly, and thus He feels keenly that they had forsaken Him, and Oh! the folly of their actions to turn aside to false gods, and to worship the works of their own hands. Yet they were the firstfruits of His increase, and His love for them such that He would hold them guilty that devoured them, and declared that evil would come upon them. This has been manifested again and again, and even now there are those who would make a full end of Israel, unaware as they are of the fearful risk they must face. Mighty nations have known the judgement of God because of their treatment of the people of Israel.

"Hath a nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods? but My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit." They had committed two evils, they had forsaken God the fountain of living waters, and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that could hold no water, and thus their iniquity was marked before the LORD. He referred to it as "a wonderful and horrible thing the prophets prophesy falsely, the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" Besides stealing, committing murder and adultery, swearing falsely, and burning incense unto Baal, they went so far in iniquity as to cause their children to pass through the fire unto Molech, a thing which the LORD said came not into His mind. It was an abomination to the LORD. But alas! there was still further cause for grief and anger to the LORD. At the command of the LORD Baruch the scribe wrote the words of Jeremiah's prophecy from the mouth of Jeremiah, and the roll was read in the ears of king Jehoiakim. To add to all the wickedness of the nation of Israel, and probably the crowning sin of all, by means of which the measure of their guilt was filled, king Jehoiakim cut the roll of the word of Jehovah "with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brasier, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the brasier. And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words" (Jeremiah 36.23, 24).

Let us note this occurred in the fifth year of Jehoiakim (verse 9), and that this fifth year was the second year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (compare Jeremiah 25.1 and Daniel 2.1), in which year the God of heaven gave to Nebuchadnezzar the dream which when interpreted revealed that he was the head of gold, "unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory... and hath made thee to rule over them all" (Daniel 2.37, 38). God had witnessed the sin of Jehoiakim and it would appear that then He judged their iniquity was full, and took the kingdom from Judah and handed it over to this Gentile king. The times of the Gentiles had commenced. Only a few years later, and Jerusalem was destroyed, and the house of God burned with fire. "The king of the Chaldeans...slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or ancient" (2 Chronicles 36.17).

This was all entirely within God's right. He had said, "I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the face of the earth, by My great power and by My outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto Me" (27.5). "None can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Daniel 4.35).

The sorrows of Jeremiah were complete when he saw the affliction of the people, and woeful destruction of the sanctuary. His Lamentations show this clearly. He has been termed the weeping prophet, and certainly he had great cause to weep. His own sufferings had been severe enough as he contended against the evils of kings and priests and people. He cries, "Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?" He had sunk in the deep mire of the dungeon of Malchijah, and was in danger of death, but his God proved faithful, and he was delivered through the pleadings of an Ethiopian eunoch, Ebed-melech. His personal sorrows were great, but to see the Place of the Name desecrated, the House of God destroyed, the collective worship of God at an end, to see the highways mourn because none came to the solemn assembly, or appointed feast, to see Jerusalem's gates desolate, her priests sighing, her virgins afflicted and herself in bitterness, "For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water" (1.16). "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured out upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people" (2.11).

God, however, had something good in store, "I will visit you," He said, "and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a latter end and hope" (29.10, 11, R.V.M.). The land would keep her sabbaths during the period of the captivity, and then the LORD would open up the way for His people to return to Jerusalem to build both city and house. The record of this is given in the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah.

All has been written for our learning, and it behoves us to listen to the voice of God, to have His fear in our hearts. May we be saved from going aside out of the way; and should some read these lines who have failed to find the way, or who have wandered from it, may it be that the advice given in Jeremiah 6.16 will be heeded,

"Thus saith the LORD,

Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."

G. PRASHER, SR., Maidstone | Sept 1964
General