Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10
(4) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
(5) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
(6) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
(7) But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
(8) Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
(9) Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
(10) See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Ancillary: Jeremiah 29:11
(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Moses
He is walking one day along a path when he turns to inspect something he has noticed for some time, but never investigated…
A bush that burns but is not consumed…
There, in that holy place, he meets the I AM and receives a calling that changed his life and resulted in the formation of a nation.
Here, in the The Exodus, we meet God as Savior.[1]
400 years in Egypt have turned a small tribe of 70 Hebrews into a mighty tribe of 2-7 million.
They have become, through no fault of their own, a threat to Egypt and so the Pharaoh of that day, forgetting the salvation brought by the hand of Joseph, enslaves these children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Children of promise enslaved.
You know the story, Moses comes to Pharaoh and delivers the Word from the I AM, “Let My People Go.”
Refusals and plagues ensue until eventually the Egyptian ruler let’s God’s people go.
When they leave, they make a journey, over the Red Sea, on dry ground, and their enemies are never seen again – Water Baptism.
On Mount Sinai God gives Moses the Ten Commandments and these Hebrew descendants of Jacob become a nation and take on his new name – Israel.
The Law – The Torah – 613 Commandments containing “248 Positive Commandments (do’s) and 365 Negative Commandments (do not’s).” [2]
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17):
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…
- Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- Thou shalt not kill.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
- Thou shalt not covet…
Then they travel the wilderness for forty years
Why? An evil report…
After those long years, God sends Moses to Mount Nebo where he views the Land Promise and dies.
Moses introduced Israel to God as Savior and as the God of their Exodus who brought them out of bondage and made them into a nation.
God has done that for you tonight, He has put into place a way for you to exit sin, addiction, bondage, wickedness and given you a new name and put you into a holy nation:
(9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Israel rejoiced in this identity, but in time they lost sight of something important – Relationship.
They had the covenant, but they lost the relationship.
Jeremiah
Over the course of 800 years, from Moses and The Exodus to Jeremiah’s day, these Israelites had turned away from and back to Jehovah – their Savior – untold times.
They would fall away and God would allow an enemy to rise up to chastise them and they would repent.
They would backslide and same process would take place again…
It became a cycle that denigrated the relationship God wanted with them to mere ritual and religion.
Would you want a relationship with someone who treated you like that?
They were Religious, But Lost.
These covenant people would sin, eventually feel guilty, offer the required sacrifice, go on their way forgiven — until they sinned again.
They had covenant with God, but no companionship with Him.
Into this atmosphere of sin, repent, sin, repent, sin, repent, we are introduced to Jeremiah. God knew and had a plan for him before he was ever conceived by his parents:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”[3]
That passage alone is a primer on God’s view on the sanctity of life…
Jeremiah then tries to get out of his calling, much like Moses before him, and he tells God, “I cannot speak: for I am a child.”[4]
And the Lord replied, Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.[5]
You see, Jeremiah had a job to do
While Moses introduced the people to God as Savior, Jeremiah’s job was to introduce Him as God the Judge.[6]
So, The Exile of Judah becomes the main message of this young prophet as he begins his prophetic ministry at the age of 20.
He sorrows, laments, grieves, lives in depression at times as he deals with the loss that he witnesses over the course of 40-50 years.
Why? Because somewhere along the way these covenant people lost sight of their relationship with God and simply did not follow Him
WHEN THEY DID FOLLOW HIM it was with mere formalism, religiosity and ritual.
They knew what to do, but not how to do.
“He that knoweth to do good…”
Jerusalem falls, the Temple is destroyed, all the best and brightest young men and women are gathered by the Babylonian king and sent into exile.
And adding insult to injury, every time Jeremiah would open his mouth to speak the Word of God he was horribly mistreated. He prefigures Christ as a Suffering Servant with both his lamentations and his mistreatment.[7]
He was mistreated, imprisoned, beaten, lied on and abused – FOR THE WORD OF GOD – by kings, prophets, friends and even family.
This “son of Hilkiah” could have been a priest, but God ordained Him to be a Prophet.[8]
As such, he was mistreated, to the point where he said, “O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:7-9).
In this environment of destruction and disappointment, heartache and hurt, fear and frustration, Jeremiah writes a prophecy of Hope and healing from the Lord (Jeremiah 29:4-14):
(4) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; <<Marduk v. Jehovah = no match. Jehovah did this>>
(5) Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
(6) Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
(7) And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
(8) For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
(9) For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
(10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(12) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
(13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
(14) And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Deliverance and return is on the way. Even for the Religious, But Lost
You who love and want a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus still desires to dwell in the midst of His people.
He still wants relationship with you.
The Danger of Religion is that you lose relationship with Jesus and become religious, but lost:
- Repentance is not about confession to change, but you just want to relieve guilt.
- Your clean robe of righteousness (bag of sins is full) becomes dirty with sin and you pray, “I’m sorry, Lord. Please forgive me.”
- The routine of repentance has nothing to do with change, but in just “feeling” better.
- You feel better now, since you confessed, you’ll be ok until you forget what the guilt felt like and then you sin again. Why not? Your robe of righteousness is clean now anyways (your bag of sins is empty now).
- How can you maintain a relationship with someone who treat you like that?
- God is not into religion, but He loves relationship![9]
The People of Judah has lost that connection of relationship with God. Their behavior towards one another and their worship of God was addressed by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:9-11):
(9) Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; (10) And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? (11) Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
It appears that Jeremiah is listing the Ten Commandments in reverse order to show that God is more interested in righteous behavior (right relationship) than in covenantal position.[10]
How you treat your neighbor is more important and a more clear indicator of your relationship with God than if you are born again and speak in tongues all the time.
If you speak in tongues all day long and don’t know how to treat your neighbor right then you are Religious, But Lost.
“He is a God of completion, not competition.” –Harold Hoffman
Come to Jesus – Get to Know Him – treat each other right
It’s all about relationship
[1] Runck, Jared S. and David P. Johnson. (2017). Handbook on the Prophets. Weldon Spring, MO: Pentecostal Publishing House.
[2] Hecht, Mendy. The 613 Commandments (Mitzvot). Accessed: 3/20/2023. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/756399/jewish/The-613-Commandments-Mitzvot.htm
[3] Jer. 1:5
[4] Jer. 1:6
[5] Jer. 1:7, NLT
[6] Runck, Jared S. and David P. Johnson. (2017). Handbook on the Prophets. Weldon Spring, MO: Pentecostal Publishing House.
[7] Purpose Institute. (2019). #6104 – Major Prophets – Lesson 2: Jeremiah and Lamentations.
[8] Jeremiah 1:1
[9] Partially derived from Harold Hoffman’s teaching on 1/16/2022. Heart Attack (Lesson 3). https://www.youtube.com/live/GrCM32v1haA.
[10] Runck, Jared S. and David P. Johnson. (2017). Handbook on the Prophets. Weldon Spring, MO: Pentecostal Publishing House.
Picture Credit: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. (1606-1669). Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem. Accessed: 3/30/2023. http://www.rembrandtpainting.net/complete_catalogue/storia/jeremiah.htm.
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