Jeremiah 1:4-10
God’s Work on Us
Outline:
I. \\#Jer 1:4-10\\ Jeremiah’s Commissioning
A. \\#1:4-5\\ What God "formed" Jeremiah to do.
B. \\#1:6-9\\ What God "enabled" Jeremiah to do.
C. \\#1:10\\ What God "commissioned" Jeremiah to do.
Background: Jeremiah was one of the last prophets to the southern
kingdom of Israel, called Judah, before it fell to the Babylonians
in 586 BC. The northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, 136
years earlier. Jeremiah ministered through five kings. The first
was Josiah \\#Jer 1:3\\ who was the last good king over Judah.
Jeremiah is called the Weeping Prophet because of his many tears. His
ministry will be quite sorrowful - seeing Judah’s leadership sink to
total wickedness, being accused of treason for preaching surrender to
Babylon, being present while Jerusalem is totally destroyed, and
finally being taken prisoner by his own people, kidnapped to Egypt,
where tradition has it that he died. Yet, with all his sorrow, he was
faithful to the Lord.
The book of Jeremiah is mostly a collection of Jeremiah’s messages,
most written after they were preached \\#Jer 30:1-3, 36\\, and not
recorded for us in chronological order. Instead, the messages are
recorded topically. A division of the book might follow these lines.
I. Chapters 1-25 Messages of Condemnation to Judah
II. Chapters 26-29 Consequences of Jeremiah’s Preaching
III. Chapters 30-33 Comfort for Future Days
IV. Chapters 34-45 The Fall of Jerusalem
V. Chapters 46-51 Messages to the Nations
VI. Chapters 52 The epilogue
In the Messages of Condemnation, the emphasis is on the coming
judgment and the topics in the messages are often repeated. Usually,
with each message, additional details given. Watch for the following
themes to be often repeated:
1. Sin \\#Jer 2:4-18 3:1,7 5:1 6:7 9:2-8 10:1-16\\
2. Warnings of great punishment on the land, even to the place
of captivity \\#Jer 4:5-9, 11-18, 20-31, 5:10-31 7:32-8:3\\
\\#Jer 8:14-17 9:9-11 10:17-18\\
3. Repentance \\#Jer 3:1-6:30\\
4. Glimpses of Jeremiah \\#Jer 4:10,19 5:3-6 8:18-9:1\\
5. Glimpses at God’s grief \\#Jer 5:7-9 10:19\\
6. The messages are glittered with pictures of illustration.
\\#Jer 2:21 22 23 26 6:3 6:7 6:9\\
In \\#4-10\\, there are a total of 13 "I"s found in 7 verses. 9 of
them tell us what God did for Jeremiah. While we cannot know for
certain, it seems likely that God did these same things for every
person that has ever been born. Sadly, most never get close enough to
God to get their commission from God. Hopefully, that will make a
little more sense in a few minutes.
The things that God did for Jeremiah break up into three categories:
I. \\#4-5\\ What God "formed" Jeremiah to do.
II. \\#6-9\\ What God "enabled" Jeremiah to do.
III. \\#10\\ What God "commissioned" Jeremiah to do.
I. \\#4-5\\ What God "formed" Jeremiah to do.
A. The One doing the speaking in these verses is God.
B. Look what God did.
1. God "formed" Jeremiah in his mother’s belly.
2. God "knew" Jeremiah BEFORE He even formed Him.
3. God "sanctified" Jeremiah before he left the womb.
4. God "ordained" Jeremiah to be a prophet not just to
Israel but to the nations.
C. Consider, we are told the first two things God did, He
did before Jeremiah was even born. (He likely did the
third then as well.) These actions make several things
clear.
1. Life begins at conception.
a. By conception, I mean at the point of our
conception in the mind of God, not in the body
of a woman.
(1) This is part of what God meant when He spoke
of knowing Jeremiah before He was even
formed.
(2) Too many people are arguing about whether the
act of conception or the birth of conceived
constitutes life.
(3) The truth is our life began even before the
act of conception. It begin when God
"conceived" us in His mind, when He "knew"
us.
b. I understand very little about the science of
conception—of course that doesn’t keep me from
forming opinions. I know God places many eggs
inside the female body and that many of those
eggs are fertilized during the act of conception,
but only a few will stick to the wall of the
uterus. The remainder are swept out of the body.
Were all of those eggs an eternal soul? If so,
heaven is going to be a whole lot fuller than
most of us have ever thought about.
c. I also know that the answer to that question is
not really important because that is supposed to
be left to God.
d. But I do know that when God determines to give
life, that life is conceived.
(1) I believe that happened before God ever
created the first man.
(2) I just don’t think God is winging this thing.
(a) Something happens to someone and so God
says, "We are going to need a clean up
on aisle five. Let’s let so and so get
pregnant. That kid can take care of
it."
(b) No. I think all of us were in the mind
and heart of God before God ever began.
e. There is no doubt, that Jeremiah was conceived
in God’s mind, long before he was born of his
mother’s womb.
f. If that is true of Jeremiah, I believe it is
true of us all.
2. God, in His sovereignty, equips and calls us before
we or anyone else has an opportunity to mess up His
purposes.
a. \\#4\\ God formed Jeremiah.
(1) The word means fashioned or shaped like a
potter would mold clay.
(2) As the potter has complete control over all
aspects of the clay to create a vessel that
would best serve his use, so God has formed
each of us.
(3) That means God gives us our height, our
color, our aptitudes, our abilities—every-
thing that we call inherent.
b. God sanctified Jeremiah.
(1) The Hebrew word here is not normally
translated sanctified. It is used a little
over 2,000 times and over 1,000 of those
times it is translated "give."
(2) God is saying that He gave Jeremiah.
(a) Unfortunately, He does not say to whom
He gave Jeremiah.
(b) I would say God gave Jeremiah to Israel
and the world that He might warn them
of sin and turn them about.
(c) Such is true of all of us.
i. None of us is our own.
ii. First we belong to God. God
created and saved us for His
pleasure and glory.
iii. But in addition, God created us to
do something that would help
others. (Maybe that is why there
are so many of us. There are an
awful lot of needs to be met!)
c. God ordained Jeremiah.
(1) That means that God had a purpose for
Jeremiah, to preach to the nations.
Jeremiah was set apart to do this.
(2) I don’t believe God creates any backups or
extras.
(3) God has a plan, and from conception, He
creates people to fit the pieces of that
plan.
D. Let’s dwell on the fact that God gifted us before anyone,
including ourselves, could mess with us.
1. God created us for a purpose. That purpose is without
change.
Ro 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are
without repentance.
2. No matter what has been done to you or by you will
change what God intended you to do.
a. We may fix it so that we cannot hold down certain
positions but nothing can stop us from using the
gifts and talents God has given us except for our
own will rebellion.
b. It is time we all quit using our circumstances as
an excuse for not doing what God created us to
do and get busy doing it.
II. \\#6-9\\ What God "enabled" Jeremiah to do.
A. Again, God is speaking. He is the "I."
B. And again, God did some things for Jeremiah.
1. \\\#7\\ God "shall sent" Jeremiah.
a. I notice that is in the future tense.
b. That is what God is about to do in \\#10\\.
c. The act of God taking a person whom He has created
after He has gifted them and placing him or her in
the position He intends him to serve is called
a commissioning.
d. Jeremiah is about to be commissioned.
e. But Jeremiah needed some further shaping after his
birth and before he is sent.
(1) All of us do.
(a) That is what childhood is all about.
(b) As someone has said, we need to bloom
where God has planted us, but before we
can bloom like God wants, we are going to
have to grow some roots.
(c) A wise man once said, "Don’t worry how
wide your bloom is. If you will
concentrate on how deep your roots are,
your bloom will take care of itself.
(2) This is some of our effort and a lot of God’s.
(3) God uses the opportunities and the
circumstances of our lives to make us into
who we need to be.
f. So this is God completing the enabling process for
Jeremiah.
2. \\#7\\ God "commanded" Jeremiah what to say.
a. \\#9\\ Before God sends Jeremiah, He "put" words
into Jeremiah’s mouth.
b. This is one part of God enabling Jeremiah.
(1) Gifts and abilities are just one part of being
who God wants us to be.
(2) We must also know His Word.
(3) What God did for Jeremiah may be more "hands
on" for Jeremiah than what He does for some
others.
(a) The Bible make it sounds like just
unscrewed Jeremiah’s head and poured the
words he was to say into it.
(b) Maybe God did that for Jeremiah but He
uses a more natural approach for most of
us.
i. God used our parents, our church, and
our education to give us our words.
ii. It is still God doing it. He just
does it by using the people in our
lives.
b. This gives us some idea of how inspiration works.
(1) That could mean that Jeremiah just repeated the
words that God put into His mouth. (In fact,
that would be the most likely from the image
the Bible is giving.)
(2) However, I believe that God allowed Jeremiah
some freedom in selecting his words.
(3) Yet, God made certain that even the very words
spoken and written by the prophets were the
words He wanted.
3. \\#8\\ God will "deliver" Jeremiah.
a. The true prophets of God were always treated badly
by Israel.
(1) Jeremiah will be no exception. He will be
hated, maligned, imprisoned, and starved;
yet God will protect him until he finished
his course.
(2) Tradition says that Jeremiah was stoned.
b. But even the troubles and trials, those before we
are commissioned, as well as those after, are
still part of God’s enabling.
III. \\#10\\ God "commissioned" Jeremiah.
A. This is the destination where so many never arrive.
1. I believe all are gifted and called by God, probably
before birth.
2. I believe God enables us by bringing things into our
lives that will make us who we need to be.
3. But if we do not walk with God, we will never find out
what and where He wanted us to do.
a. I am not saying that finding out what God wants
you to do will make your life any easier.
(No one and nothing can promise that.)
b. I am saying that it will give you peace, power,
and purpose.
B. God told Jeremiah that he had two kinds of work to do.
1. He had to tear down some things.
a. To root out
b. To pull down
c. To destroy
d. To throw down
2. And he had to build up some things.
a. To build
b. To plant
C. Of course Jeremiah is just standing in for God.
1. It is always God’s desire to build.
a. However, sometimes before you can build a solid
structure, you have to tear down to the
foundation.
b. That is what Jeremiah would be a part of.
2. In fact, you might say that Israel is still in the
tearing down phase.
3. For until they receive Jesus Christ, they will never
be able to build anything worthwhile.
D. Once commissioned, the child of God has but one
responsibility, to stay faithful.
1. Jeremiah will do just that.
2. For the next 52 chapters, you can read of Jeremiah’s
faithfulness.
May God grant us the determination to be as faithful.
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