Title Jeremiah's Call and God's Encouragement / Jeremiah 1
Content Jeremiah's calling and God's encouragement
Jeremiah 1
1. Background of the Prophet (1-3)
① Personal background of the prophet (1)
Jeremiah was born into a priestly family and his father served as a priest. But Jeremiah did not serve as a priest. But the background of his family's faith is the basis of his prophecies as a prophet.
② The historical background and period of ministry at the time of the prophet (2-3)
Jeremiah's poetry began at the time of Josiah's Reformation. After the beginning of Josiah's Reformation, it lost the purity of its motives and became superficial and temporary. It is in this context of the times that we must understand Jeremiah's message.
2. God's Encouragement to Jeremiah (4-19)
① Characteristics of Jeremiah's calling and ministry (4-10)
Jeremiah is a prophet established under the eternal counsel of God. It can be seen that his ministry is not limited to Judah, but is directed to all nations.
At God's call, Jeremiah says that he is a child and refuses by stating his weakness. But God commands and promises. And God strengthens Jeremiah's mouth by touching Jeremiah's mouth with His mighty hand.
And we can see that the core of Jeremiah's message is destruction and restoration. He strongly proclaimed God's judgment in the early days, but in the latter half he cried out for God's restoration. In verse 10, four destructive words and two constructive words characterize his message.
② God’s declaration of judgment against Judah through Jeremiah (11-16)
The inevitability of the judgment of Jerusalem is symbolically explained through the contents of two visions. These two symbols speak of God's will and promise, which means that God will see if the word of God to be proclaimed by Jeremiah is put into effect.
⑴ Apricot tree vision (11-12)
At that time in Palestine, the word of God proclaimed will be fulfilled as soon as the apricot tree sprouts and bears fruit in a year and bursts its leaves and flowers at the earliest time to announce spring.
(2) The vision of the boiling furnace (13-16)
It refers to the realization of God's judgment will in the first vision, and it means that Judah's breach of covenant, that is, God's retribution for their idolatry, will result in a terrible disaster. This prophecy is a prophecy of the fact that the kingdom will eventually be destroyed by the invasion of Babylon, north of Judah.
③ God’s encouragement to Jeremiah (17-19)
God commands us not to be afraid and to speak the word of the Lord boldly.