Title: Jeremiah's Call
Jeremiah's Call
The prophet Jeremiah of Anathoth
Jeremiah 1:1-3 contains some information about the image of Jeremiah. It is said that he was one of the priests living in Anathoth. Anathoth is the place where Abiathar the priest was banished after Solomon's accession to the throne. This is the area where the fallen priests were exiled. Naturally, the prophets from this place had no good feelings for Jerusalem, where the descendants of Zadok had a monopoly on the priesthood.
It is said that Jeremiah began to receive the word of Yahweh, that is, when the oracle began to come down in the 13th year of Josiah's reign. Early 7th century. Northern Israel was already destroyed by Assyria, and Southern Judah was also destroyed by Babylon not long ago. Since Jeremiah is about the same age as King Josiah, he began to receive the word of the Lord at the age of about 20 years old, when Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, inherited the throne, and Zedekiah, another son, inherited the throne again. He was a prophet for a very long time, until around 587 B.C.E., when he was taken captive to Babylon.
Yahweh God's Choice
Ah! Yahweh my Lord
Jeremiah, who experienced the word of Yahweh that he had made himself a prophet, was hesitant to take the initiative. "Ah! Yahweh my Lord, look. I am a child, so I can’t speak well” (verse 6). Jeremiah exclaims, ‘Ah!’ It is a cry out of fear. He was well aware that he could not fulfill the role of a prophet. He gives two reasons for this. One is that he is a child, and the other is that he is not good at speaking. At that time, Jeremiah was about twenty years old, as mentioned earlier. It may look different depending on how you look, but it is clear that the age of 20 is too young to talk about the fate of a nation. It seems that he was not very good at speaking. Maybe it's because he's young, but it's very likely that he was born that way. Jeremiah didn't speak well when he got older, and, moreover, the public disliked his prophecies, so it's clear that he didn't have the ability to speak well. Jeremiah's calling had a dilemma here. He does not have the capacity to carry out the work of a prophet, but the word of Yahweh comes under pressure.
This dilemma of Jeremiah is faced by many preachers today. Karl Barth also said: A preacher stands between the impossibility of knowing the Word of God and the necessity of proclaiming it. This is the reality of the preacher. This dilemma is not just for the preacher, but also for you who try to live according to the Word of God. You think that you should live according to the Word of God and His will, but you do not know what the Word of God is. Of course, you can live a simple life of faith without worrying about it. It means going to church diligently, praying, reading the Bible, evangelizing, and living while serving. As we go through life, we learn that not all things work out this way. We want to live according to God's will until we die, but we struggle with the fact that it is difficult to live as it is, and more fundamentally, we do not know what that will is. The absence of such conflict means that he has already become a master or has been completely brainwashed by something.
Jeremiah, who received Yahweh's call, is now hesitant because of his young age and poor speaking skills. However, age and speaking skills are not the key. He was a deep spiritual man that no one of his time could match. He was a man who faced the truth. What he feared was the people. He knew that people wouldn't listen to him. People ignored Jeremiah because of his young age or lack of speech, that is, because he lacked external authority to prophesy. It was a situation the young prophet had no choice but to bear.
If you look at verses 7 and 8, the words of Yahweh directed to Jeremiah who was hesitating, you can clearly see that Jeremiah was afraid of people. “Don’t call me a kid. To whomever I send you, you must go and do whatever you say. Don't be afraid of people. I will always be by your side and rescue you when you are in danger. These are my words, and they do not fail” (verses 7, 8). In verse 17b, he said not to be afraid of men.
Don't think that great men have no fear. Like Jeremiah, great prophets feared men. It is said that Martin Luther exclaimed this when he went to Worms, where the Reichstag is located, for the Inquisition. “Even if there are as many demons as the tiles of the imperial council, I will go and speak the truth.” That said, the fear was great. A fear that Jeremiah might be ignored because of his youth or lack of communicativeness swept over Jeremiah.
populism
Jeremiah was a fearful man just like us, but he did not remain in fear. For him, Yahweh's command came as a far more powerful experience. His words not to say he was a child, and that he had to go to whomever “I send you” took hold of his entire existence. In reality, Jeremiah had fear of people, but spiritually he had confidence in the word of Yahweh. Which one would Jeremiah choose? Of course, it was not fear of people, but trust in the Word. This is his greatness.
This choice may seem like nothing on the surface, but in reality it is a really difficult part. Although not mentioned in detail in the Bible, Jeremiah must have thought a lot here. Because it was difficult to overcome his fear of people, he tried to avoid his calling as much as possible. Think about it. Like other prophets, he comforts the people appropriately and says, “It will be all right.” And if you prophesy, a sister is good and a brother-in-law is good. People want to hear that. Most of the prophets of Jeremiah's day prophesied that way. It was prophesied that Yahweh would defeat Babylon. On the contrary, Jeremiah had to prophesy that Jerusalem would be devastated. This kind of prophecy is often unwilling to make, and sometimes difficult in reality.
In my sermon critique work I've been working on over the past few years, I've wanted to say two things to young preachers. One is to preach faithful to the biblical text, and the other is not to fall into popular harvestism (populism). Populism stems from the fear of people. Ladies and gentlemen, this issue is not limited to those who preach these days, who have a special calling like Jeremiah. Look at our lives. In general, we put our weight on the fear of people and live our lives. I live by watching them. If we can go beyond people's reputation and noticing, our life will be much closer to the spirit of life that God gives us.
Yahweh's word
It is not that simple that we live without fear of people. Unless we go to a deserted island or a mountain valley, we have to live with people. Inevitably, I see people's eyes directly or indirectly. In the end, what matters here is the extent to which the Word of Yahweh captures our souls.
Shall we look at verse 7b again? “Whoever I send you to, you must go and do whatever you say.” These are the words of Yahweh that touched Jeremiah's soul. He fears people, but he cannot deviate from the word of Yahweh. Those words engulfed his entire existence. Just like a person who paints is enveloped in a certain enchanting light. Jeremiah began to prophesy according to the sound, just as a child is drawn by its mother's hand. In this spiritual state, he heard these words. “I will always be by your side and rescue you from danger. These are my words. without fail” (verse 8).
Although we Christians have different roles, we are all people who have been called like Jeremiah. Being called means that the word of Yahweh fills our souls. Then we can free ourselves from the fear of people. And we can fully trust the word of Yahweh that He will deliver us. Those words have now come to us much more clearly through the resurrection of Jesus. May this resurrection, a true life event, and the light of the Word illuminate your souls.