Jeremiah 1 contains several noteworthy insights of God and His calling of prophets.
God's foreknowledge is front and center in verse 5. The Lord didn't need to wait to meet Jeremiah and see who he would become before choosing him for this prophetic ministry. The Bible says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Election and foreknowledge go hand in hand here. God knew Jeremiah before he existed! He chose him before he was born!
As with many individuals who have received a calling from God, Jeremiah tries to beg off. Like Moses claiming speech difficulties, Jeremiah points to his inexperienced youthfulness as a disqualifying factor. "Then I said, 'Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy'" (vs. 6). Of course, that excuse didn't work for Jeremiah any more than it did for Moses' impediment. "But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say, "I am only a boy"; for you shall go to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you'" (vs. 7).
Another truth we find in this chapter is that "one man plus God makes a majority." [My mom used to have that saying hanging in her kitchen on a refrigerator magnet.] Although a prophet may be called to a fearsome ministry (and, as we shall see, this was especially true in the case of Jeremiah), God promises to stand with His servants in the time of their testing. "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord" (vs. 8). Later, the Lord warns Jeremiah that he must be strong in the discharge of his ministry, and He promises to make His prophet strong. God will make his mettle like metal. "But you, gird up your loins; stand up and and tell them everything I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land - against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you" (vs. 17-19).
All of this reassurance and support is necessary due to the specific scope of Jeremiah's ministry. Jeremiah is called the "weeping prophet" for an important reason: he was chosen to forecast the downfall of Judah. Jeremiah's specific call is found in verse 10: "See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
Jeremiah's main concern of his ministry will be the impending Babylonian invasion. The "boiling pot" image of verse 13 represents Nebuchadnezzar's forces descending upon Jerusalem from the north as explained in verses 14 to 16. The nation's exile would be a near-death experience for the people of God. And all of them opposed Jeremiah and his message of doom. Look again at verse 18: the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land all stood against God's prophet. There were days when Jeremiah's divine assignment must have felt very lonely.
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