Jeremiah 1:11-19
Has God ever ask you what are you looking at, he
did the man chosen as His spokesman. “Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, “I see an almond
branch.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am
watching over my word to perform it.” Now the almond tree is one of
the first trees to blossom in the spring and just in the same way God is
telling His young prophet that like the almond tree blossoms he also would
blossom early and be a fruitful season with a word from the Lord.
Picking up the account in verse 13, The word of the Lord came to me a
second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I
see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the Lord said to me, “Out
of the north disaster shall be loose upon all the inhabitants of the
land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the
north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his
throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all
around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my
judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made
offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. But
you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command
you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I,
behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls,
against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, 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, declares the Lord, to deliver
you.”
What a contrast to many of us today, God said, and
we disregard the message as if He was not addressing us. I once was told
by a wise Bible teacher that I would be better to stop reading the Bible if I
had no desire to do as it was directing me, in that God would hold me
accountable for every word I read. We have this account in Luke 12:48,
where Jesus is talking about a wise manager and the unfaithful servant.
Jesus’ words, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him, much will be required, and
from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” Do you study with the hope of
conforming to the will of God? That is a question each of us should pray
for and Jeremiah was such a man.
In Judah’s case, the armies were coming from
Babylon, but the threat came collectively from all the northern kingdoms.
It was judgment time for the sins of having other gods they burned incense to
and believed in their leaders and military, in what they could do.
This young prophet was to be fearless of men and
yet to be fearful of God. He had three commands, first, to stand up with
no fear of what man could do; next, he was to proclaim God’s message and last
to not be intimidated by being a youth standing against the leaders of Judah,
not the priest or the king. He had a tough job, and his ministry would be
to preach and see no results, but to hold truth to what God was
saying at all cost. And God promised Jeremiah, this; And I, behold, I make you this
day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land,
against the kings of Judah, its officials, 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, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” Do you know what God has
promised you?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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