Jeremiah 1:1-19

The Weeping Prophet
Part 1: The Call (1:1-19)

The Setting (1:1-3)
Jeremiah was a young man training to become a priest at a time when the Jewish religion had become greatly corrupted. Instead, however, God called him to be a prophet. Over a period of about 40 years, Jeremiah was told to deliver mostly bad news to the people of Judah. Because of this, he is sometimes referred to as the ‘weeping prophet.’

722 Israel falls to Assyria
697 Manasseh becomes King of Judah
640 Josiah becomes King of Judah
628 Josiah begins to reform Judah
627 Jeremiah becomes a Prophet
622 Book of the Law found in Temple
609 Jehoiakim becomes King of Judah
605 Babylon begins to exile the Jews
597 Zedekiah becomes King of Judah
586 Judah falls to Babylon

The Call (1:4-10)
God’s first word was for Jeremiah himself. God had a plan for his life, but Jeremiah had doubts as to whether he was up for the task. God assured Jeremiah that if he will simply obey God, He would take care of the rest. Jeremiah’s ministry was to uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow, build, and to plant among the nations/kingdoms.

The Visions (1:11-16)
To get him started, God gave Jeremiah two visions. The first vision was of an almond tree and conveyed the idea that God’s action was almost upon them. The second vision was of a boiling pot about to spill out toward the south. This meant that God was summoning armies from the north against His own people. Jerusalem was about to be judged.

The Command (1:17-19)
Jeremiah, then, was commanded to speak against his own people. He was commanded to speak against powerful people who would fight against him and even against his own family. But Jeremiah was assured that God would protect him as long as he obeyed all of God’s commands.