Tuesday, January 16, 2007
JEREMIAH 1 (The Message)
Almost three months ago, I embarked on a journey to post one chapter of the Bible a day on my blog ... covering the Bible in 3.2 years. I started with the book of Psalms. While my original intention was to complete the entire book before moving on to another book, I now feel compelled to "move forward" a bit and then come back and finish up the Psalms sometime later.
At this point, I feel compelled to switch over to the book of Jeremiah and then, after that, I am thinking Hebrews. We'll see later though. As the Spirit moves me ...
In starting the book of Jeremiah, I learned that Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of King Jehoiakim. This is of interest to me because my mom's maiden name was "Yoakam." (Yes, as in "Dwight Yoakam.") I have been told that Yoakam is a derivation of Jehoiakim and, later "Joachim." I am not sure at what point my ancestors decided to quit being Jewish and instead to be country western signing hillfolk but, somehow, the rest is history.
If you would like to know a bit more about my, shall I say, "interesting" roots, please link here to learn about King Jehoiakim.
In reading Jeremiah 1, I am reminded of several things. God has a plan for each one of us. Our strength and our rewards come from God, not from this world. We are never too young, too weak, too tired or too "anything" to do the work which God calls us to. If we put our faith and trust in Him, and we listen for His voice and follow it, He will give us the strength and courage to do what He calls us to. There is Kingdom work to be done. God will accomplish it with or without us. He'd much prefer to do it with us though as that is why He created us.
1-4 The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God's Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amos reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:
5"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that's what I had in mind for you."
6But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"
7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'
I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there.
I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it.
Don't be afraid of a soul.
I'll be right there, looking after you."
God's Decree.
9-10God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
"Look! I've just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I've done? I've given you a job to do
among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
building and planting."
Stand Up and Say Your Piece
11-12God's Message came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
I said, "A walking stick—that's all."
And God said, "Good eyes! I'm sticking with you.
I'll make every word I give you come true."
13-15God's Message came again: "So what do you see now?"
I said, "I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us."
Then God told me, "Disaster will pour out of the north
on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I'm calling all the kings out of the north."
God's Decree.
15-16"They'll come and set up headquarters
facing Jerusalem's gates,
Facing all the city walls,
facing all the villages of Judah.
I'll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
worshiping as gods sticks they'd carved, stones they'd painted.
17"But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don't pull your punches
or I'll pull you out of the lineup.
18-19"Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
I'm making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
solid as a concrete block wall.
You're a one-man defense system
against this culture,
Against Judah's kings and princes,
against the priests and local leaders.
They'll fight you, but they won't
even scratch you.
I'll back you up every inch of the way."
God's Decree.
At this point, I feel compelled to switch over to the book of Jeremiah and then, after that, I am thinking Hebrews. We'll see later though. As the Spirit moves me ...
In starting the book of Jeremiah, I learned that Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of King Jehoiakim. This is of interest to me because my mom's maiden name was "Yoakam." (Yes, as in "Dwight Yoakam.") I have been told that Yoakam is a derivation of Jehoiakim and, later "Joachim." I am not sure at what point my ancestors decided to quit being Jewish and instead to be country western signing hillfolk but, somehow, the rest is history.
If you would like to know a bit more about my, shall I say, "interesting" roots, please link here to learn about King Jehoiakim.
In reading Jeremiah 1, I am reminded of several things. God has a plan for each one of us. Our strength and our rewards come from God, not from this world. We are never too young, too weak, too tired or too "anything" to do the work which God calls us to. If we put our faith and trust in Him, and we listen for His voice and follow it, He will give us the strength and courage to do what He calls us to. There is Kingdom work to be done. God will accomplish it with or without us. He'd much prefer to do it with us though as that is why He created us.
1-4 The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God's Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amos reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:
5"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that's what I had in mind for you."
6But I said, "Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don't know anything. I'm only a boy!"
7-8God told me, "Don't say, 'I'm only a boy.'
I'll tell you where to go and you'll go there.
I'll tell you what to say and you'll say it.
Don't be afraid of a soul.
I'll be right there, looking after you."
God's Decree.
9-10God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
"Look! I've just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I've done? I've given you a job to do
among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
building and planting."
Stand Up and Say Your Piece
11-12God's Message came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
I said, "A walking stick—that's all."
And God said, "Good eyes! I'm sticking with you.
I'll make every word I give you come true."
13-15God's Message came again: "So what do you see now?"
I said, "I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us."
Then God told me, "Disaster will pour out of the north
on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I'm calling all the kings out of the north."
God's Decree.
15-16"They'll come and set up headquarters
facing Jerusalem's gates,
Facing all the city walls,
facing all the villages of Judah.
I'll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
worshiping as gods sticks they'd carved, stones they'd painted.
17"But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don't pull your punches
or I'll pull you out of the lineup.
18-19"Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
I'm making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
solid as a concrete block wall.
You're a one-man defense system
against this culture,
Against Judah's kings and princes,
against the priests and local leaders.
They'll fight you, but they won't
even scratch you.
I'll back you up every inch of the way."
God's Decree.
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