"I Am With You"

​Sunday
July 25
“I Am With You.”
Read Jeremiah 1-3:5  
 
Jeremiah 1:1 & 4-8 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin…4 The LORD gave me this message: 5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” 6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can't speak for you! I’m too young!” 7 The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
 
JEREMIAH was a mere youth when God anointed him to speak his messages to Judah. Jeremiah’s ministry extended about 40 years prior to the exile and several years after the Jews were in Babylon.  Even though his father was a priest, Jeremiah was not a priest. And he was apparently a Benjamite, a minority in Judah. Young and unknown, Jeremiah is another example of God choosing people who seem unqualified to such exalted work. Yes, God had chosen and formed Jeremiah for this purpose. That’s all the qualifications needed to be God’s servant.
   I AM empowered Jeremiah to become a challenging, disturbing voice to Judah’s complacent heart. One commentator says: “Jeremiah was the blazing torch who, along with Ezekiel in Babylon, exposed the darkness of Judah’s sin with the piercing brightness of God’s Word. He was a weeping prophet to a wayward people.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary) This is a good legacy for a Christian – to expose the darkness of sin with the piercing brightness of God’s Word. 
   The term “weeping prophet” has become a label for Jeremiah. When we understand the LORD’s judgment on the condemned, we truly grieve for them, don’t we? Jeremiah ministered God’s Word with compassion and love for his people who were headed to destruction. Love and compassion must describe our hearts, too, as we speak sin and salvation into complacent hearts.
   This is God’s way for his will to be done. When God said, “I will be with you.” he was repeating the assurances he had given to all he had chosen for specific roles in his salvation plan. From Noah to Jeremiah, the long list of leaders have this in common: God was with them. They could not have done anything without his power and presence.
   This, too, is Jesus’ message to each of us disciples as he sets us apart – even before we were born –  to minister the good news. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-22) We have no excuse of age, difficulty or knowledge. Jesus has sent us. And he is with us. Amen.