Jeremiah 2:1-3

The Call Of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4 to Jeremiah 2:3 ).

Where we have previously learned of the call of a prophet the account has been placed in the midst of the prophecy when the foundations had already been laid (e.g. Isaiah 6:0; Amos 7:14-16), but in the case of Jeremiah we are given the information from the commencement. This emphasises how important Jeremiah saw that calling to be. Like Paul after him, it was on that that he based his authority, and it was that (and the hand of YHWH) that sustained him through the years (compare Galatians 1:15-17). It may also underline the fact that it was Jeremiah who originally and personally brought his prophecies together.

Like Moses before him (Exodus 4:10) Jeremiah pleaded that he was not eloquent (Jeremiah 1:6), but YHWH firmly pushed his fears aside assuring him that He would be with him in what he was being asked to do (Jeremiah 1:7-8), and while He did not give him an Aaron, He gave him instead a special anointing on his lips (Jeremiah 1:9-10) together with faithful helper in Barak, who was probably his amanuensis as well as his friend. But YHWH did not hide from Jeremiah the importance of the task lying ahead of him, pointing out that he was to have a decisive impact on peoples and nations (Jeremiah 1:10), something which brought out that while the great nations might appear to be in control, it was really YHWH Who directed affairs. To Jeremiah, a man of great sensitivity and comparatively young, it was a great weight to have to bear.

In consequence of this YHWH gave him two symbolic visions. The first vision was by the use of word play, indicating by means of the branch of an almond bush (shoqed) that YHWH ‘would watch over (shaqed) His word and perform it’ (Jeremiah 1:11-12). Every time that he saw an almond bush (and they were everywhere, and developed early) it would be a reminder to him that all that he was saying in prophecy was guaranteed of fulfilment by YHWH. The second was by means of a boiling cauldron pointing towards the north which vividly indicated that it was from the north that judgment would come on Judah for its sins (Jeremiah 1:13-16). And this was because Judah had forsaken Him, rejecting the covenant, and had gone after idols (Jeremiah 1:16).

Then He basically told him to ‘get his sleeves rolled up’ and prepare himself (‘gird up your loins’), and to get stuck into his job (Jeremiah 1:17), assuring him that He Himself would make him like a strong fortress in the face of all opposition (Jeremiah 1:18-19). For his purpose in what was happening was to be to call Israel/Judah back to their first-love that they had initially enjoyed in the wilderness on their deliverance from Egypt (Jeremiah 2:1-3).

Note that in this first passage Jeremiah 1:4 to Jeremiah 2:3) the words ‘the word of YHWH came to me saying’ occur four times, in Jeremiah 1:4; Jeremiah 1:11; Jeremiah 1:13; Jeremiah 2:1 breaking up the passage into four as now described:

· His initial call (Jeremiah 1:4-10).

· The vision of the almond tree guaranteeing YHWH’s watch over His word (Jeremiah 1:11-12).

· The vision of the boiling cauldron with its implications of coming judgment, a message which will result in persecution from his people, a persecution which YHWH will make him strong to endure (Jeremiah 1:13-19).

· And finally YHWH’s call to him to seek to bring the people back to their wilderness first-love (Jeremiah 2:1-3).

As will be seen it is significant that God’s main purpose in what follows, at least initially, was, through His warnings, to bring His people back within the sphere of His covenant love and to restore them to their covenant love. It was only when it was clear that they were obdurate that judgment became a certainty and a necessity, and even then Jeremiah always knew that one day, once they had learned their lesson, YHWH would restore the remnant to the covenant (e.g. Jeremiah 3:14-19; Jeremiah 12:15-16; Jeremiah 31:28-34).