God has a job for Jeremiah. Great, we might think. But that wasn’t Jeremiah’s reaction. What God goes on to say doesn’t sound too reassuring. Jeremiah has a hard message to bring: there will be uprooting and tearing down before any restoration can take place (v 10). The words will be Jeremiah’s, reflecting his personality, experience and situation, but more importantly they will be words given to him by God. 

God gives Jeremiah two pictures. An almond tree – the point being that God is watching (the Hebrew word for watching sounds like the Hebrew word for almond). God is in control and speaks into the situation. The boiling pot speaks of an enemy coming from the north – geography meant that Israel’s enemies often did. The hard thing to take is that this is God’s doing (v 15), a frequent theme in Jeremiah.

We are called to live and witness as God’s people in a world which has turned its back on God. Our situation and our challenges are similar but not identical. People did not and do not listen. Like Jeremiah, we may face opposition and apathy, but we can be sure that God will do what he sets out to do.

Lay aside your preconceptions and invite God to open these chapters to you in a new, vivid and relevant way.

Like a Hollywood blockbuster, the book of Jeremiah opens with the set-up: the context and the potential narrative. The book spans over 40 years and the reigns of three kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Jeremiah’s backstory is given: his priestly heritage and, more importantly, his role in a divine plan that existed from before his conception. Next comes the commission: to go where God sends him, to speak the words God commands and to face the fears within and without, knowing that God is with him. Our hero’s initial response is that of many a biblical character chosen by God: ‘Who? Me?’ Finally, however, with God’s encouragement, he turns to face the task ahead, symbolised in two visions: the evil hordes pouring out of the north towards the gates of Jerusalem, and God (like the branch of an almond tree) overlooking the drama.

Jeremiah’s expectation in life was to become a priest. A man was a priest by birth into a priestly family. A prophet, by contrast, was a prophet by God’s choice, a spokesman (or occasionally a woman) for a specific time. Jeremiah’s prophetic responsibility was to deconstruct the social, political and religious life of Judah in the hope of rebuilding and replanting. The nation, despite the reforms initially introduced in Josiah’s reign, had drifted into idolatry.

There is a prophetic imperative given to all Christian believers. We are to speak truth to power, not merely within the confines of our church community but also in local, national and international contexts. God overlooks, empowers and protects us as we highlight anything that devalues his perfect plan and purpose for his creation.

Choose an issue of injustice. What prevents you from speaking out? Youth? Age? Insignificance? Lack of education? Invite God to touch your mouth and to provide his words.