Any people regard Jeremiah as the most uninspiring, colourless character in the Scriptures. His reputation as the ‘prophet of doom’ is sufficient to prejudice the thinking of those who have not closely examined the character and writings of the man.
We intend to show this general view is quite unjustified, and that the life and times of this “prophet unto the nations” abound with interest and exhortation for the Israel of all ages.
Jeremiah (his name means, “whom Yah appointeth and exalteth”) was foreordained a mouthpiece through whom Yahweh was to reprove a sinful and disobedient generation that lived during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.
This prophet’s work covered forty years to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians in B.C. 592. His work is therefore a fitting figure of the ministry of our Lord’s apostles, which was of approximately the same duration, and which likewise ended with the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple’s destruction by that nation which followed in the footsteps of ancient Babylon.
Prophet To Nations
It would seem from chapter 1. 6 that Jeremiah was a young man when he was called to witness for the Truth before the nation’s rulers. He was the son of a priest in Anathoth (verse 1), a small Levitical city three miles north of Jerusalem. It was at Anathoth that most of his work was commenced. He was soon to discover that the answer to all his problems—and they were many—lay in Anathoth.
In this also, there is a lesson for all those who would aspire to follow in the footsteps of this faithful man. Anathoth means “answers to prayers”, and Jeremiah stands as a fitting example of the words of James 5. 16, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”.
He was naturally afraid (who would not be in similar circumstances ?) : a young man called upon to stand alone and rebuke the elders of the nation and warn them that they were to be punished because they had forsaken the ways of their God. He expressed his feelings in the words of verse 6, “Alas 1” (an exclamation of mourning or lamentation), “Behold I cannot speak, for I am but a child”. This was not peculiar to Jeremiah, though. Had not Moses, a man trained and educated in the court of Pharaoh, and years older than Jeremiah, expressed the same view 1,100 years before ? But there was no Aaron provided for Jeremiah. “Say not, ‘I am a child’ ; thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak”’. This, doubtless, was not the answer which Jeremiah would have desired, but, as all sons of God find by experience, the answers that we should like to get are very rarely the ones that are most suited to the working out of the Divine purpose.
But what greater consolation and strength could be given to any man than the words of verse 8. “Be not afraid of their faces (panim), for I am with thee to deliver thee saith Yahweh”. The word “panim” here rendered faces, signifies presence. It was therefore whilst in their presence that he was instructed not to be afraid. This word is very interesting when consideration is given to the many ways in which it has been translated. For example, bearing in mind that the word “panim” is plural, the same word is translated in Psalm 21 as “countenance” (verse 6), “anger” (verse 9), and “face” (verse 12). It also occurs as a compound in the word shew-bread (“Lechem-panim”), which was found in the Tabernacle. This literally means the bread of the faces, or, the bread of Yahweh’s Presence. This had a direct connection with the faces of the Cherubim, which played such a prominent part in the design of the Tabernacle embroidery, as well as being a leading feature of the Most Holy Place, and was indicative of God’s presence. The word pan is also found in the name “Peniel”, meaning “face of God”, which Jacob called the place where he wrestled with the angel2 for, he said,have seen Elohim face to face”.
So, then, the mission of Jeremiah resolved itself into a contest between the faces of God and the faces of Israel. We have seen that the face can be indicative of one’s feelings. We read that Yahweh’s panim was one of anger (as the word is rendered in Jer. 2. 12), and He indicated this to the prophet in unmistakable terms. However, although these words were designed to strengthen Jeremiah, they were repeated in chapter 1. 17 as a warning to him that if he weakened and became dismayed (broken with fear) in the presence of his enemies, then God would also break him in their presence. On the other hand, in Psalm 45. 12 and 119.58 Yahweh’s panim is translated as favour, showing exactly the opposite aspect to that which was exhibited by Jeremiah to Israel.
It can be deduced from this, then, that the basic meaning of the word is indicative of one’s “presence”, and also describes the feelings and expressions associated with the circumstances in which the person is found.
Likewise, the prayer of the righteous is summarised by the Psalmist in Psalm 27- 8, 9,
“When thou saidst ‘Seek ye my face’ (panim), my heart said unto thee ‘Thy face, Yahweh, will I seek’. Hide not thy face far from me ; put not thy servant away in anger : thou hast been my help : leave me not neither forsake me, O God of my salvation” ; and the counterpart of this is found in Psalm 16. 11, “In thy presence (panim) is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.
With the knowledge of these features of Yahweh’s character in his mind, Jeremiah would be greatly strengthened to accomplish the mission for which he had been ordained. But, having been brought to this stage, Jeremiah now had no chance of turning back. God realised that ,although this man was afraid, he still had those other characteristics which go to make up the type of man “whom Yah appointeth and exalteth”. In Jeremiah 1. 9 the seal is placed upon his mission.
“Then Yahweh put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And Yahweh said unto me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth’ “.
With this final strengthening, he was able to set out on his work, knowing that the words which ye hear are not my words, but the Father’s which sent me”3. Like the Lord Jesus Christ and true sons of God in all ages, the word of God dwelt in him as a burning fire. It was not something that he simply knew : it was something which inspired his every action. His uncompromising zeal for truth in the midst of a nation steeped in tradition and compromising idolatry is an exhortation to saints of all generations. Let us get the example quite clear in our minds -Israel was the ecclesia, and the message Jeremiah brought was to the eccIesia of God in his days. If we are to get the utmost benefit from the writings of Jeremiah, then we have not only to aspire to exhibit the characteristics that he did, but we have to learn the lessons from the failures of the ecclesias in Jeremiah’s time.
Israel were condemned because their religious leaders were guiding the people according to the thinking of flesh, instead of heeding the message of the Word, and in just the same manner this was the condemnation on the erring ecclesias addressed by Christ in Rev. 2 and 3. The solution is found in Rev. 3. 18,
“I counsel thee to buy of me
(1)gold tried in the fire (a tried faith- 1 Peter 1. 7).
(2)white raiment (a righteous covering through Christ’s blood-Rev, 7.13, 14), and
(3)Anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see” (a fervent desire for knowledge and understanding-Hosea 4. 6).
These were the characteristics which Israel did not manifest, but which formed the foundation of Jeremiah’s conviction. Which position do we find ourselves in ?
Jeremiah had a hard battle : the rulers of the people sought to kill him, no doubt thinking in their own mind that they did God a service. Just like the Pharisees in the days of Christ and the clergy of these latter days, their zeal was misdirected, being blinded by tradition and making the Word of God of none effect.
Jeremiah suffered much for the message which he bore but only through his “patient continuance in well doing” are we able to benefit by the writings and experiences of this man of faith.
In Jeremiah 25. 9 Jeremiah determined that he would no more make mention of Yahweh or speak in His name, “But” , he says, “His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bone… and I could not stay”. If only we could be filled with that same zeal which Jeremiah exhibited !
In many respects, he was very similar to the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the following comparisons :-
| Jeremiah | Christ | |
|
Sufferings Sorrow for Jerusalem Persecutions |
Jer. 11. 19 Jer. 13. 17 Jer. 20. 7 |
Luke 19. 41-44 Psalm 22. 6, 7 Matt. 27. 41
|
|
Adversaries entice him “Worthy of Death” |
Jer. 20. 10 Jer. 26. 11 |
Matt. 26. 65, 66 |
|
Not worthy of Death Sadness |
Jer. 26. 15, 16 Lam. 1. 12 |
Matt. 27. 24, 25 Isa. 53. 3, 4 |
Here, then, we have a man whom we would do well to emulate. Here, too, we have a message which every son and daughter of God would do well to consider carefully, because the failings which were Israel’s could easily be ours, for it is only by intensive and honest heart-searching of ourselves that we can ascertain whether we are “Israelites indeed” as was Jeremiah, or simply Israelites by name.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One