The Book of Jeremiah

Luke’s account of Paul in Acts covered Paul's dramatic conversation from a Christian persecutor to a disciple, followed by his many missionary journeys each resembling a walk through a mine field, evangelising to not only the Jews but Gentiles also that took him across many countries from Jerusalem to Rome. It's a story you can't make up.

Who’d have thought that some 600+ years before Paul, there lived another suffering servant, who like Paul faced all sorts of oppositions and sufferings you can possibly imagine, and was God’s mouthpiece – albeit a reluctant one – to advance His Kingdom.  That person was Jeremiah.

If you consider the circumstances in which Jeremiah was called to prophetic services, there’s striking similarities between him and the Servant of the Lord as mentioned in Isa 49 (widely accepted to be the Messiah himself), but no more than Jesus who suffered the ultimate death for us all sinners. Some of the notable similarities observed are briefly outlined below:

1. Jer. 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”.  Isa. 49:1, “Before I was born, the Lord called me”. He was set apart for Gods duties before his birth, when he was still in the womb. In the hours of darkest opposition and brutal treatment, that reality doubtless proved immensely stabilizing to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was called to duty at a young age too (v7, I am only a child). Scholars believe he was no older than 25years of age. But again, we might also feel overwhelmed by God’s call, but he has promised to give us the strength to do whatever he asks.

2. He meets opposition that drives him to despair, though he faithfully perseveres (Isa. 49:4; Jer. 4:19–22, etc.).

3. God has made his mouth “like a sharpened sword” (Isa. 49:2), which rather suggests prophetic ministry much like the case for Jeremiah, "I have put my words in our mouth" (Jer. 1:9).  God is perfectly capable of equipping anyone he chooses. God himself would put words in Jeremiah’s mouth and make him a prophetic voice, not only over Judah but over the surrounding nations (Jer. 1:7–10).

There are aspects of Jeremiah that make him unique. He knew he’d be called to face the wrath of kings, priests, false prophets and wicked, idolatrous people as a whole. At the back of James Reapsome's book on Jeremiah, it reads,

“It’s been said that Jeremiah was a successful failure. He failed to turn the people of Judah back to God, yet he succeeded in remaining faithful to God’s call against tremendous odds."

Likewise for us, there’s bound to be times when we face struggles in our Christian life. Perhaps not understanding why God allows us to experience a particularly difficult situation. We might even question whether God has called us at all.

But we can take heart in Jeremiah who can help grow our understanding of God’s call to salvation and why service is so important.