Jeremiah’s Call
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Jeremiah
- Chapters: Jeremiah 1
- Summary: God told Jeremiah that before his birth he had been set apart as a prophet to the nations; Jeremiah objected that he was too young; God touched his mouth and gave him his commission with two confirming visions.
Details
In the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (627 BC), the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, a priest from Anathoth in Benjamin. God’s first word was startling: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah protested: “Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” God replied: “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee.”
God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said: “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” Then followed two visions: the branch of an almond tree (Hebrew: shaqed), which confirmed God was watching (shoqed) to perform his word; and a boiling pot facing away from the north, signaling the disaster that would come from the north. Jeremiah was called to proclaim judgment against Judah’s idolatry and to stand against kings, princes, priests, and people: “I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls.”
Key People Involved
- Jeremiah — The young priest-prophet called before birth
- God — The one who called and commissioned
Key Places
- Anathoth — Jeremiah’s hometown, a priestly city in Benjamin
- Jerusalem — The capital he would prophesy to
Important Verses
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” — Jeremiah 1:5
Cross-References
- Related: New Covenant — Jeremiah’s most famous prophecy, decades later
- Related: Letter to Exiles — Jeremiah’s pastoral letter
- Related: Burning Scroll — Jeremiah’s scrolled prophecies
- Related books: Jeremiah
Notes
Jeremiah’s call is one of the most theologically profound in scripture. The statement “before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” has been foundational for Christian convictions about divine foreknowledge and the sanctity of human life from conception. Jeremiah’s reluctance (compare Moses, Isaiah, Jonah) follows the pattern of prophetic resistance, but God overrides the objection with a promise of presence. The two visions establish both the certainty of God’s word (the almond/watching tree) and the specific content of the coming judgment (the boiling pot from the north — Babylon).