Comments on Jeremiah 1 Chapter 1 introduces us to Jeremiah and his ministry. Verses 1-3 perfunctorily establish the time, place, and lineage of Jeremiah. The rest of the chapter then deals with his calling, reticence, and the Lord's response to his initial lack of enthusiasm. v1 "of the priests", Jeremiah was apparently of the lineage of Aaron and tribe of Levi, cp. v. 11. This makes for an interesting situation given the animosity between priests and prophets that was general at that time between the two groups (recall Isaiah's scathing attacks on the priestly class at Jerusalem). Here, a priest-prophet is called...no wonder he is hesitant about accepting the call. Furthermore, it would appear from the events in ch. 20 that a division had occurred between the priests as to those who remained faithful to the Lord and those who followed suit with the idolatries reintroduced by Manasseh and maintained by subsequent kings down to the present monarchies. Jeremiah might have been in line to be a Temple priest by lineal right, but his faithfulness to the Lord excluded him from participating in the present idolatrous perversions going on in the Temple at the time. More on that in comments on ch. 20 below. "in Anathoth", one of the cities of refuge (cf. Joshua 21:18) in the territory of Benjamin, this village was about 3 miles north of Jerusalem. As the Levites had no land holding they obviously had to dwell among Judah and Benjamin in the vicinity of the Temple. v2-3 The start of Jeremiah's ministry would be approximately 70 years after the death of Isaiah. v4 It is unclear how the manifestation came about, whether a vision, an angel, a prophet, or a face to face discussion we are left uninformed. Why? I would guess Jeremiah is trying to avoid self-aggrandizement by leaving that detail out. It is unimportant for the main purpose of the present text, which is to make it clear he was not out looking for the calling. The word came to him, he was not out looking for it, and when it did come he was trying to back out. How it came to him is not relevant in Jeremiah's mind at the time of documentation. However, the activities in v. 9 suggest a more divine rather than less divine manifestation. v5 A typical calling to a servant of the Lord, cp. Isa. 49:1. This particular passage is popularly used as a proof-text for the pre-mortal existence of spirits. The primary context is that of foreordination, which necessarily implies pre-existence. But, for those who choose the doctrine of predestination over foreordination the meaning of the text changes and pre-existence is no longer required. v6 Jeremiah is trying to back out of the calling he sees as imminent. He knows what the Lord has in mind with the statement in v. 5 and wants to avoid it so he makes an excuse of being young and inexperienced. The reference to his age is ambiguous. The Hebrew term employed is applied from everything to young children to teenagers to very general contrasts between young and old. Whatever the age was it is almost certain he was less than 30 years old as that is the age of service for Levites and Jeremiah appears to not have entered into that service (cf. Num. 4:3). He may have been well into his 20's and been exaggerating his youth. v7-8 The Lord ignores his excuse and extends the calling by commanding to go where he is sent and say what he is told to say (v. 7). The Lord then addresses the real issue at hand which is Jeremiah's fear of man (v. 8). The Lord addresses this fear by giving him the standard promise of divine support, "I am with you", a promise given to all prophets, cp. Exod. 3:12, Josh. 1:9, Matt. 28:20, D&C 34:11. With regard to Jeremiah's fear of man, let us recall the situation at Jerusalem at this time. The BofM comments considerably on the condition of the people at that time and the prevailing attitude. It was a bad time for prophets of the Lord. v9-10 The Lord goes on to extend His hand and touch his mouth announcing that His words are now in Jeremiah's mouth (v. 9) and his calling is to overthrow and replant (v. 10). Jeremiah complained in v. 6 that he didn't know how to speak, well, the Lord fixes that by putting His words in his mouth. This is reminiscent in Isaiah's calling in Isa. 6:5-7. Isaiah too expresses his lack if fitness for the calling with divine intercession fixing the failing. The description of Jeremiah's calling in v. 10 is not a pleasant one and foreshadows the sack of Jerusalem by Babylon, and subsequent gathering under Cyrus. Such a foreboding calling signals a lot of woe oracles and maledictions to follow. v11-19 Following up on Jeremiah's call, two additional visions are granted and the divine investiture of support is granted again. These additional statements support and emphasize what we have previously been told in v. 1-10. v11-12 Using the theme from Num. 17 the Lord makes it clear He wants someone from Levi to act in the capacity of prophet. The imagery also implies to Jeremiah that the Lord will use miraculous means to support him in his calling when people question his authority. v13-16 Building on the ominous theme from v. 10, the Lord goes into more explicit detail about the imminent sack of Jerusalem by Babylon. The vision is that of a boiling cauldron tipped away from the North, meaning it will spill out its seething contents southward onto Jerusalem (v. 13-14). The Lord then explains the imagery of the cauldron by saying He will bring armies from the north to besiege Jerusalem because of her defection from Him to idols (v. 15-16). v14 "the north", this is where scattered Israel was exiled to, cf. 23:8, Isa. 43:6. Israel's oppressors come from "the north" and take them captive there. It is a general reference to all of the hostile Gentile nations to the north such as Babylon and Assyria. Geographically speaking these nations aren't really north of Jerusalem, as they are more east than anything else. But, these various nations would skirt up around the Syrian Desert following the Euphrates and then descend upon Jerusalem from the North passing through Damascus. v16 "worshiped the work of their own hands", the same type of definition of idolatry appearing in Isa. 2:8 is employed here. This definition is much more broad than literal idols and entrains any arm of flesh work of man one resorts to instead of the Lord. v17-19 The message of v. 8 is strongly emphasized. It is clear to both Jeremiah and the Lord that he faces an uphill battle in this new calling, so the Lord makes it absolutely clear to him He will support him. Jeremiah is called out against all of the people of Jerusalem from the nobility to the religious leadership to the layperson (v. 18), and they will fight against him but the Lord will deliver (v. 19). Such an emphatic and unequivocal statement of support indicates what a struggle Jeremiah was facing. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.