Jeremiah 1:5-10

Jeremiah 1:5-10

1:5 "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."
We, too, have been formed (created by God), known (known of God), sanctified (by the blood of the Savior) and ordained (given the Great Commission (Mark 16:15; Galatians 1:15)

1:6-7 "Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.But the LORD said unto me, 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."

Matthew Henry said, " Thou hast God's precept, and let not thy being young hinder thee from obeying it. 'Go to all to whom I shall send thee and speak whatsoever I command thee." Note, though a sense of our own weakness and insufficiency should make us go humbly about our work, yet it should not make us draw back from it when God calls us to do it. God was angry with Moses even for his modest excuses" (Exodus 4:14)


1:8 "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD."

I thought it was amazing that God chooses those who feel they cannot speak to be His spokes men. Moses said the same thing in (Exodus 4:10) But we have "God's precepts" His law to be a weapon to give us courage. v.8 And we have the promise that God Himself will be there with us. If we truly believe God we will do those things He has asked of us.

Verses 9-10 "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, 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."

Notice the order. Jeremiah is to root out, pull down, destroy, throw down, then build and plant. Before we can build the Kingdom of God by planting the seed of God's Word, we must prepare the ground. It is the funtion of the moral Law in the hand of the Holy Spirit to root out sin, pull down strongholds and destroy the sinner's self-righteousness so that he understands his need to throw himself on the mercy of God.