BIBLE STUDY LESSON 01

SERIES P --- YHVH’S PROPHETS

THE PROPHET’S CALL

THE CALL OF JEREMIAH

From Jeremiah 1; 7:1-20

Long ago a prophet named Jeremiah lived in the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. He was a priest, the son of a man named Hilkiah. Adonai spoke to Jeremiah and gave him several messages. The first message came in the thirteenth year after Amon’s son Josiah began to reign as king of Judah. Other messages came later, when Josiah’s son Jehoiakim ruled as king of Judah, and still others at various times until Jerusalem was captured in the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah. At that time the people were taken from Jerusalem to live in a strange land. In His first message to Jeremiah, Adonai said, [I knew you even before I created you in your mother’s womb. I consecrated you before you were born and appointed you to be a prophet to the nations of the world.] Jeremiah himself tells us how he answered: [But, Adonai, how can I do that?] I argued. [I’m too young and I don’t know how to speak.] [Don’t tell Me that you are too young,] Adonai replied. [You shall go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. You must not fear the people, for I will be with you and protect you.] Adonai put out His hand and touched my mouth. Then He said to me: [Look! I have put My words into your mouth. Today I have placed you over nations and kingdoms, to warn some that they will be destroyed and to encourage others that they will be built, making them strong and great.] Then Adonai spoke again to me. [What do you see, Jeremiah?] He asked. [A rod made from an almond tree,] I answered. [Right! And I will use this rod to make sure My Word is followed,] Adonai said. Adonai asked me another question: [What do you see now?] [A boiling pot, ready to tip over toward Judah from the north,] I answered. [Great trouble will boil over from the north, spilling upon the people of this land,] Adonai said. [I will call forth the armies of the northern kingdoms to come to Jerusalem and place their thrones at the city gates and along its walls, and also along the walls of the other cities of Judah. This will be My judgment against the people for burning incense to other gods and worshiping the idols they have made with their own hands.] [Now tie up your robe to prepare for travel,] Adonai continued. [Tell them whatever I Command you to say. Do not fear them, or I will make you look foolish before them. I want you to see that today I have made you like a fortified city which is too strong to capture, and like an iron pillar and bronze gates too massive to break down. None of these people will subdue you, neither the kings of Judah, her princes, or her people. They will struggle to overcome you, but I will protect you.] Adonai gave me further Instructions. [Go to the gate of the temple of Adonai and warn them with this message from Me,] He said. [Tell them to listen to My Message, for I am warning them to change their ways if they want to continue living in this land. Warn them that they must not listen to those who say I would not destroy My temple. Tell them they may stay in the land only if they change their ways, stop taking advantage of orphans, widows, and foreigners. Tell them they must stop their needless killing and putting other gods in My place. Only then will I let them remain in this land which I gave to their ancestors. Are these people foolishly thinking I will not destroy Jerusalem because the temple is here? Do they think they can murder, commit adultery, lie, worship Baal and these other strange gods, and then come to this house which bears My Name and say that they are safe, only to go out again and keep up their evil practices? Has My house become a den of thieves in their eyes? I see all these wicked things that are going on!] Adonai also said, [Tell them to go to Shiloh, where I first dwelt in the tabernacle. Show them what I did to that city because of the wickedness of the people. Now I will do the same to My house in which they trust, the temple at Jerusalem, because they keep on doing these evil things and refuse to listen to Me or answer Me when I call. I will send these people away from Me, just as I did their relatives, the descendants of Ephraim. You, Jeremiah, must not even pray for these people or cry out for them or plead with Me for them, for I will not hear you. Don’t you realize what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? Can’t you see how their children gather wood, and the fathers build fires, and the others make cakes for the queen of heaven? Don’t you see them worshiping other gods, and provoking Me to anger? Are they hurting Me? Not really; they are just hurting themselves. Therefore, I will pour out My anger and wrath upon this place, on both man and animal, as well as on the trees and plants. The fire will burn and not be put out.]

COMMENTARY

THE PROPHETS: WHO THEY WERE AND WHAT THEY DID

In the Old Testament, prophets discovered they had been chosen by YHVH in several different ways. Sometimes they had a vision, either of YHVH Himself in some form or of something mysterious that could be explained only by YHVH. They might hear a voice, YHVH’s voice, telling them of their role. Whatever way it happened; the prophet’s call could occur at any time in his life. It could mark the beginning of a lifetime function, or it could mean he would be used by YHVH only once. The prophet was YHVH’s messenger. Having received the divine message, the prophet could not rest until he had spoken it to the people. And proclaim it he did, often at the risk of his own life. Part of the reason a prophet’s life was such a dangerous one was because the Hebrews believed speech had some magical powers. If someone prophesied a bad event, the fact that he said it aloud helped make it happen. It is no wonder that there were so many false prophets, predicting peace and good times. It was not only what people wanted to hear; it was also what they believed the {prophet} was helping bring about. Especially in the time of the judges and early kings of Israel, several prophets sometimes lived together in a community. Others lived with temple workers. Some married and had families. Still others lived and worked alone, except for a small circle of disciples who devoutly followed the master’s teachings. These early prophets were easy to recognize. They dressed in unfinished animal skins or some sort of rough simple clothing. It is believed they had some kind of mark on their foreheads, but just what is not known. They may have cut their hair in some identifying way, since the Hebrews believed that the essence of a man’s strength and personality lay in his hair. Prophets appeared most often during difficult times in the life of the Hebrews. Both socially and politically, things were changing quickly. The people had begun to turn from YHVH and His Laws and rely instead on warfare and wealth to make their lives pleasing. The prophets reminded them of their error and punishment if they did not change. There were far more prophets whose names and works were not recorded in the Bible than those who were, especially during the time of the kings and the time of the Exile. Malachi was the last of the prophets recorded in the Old Testament. No other is mentioned from his time until the time of John the Baptist, a period of more than four hundred years.