“For my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
In the first six chapters of Jeremiah we read about the prophet’s call, his mission and the indictment against Israel and Judah. The prophet was called to be a prophet while still in the womb:
Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
He was then commissioned to speak God’s Word:
Jeremiah 1:9 (ESV)
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
He was told he would be protected by God’s sovereign power:
Jeremiah 1:18-19 (ESV)
And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”
Why is all that true? Because of the message and mission he was sent upon. In the above verse we read why Jeremiah was sent. This nation, a people called out by God, had turned their backs on God. They were now turning their back on God. Although they thought themselves to wise for God, God tells them they are wise - but wise only in what was evil. When we turn our backs on God the only other thing we will see is evil. There is not a middle ground. You can’t have one-half God and one-half evil. Many, if not most, think that is true. They turn to God in troubled times, but day-to-day they turn toward evil. The world’s system is great for teaching evil. It is not hard for children and adults, alike, to find evil and turn toward it. The nation needed a prophet, speaking the holy Word of God (while being protected by God) to speak to them in their evil hearts. The only solution for those who turn to evil is for someone to speak truth to them to turn them to God.
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