Jeremiah Chap-1
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Colour coded details of our beloved TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History &
Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical books -
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations
of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and
history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some
alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’
of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim,
having been corrected like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth
from our beloved Torah!
“Ye
shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the
LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction: The Reluctant Voice of Truth.
Jeremiah 1 serves
as the “Prophetic Resume” and Divine commission of one of Israel’s most
sensitive yet steadfast prophets. Set against the backdrop of the waning ‘Assyrian
Empire’ and the rising ‘Babylonian threat’ (c. 627 BCE), this chapter
establishes Jeremiah’s authority as a Priest from Anathoth
and his inescapable destiny as a “prophet unto the nations”. It is a narrative
of Divine predestination meeting ‘human vulnerability’, where אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim’s (God’s) sovereign choice overrules
Jeremiah's personal feelings of inadequacy.
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Let us now read Yirmyahu – Jeremiah Chapter 1: verses 1 to 19: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh).
1. “The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
2. to whom the word of יְהוָה - the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
4. And the word of יְהוָה - the LORD came unto me, saying:
5. ‘Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations’.
6. Then said I: ‘Ah, אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - LORD Elohim! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child’.7. But יְהוָה - the LORD said unto me: ‘say not: I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
8. Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith יְהוָה - the LORD’.
9. Then יְהוָה - the LORD put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and יְהוָה - the LORD said unto me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth;
10. 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 overthrow; to build, and to plant’.
11. Moreover the word of יְהוָה - the LORD came unto me, saying: ‘Jeremiah, what seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a rod of an almond-tree’.
12. Then said יְהוָה - the LORD unto me: ‘Thou hast well seen; for I watch over My word to perform it’.
13. And the word of יְהוָה - the LORD came unto me the second time, saying: ‘What seest thou?’. And I said: ‘I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is from the north’.
14. Then יְהוָה - the LORD said unto me: ‘Out of the north the evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith יְהוָה - the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
16. And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness; in that they have forsaken me, and have offered unto other gods, and worshipped the work of their own hands.
17. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee; be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
18. For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; For I am with thee, saith יְהוָה - the LORD, to deliver thee’”.
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We will now look at the ‘verse by verse’ item, which has a full Explanation:
Verses 1-3: The
Historical Context.
“The
words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests
who were in Anathoth”.
Explanation: These verses ground the prophecy in
physical and temporal reality. Anathoth was a priestly
village just north of Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s ministry spanned forty turbulent
years, from the reforms of Josiah to the final tragic exile under Zedekiah, establishing
him as a witness to the nation’s slow collapse.
Verses 4-5: The
Divine Predestination.
“Before I formed
thee in the belly I knew thee... I have appointed thee a prophet unto the
nations”.
Explanation: אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim asserts His absolute sovereignty. The
Hebrew term “knew” (yada) implies an ‘intimate’, ‘consecrated relationship’.
Jeremiah’s purpose was not a career choice but a pre-ordained biological and
spiritual imperative!
Verses 6-8: The
Prophet’s Protest.
“Then said I: ‘Ah, אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - LORD
Elohim! behold, I cannot
speak; for I am a child”.
Explanation: Like Moses, Jeremiah feels
unequipped. His claim of being a “child” (na’ar) refers
more to his lack of status and experience than literal age. אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim’s response is a firm dismissal of fear,
replaced by the promise of His Presence: “I am with thee to deliver thee”.
Verses 9-10: The
Commission of Power.
“Then יְהוָה - the
LORD put forth His hand, and touched my mouth... ‘to
root out and to pull down... to build and to plant.’
Explanation: This is a literal infusion of Divine
words. Jeremiah’s message is two-fold: he must first perform the “destructive”
work of dismantling idolatry before the “constructive” work of restoration can
begin.
Verses 11-12: The
Vision of the Almond Rod.
‘I see a rod of an
almond-tree.’ ... ‘for I watch
over My word to perform it’.
Explanation: This is a brilliant Hebrew wordplay (pun).
The almond tree (shaked) is the first to bloom in
winter, and its name sounds like the word for “watching” (shoked).
אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim is wakefully watching to ensure
His judgment and promises come to fruition swiftly.
Verses 13-16: The
Vision of the Seething Pot.
‘I see a seething
pot; and the face thereof is from the north’.
Explanation: The “seething pot” symbolizes the impending
Babylonian invasion, which will “spill over” from the north to scald Judah for
its idolatry and forsaking of the Covenant.
Verses 17-19: The
Fortified Prophet.
‘Thou therefore
gird up thy loins... for, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city...’
Explanation: אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim warns Jeremiah that his own people, the
kings, priests, and citizens will fight him. However, אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim promises to make him as impenetrable as
an iron pillar. The chapter ends with a guarantee: they will fight, but they
will not prevail, because the Divine Deliverer is on his side.
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My Closing
Message: The Armor of the
Called.
Jeremiah 1 teaches
us that when heaven calls, the individual’s perceived limitations are
irrelevant. Jeremiah entered his ministry not with a sword, but with a Word
that could level empires. For the modern seeker, it serves as a reminder that Divine
purpose often requires us to stand against the “popular cries of the day”
to preserve the “truth of the heart”. ‘You are made to be a fortified city, not
by your own strength, but by the One who knew you before you were formed’.
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following via several of our prophets...
“Return
unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of
hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom
Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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