Pursuing Abundant Life

Angela Hare

An Introduction to the prophet Jeremiah

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade . . In this you greatly rejoice.

1 Peter 1:3-4,6

The pursuit of what the world has is not abundant life.

Comfort

Ease

Entertainment

. . . the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

“If you cannot race with men, how will you run

with the horses?”

Jeremiah 12:5

Anata(Anathoth)

Birthplace of Jeremiah

7th century BCE

Jeremiah was born at the end of the 55-year rule of Manasseh,King of Judah

AsaAbijahRehoboam Jehoshaphat Jehoram

Ahaziah Joash

Kings of Judah

Amaziah Uzziah Jotham

Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh

Josiah

“Manasseh seduced [the people of Judah] to do more evil than the

nations [around Judah] had done whom the Lord destroyed.”

2 Kings 21:9

“The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah . . . the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.

Before you were born I set you apart;I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Jeremiah 1:2, 4-5

Then Jeremiah said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’

Jeremiah 1:6-7

“I am not made for perilous quests,” cried Frodo. “I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965), p. 70.

“Such questions cannot be answered,” said Gandalf. “You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess; not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”

You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.

Then Jeremiah said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’

Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:6-8

Jeremiah, what do you see? (1:11-12)

I see the branch of an almond tree.

shoqedYou have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.

I see the branch of an almond tree.shaqed

Jeremiah, what do you see?

I see a boiling pot, tilting from the north.

From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land,

says the Lord.

Choose one task this week in your routine.

Do it as an act of obedience to God, giving it your best mental or physical strength.

Look for how you become stronger.

AHare@messiah.edu