The book of Jeremiah, the “prophet to the nations,” is understandably full of application for missionaries. However, I will not be able to address everything it holds, due to the limited scope of this blog series… and merely the fact that I have barely scratched the surface of this book myself! As with Jonah, and all of the other books that I mention, I invite you to study them for yourself and see what you come up with!
God chose Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:5) A theme throughout the prophets is that God chose them. This statement may seem simplistic at first, but it truly is profound when you see the implications of it. If God chose Jeremiah (as He chose Jonah and the other prophets) then He is bound to share His message whether He likes it or not! However, as we will see later, being chosen by God also means that He will accomplish His purposes in and through us, against all odds.
God prepared Jeremiah. He declared that Jeremiah was not too young to serve Him (Jer. 1:7-8). Also, as with Isaiah’s call and commissioning, God purified Jeremiah’s mouth (Jer. 1:9). God appointed this young man to have power over nations, using language similar to Jesus’ commissioning of Peter. (Jer. 1:10)
God sustained Jeremiah. (Jer. 1: 17-19) Though Jeremiah will have trouble and be hated, God will give him strength. Later in the book, we see that God was true to His word and did preserve Jeremiah’s life and ministry, despite great attacks. (Jer. 15:10; Jer. 20)
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