The Superscription, 1-3

1:1 The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied. He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. 1:2 The LORD began to speak to him in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah. 1:3 The LORD also spoke to him when Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled over Judah, and he continued to speak to him until the fifth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah son of Josiah ruled over Judah. That was when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile.

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission, 4-10

1:4 The LORD said to me,
1:5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you.
Before you were born I set you apart.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord GOD, I really do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.” 1:7 The LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 1:8 Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, for I will be with you to protect you,” says the LORD. 1:9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. 1:10 Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.”

v5 Mormons find in this text support for the pre-existence of Jeremiah as a ‘spirit child’.  But the text itself by no means requires this interpretation, and there is no contextual support for it.  The idea comes, rather, from the Mormon book The Pearl of Great Price, and has been imported into the text.

The more probable meaning of the text is ‘that God determined to make Jeremiah His spokesman before he ever existed, and brought about that design after he was born. These words can also be taken as Jeremiah’s expression of the fact that he could never get away from his calling as a prophet—it was “inborn” in him—even though he sometimes wanted to (Jer 20:6–9, 14–18).’ (Apologetics Study Bible)

This forms the basis for his unshakeable conviction that his mission was God-ordained.  It won’t matter that he feels ill-equipped for the task.  It won’t even matter that his message will be bitterly resented and rejected.  What matters is that he will be fulfilling God’s purpose for his life.

Such a conviction lies at the heart of all spiritual experience and endeavour.  This awareness that he was chosen, set apart and appointed by God was the energising force behind everything that Jeremiah did as a servant of God.  It gave his life a radical re-orientation.  He discovered himself to be created, known and chosen by God for a definite purpose and destiny. His centre of gravity shifted from within himself, and his conerns and wishes, to God, and his concerns and wishes.  And just as Jeremiah was the subject of God’s foreknowledge, was set apart and appointed, so is the Christian, Rom 8:28ff.  Our proper response to this is not conjecture or debate, but gratitude and rejoicing, Eph 1:3f.

v6 Where the young Jeremiah and the aged Moses were similar is that they both tried to get out of God’s call.  In Jeremiah’s case, when he kept silent he felt a fire burn within him that he had to breath out (Jer 20:9).  Natural shyness does not disqualify a person from public ministry.  Williams adds that Jeremiah may not have been skilled at ‘thinking on his feet’: his messages show signs of having been carefully composed and written down.

Jeremiah’s very reluctance is indicative of profound humility.  God spoke, and he obeyed.  Nothing would come in the way of that.  At least he was free from the temptation to take on this role out of a sense of self-importance, or from some perverse delight in denouncing others.  In fact, he would quite often feel overwhelmed by the tragic nature of his message, Jer 20:7ff.  Indeed, the poor man even regreted the day he was born, Jer 20:14ff.

v7 Age is of little interest to God.  He called Moses, a pensioner, to lead his people out of Egypt.  He called Jeremiah to be his spokesman while only a child.  Derek Williams (The Bible Application Handbook) cites further examples: Timothy, who was young and inexperienced, and William Booth, who began to preach when he was 17.

v8 The Lord knew that behind Jeremiah’s protest of youthfulness there lurked deeper, unspoken fears.  It is as though Jeremiah was thinking, “I will be utterly alone”.  And the Lord responds: “I am with you.”  “Yes but they will threaten to kill me.”  The Lord replies, “I will rescue you.”  Jeremiah’s enemies would only be able to touch him as the Lord allowed.  Like the great evangelist George Whitefield, he knew himself to be ‘immortal till his work was done.’

Visions Confirming Jeremiah’s Call and Commission, 11-19

1:11 Later the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” 1:12 Then the LORD said, “You have observed correctly. This means I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.”
1:13 The LORD again asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north.” 1:14 Then the LORD said, “This means destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land. 1:15 For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,” says the LORD. “They will come and their kings will set up their thrones near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah. 1:16 In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands.”
1:17 “But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. 1:18 I, the LORD, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the LORD.

v18 In the United States, a warrant for arrest reads, “The People of the State of [your state] versus [your name].” That doesn’t seem like very fair odds! The whole population against one person – you! But that is what Jeremiah had to face. All the people of the land and its kings and priests would be against him. Hence these words of comfort and reassurance in v18f.