Jeremiah 1:11 - Meaning and Application

Here, God first gives Jeremiah a vision of the main work he must do. He is to warn that Judah and Jerusalem will be destroyed by the Chaldeans because of their sins, especially their idolatry, their worship of false gods. God shows this to him in a striking way, so the message will stay with him and shape all his dealings with the people.

God first shows Jeremiah that the people are quickly maturing for judgment, and that judgment is also coming quickly. After answering Jeremiah’s concern that he was only a child, God begins to train him in the language and work of a prophet. Prophets must be able to see clearly as well as speak clearly. So God asks, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” Jeremiah looks and sees a rod, a symbol of affliction and discipline, and it is a rod of an almond tree, one of the earliest trees to blossom in spring. The point is that the tree is quick to bud, and God is saying that he will hurry to carry out his word. Jeremiah will prophesy things that he himself will live to see fulfilled, as the meaning is explained elsewhere, where pride and violence are said to have bloomed and the measure of sin to be filling up fast (Ezekiel 7:10-11).

God then shows him where the coming ruin will rise from. Jeremiah is asked again, “What do you see?” and he sees a boiling pot, turned toward the north. This picture stands for Jerusalem and Judah in great turmoil, like water bubbling under a fierce fire, as the Chaldean army approaches. The trouble will break out from the north, and the image means that the threat has been held back for a time, but now God will let it loose. What had long been planned in God’s justice, and long deserved by the people’s sin, will now come openly and across the whole land.

God explains further that he will call all the families of the northern kingdoms. These nations will gather under Nebuchadnezzar and come against Judah. Though they are spread out, God will bring them together. Though they are far away, God will summon them, and they will obey. He will also order their advance: the commanders will set up their seats before Jerusalem, as soldiers do when they sit down before a city in siege. They will camp at the gates and around the walls, cutting off the people’s escape and supply, until the city is worn down.

God also tells Jeremiah plainly why all these judgments are coming. They are coming because of Judah and Jerusalem’s wickedness. He may be said to pass sentence against them because they have forsaken him and turned away from their loyalty to him. They have burned incense to other gods, new gods, strange gods, and all false gods, the products of their own imaginations and the work of their own hands. Jeremiah was still young and had not seen much of the wider world, so he may not have known how deeply his people had fallen into idol worship. God tells him so he will know what to rebuke and what to warn against, and so he can be fully convinced that the judgment he must announce is fair.

He is sent in God’s name like a herald, a royal messenger who announces war against rebels. God is glad to warn people ahead of time about his judgments, so sinners may wake up, repent, and turn away his anger. If they do not, they are left without excuse.

With that charge, Jeremiah is told in Jeremiah 1:17 to gird up his loins, that is, get ready for hard work and free himself from anything that would slow him down. He must go quickly, speak when needed, and not be shaken by their faces, as in Jeremiah 1:8. In short, he must be faithful, because that is what is required of an ambassador.

He must be faithful in two ways. First, he must speak everything God commands him to say. He must not leave out anything because it seems small, strange, or unimportant, because every word from God carries weight. He also must not hide anything out of fear, or change it to make it more popular or easier to hear, but declare the whole counsel of God fully and without adding to it or taking away from it.

Second, he must speak to all the people he is sent against. He must not whisper his message in private to a few friends who would accept it. He must speak against the kings of Judah if they are wicked, and bear witness against the sins of the princes. The greatest people are not safe from God’s judgments, either from his hand or from his mouth. He must not spare the priests, even though he himself is a priest and would naturally care about the honor of his office. He must also speak against the people of the land, as long as they stand against the Lord.

Two reasons are given for this. First, if he is unfaithful, he has reason to fear God’s wrath. If he becomes afraid of their faces and turns away from his duty, God may leave him to his own fear and shame him before them. Those who care more about their comfort, safety, and reputation than about their duty are justly left by God to the weakness they chose. Jeremiah later says, Lord, do not be a terror to me (Jeremiah 17:17). The fear of God is the best cure for the fear of people. If we fear offending the one who can kill and then cast into hell, we will be less afraid of those who can only kill the body (Luke 12:4-5). It is better to have every person in the world against us than to have God against us.

Second, he has no reason to fear men if he is faithful. The God he serves will protect him and support him, so they will not be able to crush his spirit or stop his work until his testimony is finished (Jeremiah 1:18). This young prophet is made by God’s power like a strong city, with iron pillars and bronze walls. He goes out against his enemies with rebukes and warnings, and he keeps them in check. They attack him from every side, the kings and princes with their power, the priests with their church discipline, and the people with slander and bitter words. Yet he will stand firm and hold his ground. He will still serve as a restraint on them (Jeremiah 1:19). They will fight against him, but they will not defeat him, because God is with him to deliver him. They also will not defeat the message God sends through Jeremiah, or save themselves from it, because it will take hold of them, and God is against them to destroy them. Those who know that God is with them, as he is with all who are with him, do not need to fear whoever stands against them.