10.19.2014 Old Testament: Jer 1.17–19

To read the Bible in a year, read Jeremiah 1–2 on October 19, In the year of our Lord 2014

By Don Ruhl

Jeremiah chapter one shows the Lord preparing Jeremiah for his preaching/prophetic ministry. Yet, people would resist the words of Jeremiah, because they resisted the words of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord told the young prophet,

“Therefore prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
For behold, I have made you this day
A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
(Jeremiah 1.17–19) 

If Jeremiah became dismayed before their faces, the Lord would also cause Jeremiah to be dismayed before the people. Jeremiah did not need to be dismayed because the Lord had made the young man strong before all the people and that included kings, princes, and priests. They would fight him, but they would not prevail. Can you guess who won?