January 29, 2022

Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:9-10

From the start, Jeremiah’s encouragement from the LORD was firm. In his initial reluctance to accept the calling, feeling himself inadequate, Jeremiah received the assurance that it would be the LORD’s words that he was to share. Because of false teachings about the character of God, it would be necessary to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down before there could be any building and planting! PRAISE GOD for the last five words of verse 10 above, which reveal a marvelous glimpse into His heart and His purposes: “to build and to plant”!

In order for the building and planting to commence in my personal life, it is highly likely that there are things that need to be rooted out, pulled down, and destroyed. By the way, the name Jeremiah means “Yahweh throws” perhaps in the sense of laying a foundation, so the words throw down are leading into building and planting upon a foundation of truth.

There are myriads of false teachings around the world that are rooted in the initial lie of Satan in the Garden of Eden: “You will not surely die.” But it is imperative to understand the reality of death and its connection with sin. Jesus, the loving Creator, does not want us to die eternally. Satan wants us to believe we are inherently immortal and therefore cannot die. This is one of the two pillars upon which the deceiver fabricates his deceptions (the other one being that the eternal law of God, the Lawgiver, has been done away with). These two lies, directly or indirectly, undermine every truth of God.

We look back on Jeremiah’s life, often in pity, knowing that he prophesied for decades upon decades and, as far as we can tell, no one took him seriously. Some of us may identify with him, as we have attempted to share truths with people we love deeply, but they feel no need of any alterations or corrections. It is encouraging to remember that Jeremiah’s close walk with God provided great comfort amid the general ruin into which the nation was quickly passing, for Jeremiah was often permitted to see beyond the distressing scenes of his time into the glorious prospects of the future: God’s people ransomed from the land of the enemy and the covenant relationship totally renewed:

“Their souls shall be like a watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.” Jeremiah 31:12