The Saturday after Septuagesima Sunday
Posted on February 22, 2025 by under
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10 (NKJV)
1:4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 “Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 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.
10 “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.”
Devotion
This calling and consecrating of the prophet Jeremiah strengthens our understanding of our Lord’s calling. Jeremiah had a vocation to carry out in his time and place, and he did so faithfully. But since all the Scriptures speak to us of Christ, we must also see Christ here in this passage as well. Jeremiah serves as a type of Christ. His calling foreshadows the ministry of Jesus Christ.
As God, the Father, knew Jeremiah before he was born, so the Father was in fellowship with the eternal Son before He was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as God’s Words were in the mouth of the youth Jeremiah, even as a youth, Jesus speaks the Words of His Father. Our Lord was the ultimate “prophet to the nations.” It was He that was truly set “over the nations and over the kingdoms.”
Jesus throws down the kingdoms of this world and builds and plants His eternal kingdom, the Church. Ancient Israel does not exist for its own sake, but serves as the type, the foreshadowing of the Church. All of the Prophets show us Jesus. All of the history of Israel points us to Christ. Isn’t it interesting that Jeremiah is not just called to Israel, but “over the nations and over the kingdoms.” The Word of God is meant for the world.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people: that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
