Saturday after Septuagesima Sunday
Posted on February 19, 2022 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
Our Lord God in His call of Jeremiah reflects the words of David from Psalm 139:13-16. Jeremiah was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (vs. 14). Jeremiah’s “frame was not hidden from” the Lord God (vs. 15). The Lord had seen the “substance” of Jeremiah while he was still in his mother’s womb (vs. 16). Therefore, the Lord God had already planned to use Jeremiah as His prophet to preach to Judah in her last days before being exiled into Babylon.
Born in the days of King Josiah to his father Hilkiah, a priest in Anathoth of Benjamin, Jeremiah was called by the Lord to preach repentance to Judah. At his calling the Lord makes it clear that they would not listen, saying, “Do not be afraid of their faces.” This was not supposed to deter Jeremiah from proclaiming the truth of God’s Word. He would go before kingdoms and nations to proclaim their sins. He would suffer greatly for that preaching.
The impenitent are prone to respond this way to the preaching of the Law. The penitent person, however, humbly proclaims that he is justly punished for his sins. The purpose of Jeremiah’s preaching was to lead people to repentance, to lead them to the salvation found in the Lord’s mercy. Our ministers lead us to the Christ, in whom we have life and salvation; in whom we find forgiveness.
Prayer: O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people: that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, 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.
