Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 1:7
But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I [am] a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
7. Here again there is brought out the contrast between Moses and Jeremiah. The former had offered one objection after another (Exo 3:11; Exo 3:13; Exo 4:1; Exo 4:10; Exo 4:13), and consequently (Jer 4:14) “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.” But in Jeremiah’s case encouragement alone was needed, and it is given at once in word and then in act.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jeremiah suggested two difficulties, the first inexperience, the second timidity. God now removes the first of these. Inexperience is no obstacle where the duty is simple obedience His timidity is removed by the promise given him in the next verse.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Whatsoever I command thee] It is my words and message, not thine own, that thou shalt deliver. I shall teach thee; therefore thy youth and inexperience can be no hinderance.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Say not, I am a child; do not plead excuses.
Thou shalt go: this is Gods answer to Jeremiah, in respect of his sense of his own inability. This may be by way of command, and then it is a check to his timorousness; Thou shalt go, therefore draw not back. Or by way of promise, and then it is a satisfactory answer to his excuse, as both proceeded from a sense of his own insufficiency: q.d. Fear not, I will make thee eloquent and courageous.
To all: this relates either to persons or things.
To all, i.e. to all persons to whom I shall send thee; thou shalt balk none: see Rev 10:11. Or,
upon all, so is the Hebrew; and then it is, Thou shalt go upon all errands and messages that I shall send thee. See Isa 55:11; Act 26:16.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. to all thatto all “towhom” [ROSENMULLER].Rather, “to all against whom”; in a hostile sense(compare Jer 1:8; Jer 1:17;Jer 1:18; Jer 1:19)[MAURER]. Such was theperversity of the rulers and people of Judea at that time, thatwhoever would desire to be a faithful prophet needed to arm himselfwith an intrepid mind; Jeremiah was naturally timid and sensitive;yet the Spirit moulded him to the necessary degree of courage withouttaking away his peculiar individuality.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But the Lord said unto me, say not, I am a child,…. This excuse will not be admitted:
for thou shall go to all that I shall send thee; either to “every place”, as the Targum paraphrases; or “to all persons to whom” he should be sent, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render the words; or “to all things for which” he should send him, as the Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions. The sense is, that he should go everywhere, and to every person, and on every errand and message he should be sent unto and with:
and whatsoever I command thee, thou shall speak; out and openly, and keep back nothing through the fear of men; as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This excuse God holds of no account. As prophet to the nations, Jeremiah was not to make known his own thoughts or human wisdom, but the will and counsel of God which were to be revealed to him. This is signified by the clauses: for to all to whom I send thee, etc. The belonging to stands for , and does not indicate a hostile advance against any one. after is not neuter, but refers to persons, or rather peoples; since to the relative in this connection, is quite a natural completion; cf. Isa 8:12, and Ew. 331, c. Only to those men or peoples is he to go to whom God sends him; and to them he is to declare only what God commands him. And so he needs be in no anxiety on this head, that, as a youth, he has no experience in the matter of speaking.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Now follows the answer given to him, Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go, etc. God not only predicts here what the Prophet was to do, but declares also what he designed him to do, and what he required from him, as though he had said, “It is thy duty to obey, because I have the right to command: thou must, therefore, go wheresoever I shall send thee, and thou must also proclaim whatsoever I shall command thee.” By these words God reminds him that he was his servant, and that there was no reason why a sense of his own weakness should make him afraid; for it ought to have been enough for him simply to obey his command.
And it is especially necessary to know this doctrine: for as we ought to undertake nothing without considering what our strength is, so when God enjoins anything, we ought, immediately to obey his word as it were with closed eyes. Prudence is justly praised by writers; and it is what ought to be attended to by all generally; they ought to consider what the shoulders can bear, and cannot bear. For whence is it that many have so much audacity and boldness, except that they hurry on through extreme self — confidence? Hence, in all undertakings, this should be the first thing, that every one should weigh well his own strength, and take in hand what comports with the measure of his capacity. Then no one would foolishly obtrude himself, and arrogate to himself more than what is right. But when God calls us, we ought to obey, however deficient we may in all things be: and this is what we learn from what God says here, Say not, I am a child; that is, “though thou, indeed, thinkest thyself destitute of every qualification, though thou art conscious of thine own weakness, yet thou shalt go, thou must go wheresoever I shall send thee.” God, then, requires this honor to be simply conceded to him, that men should obey his commands, though the qualification necessary to execute them be wanting. It afterwards follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
C. The Divine Assurance Jer. 1:7-10
When called of God Moses brought forth excuse after excuse; but Jeremiah only needed encouragement and reassurance. The Lord took steps to give that timid and hesitant young prophet the encouragement he needed. The assurance in these verses is fourfold: assurance of (1) direction, (2) deliverance, (3) power, and (4) authority.
1. Assurance of divine direction (Jer. 1:7)
The divine assurance begins not with promises of assistance but with a gentle rebuke and a reaffirmation of His will. Do not say, I am only a youth. God is telling Jeremiah that his focus is wrong. Jeremiah had been looking at himself, whereas he should have had his focus on obedience to God. The emphasis throughout these verses is on the divine I and not the weak human you: I send you . I have commanded you . I am with you . I have placed My words in your mouth . I have made you an overseer. Thoughts of self are altogether out of place in one who has received a divine commission. It was Jeremiahs duty simply to obey the instructions of his Sovereign. The objections raised by Jeremiah are beside the point. Often men try to set feeble excuses against the plain call of God. They imagine that they are being modest. They plead a lack of qualification or strength or ability when in fact they may be doubting and mistrusting the power of God to provide for His own work.
Jeremiahs focus needed to be lifted from self to God (Jer. 1:7). He need not worry about where he will go or what he shall say. The Lord will direct his ways and his words. All Jeremiah needs to do is follow the leading of the Lord. He is to go where God sends him and speak what God commands him. The verbs go and speak in Jer. 1:7 are not imperatives but imperfects in Hebrew and for this reason most translators render them in English as futures. But the imperfect sometimes has imperative force and in the present context an imperative seems to fit best. After all Gods wills are in reality musts. When God is directing a ministry He will provide both the place and the power for service.[110] God in effect is saying here, Where you will go and what you will say is My business. A great burden lifted off the shoulders of the young priest when he heard these reassuring imperatives.
[110] Hall, op. cit., p. 186.
The limits of Jeremiahs preaching are clearly defined. He is to preach what God commands. He is not called to propagate the philosophies of men or to concoct and say what is clever and interesting and amusing. Jeremiah was called to preach the word! The greatest temptation that any preacher faces is that of identifying his own desires, interests and opinions with those of God. If every preacher would make his preaching as broad and as narrow as the expressed commandments of God he would avoid this pitfall.
2. Assurance of divine deliverance (Jer. 1:8)
The Lord saw within the heart of Jeremiah a fear of those to whom he was sent. Jeremiah had not said he was afraid but the Lord saw the fear in his heart. Sinful men never had welcomed a message of judgment and condemnation, and there was strong possibility of reprisal. Do not be afraid of them, the Lord says to his prophet, for I am with you. The Hebrew reverses the order and has it with you am I. What words of comfort. God spoke these words to Moses at the burning bush (Exo. 3:12), Joshua at Jordan (Jos. 1:15) and Jacob at Bethel (Gen. 28:15). They are reminiscent of the parting words of Jesus: Lo I am with you always (Mat. 28:20). The major point of emphasis here is that God will be available to his prophet. But implicit in these words is a warning that the Lord will be near him to mark his words and deeds.
God promises to deliver Jeremiah. Deliver him, but from what? From hardship? From trial? From discouragement? From slander and attack? Hardly! The promise is not that Jeremiah will be free from danger but that God will be his Deliverer. It is not that Jeremiah would remain unhurt physically, mentally, emotionally throughout his ministry. It is rather that God will deliver him from destruction at the hands of his enemies. He will not be delivered from trial but will be enabled to pass through trial.
3. Assurance of divine power (Jer. 1:9)
Jeremiah declares that after the assurance of divine direction and deliverance the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth. It is obvious that this is not purely metaphorical (as in Psa. 51:15); it represents a real experience on the part of the prophet. This experience however must have been a visionary one analogous to that which Isaiah experienced at the beginning of his ministry. But why did God touch the lips of the prophet? In Isaiah the touching of the lips was for purification; here, for communication. The hand is the symbol of making and doing. The act symbolized the fact that God was taking over his mouth, remaking it. Henceforth Jeremiah would speak with the tongue (authority) of God.
4. Assurance of divine authority (Jer. 1:10)
The divine summons closes with assurance that Jeremiah will have divine authority. God declares I have made you an overseer over the nations and kingdoms, i.e., the officer who puts Gods plan into operation. His ministry will have both a negative and a positive emphasis. Four verbs describe the negative work that the prophet must perform: (1) to uproot like a noxious weed; (2) to tear down; (3) to destroy; and (4) to raze or overthrow. Of course the prophet himself would not have the power to do these things; but it would be his mission to announce what God was about to do. Jeremiah fulfills this part of his commission by preaching divine judgment upon the nations of his day. Old sinful Judah must be destroyed. So too must the foreign nations which have proudly lifted up themselves against their Creator be uprooted.
But Jeremiah is not merely a prophet of destruction; he is also a prophet of construction. Two infinitives describe the positive aspect of his ministry: (1) to build, and (2) to plant. Beyond the tumult of war and destruction Jeremiah was permitted to see the dawn of a new day. In the assessment of the ministry of Jeremiah the emphasis is on the negative. Four verbs are used to describe the destructive side of his ministry while only two verbs are used to describe the constructive aspect. Furthermore the negative elements are listed before the positive. As one reads through the Book of Jeremiah it is true that threatening is much more in the foreground and promise in the background. Yet somehow one gets the impression that the ultimate purpose of this prophet is to pave the way for that new day, that new beginning. The old must be swept away in order that the new can be inaugurated. In the words of Jensen:
Jeremiah was to pluck up dead ritual and plant living worship, pluck Up vile ways and plant straight paths, pluck up degenerate hearts and plant new hearts of a new covenant.[111]
[111] Irving Jensen, Jeremiah, Prophet of Judgment (Chicago: Moody press, 1966), p. 20.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(7) The Lord said unto me.The misgiving, which was not reluctance, is met by words of encouragement. God gave the work; He would also give the power.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7, 8. I shall send thee I am with thee God sometimes seeks our weakness as well as our strength. Seeming disqualifications may even constitute special fitness: for all real sufficiency is of God. Young or old, wise or foolish, cultured or without culture, it is always enough that God says, “I send thee; I am with thee.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jeremiah Seeks To Excuse Himself From His God-appointed Task Only To Be Set Right By YHWH ( Jer 1:7-10 ).
Jeremiah diffidently sought to excuse himself from the task to which God was calling him, seeing himself as not mature enough for it, but YHWH pushed his fears to one side on the grounds that because He, God, was with him he had nothing to fear. And He pointed out that this was ‘neum YHWH’, the divine prophetic word and whisper of YHWH that never failed in its purpose.
Jer 1:6
‘Then I said, “Ah, Lord YHWH! behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a child.”
Jeremiah’s reply was deferential, referring to YHWH as ‘Sovereign Lord’. But he nevertheless humbly pointed to his immaturity and inexperience. He did not feel that he was suited or equipped for the task that YHWH wanted to set him. By ‘a child’ he probably meant under twenty five, the age at which a man could become a Levite.
Jer 1:7-8
‘But YHWH said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a child,’,
For to whoever I shall send you, you will go,
And whatever I shall command you, you will speak.
Do not be afraid because of them,
For I am with you to deliver you,”
The word of YHWH (neum YHWH).’
YHWH’s response to that was simply that with Him at his elbow he had nothing to fear. Thus he was not to look at his immaturity and inexperience, but was resolutely to obey God and go to whoever He sent him to. Furthermore he was not to be afraid of them (king or prime minister or whoever) because YHWH would be with him to deliver him, and He confirmed that this would be so in accordance with His infallible and invincible word. Note the confidence that Jeremiah could have that his words were not just his own words, but the word of YHWH.
Jer 1:9-10
‘Then YHWH put forth his hand, and touched my mouth, and YHWH 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 pluck up and to break down,
And to destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.”
Then YHWH ‘put forth His hand and touched’ Jeremiah’s mouth (compare Jesus’ reference to ‘the finger of God’ in Luk 11:20, which has in mind the Spirit of God – Mat 12:28). We are not told what Jeremiah saw, if anything, only what he was aware of, but he was clearly aware of God’s touch, an indication to him that YHWH would from now on speak through his lips. (It may also have included a purifying element as with Isaiah – Isa 6:7). Then YHWH said, ‘Behold I have put my words in your mouth’, thus making him a ‘prophet like unto Moses’, (compare Deu 18:18), and went on to explain what he was to do. By his words he was to bring judgment on the sinful nations, including his own, while at the same time he was to build up and plant the faithful remnant. For God’s word as building up the latter compare Luk 1:15-17; Act 22:14-15. But we will later learn that as events would turn out even the faithful remnant were to be removed out of the land (Jer 45:4-5). Thus the building up of them and their planting was to be a spiritual building up and planting. Note the combination of architectural and agricultural metaphors. They were to be made ‘at home’ and fruitful. This same combination of ideas introduces God’s promise of the new covenant with His people which would change their innermost lives (Jer 31:28-34).
Jeremiah’s calling was thus a momentous one, and was enough to quail the stoutest heart. As YHWH’s appointed spokesman he was that day ‘set over nations and kingdoms’. His words against nations and kingdoms, which because they were YHWH’s would be fully effective, are especially found in chapters 46-51, although there are earlier references to it (e.g. Jer 9:25-26). They are a vivid reminder of the prophetic idea that the whole world was under God’s sway. And his appointed task was by his words of power from YHWH to pluck them up and break them down, and destroy them and overthrow them (compare Jer 18:7 where the first three verbs are used in such a way as to include the destruction and removal out of the land of His erring people), and this is in contrast with the building and planting, which was His desire for his people if only they would turn to Him (compare Jer 18:9).
In the latter case what Jeremiah would achieve would be to establish trees of righteousness as a minority within the land (Isa 61:3), and to put His word in their minds and hearts within a new covenant (31:28-24), something specifically said to be fulfilled in the birth of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8). Here then there is the idea of the removal of the sinful majority, and the establishing of a righteous remnant. But it was an attempt that would initially appear to fail, for at one stage he would be called on to produce just one righteous man from the streets of Jerusalem, and could not (Jer 5:1 – although the call was probably intended to exclude those who were in his own circle, who would not need to be sought out, and it did not necessarily refer to some who were in ‘the cities of Judah’ outside of Jerusalem). That is why in the end the land would lie empty (Jer 45:4-5). He was thus called to be mainly the shepherd of a faithless Israel. It was a daunting task. We can compare to it that described of Isaiah in Isa 6:9-13.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I [am] a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Ver. 7. Say not, I am a child. ] Plead no excuses, cast no perils; never dispute, but despatch; never reason, but run, a depending for direction and success upon God alone, in whom are all our fresh springs, and from whom is all our sufficiency, &c. Paul was a most unlikely piece of wood to make what he was afterwards called, a Mercury, Act 14:12 yet God made use of him. Act 9:13-15
For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee.
a God loveth not quarists, but currists, said Luther.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
whatsoever I command, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Num 22:20). App-92.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
for thou shalt: Jer 1:17, Jer 1:18, Exo 7:1, Exo 7:2, Num 22:20, Num 22:38, 1Ki 22:14, 2Ch 18:13, Eze 2:3-5, Eze 3:17-21, Eze 3:27, Mat 28:20, Mar 16:15, Mar 16:16, Act 20:27
Reciprocal: Exo 6:29 – speak Exo 38:22 – all that the Lord Jos 1:9 – be not 1Ch 29:1 – young Pro 16:1 – and Isa 58:1 – spare Jer 7:27 – thou shalt speak Jer 19:2 – and proclaim Jer 43:1 – all the words Eze 2:7 – thou Amo 7:15 – Go Jon 1:2 – cry Mat 10:19 – it shall Mat 18:2 – General Act 2:4 – as Act 4:20 – we cannot Act 9:15 – Go 1Co 2:1 – with Eph 6:20 – boldly Jam 1:5 – any
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 1:7. Say not I am a child does not mean to dispute the fact of Jeremiahs age, but the thought is that he was not to consider that as an obstacle In the way of the work before him. There is nothing too hard for the Lord, and he who caused the dumb beast to speak (Num 22:28-30) can surely enable the weakest of man to do so. I shall setid thee and whatsoever I command gives tiie explanation of how Jeremiah was to be able to speak regardless of bis youthful age. But the ability to speak is not all there is of Importance in this passage. Thou shalt speak indicates that. Jeremiah will not be at liberty to say just what he might personally wish to say, but he must say what the Lord directs him to say. The same restriction is placed on the teachers in the kingdom of Christ. (2Ti 4:2; 1Pe 4:11.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 1:7-8. But the Lord said unto me, &c. God refuses to accept of his excuse, and renews his commission to him to execute the prophetic office. Thus God refused to accept the excuse of Moses, made on a like occasion. See Exo 6:30; and Exo 7:1-2. Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee This is not so much a command as a promise: as much as to say, I will enable thee, notwithstanding thy youth, to go with proper boldness to those to whom I send thee, and to declare my commands with that dignity and precision wherewith they ought to be uttered. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee, &c. The style of Gods commission to his prophets and messengers commonly runs in these words, I am with thee, (see the margin,) importing that God, who sent them, would enable them to discharge the office he had committed to them, and would give them strength proportionable to the work in which they engaged. To reprove the faults of all persons, of the high as well as the low, the rich as well as the poor, with that plainness and impartiality which the prophets used, required a more than ordinary degree of courage, as well as of prudence, for which cause the promise of Gods presence with them was particularly necessary, to encourage them in the discharge of their duty.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Lord refused to accept Jeremiah’s reasons for resisting his call. It did not matter that he was young and inexperienced, because the Lord had called him. He would go where God sent him and say what God told him to say.