Jeremiah Part 1: The Man, The Call, The Tears

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Jeremiah served as God's prophet for over 50 years, faithfully delivering difficult messages despite facing mockery, threats, and imprisonment. His story reveals what it means to carry not just God's words but God's heartbreak, highlighting the cost and calling of speaking truth when no one wants to listen.

• Lived approximately 627-570 BC during the final years of Judah before Babylonian captivity
• Served during the reigns of five kings: Josiah (last good king), Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah
• Called by God from youth with the words "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you"
• Experienced severe persecution: beaten, imprisoned, thrown in a cistern, and forced to Egypt
• Described God's word as "fire shut up in my bones" that he could not hold in
• Forbidden by God to marry or have children, adding to his isolation
• King Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah's scroll, but God had him write it again with more words
• Expressed honest laments that show faithful people can bring raw grief to God
• Success measured not by results but by faithfulness to his calling despite rejection

Next week we'll explore the book of Jeremiah itself, examining its themes of judgment, restoration, and the coming king through vivid imagery and promises. If this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Jeremiah, please share it with someone who needs to hear that their obedience still matters.

Sources:

Beetham, C. A., & Erickson, N. L. (Eds.). (2024). The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible, One-Volume Edition (p. 589). Zondervan Academic.

Cook, S., Nickelson, R. L., Kenney, J. A., & Williams, M. K. (2021). Preaching Doom. In The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2020–2021 (Vol. 27, p. 319). Standard Publishing.

Longman, T. (n.d.). An Introduction to the Old Testament (2nd ed., p. 327). Function.

MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (n.d.). The MacArthur study Bible (NIV ed.).

Redditt, P. L. (2008). Introduction to the Prophets (p. 127). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.

Episode Transcript

Jacqui (00:12):
Greetings listeners.
Can you imagine trying to warnsomeone you love, pleading with
them to change, only to havethem look you in the eye and
ignore everything you said?
Or follow God, only to feellonely, misunderstood or even

(00:32):
rejected?
That was Jeremiah's life.
For over 50 years he spokeGod's words to people who didn't
want to hear them.
He was mocked, threatened,thrown in a pit, and still he
stayed faithful.
But Jeremiah didn't just carryhis own pain.

(00:54):
He carried the sovereign God'sheartbreak too.
Today we'll get to knowJeremiah the man.
Next time we'll open the bookof Jeremiah and trace the
message he carried, one filledwith warnings, images and
unexpected hope.
Well, welcome everyone.

(01:17):
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where each week webreak down the basics of the
Bible into understandable,bite-sized chunks.
Today we're stepping into thestory of Jeremiah not just the

(01:37):
book, but the man, a prophet,often called the weeping prophet
, but don't let that title foolyou.
Yes, he wept, but not out ofweakness.
He was resilient, fiercelyobedient and deeply burdened by
the grief of his God over apeople who refused to listen.

(02:01):
Through Jeremiah, we get a rareglimpse of what it means to
carry not just God's message butGod's heart, even when it costs
you everything.
So let's set the scene,starting with the world Jeremiah
lived in.
He served as a prophet for morethan 50 years, from about 627

(02:24):
to 570 BC.
That's five decades ofdelivering a message that almost
no one wanted to hear.
The northern kingdom of Israelhad already fallen to Assyria a
hundred years earlier.
We see that in 2 Kings 17.
Now Judah was cracking underthe pressure.

(02:46):
Babylon was rising fast and Godsent Jeremiah to say Judah,
you're next, unless you turnback.
Jeremiah lived through thereigns of the final kings of
Judah.
There was Josiah, the last goodking, Jehoahaz, Jehoakim,

(03:10):
Jehoachin and finally Zedekiah,who ruled when Jerusalem fell in
586 BC.
He wasn't alone.
Prophets like Zephaniah andHabakkuk also spoke during this
time, but Jeremiah's voicecarried a special weight because
he didn't just speak for God.

(03:32):
His grief mirrored thesovereign God's own.
So how did Jeremiah become aprophet?
Let's talk about his calling.
Jeremiah came from a priestlyfamily in Anathoth, just outside
Jerusalem.
We see that in the very firstverse of the book of Jeremiah,

(03:55):
when God called him, it waspersonal.
He said in chapter 1, verse 5,.
Said in chapter 1, verse 5,before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you Before you were born.
I set you apart, I appointedyou as a prophet to the nations.

(04:19):
But Jeremiah didn't feel ready.
He replied alas, sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak, I
am too young.
That's in chapter 1, verse 6.
And God responded in verse 8,with both comfort and a
challenge Do not be afraid ofthem, for I am with you and will

(04:43):
rescue you.
Then God touched Jeremiah'smouth and said I have put my
words in your mouth to uprootand to tear down, to destroy and
overthrow, to build and toplant.
That's in chapter 1, verses 9and 10.

(05:06):
Now you hear those six verbs,action words, four of judgment,
that's the uproot, tear down,destroy and overthrow, and two
of hope, to build and to plant.
So you see, from the verybeginning, jeremiah's mission
was to speak hard truths, not toharm but to prepare the way for

(05:29):
healing.
Harm but to prepare the way forhealing.
And those words, they didn'tsit quietly in him.
In chapter 20, verse 9, we hearJeremiah say his word is in my
heart like a fire, a fire shutup in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in.
Indeed, I cannot.

(05:52):
God didn't just give Jeremiah amessage, he gave him a burden.
He couldn't keep it in, evenwhen it cost him everything.
Jeremiah's life wasn't justhard, it was heartbreaking.
He was beaten by a templeofficial.

(06:14):
That's in chapter 20, verse 1and 2.
Plotted against by his owntownspeople we see that in
chapter 11, verses 18 and 19.
He was imprisoned.
That's in chapter 37, 13through 16.
And he was thrown into a muddycistern, left to die.
That's in chapter 38, verse 6.

(06:36):
And we see in chapter 43, 6 and7,.
He was dragged to Egypt againsthis will, the very place he
warned them not to go.
One of the most dramatic momentscomes in Jeremiah 36.
Jeremiah dictates God's wordsto his scribe, baruch, who reads

(06:58):
the scroll aloud to the people.
The scroll reaches KingJehoiakim, and what does he do?
He cuts it up and burns itpiece by piece in his fireplace.
But God tells Jeremiah write itagain.
So he did.

(07:20):
And even more was added.
That's in chapter 36, verse 32.
You can burn the scroll, butyou can't silence God's voice.
Also, god commands Jeremiah notto marry nor have children.
That's in chapter 16, verse 2.

(07:41):
And that was since judgment wascoming soon and many parents
and children in Judah would die.
So there was no comfort forJeremiah no community, no
earthly reward.
At one point Jeremiah breaksdown and says curse be the day I
was born.

(08:02):
That's chapter 20, verse 14.
He even tries to quit, but thatfire in his bones he couldn't
walk away.
Before we move on, let's pauseand recognize something
essential to Jeremiah's story.

(08:22):
That's the lament.
Because for Jeremiah, lamentwasn't just something he talked
about, it was how he prayed.
It was the language of his pain, his loneliness, his confusion
and his faith.
A lament is a holy complaint,an honest cry brought before God

(08:45):
.
It's how faithful people grievewith God, not apart from him.
And Jeremiah's laments mightinclude these features.
A complaint like this isn'tright or questions why God.
It may include a petitionPlease do something.

(09:09):
And sometimes expressions oftrust, but I'll still praise you
.
These laments aren't polished,they aren't tidy, but they're
real and they come from a heartthat still believes God is
listening.
It's how faithful people grievewith God, not apart from him.

(09:34):
Jeremiah gives us five majorlaments in his book.
These aren't polished prayers.
They're raw cries of a prophetwho feels everything God feels.
And we see those in Jeremiahchapter 11, chapter 12, chapter
15, chapter 17, and chapter 20.
Jeremiah cared so deeply thathe longed for the relief of

(10:01):
flooding tears.
He says in chapter 9, verse 1,oh, that my head were a spring
of water and my eyes a fountainof tears.
And in chapter 12, he dares toask God why does the way of the
wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless lie atease?

(10:22):
God responds if you've racedwith men and they've worn you
out, how can you compete withhorses?
That's chapter 12, verse 5.
And the translation?
It's going to get harder, thetestings are going to get

(10:51):
tougher, but I'm still with you.
So Jeremiah's laments didn'tdisqualify him.
They deepened his calling.
So what can we take away fromthe life of Jeremiah?
The truth is, following Jesusdoesn't come with guarantees of
comfort or applause.
It costs you something.
Sometimes it feels lonely,sometimes you speak and no one

(11:17):
listens.
But like Jeremiah, we're calledto see the world as God sees it
, to grieve what grieves him andto speak his truth even when
it's hard.
Jeremiah stayed true to hiscalling to deliver God's word,
willing even when it came withtears, doubts and deep personal

(11:40):
costs.
And what marked his success?
A heart that stayed open to Godeven when everything else fell
apart.
So, as we follow Jesus in ourown lives, may we be people who
speak truth with courage, grievewhat is broken and stay rooted

(12:00):
in our calling, come what may,because God is still looking for
hearts like Jeremiah's.
So we've covered the prophets.
Next week, we're going toexplore the book of Jeremiah
itself, because beyond the manis a message from God, one full

(12:23):
of judgment, yes, but also ofvivid imagery, promises of
restoration and a glimpse of acoming king.
You'll see why this book,though heavy, is also filled
with hope.
And hey, if this episode gaveyou a fresh way to see Jeremiah,
would you share it with someoneyou never know, who might need

(12:45):
to hear that their obediencestill matters.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your

(13:08):
faith.