Jeremiah 1:1-3:5

Nearly halfway through the reign of King Josiah, God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet. God tells Jeremiah he was chosen for this role before he was even created, showing God’s sovereignty. As part of the call, God touches his lips like he did Isaiah (Isa. 6:7) and puts his words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Jeremiah’s first message is one that speaks against Israel’s apostasy. They followed after idols and turned their back on God time and time again. As a result, God is sending his hand of discipline upon them and will lead them away into captivity. All of this is happening because they abandoned the Lord.

While we can learn a lot from Jeremiah’s call, the bigger application comes from Israel’s apostasy. Their sin and apostasy was severe. It started as soon as they entered the Promised Land. They did their own thing until they needed God, then they would cry out to him, instead of their idols. So often, we do the same thing in our lives. We may not worship idols, but God has no place in our lives until everything hits the fan. It is at that point we need God, even though we made no effort to follow after him beforehand. For Israel, this led to their removal from the land God gave them. 1 Corinthians 10:6 tells us everything in the Old Testament served as an example for us. So, let us learn from it and take the opportunity to correct our behavior and turn to the Lord and worship him daily.

What place does the Lord God have in your life?