By Pauline Akello
This story is about a prophet of God called Jeremiah whom God always sent to warn the Israelites about their evil ways and the judgment God was going to send.
Prophet Jeremiah’s story begins with the call God made to him and it was recorded in the Old Testamtamtemnt, in Jeremiah 4:10.
But we shall also learn more about his family and a bit of what God told him to do after the call.
Jeremiah told the story of how he became a prophet. Sometimes God asks us to do challenging things as part of His plan for us.
God spoke to Jeremiah and told him that He chose him even before he was born, to be a great prophet.
Jeremiah was born into a religious home in the kingdom of Judah.
His Dad, Hilkiah, was a priest. The family lived in a town called Anathoth, not far from Jerusalem.
Maybe Jeremiah’s parents thought he would also become a priest. But God had other plans.
At the time of Jeremiah’s birth, God’s people were not living according to His Word.
Nearly everybody; from the king, down to the humblest worker, worshiped false gods.
When Jeremiah was a young man, God told him that He knew him before he was born.
God’s call seemed to scare Jeremiah because he was only 20 years old. God told him not to be afraid.
Then God extended his hand and touched Jeremiah’s mouth, saying He placed His Words in Jeremiah’s mouth!
God said sometimes Jeremiah would destroy and demolish. Other times, he would build and plant only through God’s power.
God gave Jeremiah strength, courage and wisdom. He spoke out boldly, reminding people that God loved them and wanted to help them. But nobody listened to him. Not even the king.
And, like every prophet, God gave messages to Jeremiah who then shared them with the people.
In Jeremiah’s days, the people were once again rebelling.
Even though they promised to follow God, they started worshiping false gods.
Jeremiah warned them to keep their promise to God or else they would be punished.
The people ignored his warnings and another nation eventually came and forced them out of their land.
Lessons
-We can learn from Jeremiah how to obey God and courageously share a message of impending judgment (even though the world does not welcome the message).
-We also learn that life has its challenges, but God promises that we can trust His methods and He will help us get through those challenges.
-The story of Jeremiah reminds us that God can use anyone at any age.
-We learn to ask God to give us the boldness to obey Him even when it is difficult.
