What Does Jeremiah Have to Do with You?

When was the last time you opened the book of Jeremiah? Whether you turned there during a sermon at Sabbath services or during your own time at home, one thing is unmistakable: It is challenging to study.

You probably ran into various questions as you read this Old Testament book: Who are the people or nations addressed here? Which prophecies have become history, and which are still ahead of us? How can I, as a teen, relate to what I am reading?

Jeremiah the prophet warned the people of his time of captivity and recorded prophecies for the end of the age. The 52-chapter book bearing his name, plus Lamentations, has endured thousands of years and we hear his words quoted today.

You can ask again: How can I relate to such an accomplished servant of God?

While Jeremiah may not have gone through the exact same challenges you face in the 21st century, he is more relatable than you know. Yes, he is a titan in Scripture, but that does not mean Jeremiah was perfect. Yes, he grew up living God’s Way, but he was still a human being. He had insecurities and moments of doubt.

Look at Jeremiah’s first recorded words when God called him to be a prophet: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jer. 1:6). Other translations say, “I am only a youth” or “I am too young.”

Jeremiah’s gut reaction was that he was too young to make a difference. Historians believe he was a teenager at the time.

God reassured the teen boy this way: “Say not, I am a child: for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatsoever I command you you shall speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord” (vs. 7).

Was Jeremiah really too young to achieve what God had for him to do? The record of history proves the answer is a resounding no! What about you? Are you too young to make a difference by living God’s way of life? We will see the answer to that question is also no!

You could be underestimating how God can use you. True, no one reading this article is slated for a prophetic commission this side of the Kingdom. But God is eager and willing to work through anyone who obeys Him to achieve great things.

Studying the life of Jeremiah illustrates how God can use any young person willing to live His Way.

Prophetic Commission

Jeremiah began functioning as a prophet in his early twenties. God required the young man to say some difficult things for people to hear. His commission did not only involve words—Jeremiah also had to take actions that appeared strange to those around him.

In chapter 19, God told Jeremiah to take a “potter’s earthen bottle,” a clay pot, to the valley of Hinnom (vs. 1-2). Jeremiah was to warn the kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem of coming punishment. To punctuate the warning, God instructed: “Then shall you break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with you, and shall say unto them, Thus says the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel” (vs. 10-11).

Simply giving the warning was not enough—he had to do something unusual. You may have heard the saying that someone is a “crackpot.” This derisive phrase originates from Jeremiah 19. Sure enough, in the next chapter, Jeremiah was beaten and thrown in the stocks for what he said.

Have you ever been made to feel like a crackpot for obeying God? Maybe someone at school heard that you keep the Sabbath and mockingly asked if you were Jewish in front of a crowded classroom. Or you were laughed at for turning down a slice of pepperoni pizza. You might have felt isolated because you could not take part in an after-school sport or club with an important game or meet during the Feast.

We have all had times when our Christian conduct elicited pressure from others, and even mockery and scorn.

Being made out to be a crackpot took a toll on Jeremiah. He said, “I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me” (20:7; New Living Translation). In 12:1, he asked, “Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy?” (NLT). You might have wondered the same things.

In addition to prophetic warnings, Jeremiah understood and preached about what the world would be like in God’s coming Kingdom. He would have reflected on this inspiring knowledge during troubling times. He recorded: “‘For the time is coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land’” (23:5, NLT).

When you feel overwhelmed, do not despair! Find a few minutes of quiet time to meditate on what God’s Kingdom will be like and be comforted by that knowledge. Remind yourself that He has promised a better world is coming. Soon, everyone will believe the same thing as you and live the right way.

Historical Record

Jeremiah was born around 650 B.C. He was roughly the same age as King Josiah, another young person thrust into a leadership role early in life. They were likely friends. Imagine how Jeremiah felt when he learned of Josiah’s tragic premature death—and saw the decline of Judah under the reign of wicked king Jehoiakim who followed him. Jeremiah would have learned lessons from how Josiah lived a righteous life but died due to a foolish mistake (II Chron. 35:22-24). He would have also learned from the examples of other kings who lived and died during his time as a prophet—five total. Make sure to do the same in your life and learn from others’ good and bad examples.

As Judah declined, Jeremiah had to warn the people they would be taken into captivity under Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (sometimes called Nebuchadrezzar in Scripture—this is the same person). The prophet traveled extensively in the Middle East, proclaiming God’s message before, during and after Jerusalem’s punishment.

Lamentations 1:16 is why people call Jeremiah the weeping prophet. He saw his countrymen refuse to turn from their wicked ways, bringing punishment on themselves. When the Jews were taken into captivity, Jeremiah was deeply saddened about what had befallen his people.

Yet God miraculously delivered Jeremiah from captivity. After Jerusalem’s fall, “King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah. ‘See that he isn’t hurt,’ he said. ‘Look after him well, and give him anything he wants’” (39:11-12, NLT). This was clearly divine intervention—Nebuchadnezzar wo­uld not have done this out of the kindness of his heart! This special favor allowed Jeremiah to continue his prophetic commission.

Some lessons that can be drawn from this: Know that God will bless you and give you favor throughout your life. But also be sure to walk through the doors God opens for you. You never know where you will end up!

God gave Jeremiah all the power he needed. At the outset of his calling, God promised, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (1:9-10). He will bless and empower you, too.

God had big things in store for Jeremiah. He also has big things in store for you! The concept of prophesying might feel strange. But all Jeremiah did was follow God’s instructions. It did require courage, but, as we saw, the words came directly from God—there was nothing mysterious about it. The average Church teen or member today does not prophesy as Jeremiah did. But that is going to change very soon.

The book of Joel tells of God’s desire to use the children of saints for an incredible purpose: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…” (2:28). The context shows this is during the Kingdom.

Young servants of God will be used to proclaim a message in a way that is not too different from what Jeremiah did anciently. Depending on your age, there may or may not be enough time for you to be baptized before the Kingdom comes. Other articles, sermons and Bible studies have gone deeper into how to live Christianity as a young person while there is shortness of time. Do not let this be an excuse not to grow and immerse yourself in God’s Way. You will not be left out of what God is doing!

Jeremiah saw God’s promises come to pass as he went through life. So will you. When God used him to warn people and they were punished just as God said, he saw that God’s power is real—these were not empty, meaningless statements. This also strengthened Jeremiah’s faith in prophecies he recorded that would be fulfilled long after his lifetime.

You can see God’s promises coming to pass now. You can look at today’s world and observe that conditions match what the Bible says things would be like at the end of the age. But God’s promises do not only pertain to prophecy. Anytime you do something connected to a promise in His Word—paying your tithes, honoring your parents, telling the truth, and other things—you witness God’s promises being fulfilled when He blesses you.

Basic Truths

The book of Jeremiah does not focus only on prophecy. God also used him to record timeless truths about Christianity. As we look at some of them, remember they were recorded by someone who initially thought he was too young to make a difference.

Chapter 17 records a stunning insight into how people think: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (vs. 9). This verse is central to truly understanding how far from God human beings are in their natural state. As you prepare for baptism, this is one of the key verses that sheds light on human nature and will help you see yourself as you truly are.

In chapter 10, Jeremiah wrote, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps” (vs. 23). This is perhaps the clearest scripture illustrating the fundamental truth that people cannot govern themselves. We often quote it in The Real Truth to bring God’s mind to societal problems. Verse 24 begins to reveal the solution for those willing to apply it: “O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.”

Jeremiah also revealed God’s view of the Christmas tree: “Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not” (10:2-4).

A detail of Jeremiah’s calling also shows an important truth. God told him, “Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you” (1:5). This supports what God says about all saints—who were all “chosen…in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

While we do not have time to look at all Jeremiah recorded, these verses should teach us an important lesson: Prophecy is exciting and requires time and effort to understand, but we must also study and ground ourselves in Christian basics.

An Enduring Commitment

Jeremiah’s dedication to God was tested throughout his life. His success required much more than an initial willingness to live the right way as a teen.

Consider one example. In chapter 38, he warned those in a certain city to surrender to the Chaldeans to preserve their lives. King Zedekiah allowed the people to take the prophet: “The officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard…There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it” (vs. 6, NLT).

Imagine how it felt to slowly, agonizingly be lowered into a dank pit of mud by people who hate you—and you were only trying to help them! God ultimately delivered him from death (vs. 13), but such situations forged Jeremiah’s commitment.

An account in the New Testament shows the result of his life of faithful obedience: “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that You are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matt. 16:13-14).

This is a stunning statement. We know John the Baptist was alive during Christ’s time and that the ancient Elijah was a type of a figure prophesied to come later (17:11), so it makes sense why the masses might be looking for these men. Yet the Bible does not indicate there would be any successor or later type of the ancient Jeremiah. The fact that people thought Jesus was a resurrected Jeremiah—and God recorded it in His Word for all time!—underscores the prophet’s impact.

What about you? Could you set such a good example that people could have trouble telling you and Jesus Christ apart? This could feel like a very high bar to reach. Yet we have already seen that you and Jeremiah have much more in common than meets the eye. If he could reach this high standard, so can you.

It all comes down to your commitment to God. Luke 14:28 asks, “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” Jeremiah’s obedience as a teen was important, but it would not have mattered if he gave up later in life.

Your obedience cannot be just a snap decision. With God’s help, you can fulfill Matthew 24:13: “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Be willing to live this way of life for however much time you have. The trials you go through usually do not imperil your physical life as Jeremiah’s did—but you must be willing to stand firm against pressures, temptations and persecutions in the modern world.

Hold on to all the lessons you have learned from Jeremiah. If you obey God as a young person and remain faithful as he did, you will one day reach the same reward Jeremiah will receive: eternal life in the Kingdom of God.