Praying with Jeremiah
Jeremiah learned, along with Ezekiel, although hundreds of miles away, that many lessons are to be taught in illustrated examples.
His own lessons were those of frustration and loss –
but with God’s assurance that he was doing what he was supposed to be doing and
that God was with him.
When Jeremiah received his calling to be the prophetic word to the nations, I seriously doubt that he anticipated these unwanted harsh twists and turns in his life that were eventually brought to him concurrent with the exile of thousands of his friends.
His calling seemed rather promising:
Jeremiah 1:4.
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, before you were born I set you apart; I
appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6.
"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to
speak; I am only a child."
7.
But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, `I am only a
child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.
8.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and
will rescue you," declares the LORD.
What happened to Jeremiah? It appears that he was
taken from Jerusalem by a contingency of disaffected Jews - possibly to
There are long-standing oral traditions told, even today, in those southern peninsular areas that lead scholars to think so. Quite probably the priests who took him to Egypt also brought along the Ark of the Covenant and what, if any, vessels were left in the temple.