The Reluctant Youth Is Appointed over Nations

A prenatal appointment meets a protest of youth

The word of the LORD came, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. The answer is, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee.

The knowing, sanctifying, and ordaining belong to this prophet's vocation, not to a general theory that adults may override children. Jeremiah's protest is heard; it is not mocked as immaturity. The exceptional call does not authorize self-appointment as a prophet or unchecked power over nations.

A hand to the mouth and six verbs set a costly office

The LORD put forth his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth: Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee 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.

The six verbs name the work of the word, not a license for the speaker to seize thrones. Building and planting stand beside uprooting. The commission concerns Judah and the nations in this book's argument; it is not a charter for a later preacher to rule households, children, or states.