The Words of Jeremiah

In a recent podcast S. Michael Wilcox made an interesting observation about the prophet Jeremiah. He said, “Poor Jeremiah. Nobody listened to him in his day, and unfortunately nobody listens to him today. It's sad. Isaiah still gets the flags and the attention, and poor Jeremiah. I can hear the Lord say in that assignment time, ‘You'll get a book in the Old Testament, but not many people are going to read it. It's right next to Isaiah. You're going to be in a tough neighborhood to compete with.’” Indeed, when counting the number of words in Hebrew or Greek, the book of Jeremiah is the longest in the Bible. And yet, for example, we spent five weeks studying Isaiah and only one week studying Jeremiah in the Come, Follow Me program. There are understandable reasons for that, in particular because the Savior Himself specifically invited us to search the words of Isaiah. And yet we should not neglect the book of Jeremiah, a prophet who was largely rejected in his day and who has a message in particular for us today. So in that spirit, here are just a few of the powerful principles from Jeremiah which have indeed a lot to teach us today. 

·        God knew us before we were born: “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” (Jeremiah 1:5). God had a work for Jeremiah, and He has one for all of us as well who seek to follow Him today.

·       The Lord will help and sustain us even through our greatest challenges: “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee” (Jeremiah 1:17-19). I love that promise that the Lord gave to Jeremiah, and surely He will likewise fight for us and be with us if we are committed to doing His will.

·       The Lord will heal us and be our God as we repent and come unto Him: “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings…. truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel” (Jeremiah 3:22-23). The Lord said again, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you” (Jeremiah 7:23). The Lord’s hand is always extended to us if we will repent and keep His commandments.

·       The Messiah will come: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). While surely Isaiah spoke more about the Messiah, Jeremiah did indeed know the Lord and prophesied of His coming to the children of Israel. He also wrote, “For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar…. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee” (Jeremiah 30:8-11). In yet another Messianic passage Jeremiah gave us these words: “In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:15-16). Jeremiah knew the Lord and he prophesied of the Messiah’s coming. And Nephi in the Book of Mormon confirmed this for us in Helaman 8:20.

·       The Lord loves us: “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). This powerful yet simple statement from Jeremiah can be a source of great strength to us knowing that the Lord loves us.

·       Perhaps my favorite verse from Jeremiah shows his unfailing commitment to the Lord. He said, “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:9). Jeremiah showed us what it means to have the fire of the covenant, to be true to Him no matter what persecution or trials that we face.

These are just a handful of messages from Jeremiah which contain important teachings for us today. Ultimately like all prophets he taught us of the Savior and gave us His words. When Jesus was on the earth some people thought he was Jeremiah, an indication that indeed he was a power prophet who pointed us to Christ (see Matthew 16:14). We must not be like the people of his day who ignored his words—surely great are his words for us as well.