Jeremiah 1:1-3

"The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month." Jeremiah 1:1-3

A brief biography of the ministry of Jeremiah, telling where he came from, and tells of his many years of prophesying by connecting to the years of the kings of Judah.

The key statement to me in this passage is "to whom the word of the LORD came". It specifies that it was not just Jeremiah's words that we are going to be reading, but the LORD's words. While we will hear about Jeremiah and his life and read some of his words, the main focus of this book will be the words of the LORD. Jeremiah had a special mission, to tell the people of Judah the words that the LORD spoke to them using Jeremiah as His mouth. Jeremiah tells us at the beginning that the message he is sharing with his people are the words of the LORD.

Hilkiah the father of Jeremiah was not necessarily the high priest who served in the days of Josiah and who figured prominently in the restoration of the temple and its service under Josiah. The SDA commentary says that Hilkiah was probably not the high priest, I presume because it is not specified that he was.

Anathoth was about 3 miles from Jerusalem in the land of Benjamin. Anathoth with its common land was one of the cities given to the sons of Aaron. (Joshua 21:18). Abiathar the priest in the days of Solomon was exiled to Anathoth for his role in Adonijah's conspiracy against Solomon.

Jeremiah's main messages were warnings to Judah to return to the Lord and to worship Him in truth and with all their hearts and not just in words. Judah was rapidly heading towards destruction and only by truly turning to the Lord and obeying Him would they be able to save the nation and their freedom. Jeremiah was sent to warn the people and the rulers of what was to come, and tell them how they could save themselves.

Lord,
I ask that You will help me to hear the words that You give me, whether You speak to me in a dream or vision, speak to me through Your words in the Bible, speak to me through Your creation, or speak to me through the people around me. Please help me to share the words You give me to share, and to allow You to guide me to know when and to whom You want me to share those words.