“Therefore, prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.” Jeremiah 1:17-19
Imagine being young Jeremiah and receiving a commission from the Lord to go preach His word to a nation of rebels who had shown already their willingness to perform all manner of wickedness (1:16), with the internal insecurity of being a youth (1:6), with divine assurance that “They will fight against you…” (1:19). The idea of speaking in public, even to friendly audiences, stands at or near the top of every poll taken asking what people’s greatest fears are. How much worse must it have been to be an inexperienced youth standing before kings, princes, priests, and all the people of the land (1:18) to proclaim to their faces all their wickedness (1:16), a process guaranteed to cause major upheaval amongst them (1:10). How on earth could Jeremiah complete his commission?
The answer is simply; he could not. He had no chance of succeeding in this task, but the God on whose behalf he was to go fulfill this mission has no such limitations. Jeremiah does not appear to have been an eloquent speaker (1:6a). Neither did he have any clout as an aged man of wisdom or influence (1:6b). God’s warning not to be dismayed when standing before them is reason enough to assume the circumstances were naturally set up to prompt him to do just that. Nevertheless, God was going to ensure this helpless young man sent on an impossible (from every earthly vantage point) mission could and would succeed.
Notice the means God used to fortify Jeremiah for the task. As it pertained to his lack of speaking prowess, God would put His words in His mouth (1:7-9). Jeremiah need not worry about coming up with his own words. All he had to do was deliver God’s words. As for the certainty of backlash from his hearers, God assured him that He would empower him to stand in those evil days (1:117-19). Part of this was because, if he refused to face their wrath, he would be forced to face the Lord’s (1:17), and part of this had to do with the strength the Lord supplies to His servants (1:18; Psalms 18:1-3, 46; 91:1-6; 144:1-2; Isaiah 40:31; 41:10; Ephesians 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:17; 1 Peter 5:6-10; Revelation 2:10).
The trials Jeremiah faced would bring most to heel, but Jeremiah was in fact that fortified city, that iron pillar, and that bronze wall in the face of the Lord’s enemies. The good news for you and I is, we are made of the same stuff he was, and we serve the same God he did with the same assurances he had (Hebrews 13:6-8). So, may we all pray to and trust in the Lord to fortify us for the mission He has given us that we may be faithful like Jeremiah was in the face of whatever the adversaries may bring against us.