“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
Anyone want to give a shot at what they think this means? In what way did God know Jeremiah before He was born? If he was "appointed" does he have a choice in if he is going to accept that appointment? Could the devil have stopped him from accomplishing the purpose that God had for him and his life?
"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand" (Psalm 139:16,17,18)
Good verses indeed. A few scattered thoughts. God "knew" Jeremiah before he was born because God is the author of time. He sees past, present and future at a glance- not like us humans. We can barely plan for tomorrow but God's calculations can take in tens of thousands of years at a glance. A no-name cattle herder becomes father of a multitude of faith 3000 years later. God's calculations are beyond human understanding.
The verse can also refer to "knowing" spiritually- that is God takes him up in future purpose, what he will be in future service to God. Every true believer is "known" in this way. Hence it makes perfect sense that the overcome in Revelations gets a "new name"- that name will no doubt reflect what he has been In Christ, according to God's will. Final outcomes may be quite baffling to human understanding. People despised and looked down upon now for example, will shine forth brightly in a day to come, and the high-and-mighty now, will be humbled then. God "knows" the final outcome of His people. Jeremiah basically had to take on everybody, he was a hated unpopular figure, but God "knew" his man, and what he would accomplish before he was called home.
As for the appointment, Jeremiah had a choice as all humans do. He could have rejected the call, and suffered spiritual loss now and in the future time to come. People can get temporary material gain now, but suffer painful loss later. Jonah likewise could have refused to heed God talking to his conscience and simply have gone down with the ship. God does not force his blessing or His call on anyone. Jonathan was a stand up guy, and could have come into much greater blessing had he gone with David, but he chose to stay with his father Saul, and met a sad end, slaughtered and stripped by the Philistines on Mount Gilboa. Satan can move to block or hinder answer to God's appointment. He may succeed for a time, but God usually brings His people back to recovery and service, provided they have open ears and hearts.
Psalm 139
"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand" (Psalm 139:16,17,18)
This is David bowed in awed reverence and wonder at who God is. It is a verse too that looks back at his life, and how God was working in it, to bring David into conformity to God's will and blessings. Many Christians can look back over the years and wonder at the way God has brought them through, but also look back and see how God hasn't through many struggles and trials made them a better person- less proud, less arrogant, less corrupt, less mean-spirited, more spiritual, more subject to His will. As we go through these lessons, we see that we are really undeserving of God's goodness. If we were to bluntly examine our own lives, strip away all the BS pride and excuses, and harshly without sentiment lay it on the line for examination, we would wonder how God in mercy could save us, and raise us up. But he has, to us the undeserving, in the person of a Man, Christ.
Its a learning process no doubt. Like Isaiah 32 says:
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm;
as brooks of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken;
and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the
stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
--Isaiah 32: 1-4
