◄ Jeremiah 1:8 ►
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.
Study Bible
Do not be afraid
This phrase is a divine command and reassurance from God to Jeremiah. The Hebrew root for "afraid" is יָרֵא (yare), which often conveys a sense of fear or reverence. In the context of Jeremiah's calling, God is addressing the natural human fear of undertaking a daunting task. Historically, prophets often faced opposition, persecution, and even death. God's command here is not just a suggestion but an imperative, emphasizing that fear should not hinder Jeremiah's mission. This echoes throughout Scripture, where God frequently tells His people not to fear, reminding them of His presence and sovereignty.

of them
The "them" refers to the people of Judah and Jerusalem to whom Jeremiah is being sent. These were people who had turned away from God, engaging in idolatry and injustice. The historical context is crucial here; Jeremiah's audience was rebellious and often hostile to prophetic messages. The "them" represents not just individuals but a collective societal resistance to God's word. This highlights the challenge Jeremiah would face, as he was called to speak truth to power and confront deeply ingrained sin.

for I am with you
This phrase is a profound assurance of God's presence. The Hebrew word עִמָּךְ (immak) translates to "with you," signifying companionship and support. In the biblical narrative, God's presence is a source of strength and courage. This assurance is reminiscent of God's promise to other leaders and prophets, such as Moses and Joshua, reinforcing that Jeremiah is not alone in his mission. Theologically, this underscores the omnipresence and faithfulness of God, who accompanies His servants in their divine assignments.

to deliver you
The Hebrew root נָצַל (natsal) means "to deliver" or "to rescue." This promise of deliverance is not just physical protection but also spiritual and emotional safeguarding. In the context of Jeremiah's prophetic ministry, God is assuring him that despite the challenges and threats he might face, divine deliverance is guaranteed. This reflects a broader biblical theme where God is depicted as a deliverer of His people, providing salvation and protection against all forms of adversity.

declares the LORD
This phrase is a formal declaration, emphasizing the authority and certainty of God's promise. The Hebrew word נְאֻם (ne'um) is often used in prophetic literature to denote a solemn pronouncement from God. It serves as a divine seal, affirming that the message is not of human origin but from the LORD Himself. This underscores the reliability and unchangeable nature of God's word, providing Jeremiah with the ultimate assurance that his mission is divinely ordained and supported.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver His messages to the people of Judah. He is often referred to as the "weeping prophet" due to the sorrowful nature of his messages and the opposition he faced.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant-keeping God of Israel who calls and commissions Jeremiah. He assures Jeremiah of His presence and protection.

3. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing impending judgment due to its disobedience and idolatry.

4. The Nations
Refers to the surrounding nations and peoples to whom Jeremiah would also prophesy, often hostile to his message.

5. Divine Commissioning
The event where God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet, assuring him of divine presence and deliverance.
Teaching Points
God's Presence in Fearful Situations
Just as God assured Jeremiah of His presence, believers today can trust that God is with them in their own challenging circumstances.

Divine Deliverance
The promise of deliverance is not just for Jeremiah but is a recurring theme throughout Scripture, reminding us of God's power to save.

Courage in Obedience
Jeremiah's call required courage to speak God's truth. Believers are encouraged to be bold in their faith, knowing God is with them.

Trust in God's Sovereignty
Understanding that God is in control can help believers face opposition and uncertainty with confidence.

Faithfulness in Calling
Jeremiah's example teaches us the importance of being faithful to God's calling, regardless of the challenges we face.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the assurance of God's presence in Jeremiah 1:8 encourage you in your current life situation?

2. In what ways can you relate Jeremiah's calling to your own life and the tasks God has given you?

3. How do the promises of God's presence in other scriptures (e.g., Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10) reinforce the message of Jeremiah 1:8?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to overcome fear and trust in God's deliverance in your daily life?

5. How can you apply the principle of courage in obedience from Jeremiah's life to a specific situation you are facing today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 3:12
God assures Moses of His presence as he is called to lead Israel out of Egypt, similar to how He assures Jeremiah.

Matthew 28:20
Jesus promises His disciples that He will be with them always, echoing God's assurance to Jeremiah.

Isaiah 41:10
God tells Israel not to fear because He is with them, paralleling His promise to Jeremiah.
Sermons
Jehovah Calls Jeremiah and Gives Him Ample EncouragementsD. Young Jeremiah 1:4-9
A Call to ServiceChristian AgeJeremiah 1:4-10
A Portrait of the True Servant of GodHomilistJeremiah 1:4-10
A Reason for BraveryJeremiah 1:4-10
A Sense of Helplessness as a Preparation for MinistryF. B. Meyer, B. A.Jeremiah 1:4-10
A Young Preacher's Oppressive Sense of ResponsibilityJeremiah 1:4-10
Calling to ServiceJ. Spencer.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Charge to Pastors: Their Work DefinedAndrew Fuller.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Childhood PropheticJeremiah 1:4-10
Childlike, not ChildishG. E. Jeli, M. A.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Courage is MinistersBp. Phillips Brooks.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Danger Regarded from the High Ground of FaithThe Signal.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Destruction and Construction ConjoinedJohn Trapp.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Election and MediationJ. Parker, D. D.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Fears and Comforts in Prospect of Labour for GodR. A. Griffin.Jeremiah 1:4-10
God Achieves His Work by Seemingly Inadequate Workmen that the Glory May be HisJeremiah 1:4-10
God Teaching His ProphetF. G. Crossman.Jeremiah 1:4-10
I Formed TheeF. B. Meyer, B. A.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Jeremiah a ServantG. Inglis.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Prophet's CommissionC. J. Ball, M. A.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Reluctance OvercomeY. Burns, D. D.Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Call of the ProphetA.F. Muir Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Divine Mission of ChildrenD. J. Hamer.Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Gospel Minister Encouraged and InstructedD. Wilson.Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Prophet's CallJ. Waite Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Prophet's Call and ConsecrationC. F. Keil.Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Ways in Which Men are Called to ServiceJ. Parker, D. D.Jeremiah 1:4-10
The Work of Jeremiah, and that of St. PaulJohn Ellerton, M. A.Jeremiah 1:4-10
Valiant ManhoodJeremiah 1:4-10
The Dread CommissionS. Conway Jeremiah 1:4-19
People
Amon, Anathoth, Benjamin, Hilkiah, Jehoiakim, Jeremiah, Josiah, Zedekiah
Places
Anathoth, Jerusalem
Topics
Affirmation, Afraid, Declares, Deliver, Faces, Fear, Rescue, Safe, Says
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 1:8

     5957   strength, spiritual
     8106   assurance, nature of
     8215   confidence, results
     8754   fear

Jeremiah 1:1-10

     7758   preachers, call

Jeremiah 1:4-9

     8496   witnessing, importance

Jeremiah 1:4-10

     7740   missionaries, call

Jeremiah 1:6-8

     5887   inexperience

Library
May the Fifteenth God is Wide-Awake
"Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree." --JEREMIAH i. 7-19. And through the almond tree the Lord gave the trembling young prophet the strength of assurance. The almond tree is the first to awake from its wintry sleep. When all other trees are held in frozen slumber the almond blossoms are looking out on the barren world. And God is like that, awake and vigilant. Nobody anticipates Him. Wherever Jeremiah was sent on his prophetic mission the Lord would be there before …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Jeremiah, a Lesson for the Disappointed.
"Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord."--Jeremiah i. 8. The Prophets were ever ungratefully treated by the Israelites, they were resisted, their warnings neglected, their good services forgotten. But there was this difference between the earlier and the later Prophets; the earlier lived and died in honour among their people,--in outward honour; though hated and thwarted by the wicked, they were exalted to high places, and ruled in the congregation. …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Writings of Jerome.
The following is a list of the writings arranged under various heads, and showing the date of composition and the place held by each in the Edition of Vallarsi, the eleven volumes of which will be found in Migne's Patrologia, vols. xxii. to xxx. The references are to the volumes of Jerome's works (i.-xi.) in that edition. I. Bible translations: (1) From the Hebrew.--The Vulgate of the Old Testament, written at Bethlehem, begun 391, finished 404, vol. ix. (2) From the Septuagint.--The Psalms as used …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Out of Sectarian Confusion
I was still a Methodist. The Methodist did not license women to preach; but when the preachers found out that God was using me in the salvation of souls and that I was not especially interested in building up any certain denomination, I had an abundance of calls. God had already begun talking to my brother Jeremiah about the sin of division, and he was beginning to see the evils of sectarianism. The winter after I was healed, he had attended the Jacksonville, Illinois, holiness convention, and had …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

How those are to be Admonished who do not Even Begin Good Things, and those who do not Finish them when Begun.
(Admonition 35.) Differently to be admonished are they who do not even begin good things, and those who in no wise complete such as they have begun. For as to those who do not even begin good things, for them the first need is, not to build up what they may wholesomely love, but to demolish that wherein they are wrongly occupied. For they will not follow the untried things they hear of, unless they first come to feel how pernicious are the things that they have tried; since neither does one desire …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Servant's Inflexible Resolve
'For the Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint.'--ISAIAH l. 7. What a striking contrast between the tone of these words and of the preceding! There all is gentleness, docility, still communion, submission, patient endurance. Here all is energy and determination, resistance and martial vigour. It is like the contrast between a priest and a warrior. And that gentleness is the parent of this boldness. The same Will which is all submission …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

That Sometimes Some Laudably Desire the Office of Preaching, While Others, as Laudably, are Drawn to it by Compulsion.
Although sometimes some laudably desire the office of preaching, yet others are as laudably drawn to it by compulsion; as we plainly perceive, if we consider the conduct of two prophets, one of whom offered himself of his own accord to be sent to preach, yet the other in fear refused to go. For Isaiah, when the Lord asked whom He should send, offered himself of his own accord, saying, Here I am; send me (Isai. vi. 8). But Jeremiah is sent, yet humbly pleads that he should not be sent, saying, Ah, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

A Defence of the Doctrine of Justification, by Faith in Jesus Christ;
SHEWING, TRUE GOSPEL-HOLINESS FLOWS FROM THENCE; OR, MR. FOWLER'S PRETENDED DESIGN OF CHRISTIANITY, PROVED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN TO TRAMPLE UNDER FOOT THE BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD; AND THE IDOLIZING OF MAN'S OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS AS ALSO, HOW WHILE HE PRETENDS TO BE A MINISTER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, HE OVERTHROWETH THE WHOLESOME DOCTRINE CONTAINED IN THE 10TH, 11TH, AND 13TH, OF THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES OF THE SAME, AND THAT HE FALLETH IN WITH THE QUAKER AND ROMANIST, AGAINST THEM. BY JOHN BUNYAN …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1140) to the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary.
To the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary. Bernard states that the Festival of the Conception was new; that it rested on no legitimate foundation; and that it should not have been instituted without consulting the Apostolic See, to whose opinion he submits. 1. It is well known that among all the Churches of France that of Lyons is first in importance, whether we regard the dignity of its See, its praiseworthy regulations, or its honourable zeal for learning. Where was there ever the vigour …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Epistle iv. To Cyriacus, Bishop.
To Cyriacus, Bishop. Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople. We have received with becoming charity our common sons, George the presbyter and Theodore your deacon; and we rejoice that you have passed from the care of ecclesiastical business to the government of souls, since, according to the voice of the Truth, He that is faithful in a little will be faithful also in much (Luke xvi. 10). And to the servant who administers well it is said, Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Sin-Bearer.
A COMMUNION MEDITATION AT MENTONE. "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."--1 Peter ii. 24, 25. THE SIN-BEARER. THIS wonderful passage is a part of Peter's address to servants; and in his day nearly all servants were slaves. Peter begins at the eighteenth verse: "Servants, be subject …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

John the Baptist's Person and Preaching.
(in the Wilderness of Judæa, and on the Banks of the Jordan, Occupying Several Months, Probably a.d. 25 or 26.) ^A Matt. III. 1-12; ^B Mark I. 1-8; ^C Luke III. 1-18. ^b 1 The beginning of the gospel [John begins his Gospel from eternity, where the Word is found coexistent with God. Matthew begins with Jesus, the humanly generated son of Abraham and David, born in the days of Herod the king. Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the Messiah's herald; and Mark begins with the ministry …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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