「あなたを創造された神の目的と堅い約束」 九月第一主日礼拝 宣教 2025年9月7日
エレミヤ書 Jeremiah 1章4〜19節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning, and welcome to the first Lord’s Day morning of September. We are grateful for the opportunity to worship with you this morning. This month is “Church School Month”. Adult class is held in this chapel for 30 minutes before the service. This month we will be listening to the book of Joshua. We hope that you will join us at least once during this time to experience the benefits of Sunday school. In the Wednesday prayer meeting, we began our study of the Gospel of John. It will take us at least two years to complete it. The manuscript of the study will be posted on the church website, and we would be happy if you could read it.
Starting this morning, we will be listening to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah in a 13-part series for about three months. The book of Jeremiah records a dark period in Israel’s history, when the Babylonian Empire destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah some 2,650 years ago, destroying Jerusalem and the temple, and taking many of its people into captivity in Babylonia. One might wonder what such ancient events have to do with us today, or one might think that they have nothing to do with one’s life at all. The book of Jeremiah has great relevance to those of us who live today, or rather, are kept alive by God.
It explains why the Kingdom of Southern Judah lost its war against the Babylonian Empire and went into captivity for 50 years, ending a dynasty that had lasted 400 years. It is shocking. For example, chapters 1 through the first half of chapter 25 contain God’s words of judgment against Judah and Israel. The reason for God’s judgment is that the people of Israel had pretended to love God and worship Him in the temple, but in their daily lives away from the temple, they had actively engaged in idolatry, and the kings and other religious leaders and authorities of the time had committed various kinds of injustice and broken God’s covenant with them. The latter half of chapter 3 and chapters 46-51 contain God’s words of judgment against Judah and the surrounding nations of Israel. Because they continued to commit the sin of disobedience to God.
But what about those of us living today? Are we walking according to God’s standards? There is injustice and abuse of power by those in power in the world and in Japan. There is idolatry that prioritizes wealth and pleasure. Are we living in anxiety and fear, preoccupied with the troubles and sufferings of our daily lives and the ever-changing world situation? Every Sunday we come back to church to praise, pray, and offer our offerings before God, but once we step out of the church, our own thoughts take precedence and we give priority to what is convenient, or we lavish our time and money on what pleases and comforts us, and we idolize such things. Have you idolized such things? Have you done nothing wrong to God?
The book of Jeremiah is full of God’s harsh words of judgment against the kings of the time, the priests who served in the temple, and the ungodly prophets who spoke only what was pleasing to the people and did not speak the truth. But the book of Jeremiah is a book of God’s judgment. However, the book of Jeremiah also contains many words of God’s compassion for the people of Judah and Israel, words of salvation, and words of hope.
They are words of comfort and encouragement, words of salvation and hope for those of us who are in the midst of anxiety and fear. Therefore, when harsh words are spoken to us, we should listen earnestly and not try to escape, repent earnestly when we need to repent, accept the words of comfort, encouragement, and salvation that God speaks to us through Jeremiah with a firm heart, and live our lives with peace of mind and hope. God’s will is for us to live with peace of mind and hope.
From here, I would like to turn the spotlight on Jeremiah and ask God’s purpose in creating him. At the same time, I would like to ask God for what purpose He created us, and for what purpose He is keeping us alive today. Verses 1-3 are an introduction to the historical background of the entire book of Jeremiah. However, God used him not as a priest but as a prophet, and he was used by God and the people of Judah for 40 years from the time of King Josiah of Southern Judah to the time of his son, King Zedekiah. In terms of age, from 20 to 60 years old, and in terms of time, from 10 to 15 years before Southern Judah’s defeat in the war against the Babylonian Empire to the tragic and dark period when Jerusalem fell and the people were taken to Babylon as a captive people.
Jeremiah continues to see the wretched people of southern Judah who are falling down the cliff toward destruction, and who have become a captive people. He was active for 40 years and in captivity for 50 years, so he was a man who continued to speak the word of God even though he could not see salvation in the form of deliverance. He continued to speak God’s word to the captives, but he himself did not see the day of their liberation, and he spent his last years in Egypt.
What follows in verse 4 is the part of Jeremiah’s call: verse 4 says, “The word of the Lord came to me,” and a call from God is “the word of God’s invitation that comes to me.” In other words, when a parent, friend, or someone in the church says, “Why don’t you believe in Jesus as your Savior? Why don’t you become a Christian? Why don’t you become a member of the church? Why don’t you be a minister or an evangelist?” It is not something you become because you are told to, but you need to listen to God’s invitation with your heart.
God, who came directly to Jeremiah, says in the following verse 5: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born from your mother’s womb, I sanctified you and established you as a prophet to the nations. And. All the verbs are in the past tense. This means that even before Jeremiah was formed in his mother’s womb, God had a will, a plan, and a purpose to use Jeremiah for the Lord’s service, and He brought everything to him.
In the same way, God created us, gave us life, and kept us alive because He has a will, a plan, and a purpose to use us for His service, and each of us has been carried along by God until today. We are given life to serve God and our neighbors, not as prophets, but as people, as family members, as friends, as members of society, and as servants of the Lord. In other words, we are not made to live only for ourselves or for our own bliss. To show us this, God sent Jesus Christ, who clearly shows us God’s will, to this earth to show us how we should live.
Some may say, “I have sanctified thee and established thee,” but we have not asked for such a thing, and some may say it is a good nuisance and that they decide for themselves what to do with their lives. There are also those who say that Jeremiah said to God in verse 6, “Oh, my Lord God, I know not the words to speak; for I am but a young man. For I am but a youth.” Others may say, “O God, I am but an old man. Some may say, “Oh, my Lord God, I am only a young man. I don’t know what is behind such excuses, but Jeremiah’s words are an appeal to God about his inexperience and lack of experience rather than his age.
Young people can say that they are immature, but I believe that young people have plenty of youth and strength. However, those of us in our 40s and older may say that we are busy with work, child-rearing, or caring for our parents, or we make excuses for not having enough time or space to spare, but this is not humility, and may be a sign that we are putting our own needs and convenience before the desire of God who has given us life.
Certainly, we have no time to spare if we only look at things in terms of our time here on earth. Life is fleeting. However, we need to realize that we are promised eternal life through Jesus Christ. With this in mind, it is important for us to decide for whom we will use our limited time on earth. Do we use it only for ourselves? Or do we live for our neighbors who live with the God who created us and gives us life?
God tells Jeremiah in verse 7, “Do not say you are only a young man. Whomever I send to you, go and speak all that I command you,” God commands. This may sound harsh, but it is not. Rather, it is for the salvation and blessing of our neighbors that we tell them all that God has commanded us, and that is the meaning and purpose of our lives. That is why we are created, made alive, and sent from the presence of God.
God did not irresponsibly command it; verse 8 says to Jeremiah, “‘Do not be afraid of them. I am with you and will surely deliver you”. The same promise is made in verse 19. Wherever Jeremiah goes, God will be with him, giving him wisdom, word, and strength, and a firm promise that he will be rescued even when he is in trouble.
God says in verse 9, “The LORD stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me. Behold, I will give My words into your mouth. The prophet’s mission is to give the word to God as it was given to him. The mission of a prophet is to speak the words that God has given him straight to the people. The Lord God has stretched out His hand and touched our mouths. He touched our hearts, touched our mouths, cleansed us, and gave us the Word of God, Jesus Christ. He did this so that we could share this Word of God, Jesus, with all those around us.
We have the weakness to be afraid of those in front of us, to shy away and say nothing. But the Lord says, “Do not fear them. I am with you and will surely deliver you. There are two things we must keep in mind. The first is that if we remain silent, our beloved people will continue to live in sin and perish.
Verse 10 says, “Behold, today I yield to you authority over the nations and over the kingdoms. Remove, destroy, destroy, destroy. The “pull out, break, destroy, and subvert” refers to God’s judgment upon Southern Judah and its destruction by the Babylonian empire. Jeremiah receives such authority from God. But it is not God’s desire to destroy.
The second thing we must keep in mind is that we must unhesitatingly continue to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God in order to save our beloved people. That is why we say, “Behold, today I yield to you authority over the nations and over the kingdoms. To build and to plant.” This is what it means.
Certainly, there will be a period of 50 years of captivity after God’s judgment, and Jeremiah and the people will have to endure that period. However, the promise of deliverance that the Lord God will deliver Israel, return the captives to Jerusalem, and give them restoration is the meaning of the words “build and plant,” and that work has been entrusted to Jeremiah and us by God. In order to be freed from fearing the people in front of us, let us remember that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are always with us, and while trusting in the Lord, let us faithfully fulfill the responsibilities we each have to fulfill.