◄ Jeremiah 1:9 ►
Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
Study Bible
Then the LORD reached out His hand
This phrase signifies a divine intervention and personal involvement of God in the life of Jeremiah. The Hebrew word for "LORD" here is "Yahweh," the covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal and unchanging nature. The imagery of God reaching out His hand is a powerful anthropomorphism, illustrating God's active role in equipping and empowering His prophets. Historically, this reflects the intimate relationship between God and His chosen messengers, as seen throughout the Old Testament.

and touched my mouth
The act of touching Jeremiah's mouth symbolizes the impartation of divine words and authority. In Hebrew culture, the mouth is often seen as the organ of speech and communication, and this touch signifies the sanctification and preparation of Jeremiah's speech for his prophetic mission. This echoes similar instances in Scripture, such as Isaiah's lips being touched with a coal (Isaiah 6:6-7), indicating purification and readiness for God's service.

and said to me
This phrase introduces the direct communication from God to Jeremiah, highlighting the personal and direct nature of prophetic revelation. The Hebrew verb "amar" (said) is frequently used in the Old Testament to denote God's communication, underscoring the authority and truth of the message that follows. This direct speech is a hallmark of prophetic literature, where God conveys His will and purpose through His chosen servants.

Behold, I have put My words in your mouth
The word "Behold" serves as a call to attention, emphasizing the significance of what follows. The phrase "I have put My words in your mouth" indicates the divine origin of Jeremiah's message. The Hebrew word for "words" (dabar) often refers to God's creative and powerful speech, as seen in Genesis 1. This underscores the authority and reliability of Jeremiah's prophetic utterances, as they are not his own, but God's. This divine commissioning assures Jeremiah and his audience that his words carry the weight and truth of God's own voice.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who calls and commissions Jeremiah as a prophet.

2. Jeremiah
A young prophet chosen by God to deliver His messages to the people of Judah and the nations.

3. The Divine Touch
A symbolic act where God touches Jeremiah's mouth, signifying the impartation of divine words and authority.
Teaching Points
Divine Commissioning
God personally equips those He calls. Just as He touched Jeremiah's mouth, He provides what is necessary for His servants to fulfill their mission.

The Power of God's Word
The words given by God carry His authority and power. Believers are called to speak truthfully and boldly, trusting in the divine source of their message.

Preparation for Service
God prepares His servants for the tasks ahead. This preparation may involve spiritual, emotional, and intellectual equipping.

Trust in God's Provision
When God calls us to a task, He also provides the means to accomplish it. We can trust in His provision and guidance.

The Role of Obedience
Jeremiah's acceptance of God's words is a model of obedience. Believers are encouraged to accept and act upon God's instructions in their lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the act of God touching Jeremiah's mouth illustrate the concept of divine empowerment in your own life?

2. In what ways can you relate Jeremiah's experience to the calling and equipping of other biblical figures like Moses or Isaiah?

3. How can you apply the principle of trusting in God's provision when faced with a daunting task or calling?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to ensure that your words align with the truth and authority of God's Word?

5. How does understanding the role of obedience in Jeremiah's life challenge you to respond to God's instructions in your own life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 6
Similar to Jeremiah's experience, Isaiah's lips are touched with a coal from the altar, symbolizing purification and preparation for prophetic ministry.

Exodus 4
God assures Moses that He will be with his mouth and teach him what to say, highlighting God's provision of words to His chosen messengers.

Acts 2
The Holy Spirit empowers the apostles to speak in different tongues, signifying the divine enablement to proclaim God's message.
Sermons
Mutations of LifeHenry Smith.Jeremiah 1:9
The Call of JeremiahF. B. Meyer, B. A.Jeremiah 1:9
The Word of GodF. Lynch.Jeremiah 1:9
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
Behold, Forth, Mouth, Putteth, Stretched, Striketh, Touched, Touching
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 1:9

     1265   hand of God
     1443   revelation, OT
     1690   word of God
     5167   mouth
     5194   touch
     5395   lordship, human and divine
     6682   mediation
     8422   equipping, spiritual

Jeremiah 1:1-10

     7758   preachers, call

Jeremiah 1:4-9

     8496   witnessing, importance

Jeremiah 1:4-10

     7740   missionaries, call

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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