Word of Encouragement (6/10/2020)
Today, we want to reflect on the last part of Jeremiah’s commissioning:
“Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth…’” (Jer. 1:9).
We can see why God did this to Jeremiah. God was calling him as a prophet. A prophet was a mouthpiece of God, who spoke forth God’s words. So, the Lord touched his mouth with his hand.
This act of God putting out His hand and touching Jeremiah’s mouth had two functions. One was the function of consecration, setting it apart for God’s holy use. We saw this more dramatically with Isaiah’s vision. There, his lips were touched by a burning coal from the altar in heaven. This was done because a dirty vessel cannot be set apart for a holy use unless it is cleansed first. Whatever a holy God touches, it becomes holy. Mount Sinai became holy when the Lord descended upon it in glory cloud. Isaiah’s lips became holy when they were touched by the burning coal from the altar in heaven. Jeremiah’s mouth became holy when the Lord touched it with His hand.
Another function of this divine act was equipment/empowerment: “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth….” This set Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms” and enabled him “to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (1:10).
The important point here is that God not only promised to be with Jeremiah but also equipped to do the work to which God called him. God doesn’t just call us to do something and expects us to do it on our own. He is with us; He walks with us; He goes before us and prepares the way for us. Not only that, He equips us to do the job.
Has God touched you as He touched Jeremiah’s mouth in a vision? Most of us cannot say that. But we have something more certain: the assurance of God’s Word. We all have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And on the Day of Pentecost, the Lord poured out His Holy Spirit upon all His people (Acts 2:17-18). All those who believe in Jesus Christ have been “touched” by the Holy Spirit: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). By the Holy Spirit baptism (which is our regeneration), we have been set apart unto God—not just our mouth or lips but our whole being. We have also been empowered/equipped to do the good works God has prepared for us to do (Eph. 2:10).
God continues to equip us through His Word: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God has also given us the church—its officers and fellow saints—to further equip us on the basis of God’s Word: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).
And let us not forget the full armor of God, with which God has equipped us: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace as shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:14-18).
How abundant and thorough is God’s provision! Let us grab a hold of this reality by faith, “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18), let us carry out the good works God has called us to do—at home, at work, in our community at large, and in our church!