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    God Has Only Gifted Children
    An Exposition of Jeremiah 1:5
     By
    Dr. Peter A. Lillback
    January 23, 1994

    Introduction

     Imagine the year is 2094 and you are observing a young woman seated in a Planned Pregnancy office. The case worker is talking to her and says, "I have completed the family social structure analysis, the genetic studies and the computer simulated psychological and sociological projections for your fetus." The expectant mother leans forward in her chair with anxious eyes and pounding heart and breathlessly says, "What did you find?" The case worker says with tightened lips, "Let me just read the very depressing results through for you, and then I will make my recommendation." Opening the file the clinician leans back in her chair and begins to read,

      Genetic, Psychological and Sociological Projections:
    1. Gender--male. (1:1)

    2. Marital status--will not marry. (16:1)

    3. Reproductivity--will have no children. (16:1)

    4. Self-esteem--will feel inadequate for life's career. (1:6)

    5. Emotional Stability:
      1. He will experience sudden mood fluctuations from euphoria to despair. (20:7-12)
      2. He will be marked by indignation, and unending pain. (15:17-18)
      3. He will experience frequent weeping spells. (8:18-9:2; 13:17)
      4. He will be given to public displays of anger and break objects. (19:1-15)
      5. He will experience life-long sorrow and shame. (20:18)

    6. Social Adaptation:
      1. He will be alone and feel rejected. (15:10, 17)
      2. He will be anti-social and thus avoid social gatherings such as weddings and funerals, and feel such inhibitions, that he will never make merry in celebration. (16:5-9)
      3. He will be unpopular and have few if any real friends. (20:10)
      4. He will give frequent public tirades. (4:5; 5:1; 7:1)
      5. He will live in fear of terror on every side. (20:10)
      6. He will be an object of people's reproach. (20:8)

    7. Religious Tendencies:
      1. He will be religious, and be given to anti-social prayers like, ". . .drag them off like sheep to be butchered." (18:21-23)
      2. He will claim to hear voices and see visions. (1:11-13)
      3. He will feel that his God has lied to him and betrayed him. (20:7)

    8. Potential for Livelihood and Business Success.
      1. He will be the type of person that could be persuaded to buy the Brooklyn Bridge, or a piece of property that has been conquered by an invading enemy while he's in the middle of war. (32:1-16)
      2. He will be publically disgraced by those of his profession, and actually corporally punished. (20:1-6)

    9. Political Orientation.
      1. He will be known as a traitor and be involved with actions considered as disloyal to his government. (37:14; 38:4)
      2. He will spend time in prison. (37:15-16)
      3. He will be publically locked in stocks. (20:2)
      4. He will experience frequent death threats. (26:11)
      5. He will write subversive literature that will be burned by the government authorities. (36:1-8)
      6. He will be kidnapped. (43:6,7)
      7. He will be assaulted and left to die. (38:1-13)

    10. Projection of International Political Stability for Child's Generation.
      1. It appears to be a time where massive starvation is possible that could actually result in cannabalism. (19:9; 38:9)
      2. It appears to be a time of incessant war and international tension. (34, 52)
      3. There will be wholescale genocide and mass exile for various people groups. (51:34-35; 52)

    11. Final Diagnostic Question: If the Child could make a choice for parent whether to be born or to or be aborted, from his own adult perspective, what would it be?

      Answer: His depression will be severe enough that he will curse the day of his birth, and the physician that carried the news of his birth to his father, instead of killing him in his mother's womb. (15:10, "Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!" 20:13-18, "Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, 'A child is born to you--a son!' May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?")

    Upon closing the dossier file, the clinician looks at her client and says with emphatic tones, "Mrs. Hilkiah, we have no choice but to abort your fetus. I have never seen such a sad projection in all of my career in our historic and venerable organization."

    The young mother begins to sob, "Oh please don't make me abort my baby! I've longed for a son for so long! His father has even picked out his name--he will be named Jeremiah. . . !"

    Who has the right to decide if a human being has the quality of life required before he or she can be born? Let us continue with our study of unborn Jeremiah, and listen what the sovereign Lord and Creator says about the significance of his life. Please turn with me to Jeremiah 1:5.

    God's Involvement in Jeremiah's Unborn Life. Jeremiah 1:5.
    1. God Knew Jeremiah Before He Was Conceived.
      1. This word can be translated "chose."
      2. You too were chosen by God as one of God's elect people. Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9.
      3. God knows more about us, than we know about ourselves.
        1. Ps. 139.
        2. Matt. 10:28-31.

    2. God Formed Jeremiah in His Mother's Womb.
      1. Physically this is true. Ps. 139:13-16.
      2. God is sovereign over our spiritual giftedness too. 1 Cor. 12:4-6, 11.
      3. God is sovereign not only in election, but also in terms of providence as that impacts our personal characteristics. Can you accept what God designed you to be, and thereby serve Him with those unique gifts?

    3. God Set Jeremiah Apart Before He Was Born.
      1. God works sometimes in redemption even with infants.
      2. Consider Ps. 22:9-11; Lk. 1:39-45.
      3. All believers's children are to be viewed as holy--1 Cor. 7:14, since they are holy--1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:15.
      4. One expression of that holiness is to stand in each of our own ways as God guides us for the sanctity of life.

    4. God Appointed Jeremiah, Or Called Him, To Be A Prophet.
      1. His very difficult life was part of his "bearing the cross" (Lk. 9:23.)
      2. We too have a calling or vocation from God. 1 Cor. 7:24.
      3. Christians can indeed experience difficulty, discouragement and despair like Jeremiah (Jer. 20)in their lives. But so did Jesus (Matt. 26:36-46), yet He prayed, "Not my will be done, but thine be done." And so must we, and so can we when we remember what God has in store for all who serve our God. (Rom. 8:18.)
    Conclusion: When we trust God's sovereign purpose in our lives, and in the lives of our unborn children, we will ultimately never be disappointed by the God of grace and surprises. After all, where would we be without Jeremiah, the prophet of the grace of God's New Covenant? (Jer. 31-33.)



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