“Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead.” Ezekiel 3:8,9
What does it take to be what God has called us to be? How could Moses, after having herded sheep for forty years, be equipped to go and deliver the people of Israel from the Egyptians? It was made possible by what God put into him, and what God gave him. Moses felt his utter helplessness and inability to naturally accomplish such a task as the one to which he was called, this inspite of the fact that for the first forty years of his life, he was raised in Pharaoah’s court, becoming a man who was “…learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” (Acts 7:22) What would now equip Moses the shepherd to speak to Pharaoh, after speaking to sheep for so many years? Beyond the fact that God made clear to Moses what his mission, and calling were, He revealed to Him His glory, and the principle fact of his holiness. When it became time to address the issue of Moses being able to speak in a manner that would be understood and believed by the people of Israel, God would provide not only the ability or capacity, but the power to speak. He told Moses: “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:12)
To Jeremiah, who had some of the similar concerns as Moses before the daunting task of being a prophet to the nations, and specifically giving forth the Lord’s words to Israel, he would say to the Lord, “…I cannot speak: for I am a child.” (Jer. 1:6) The Lord’s answer to Jeremiah’s hesitation before an impossible task was very simple. First, the Lord would engage Jeremiah by bringing him to a willingness to go forward, by saying, “…for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” (v.7) But then the Lord puts forth his hand and touches his mouth, and says: “Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth.” (v.9) This is God’s answer to one of Jeremiah’s needs. However, there are other needs that must be met if he would accomplish the mission God had laid out before him. Those needs had to do with authority and power, strength, and God’s enabling. As to authority, Jeremiah was called upon to believe the Lord’s words to him, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant.” (v.10) Here, the Lord Jesus reveals to Jeremiah the certainty of His authority and power operating in behalf of His servant, certainly accomplishing His objectives. But what about the needs of Jeremiah’s heart to couageously and perseveringly, face, engage, and embrace the difficulty, opposition, and even conflict, in accomplishing his mission. Again, the Lord specifically addresses his concerns by first calling him to engage in the endeavor, i.e. to set his will to do the will of God. With the acceptance and willingness to go forward, the Lord tells Jeremiah, “For behold, I have made thee this day, a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.” (v.18) God put into Jeremiah, not only the conviction and clarity of his calling and mission, but the knowledge of His gracious dealings with him, His provision, and His protection of him. He also instilled in him the concept and certainty of His victory to be revealed, when He declared to him, “And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee saith the Lord to deliver thee.” (v.19)
God has made the believer complete in Christ.
Dear Father, Be Thou our all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.