B. Responding with Excuses

Verse 6 tells us that to God's call Jeremiah responded with excuses.

1. Saying That He Did Not Know How to Speak

"Then I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! / Behold, I do not know how to speak" (v. 6a). Jeremiah seemed to be saying, "Lord, how can I be a prophet? I do not know how to speak!" Many of the saints in the Lord's recovery today offer such an excuse for not functioning in the church meetings. If they are encouraged to prophesy in the meetings, they may say that they do not know how to speak.

2. Saying That He Was a Youth

Jeremiah also excused himself by saying, "I am a youth" (v. 6b). He felt that he was too young to be a prophet. Some of the new ones among us may have the same feeling about speaking for the Lord. To such a person God would say, "You are not too young. As long as you have been born of Me and baptized, you are not too young to speak for Me." God does not regard as legitimate the excuse that we do not know how to speak or the excuse that we are too young.

C. Affirmed by Jehovah

In verses 7 and 8 Jehovah affirmed Jeremiah's call. "But Jehovah said to me, / Do not say, I am a youth; / For everywhere I send you, you shall go; / And everything I command you, you shall speak. / Do not be afraid of their faces, / For I am with you to deliver you, declares Jehovah." Here God seemed to be saying to Jeremiah, "Do not care about human faces. They mean nothing. I am with you, and no one is stronger than I or greater than I."