The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. – Jeremiah 1:1 (NIV)
I like how the Bible often gives us clues into the lives of the people in the events we read. When we begin reading the book of Jeremiah, we see some background into Jeremiah’s life.
We see that Jeremiah’s dad was a priest. This gives us insight into how Jeremiah may have been brought up. Most likely he was brought up being around the things of God. He probably studied the Bible and knew it well. Also, we see the town mentioned that he grew up in. It was near the town of Jerusalem, and was known as being a place where priests lived.
All this shows us that Jeremiah was brought up in an area that probably gave a lot of importance to God and the things of God. When we read through the Bible, details like these help us to understand and relate to the person we read about in the Bible.
Jeremiah was familiar with God. He knew the ways of worship and the ways of God from his upbringing. However, as we’ll see in the next few verses, Jeremiah had to learn to trust and rely on God for himself. He had to learn to listen to God, to obey Him, and to rely on the strength of God.
We too, have to do the same in our own lives. Regardless of our upbringing, we have to choose to know God and serve Him for ourselves. So today, think about what you believe. Realize that God has good plans for you.
