Isaiah being first. But after the captivity, on the
re-arrangement of the holy canon, his name was put first, and ever after
he was regarded and accepted as the patron saint of Judea. He was born
of a priestly family, about 641 B.C., in the priestly town of Anathoth,
which was situated a few miles North of Jerusalem, in the territory of
Benjamin. His work and commission awaited him, because they antedated
his birth, for he says (chap. i. 4), "Then the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee
a _prophet unto the nations_." Jeremiah's life-work, extent, and
devotion, can only find a parallel in the majesty and compass of his
commission. It is the extent of this commission that I wish you would
specially notice, for it is neither tribal nor national in its
limitations. He was ordained a prophet unto the nations. Hear the voice
of his wailing (chapter xv. 10), "Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast
borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the _whole earth_."

Consistent with the vastness of this commission is the recorded fact that
he was forbidden to marry in his own land, for "the Word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have
sons and daughters in this place" (Jeremiah xvi. 2). The claims of a
wife and cares of a family could only have been harshly fitted on to such
a work and commission. Indeed, every peculiar fact in the life of
Jeremiah may be best accounted for by taking into consideration the
greatness of his commission. To discard this is simply to invite
confusion, and yet, strange to say, many prefer confusion rather than
admit that he performed the _role_ assigned him of Heaven. For this very
reason writers, even Jewish historians, are at a loss to account for the
latter half of the prophet's life. They do not seem to know where he
spent his last days; they know not the time, manner, nor place of his
death. And why, you ask? We answer, Because they selfishly and
persistently limited his life and labours to his own land. They have not
been willing to allow that he was set as a prophet over nations and
kingdoms. Then again, they have been willing to allow him to be a puller
down and destroyer, but not a builder and planter. To grant that he was
a builder and planter, would have obliged them to have found the place