Jeremiah was of the family of priests.
2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Josiah was one of the last and best kings of Judah.
3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Babylon captured Judah three different times. The first time, they removed Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, from being king and put his brother Zedekiah in that office. The last time, they destroyed the country and took all but the very poorest away to Babylon.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
God can see all of history at the same time. He called Jeremiah to be a prophet for Him before he was ever even born. Indeed, God knows what we will all be best at in His kingdom before birth and has a plan for each and every one of us.
6 Then said I, "Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child."
Jeremiah was very young when God first told him to start prophesying.
7 But the LORD said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Our chronological age doesn't matter to God. When He wants us to do something, that is what He wants.
8 "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee," saith the LORD.
When God tells us to do something, He will work all the details out.
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, "Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth.
10 "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."
Jeremiah's ministry was one of constant warning that Judah was fixing to fall.
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, "Jeremiah, what see thou?" And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree.
12 Then said the LORD unto me, "Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it."
13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, "What see thou?" And I said, "I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
A seething pot is a big kettle where meat is boiled.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, "Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Babylon was north-east of Judah. Due to the terrain and the desert immediately between them, they marched down on Judah from the north.
15 "For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the LORD; "and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Babylon is going to attack and win.
16 "And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
Because of Judah's disobedience to God, He is moving Babylon to this action.
17 "Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
18 "For, behold, I have made thee this day a defended 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.
God will protect Jeremiah while he is speaking on His behalf.
19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee," saith the LORD, "to deliver thee."