Tuesday | 18 August 2026
The second element of Jeremiah’s ordination is that the Lord touched Jeremiah’s mouth. We can compare this with the experience of the prophet Isaiah. When he saw the Lord of hosts on His throne, and heard the seraphim proclaiming the holiness of the fellowship of Yahweh, Isaiah declared, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’ Isa 6:5. Despite his prophetic grace and ministry, Isaiah was illuminated to see how far he had fallen from the heights of the fellowship of Yahweh Elohim, which is ‘holy, holy, holy’. Isa 6:3. Rev 4:8.
In Isaiah’s revelation, a seraph cleansed his lips with a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. Isa 6:6. The coal from the altar joined Isaiah to the fellowship of Yahweh Elohim’s offering and enabled him to present himself for fellowship with the Lord. In the New Covenant, it is Jesus Christ who extends His right hand, by the Holy Spirit, to cleanse the lips of every messenger who has been illuminated to see how far they have fallen from the heights of Mount Zion. The Lord used His own hand to touch the mouth of Jeremiah because He was ordaining him as the type of an apostolic administration.
The third element of Jeremiah’s ordination as a messenger is that the Lord put His words in his mouth. It is important that we understand the distinction between the Lord cleansing the lips of a messenger, and the Lord putting His words in the mouth of a messenger. The lips of a messenger need to be cleansed so that they can participate in the fellowship of the right hand of Christ. The Lord can then put His words in their mouth, and send them as a messenger from His right hand to proclaim His word and to invite their hearers to join the same fellowship.
Further Study:
Isaiah 6
References:
Isa 6:5-6
So I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
Isa 6:3
And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’
Rev 4:8
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’