WORD STUDY – BEFORE
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
I recently heard someone use this verse to defend the theory of reincarnation. Our spirits were always in heaven and we are sent to earth in a body, live a life, and when we die we are placed in a new body each time either advancing to a higher state if we are good or a lower state if we were bad. This person said she accepts the theory of reincarnation as it is the only way for her to make sense as to why some people suffer more than others. Why some are born in poverty and some in luxury. I have a real problem with this theory because this is literally saying that our works will save us and the death and resurrection of Jesus means nothing. So I do not see this as supporting reincarnation at all. I see it as simply taking one verse of Scripture that fits your agenda and then tossing out the rest of Scripture.
Secondly, I think the original Hebrew does not support this theory. The first thing that stands out is the word before. In Hebrew it is the word is beterem which is an adverb with a preposition attached. It literally means “in but not yet.” It sounds like before so translators go with that. I think that is a coward’s way out. I believe this is to be taken in the context of the next two words. The next two words are the same word formed being repeated. Many commentators say this is just the Semitic way of expressing an emphasis. Yet, I tend to side with the minority view that these are really two different words from two different roots. If I just ignore the Masoretic text and look at this passage as it was before 700 AD I come up with something more profound than God just knowing Jeremiah before he was born.
The first use of the word for formed is ‘etsoreka and I have no problem with the root word being yatsar which means to form, fashion or mold. This is the word used for a potter making a vessel. However, this word is seemingly repeated. The following word is similar but not the same; it is the word ‘etsareka the difference being the deletion of the Vav. I find two possible roots words. One could be ‘atsar which means a treasure or it could be natsar which would mean to watch over, guard or preserve. Thus, I could render this one of two ways. “Before you were formed in the womb I was protecting you (natsar) or watching over you.” If I use the root word ‘atsar then I could say: “Before you were formed in the womb, you were a treasure to me.” As much as I like that I hesitate to say the root word is ‘atsar or treasure as that would suggest favoritism on God’s part and I don’t believe He plays favorites. So I am going with the root word of natsar as God would arrange some protection for Jeremiah if he were to become a prophet.
As I said, using the word before for beterem is a problem. The word before is an easy out. You see, there is no word in the English that is equivalent to beterm. Playing around with this word I come up with a possible rendering of: “While you were being formed in the womb, I knew the hardships you would face as a prophet and even then I laid out a course of protection for you.” If you accuse me of stretching it, I will not deny it. However, just what else can you do with beterm.
Then God says: “Before you were born, I set you apart for a holy purpose.” We again have the word beterem used as before. Literally in the Hebrew we have: “Before you came forth from the womb, I set you apart.” The word used for born is marchem which could mean from the womb, but the word is rooted in the word racham which is the word used for a romantic love or the love a mother has for her baby while still in the womb, hence the word womb. It is, however, used for a mother’s love, to love tenderly and compassionately. It is often rendered in English as tender mercies. Racham is a reference to the womb only in a metaphoric way. It is said a mother’s love is at its purest while the child is still in the womb because the child has not yet rebelled or challenged her love. Her heart has not yet been wounded by the child’s rebellious nature. In trying to find a proper use of the word beterem (before) what I come up with is this: “I set you apart for a holy purpose even before you had a chance to do anything to wound my heart.”
Ok, here is what I think God is telling Jeremiah in this verse and what He might be telling us who also may feel a call upon our own lives. There are times as we pursue our calling that it will seem like God has abandoned us, or withdrew his calling because of the difficult circumstances we may find ourselves in or because of our own rebellion. But that calling was made while His love for us was in its purest state. Although we may have wounded His heart many times in our maturing to our calling, from our very formation He laid out a plan to protect us, a divine insurance policy, that will be in effect no matter what our circumstances or how we respond.
When Jeremiah sat in that dark, damp prison suffering for the prophetic message God called him to give, He may have wondered what type of God he was serving to reward him with this type of treatment. He could reflect on the words God gave to Him: “From the beginning of time I knew my calling upon your life would bring you to this prison, just remember, I called you out of a heart that was the purest it could be. I provided for your protection before you were even born. You may not understand it now; just know this whole thing was birthed in my purest love for you.”
We are in the state and position we are because that is the way God created us and whether it is as invalid in bed or a preacher of a mega church that position is not because of our deeds in a former life but because God specifically created us that way to serve a purpose in this world. Our job is to be a good soldier, no matter what our state is in life.
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