Jeremiah was an Israelite priest. Jeremiah 1:10 is part of his prophet call. In verses 4–10, God speaks directly to Jeremiah, affirming that He knew him before birth and had appointed him as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protests, citing his youth and inexperience, but God reassures him with divine presence and authority.

• Setting: Jeremiah lived in a time of political instability and spiritual decline in Judah. His ministry spanned the reigns of several kings and included the fall of Jerusalem.

• Purpose: This verse defines Jeremiah’s prophetic role to call people to spiritual transformation. His words would carry the power to uproot corrupt systems and plant seeds of renewal.

• Audience: Though Jeremiah was from Judah, his message extended to “nations and kingdoms,” indicating a global scope of influence and there is much we can learn from Jeremiah 1:10 today.

Here’s a look at the eight key Hebrew verbs in Jeremiah 1:10, each representing a phase of action:

רְאֵה (rə-’êh) - “See”, a command to perceive spiritually and prophetically.

הִפְקַדְתִּיךָ (hiphqaḏtîḵā) - “I have appointed/set you”, divine commissioning with authority.

לִנְתוֹשׁ (lintosh) - “To root out”, remove deeply embedded corruption or sin.

לִנְתוֹץ (lintots) - “To pull down”, dismantle structures or ideologies.

לְהַאֲבִיד (leha’avid) - “To destroy”, eliminate completely, often used for judgment.

לַהֲרוֹס (laharos) - “To overthrow”, break apart, often violently or decisively.

לִבְנוֹת (livnot) - “To build”, construct anew, establish godly order.

לִנְטוֹעַ (lintoa) - “To plant”, sow seeds of truth, righteousness, and hope.

These verbs are in infinitive form, emphasizing ongoing action. 

Four are destructive, the last two constructive.

• Destruction precedes renewal: God often clears away what is broken before rebuilding. Jeremiah’s role was not just to comfort but to confront. Brokenness comes before revival.

• Spiritual authority: Jeremiah wasn’t just a messenger, he was given power to affect real change. We as Pastors and followers of Jesus also have this spiritual authority to affect change in our day.

• Leadership model: This verse is a blueprint for spiritual leaders today: discern what must be removed and boldly establish what God wants to grow.

Jesus consistently called for the uprooting and destruction of religious hypocrisy, pride, injustice, and systems that hindered people from truly knowing God. His teachings and actions targeted spiritual corruption and invited true transformation.

Drawing from the Gospels, here are key biblical themes Jesus confronted and invites us to confront (first in ourselves) that mirror the mandate in Jeremiah 1:10. 

Like Jeremiah, Jesus operated as a prophet, exposing what needed to be torn down and inviting people to build their lives on truth, grace, and love. His mission was not just to comfort but to confront, not just to heal but to reform.

The focus of this list is to help us to take inventory of our own lives as leaders.

Our prayer is that we would hear our Good Shepherds voice (John 10:27), be do-ers of the word who aren’t deceived (James 1:22), walk with Him in kingdom light (1 John 1:5-7) and become the kind of leaders who truly walk out the Great Commission and Great Commandment.