Jeremiah’s ministry occurred during difficult and depressing times when all that remained of David’s united Israel was Judah. Eventually Babylon conquered the land that had deteriorated both morally and politically. God’s message through Jeremiah went unheeded. The kings and citizens alike contributed to Jeremiah being dragged into exile. Only a few bright spots dot Jeremiah’s otherwise gloomy prophecy. No wonder he uses the name for God as The Lord Our Righteousness. He is the One who judges according to truth and without partiality. Perhaps the brightest moment in the book is Yahweh’s promise of a new covenant with Israel.
Jeremiah prophesied during a period of at least forty years, which included Judah’s exile into Babylonian captivity, with some who fled to Egypt after the fall of Jerusalem. Throughout his ministry, Jeremiah warned of coming disaster. He called in vain to Judah to turn back to God. He was imprisoned and often in danger of his life, but he never once compromised his message from God. He was required to pronounce judgment on seven of many surrounding nations, yet in the midst of the judgments, he still gave promises of mercy.
Jeremiah became a prophet in 627 B.C. and continued through Jerusalem’s destruction in 587 B.C. His ministry covered five kings of Judah:
- Josiah, a good king who led reforms, but was killed in battle by Egypt. Before his death, he killed the false prophets, being the only king bold enough to remove the high places which King Solomon had built for the gods of his foreign wives. The year he died the Assyrian Empire also died. Babylon became the new world Empire.
- Jehoahaz, who only ruled three months before Egypt removed him. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the example of his forefathers. He ignored the goodness of his own father, Josiah.
- Jehoiakim was an enemy of Jeremiah, and favored Egypt over Babylon. There is no mention that God appointed him as king. It was Pharaoh Necho who made him the eighteenth king of Judah.
- Jehoiachin, who ruled only three months before being taken into Babylonian captivity. He simply became king – God wasn’t in it. He followed the example of his father and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem and carried Jehoiachin as prisoner to Babylon. The temple treasures of gold were also carried away. Only the poorest people were left behind in Jerusalem. Jehoiachin was released from prison when Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon. He was given a position of honor and a regular allowance for his needs. This was a symbol of restoration of the house of David that would come after seventy years in exile.
- Zedekiah, an inconsistent man who sought Jeremiah’s advice, yet failed to serve God. He was the twentieth and final king of Judah, reigning for eleven years. He rebelled against the Lord and the king of Babylon. The Lord became so angry with the people of Judah that He removed them from His sight, about 136 years after Israel had been scattered by Assyria. Zedekiah was blinded, and taken in chains to Babylon. David’s line halted on the throne after 21 kings ruled over a period of 514 years.
Sharing:
- Jeremiah was 100 years after Isaiah.
- He spoke to Judah, the remnant that was in Jerusalem before they were exiled. This was after Israel was kicked out.
- He spoke to five kings: Josiah to Zedekiah.
- He gave advice they didn’t want to hear: “Stop sinning!” It’s still easy to hear the same message and reject it.
He was born in the reign of the wicked King Manasseh when Judah was under Assyrian control. Manasseh encouraged the worship of Baal and the hosts of heaven. He began his ministry in Josiah’s thirteenth year.
The evils of Manasseh’s era filled the nation, but Josiah carried out a brief religious reform, and declared Judah’s political independence from Assyria. Later the book of the Law was found while the temple was being repaired. This led to the purging of foreign idolatry and a return to the social standards of behavior in the nation’s covenant traditions.
Toward the end of Josiah’s reign, Assyria was defeated. After the Egyptian Pharaoh, Neco II, killed Josiah in a battle at Megiddo, the Egyptians took control of Judah, and put Jehoiakim on the throne. He opposed Josiah’s revival of Yahweh worship. The prophets and priests from Jerusalem persecuted Jeremiah.
Zedekiah, the final king in Judah, was an ineffective ruler because of his fear of public opinion. After he joined a coalition against Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar defeated and burned Jerusalem. Many people went into captivity, but Jeremiah stayed in Palestine with Gedaliah, the governor of Judah. Gedaliah was killed, and the remaining people escaped into Egypt to avoid another Babylonian attack. Jeremiah and Baruch were forcibly taken with them. The future of Jeremiah and this small group of people is unknown, although Jeremiah predicted that they would die in Egypt.
The most vivid image of everyday life in Jeremiah’s time was the devastation of war. The Assyrians and Egyptians lost major battles and thousands of troops. Jerusalem was attacked twice, and its homes and businesses were left in total ruin. Social disorder characterized the panic, starvation, and violence of war. After the battle, order was determined by the whim of the stronger army. Rage and revenge replaced normal patterns of morality; assassinations and the captivity of civic officials eliminated traditional authority structures. Somehow Judah survived this chaos until the death blow in 586 B.C. when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Most Judeans were heavily influenced by prophets who deceived people by promising peace. Political alliance with Assyria and Egypt supported these delusions. Temple priests said that God would not let the Babylonians destroy the Jerusalem temple. Jeremiah undermined these humanly created deceptions and exposed God’s plans for Judah.
Social and economic conditions were directly affected by the nation’s political status. Judah enjoyed a few years of social stability and political independence from foreign domination during Josiah’s reign, but this did not last. The Egyptians aggravated Judah’s poverty by imposing a large tribute on Jehoiakim. The Babylonians took treasures from the king’s resources and the temple, as well as skilled craftsmen who could have helped rebuild Judah’s economy, and also key civic leaders.
Sharing:
- In the hard times we face, such as starvation, captivity, and death, God will still give us hope. He may use wicked people to accomplish His purposes, but they are ‘God’s wicked people’.
Jeremiah’s message moved through phases that do not correspond exactly to the structure of the book:
Jeremiah chapters 18-36 have no specific headings, but cover messages scattered over many years.
Jeremiah 29:5-7 records the letter written to the exiles in Babylon.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells of a new covenant.
Jeremiah 21:1-10 and chapters 30-34 and 37-41 describe the last years of the king, and the events that happened after the fall of the city.
Jeremiah chapters 25, 26, 35 and 36 are the days of Jehoiakim, especially his fourth year (battle of Carchemish).
Jeremiah chapter 52 is derived from 2 Kings 25 – the fall of Jerusalem
Jeremiah also had a message of salvation, but only on the other side of judgment. The ‘New Covenant’ is central to the prophecy, which speaks of God’s desire to have a relationship with His chosen people, and a call to return His love with obedience.
Jeremiah's greatest contribution is the message of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Although the old covenant was continually renewed throughout Israel's history, the people still continued to break the promises they had made to Yahweh.
The new covenant is in contrast to the Mosaic Covenant under which Israel failed. God encourages His people through Jeremiah by promising a new covenant with a spiritual purpose so that those who know Him would participate in the blessings of salvation: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah 31:33). The fulfillment was to individuals, yet also to Israel as a nation through reestablishment in their land: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built…” (Jeremiah 33:38). The new covenant would be eternal in its duration. The old covenant provided physical redemption; the new covenant would provide spiritual redemption.
Perhaps Jeremiah’s most unusual symbolic act was his purchase of a plot of land in his hometown, Anathoth, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem. He knew this land would be practically worthless after the Babylonians overran Jerusalem. But by buying the plot, he symbolized his hope for the future. Even in Judah's darkest hour, Jeremiah prophesied that a remnant would return from Babylon after their years in captivity. There they would restore their way of life and worship God again in the Temple (Jeremiah 32:26-44). God directed Jeremiah to put the deed to the land in an earthen vessel in order to preserve it for the future: “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land’’ (Jeremiah 32:15).
Sharing:
- Jeremiah spoke lots about the New Covenant. Read Jeremiah 31:31-34.
- We can’t understand exactly what they understood at that time. It was a ‘shadow’ for them, but a reality now.
- The message is still the same: obey rather than sacrifice. Do not just appease God, but please Him.
- Is Jeremiah 13:23 a question or statement? Connect it with 13:15. It is a statement that is answering the question before it. We are not able to do it in our own power. It emphasizes that repentance is needed.
- There are the principles of God that contrast with humanity, where people choose evil, which is very depressing.
- Jeremiah 5 shows the state of the people, how bad they were. There is not one good person. Hypocrisy was enormous, which was similar to Sodom earlier on. Jerusalem was later on.
- In Jeremiah 40:2, 3 it is interesting that a captain of the king who brought destruction sees and states clearly what is happening. He also understands what is going on even better than Israel understood.
- Sometimes the world can see through us, which gives us a good reason not to just say things, but also do them!
- God uses others, including unbelievers, to convict us of sin, and we need to be open to this.
- There is the need for us not to focus on judgments to come, but on our current responsibilities and need for repentance.
- In Jeremiah 22:30 concerning the prophecy of the coming ‘Anointed One’ (‘Messiah’), how does this prophesy fit in with the one about being from the throne of David? Is it possible that the virgin birth of the ‘Messiah’ avoid the bloodline of the cursed kings?
- Jeremiah 6:27 and 7:16 are similar to Nimrod’s time in Genesis. People worshiped creation rather than the Creator.
- Jeremiah 29:11 shows the recurring theme of ‘hope’. We are saved through this ‘hope’.
Lamentations is a short Old Testament book written in poetic form that describes the funeral of a city. It expresses deep grief over Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian forces under Nebuchadnezzar was one of Israel's most bitter experiences. Jerusalem fell in 587 B.C. After further rebellion the city was totally destroyed in 586 B.C. Many of the nation's leading citizens were carried into captivity in Babylon. Their idolatry and unfaithfulness had resulted in the loss of two of the focal points of their faith: Jerusalem and the temple. So critical was Jerusalem’s destruction, that the facts are recorded in 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 39:1-11; and 2 Chronicles 36:11-21. Lamentations justifies God’s punishment of Judah and offers a vindication of the prophets who had predicted it.
- Complaint about adversity, which the Lord either tolerated or even caused.
- Confession of trust.
- Appeal for deliverance, on the grounds of the Lord’s attributes and His covenant.
- Certainty of a hearing, often with an assurance that the enemies and persecutors would in turn experience God’s wrath.
Lamentations contains more than just laments. The author realizes the importance of reflecting on his own suffering and that of his people. He seeks, and finds, the reasons for suffering. The book provides a model for meditation on and during suffering that gives understanding to its place in God’s plan of things. Suffering is not the end of everything when we adopt the right attitude toward it.
The author of Lamentations deals with two important questions:
- How should we face suffering when it comes?
Lamentations teaches us to express our sufferings, putting our distress into words that we address to God in prayer.
- What is the purpose of suffering?
Suffering may be the path by which God leads us back to Himself. This provides a hope for the future. This hope is the framework of faith and determination. Despite appearances to the contrary, the author knows that the mercies of God have not failed.
| Why Jerusalem Fell | |||
| Isaiah | 1:4 | Foolishness and evil. | |
| | 1:21 | It became a “harlot” – someone who has forsaken God to serve idols (see Jeremiah 2:20 and 3:1-2). | |
| | 5:8 | Greed (see Jeremiah 22:15). | |
| | 5:11 | Drunkenness. | |
| | 5:18-19 | Tested God. | |
| | 5:20 | Evil made to be good. | |
| | 5:21 | Clever but not wise. | |
| | 5:22 | Perverted justice. | |
| | 5:23 | Bribed, which fosters injustice and discrimination (see Isaiah 1:23 and Exodus 23:8). | |
| Jeremiah | 2:11 | Changed God for gods. | |
| | 7:25-26 | Stiff-necked, resulting in more evil. | |
| | 7:28 | Refused correction. | |
| | 23:11 | Priests and governing leaders corrupted worship. | |
| | 23:14 | Prophets committed adultery. | |
| | 23:32 | Prophets told dreams full of lies and with boasting. | |
| | 23:33 | Was a burden to the Lord. | |
| Ezekiel | 8:10-12 | Leaders provoked God’s jealousy (see v.5). | |
| | 8:14 | Mourned the death of a fertility god. | |
| | 8:16 | Turned their backs on God to worship the sun. | |
| | 9:9 | Became violent and lawless (natural result of idolatry). | |
Sharing:
- Lamentations tells us what was done wrong: ‘woe is us!’
- Lamentations 2:14 explains how God’s prophets showed the true way, but the people rather followed false prophecies and delusions. King Zedekiah was one of those who didn’t listen, but still wanted to know the truth.
- Can you see the different speakers in Lamentations? It is interesting the chapter 4 is an acrostic song (each verse begins with a different letter of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet).
- The three ‘goods’ of Lamentations 3:25-27 focuses on God’s goodness. It follows on from ‘God’s faithfulness’ in 3:23.
- Lamentations 3 shows punishment, repentance, and hope. We live in a time of hope, but do we live like we truly do hope? Are we satisfied with just feeling convicted, or do we repent and change?
