Introduction to Jeremiah

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Watch the video lesson here

Jeremiah is made up of 52 chapters and represents one of, if not, the longest book in the Bible regarding text. Below are some facts surrounding the prophet Jeremiah and the book he is known for writing. Readers can click on the link above to watch the video lesson as it was given to those who attended.

In the coming weeks, as we go through the book of Jeremiah, we will most likely cover a number of chapters together, rather than go over one chapter per week since it would take a year to do so. This look at Jeremiah will be a bit cursory, but will cover major aspects of the book and we’ll find out how it applies not only to the nation of Israel but to believers today as well.

• Author
  • The prophet Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:1
• When written:
  • The Book of Jeremiah was written between 630 and 580 B.C.
• Purpose:
  • Jeremiah records the final prophecies to Judah
  • Warns of oncoming destruction if the nation does not repent
  • Jeremiah calls nation to turn back to God
  • Jeremiah recognizes nation’s coming judgment because of their continued idolatry and immorality
• Key Verses
  • Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
  • Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
  • Jeremiah 29:10-11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
  • Jeremiah 52:12-13 “On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.”
• Brief Summary
  • A warning of judgment to Judah for their continued idolatry and immorality
  • Last righteous King Josiah died, and Judah nearly completely abandoned God and His commandments.
  • Jeremiah compares Judah to a prostitute (Jeremiah 2:20; 3:1-3)
  • God had said He would judge idolatry severely
  • Jeremiah was warning Judah of God’s coming judgment
  • God had delivered Judah from being destroyed but His patience had come to an end
  • God used Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Judah (Jeremiah 24:1)
  • God brought Nebuchadnezzar back to utterly destroy Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52) because of continued rebellion
  • But God vowed to ultimately restore Jerusalem (Jeremiah 29:10)
• Jeremiah’s Similarities to Jesus:
  • Both men had a message to Israel and the world
  • Both used nature as teaching illustrations
  • Both came from a high tradition:
    • Jeremiah – priestly prophetic heritage
    • Jesus – divine royal position
  • Both were very aware of God’s calling on their lives
  • Both condemned the commercial nature of Temple worship
  • Both were charged with political treason by their enemies
  • Both experienced persecution, trials and imprisonment or death
  • Both foretold destruction of the Temple
  • Both cried over Jerusalem
  • Both condemned the priests of their day
  • Both experienced rejection by members of their own families
  • Both were so tender-hearted that some Jewish leaders connected them with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53
  • Both loved Israel greatly
  • Both were lonely
  • Both enjoyed intimate fellowship with God
  • Both faithfully represented God on earth
  • Both were chosen by God before they were ever born
  • Both were equipped by God for their ministries
  • Both lived simple and solitary lifestyles
• Background on Jeremiah:
  • His father was Hilkiah (common name)
  • Father was a priest
  • MAY have been priest who found the book of the Law during King Josiah’s reforms (2 Kings 22:3-13)
  • Lived in Anathoth, a Levitical town 3 miles NE of Jerusalem
  • Jeremiah was a priest by ancestry
  • Jeremiah’s book never refers to him as a serving priest
  • There is no evidence he went through priestly training
  • He was very critical of Levitical priests
  • The phrase “to whom the word of the Lord came,” occurs 157 times in Jeremiah out of the total of 349 times in the entire OT
  • The book of Jeremiah tells us more about his personality than any other prophet in Scripture
  • Most Bible scholars believe Jeremiah was born about 643 BC
  • This was one year before the end of King Manasseh’s reign
  • Jeremiah probably died in Egypt
  • His call to the prophetic office came in 627 or 626 BC
  • He would have been about 20 years old
  • His ministry as a prophet may have extended over 40 years
  • His ministry involved prophesying about Judah and other ancient near eastern nations of his time
  • His life is described as one long martyrdom because of his message
  • He constantly told the people of Judah to surrender to Babylon
  • Because of this Jeremiah was
    • Hated
    • Jeered at
    • Ostracized
    • Continually harassed
    • Almost killed more than once
  • Jeremiah is the only prophet in OT Scripture who recorded his own feelings as he ministered
  • By birth a priest
  • By grace a prophet
  • By the trials of life a bulwark for God’s truth
  • By daily spiritual experience one of the greatest exponents of prophetic faith in his unique relation to God
  • By temperament, gentle and timid
  • Constantly contended against the forces of sin
  • He was a weeping prophet to a wayward people
  • He was alone for most of his ministry
  • Ultimately, his words of judgment saved Israel’s faith from complete degradation and gave them a future hope
  • He ministered during the time of
    • Zephaniah
    • Habakkuk (both before the exile)
    • Ezekiel
    • Daniel (both after exile began)
  • He received his call in the 13^th year of King Josiah
  • Josiah’s reforms were extensive
  • During this time Assyria was declining as a world power
  • Neo-Babylonia was not yet the dominant force it became
  • Josiah did a great deal to clean the land of idolatry, sacred prostitution, child sacrifice and pagan altars
  • Josiah also reinstituted the Passover
  • Josiah died (609 BC) when he tried to keep Pharaoh Necho II from advancing north to help Assyrians who were resisting the Babylonian’s westward expansion
  • Eventually Prince Nebuchadnezzar defeated both the Egyptians and the Assyrians at Carchemish
  • The Babylonian Empire was born
  • Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC invaded Palestine (today’s “Gaza”)
  • He took nobles like Daniel to Babylon
  • Jehoiakim (placed on the throne in Jerusalem by Necho II) refused to heed Jeremiah’s counsel to submit to the Babylonians
  • He instead burned the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36)
• Important Dates for Jeremiah:
  • 643 – probable date of Jeremiah’s birth
  • 640 – Josiah becomes king of Judah at age 8
  • 628 – Josiah begins his reforms
  • 627 – Jeremiah begins his ministry
  • 622 – The book of the Law discovered in the Temple
  • 612 – the fall of Nineveh, Assyria’s capitol
  • 609 – Josiah killed in battle by Egyptians at Megiddo
  • 605 – Nebuchadnezzar defeats Egyptians and first deportation of exiles to Babylon
  • 604 – Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s first scroll
  • 601 – Jehoiakim rebels against Babylon
  • 598 – Jehoiakim is deposed and dies; Jehioachin reigns for 3 months over Judah
  • 597 – Second deportation of exiles to Babylon; Zedekiah made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar
  • 593 – Zedekiah summoned to Babylon
  • 588 – Zedekiah besieged in Jerusalem for treachery
  • 586 – Fall of Jerusalem; Gedaliah appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar; Gedaliah assassinated; assassins flee to Egypt taking Jeremiah with them
  • 581 – Third deportation of exiles to Babylon
  • 568 – Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt
  • 561 – Jehoiachin released from prison in Babylon
  • 539 – Fall of Babylon to Cyrus the Persian
  • 538 – Cyrus issues his decree allowing the Jews to return to Palestine
  • These dates represent the background in which Jeremiah’s ministry occurred
  • “The book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away” (Francis A. Schaeffer)

Next time, we will get into the actual text of the book of Jeremiah.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective