Jeremiah
Book Type
The second book of the Major Prophets; the twenty-fourth book of the Old Testament; the twenty-fourth book of the Bible.Introduction to the Book of Jeremiah
The book of Jeremiah is about Yahweh’s goodness and His people’s refusal to follow His ways (Jer 6:16). It also portrays Jeremiah’s persistence in following his prophetic call despite indifference and opposition. Jeremiah warned Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, of God’s judgment—which culminated in 586 BC with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. But Yahweh ultimately provides hope, promising to renew His covenant with His people (Jer 31:31–34). Jeremiah proclaims that God had long ago established a contractual agreement with them and will restore that relationship (compare Exod 24:1–8).God called Jeremiah to warn the kingdom of Judah of its impending destruction. When Jeremiah began preaching, Judah was relatively prosperous, free, and secure, but the kingdom’s fortunes changed dramatically as Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon asserted his power in the region. Judah suffered under his heavy hand for twenty years before he destroyed the city of Jerusalem and exiled its citizens to Babylon. Throughout these events, Jeremiah warned of judgment and destruction while distinctively recording his own experience of the pain and conflict these announcements brought. As God passionately and tenderly begged his people to return to him and receive salvation, Jeremiah beautifully conveyed God’s promise to restore Israel as his people.The book and prophet Jeremiah hold at least two great distinctions among all the Old Testament prophets. (1) This is the longest Prophetic Book in the Bible (1,364 verses). (2) Jeremiah’s life is more fully described than any of the other fifteen writing prophets. Into the tumultuous times of the last half of the seventh century and the first quarter of the sixth century BC, came this prophet bearing a word from God for the stubborn people of Judah. The book’s contents span roughly from 640 to 580 BC.Theme & Overview
Jeremiah, the prophet of the new covenant, predicts Judah's Babylonian exile and ultimate restoration under the Davidic Messiah. The prophet Jeremiah saw Israel morally disintegrating and being destroyed militarily by its enemies. He saw Babylon attack Jerusalem in 586 BC and many of its people exiled to foreign lands. According to the NIV Quest Study Bible Jeremiah’s grim prophecies, in both poetry and prose, continually warned Judah about God’s approaching judgment because of the people’s constant, willful disobedience. Yet intermingled with all the dark messages were words of hope about Judah’s future redemption. Watch for Jeremiah’s encouragement—prophecies that are still being fulfilled today whenever sinful hearts are transformed by GodJeremiah had a clear calling, but he also experienced the sadness and loneliness of speaking to an unrepentant people. He told God’s people that their approaching exile was a consequence of their disregard for God’s law. They would not be protected by their political alliances or their cultural markers, but only by a return to God.Although Jeremiah prophesied impending disaster, he also prophesied hope. The disaster was not averted, but God would restore His people and form a new covenant with them—His law would be written on their hearts. This covenant is linked to the new covenant in Christ in the New Testament (Heb 8:8–12; 10:16–17). Jeremiah continued to share the word of Yahweh in a hopeless situation, knowing that God would remain faithful. Jeremiah offers us a model of what it means to be faithful despite opposition and disaster.Jeremiah exhibits many great themes that stress God’s judgment on covenant infidelity and worldwide sin, as well as God’s determination to restore an international people for himself through the establishing of a new covenant.Author
Jeremiah, specifically named in Jeremiah 1:1. Jeremiah may have written with the assistance of his servant, Baruch.Recipients
The book of Jeremiah is written to the people of the nation of Judah. Some of the writing applies to the people during the reign of King Josiah. Other of the writing is directed to Judah during the rise of Nebuchadnezzar and the deportation of the Jewish people. Jeremiah's many warnings about judgment were intended for God's chosen people, who had turned away from God, and would suffer the consequences. After mercifully saving Judah, despite her idolatry, God would finally allow the people to suffer the natural results of their own choices.Date
Jeremiah 1:1–5 defines the timeframe of Jeremiah's writings. They began in 630 and ended in approximately 580 BC. This also means the various segments of this book are not necessarily in chronological order.Background
We have more information about Jeremiah than any of the other writing prophets. He was born near the middle of the seventh century BC in Anathoth, a town three miles northeast of Jerusalem. He was from a priestly family and may have been a descendant of Abiathar, the high priest under David whom Solomon had banished to Anathoth (1 Kgs 2:26). Jeremiah was called to be a prophet during Josiah’s reign, around 627 BC (Jer 1:2, 6). However, most of his known prophetic ministry occurred after approximately 605 BC, as Judah declined and then fell to the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.Jeremiah experienced opposition throughout his ministry. King Jehoiakim (609–597 BC) burned a scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies to indicate his contempt (Jer 36). During the siege of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was accused of treason and imprisoned because of his preaching (Jer 37). After Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah chose to remain (Jer 40:1–6), but he was still taken to Egypt against his will around 585 BC (Jer 43:4–7).During the decades before Jeremiah’s birth, Assyria dominated the ancient Near East, including Egypt for a time. King Manasseh of Judah became an Assyrian vassal, swore allegiance to the Assyrian deities, and worshiped idols (see 2 Kgs 21:1–7) for most of his long reign (686–642 BC). As a result, the kingdom of Judah became a spiritual wasteland (but see 2 Chr 33:10–17). Manasseh’s son Amon followed his father’s negative example during his brief reign (2 Kgs 21:21). When some of the palace servants in Jerusalem assassinated Amon (2 Kgs 21:23–24), his eight-year-old son, Josiah, was quickly crowned king of Judah.Josiah served the Lord and rejected his father’s and grandfather’s support of paganism. In the twelfth year of his reign, he decreed that pagan idols and altars should be destroyed (2 Chr 34:3–7). In his eighteenth year on the throne, he funded the repair of the Temple so that the priests and people of Judah could participate in worshiping the one true God (2 Chr 34:8). During these repairs, the Book of the Law, which had been forgotten during Manasseh’s reign, was recovered. It so clearly described Judah’s sins in Jeremiah’s time that its teachings became a significant basis for Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry.Jeremiah was born into a priestly family in the small town of Anathoth, a few miles north of Jerusalem. He was familiar with the history of God’s relationship with Israel and with the covenant God had made with Israel under Moses. That knowledge was enhanced by the recovery of the Book of the Law. Jeremiah’s ministry began about 627 BC, soon after the Book of the Law was found.Josiah’s death in battle with the Egyptians in 609 BC (2 Kgs 23:29) spelled the end of revival in Judah and the beginning of the end of the nation. Between 612 and 605 BC, the Babylonians crushed the Assyrians and beat back the Egyptians; Judah’s security and prosperity ended as the Babylonians gained control of the region. Between 605 and 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked, subjugated, and finally destroyed the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.During this time, Judah’s kings remained apostate from the Lord and refused to heed Jeremiah’s warnings. Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim (609–598 BC), renewed pagan worship in Judah and relied on the Egyptians for support against the Babylonians; he was violently antagonistic to Jeremiah’s messages. His son Jehoiachin reigned for only three months at the beginning of 597 BC. When the Babylonians defeated Judah in April 597 BC, they replaced Jehoiachin with his uncle, Zedekiah (597–586 BC), who reigned as a vassal of Babylon.Zedekiah is depicted as weak and indecisive. He respected Jeremiah and often asked him for advice, but he lacked the courage to follow the Lord. Instead, Zedekiah followed the advice of his administrators and broke his covenant to serve the Babylonian king. As a result, the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem in January 588 BC. In July 586 BC they finally broke through the walls of Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and razed the city. Most of the people in Jerusalem were taken captive to Babylon, though a remnant remained in Judah—including Jeremiah, who recorded what happened to the remnant community during the days following Jerusalem’s destruction.The Purpose & Audience (Reasons for the letter)
A battle raged in OT Israel between pagan idol worship and worship of the Lord. Jeremiah repeatedly reminded the Israelites that their covenant with the Lord required that they give him true, heartfelt, and exclusive devotion. In a pivotal passage (10:1–16), Jeremiah clearly contrasts the foolishness of idolatry with the majesty, glory, purity, and power of the God of Israel.The people of Jerusalem and Judah thus faced a major conflict. If they continued to worship pagan idols, they would lose their holy city and Temple, their loved ones, and their wealth and freedom. The people tried to escape their predicament through defiance, arrogance, and anger, but the events of war soon plunged them into utter despair and death. Even then, they seemed unable to choose another course of action. To cease believing in the magical power of idols and rituals and to give up the allure and excitement of pagan festivals and sexual freedom seemed too great a loss. The possibility that the Temple and Jerusalem might be destroyed was unthinkable. So only a few repented.With passionate pleas, often couched in “if … then” sentences, the Lord offered a way back to his gracious salvation. If the people would earnestly and completely remove the vicious and salacious practices of idolatry from their lives, submit to the Lord without reservation, and fulfill his ethical requirements, then the Lord would cease being angry and accept them as his people again. Even when the calamities of ruin, death, and exile became a reality, the Lord promised to preserve a remnant that would serve him. He promised to bring the captives back to their homeland and grant them peace and prosperity.The brightest description of God’s mercies is found in 30:1–33:26, where a new covenant and a new king are promised. Instead of “uprooting and tearing down,” he would “plant and rebuild” (1:10; 31:28). However, only a few repented in Jeremiah’s days. In all of this, the prophet Jeremiah experienced a deep tension between the Lord’s command (1:17–19) and his own desires. The Lord’s command was “Go … and tell,” whereas the prophet desired to keep peace with his neighbors (see 20:8–9). He felt a deep solidarity with his people, and the terrible words of judgment and destruction he was called to pronounce cut deeply into his own soul. More than any other OT prophet, Jeremiah let us see his heart as he struggled to obey (15:16–18; cp. Matt 26:36–42).Jeremiah is the prophet of the “word of the LORD” (1:2). Of the 349 times the OT uses the phrase “thus says the Lord,” Jeremiah accounts for 157 of them. But this prophetic word that Jeremiah spoke was more than an objective revelation from God to the nation; God’s words were to be joy and food for Jeremiah’s own soul. As 15:16 states, “Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart.” However, God’s word was sometimes a burden to the prophet. He sometimes grew tired of bringing God’s message of judgment to an unresponsive people.The people felt immune to any threat of divine judgment, but Jeremiah repeatedly warned them about the vanity of their reliance on ritual and external formalism. The prophetic word of God was to make the people blush and turn away from meaningless outward piety.CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEThe best known passage in Jeremiah is the new covenant text in 31:31–34. Not only is it the largest OT text quoted in the NT (Heb 8:8–12; 10:16–17), but arguably better than any other passage it links God’s ancient promises to Eve (Gn 3:15), Abraham (Gn 12:1–3), and David (2Sm 7:16–19) with NT assurances that God in Christ grants believers new hearts, salvation, and fellowship with him.Key Verses (ESV)
Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, \ and before you were born I consecrated you; \ I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"Jeremiah 29:10–11: "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."Jeremiah 52:12–13: "In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down."Structure & Outline 1
One date rings throughout the entire book of Jeremiah: “the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah.” That year, 605 BC, brought major change to the political situation of the Near East. Both Egypt and Assyria were defeated at the battle of Carchemish (46:2–12; 2Kg 24:7; 2Ch 35:20). Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne of Babylon. In that same year God instructed Jeremiah to put his prophecies into writing—a final test of King Jehoiakim’s responsiveness to the word of God.This significant dateline, “the fourth year of Jehoiakim,” was placed at 25:1; 36:1; and 45:1, thereby dividing the prophet’s book into three main sections: the prophet’s faithfulness in carrying out God’s commission (chaps. 2–24), the fierce opposition to his ministry (chaps. 25–35), and the collapse of Judah (chaps. 36–45).The book of Jeremiah includes poetic sections (especially in chaps. 2–25) and prose accounts as well. Critical scholars generally say that the poetry is Jeremiah’s and the prose is either the work of his friends or a person who is labeled a Deuteronomic writer (so designated because the prose sections are said to reflect the book of Deuteronomy). But we may ask, Could not Jeremiah have written in both poetic and prose form? There is no reason to suppose he was incapable of writing in both forms.OUTLINE I. Prologue: Jeremiah’s Call and Vision (1:1–19) II. Jeremiah Calls for Repentance (2:1–25:38) A. Six early messages (2:1–20:18) B. Four indictments on Israel’s leadership (21:1–24:10) C. Judgment against the nations (25:1–38) III. Jeremiah Stands Firm Despite Harassment (26:1–36:32) A. The temple sermon repeated (26:1–24) B. The yoke of Babylon (27:1–22) C. The false prophet Hananiah (28:1–17) D. Letters to the exiles (29:1–32) E. The book of consolation/comfort (30:1–33:26) F. Judgment for Zedekiah (34:1–22) G. The obedience of the Rechabites (35:1–19) H. The writing and rewriting of the scroll (36:1–32) IV. Jeremiah Sees Destruction Ahead (37:1–45:5) A. Jeremiah and King Zedekiah (37:1–21) B. Jeremiah rescued by Ebed-melech (38:1–28) C. Jeremiah’s fate at the fall of Jerusalem (39:1–18) D. Post-fall Judah and Governor Gedaliah (40:1–41:18) E. Jeremiah asked about going to Egypt (42:1–22) F. Jeremiah’s counsel and God’s word rejected (43:1–44:30) G. Summary: God’s word to the scribe Baruch (45:1–5) V. Prophecies against the Nations (46:1–51:64) A. Egypt (46:1–28) B. The Philistines (47:1–7) C. Moab (48:1–47) D. The Ammonites (49:1–6) E. Edom (49:7–22) F. Damascus (49:23–27) G. Kedar and Hazor (49:28–33) H. Elam (49:34–39) I. Babylon (50:1–51:64) VI. Epilogue: The Fall of Jerusalem (52:1–34)Outline 2
Jeremiah includes 52 chapters and can be organized into four major areas. The first section is the calling of Jeremiah, in chapter 1. Though young, God calls him to speak his words without reservation. The second section is the majority of the text: Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Judah (Jeremiah 2—45). A series of messages are recorded toward Judah (Jeremiah 2—29). In chapters 30—33, Jeremiah predicts a positive future for the people of Judah through a new covenant. Yet, despite this future covenant, much calamity would first fall upon Judah (Jeremiah 34—45).The third section addresses Jeremiah's prophecies regarding other nations (chapters 46-51). He speaks against nine different kingdoms, concluding with words of future judgment upon Babylon (chapters 50-51).The final section (Jeremiah 52) provides the account of the fall of Jerusalem. The city is destroyed (Jeremiah 52:1–23) and its citizens are deported (Jeremiah 52:24–30). The closing verses end with a new hope through the release of Jehoiachin (Jeremiah 52:31–34).