Prophet Jeremiah

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The word of the LORD came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the 13th year of his reign. It also came in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. He ministered from circa 627 B.C. from the reign of Judah's last good king to sometime after the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in 587. The nation slid into exile anyway.

(Jeremiah 1:1-3, The ESV Study BibleTM, English Standard Version (ESV) by Crossway Bibles, 2007. Page 1369)

(Jeremiah 1:1, The ESV Study BibleTM, English Standard Version (ESV) by Crossway Bibles, 2007. Page 1369)

His ministry

He was known by God and consecrated and appointed a prophet to the nations before he was formed in the womb. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) Even though he was a youth (Jeremiah 1:6), the LORD touched his mouth with his hand, putting him over nations and kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. (Jeremiah 1:9-10) God made him a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. (Jeremiah 1:18-19)

God sent him to proclaim his word in the hearing of Jerusalem. He remembered the devotion of their youth, so why did they go far from Him? They made His heritage an abomination, and the priests do not ask, "Where is the LORD?", law handlers do not know Him, shepherds transgress, and prophets prophesy by Baal. Israel has committed two evils in forsaking the fountain of living waters and hewing out broken cisterns that can hold no water. They brought enemies upon themselves by forsaking God. They are degenerate idolaters and will be shamed when their gods cannot save them in their time of trouble. Their children take no correction, their own sword devours their prophets, they kill guiltless poor, they forgot God days without number, and they say they are clean and innocent. (Jeremiah 2) He says a wife who returns after becoming another man's wife is greatly polluted, and that Israel has played the whore. Therefore, the rain has been withheld. (Jeremiah 3:1-5)

God had him proclaim towards the north from Judah for faithless Israel to return. He will not be angry forever if they acknowledge their guilt. The LORD is their master; He will take them, one from a city and two from a family, and bring them to Zion. He will give them shepherds after His own heart, multiply their people in the land, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord shall be forgotten. Jerusalem shall be the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer follow their own evil heart. The house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that He gave their fathers for a heritage. (Jeremiah 3:6-18) He voices Israel, "Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God." He says the mountain orgies are a delusion, and the shameful thing has devoured their families' work, so they lie down in shame and let their dishonor cover them for sinning. (Jeremiah 3:19-25)

Prophecies

Jeremiah saw an almond (shaqed) branch, and God says he saw well, for He is watching over (shoqed) His word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:11-12)

Jeremiah saw a boiling pot, facing away from the north. Disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. All the tribes of the kingdoms of the north shall come and set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 1:13-16)

Jeremiah prophesied in the hearing of Jerusalem Israel will be put to shame by Egypt as they were put to shame by Assyria. (Jeremiah 2:36)

No more ask of the covenant of the Lord

"And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage." (Jeremiah 3:15-18)

Zedekiah's opposition to Babylon eventually led the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem in the fifth month (July/August) (Jeremiah 39:1-10) of 587 or 586 B.C. The captivity lasted until c.538-535 B.C., when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. (Ezra 1). Jeremiah prophesied the exile would last 70 years, and it did.

(The ESV Study BibleTM, English Standard Version (ESV) by Crossway Bibles, 2007. Page 1369)

References