Jeremiah

I -- The call of Jeremiah 1:1-19

• 1:1-3
  • Introduction to Jeremiah
• 1:4-10
  • Jeremiah's call
  • "I knew you before you were born"
• 1:11-19
  • Two Visions
  • Yahweh was "watching"
  • Boiling pot facing away from the North

II -- Divine Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem 2:1-25:38

• 2:1-6:30
  • God's people are doing wrong
    • 2:1-13 
      • Story of a marriage gone wrong
      • Metaphor for people turning away from God
    • 2:14-19 
      • Their wickedness will lead to disaster
    • 2:20-28 
      • Consequences of breaking their covenant with God
    • 2:29-37 
      • The people have no defense
    • 3:1-5 
      • Can reconciliation still happen?
      • "You have done all the evil you could do"
    • 3:6-11 
      • Faithless Israel (north) was less guilty than faithless Judah (south)
    • 3:12-18 
      • Still the Lord issues a call for reconciliation
    • 3:19-4:4 
      • What is required for true reconciliation
      • Renewed pledge of loyalty
      • Refrain from worshiping other gods
      • Be faithful to the Lord
      • Recognize their failings
    • 4:5-10 
      • Disaster is coming from the North
    • 4:11-18 
      • Judgment is upon them
    • 4:19-28 
      • Jeremiah's inner torment
    • 4:29-5:9 
    • The people have no excuse
    • "Shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"
  • 5:10-3 
    • A community under judgment
    • They have chosen to go it alone and have forsaken the Lord
    • The religious leaders are no leaders at all
  • 6:1-8 
    • Jerusalem will be a death trap
  • 6:9-15 
    • The people are falsely confident
    • They proclaim "peace, peace. When there is no peace."
  • 6:16-2 
    • The people deliberately reject the salvation offered to them
    • Instead, they have chosen death
  • 6:22-30 
    • The role of the prophet
    • Jeremiah is to "refine and test" them
• 7:1-8:3
  • False religion
    • 7:1-15 
      • Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (probably given in 609 after Josiah's death)
      • He calls for a radical change in lifestyle
      • If they don't heed his words, the temple will not be a refuge for them
    • 7:16-20 
      • Yahweh's word to Jeremiah
      • "The time for praying is over."
    • 7:21-28 
      • The people have been faithless since they came out of the land of Egypt
    • 7:29-8:3 
      • Grim words that describe the end days
• 8:4-10:25
  • A disobedient and corrupt people (Unlike the earlier chapters, there is no longer a call for people to repent)
    • 8:4-12 
      • People are willfully turning away from Yahweh and embracing false gods
      • They are racing headlong towards destruction and refusing to be saved
      • They have no shame and there will be no remnant
    • 8:13-9:1 
      • Despair and anguish
      • The people voice their despair - they know all is lost. Jeremiah voices his anguish - "Is there no balm in Gilead?"
    • 9:2-11 
      • Jeremiah's continued lament He is sickened by their behavior
    • 9:12-22 
      • Another sermon that explains the reason for the coming destruction
      • The people have been disloyal to Yahweh
      • He invites the professional mourners to begin their rites
    • 9:23-10:16 
      • An interlude addressing the challenge of right living
      • Let people glory in the knowledge of the Lord
      • Pagan worship is pointless - idols can do no evil, but do no good either
    • 10:17-25 
      • Tragedy is looming
      • Responsibility lies with the leaders, the "shepherds"
• 11:1-20:18
  • Jeremiah's actions and inner struggles
    • 11:1-17 
      • A preaching mission
      • Is told to tell the people the "words of the covenant"
      • They have not kept their requirements - the curse of the covenant is upon them
      • Again, he is told the time for prayer has passed
    • 11:18-12:6 
      • Jeremiah's prayer - raw and candid
      • His kinsmen in Anathoth are plotting against him
      • He turns to God and asks why the wicked prosper while he suffers
      • It's the age-old question (think of Job)
      • Answer is disquieting - things will get worse before they get better
      • But Jeremiah's spiritual strength will be up to the task
      • He must hold on in faith; Yahweh will be with him
    • 12:7-17 
      • God laments the devastation that has come upon the nation
      • Foreign nations are the instrument of God's destruction
      • After the destruction, there will be new compassion
      • The final word is never "no"
    • 13:1-14 
      • The linen waistcloth
      • Yahweh told him to hide a brand new waistcloth
      • When he was told to retrieve it, it was spoiled
      • Metaphor for people who claimed special privilege with God but defied him
      • They, too, are spoiled
      • Reference to wine jars might indicate most people were in drunken stupor
    • 13:15-27 
      • A final warning
      • He gives a realistic assessment: People are on a path they cannot change
      • "How long will it be before you are made clean?"
    • 14:1-16 
      • A crisis of national proportions
      • Every aspect of life will be affected by famine and the sword
      • False prophets are giving false hope - will be consumed as well
    • 14:17-15:4 
      • Additional laments
      • Description of military defeat to come and consequences (grim) N
      • othing can change God's mind now
    • 15:5-9 
      • No one will have pity on Jerusalem
      • Images of the conquest
    • 15:10-21 
      • Jeremiah's response is one of deepest emotion
      • Everything is going wrong; he's filled with despair
      • Passage ends with a word of encouragement
      • Life will not be easy, but Yahweh will be present to restore….redeem
    • 16:1-13 
      • Normal aspects of life will come to an end
      • People will not marry, see their children grow up, or be buried at the end
      • When people ask why, he should say that they have forsaken the Lord
      • They will be "hurled" out of the land and Yahweh will show them no favor
    • 16:14-21
      • Then a new day will come
      • There will be another deliverance (much like the Exodus)
      • The people will know the name of the Lord
    • 17:1-4 
      • The people's sin must be reckoned with
    • 17:5-8 
      • Their choice: trust in man or trust in God
    • 17:9-13 
      • The human mind is unpredictable and often devious
      • Only God can come to their aid
    • 17:14-18
      • A cry from Jeremiah
      • "Heal me and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved."
      • No doubt, people mocked his words and ridiculed him
      • Ends with a cry for vengeance, but God does not respond
    • 17:19-27 
      • Interlude on proper Sabbath worship and behavior
    • 18:1-12
      •  Illustration of the potter's workshop
      • Potter has total control over the work of his hands
      • Could be a message of hope or judgment
    • 18:13-17 
      • Even the nations see Israel's bad behavior
      • Illustrations from nature make the point
    • 18:18-23 
      • People's response to Jeremiah is to discredit and silence him
      • Jeremiah cried for renewed vengeance against them
    • 19:1-13
      •  Illustration of the broken jar
      • Was told to take priests and elders, break the jar in their sight
      • A broken jar cannot be fixed
    • 19:14-20:6 
      • Jeremiah preaches in the temple with harsh consequences
      • Chief officer of priests takes his vengeance against Jeremiah
      • Arrested him and put him in stocks overnight - didn't like his message
      • Jeremiah responds with a word of judgment against the chief officer
    • 20:7-13 
      • The inner struggle of proclaiming a word no one wants to hear
      • First expresses doubts about his task
      • Then proclaims a song of praise
    • 20:14-18 
      • Then back to the depths of despair
      • "Cursed be the day on which I was born"
• 21:1-23:40
  • Kings and prophets
    • 21:1-7 
      • Delegation from king asked him to inquire of the Lord
      • Responded that not only would devastation come but the Lord would be behind it all
      • Kings would be given over to the king of Babylon
    • 21:8-10 
      • Another choice: choose the way of life or the way of death
    • 21:11-14 
      • Interlude: Warning for the House of David
    • 22:1-9 
      • Speech at the royal palace
      • Stinging words that hold the king accountable for his decisions
    • 22:10-19 
      • Comment on kings after Josiah's death
      • Shallum - son of Josiah, deposed by the Egyptians
      • Jehoiakim - A self indulgent despot
      • (Jehoiakim hated Jeremiah)
      • Stern words of judgment
    • 22:20-23 
      • Interlude on coming fate of Jerusalem
    • 22:24-30 
      • King Coniah was also ineffective
    • 23:1-8 
      • Oracle against the nations
      • "I will raise up for David a righteous Branch."
    • 23:9-15 
      • The land is filled with adulterers
      • Jeremiah's heart is broken
    • 23:16-22 
      • God does not send false prophets - Do not listen to them!
      • Do not listen to words of hope - There is no hope
    • 23:23-32 
      • There is a difference between dreams and God's words
      • "Am I a God at hand…and not a God afar off?"
      • Prophets who tell their dreams do not profit the people at all
    • 23:33-40
      • Lying prophets speak empty words of comfort
• 24:1-25:38
  • Words of hope as well as judgment
    • 24:1-10
      • During the exile, a vision of good and bad figs
      • Good figs are like the people exiled to Babylon
      • Bad figs are like the leaders and others who escaped the exile
    • 25:1-14 
      • Looking back at history and then towards the future
      • Acknowledgement that his ministry failed
      • Yet confident that God's purposes will be revealed
    • 25:15-29 
      • The cup of wine as a symbol of judgment
      • Both Israel and the other nations will drink from this cup
    • 25:30-38 
    • The case against the nations
    • They will be tried and found guilty

III -- The Controversy with False Prophets 26:1-29:32 (Flashback)

• 26:1-16
  • The Temple Sermon revisited (mentioned in 7:1-15)
  • After delivering the sermon, Jeremiah was arrested (mob rule)
  • He challenged the princes and the people to amend their ways
  • They were free to do whatever they wanted to him
  • They let him go
• 26:17-24
  • Three different prophets with three different messages
  • Justified acquittal by remembering the prophet Micah of Moresheth
  • His life was spared despite delivering a difficult message Uriah, the son of Shemaiah, on the other hand, was killed by Jehoiakim
  • Jeremiah was not put to death, possibly due to having the right friends
• 27:1-15
  • Appeal and warning to foreigners
  • Illustration using thongs and yoke-bars around his neck
  • Point was that kings would be under the yoke of Babylon
  • (At that time, kings were hoping for a successful revolt)
  • Prophets who spoke that message were not sent by God
• 27:16-22
  • More false promises from the false prophets
  • Jeremiah appeals to priests and people not to be misled
• 28:1-11
  • Conflict with the prophet, Hananiah
  • Hananiah prophesied that exile would last two years
  • Jeremiah disagreed - Said history would determine who prophesied correctly
  • Then Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's yoke to make his point In theory, Hananiah looked like the "winner"
• 28:12-17
  • A final word
  • Jeremiah was to tell Hananiah that the Lord would make the wooden bars iron
  • Hananiah's message was false
  • Records death of Hananiah
• 29:1-23
  • Jeremiah's letter to those in exile
  • "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce"
  • Time in Babylon will extend for 70 years
  • After that time, the people will seek the Lord and He will be found
  • (Many believed that exile was a temporary state and were plotting with those left behind to rebel against Babylon. Prophets were particularly keen on this.)
  • Jeremiah said prophets would be put to death for their false words
  • Insists that the exiles must find God in Babylon
  • True faith is praying to a God who hears, not a God confined to a particular location, i.e. the Temple
• 29:24-32
  • More letters
  • Those in exile wondered why Jeremiah was still alive after his harsh words
  • He responds by telling people not to listen to false prophets (in this case, Shemaiah of Nehelam)

IV -- The Book of Consolation 30:1-33:26

• 30:1-11
  • A message of hope
  • The day will come when God's people will be restored
• 30:12-17
  • People have been stripped of all their resources
  • One day they will be ready to turn to God
• 30:18-24
  • The restored community will owe its renewed existence to Yahweh
  • "You will be my people and I will be your God."
• 31:1-14
  • God's faithfulness is affirmed
  • There will be a joyful homecoming as people are brought from afar
  • The Lord will keep his people as a shepherd keeps his flock
• 31:15-26
  • Time for weeping is over
  • Life should return to normal and God's blessings will return
• 31:27-34
  • Issue of personal responsibility
  • Children will not suffer for the sins of their fathers
  • The Lord will make a new covenant with Israel and Judah
  • "I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
• 31:35-40
  • God is not powerless and He has not forgotten them
• 32:1-15
  • The fate of Zedekiah
  • Jeremiah buys land to illustrate that land will be bought and sold again in Judah
  • Indicates that the people will have a future
• 32:16-44
  • Jeremiah's prayer of praise
  • God's response chronicles reasons for destruction and promise for later renewal
• 33:1-13
  • Continued words of hope
  • City will be destroyed; city will be restored
• 33:14-26
  • Renewal of promise to House of David
  • Righteous Branch will be chosen
  • Promise to David and Jacob as secure as cycles of day and night

V -- Historical Information re: Jehoiakim and Zedekiah 34:1-39:18

• 34:1-7
  • The time is roughly 588 BCE. Tells Zedekiah that the city is doomed
  • He will not die in battle, but in peace (in exile)
• 34:8-22
  • Community frees slaves in accordance with provisions in law
  • Immediately turned around and reinstated them
  • Seen as an affront to God's covenant; judgment is around the corner
• 35:1-19
  • Goes back ten years to an example of one faithful family, the Rechabites
  • They were faithful to the promises made to their father, will be rewarded
• 36:1-26
  • Banned from the temple, Jeremiah dictated the words of the Lord to
  • Baruch, who wrote them on a scroll. Baruch went to the temple and read it aloud. The princes determined to take the scroll to king Jehoiakim. Upon hearing it, he had it burned. He then sought the lives of Baruch and Jeremiah, but they were in hiding.
• 36:27-32
  • Jeremiah dictated the words of the Lord a second time
  • Included words of judgment against the king
• 37:1-10
  • Back to Zedekiah. He requests Jeremiah to pray for them (588 BCE)
  • Word comes back from Jeremiah that it is too late
• 37:11-21
  • Imprisonment
  • Prior to the final siege, Jeremiah traveled to Benjamin where he was arrested on a charge of desertion. King Zedekiah had him brought to Jerusalem and inquired of the word of the Lord. Jeremiah repeated God's inevitable judgment and asked not to be sent back to prison. He was then placed in the court of the guard (state run prison)
• 38:1-13
  • Second version of imprisonment
  • Hoping to deter his preaching, princes charged Jeremiah with treasons and put him in a cistern to die a lingering death. King's eunuch convinced king to get him out. Includes a tender description of his rescue, but he is again placed in the court of the guard.
• 38:14-28
  • Second interview with the king
  • Jeremiah bargains for his life; tells the king to surrender to Babylon
• 39:1-18
  • After an 18-month siege, Jerusalem fell
  • Nobles and princes were killed; Zedekiah was taken to Babylon
  • Jeremiah was saved as was the eunuch who had earlier saved his life
  • Description is graphic and grim

VI -- Jeremiah after the Fall 40:1-45:5

• 40:1-6
  • Babylonians released Jeremiah
  • They apparently had heard his message, possibly thought he was pro-Babylon
  • Allowed him the choice of doing whatever he wanted
  • Jeremiah opted to stay in Jerusalem under watchful eye of Gedaliah
• 40:7-41:3
  • Babylonians installed Gedaliah as governor of Judah
  • People rallied around him, normalcy was returning
  • An assassination plot was brought to his attention, but he rejected it
  • Unfortunately it was true; Ammonites killed him shortly thereafter, bringing a halt to reconstruction
  • Chaos again ruled the day
• 41:4-18
  • Ammonites continue bloodbath against 80 pilgrims who had come to worship
  • 10 are saved, possibly for ransom.
  • When Gedaliah's commander heard about, they gave chase, but did not capture Ammonites. Fearing reprisals, however, from Babylon for death of their governor, the decision was made to head south into Egypt.
• 42:1-22
  • Commander decided to inquire of Jeremiah before they went to Egypt
  • Jeremiah was very clear: if they stayed in Jerusalem, they would live in peace.
  • If they fled to Egypt, they would die by the sword. He reassured them there would be no reprisals from Babylon. God would protect them
• 43:1-13
  • People accused Jeremiah of lying about the word of the Lord
  • Decided not to obey his words and took everyone, including Jeremiah, to Egypt
  • For his last symbolic act, Jeremiah was told to take large stones and bury them.
  • He did. The message was that in a like manner the Babylonians would bury them in Egypt. (Nebuchadnezzar did, indeed, march against Egypt about 10 years later, but it was more of an excursion than an invasion, warning them to leave the Babylonian empire alone.)
• 44:1-14
  • Words of judgment for those living in Egypt
  • Because they did not hearken to the word of the Lord AGAIN, they also would never return to Jerusalem
• 44:15-30
  • Attempts to acclimate to Egyptian life
  • In trying to fit in, Israelites participated in pagan cultic worship
  • Jeremiah's word from the Lord was this was an apostasy
  • Israelites determined to continue anyway, thus sealing their fate
  • They would all die in Egypt, only a remnant would return
• 45:1-5
  • Final glimpse of Baruch
  • Like Jeremiah, he also was pained by his task; like Jeremiah, he got little sympathy
  • His final determination is unknown

VII -- Oracles against the Nations 46:1-51:64

It is not always clear when these oracles were proclaimed, or who proclaimed them. Some scholars have suggested they were later additions to the book, but it is entirely probable that among his many oracles of doom, Jeremiah also spoke some against the nations. Whether these occurred before, during, or after the fall of Jerusalem is not entirely clear.

• 46:1-28
  • Oracle against Egypt
    • 46:1-12 
      • The Egyptian forces will be defeated at Charchemish
    • 46:13-24
      • A description of the defeat
    • 46:25-28 
      • With the defeat of Egypt, Israel will be delivered
• 47:1-7
  • Oracle against the Philistines
• 48:1-47
  • Oracle against Moab
    • 48:1-10 
      • The destruction of Moab
    • 48:11-17 
      • Moab had never known exile. Its location was outside the normal paths of invaders. But this would soon change.
    • 48:18-28
      • Catastrophe was in store for Moab's cities
    • 48:29-39 
      • A lament for Moab
    • 48:40-47 
      • Their destruction and a promise of future restoration
• 49:1-6
  • Oracle against Ammon
• 49:7-22
  • Oracle against Edom
• 49:23-27
  • Oracle against Damascus
• 49:28-33
  • Oracle against various Arab Tribes
• 49:34-39
  • Oracle against Elam
• 50:1-51:64
  • Oracle against Babylon
    • 50:1-10 
      • Babylon will fall and Israel will be restored
    • 50:11-16 
      • Description of the fall of Babylon
    • 50:17-20 
      • Israel will return
    • 50:21-40 
      • Judgment against Babylon
    • 50:41-46 
      • A new foe from the north will undo Babylon
    • 51:1-14
      • Continued words of judgment
    • 51:15-19 
      • A hymn of praise to Yahweh
    • 51:20-26 
      • Yahweh's mighty "hammer" will repay Babylon
    • 51:27-33 
      • The nations will rally against Babylon (led by the Medes)
    • 51:34-40 
      • Judah's complaint against Babylon and the Lord's response, "I will take vengeance on your behalf."
    • 51:41-48 
      • The fate of Babylon - Her whole land will be put to shame
    • 51:49-53 
      • A message to those in exile - the days are coming….
    • 51:54-64 
      • Jeremiah had sent along a message to those in exile
      • The message was to be read aloud, then tied to a stone and thrown in the Euphrates
      • It would illustrate the fate of Babylon - the country would also "sink" like a stone and rise no more

VIII -- The Fall of Jerusalem 52:1-34

Some scholars view this chapter as a final appendix to the book of Jeremiah. This material virtually repeats 2 Kings 24:18-25:30.

• 52:1-16
  • Description of the fall of the city and the capture of Zedekiah
• 52:17-23
  • The capture and the looting of the temple
• 52:24-30
  • All told 4600 men (perhaps 10,000-15,000 total) were taken to Babylon
  • Out of this meager number would be the remnant to return
• 52:31-34
  • After 37 years, Jehoiakim was released from prison in Babylon
  • He lived in the palace and was treated kindly
  • This might have been the first indication that God's promises of fulfillment were on course. The king lived a long life and was out of prison.

To the end, the focus is on the exiles in Babylon and not on the ones who remained behind or who went to Egypt. The remnant that was promised would come out of Babylon. Jeremiah's personal fate remains unknown, though it is believed that he died in Egypt. Even though his message was continually rebuffed by his countrymen, it only led him to work more diligently, at whatever cost to himself. The life of a prophet was a lonely, harsh venture. The words that he was told to speak were generally rejected by his fellow countrymen. He was mocked, beaten, and ridiculed, and two attempts were made on his life. We will continue our study of prophets and hear God's new word to his people.