The Prophet Jeremiah

I. Historical Background

A. Time

B. Began prophesying during Josiah’s reign and continued until after the Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem. He was left in the land after the last group of captives was taken to Babylon.

C. Man

D. He was from the land of Benjamin. He is sometimes known as the ” weeping prophet” because he also wrote the book of Lamentations in which he mourns the destroyed city of Jerusalem. Throughout the book you can feel his deep sorrow at the sins of the people and the terrible judgment that was coming upon them. When the Babylonians finally took Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar ordered Jeremiah released from prison and allowed him to live in the land.

E. It is believed that he died in Egypt.

F. Enemies in the land killed the governor of Judea, an official of Babylon. The people of Judah were afraid and wanted to flee to Egypt. Jeremiah warned them not to go since any who escaped to Egypt would die there, but apparently, they forced him to go.

II. Message

A. He condemned the people for violating the law of God, turning to idols, and oppressing their brethren; all of which we have studied in the other prophets.

B. He also condemned them for their ignorance of His will.

C. Jeremiah 4:22 – Wise to evil, no knowledge of good Jeremiah 2:32 – Forgotten God Jeremiah 5:1 – No one seeks the truth Jeremiah 5:30-31 – People love the false prophets and priests Jeremiah 6:10 – The word of the Lord is a reproach to them Jeremiah 6:16 – He urges them to seek the old paths Are we guilty of this? Lip service to God’s word but no real devotion to it?

D. Jeremiah wanted to refrain from speaking because the people were stubborn and would not listen; but he could not quit speaking the word of God, Jeremiah 20:7-13.

E. This is similar to Paul’s admonition to Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:1-5. If the word of God fills us, we cannot help but proclaim His will. We must preach the word of God to all men, though some will ignore it, stubbornly refuse to obey, or even revile, mock, and persecute us.

F. Finality of God’s judgment

G. Until Jeremiah, the prophets urged the people to repent to prevent punishment.

H. In contrast to the other prophets, Jeremiah told the people that the Babylonians would come up and take the land and they should give up.

I. For a time he walked around with a yoke on his neck and bonds on his hands to show the people that they would be captives. However, he told them that they would be captives for only seventy years after which God would bring them back to the land. Because Jeremiah told the people to give up, he was considered a traitor, Jeremiah 38:2-4.

J. Even if they repented, God determined to punish them for generations of wickedness.

K. Jeremiah 15:1-Even if Moses and Samuel pleaded on behalf of the people, God would not turn from His punishment.

L. This must be a warning to us, that God will come to a point where His longsuffering ends.

M. 2 Peter 3:8-10 – Scoffers consider the longsuffering of God slackness. As God gave Judah generations to repent, He is longsuffering with us. However, the day of the Lord will come, and if we have are unprepared, we will be condemned, Luke 12:37-40.

N. Since God determined that He would punish them, nothing would prevent it from taking place, Jeremiah 37:8-10.

O. No one can fight against God and prevail, Acts 5:38-39. We must realize that if we fight against the authority of God and live contrary to His will, He will judge us and condemn us, and we must submit to His judgment. It is better to submit to His will than His punishment.

P. A summary of his work, Jeremiah 1:10.

Q. A majority of his preaching would be negative, in order to turn the people away from their sins. He would also build and plant on the ruins of destruction.

R. A recurring phase that occurs throughout the book is ” Shall I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?”

S. It usually follows a description of their wickedness. God had judged other nations for wickedness, now His own nation would be punished for theirs.

T. If we claim to be God’s people but we turn from His word and do wickedness, God will punish us as well.

U. Revelation 2:5 Hebrews 10:26-27

III. Reaction to Jeremiah

A. As was often the case, Jeremiah had conflicts with the false prophets who promised peace and the quick return of their people taken in earlier captivities.

B. Most of the people would not listen to Jeremiah. They would mock him saying, ” fear on every side,” a phrase he used earlier in his warnings.

C. He also had conflicts with the final kings of Judah, some of whom put him in prison.

D. Once he was put in a pit filled with mud and left to die until he was rescued.

E. In the end, Jeremiah was proved a true prophet; his message was in harmony with the Old Law, in contrast to the false prophets who predicted good to evil people.

IV. Closing considerations

A. Sometimes we must teach God’s word to a world that will not hear it.

B. Sometimes we must teach to our brethren who do not want the pure gospel.

C. Often our work must be negative before we can dwell on the positive.

D. God will judge us. He proved it with His people of the Old Testament.