Jeremiah

Jeremiah was Jehovahs messenger in the darkest days of the nation of Judah. He preached to people who refused to hear and obey. No one had a more thankless task than he. Other prophets had at least occasional successes to cheer their hearts in the midst of difficulties, but Jeremiah seemed to be fighting a losing battle to the very end. Disaster, failure and hostility were rewards for his work. He preached to deaf ears and seemed to reap only hate in return for his love for the people. n life he seemed to accomplish little. He was heartbroken. !ut, "od has given us a record that makes him one of the greatest of all the prophets. His life was one of deepening gloom. He had to watch the people and the city which he loved fall from sin to sin. #nd, all the time, he had no hope that things might change. $any times he became discouraged, but each time, "od graciously touched him, and he was faithful unto death. JEREMIAHS BACKGROUND & CALL - Jeremiah was the son of the priest Hilkiah. %his is probably the Hilkiah that found the copy of the law in the days of Josiah, that led to the attempted reform &' (ings '')*+. He lived in #nathoth some three miles from Jerusalem. Jeremiah was a prophet by the direct call of "od. %his was "ods plan for his life. Jeremiah felt unfit for such an awesome task &,)-+. He offered e.cuses why he could not do this work. His e.cuses are very similar to those $oses offered when he was called &/.. 0),12,'+. Jeremiah was afraid &,)*+, and he had good reason. "ods solution to his inade3uacies was to 4touch him5 &,)6+. "od touched saiah to fit him for service & sa. -)7+. , and the same is true with Jeremiah. "ods touch 2 His anointing 2 fits us for His work. Jeremiahs work is described in ,),1, and he was given authority to be "ods spokesman to the nation. Jeremiah prophesied for about forty years. He prophesied during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiahim and 8edekiah. He delivered prophesies prior to the fall of Jerusalem, during the siege and capture of Jerusalem and he prophesied to the e.iles following Jerusalems destruction. He not only prophesied to Judah and Jerusalem, but foretold "ods 9udgement upon the surrounding nations. He was contemporary with Habakkuk, /:ekiel and Daniel. PROPHESIES DURING THE REIGN OF JOSIAH - Chap er! "-#" - 4%he ;ord said unto me in the days of Josiah... &<)-+. Josiah was Judahs last godly king. =hen the law was found and read to him, he reali:ed the precarious state of the nation. He reali:ed that 9udgement was about to fall, unless they would repent. He in3uired of the prophetess Huldah and she encouraged him in his work of reform, but warned him that the people would not respond. However, he set about to cleanse the land from idolatry. =hen Josiah was killed at the battle of $egiddo, the people hastened back to their idols. %he account of this is found in ' (ings ''2'<. During the reign, Jeremiah called the people to repentance. He issued dire warnings of the conse3uences, if they failed to repent. Jeremiah <)-,,',,<,'','< is an e.ample of his message. He spared nothing in e.posing the moral rottenness of the people &Jer. 7),2'-+. He compared their unfaithfulness to "od as an unfaithful marriage partner &<),+. He warned them that 9udgement would come from the north &!abylon+, and utterly destroy them, unless they would repent &0)-,7,,<+. He preached all this with tears and compassion &6),+. >or all his compassion, they returned only hatred. %he people of #nathoth made a conspiracy to put him to death &Jer. ,,?,*2'<+. @everal hundred years later, this same nation of people drove Jesus of Na:areth from His hometown, because He dared to tell the truth &;uke 0)'6+. Jeremiahs chief enemies were the priests and false prophets &Jer. '-)7,*+. He, no doubt, had the support and friendship of &good+ king Josiah. t was a sad day for Judah and Jeremiah when Josiah died. PROPHESIES DURING THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM - Chap er! #$-"%& "'(# - ")(## t was a black day for Judah when Jehoiakim ascended the throne. t was a bad day, too, for Jeremiah. Aead what "od said through him, and the peoples reactions &'-),27+. Jehoiakim was an evil ruler. He was proud, selfish, covetous and vindictive. He weighed the people down with ta.es, and was indifferent to their suffering. %he account of his reign is found in ' (ings 'B)<B2'0)0. t was during his reign that Jeremiah announced the seventy year captivity &Jer. 'B),2,0+. Jeremiah denounced Jehoiakim for his evil deeds and predicted his shameful end &Jer. ''),<2,6+. t was during this time, that Jeremiah first put his messages into writing &Jer. <-),2'+. He did this when he was in prison.

He instructed !aruch to go and read these words in the temple &<-)02-+, and call the people to repentance. =ord reached the king, and he called for !aruch to come and read the scroll. Cpon hearing some of it, he took it, and cut it up, and cast it into the fire &<-?'<2'0+. He had no fear of mutilating "ods =ord. !ut, this act brought "ods 9udgement down on Jehoiakim &<-)'62<1+. "od instructed Jeremiah to re2write the messages &<-)<'+. PROPHESIES DURING THE REIGN OF *EDEKIAH - Jer+ "#-",& ")(#"-$-(#. n the fourth year of Jehoiakims reign, Nebuchadne::ar invaded Judah, and it was then that Daniel and his companions were carried away to !abylon, and Jehoiakim himself was put in chains. Nebuchadne::ar placed 8edekiah, &Jehoiakims brother+, on the throne in the place of Jehoiakim. Only the poor were left in Jerusalem now. 8edekiah was disposed to be friendly to Jeremiah. % was during this time that Jeremiah wrote a letter to the captives telling them to content themselves in !abylon, because they would be there for seventy years. >alse prophets were predicting an early return. &Aead Jer. '6+. n Jerusalem, the princes persuaded 8edekiah to rebel against Nebuchadne::ar. Jeremiah warned against this rebellion. Nebuchadne::ar came and laid siege to the city. %he enraged princes cast Jeremiah into the dungeon &<*)-2,<+, and he would have died there, e.cept for the kindness of the /thiopian, /bedmelech. #fter Jeremiahs deliverance, he was visited by 8edekiah. Jeremiah could only promise doom. He advised the king to surrender &<*),02'*+, but 8edekiah was afraid of the princes. #fter eighteen months of siege, Jerusalem was taken, 8edekiahs sons were put to death before his eyes, and afterward he was blinded and carried in chains to !abylon &Jer. <6),27+. Jeremiah was given the choice of going to !abylon where freedom and honor awaited him, but he chose to cast his lot in with the remnant left in the land &<6),2,'? 01)02-+. >inally, those left in Jerusalem fled into /gypt in spite of "ods warning against it &Jer 0<+. %hey asked Jeremiah to pray for guidance, but when it was given, they refused to obey it. %he prophet and !aruch were compelled to accompany them. /ven in /gypt, we find him carrying out his commission. He prophesied the con3uest of /gypt by Nebuchadne::ar &Jer. 0<)*2,<+. %he Jews who dwelt in the Nile Dalley were practicing idolatry, and Jeremiah warned them against this wickednessE =hen they refused to listen to his warnings, Jeremiah told them that the 9udgement of "od would fall &00)'-2'*+. He prophesied to the surrounding nations. %hese prophesies are found in chapters 0-2B,. He warned them of "ods 9udgement for their sins, and their ill treatment of "ods people. He especially warned !abylon that even though they were an instrument in "ods hand to chastise Judah, that they too would be 9udged for their sins. He foretold the day when the great city would lie in utter ruins &B,)<720<+. %his has literally come to pass. Of Jeremiahs end, we know nothing, but we are confident that on the day of 9udgement, he will hear 4well done, thou good and faithful servant5. Fhrist appears in Jeremiah. His virgin birth is prophesied in <,)''. He is wonderfully pictured in '<)B2-. His future kingdom is lavishly described in chapters <, G <<.