THE BOOK OF
JEREMIAH
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.
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.
Jer 1 (627 BC) tells how God chose Jeremiah as his messenger.
Jer 2–20 (627~605 BC) establish the dynamic pattern of relationships among God, Jeremiah, and the people of Judah. Through Jeremiah, God severely criticized pagan worship in Judah, warned of invasion from the north, and pronounced severe punishment. In Jer 11–20, Jeremiah learns more about God’s purposes.
Jer 21–29 (605~593 BC) focus on verbal battles that Jeremiah had with Judah’s kings, priests, and other prophets. Jeremiah’s messages include scathing criticisms of these vicious leaders.
Jer 30–33 (596~588 BC) provide a bright spot as they emphasize the possibility of restoration for the people of Judah and envision a new covenant to enrich the relationship between God and his people. The vision reaches into the future and announces a “righteous descendant” (Jer 33:15) who will bring salvation.
Jer 34–45 (605~580 BC) tell of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the breach of the city walls, and the complete destruction of the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the kingdom of Judah. Jer 34–36 make it clear that the destruction was the result of Judah’s having broken its covenant with the Lord. Jeremiah then describes what occurred after the Babylonians left Judah (586~580 BC): Gedaliah the governor was assassinated, and the remaining people of Judah fled to Egypt despite Jeremiah’s warning not to.
Jer 46–51 (605~593 BC) are an anthology of God’s judgments on Judah’s neighbors. All the nations, large and small, were to be punished for their idolatry and for their cruelty to God’s chosen people. A few nations were promised divine help in the future. Israel was promised deliverance from exile and restoration in the Promised Land.
Jer 52 (586~561 BC) describes the last days of Jerusalem, essentially repeating 2 Kgs 24:18–25:30.
In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim’s reign (605 BC), Jeremiah dictated a scroll to Baruch and had it delivered to the king (Jer 36:1-26). The king destroyed this scroll, but Jeremiah and Baruch rewrote the messages and “added much more!” (Jer 36:32). The contents of this second scroll probably make up Jer 2–20. Much of the rest of the book of Jeremiah appears to have been written later and added to the growing anthology. The book includes events down to Jeremiah’s arrival in Egypt, so it seems likely that the book was essentially complete by 580 BC.
Two very different texts of Jeremiah have been preserved. The first is the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which underlies nearly all English translations of Jeremiah. The other Hebrew text was the basis of the Greek translation (the Septuagint or LXX), which was produced by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt about 250 BC. The Septuagint text is about 2,700 words shorter than the Hebrew Masoretic Text, and it rearranges some of the material. This provides evidence for two different collections of messages, one having been finalized among the Babylonian exiles, the other among the Egyptian refugees.
The Messenger System. The text of Jeremiah is dominated by a structure of communication called a “messenger system,” common in the royal governments of the ancient Near East. It is still used today. The king, emperor, or ruler of a country selected a person to deliver verbal and written messages to leaders of other countries. The messenger, often called a herald, carried the authority of his ruler as he delivered the royal message. The recipient accepted or rejected the message and sent back a reply with the messenger. If the recipient rejected the message, he might abuse the messenger and prepare for war (see 2 Sam 10:1-19). The messenger would report back to his ruler, who would decide how to punish the rebellious recipient.
Judicial Framework. Most of the messages in Jeremiah feature a judicial framework and vocabulary. The courtroom setting is established early in the book with the Lord’s statement, “I will bring my case against you. . . . I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come” (Jer 2:9). The Lord assumes the roles of plaintiff, judge, and executioner. As plaintiff, he makes Jeremiah his advocate in bringing charges and evidence of sin against the leaders and the people. As judge, God makes Jeremiah the prosecutor. After the defendants express their arguments, the Lord pronounces the sentence and then carries it out.
Narratives. In Jeremiah, historical narratives focus on incidents involving Jeremiah and others. The prophet deals with kings, officials, priests, prophets, and the common people in times of crisis. The book also includes many autobiographical narratives that include the Lord speaking with Jeremiah. Often narrative sections end with the pronouncement of a decree, usually in poetic form.
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 (Jer 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 Jer 30–33, where a new covenant and a new king are promised. Instead of “uprooting and tearing down,” he would “plant and rebuild” (Jer 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 (Jer 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 Jer 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 (Jer 15:16-18; cp. Matt 26:36-42).