In the years before the complete collapse of Judah under the mighty Babylonian army, Jeremiah prophesied to the people and their leaders about the judgment they were about to experience. These prophecies are recorded in the book that bears his name.
Jeremiah's word to the kingdom of Judah was not so much a warning to repent and avert disaster, as a declaration of the judgment that would soon be upon them. They were about to reap what they had sown.
Jeremiah proclaimed this God-sent message of destruction for over 40 years. As one might expect, he was not well received or well treated. This book, in one sense, becomes Jeremiah's autobiography, telling of his opposition, beatings, isolation, and imprisonment.
What does it say?
Jeremiah was the primary prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah during the dark days leading to her destruction by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" because of his personal distress over the sins of the people and the sins of their leaders. He was called by God to shine a bright light on this evil situation.
Jeremiah did not actually call Judah to repentance in hopes of turning away the judgment of God. Jeremiah, rather, prophesied about the judgment that was going to come. In fact, when the army of Babylon was breathing down the neck of Jerusalem, ready to attack and destroy, Jeremiah told the king to give up and told the people to surrender. God's judgment had arrived. There was no escape.
As is common in the prophetic books of judgment, there is a glimpse of future hope for Israel revealed at the end. Jeremiah pens four verses to close his book reminding us that God has not abandoned his people.
Faces & Places
Jeremiah was a man called by God to prophesy concerning the doom of his own beloved nation. He carried on this ministry for over 40 years, while suffering tremendous personal sacrifice for doing so. Jeremiah began his ministry in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah king of Judah and continued it through the destruction of Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah prior to the exile.
The northern kingdom of Israel had long since been destroyed by the Assyrians, so Jeremiah's prophetic ministry was restricted to the southern kingdom of Judah.
Key Verses & Themes
The Fall of Judah and Jerusalem:
Jeremiah 21:3-5 "'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside the city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a might arm in anger and fury and great wrath."
The Human Heart:
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"
So what?
There are two vital issues that should not go unnoticed in this book about a rebellious people and their certain judgment. First is the fact that judgment does come. Its final execution with all its force may be put off and put off and put off, as God waits patiently for repentance (see 2 Peter 3:3-13). But wrath will come, if repentance does not.
A second vital issue to recognize is that of the human heart. Judgment finally fell upon Judah - God finally stopped waiting for repentance - because the collective hearts of the people had hardened to the point of no return. Their hearts had become like stone; immovable and unmoldable. Their hearts were beyond cure (Jeremiah 17:9). Only judgment was left for the people of Judah.
The writer of Hebrews warns us not to risk this same hardness of heart (Hebrews 3:13). He warns us not to become hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Sin does that. It hardens your hearts against God.
When you read Jeremiah, notice how frequently he speaks of the heart. And look to your own heart and ask: Is my heart responsive to God, or growing hard?
