Introduction
Jeremiah, often called the “weeping prophet” because of his sorrow over the persistent message of God’s judgement, prophesied to the nation of Judah from the reign of King Josiah in 627 B.C. until sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586.
He dictated his prophecies to a scribe named Baruch. Jeremiah’s task as a prophet was to declare the coming judgement of God. However, throughout the book we also see God’s concern for repentance and righteousness in individuals as well as nations.
This dual focus is seen in God’s instructions to Jeremiah: he was “to pluck up and to break down” but also “to build and to plant.” Jeremiah sees a future day when God will write his law on human hearts, and “they shall all know me,” and “I will remember their sin no more.”
Time Frame
Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, son of Amon king of Judah, and went through the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah king of Judah. This continued all the way down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah king of Judah. This was when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
The word of the Lord went to Jeremiah and said,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
-Jeremiah 1:5
Jeremiah replied to the Lord and said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a child.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Do not say, ‘I am only child;’
You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you and will rescue you,”
declares the Lord.
-Jeremiah 1:7-8
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
-Jeremiah 1:9-10
Then the Lord asked Jeremiah what he saw. First, he saw the branch of an almond tree. The Lord said that Jeremiah was seeing correctly, and the Lord was watching to see that His word was fulfilled.
Then the Lord asked him again what he saw. This time Jeremiah said he saw a boiling pot, tilting away from the north. The Lord said that out of the north disaster would be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.
The Lord was about to summon all the people of the northern kingdoms to pronounce judgments on them because of their wickedness in forsaking Him, burning incense to other gods, and for worshiping what their hands had made.
Jeremiah was told to get ready, and to stand up and say to them all that would be commanded. The Lord said,
“Do not be dismayed by them,
lest I dismay you before them.
And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city,
an iron pillar, and bronze walls,
against the whole land,
against the kings of Judah,
its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
They will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail against you,
for I am with you,
declares the Lord,
to deliver you.”
-Jeremiah 1:17-19
Israel Forsakes the Lord
The word of the Lord went to Jeremiah and told him to go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:
“I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of the harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,
declares the Lord.”
-Jeremiah 2:2-3
Jeremiah continued:
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
“What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
they followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through the land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels
and no one lives?’
I brought you into fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
Therefore I bring charges against you again,”
declares the Lord.
“And I will bring charges against your children’s children.”
-Jeremiah 2:4-9
“Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for worthless idols.
Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
-Jeremiah 2:11-13
“Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when he led you in the way?”
-Jeremiah 2:17
“Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord,
the Lord Almighty.
-Jeremiah 2:19
Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
-Jeremiah 2:22
“As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
they, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
who say to a tree, ‘Your are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
But in the time of trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,”
declares the Lord.
“In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.”
-Jeremiah 2:26-30
“If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute
with many lovers–
would you now return to me?”
declares the Lord.
-Jeremiah 3:1
*Deuteronomy 24:1-4 says that divorce and remarriage on a widespread scale defiled not only the participants, but also the land in which they lived.
“Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.”
-Jeremiah 3:3
“Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are my friend from my youth,
will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”
-Jeremiah 3:4-5
Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
During the reign of King Josiah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and said, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not.”
Whatsmore, is that “her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord. -Jeremiah 3:6-10
The Lord told Jeremiah that faithless Israel had shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah, and he was to go and proclaim those words toward the north, saying,
“Return, faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
declares the Lord;
I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt,
you rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,”
declares the Lord.
“Return, faithless people,”
declares the Lord,
“for I am your husband.”
-Jeremiah 3:12-14
“And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who lead you with knowledge and understanding.
In those days, when your numbers have increased
greatly in the land,”
declares the Lord,
“men will no longer say,
‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’
It will never enter their minds or be remembered;
it will not be missed,
nor will another one be made.
At that time they will call Jerusalem
The Throne of the Lord,
and all nations will gather in Jerusalem
to honor the name of the Lord.
No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
-Jeremiah 3:15-17
Ideally then the house of Judah would join the house of Israel, and together they would come from a northern land to the land the Lord had given their forefathers as an inheritance. “I said,
How gladly I would treat you like sons
and give you desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.
I thought you would call me ‘Father’
and not turn away from following me.
But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,”
declares the Lord.
-Jeremiah 3:19-20
It seems continuously that all God wants is for His people to come back to him and remain faithful and loyal followers. He would gladly take them back if they chose to return for He was the salvation of Israel.
If the people would just admit their wrongdoings and return to the Lord, all would be well! If only they would say:
“From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits of our fathers’ labor,
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the Lord our God.”
-Jeremiah 3:24-25