{"id":5339,"date":"2012-05-30T01:00:37","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=5339"},"modified":"2012-05-29T23:25:56","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T06:25:56","slug":"bob-jeremiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2012\/05\/30\/bob-jeremiah\/","title":{"rendered":"BOB – Jeremiah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Stephen Rodgers<\/em><\/p>\n

JEREMIAH IN\u00a010\u00a0WORDS\u00a0OR\u00a0LESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

“After years of sinful behavior, Judah will be punished.”<\/p>\n

TITLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ll let you in on a little secret: this section is about to get really repetitious for the next few months. \u00a0ALL the prophetic books take their name from the prophet who…well…prophesied<\/em> them. So there’s really no great mystery here. \u00a0However, there may be some good background material…<\/p>\n

MSB:<\/p>\n

This book gains its title from the human author, who begins with \u201cthe words of Jeremiah\u2026 \u201d (Jer 1:1). Jeremiah recounts more of his own life than any other prophet, telling of his ministry, the reactions of his audiences, testings, and his personal feelings. His name means \u201cJehovah throws,\u201d in the sense of laying down a foundation, or \u201cJehovah establishes, appoints, or sends.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Seven other Jeremiahs appear in Scripture (2 Kin. 23:31; 1 Chr. 5:24; 1 Chr. 12:4; 1 Chr. 12:10; 1 Chr. 12:13; Neh. 10:2; Neh. 12:1), and Jeremiah the prophet is named at least 9 times outside of his book (cf. 2 Chr. 35:25; 36:12; 36:21,22; Dan. 9:2; Ezra 1:1; Matt. 2:17; 16:14; 27:9). The Old and New Testaments quote Jeremiah at least 7 times: 1) Dan. 9:2 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a025:11,12; 29:10); 2) Matt. 2:18 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a031:15); 3) Matt. 27:9 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a018:2; 19:2,11; 32:6\u20139); 4) 1 Cor. 1:31 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a09:24); 5) 2 Cor. 10:17 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a09:24); 6) Heb. 8:8\u201312 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a031:31\u201334); and 7) Heb. 10:16,17 (compare with\u00a0Jer\u00a031:33,34).<\/em><\/p>\n

Constable:<\/p>\n

The title of this book derives from its writer, the late seventh and early sixth-century Judean prophet Jeremiah. The book occupies the second position in the Latter Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible after Isaiah and before Ezekiel, which accounts for its position in the Septuagint and most modern translations.<\/em><\/p>\n

The meaning of \u201cJeremiah\u201d is not clear. It could mean \u201cYahweh founds (or establishes),\u201d \u201cYahweh exalts,\u201d \u201cYahweh throws down,\u201d \u201cYahweh hurls,\u201d or \u201cYahweh loosens (the womb).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

AUTHOR\u00a0&\u00a0AUDIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m not aware of any scholar who disputes that Jeremiah son of Hilkiah (who some believe was the priest who discovered the book of the law during the reforms of Josiah, see R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament…<\/em>others disagree, see below),\u00a0authored the book that bears his name. Often referred to as the “weeping prophet,” Jeremiah had the unenviable task of prophesying to an unrepentant Jerusalem regarding their impending destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. However, God decreed that Jeremiah was to begin his ministry some 41 years prior to the Babylonians’ arrival, so needless to say, the Israelites were not very responsive. As the MSB puts it:<\/p>\n

Jeremiah, who served as both a priest and a prophet, was the son of a priest named Hilkiah (not the High-Priest of\u00a02 Kin. 22:8\u00a0who discovered the book of the law). He was from the small village of Anathoth (Jer 1:1), today called Anata, about 3 mi. NE of Jerusalem in Benjamin\u2019s tribal inheritance. As an object lesson to Judah, Jeremiah remained unmarried (Jer\u00a016:1\u20134). He was assisted in ministry by a scribe, named Baruch, to whom Jeremiah dictated and who copied and had custody over the writings compiled from the prophet\u2019s messages (Jer\u00a036:4,32; 45:1). Jeremiah has been known as \u201cthe weeping prophet\u201d (cf. Jer\u00a09:1; 13:17; 14:17), living a life of conflict because of his predictions of judgment by the invading Babylonians. He was threatened, tried for his life, put in stocks, forced to flee from Jehoiakim, publicly humiliated by a false prophet, and thrown into a pit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jeremiah is interesting in that it is not only prophetic, but also autobiographical. Jeremiah tells us more about his life and his feelings and attitude during the course of his ministry than any other OT prophet.<\/p>\n

Literally, Jeremiah was written to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem. However, when one analyzes the more general context in which it was written, it is difficult to exceed the clarity and brevity of Francis Schaeffer:\u00a0\u201cThe book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away.\u201d (Death in the City<\/em>)<\/p>\n

DATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the most part, the writing of the book of Jeremiah is concurrent with it’s setting. Jeremiah began his ministry during the thirteenth year of King Josiah (the last good king of Judah, 640-609 BC), and continued to prophesy and preach throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz (609 BC), Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), Jehoiachin (598-597 BC), and Zedekiah (597-586 BC). He survived the fall of Jerusalem, and was relocated to Egypt against his will following the\u00a0assassination\u00a0of Gedaliah.<\/p>\n

Per MSB:<\/p>\n

He was possibly still ministering in 570 B.C. (see note on 44:30). A rabbinic note claims that when Babylon invaded Egypt in 568\/67 B.C. Jeremiah was taken captive to Babylon. He could have lived even to pen the book\u2019s closing scene ca. 561 B.C. in Babylon, when Judah\u2019s king Jehoiachin, captive in Babylon since 597 B.C., was allowed liberties in his last days (52:31\u201334). Jeremiah, if still alive at that time, was between 85 and 90 years old.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is also a separate Jewish tradition that states that Jeremiah was stoned to death while in Egypt (some believe that Heb 11:37 references this):<\/p>\n

\u201cA late, unattested tradition, mentioned by Tertullian, Jerome, and others, claims that the people of Tahpanhes [in Egypt] stoned Jeremiah to death.\u201d<\/em> (Charles Lee Feinberg, \u201cJeremiah,\u201d in Isaiah-Ezekiel<\/em>, vol. 6 of The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Ultimately, we have no\u00a0incontrovertible\u00a0information regarding his life beyond 586 BC.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND\u00a0&\u00a0SETTING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Per Constable:<\/p>\n

The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21\u201425 and 2 Chronicles 33\u201436. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.<\/em><\/p>\n

Per the MSB:<\/p>\n

Politically momentous events occurred in Jeremiah\u2019s day. Assyria saw its power wane gradually; then Ashurbanipal died in 626 B.C. Assyria grew so feeble that in 612 B.C. her seemingly invincible capital, Nineveh, was destroyed (cf. the book of Nahum). The Neo-Babylonian empire under Nabopolassar (625\u2013605 B.C.) became dominant militarily with victories against Assyria (612 B.C.), Egypt (609\u2013605 B.C.), and Israel in 3 phases (605 B.C., as in Dan. 1; 597 B.C., as in 2 Kin. 24:10\u201316; and 586 B.C., as in Jer. 39,40,52).<\/em><\/p>\n

Jeremiah records one of the most pivotal moments in OT history: the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. While the northern kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians already, the southern kingdom had held out until now. However, as the Babylonian empire grew, their opinion of Israel shifted from considering them a military ally against Egypt (especially after they\u00a0successfully\u00a0fought Egypt to a standstill), to considering them a likely candidate for conquest. And so, in 586 BC the Babylonians successfully attacked and destroyed Jeruasalem, leading the kingdom of Judah off into exile.<\/p>\n

This is the time of Jeremiah.<\/p>\n

HISTORICAL\u00a0&\u00a0THEOLOGICAL\u00a0THEMES<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three major themes in Jeremiah:<\/p>\n