Jeremiah (Prophet)
| Jeremiah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Period | Around 650 B.C.– 580 B.C. |
| Family | Father: Hilkiah (priest of Anathoth) |
| Birthplace | Anathoth in Benjamin |
| Occupation(Features) | Prophet |
| Activity area | Jerusalem, Egypt |
Jeremiah was a prophet who began his ministry in the 13th year of King Josiah of Judah and witnessed the entire process of Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon. He proclaimed that God’s judgment was determined against Judah, whose sins were rampant, and delivered the message, “Surrender to Babylon.” Reflecting on the fate of the nation and people heading toward destruction, his ceaseless weeping earned him the nickname the “Weeping Prophet.”[1] He wrote the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament.
Historical Background
In the 7th century B.C., several decades after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria, the southern kingdom of Judah was following the same path. To awaken the corrupt priests, leaders, and people, who had been steeped in sin for many years, God raised up King Josiah to restore His statutes and laws. However, after King Josiah’s death, the people of Judah once again fell into idolatry and immorality, provoking God’s wrath.
During that time, the balance of power among the major nations—Assyria, Babylon (Neo-Babylonian Empire), and Egypt—was also being reshaped. The Assyrian Empire, which had ruled the world for over 300 years, fell, and Babylon took over as the dominant power. In response, Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt advanced north to Carchemish to check Babylon’s expansion. King Josiah of Judah attempted to block his army’s passage but was killed in battle at Megiddo.[2][3] After this, Judah came under Egypt’s political interference.
Gradually gaining power, Babylon achieved a great victory over Egypt in the Battle of Carchemish. Babylon then invaded Judah, taking not only the articles and furnishings from the temple in Jerusalem but also some members of the royal family and nobles to Babylon.[4] As foretold by God, the people of Judah were taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years.[5][6]
Major Activities of Jeremiah
Prophesied the Destruction and Restoration of Jerusalem
Jeremiah was a prophet who ministered during a period of great upheaval, witnessing the collapse of Assyria and the rise of the Medes and Neo-Babylonians. During that time, King Josiah of Judah led a major religious reform. However, his religious reforms did not change the spiritual state of the people of Judah. Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13th year of King Josiah, and he prophesied for about 40 years, spanning the reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, the final king of Judah, who reigned for eleven years. He proclaimed God’s determination to judge Judah and urged the people to repent. He made it known that the cause of Judah’s destruction was their sin of breaking God’s covenant and laws. Through various symbolic actions, he reminded the people of their wrongdoing: a ruined linen belt,[7] the parable of the potter and the clay,[8][9] the good and bad figs,[10] a yoke out of straps,[11] and throwing a scroll tied to a stone into the river[12]).
He also delivered God’s certain word that after 70 years, He would restore Israel from the oppression of Babylon.
This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”
Weeping prophet
“The weeping prophet” is the nickname of Jeremiah.[13] He wept greatly because he was sorrowful over the people who, abandoning God’s law, were rushing toward destruction. Jeremiah, called to be a prophet during the time when the southern kingdom of Judah was heading toward destruction, witnessed all three invasions of Jerusalem by Babylon. He delivered God’s message to the kings and people of Judah, warning them that disaster and destruction would come if they did not keep God’s statutes and laws. However, they dismissed God’s warnings, mocking Jeremiah, persecuting him, and attempting to kill him.
Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
Jeremiah’s Suffering
- Beating and Stocks (Jer 19–20)
Jeremiah took the leaders of Judah to the Valley of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem. This valley had been a site where sacrifices were made to foreign gods like Baal and Molech during the monarchy, but King Josiah had defiled it to bring an end to such practices.[14] Jeremiah broke a jar before the leaders as a symbol of Jerusalem’s imminent destruction.[9] He then returned to the temple to deliver the same message to the people. In response, Pashhur,[15] the deputy chief priest of the temple, had Jeremiah beaten, imprisoned, and confined in stocks. Jeremiah then prophesied to Pashhur that he would be taken captive to Babylon and die there.[16]
- Burned Scroll (Jer 36)
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, God commanded Jeremiah to record all the revelations he had received up to that point and share them with the people. Jeremiah summoned Baruch, his scribe and companion, and dictated to him the words he had received from God over the past 23 years—starting from the 13th year of King Josiah to the fourth year of Jehoiakim—which Baruch wrote on a scroll. Unable to go to the temple due to his imprisonment, Jeremiah instructed Baruch to read the scroll of his words to the people on his behalf.
In the ninth month of the fifth year of King Jehoiakim, Baruch followed Jeremiah’s instructions. When Micaiah heard these words, he went to the officials and the secretary gathered at the royal palace and reported what had happened. They sent Jehudi to Baruch to bring the scroll and asked him to explain how it was written. After hearing Baruch’s explanation, the officials took the scroll and instructed Baruch to go and hide with Jeremiah. When the officials reported everything about the scroll to King Jehoiakim, the king had Jehudi read it aloud. Then, he took the scroll, cut it with a knife and threw it into the firepot, burning the entire scroll in the fire. God commanded Jeremiah to rewrite all the words that had been recorded on the scroll.
- Dungeon and Cistern of Mud (Jer 37:11–16; Jer 38:1–13)
Immediately after the second Babylonian invasion, Jeremiah was captured by a gate guard as he was on his way to the land of Benjamin. He was then brought before the officials. The guard falsely told them that Jeremiah was attempting to surrender to the Chaldeans (Babylonians). Angered by this, the officials beat Jeremiah and imprisoned him in the cistern of Jonathan’s house. Upon hearing this, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to inquire of God’s will. Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Babylon and exposed the falsehood of the prophets who were proclaiming peace.
Even while staying in the courtyard of the guard, with King Zedekiah’s permission, he continued to deliver the message to surrender to Babylon, which incurred the wrath of the officials. Eventually, they gathered before the king and accused Jeremiah. When King Zedekiah handed him over to them, the officials lowered him by ropes into a cistern, a muddy pit with no water, located in the courtyard of the guard.
The royal official, Ebed-Melech, informed the king of the situation and pleaded for mercy. In response, King Zedekiah ordered men to pull Jeremiah out of the cistern and rescue him.
- Confrontation With a False Prophet (Jer 27–28)
Hananiah was a false prophet who directly opposed God’s command to serve Babylon. Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, allied with pro-Egyptian nations like Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon to resist Babylon. Jeremiah made a yoke and placed it around his neck like that of an ox. He went around the city, prophesying that Babylon would put a yoke on the necks of the people of Judah and urging them to serve Babylon. In the fifth month of the fourth year of King Zedekiah, Hananiah, son of Azzur, broke the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck[17] and delivered a false prophecy, claiming that the sacred articles taken by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the exiled captives would return to Jerusalem within two years. As a punishment, Hananiah died two months later.[18][19]
Jeremiah also delivered God’s message to the exiled people of Judah in Babylon, telling them that if they submitted to Babylon, they would live in peace, and that after seventy years, they would return to their homeland. However, false prophets ignored and opposed his warnings, even in Babylon.[20]
Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon around 586 B.C., fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy. Prior to this, Judah had already endured two Babylonian invasions; the first in 606 B.C. and the second in 597 B.C. During these invasions, kings, leaders, nobles, and skilled workers were taken to Babylon. Among those exiled were Daniel and Ezekiel.
The devastation caused by the third invasion was even greater. Surrounded by the Babylonian army and cut off from all supply routes, Jerusalem suffered a severe famine. Many people perished from starvation, and unspeakable acts occurred, including parents resorting to eating their own children. The temple of Jerusalem, the royal palace, and the homes of the people were set ablaze, while the city walls were completely demolished. Those who remained in Judah, except for the poorest of the land, were taken captive, marking the total destruction of the southern kingdom of Judah.
Witnessing the once beautiful and glorious Jerusalem reduced to a mockery among the nations overnight, Jeremiah composed a lament in profound sorrow. The book of Lamentations, a poignant collection of five chapters, continues to be recited by Jews in synagogues on the 9th of the fourth month, according to the Jewish calendar.[21][22]
- Taken to Egypt (Jer 40–44)
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, and appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam[23]—one of Jeremiah’s friends—as governor over the impoverished people who remained in the land.[24] Jeremiah, released from captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar’s order, went to Gedaliah and stayed with him. However, just three months later, Gedaliah, who had strongly advocated serving Babylon, was killed by Ishmael, a man who opposed his stance. Afterward, Ishmael fled to the Ammonites, and Johanan, the military commander under Gedaliah, fearing Babylonian retaliation, decided to lead the people to Egypt.
Before departing, Johanan and the people sought out Jeremiah, earnestly requesting him to inquire of God about His will regarding their journey to Egypt. Jeremiah delivered God’s message, instructing them not to go to Egypt but to remain in the land of Judah. He assured them that if they served the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar would show them mercy. However, not only did Johanan disregard his words, but he even took Jeremiah and Baruch with him as he fled to Egypt. In Egypt, Jeremiah continued to rebuke the people for their idolatry, faithfully delivering God’s message to them.
Lesson
Jeremiah was regarded as a traitor by his own people for delivering the message to surrender to Babylon. He was seized by the gate guard, dragged before the officials, beaten, and imprisoned. Later, he was captured by the group that had killed the governor of Judah, who was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar, and was also taken to Egypt.
At times, Jeremiah lamented his plight of having to proclaim disaster to a people unwilling to heed the warnings of judgment. Yet, as a person with a righteous spirit, he could not bear to withhold God’s message.
I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Before the destruction of Judah, not only the priests but also the prophets and the people turned away from God and sinned. They spoke of peace with their lips, but through their actions, they destroyed it, provoking the wrath of God. This serves as a model of history, illustrating the current state of opposing God by abandoning His commandments and embracing various practices introduced from paganism, such as Sunday worship, Christmas, the veneration of the cross, and the worship of saints.
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
The prophecies in the Bible do not conclude with their initial fulfillment but are continually realized. The history of God’s judgment upon the rebellious people of Judah serves as a foreshadowing of His final judgment on the sinful world. The message of the prophet Jeremiah, who proclaimed the impending disaster through revelation and urged, “Flee to the fortified city Zion,”[25] was ultimately a call to salvation. He urged the people to flee to the spiritual Zion, where God’s feasts, are celebrated, in preparation for the last disaster.[26]
See also
References
- ↑ "Jeremiah 9:1".
- ↑ "2 Kings 23:29–30".
- ↑ "2 Chronicles 35:20–27".
- ↑ "Daniel 1:1–6".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 25:11".
- ↑ "2 Kings 24".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 13:1–7".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 18:1–12".
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Jeremiah 19장".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 24:1–7".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 27:6–11".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 51:59–64".
- ↑ The Bible Knowledge Commentary Major Prophets, John F. Walvoord, David C Cook, 2018, pg 223
- ↑ "2 Kings 23:10".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 20:1".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 20:2–6".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 28:10–11".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 28:1".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 28:17".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 29:30–32".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 52:5–6".
- ↑ Lamentations, Jewish Learning
- ↑ "Jeremiah 26:24".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 40:7".
- ↑ "Jeremiah 4:5–6".
- ↑ "Micah 4:1–2".