We can only guess Jeremiah was born between 650 and 640 BC, in the village of Anathoth, a few kilometers north and somewhat east of Jerusalem. This barren hilltop village was one of the original Cities of Refuge granted to the priests and Levites. Best we can tell, he was a descendant of the Zadok who replaced the disgraced Abiathar after Solomon caught him taking part in the attempted coup of Adonijah. Thus, Jeremiah was surely eligible for active priesthood, but we can't be sure the politics of the time meant he actually served in the Temple. However, we know his ministry began during the reign of Josiah, and they were roughly age mates.
At that time, there was at least two parties we can detect in kingdom politics. The Pro-Egypt Party was the strongest, and caused Jeremiah the most grief. He was not a member of the Pro-Babylon Party, despite his call for surrender to the rising empire. He surely faced accusations of treason for this, but his real concern was faithfulness to Jehovah. Without that, Israel had no claim to her name, much less the protecting hand of her God. There was precious little support for such a call in the leadership of Judah, so obsessed with the supposed wisdom of human statecraft. God's rescue from Assyria during Isaiah's prophetic service left the leadership thinking Zion and the nation were inviolable regardless of actual holiness, and no one could prove them wrong. That is, until Babylon captured Zion, as Jeremiah warned would happen.
Jeremiah eagerly supported the reforms of Josiah. However, the long legacy of Manasseh which had buried the Law in the first place had taken root in the souls of the leadership, making them rebellious to the bitter end. Thus, God had to cut short the life of that righteous king to make way for the final act of wrath which took them from the Promised Land. We sense Jeremiah had precious little joy in his service as prophet, and we call him the "Weeping Prophet." His was a painful life, some four decades of service against all odds, knowing his message would find little traction with much of anyone. The book evinces a deep sensitivity over what must have been a monumental frustration with something so painfully obvious: Unless Jehovah ruled the nation, there could be no nation. False patriotism and man-made solutions were a complete waste. It was his painful duty to declare it was too late, and the doom was certain, that the nation should surrender and take her lumps.
We are warned by most scholars the book is most certainly not in chronological order. Given the text itself tells us the whole thing was rewritten at least once, we should expect Jeremiah and his scribe put things in the order which mattered to them most. The burden is upon us to grasp the message as presented.
Chapter 1 -- The call and commission of Jeremiah.
Chapter 2 -- Jeremiah begins the litany of accusations from God against Judah.
Chapter 3 -- The Lord compares what His people did and had, with what they could have had were they only to repent.
Chapter 4 -- Judah had this one last season of repentance before Babylon came and destroyed it all.
Chapter 5 -- If God could find even a single faithful leader over Judah, it would be enough to correct and save them from destruction.
Chapter 6 -- The end of Jeremiah's introduction to his ministry, in which God finalizes his charges against Judah.
Chapter 7 -- Jeremiah lays out the basic theme of his prophecy, which he began to deliver in the main gate of the Temple.
Chapter 8 -- A graphic portrayal of how utterly Babylon would destroy Judah, and why.
Chapter 9 -- A morally desolate land will be made literally desolate.
Chapter 10 -- God contrasts Himself with the inanimate idols.
Chapter 11 -- The reaction to Josiah's reforms indicate the empty legalism of Jesus' day was really quite old, for Jeremiah faced it.
Chapter 12 -- God helps Jeremiah understand how His judgments work.
Chapter 13 -- The Parable of the Linen Sash and the warning to the royal household.
Chapter 14 -- The message about spiritual drought opens in this chapter.
Chapter 15 -- Continuing the message regarding spiritual drought, the Lord restates the principle of the righteous remnant.
Chapter 16 -- Jeremiah is commanded to remain aloof from the social activities of Judah, so as to maintain the testimony of holiness.
Chapter 17 -- The Lord points out what the sins and penalties are in Judah, and offers one last doorway for repentance.
Chapter 18 -- With the Parable of the Potter, the Lord refutes the notion He is bound by His own Laws, as if the curses were never spoken.
Chapter 19 -- And from the potter, we have the Parable of the Water Jug, the image of something which cannot be fixed when it becomes useless, only destroyed.
Chapter 20 -- Being arrested offers Jeremiah an opportunity to make clear he was not a courageous man facing persecution.
Chapter 21 -- Hopping around chronologically, Jeremiah shares with us his prophecy of doom against Zedekiah, who ruled over the final siege and Fall of Jerusalem.
Chapter 22 -- Now Jeremiah presents a message to the kings immediately preceding Zedekiah.
Chapter 23 -- A condemnation on the leadership of Judah, both civil and spiritual.
Chapter 24 -- The Parable of the Two Baskets of Figs.
Chapter 25 -- Before launching into the narrative of his experiences, Jeremiah reminds everyone how he had been faithful in prophesying the doom on Judah.
Chapter 26 -- The section of this book dealing with Jeremiah's life and times begins with explaining how things began when Jehoiakim took the throne.
Chapter 27 -- The symbol of the yoke reminds everyone the Lord had appointed Babylon to rule.
Chapter 28 -- Trading on his father's success, Hananiah represents himself as a prophet, and plays games with parabolic expression, but ends up dying before his prophecy even has a chance to fail.
Chapter 29 -- Jeremiah encourages the Exiles in Babylon to make the best of things and show their God reigned even in Babylon.
Chapter 30 -- Jeremiah presents the vision of Restoration.
Chapter 31 -- This oft quoted chapter contains promises of the eternal Messianic Kingdom.
Chapter 32 -- While in confinement, Jeremiah conducts a redemption transaction for his cousin's property, symbolizing God's plans to bring Judah back to the land after their Exile in Babylon.
Chapter 33 -- God reveals afresh to Jeremiah His promises regarding the city and the nation.
Chapter 34 -- While God promised to keep Zedekiah alive, the king took advantage of God's kindness in the matter of the Sabbatical Release law.
Chapter 35 -- Jeremiah jumps back a few decades in recording his encounter with the Rechabites.
Chapter 36 -- The Lord ensures His Word remains an eternal witness even today, while Jehoiakim is not even remembered for how he died.
Chapter 37 -- Jeremiah is subjected to harsh treatment during the final siege of Jerusalem.
Chapter 38 -- A foreigner had more regard for God's Word to Jeremiah than did God's own people.
Chapter 39 -- Jeremiah offers a brief narrative describing how his prophecies came true, as the city was breached and Zedekiah was carried away in chains.
Chapter 40 -- The prophet describes how he was released from the roundup of exiles, and how things went during the first weeks after the Babylonian forces left.
Chapter 41 -- Jeremiah recounts the monstrous crimes of Ishmael, and rescue by Johanan.
Chapter 42 -- The tiny remnant make a show of inquiring of God what they should do with Gedaliah now murdered.
Chapter 43 -- The nobles decide Jeremiah is playing politics, and ignore his prophecy, dragging everyone off to Egypt.
Chapter 44 -- The final prophetic confrontation between Jeremiah and the Judean refugees in Egypt.
Chapter 45 -- A prophetic message God gave Jeremiah for Baruch, helping him and us to understand the nature of things.
Chapter 46 -- Jeremiah prophesies the humbling of Egypt at the hands of Babylon.
Chapter 47 -- While Philistia was still celebrating the departure of Assyria from the land, Jeremiah prophesied their national doom would be complete very soon.
Chapter 48 -- Prophecy against Moab, making liberal use of images related to their famous wine production.
Chapter 49 -- A basket of prophecies against several nations who were scheduled for judgment via Babylon.
Chapters 50 & 51 -- Jeremiah warns the arrogant Babylonians their doom was set by their failure to acknowledge Jehovah.
Chapter 51 -- Final historical notes, mostly to prove Jeremiah's various prophecies of events regarding Judah came true.
By Ed Hurst
30 June 2010
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