| JEREMIAH - OVERVIEW (Part 2) THE MESSAGE |
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The Way of Life Spiritual Development Center |
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Jeremiah's Ministry
Jeremiah began his ministry about a century after Isaiah. He began his work during the reign of King Josiah, and he continued right on through the Babylonian captivity. He is the one who predicted the seventy years’ captivity in Babylon. He also saw beyond the darkness of the captivity to the light. No other prophet spoke so glowingly of the future.
Jeremiah's Message
God called Jeremiah to oversee the death of the nation Israel. He was heartbroken that the people disregarded his warnings and went into captivity for seventy years.
The message of Jeremiah was the most unwelcome message ever delivered to a people, and it was rejected by everyone even his father who tried to kill him. They called him a laughing stock. He was called a traitor to his country because he said that they were to yield to Babylon.
Jeremiah’s message focused on backsliding. The word occurs thirteen times. It is a word that is used only four other times in the Old Testament, once in Proverbs and three times in Hosea whose entire message is about a backsliding nation.
The nation that is predominate in the Book of Jeremiah is Babylon, which occurs 164 times in the book, more than in the rest of Scripture combined. Babylon is indeed the enemy.
Format of Jeremiah's Book
The Book of Jeremiah has three formats: biographical, prose and poetic.
The biographical material is to be found in chapters 26–29, 32, and 34–44. These chapters focuse on events leading up to and surrounding the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
The non-biographical prose passages are scattered throughout the book.
The poetic material is found largely in Chapters 1–25 and consists of oracles in which the prophet speaks as God's messenger. These passages, dealing with Israel's unfaithfulness to God, the call to repentance, and attacks on the religious and political establishment. They represent the teachings of Jeremiah and are in the earliest stage of the book.
The poetic passages of a more personal nature have been called Jeremiah's confessions or spiritual diary. In these poems the prophet agonizes over the apparent failure of his mission. He is consumed by bitterness at those who oppose him. He also accuses God of betraying him.
Object Lessons in the Book of Jeremiah
The following is a list of noteworthy signs, acts, or object lessons found in Jeremiah.
-- Jeremiah 13:1–11: The wearing, burial, and retrieval of a linen waistband.
-- Jeremiah 16:1–9: The shunning of the expected customs of marriage, mourning, and general celebration.
-- Jeremiah 19:1–13: the acquisition of a clay jug and the breaking of the jug in front of the religious leaders of Jerusalem.
-- Jeremiah 27–28: The wearing of an oxen yoke and its subsequent breaking by a false prophet, Hananiah.
-- Jeremiah 32:6–15: The purchase of a field in Anathoth for the price of seventeen silver shekels.
-- Jeremiah 35:1–19: The offering of wine to the Rechabites, a tribe known for living in tents and refusing to drink wine.
Outline of the Study of the Book of Jeremiah
Information in Jeremiah is overlapped and scattered throughout the book. To make it easy to teach the book and to study the book, this is a more concise outline.
Chapters 1-2 Jeremiah's Calling and First Prophecy
Chapters 3-10 Jeremiah's Second and Third Prophecy
Chapters 11-15 Jeremiah's Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Prophecies
Chapters 16-22 Jeremiah's Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Prophecies
Chapters 23-25 Jeremiah's Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Prophecies
Chapters 26-28 Jeremiah's Sufferings
Chapter 29-38 Jeremiah Is Captured and imprisoned
Chapter 39-45 Jeremiah Describes Jerusalem's Destruction
Chapters 46-51 Prophecies About the Future of Foreign Nations and Israel
Chapter 52 - Lamentations
Lamentations
Jeremiah is the writer of Lamentations. Therefore, this study will continue because what happens in Lamentations is based on what happened in the Book of Jeremiah.
There are only five chapters in Lamentations, and each one is a poem. Even though the book is grouped with the prophets in the Bible, technically Lamentations part of the wisdom writings.
The Book of Jeremiah is the prophet's warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem. The Book of Lamentations records how Jeremiah lamented over the destruction of Jerusalem that happened because the people did not heed his warnings.
In Chapters 1-5 Jeremiah Recalls His Sufferings Over Jerusalem's Destruction
Most people are familar with Lamentations 3:22-23 which is hope in the middle of a book of laments.
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| Last updated 2025/09/04 18:07:40 EDT | Hits 202 |
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