Historical Setting Josiah king of Judah died at

Historical Setting • Josiah king of Judah died at the hands of the Egyptian army • Judah became subject to Egypt and its ruler Pharaoh Necho • The people of Judah chose Jehoahaz to succeed Josiah • 3 months later Necho appointed Jehoiakim (Eliakim) to rule as his vassal in Jerusalem • Judah turned not to God but to the idols they had worshiped in the days of Manasseh & Amon • This idolatry was the reason for Jeremiah’s proclamations of God’s judgment • In 605 B. C. Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish • Jehoiakim submitted to the Babylonian king, who kept him on the throne as a vassal • 3 years later, Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and was deposed (see 2 Kin. 24: 1, 2) • Jehoiachin replaced Jehoiakim on the throne for a short time, but he was then exiled to Babylon • Thousands of political and religious leaders were carried to Babylon with Jehoiachin in 597 B. C. • Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiakim’s brother Zedekiah the new ruler of Judah Josiah (640 – 609) Jehoahaz (609: 3 mons) Jehoiakim (609 – 598) Jehoiachin (598 – 597) Zedekiah (597 – 586)

Historical Setting In 589 B. C. , Zedekiah led a rebellion against Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar’s reprisal was swift. His army entered Judah and destroyed all resisting fortified settlements. Nebuchadnezzar’s army turned aside from besieging Jerusalem when the Egyptian army appeared in southwest Palestine in the summer of 588 B. C. But the Egyptians soon withdrew, and Nebuchadnezzar resumed his siege. Several times during the siege of Jerusalem, Zedekiah came to Jeremiah for counsel from the Lord. The prophet advised him to surrender, but Zedekiah would not listen. Jerusalem’s walls were breached in the fourth month of 586 B. C. One month later, the temple was burned, along with the palaces, houses, and other administrative buildings. An additional 4, 600 Jerusalemites were deported to Babylon. Gedaliah was appointed governor of Judah. Jeremiah, who had been imprisoned by Zedekiah, was released and sent to serve under Gedaliah was assassinated and his supporters fled to Egypt, fearful of Nebuchadnezzar’s revenge. They forced Jeremiah to go with them to Egypt, and there he continued to confront the Jews for their idolatry and unfaithfulness. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: The Nelson Study Bible : New King James Version. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1997, S. Je 1: 2

Jeremiah - overview • His name means “the Lord throws” • He was a priest • Timid by nature – received the Lord’s assurance that he would become strong and courageous • His hometown was Anathoth (couple of miles from Jerusalem) in the land of Benjamin • The Lord commanded him not to marry or raise children because of the coming judgment on Judah • Primarily a prophet of doom • Only a few friends: Ahikam and his son Gedaliah, Ebed. Melech and Baruch (his closest friend) • He has been called the “weeping prophet” – anguish of spirit • His ministry: from 626 B. C. to sometime after 586

Structure • The material is not ordered chronologically • Oracles, prose sermons and other material are organized based on content, audience, and connective links • The division is as follows: (1) the call of Jeremiah (ch. 1) 1: 1 -10 1: 17 -19 (2) the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem (chs. 2– 35) 25: 1 -14 (3) suffering and persecution of the prophet (chs. 36– 38) (4) fall of Jerusalem – Gedaliah – migration to Egypt (chs. 39– 45) (5) Jeremiah’s ministry to the nations (chs. 46– 51) (6) historical appendix recounting the fall of Jerusalem (ch. 52) Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: The Nelson Study Bible : New King James Version. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1997, S. Je 1: 2 The NIV Study Bible, 10 th Anniversary Edition, Zandervan Publishing House, 1995

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. The Prophet is Called Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. ” Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth. ” But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth, ’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you, ” says the LORD. Then the LORD put forth His hand touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant. ” The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Je 1: 1 -10

17 18 19 “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, ” says the LORD, “to deliver you. ” The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Je 1: 17 -19

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you. ’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me, ” says the LORD, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, ’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, ’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands. )’ ” The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Je 25: 1 -14

King of Judah who led the people to idol worship causing God to punish them - Uziah - Hezekiah - Manasseh - Josiah Jeremiah’s advice to King Zedekiah was to - Surrender to the Babylonians - Resist the Babylonian - Get the help of Pharaoh - Escape Jerusalem Jeremiah received the word of God when - An angel touched his lips with fire - An angel gave him the message - The Lord touched his lips - He saw a vision at night After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah - Was forced to go to Babylon - Wanted to go to Babylon - Was forced to go to Egypt - Wanted to go to Egypt Jeremiah’s name means - God with us - The Lord throws - The weeping prophet - The Lord saves Jeremiah was a priest from - Jerusalem - Bethlehem - Anathoth - Samaria

The last king of Judah - Jehoahaz - Jehoiachin - Jehoiakim - Zedekiah Jeremiah suffered because - he was timid - he gave a message of doom - God gave him courage - he was sad most of the time Jeremiah told the people that they would stay in exile for - 7 years - 40 yrs - 70 years - 100 yrs The book of Jeremiah has - 24 chapters - 52 chapters - 42 chapters - 66 chapters Jeremiah was - Happy that his prophecy came true - Happy to give the message of doom - Sad to deliver such a message - Sad to have suffered a lot The Lord told Jeremiah to be courageous because - The people would listen to him - There was nothing to be afraid of - The Lord would make him strong - His friends would support him