The MAJOR & MINOR Prophets - The 16 Writing Prophets Of The Hebrew Canon

The Scope and Sequence of the Book The ministry of Jeremiah, which may have spanned 5 decades, 12 reached from the 13 th \HDU RI -XGDK·V .LQJ -RVLDK in 627 B.C. WKURXJK %DE\ORQ·V GHVWUXFWLRQ RI -HUXVDOHP LQ % & then his going with the remnant from Judah to Egypt (Jer. 43, 44), possibly being taken as captive from Egypt to Babylon, and finally writing his last chapter c. 561 in Babylon. (See our study on =HSKDQLDK IRU PRUH FRYHUDJH RQ -RVLDK·V UHLJQ DQG -HUHPLDK· s contemporary). The b XON RI -HUHPLDK·V ERRN LV GHGLFDWHG WR *RG·V PHVVDJH RI MXGJPHQW DJDLQVW -XGDK DQG the other nations that have abandoned the worship of the true God for every type of loathsome idolatry. After discussing his call and commission in Chapter 1, Jeremiah records fourteen messages of condemnation on Judah (2:1-29:32) and their calamity (34:1-45:5), finally including QLQH RI WKH OHDGLQJ QDWLRQV RI WKDW GD\ LQ *RG·V FRQGHPQDWLRQ -51:64). Chapter 52 tells of the fall of Jerusalem. As The NIV Study Bible SRLQWV RXW ´8QOLNH (]HNLHO WKH RUDFOHV LQ -HUHPLDK DUH QRW DUUDQJHG LQ FKURQRORJLFDO RUGHU µ 13 In this study we will not spend a great deal of time talking DERXW WKH QDWLRQV EXW UDWKHU FRQFHQWUDWLQJ RQ WKH PLQLVWU\ VSLULWXDOLW\ DQG LQVLJKWV RI *RG·V servant. It would be well, in reading through Jeremiah, to remember these three stages: ‡ to 605 B.C. «««« :KLOH -XGDK ZDV WKUHDWHQHG E\ $VV\ULD DQG (J\SW ‡ to 586 B.C. «««« :KLOH -XGDK ZDV WKUHDWHQHG DQG EHVLHJHG E\ %DE\ORQ ‡ to about 580 B.C. « ,Q -HUXVDOHP (J\SW , SRVVLEO\ %DE\ORQ DIWHU -XGDK·V downfall The Commission of Jeremiah (1:4-19) 1. -HUHPLDK·V &DOO (1:4-5). ´7KHQ WKH ZRUG RI WKH /25' FDPH WR PH VD\LQJ« µ (YHU\ ELEOLFDO prophet received his call and commission directly from the /25' +LPVHOI -HUHPLDK·V DFFRXQW of his personal prophetic call is unique and more complete than the records of most of the other canonical prophets. My Holman Bible makes this appropriate comment about doubting ´PLUDFXORXV FDOOV µ It is common these days for critical scholars to dismiss the idea that God might speak directly to someone. They consider prophetic utterances to be mere literary devices, and they assume SUHGLFWLRQV DUH LPSRVVLEOH 7KH\ GRQ·W HYHQ FRQVLGHU WKH SRVVLELOLW\ WKDW ZKDW -HUHP iah had to say might be true. 14 It certainly appears that God pre-determined to make Jeremiah a prophet, even before his conception. God said:

1. I knew (chose) you [before birth]

12 0DF$UWKXU¶V FRQFOXVLRQ S 13 NIV Study Bible, S ³+DG WKH\ EHHQ VR DUUDQJHG WKH VHTXHQFH RI VHFWLRQV ZLWKLQ WKH ERRN ZRXOG KDYH EHHQ approximately as follows: 1:1-7:15; ch 26; 7:16-20:18; ch. 25; chs. 46-51; 36:1-8; ch. 45; 36:9-332; ch. 35; chs. 21-24; chs. 27-31; 34:1-7; 37:1 10;34:8-22; 37:11-38:13; 39:15-18; chs 32-33; 38:14-39:14; 52:1-30; chs 40-44; 52:31- ´ 14 Holman Christian Study Bible, p. 1086.

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