The Strand Study Bible

JEREMIAH

Author : Jeremiah Theme : The backsliding nation (The word backsliding occurs 17 times in the OT; 13 times in Jeremiah ). Book’s Main Character : Jeremiah About the Author : Jeremiah, whose name means “ Jehovah is High,” was born into a priestly family from Anathoth, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem. The son of Hilkiah, Jeremiah began his ministry c. 627 BC (in the 13th year of King Josiah’s reign), and prophesized during the reigns of five kings: Josiah (31 yr. reign), Jehoahaz (3 mo. reign – II Ki 23:30-31), Jehoiakim (11 yr. reign – II Ki 23:34-36), Jehoiachin (3 mo. reign – II Ki 24:6-8), and Zedekiah (11 yr. reign – II Ki 24:17). Jeremiah was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah in Jerusalem, and of Daniel and Ezekiel, who were prophets to the Jewish captives in Babylon. About the Book : Sometimes called “the weeping prophet,” Jeremiah often wept over the nation and its sins (Jere 9:1 & 13:15-17, Lam 1:15-16 & 2:10-11 and Mt 16:14 ). And while Jeremiah admired young King Josiah (Jere 22:15-16), he remained appalled at the corruption of Judah’s society. How strange that the most sensitive of men will be sent on a mission to announce God’s intention to judge the nations. After Nebuchadnezzar’s third and final invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the few remaining Jews forced Jeremiah to flee into Egypt. There, he preached his last message (Jere 43:8 - 44:30). The book of Jeremiah covers 66 years (from 627-561 BC). Helpful Background : After the fall of Israel to Assyria in 721 BC, the southern two tribes (called Judah) were all that remained in the land (II Ki 17:5-6 & 18:10-11). Within eighty short years after Israel’s fall, Judah had become dangerously backslidden, and like Israel, was ready to be judged. Hoping to reverse the seemingly inevitable chastisement and to help young King Josiah with the kingdom, God, in his mercy, raised up three prophets: Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. By 621 BC, after just seven years of preaching by these three men, revival broke out and the nation of Judah began to turn around spiritually. However, by the time King Josiah died in 609 BC, the spiritual movement ended, and God had to destroy Judah and Jerusalem, via Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon from 605-585 BC. Notes of Interest : 1. Jeremiah is quoted in the NT 9 times times (Mt 2:18 & 21:13, Mk 11:17, Lk 19:46, Jn 6:45, I Cor 1:31, II Cor 6:18 and Heb 8:8-12 & 10:16,17) 2. Prophecies are referred to 570 times in Jeremiah 3. Prophecies concerning CHRIST are referred to 29 of those 570 times 4. There are 5 maps used in the book of Jeremiah . They are numbered chronologically (#246-247,252,254,256) Outline of Jeremiah : 1. Backslidden Judah (Jere 1-12) 2. Chastisement is inevitable (Jere 13-45) 3. Prophecies concerning the nations (Jere 46-51) 4. The fall of Judah and Jerusalem (Jere 52) Jeremiah 1 The call of Jeremiah

3 It came also in the 2 days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the 3 eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive 4 in the fifth month. 4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I 5 sanctified thee, and I 6 ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

1. From II Ki 21:24 - 23:30 2. From II Ki 23:34 - 24:6 3. II Ki 24:18 4. II Ki 25:8-21 5. or, “set thee apart” 6. or, “called” - Isa 49:1 & Lk 1:13-15 & Jn 15:16 & Gal 1:15-16 & II Tim 1:9

(Note - This portion of Jeremiah’s prophecy took place in the 14th year of King Josiah’s reign) Date Written - 627 BC/AM 3373

1 Thewordsof Jeremiah the sonofHilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the 1 days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

1:1 Jeremiah’s name means “ Jehovah is high .” He is referred to 5 times in the NT (Mt 2:17,23 & 16:14 & 27:9 and Jn 6:45). If you want to get to know Jeremiah and his two books ( Jeremiah and Lamentations ), then you need to get to know what “book” in the Book of Moses most influenced his life ( II Ki 22:13,16,17,19,20 & 23 :1- 2 ). Only one “book” from the Book of Moses repeatedly connects the prosperity of the nation with obedience to the commands of God –Deuteronomy. Charles John Ellicott in Ellicott’s Bible Commentary notes: The book of Deuteronomy, representing the higher truth from which Moses started (Exod. 19:5), and upon which he at last fell back, bore its witness to the original purport of the Law (Deut. 6:3; 10:12). Its rediscovery under Josiah left, here as elsewhere, its impress on the mind of Jeremiah. 1 NOTE – II Kings 22:13-20 gives us three key words that point us to the fact that Deuteronomy was the book that most influenced Jeremiah’s life: 1141