The Prophet Jeremiah

Jeremiah was from Anathoth, a town not far northeast of Jerusalem, and was the son of Hilkiah, a priest from the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. The first part of his name has two meanings: “to establish” and “to overthrow”; the latter part means God. So, Jeremiah’s name means “God builds and overthrows.”

Jeremiah was born into a priestly family. He received his calling in the thirteenth year of King Josiah of Judah (627 BC), at which time he was likely very young. Jeremiah’s response to his calling was fear and a sense of inadequacy, but God promised to guide his future path, and he ultimately served as a prophet for forty years.

He was deeply emotional and melancholic, often called the “Weeping Prophet” (cf. Jeremiah 9:1). He was sent to deliver God’s message of judgment, and his unwelcome but loyal advice was hated by his beloved countrymen. He repeatedly endured opposition, beatings, imprisonment, and other persecutions. Facing the sins of the people and God’s impending punishment, his inner pain and conflict reached an extreme, yet he faithfully proclaimed messages contrary to state policy. He even had to oppose political and religious leaders. In such a hostile environment, God enabled Jeremiah to continue his ministry solely by faith.

When the Neo-Babylonian army captured Jerusalem, Jeremiah, with a broken heart, watched his prophecies come true. After the nation fell and the people were exiled, Jeremiah was released and treated kindly by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Jeremiah was a contemporary of the prophets Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Some of them were exiled to Babylon, but Jeremiah chose to remain in Jerusalem.

However, later, the Jews who remained in Jerusalem rebelled against Babylon, and Jeremiah was forced to flee with them to Egypt, where he eventually died.

Biblical Records:

1) Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry in the reign of Josiah, the sixteenth king of Judah, serving through five successive kings until Judah fell and its people were exiled. The word of the LORD often came to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1-3). Jeremiah served as a prophet for over 40 years.

2) When Jeremiah first received his call, he was very young. But the LORD said to Jeremiah: “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth,’ for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak” (Jeremiah 1:4-10). God also assured Jeremiah that he would be made “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall” (Jeremiah 1:18).

3) Jeremiah enumerated the sins of Israel and Judah, urged them to repent, and prophesied that they would suffer the punishment of the LORD God (Jeremiah 2-11). However, the people of Anathoth, his hometown, were the first to oppose Jeremiah, forbidding him from prophesying further and threatening him with death (Jeremiah 11:21). Nevertheless, Jeremiah continued to warn the people of Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 12-18). This even provoked some to plot against Jeremiah’s life (Jeremiah 18:18).

4) Jeremiah condemned the leaders of Israel and Judah, saying, “From the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 8:10-11).

5) Referring to the slaughter of Israelites and Judeans by foreign peoples, Jeremiah said, “Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1).

6) He prophesied that after the Judeans were exiled, they would be like two baskets of figs. The good basket of figs would return to Jerusalem and become God’s people; the bad basket of figs would be tossed about among all the kingdoms of the earth, subjected to disgrace, mockery, and curses (Jeremiah 24:1-9).

7) Jeremiah prophesied that after the Judeans were exiled by the Babylonians for 70 years, the king of Babylon would suffer punishment (Jeremiah 25:11-12). This prophecy was indeed fulfilled later. History records that 70 years after Babylon destroyed the kingdom of Judah, Babylon was destroyed by King Cyrus of Persia. In that same year, King Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland (Ezra 1:1-3).

8) Because Jeremiah directly criticized the prophets and priests of Judah, he was beaten and imprisoned multiple times. However, his first imprisonment lasted only one day, and he was released the next day (Jeremiah 20:1-3).

9) The LORD said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

10) In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, Jeremiah, as commanded by the LORD, called Baruch and had him write down all the words the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah in a scroll. He then instructed Baruch to read the words from the scroll to the people in the Temple, hoping that the people of Judah would turn back from their evil ways (Jeremiah 36:1-8).

11) The scroll read by Baruch caused some officials to be greatly afraid. Later, this scroll was eventually delivered to King Jehoiakim of Judah. The king listened to only a small portion being read, then cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and burned it in the fire. He also ordered the arrest of Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD hid them (Jeremiah 36:20-26).

12) Afterward, Jeremiah, according to the LORD’s command, had Baruch rewrite the words from the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned; and many similar words were added to it (Jeremiah 36:20-32).

13) When Zedekiah became king of Judah, neither he nor his officials listened to Jeremiah’s words (Jeremiah 37:1-2).

14) Later, the Chaldeans (Babylonians) besieged Jerusalem. But when the Chaldeans heard that Pharaoh’s army had come out to help Zedekiah, the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:5, 7). At this point, Jeremiah intended to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his inheritance. He left Jerusalem among the people. However, the officer of the guard at the Benjamin Gate arrested Jeremiah, accusing him of deserting to the Chaldeans. The local officials were enraged with Jeremiah, beat him, and put him in prison (Jeremiah 37:12-15).

15) After Jeremiah had been imprisoned for many days, Zedekiah ordered him to be moved to the court of the guard. But soon after, Zedekiah’s officials lowered him into a dry cistern, where he sank into the mud, expecting him to die there. Fortunately, a eunuch appealed to Zedekiah, and Zedekiah ordered Jeremiah to be pulled up from the cistern and again confined in the court of the guard (Jeremiah 37:16-38:13).

16) During his imprisonment, Jeremiah spoke plainly to Zedekiah, explaining that Zedekiah should follow the guidance of the LORD God. However, Zedekiah did not heed Jeremiah’s faithful counsel. Ultimately, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) captured Jerusalem, and the kingdom of Judah was destroyed. At that time, Jeremiah was still imprisoned, but the king of Babylon released him. Jeremiah then lived among the remnant of the people (Jeremiah 38:14-39:14).

17) Some people refused to listen to the word of the LORD and wanted to go to Egypt. Jeremiah warned them not to go to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:13-17). But these people refused to obey the word of the LORD. Instead, they took Jeremiah and Baruch with them and all went to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:4-7). Nevertheless, Jeremiah continued to proclaim the prophecies and true word of the LORD God in Egypt (Jeremiah 43:8; 44:30).