Jeremiah— the Weeping Prophet
08.17.22
And they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you. (Jeremiah 1:19)
We come now to the second of the Major Prophets. This book clearly identifies the human author as Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, from the priest city of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (1:1). His father may have been a priest, but not Jeremiah, who was called to prophesy. He dictated his prophecies to Baruch, his secretary.
He is often called ‘the weeping prophet’ (9:1; 13:17) or ‘the prophet of loneliness,’ perhaps because he was commanded not to marry (16:2). He is also known as ‘the reluctant prophet’ (1:6), but he faithfully proclaimed God’s judgments on apostate Judah even though he experienced opposition, beatings and imprisonment. He was in prison five different times for his faithful proclamation of God’s message.
Jeremiah’s name in the Hebrew is uncertain. It could mean any of the following: ‘Jehovah establishes,’ ‘Jehovah exalts,’ or ‘Jehovah throws’ (as in, throwing His mercy or judgment). Next to the Psalms, Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible.
Jeremiah prophesied over a long period of time, from 626-585 BC. He was only fourteen years old when God called him to be a prophet. His ministry began during the reign of the last four kings of Judah, beginning with Josiah. Josiah was a godly king, but all those who followed after him were not so.
Jeremiah spoke to the people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, in the last hour before they are taken into captivity in Babylon (605-586 BC). After Babylon came and took away the Jews, Jeremiah remained behind to preach to the remnant and later went to Egypt. How and when Jeremiah died is unknown, though Jewish tradition says that he was stoned to death while living in Egypt (Hebrews 11:37).
Because Jeremiah does not write in chronological order, his book is difficult to follow. However, two themes are prominent: warnings of God’s judgment against sin, and a message of hope and restoration if the nation would genuinely repent.
Jeremiah spoke strongly against the sins of his countrymen, scolding them severely for their idolatry, which sometimes even involved sacrificing their children to foreign gods. One of Jeremiah’s duties from the LORD was to tell Judah to submit to her conquerors. This they were very unwilling to do, and more than anything else, this caused Jeremiah to be persecuted.
He loved the people of Judah in spite of their sins and in spite of the way that he was treated. He prayed for them, even when the LORD told him not to. He poured out his weeping heart in the Book of Lamentations.
The Lord Jesus Christ is seen in many places in this book. He is the fountain of living waters (2:13), the balm of Gilead (8:22), the Good Shepherd, the Righteous Branch, and the Lord our Righteousness (23:4-6). He is also the giver of the New Covenant (31:31-34), which will come to Israel one day when they finally repent and recognize Jesus as their Messiah.
There are two basic lessons we should learn from Jeremiah and Lamentations. First, national deterioration and disaster are due to disregarding and disobeying God. And second, God does not reckon the worth of service for Himself merely in terms of outward success.