Jeremiah

1
Jeremiah

• Study by Tim Haile

2
Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• The Book of Jeremiah Concerns the People of Judah
  (With Special Emphasis Upon the Fate of
  Jerusalem)
• Because of Moral Spiritual Corruption, God
  Would Punish Judah As He Had Punished Israel

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Moses Had Warned That Siege Captivity Would Be
  Used As Punishment For Wickedness (Deut.
  2849-ff)
• An Eagle Would Swoop Down Which Would Destroy
  Property and Subjugate People

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• The Swooping Eagle Was
• ASSYRIA (Hos. 81), As Gods Rod of Anger (Isa.
  105) In Punishing the Northern 10 Tribes of
  Israel (Samaria Fell in 721 BC)
• BABYLON (Jer. 4840), As Gods Instrument Against
  Moab, Judah and Others (Jer. 46-49)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Involved Deportation, Captivity
• ISRAEL (2 Kgs. 1723), So the people of Israel
  were taken from their homeland into exile in
  Assyria, and they are still there.)
• JUDAH (Jer. 204, 5 2511) - Carried to Babylon
  and Remain For Seventy Years (2910-14)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Jerusalem After 100 Years
• Sennacherib Arrived At Jerusalem (701 BC) After
  Conquering All Other Fortified Cities of Judah
  (Annals Claimed to Have Conquered 46) (Isa. 361)
• Hezekiah Was King, Isaiah Was a Prophet

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Jerusalem After 100 Years
• Sennacherib Boasted of His Victories, Threatened
  Jerusalem, and Insulted God (2 Kgs. 18)
• As Prophesied by Isaiah, the Assyrian Army Was
  Miraculously Defeated (2 Kgs. 1935) Sennacherib
  Later Killed by His Own Sons (2 Kgs. 1936, 37)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Key Differences Between the Jerusalem of 701 and
  the Jerusalem of 605
• Hezekiah Feared and Served God
• Isaiah Was Respected And Heard
• The People Humbled Themselves and Turned From
  Evil (reforms)
• In 100 Years This All Changed!

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Josiah Was Devoted Others Were Not (2 Chron.
  3431-33)
• Then the king stood in his place and made a
  covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD,
  and to keep His commandments and His testimonies
  and His statutes with all his heart and with all
  his soul, to perform the words of the covenant
  written in this book.

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• Background to the Book of Jeremiah

• Moreover, he made all who were present in
  Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So
  the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the
  covenant of God, the God of their fathers. Josiah
  removed all the abominations from all the lands
  belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who
  were present in Israel to serve the LORD their
  God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn
  from following the LORD God of their fathers (2
  Chron. 3432,33)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah Was From Anathoth (One of the 4 Priestly
  Cities of Benjamin)
• The Men of Anathoth Later Conspired To Kill
  Jeremiah (Jer. 1118-23)
• Ezekiel (Ezek. 13) and Zechariah (Zech 11) Also
  Prophet and Priest

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Though a Priest, The Time Came When Jeremiah Was
  Instructed By God To No Longer Pray For the Good
  of His People (Jer. 716 1114 1411)
• Jeremiah 1820 Indicates That He Had Earlier
  Prayed For the People

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah Began His Prophetic Work In The 13th
  Year of Josiah (Jer. 12 253 - 626 BC)
• Jeremiah Was Forced To Go To Egypt (Daphne) With
  Rebellious Jews (Jer. 43) - He Continued His
  Teaching There (Jer. 44)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiahs Contemporaries
• Zephaniah (Early)
• Habakkuk
• Daniel (carried away in 1st deportation - 605 BC)
• Ezekiel (carried away in 2nd deportation - 597
  BC)
• Nahum (against Nineveh)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Kings During Jeremiahs Work
• Josiah (13th Year, killed in 609 BC by Necho)
• Jehoahaz-Shallum (609)
• Jehoiakim (609-598)
• Jehoiachin (Coniah, Jeconiah, 597, 598)
• Zedekiah (597-586)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah Felt Inadequate - I am a child (Jer.
  16 - about 20-25)
• Similar To Moses (Ex. 410)
• Jeremiah Was Helped By Divine Inspiration (Jer.
  19)
• God Strengthened and Assisted Jeremiah (Jer.
  117-19)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• The Weeping Prophet
• Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no
  physician there? Why then is there no healing for
  the wound of my people? (Jer. 822)
• Oh that my head were a spring of water and my
  eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and
  night for the slain of my people (Jer. 91)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah the Hated Prophet
• Death Threat From The Men of Anathoth (Jer.
  1118-23)
• People of Jerusalem They said, Come, let us
  make plans against Jeremiah for the teaching of
  the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will
  council from the wise, nor the word from the
  prophets. So come, lets attack him with our
  tongues and pay no attention to anything he
  says (Jer. 1818)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah the Hated Prophet
• Beaten Bound By Pashhur (Jer. 201-6)
• People, Prophets and Priests Seized Jeremiah and
  Said, You must die This man must be sentenced
  to death because he has prophesied against this
  city (Jer. 268, 11)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah the Hated Prophet
• Beaten Imprisoned in Jonathans Prison -
  Accused of Desertion (Jer. 3711-21)
• Accused of Discouraging the Soldiers With His
  Warnings of Jerusalems Destruction - Thrown in a
  Cistern - Sank in Mud (Jer. 38)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah a Conflicted Prophet
• Jeremiah Prophesied At a Time of Extreme
  Rebellion Against God The Judgments He
  Pronounced Were Therefore Very Strong/Condemning
• Prospect of Suffering and Destruction Very
  Disturbing (cp. Rev. 109-11)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiah a Conflicted Prophet
• Sometimes Complained About Gods Tolerance and
  Timing (Jer. 121-4) - God Warned and Informed
  Him (vs. 5-ff)
• Complained About Gods Ways (Jer. 1516-18) - God
  Told Him to Repent (vss. 19-21)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiahs Confessions
• Wished For Gods Vengeance Upon Those At
  Ananthoth Who Conspired to Kill Him (Jer. 1120)
• Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me
  from shame let them be terrified, but keep me
  from terror Bring on them the day of disaster
  destroy them with double destruction (Jer. 1718)

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiahs Confessions
• Jer. 1819-23 - Do give heed to me, O Lord, and
  listen to what my opponents are saying! Should
  good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit
  for me. Remember how I stood before you to speak
  good on their behalf, So as to turn away your
  wrath from them. Therefore, give their children
  over to famine And deliver them up to the power
  of the sword And let their wives become
  childless and widowed

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Introduction to Jeremiah

• The Prophet Jeremiah

• Jeremiahs Confessions
• Let their men also be smitten to death, Their
  young men struck down by the sword in battle. May
  an outcry be heard from their houses, when you
  suddenly bring raiders upon them For they have
  dug a pit to capture me And hidden snares for my
  feet. Yet you, O Lord, know all their deadly
  designs against me Do not forgive their iniquity
  or blot out their sin from your sight. But may
  they be overthrown before you Deal with them in
  the time of your anger! (Jer. 1819-23)