Week # 36 Study Page

Jeremiah 18-35

About the Book(s)

Jeremiah

Date of Authorship: It is widely agreed that some form of the collection of Jeremiah's writings was produced during the prophet's lifetime. and Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, had some of Jeremiah's prophecy recorded and delivered to king Jehoiakim (see chapter 36) as early as 605-604 BC. Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet in 627 BC. The latest historical event recorded in this book is the death of Nebuchadnezzar which occurred in 562 BC. thus the final edition of the book of Jeremiah was completed at least that late, likely, after Jeremiah's death

Author: The book of Jeremiah does not claim to have the prophet of Jeremiah as its author. Instead, it claims to contain the words of Jeremiah the prophet. We are not told for certain, but it seems likely that these words of Jeremiah were recorded, narrated, and then collated by his scribe Baruch (again, see chapter 36).

Purpose: Jeremiah is the message and story of a prophet of God to His people who He has seen enough from. Jeremiah's earliest prophecies seem to include the possibility of repentance and forgiveness, but those invitations cease and Jeremiah pronounces an inescapable and irrevocable judgment upon the people of Judah. Jeremiah lives to witness the punishment of God's people, and later turns his prophetic message to the nations surrounding Israel in the ancient world. Jeremiah's message is not limited to Judah's destruction, but also includes a promise of restoration and rescue after God's people have suffered their punishment for some time. Jeremiah's sadness and misfortune are a living portrayal of the way that God has been treated by His people.

As You Read Notes

Historical account of the Fall of Jerusalem

After the fall of the Assyrian empire, there was uncertainty about which power(s) would rise to the top at the end of the 7th century BC. Egypt was a contender as a regional power with empirical aspirations, and Jehoahaz (the son and successor of Josiah) was taken prisoner by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. Egypt was closer to Judah than any other regional power, so there was a natural inclination for Judah to ally with and fall under the empire which Egypt was angling for. This is not the first time we have witnessed this phenomenon in the Bible, you may remember the prophet Isaiah warning Judah against trusting in Egypt more than a century earlier when they faced pressure from the Assyrians. Isaiah's advice was not heeded, Egypt was almost no help to Judah, the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem, and only a miraculous act of God saved the city from that moment.

In the East, the Babylonians had overtaken the center of the Assyrian empire under king Nabopolassar. Nabopolassar had dispatched his son, Nebuchadnezzar, to confront the Egyptians who were moving east. Nebuchadnezzar and the Egyptian Pharaoh Neco II met at Carchemish on the Euphrates river in 605 BC, and Egypt was soundly defeated there. That same year, Nabopolassar died, Nebuchadnezzar became king, and, following the defeat of the Egyptians, Jehoiakim (king of Judah) became a Babylonian vassal. However, this tendency of Judah to side with Egypt did not end there. Nebuchadnezzar and Necho II met again, this time in the Sinai in 601 BC as Nebuchadnezzar attempted to invade Egypt. This battle ended in a draw and Judah, under Jehoiakim, was encouraged to once again ally with Egypt against Babylon. That made Nebuchadnezzar really mad. Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem in 598/597 BC. Jehoiakim died during the siege, his son Jehoiachin became king and was promptly exiled to Babylon along with many other important people from Judah, including the royal family, their advisers, the nobility, the priesthood, craftsmen, and skilled artisans - this was the first batch of exiles taken from Jerusalem. This would have been the occasion at which Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken into exile.

Nebuchadnezzar picked one of Josiah's sons, Zedekiah (an uncle to Jehoiachin), to rule in Jerusalem and be his subject. However, Zedekiah had his own ideas about Babylon and began meeting with ambassadors from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon to discuss the prospects of rebellion against Babylon (see Jeremiah 27:1-3). in 589 BC, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon by withholding tribute and allying with the the Egyptian pharaoh, Hophra; You can imagine how Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would feel about that. In January of 587, Nebuchadnezzar's troops arrived at Jerusalem and put it to siege while destroying the other fortified cities of Judah. Egypt (surprisingly) actually showed up later that year to aid in Judah's defense, but Egypt was soundly defeated and turned back by the Babylonians. With the Egyptians defeated, Nebuchadnezzar turned his full attention to Jerusalem, where they built siege ramps to breach the city's northern walls. The walls were breached in August of 586 BC. Jerusalem was demolished and burned, and even more Israelites were taken into exile by Babylon at this time. our reading this week takes us right up to this final siege of Jerusalem, but does not appear to contain any prophesies of Jeremiah from after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Chronology of Jeremiah

Above is a chart showing the succession of the kings of Judah from Hezekiah, to the Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC

It is really important to realize that the book of Jeremiah has not been compiled in chronological order. Many times, this book will tell you the historical setting at the beginning of a new section; often times by telling you which king is reigning in Judah. The trouble is, that almost nobody, pastor Joel included, has the order of kings at the end of the kingdom of Judah memorized. if you've read the historical account written above, and you keep this little chart of the kings of Judah handy, you'll have a much easier time understanding the utterances of the prophet Jeremiah. Notice the setting described at the beginning of chapter 24:

After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. (Jeremiah 24:1)

and compare that to the setting for chapter 25:

The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah,

and then chapter 26:

Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord:

Those are three consecutive chapters in our reading in which we are going backwards in time, and that is why you have to pay such close attention to the history of Judah in the time of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 22:14: Cedar Panels

In chapter 22, God is speaking a condemnation of the evil kings of Judah through Jeremiah. God focuses on their use of and trust in wealth instead of faithfulness to God and the faithful administration of justice. In this condemnation, we read the verse:

He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar
and decorates it in red.

"Cedar paneling was considered the most luxurious and expensive material that could be used, often more costly than even hammered out precious metals . It was used almost exclusively in palaces and temples. Wall painting is not widely attested in Israelite excavations but is well known in the larger Near Eastern context." (IVP Bible Background Commentary).

God is pointing out that the kings of Judah have forsaken his covenant and commands to pursue luxury and the comforts of wealth. Here, the lesson for 21st century Christians in America, just leaps off the page. it is not that wealth and luxury could not be enjoyed, after all, David had a palace laden with cedar, but that faithfulness to God must be our first pursuit.

Jeremiah 23:25-26: Dreams

“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? (Jeremiah 23:25-26)

Dreams were a really common vehicle for prophecy in the ancient world. God speaks to / meets with people in dreams; Jacob (Genesis 28:12) and Joseph (Genesis 37:5-11) come to mind first. Also, consider that the end of Jeremiah's ministry is occurring in Judah either at the same time, or just a handful of years before God is using Daniel to interpret dreams while a captive in Babylon. In the book of Jeremiah, we learn that there were prophets using dreams to prophesy good for the nation of Judah, when God had spoken no such thing. You can just imagine how frustrating it would be for Jeremiah to carry a message from the lord of judgement and guilt, only to have a competing prophet claiming to have a dream in which God told them that good things are coming to Jerusalem.

Later in this chapter, God clarifies that it is the prophet who "has my word" that should be trusted - not the prophets who are having dreams. Jeremiah had God's word because God was speaking through him, not only as a prophet, but also as one speaking the word of God (Bible) to him through the Holy Spirit. There are Christian teachers who will instruct the believer to seek dreams or signs to determine God's will for a certain decision. I think those teachers are misleading the faithful, and i would point them to the story of Jeremiah the prophet. God has given us his word, it is precious and more-than-enough for us. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever" (Isaiah 40:8). You may find yourself in the position of these prophets who were competing against Jeremiah one day, believing that you have received a dream from God. Remember, then, that no dream can supersede or change God's word, that the dream must serve the Word, and not the other way around.

Jeremiah 25:12 & 29:10: 70 Years

One of the more famous prophecies of Jeremiah is God's promise that God will restore his people after 70 years. This promise occurs in each of the two passages above, and we read of it already when Daniel mentioned it in Daniel chapter 9.

Though the expression "seventy years" could denote generally an individuals life span, as it does in a statement of Esarhaddon of Assyria, it can also make reference to a specific span of time. The period of seventy years was approximately from the destruction of the temple in 587 BC to its rededication in about 515 BC. It could also represent (Joel's preferred reading) the time that elapsed from the initial subjugation of Israel under Nebuchadnezzar in 605 to the first return of exiles according to Cyrus's decree in 535... Little is known of Palestine during the exile and partial reoccupation of the land. The largest deportation followed the destruction of Jerusalem in 586, but only the leading citizens went into exile. Signs of destruction have been found throughout Judea, but not everything was destroyed. The peasants continued their life in the area, and some even worshiped amid the ruins of the temple (Jeremiah 41:4-5). Judah became a Babylonian province, with headquarters at Mizpah, north of Jerusalem (IVP Bible Background Commentary)

Jeremiah 27:8-11: God Says "Surrender"

The prophecy that Jeremiah gives Zedekiah here is unparalleled in ancient literature. We have no other record of a prophet from the ancient world instructing their king to surrender to an invader or occupier. these words come early in the reign of Zedekiah. God must have known the rebellious hart that Zedekiah possessed. Consider that if Zedekiah was obedient to this command, the great city of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple within it, may not have been demolished.

Notice that in Jeremiah's ministry, the Israelites who have God's favor and are spoken to lovingly and kindly, are those already in exile. There was a group of important officials from Judah who were taken into exile in 597 (the beginning of Zedekiah's reign) that included Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are the ones who are told the kind and often-memorized words of Jeremiah 29, and God speaks to them in love, while God speaks wrath and judgment to those still in Judea.

Jeremiah 32:4: Zedekiah's Fate

Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. (Jeremiah 32:4)

I just want to point out to you this prophecy about Zedekiah's fate because i know what is coming next week, and when we get there together you should remember these words. (how's that for a cliff-hanger?)

Week 36 Study Page - Jeremiah 18-35