Jeremiah

1. Jeremiah Why"m.r>yI “The Lord will raise up” Prophet to Judah In the Land

2. Jeremiah “No braver or more tragic figure ever trod the stage of Israel’s history than the prophet Jeremiah. His was the authentic voice of Mosaic Yahwism speaking, as it were, out of season to the dying nation. It was his lot through a long lifetime to say, and say again, that Judah was doomed and that that doom was Yahweh’s righteous judgment upon her for her breachofcovenant.” John Bright, A History of Israel, 3d ed., Westminster Aids to the Study of the Scriptures (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1981).

3. Jeremiah in 7 Minutes The Bible Project: Jeremiah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSK36cHbrk0

4. One Sentence Summary “Anguished by the burden of his prophetic call and the rejection of his message, Jeremiah witnessed what he warned about, the Babylonian captivity, yet he prophesied God’s gracious restoration through the new covenant.” Kendall Easley, Holman Quick Source Guide to Understanding the Bible, p. 145

5. 2 Key Verses Judgment: 'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you. (Jer. 30:15; NASB) Restoration:"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Jer. 31:31 NAS)

6. Theology in a Nutshell "Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. (Jer. 23:24; NASB)

7. Jeremiah and Jesus • Both wept over Jerusalem • Jeremiah Jer. 9:1 • Jesus Luke 19:41 • Both foretold the destruction of Jerusalem • Jeremiah predicted the 586 BC fall toBabylon • Jesus predicted the AD 70 fall toRome • Both preached the unmitigated Word of God concerning judgment • Both offered salvation through repentance and faith

8. Jeremiah in Scripture • Mentioned 136x in 125 verses in the Bible (does not include other Jeremiahs) • 127x in the Book of Jeremiah: • 6xin rest of Old Testament: • 4x in 2 Chronicles; • 1x in Ezra; • 1x in Daniel • 3x in Matthew

9. Jeremiah in The Historical Books • 6xin rest of Old Testament: 4x in 2 Chronicles: • 35:25 Jeremiah’s lament over Josiah’s death; • 36:12 Zedekiah’s refusal to humble himself before Jeremiah • 36:21 Prophecy of 70 Years of Sabbaths • 36:22 Cyrus Prophecy

10. Jeremiah in The Historical Books • 6xin rest of Old Testament: 1x in Ezra 1:1 Cyrus Prophecy 1x in Daniel 9:2 Prophecy of 70 years exile = 586-516 BC “The No-Temple Period” • Tabernacle (Wilderness to Shiloh/Ark of the Covenant to 970 BC) • Solomon’s Temple (ca 970-586 BC) (Jeremiah’s 42 year ministry) • No Temple (586-516 BC) • Zerubbabel’s Temple (516-20 BC) • Herod the Great’s Temple (20 BC-AD 70) • No Temple II (AD 70-Present) • Jesus, our Temple ( AD 26-Eternity)

11. Jeremiah in The Gospel of Matthew • 3x in Matthew: • Matt. 2:17-18 Rachel weeping for her children found in Jer. 31:15 • Matt. 16:14 Who do people say that I am?…Some say Jeremiah • Matt. 27:9 Thirty pieces of silver • Zechariah 11:12-13 as a lead into Jeremiah 19:1-13 as background text to highlight Judas’ betrayal and the result. *It is not unusual for biblical citations to combine two or more texts (W. Davies and Allison 1997: 568–69).

12. The Call of Jeremiah Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Bibel in Bildern 1860

13. Jeremiah’s Call and Prophecy 6 descriptors of Jeremiah’s Call in 1:10 4Negative: pluck up, break down, destroy, and overthrow 2Positive: build and plant Relation between the two parts 31:28: “And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD. (Jer. 31:28 ESV)

14. The Nature of Jeremiah’s Call Jer. 1:10 • “See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jer. 1:10; ESV) • 31:28utilizes all the terms, but in such a way as to indicate that the judgment is passing and a new day of restoration is about to dawn • 18:7-10 serves as the interpretive key to the Lord’s motivations in dealing with people.

15. Jeremiah Chronology: Kings G O O D K I N G S Call of Jeremiah ca. 627 • Last good kings • Sons of Josiah • Grandson of Josiah

16. Anathoth3 miles NE of Jerusalem 1859 Thompson, p. 549:

17. Anathoth in Jeremiah • 1:1 The Priests of Anathoth • 11:21 The Men of Anathoth • 11:23 The Men of Anathoth • 29:27 Jeremiah of Anathoth • 32:7 Shallum’s Field at Anathoth • 32:8 Anathoth in the Land of Benjamin • 32:9 I bought the Field at Anathoth

18. Jeremiah’s Relationship to His Hometown of Anathoth • The men of Anathoth wanted to silence Jeremiah, but incurred God’s wrath in the process (Jeremiah 11:21-23) • Jeremiah purchased land from his cousin Hanamel as a sign of God’s future restoration of the land & the return of the exiles (Jeremiah 32:1-44)

19. Anathoth in the Rest of the Bible • Josh 21:18 Anathoth with its pasture lands • 1 Ki 2:26 Abiathar banished to Anathoth • 1 Chr 6:60 Anathoth with its pasture lands • 1 Chr 7:8 Anathoththe son of Becher • Ezra 2:3 128 Exiles from Anathoth return • Neh 7:27 128 Exiles from Anathoth return • Neh 10:19 Anathoth’svow of faithfulness • Neh 11:32 Anathothrepopulated after exile • Isa 10:30 Anathoth is miserable (poor)

21. Abiathar, escaped the “priest-purge” of Doeg the Edomite during which 85 priests of Nob were killed, and joined David’s band; banished to Anathoth after conspiring to make Adonijah king instead of Solomon 1 Kings 1:7; 2:26-27

22. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 • 627 BC Jeremiah is born in Anathoth(most scholars use this date as the call of Jeremiah) • 622 BC Josiah’s Reform Begins, Septennial Readings of Law begin/resume Deut. 31:9-13; Jeremiah is 5 years old • 615 BC 2nd Septennial Reading; Jeremiah 12 years old; advocates Josiah’s reforms until the king’s untimely death in 609 BC • 609 BC Jeremiah, 18 years old, delivers his first dated prophecy of his career, The Temple SermonJer. 7:1-15

23. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 • 605 BC Jeremiah dictates his first scroll to Baruch: • To preserve Yahweh’s words of Judgment against Israel and Judah • To hold out the prospect of repentance and avoidance of judgment • Jeremiah 18:1-12, the visit to the potter’s house, captures the religious status of Jerusalem and all Judah around 605 BC • Jeremiah is debarred from the Temple area so Baruch has to read the scroll in the Temple court on a fast day

24. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 • 601 BC Jehoiakim burns the scroll; Jerusalem and Judah experienced drought (Jer. 36:23) • A fast is proclaimed due to the drought (Jer. 14:1-15:9) • Note refrain, rhetorical questions 5:9,29; 9:8 • "Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares the LORD. "On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself? (Jer. 9:9, NASB; MT Jer. 9:8) • Note Solemn awareness of bad conditions 6:14; 8:11 "And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. (Jer. 6:14 NASB)

25. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 Read Jeremiah 8:1-9:1 • Note Solemn awareness of bad conditions Jer. 8:20 "Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved." (Jer. 8:20; NASB) • Jeremiah the weeping prophet! • English texts 9:1,10; 13:17; 22:10; 31:15; 50:4 • "In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek.” (Jer. 50:4 NASB)

26. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 601-600 BC Jeremiah’s first confessions appear 11:18–12:6 (note mention of drought in 12:4) 12:1-5; 15:15-19;17:5-10; 18:18-23 598-597 BC First Siege of Jerusalem; Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah) deported to Babylon with 10,000 leaders & a 25 year old Ezekiel; Jehoiachin’s Uncle, Zedekiah (Josiah’s last remaining son) is made king 594 BC Jerusalem Conference and Its Consequences

27. William Lee Holladay’s Chronology of Jeremiah’s Career Hermeneia, pp. 1-10 588-87 BC Second Siege of Jerusalem 587 BC The New Covenant “Jeremiah’s lasts word in Jerusalem Jer. 31:31-34 586 BC The Flight to Egypt; Gov. Gedaliah killed; Jeremiah forced to go with loyal supporters of Gedaliah to Egypt; key passages Jer. 42 7 43; 44:26 might be Jeremiah’s last known words around 586; thus his ministry spanned 626-586 BC = 40 years.

28. Major Themes (H&W538) • God’s Policy with Nations 18:7-11 • The New Covenant 31:31-34 • False Prophets 14:11-16

29. Major Themes (H&W538) • God’s Policy with Nations • Divine interaction with Nations Jeremiah 18:7-11 • Retributive justice for nations, tied to good/evil deeds resulting in blessing/judgment -Gen. 15:16 • Nations are temporal realities only, thus judgment is not a salvific idea. Individuals are handled differently.

30. We might picture it through the metaphor of a balance scale for the nation, with weights representing good deeds loaded on one side and weights representing wicked deeds piled on the other. Each generation’s conduct added weights to the scale. On the wicked side we might further picture a button located under the pan. When the nation’s wicked conduct was sufficiently greater than the righteous aspect, their weight would depress the button, setting off a warning bell that signaled the mandate for God’s judgment. • Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 538–539.

31. Scales of Divine Justice for the Nations Good Deeds Evil Deeds

32. Major Themes (H&W538) 2. The New Covenant 31:31-34 “The proclamation of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 is generally considered to be the foremost of the prophet’s contributions to theology.” • Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 539.

33. FIVE Important Covenants • Noahic-Life • Abrahamic-Blessing • Mosaic-Relationship • Davidic-Dominion • Jeremiah’s New Covenant-Eternal Life • fulfilled only in Jesus Christ

34. Important Concepts • COVENANT (Redemptive Service) • SACRIFICE (Vicarious Atonement) • CIRCUMCISION (The Sign of the Covenant between the Lord and Abraham and His Descendants) • RIGHTEOUSNESS (Conformity) • JUSTICE (Equitable Treatment of all People) • CHESED (Covenant Love/Loyalty) • SALVATION (Deliverance, Liberation)

35. Major Themes (H&W538) 2. The New Covenant 31:31-34 Old Covenant New Covenant Made via Jesus Fulfilled 33 Etched on the heart Taught internally Iniquity forgiven; sin no longer remembered • Made via Moses • Broken • Etched in Stone • Taught externally • Forgiveness tied to regular sacrifices

36. Major Themes (H&W538) 2. The New Covenant 31:31-34 Consequently, the use of “new” here should not be thought of as indicating a totally separate covenant distinct from the previous ones, but an extension of them with new features and dimensions added. This new configuration was announced by Jeremiah but was not actually ratified and put into operation until the means for its accomplishment were at hand. Hebrews 8–10 shows us that Jesus Christ makes those conditions achievable and that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit actually accomplishes the objective. • Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 540.

37. Major Themes (H&W538) • False Prophets (CSB) • Their Own Evil 14:11-16 • Visions from Their Minds 23:9-40 • Hananiah vs Jeremiah 28:1-17

38. Hananiah the false prophet! • Jeremiah has 1364 verses • Jeremiah 28:11 is the middle of the book going by Pesuqim; a false prophecy! • “And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years." But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.” (Jer. 28:11; ESV)

39. Historical Background • Good King Josiah began to reign in 640 B.C. • Jeremiah was called in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign, ca. 627 B.C. • Josiah is noted for reforming the religious life of his people, 622 B.C. • Josiah was killed at Megiddo trying to prevent Pharaoh Neco from aiding the Assyrians against the Babylonians, 609 B.C.

40. Historical Background • Josiah was Judah’s last “good” king • Josiah was succeeded by the following • His son Jehoahaz, reigned 3 months • His son Jehoiakim, reigned 11 years • His grandson Jehoiachin, reigned 3 months • His son Zedekiah, reigned 11 years • All of Josiah’s successors did evil in the sight of the Lord

41. Historical Background • Jehoahaz, reigned 3 months in 609 B.C. before being deported to Egypt • Jehoiakim, reigned 11 years 608-597 B.C • Jehoiachin, reigned 3 months in 597 B.C. before being deported to Babylon • Zedekiah, reigned 11 years 597-586 B.C. was blinded and deported to Babylon • Gedaliah was appointed governor over the land after the exile of Zedekiah

42. International Historical Background • The Assyrian Empire reached its zenith during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III 745 B.C. • Assyria’s last great king, Ashurbanipal’s death coincided with Jeremiah’s call ca. 627 B.C. • Babylon began to strengthen as Assyrian declined • Babylon captured the Assyrian capitol, Nineveh in 612 B.C. • The Babylonians became undisputed world leaders at the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. defeating the Assyrians and the Egyptians

43. 605 BC Babylon defeats the remnant of the Assyrian army and Pharaoh Neco’s Egyptian army at Carchemish to become the new Super Power 612 BC Babylon captures Nineveh, Capital of Assyria Assyria 609 BC Josiah dies at Megiddo trying to stop Pharaoh Neco of Egypt from aiding the Assyrians against the Babylonians Egypt

44. Assyrian Empire 746-609 BC

45. Babylonian Empire 609-539 BC

46. 3 Babylonian Deportations • 605 B.C. Daniel and his three friends are exiled to Babylon • 597 B.C. King Jehoiachin and many upper class people are exiled to Babylon • 586 B.C. Jerusalem is destroyed along with the Temple, more people are exiled to Babylon - 586-539 “The Babylonian Exile” during which there is no king in Jerusalem from David’s line on the throne

47. The Yoke of NebuchadnezzarJeremiah 27:1–28:17 • 594 BC Septennial Reading of the Law (Deuteronomy) in the courts of the Temple (House of the Lord) • Jeremiah wore wooden yoke-bars to graphically portray the Lord’s message of impending judgment and servitude to Babylon • Hananiah contradicted Jeremiah, breaking the wooden yoke-bars, and prophesying restoration • At the Lord’s instruction, Jeremiah prophesied impending judgment and servitude to Babylon wearing yoke-bars of iron.

48. Dr. V’s Top Ten Theological Verses • Jer. 1:5 Life • Jer. 31:34 Relationship • Jer. 33:3 Prayer • Jer. 32:9 Money • Jer. 16:2 Marriage • Jer. 52:31 Hope • Jer. 48:43 Enemies • Jer. 2:13 Religion • Jer. 17:10 Heart • Jer. 9:24 Boasting 1364 Verses

49. Jeremiah’s 6 Major Theological Concepts Dr. James Leo Green, BBC, pp. 8-13 (1971) • Concept of God: God of wrath & love. God of deeds not creeds. Ethical monotheism. God who looks on the sinners heart. • Concept of the Word of God: God’s Word is God speaking, God communicating, God making Himself known. • Concept of Sin: Unfaithfulness to God, open rebellion against His sovereign will, infidelity, rooted in the human heart. Judgment is the result

50. Jeremiah’s 6 Major Theological Concepts Dr. James Leo Green, BBC, pp. 8-13 (1971) • Concept of Repentance: Dominant theme. Either repentance or ruin. Shub (shūv) is the key term. • Concept of Religion: Real religion roots in redemption, right relationship with God results in right relationship with others. Right relationship not proper ritual. • Concept of the Future: God’s judgment was an absolute moral necessity and a step toward realizing God’s salvation experienced in a new covenant.