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The book of Jeremiah is a book of great
strength and insight. Jeremiah's name means the Lord exalts. The book is
normally dated about 30 years after Isaiah or about 627 B.C. The
prophet speaks to the great needs of the Jewish people. He first
explains the terrible consequences of their sin and gives full
information about the Babylonian assault that is to come.
Jeremiah is a
book of sermons and lessons that are mostly directed to the
Jewish people. Because of the truth that he speaks, in many
cases the very words given by God, he is called a liar and is
mistreated and abused. He is thrown in a cistern, and withstands
many forms of bad treatment.
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The first 25 chapters of this
book are prophecies about Jerusalem and Judah. In
chapter 1 we find information about Jehovah calling Jeremiah and the
dangers of this work. It is interesting that he is warned
concerning the Jewish people, "do not be terrified by them".
In 1:17 the Lord directs him to ask the people who has
found fault with God? Then the prophet speaks of spiritual
adultery in great detail, and much of chapter 3 involves this
subject. Chapter 4 gives the assurance of salvation for the
nation if the people will repent, yet the land becomes as a desert
because of the sin. This message is repeated again in chapters 7 and
25. The first statement of chapter 5 is most thought provoking as Jehovah says that he will save the
nation if the prophet can find one person who deals honestly and
seeks the truth. In chapter 7 Jehovah speaks of Shiloh (the
place where the permanent tabernacle was constructed) and promises
that all of Judah will be like that desolate place if the people
continue in sin. Chapter 10 is a study of idolatry and the
tragedy that comes to men when they create their own ‘gods’. In
chapter 12 we find Jeremiah’s complaint and God’s beautiful
answer. We note in chapter 14 that while Jeremiah is
speaking for God, there are many prophets speaking for Satan. As
the account continues in chapter 15 we find the power of sin,
as the Lord declares that there is now way that he can return his
love to his people. Chapter 20 is the sad account of the way
that the people chosen of God treated the prophet of God. In
chapter 25 Jeremiah observes that for 23 years
he has proclaimed the word of God and to that day no one had been
listening.
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Chapters 26 thru 45 are
more personal about the life of Jeremiah. This section includes a
part Of the message of the false prophets, the account of the
piece of land that Jeremiah bought while Jerusalem was under siege
by the army of Babylon, and the story of the scroll that
king Jehoiakim burned because he did not like the word from God.
In chapter 37 we see that Jeremiah is blamed for the
wrath of God, and that he is then thrown in prison on false
charges. Very soon an attempt is made on his life and by chapter
40 Jeremiah is set free and given the right to live anywhere he
wants as a free man. In chapter 42 a remnant of the Jewish
people approach Jeremiah to ask God about what they should do, and
promise to obey Jehovah this time. The promise sounds good, but
again these people will serve God only if he will do things their
way. The word is that these people are to stay in Babylonian
captivity, and that they will be completely destroyed if they go
to Egypt. Again,
they chose to do what they are commanded not to do, so they go to
Egypt. This whole disaster was caused by their determination to
worship idols.
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Chapters 46 thru 51 contain
brief prophesy about other countries. Included in these prophesies
is information about Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom,
Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, Elam and Babylon. Chapter 52 again
reviews some of the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem
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