Session 5 - Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet

1 1 Summer Nights 2014 Profiting from the Prophets Session 5 - jeremiah , the Weeping Prophet The Prophet s life & his prophecies jeremiah s calling 1:1-10 Unmarried by God s command - 16:1-9 A lengthy ministry including the fall of Jerusalem & exile of Judah 1:2-3 Possessed great literary abilities Use of the Dirge form Messages delivered boldly & dramatically Bold preaching to Jerusalem s leaders (Kings, priests and prophets) Experienced opposition, wounding his spirit Some high points despite discouragments King Josiah s reforms see 2 Chronicles 34-35 The faithful Rechabites see ch 35 Endured persecution and suffering Predicts Jerusalem s fall & Judah s exile to Babylon 2 The 70 year Sabbath of the land.

2 Ch 25:1-14 Witnesses the tragic siege of Jerusalem His Letter to the Exiles. ch. 29 Victim of kidnapping & forced exile to Egypt The Book of jeremiah & Lamentations Material doesn t fall in chronological order! A suggested chronology of jeremiah s contents: Chs 1-6; 13; 16-17; 47-48; 22:1-17; 8:4-10:16; 26; 7:1-8:3; 11:1-17; 15:10-21; 22:18-23; 35-36; 25; 45-46; 10:17-25; 19:14-20:18; 22:24-23:8; 49:1-33; 14:1-15:9; 18:1-19:13; 24; 29; 49:34-51:64; 11:18-12:17; 23:9-40; 27:1-28:17; 21; 32-33; 37-38; 34; 39; 52 An analysis from J. Sidlow Baxter s Through The Book : THE BOOK OF jeremiah INTRODUCTION jeremiah commissioned (1) prophecies , GENERAL AND UNDATED (2- 20) First message, 2:1- 3:5; second message, 3:6- 6:30; third message (at Temple gate), 7:1- 10:25; fourth message (the broken covenant), 11:1- 12:17; fifth message (sign of linen girdle), 13:1- 27; sixth message (on the drought), 14:1- 15:21; seventh message (sign of the unmarried Prophet ), 16:1- 16:18 ; eighth message (at city gates), 17:19- 27; ninth message (the potter s vessel), 18:1- 23; tenth message (the earthen vessel), 19; result, 20.

3 prophecies , PARTICULAR AND DATED (21- 39) Frist (to Zedekiah), 21- 23; second (after first deportation), 24; third (fourth year of Jehoiakim: The coming Babylonian captivity), 25; third (early reign of Jehoiakim), 26; fourth (early reign of Jehoiakim), 27- 28; fifth (to captives of first deportation), 29- 31; sixth (tenth year Zedekian), 32- 33; seventh (during Babylonian siege), 34; eighth (days of Jehoiakim), 35; ninth (fourth year Jehoiakim), 36; tenth (siege), 37; result 38- 39. prophecies AFTER FALL OF JERUSALEM (40- 44) Babylonian kindly treatment of jeremiah (40:1- 6); ill- doings in land of Judea (40:7- 41:18); jeremiah s message to remnant in the land (42:1- 22); jeremiah carried down to Egypt (43:1- 7); first prophetic message in Egypt (43:8- 13); second prophetic message to Jewish refugees in Egypt (44:1- 30); result further rejection of the message by Jewish refugees.

4 prophecies UPON GENTILE NATIONS (45- 51) Preceded by a prefatory note to Baruch the faithful scribe who wrote them (45); first (against Egypt), 46:1- 28; second (against the Philistines) 47:1- 7; third (against Moab), 48:1- 47; fourth (against the Ammonites), 49:1- 6; fifth (against Edom), 49:7- 22; sixth (against Damascus), 49:23- 27; seventh (against Kedar and Hazor), 49:28- 33; eighth (against Elam) 49:34- 39; ninth (against Babylon and Chaldea), 50:1- 51:64. CONCLUSION Jerusalem overthrown (52) 3 THE BOOK OF THE LAMENTATIONS Lament 1 Jerusalem s Plight Lament 2 Jehovah s Anger Lament 3 jeremiah s Grief Lament 4 Jehovah s Anger Lament 5 Jerusalem s Prayer The Prophet bewails it (1- 11) The city bemoans it (12- 22) The anger described (1- 12) The city exhorted (13- 22) Affliction, yet hope (1- 39) Plea: National, personal (40- 66) Contrasts and why (1- 11) Onlookers Kings, Edom (12- 22) Plea: Zion is stricken (1- 18) Plea: Jehovah can restore Several important ideas in jeremiah The _____ a restored remnant.

5 jeremiah 31:31-40; 24:7 The _____ messianic fulfillment for Israel. jeremiah 23:1-8; 33:14-26; 30:1-10, 17-22; 31:1-14, 31-40; 32:37-44; 3:16-18; 12:14-15; 16:14-15 The _____. jeremiah 50:1-51:64 A quick glimpse at some of the Minor Prophets Optional assignment for next Session : Peruse the book of Ezekiel to get a feel for the unique style and differences of this Prophet from jeremiah and Isaiah before him. The Book of jeremiah AUTHOR: jeremiah , "the Weeping Prophet ." The book documents his life and message. 1. Family, jeremiah 1:1. 2. Birth and divine choice as Prophet , jeremiah 1:5. 3. Youthful call in the days of King Josiah, jeremiah 1:2- 6. 4. Commission, jeremiah 1:10. 5. Promise of divine presence, jeremiah 1:19.

6 6. Pressure of duty upon, jeremiah 20:9. 7. Sustained by the Word of God, jeremiah 15:16. 8. His persecution predicted, jeremiah 1:19. 9. Put in the stocks, jeremiah 20:2. 10. In a mire dungeon, jeremiah 38:6. 11. Carried into Egypt, jeremiah 43:5- 7. DATE WRITTEN: During the ministry of jeremiah (c. 627- 580 ). These were dark days in the kingdom of Judah (from the thirteenth year of Josiah, the last good king, until some years beyond the captivity). PURPOSE: To declare God's judgment upon His people and call them to repentance and spiritual restoration. TO WHOM WRITTEN: The nation of Judah. MAIN THEMES: The backsliding, bondage, and restoration of the Jews.

7 Other principal subjects 1. The fountain and cistern, jeremiah 2:13. 2. The ineradicable stain of sin, jeremiah 2:22. 3. The search for a man, jeremiah 5:1. 4. The old ways best, jeremiah 6:16. 5. The lost opportunity, jeremiah 8:20. 6. The tearful call to repentance, jeremiah 9:1. 7. The depravity of the human heart, jeremiah 17:9. 8. The clay and the potter, jeremiah 18. 9. The false shepherds, jeremiah 23. 10. How to find God, jeremiah 29:13. 11. The new covenant, jeremiah 31:31- 34. 12. The mutilation of God's Word, jeremiah 36:21- 24. 13. REJECTION: a. By his neighbors, jeremiah 11:19- 21. b. By his own family, jeremiah 12:6.

8 C. By the priests and prophets, jeremiah 20:1- 2. d. By his friends, jeremiah 20:10. e. By all the people, jeremiah 26:8. f. By the king, jeremiah 36:23. KEY WORD: Heart. It is wicked and deceitful, jeremiah 17:9; but when broken it is the place upon which God writes His New Covenant, jeremiah 31:33. KEY VERSES: jeremiah 2:19; 31:33. SYNOPSIS: 1. Call of the Prophet , jeremiah 1. 2. Rebukes, warnings, and promises to the Jews, jeremiah 2- 20. 3. Denunciation of rulers and also of false shepherds and prophets, jeremiah 21- 23. 4. Predictions of divine judgments, the overthrow of Jerusalem, and the seventy years in captivity, jeremiah 25- 29.

9 5. Promises of the restoration of the Jews, jeremiah 30- 33. 6. prophecies occasioned by the sins of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, jeremiah 34- 39. 7. The wretched condition of the remnant left in Judah and prophecies uttered to them, jeremiah 40- 44. 8. Consolation to Baruch, jeremiah 45. 9. prophecies concerning the hostile nations, jeremiah 46- 51. PROMINENT PEOPLE: jeremiah , the kings of Judah, Baruch, Nebuchadnezzar, the Rechabites. Taken from the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. The Lamentations of jeremiah AUTHOR: jeremiah . DATE WRITTEN: Soon after Jerusalem's Fall (586 ). PURPOSE: To document that disobedience always results in divine judgment.

10 In the midst of judgment, however, God's mercies prevail. He will not forget His covenant promises. TO WHOM WRITTEN: The survivors of Jerusalem's destruction. MAIN THEMES: Lament and restoration. The book represents a sequel to the book of jeremiah . It contains a series of dirges in the form of an acrostic, written as if for a national funeral, portraying the capture and destruction of Jerusalem. In the Septuagint Version the following introductory words are found: "And it came to pass after Israel was led into captivity that jeremiah sat Weeping and lamenting and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem.