Jeremiah Survey of the Old Testament: The Prophets Fall 2005

Introduction

Background

Name & Author: The book begins by giving us the lineage of the prophet Jeremiah. He came from the priestly class, and was the son of Hilkiah. We do not know if this is the same Hilkiah, who during Josiah's reign, found the book of the Law (2 Kings 22), and oversaw the reinstatement of the Passover (2 Chronicles 35). The commentators are emphatic in their opinions. But the evidence is clear: we just don't know.

While not necessarily a priest himself, Jeremiah grew up in the priestly tradition. His hometown, Anathoth, is a Levitical town (Joshua 21:18 ), given to the sons of Aaron. He knew the religious practices of the people and was probably trained as a priest.

In 16:1-4, we know that God did not allow Jeremiah to take a wife or have children. If Jeremiah had a family to worry about, his prophecies would likely have not been as bold and his ability to face the coming opposition would have been compromised.

Date: Jeremiah prophesied for 42 years, ministering from the reign of the last good king of Judah, Josiah, to the final destruction of the city of Jerusalem . Politically, the region was going through tremendous changes as the Assyrian Empire waned and Egypt , Babylon , the Medes, and Persia , all tried to grab the remains of the Assyrian Empire. Jeremiah saw these events as directed by God, intended on bringing destruction to the wicked.

Audience: The nation of Judah in the last days before Jerusalem falls to Babylon . Jeremiah speaks primarily to the leadership of Judah , including its kings.

Historical Background

Since the time of Hezekiah and all through the reign of King Manasseh, Judah had been paying tribute to the king of Assyria. But upon the death of Ashurbanipal of Assyria in 633 BC, the empire was thrown into internal turmoil as the sons of Ashurbanipal battled for the throne. The empire was split in two as a result, with one son ruling in Nineveh and another in Harran. This split allowed King Josiah to stop paying tribute to Assyria.

Babylon used this Assyrian civil war as a chance to conquer the Assyrian empire. Nebopollaser of Chaldea seized power in Babylon and after allying himself with Persia, he conquered Nineveh in 612 BC and Harran in 610 BC.

Egypt saw the balance of power shifting from Assyria to Babylon and launched a campaign to stop the Babylonians. King Josiah foolishly tried to engage the Egyptians as they passed through Judah, but was killed in battle while his son Jehoahaz was taken captive in Egypt. Then, in a dramatic battle that set the course of history for centuries to come, Nebopollaser's so, Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians in the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.

Egypt had taken Joahaz, Josiah's son, captive. Pharaoh put Jehoiakim on the throne and applied a tribute to the struggling nation. After the battle of Carchemish, which ended Egypt's domination over Judah, Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, made Jehoiakim a vassal, and took many of the Jewish nobles (including Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego) to Babylon.

Four years later, Jehoiakim rebelled against Babylon and sought Egypt's defense. He died in 597, and his son, Jehoiachin reigned for 3 months before Nebuchadnezzar retook Jerusalem, deporting young Jehoiachin and placing Zedekiah on the throne as his vassal.

Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, until he too rebelled against Babylon, looking to Egypt for help. Egypt never came to help, and this time Nebuchadnezzer destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple and hauling off the rest of the Jews to Babylon (586 BC).

Structure

Jeremiah is not arranged strictly chronologically, but thematically.

Purpose

Jeremiah is calling on a people facing imminent destruction to repent of their idolatry and injustice and accept the punishment God is about to bring.

Theme

Jeremiah's message in this context is clear. Babylon is coming. Repent and the coming invasion from the north won't be as brutal. Keep with your wicked ways, and the destruction will be thorough.

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