Understanding Religion - The Book of Jeremiah (an Exoteric Summary)
Jeremiah (an Exoteric Summary)
This blog entry is just an "Exoteric" summary of the Book of Jeremiah (I may throw in some "Esoteric" ideas)
"Exoteric" means "understood by the general populous" compared to "Esoteric" which means "understood by a small group".
The notes for this blog on the book of Jeremiah have been taken primarily from "The Bible Project," you can listen for yourself here: "The Bible Project Book of Jeremiah Overview"; some secondary notes taken from The Bible Made Clear's "Jeremiah the Prophet"
The version of the Bible I'm reading is called "The Companion Bible", here is an 82-page PDF on the Book of Jeremiah from the "Companion Bible”: "https://www.companionbiblecondensed.com/OT/Jeremiah.pdf"
THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH
Twenty-Fourth Book of the Bible / Twenty-Fourth Book of the Old Testament / Second book of Prophecy and the second book of the Major Prophets
Chapters: 52
Verses: 1,364
Name: "Jeremiah" comes from the collection of recorded words and events surrounding the life of the prophet Jeremiah: "www.newworldencyclopedia.org"; "Jeremiah" is the author of this book? "Encyclopedia Britannica"
The name "Jeremiah" comes from Hebrew which means "The Lord Exalts", "www.thebump.com" or "appointed by God" according to "www.familyeducation.com"
From the Bible Made Clear
The Babylonians are coming.
Time line: 630 B.C. to 590 B.C.
Josiah was the last godly king who died in battle. (around 630 B.C.)
626 B.C. was when Jeremiah was called.
622 B.C. The Book of the Law is found.
612 B.C. Nineveh falls to Babylon.
Jehoahaz reigned 3 months after Pharaoh took to Egypt (between 620 B.C. and 610 B.C.)
Jehoiakim - Egypt put him in as a puppet king (between 610 B.C. and 600 B.C.)
605 B.C. - First Captivity
Jehoiachin - reigned 3 months and brought to Babylon and died (around 590 B.C.)
597 B.C. - Second Captivity
Zedekiah - the last puppet king put there by Babylon (after 590 B.C.)
586 B.C. - Third Captivity
5-years after the burning of Jerusalem, Babylon came again and took 745 more captives (Jeremiah 52:30), even after a considerable group, including Jeremiah, had fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 43). (581 B.C.).
Nebuchadnezzar's 1st Jerusalem Captivity
Battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.)
Who is Jeremiah?
- Called from the womb to serve God. (Chapter 1)
- Called to be a prophet to the Nations (Chapter 1)
- Told not to fear those that would resist him (Chapter 1)
- Was called "the weeping prophet" - he delivered his message through tears.
a. God used a man with the tender heart of a woman, why?
I. The final message of judment to Judah needed to be delivered with the pain and sorrow God felt for his people.
II. Jeremiah provided the heart and words of God to his people.
i. Judgment is always the final action.
The message of the prophet is a last effort to save Jerusalem, but judgment was inevitable, why?
- Israel continually broke the Mosaic covenant
a. This had severe consequences of Judgment
b. The consequences are outlined in Deuteronomy Chapters 27 to 30.
2. Idolatry has deceived the people; their own choice.
a. Jeremiah 2:5 - "walked after vanity and have become vain" (KJV); "They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves" (NIV)
b. Jeremiah Chapter 23 - "False prophets were creating prophecies out of their own hearts, not receiving them from God"
Issues in Jeremiah
3. The kings and leaders were deceived by false prophets about a prosperous future, so Jeremiah's prophecies of judgment ,made him appear treasonous, as if against God's blessing.
a. Jeremiah said Jerusalem was to be turned over to Babylon to take possession and that the king would not escape (Jeremiah Chapter 32)
b. The king put him in prison as a result.
4. Jeremiah was leaving Jerusalem for personal business and he was arrested and accused of defecting to the enemy (a false charge).
a. he was put in prison for this also. He was to be fed bread and water until the bread was gone. He was beaten and put in a dungeon (Jeremiah Chapter 37).
Unique to Jeremiah
Jeremiah's ministry call was from the womb.
The word of the Lord = 51x.
References to Babylon = 164x.
Standing at the Temple Door = Chapter 7
Explaining man's sinful heart = Chapter 17
Curse of Jehoianchin = Chapter 22
Righteous Branch is Christ = Chapter 23
Explanation of True and False prophets = Chapter 23
Prophecy of 70 years in Babylon = Chapters 25 to 29
Prophecy of Israel in the tribulation = Chapter 30
Ephraim declared first born, New Covenant = Chapter 31
Was in prison more than once = Chapters 32, 37, and 38
Book of Obadiah quoted = Chapter 49
Chapter 32 - Hanamel and the Confirmed Prophecy to Jeremiah
Jeremiah's Prophecy
Jeremiah 39:12: "Jeremiah unceasingly advises Jerusalem to surrender to the king of Babylon, so much so that his enemies accused him of being a traitor."
Jeremiah Chapters 50 to 51: "Jeremiah cried aloud, over and over, that the king of Babylon was committing a heinous crime in destroying the Lord's people and, because of this crime Babylon itself would be destroyed and abandoned forever".
Jeremiah Key Chapters
Chapter 2 - Overall charge to backslidden Israel
Chapter 18 - The potter and the clay
Chapter 23 - The contrast between God's word and peoples' dreams
Chapter 29 - The promise of a future for Israel, though they will go to Babylon
Chapter 30 - The deliverance of Israel during the tribulation period
Chapter 51 - The prophecy against the destruction of Babylon.
Jeremiah Outline
Chapters 1 to 39 = before the fall of Jerusalem; Chapters 40 to 52 after the fall
I. Jeremiah's call and commission (Jeremiah 1:1 to Jeremiah 1:19)
II. Prophecies to Judah (Jeremiah 2:1 to Jeremiah 45:5)
III. Prophecies to the Gentiles (Jeremiah 46:1 to Jeremiah 51:64)
IV. Historical Supplement (Jeremiah 52:1 to Jeremiah 52:34)
From the Bible Project
Jeremiah was an Israelite priest who worked in Jerusalem during the final decade of the kingdom of southern Judah.
Jeremiah was called as a prophet to warn Israel about breaking their covenant with God via idolatry and injustice.
Jeremiah warns that Empire of Babylon would be the servant to bing this judgment on Israel by destroying Jerusalem and taking its people into exile.
Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the peoples' exile personally.
Chapter 36 explains The Making of Jeremiah.
After 20-years of preaching in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was called to collect all of his Sermons, Poems, and Essays and put them in writing which he did by employing a scribe by the name of Baruch. Baruch wrote down and compiled all of this material into a scroll.
In the process, Baruch gathered a lot of stories about Jeremiah and linked them together and this is why the Book of Jeremiah reads like an anthology.
This is arranged to present this prophet, Jeremiah, as a messanger of God's justice and grace.
Thus the book begins with God calling Jeremiah to be a prophet to Israel and the Nations. He will uproot and tear down; plant and build-up. He warns of the coming judgment, but also has a message of hope.
Chapters 1 to 24
A collection of writings before the exile.
The core idea is that Israel has broken the covenant written in the Torah (Genesis to Deutronomy).
The Israelites adopted the worship of all kinds of Canaanite gods - building idol shrines all over the land.
The worship of other Gods = Idolatry = Adultery.
The accusation of Israel's leaders (Priests, Kings, Prophets) of becoming corrupt, abandoning the Torah and the Covenant.
This leads to rampant social injustice; women, orphans, and immigrants were being taken advantage of.
Chapter 7 - Jeremiah's Temple Sermon
Inside the Temple Jerusalem is worshipping their God; outside the Temple they worshipping other Gods.
Some were adopting the horrifying Canaanite practice of child sacrifice. Here is where Jeremiah makes his very unpopular announcement that the God of Israel is coming in judgment to destroy his own temple and punish Israel by sending an enemy from the north to conquer Jerusalem. The enemy from the north is the Empire of Babylon.
Chapter 25 - Transition
Since Israel has not turned back to their God, in the first year of Babylon's new king, Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah announces that the Babylonian armies are headed for Israel and all of its neighbors to take them into exile for 70-years.
Babylon is compared to a glass of wine filled with God's anger to the brim over Israel's idolatry and injustice and God will make Israel and the Nation's drink from the cup.
This chapter is key to the books design and everything that follows.
Chapters 26 to 45: Judgment and Hope for Israel
Chapters 46 to 51: Judgment and Hope for the other Nations
Chapters 26 to 29
Jeremiah is rejected by Israel's leaders
Chapters 30 to 33
Hope for Israel's future.
Moses' prediction: after exile, God will renew the covenant and transform Israel's hearts.
Jeremiah develops a promise: I will place my Torah inside them, and write it on their hearts.
One day Israel will return back to the land and the Messiah from the line of David will come, and that's when all nations will come to recognize Israel's God as the true God.
Chapters 34 to 45
Conclude with stories on how Jerusalem was under seige and eventually destroyed by Babylon and how Jeremiah was persecuted, eventually kidnapped and taken to Egypt against his will.
Chapters 46 to 49
God will use Babylon to judge other Nations around Israel.
Chapters 50 & 51
God will judge Babylon itself.
This reminds us of the image of Babylon all the way back to Genesis Chapter 11, when Babylon becomes the archetypal rebellious nation in their glorification of wealth and war. God is going to give this nation over to its own destruction.
Chapter 52
Concluding with a story taken from Second Kings about "Destruction and Exile". Showing how Jeremiah's warnings of judgment were fulfilled.
The book ends with a short story about King Jochen, he is heir to the line of David and the king of Babylon releases him from prison and invites him to eat at the Royal table for the rest of his life. A little glimmer of hope, recalling Jeremiah's glimmer of hope from Chapters 32 & 33.
God hasn't abandoned his people nor the promise of a future coming king from the line of David.
The book is filled with warnings and judgment, but concludes with hope for the future.
An Esoteric idea
Elaborating on the concept of God using a man with the tender heart of a woman.
This alludes to the aspects of human consciousness? Regardless of the gender of a human being, we all have both "masculine" and "feminine" qualities in consciousness.
"Masculine" consicousness refers to linear thought.
"Feminine" consciousness refers to emotions.
While Jeremiah is a male figure, the heart of a woman refers to emotion - compassion.
When human consciousness is properly balanced, the product of this is symbolically represented by a male-child. Hence the glimmer of hope is a king from the line of David? A "son" aka a "male-child". This is symbolically referring to the product of balanced human consciousness?