Overview

Getting Acquainted

Jeremiah was born into a priestly family and raised in the small town of Anathoth (1:1), located in the tribal allotment of Benjamin, a few miles northeast of Jerusalem. God called him to be a prophet while still a young man, in 627 BC (1:2, 6), and set him "over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" (1:10). His repeated calls for repentance and his criticism of Judah's kings led to a life of significant persecution. Yet for more than 40 years Jeremiah spoke the word of God to the southern kingdom of Judah as it ran headlong toward God's judgment of exile in 587/586 BC.

God's condemnation of Judah's idolatry takes place on the stage of world history. The Babylonians were God's instrument of judgment on Judah for repeatedly breaking the covenant (21:8–10), but they too must pay for their wickedness (50:1–51:64). None of the surrounding nations will escape the Lord's judgment on all the earth (46:1–49:39). Yet those who turn from their sins and trust in the Lord will be saved, Jew and Gentile alike (3:6–4:4).

God's message through Jeremiah, however, was not one solely of judgment, but of hope as well. In fact, the bleakness of Judah's sin sets the backdrop for the beauty of God's promised salvation through a righteous Branch from the line of David who will not only reign in righteousness but will be our righteousness (23:5–6). Days will come when God will make a new covenant in which he will forgive sin and write his law on the hearts of his people (31:31–34).

Jeremiah shows us that the Lord truly abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness, while at the same time he remains perfectly just by punishing sin (compare Ex. 34:6–7). Through judgment God will save a faithful remnant and establish a new covenant with them through a descendant of David. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 1363–1368; available online at www.esvbible.org.)

Placing It in the Larger Story

Jeremiah served during a significant transition in salvation history. Although his ministry began during the reign of the last faithful king (Josiah), he eventually saw God fulfill his long-standing promise of judgment on Judah for its covenant unfaithfulness. But it was during these dark days that God promised not only to bring a remnant back to the land but also to institute a new covenant through a faithful Davidic king. These promises find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Son of David who established a new covenant through his death and resurrection.

Key Passage

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:31–34)

Date and Historical Background

Jeremiah's ministry spanned more than 40 years, from his call to be a prophet in 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 and extending into the early years of the exile. His scribe Baruch recorded Jeremiah's messages and prophecies, likely compiled in their final form by 550 BC. King Josiah (640–609 BC), the last faithful king, instituted a number of reforms, but they were not enough to turn Judah from the path of destruction. Caught in the power struggle between Egypt and Babylon, Judah struggled to maintain its independence. In 605 BC Babylon took the first wave of exiles (including Daniel and his friends; Dan. 1:1–7), and deported a second group in 597 (including Ezekiel; Ezek. 1:1–3). The final straw came in 587/586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, destroyed the city and its temple, and took a large number of exiles back to Babylon. Jeremiah was among those left in Jerusalem. But when a group of Judeans killed the Babylonian-appointed governor, Gedaliah, those responsible fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them against their will. Jeremiah continued his prophetic ministry there, prophesying against the sins of Judah, Egypt, Babylon, and other nations, and presumably he died there as well.

Outline

I. Introduction (1:1–19)

A. Jeremiah's historical setting (1:1–3)
B. Jeremiah's call and message (1:4–16)
C. God's promised protection of Jeremiah (1:17–19)

II. Israel's Covenantal Adultery (2:1–6:30)

A. Israel as a faithless spouse (2:1–3:5)
B. Israel's need to repent (3:6–4:4)
C. The coming disaster (4:5–31)
D. Judah's unwillingness to repent and its consequences (5:1–31)
E. God's rejection of his people (6:1–30)

III. False Religion and an Idolatrous People (7:1–10:25)

A. Judah's improper reliance on the temple (7:1–8:3)
B. Judah rejects God's Torah (8:4–17)
C. Judah's deceit (8:18–9:9)
D. Jeremiah's grief (9:10–26)
E. Judah's idolatry (10:1–16)
F. Judah's future exile (10:17–25)

IV. Jeremiah's Struggles with God and Judah (11:1–20:18)

A. Jeremiah's surprise (11:1–12:17)
B. Jeremiah's lament (13:1–15:21)
C. Jeremiah's renewal (16:1–17:18)
D. Jeremiah's burden (17:19–18:23)
E. Jeremiah's suffering (19:1–20:18)

V. Jeremiah's Confrontations (21:1–29:32)

A. Judah's kings (21:1–23:8)
B. False prophets (23:9–40)
C. Judah's people (24:1–25:38)
D. False belief (26:1–29:32)

VI. Restoration for Judah and Israel (30:1–33:26)

A. Restoration (30:1–24)
B. New covenant (31:1–40)
C. Return to the Promised Land (32:1–44)
D. Davidic covenant (33:1–26)

VII. God's Judgment on Judah (34:1–45:5)

A. God's faithfulness and Judah's infidelity (34:1–35:19)
B....