BGCT: BSM: Old Testament Text: Lecture 34

Index/Table of Contents
Old Testament and New Testament
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_{PROPHETICAL BOOKS}

_{LECTURE 34}

_JEREMIAH

_{Students will be able to}

_{1. identify the how following are related to the
message of Jeremiah: Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, Nebuchadrezzar.}

_{2. describe the circumstances which led to the fall of
Jerusalem in 586 B.C.}

_{3. identify unique elements of Jeremiah, such as the
prophets laments, the allegory of the potter (Jeremiah 33: 14-16), and the new covenant
(Jeremiah 31:3034).}

_{CONTENT OF LECTURE}

_{Background: Jeremiah lived in an important
transitional period in Near Eastern history. The prophet witnessed the fall of the
Assyrian Empire and the rise of the NeoBabylonian Empire. He saw his own country lose
its political independence and become a Babylonian province. ("Jeremiah," The
Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 777)}

_{The introductory comments (Jeremiah 1:13) indicate
that Jeremiah prophesied during the reigns of three kings of Judah:}

_{1. During Josiah's reign, Jeremiah supported King
Josiah's reformation (640609 B.C.).}

_{2. Under Josiah's son, Jehoiakim (609598 B.C.), the
prophet was often persecuted for his unpopular statements.}

_{3. Zedekiah's reign (597586 B.C.) was less hostile
to Jeremiah, especially as many of the things which the prophet had predicted began to be
fulfilled.}

_{Jeremiah was one of the truly great prophetssent
by God to prophesy as the last call for the chosen people. At great personal sacrifice,
Jeremiah carried the heavy responsibility of delivering his message to his fellow
countrymen. This was a dark and wayward time in the nation's history.}

_{OUTLINE OF JEREMIAH}

_{I. The Call of Jeremiah (chap. 1)}

_{Jeremiah was a descendant of the priest Abiathar who
had been banished by Solomon to live at Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26) about two miles outside of
Jerusalem. The long ministry of Jeremiah began about 625 B.C. and ended as the prophet was
taken against his will into Egypt (near 685 B.C.) by the Jews who would not live in their
homeland with Babylon in control. (DQ#1) As a prophet to the nation (Jeremiah 1:5),
Jeremiah was to speak to the political situation which included Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt
and Judah. (DQ#2)}

_{Second Kings 24:1020 tells how Jehoiachin,, King of
Judah, was captured along with the temple treasure and carried off to Babylon.
Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, was appointed by Nebuchadrezzar to be king.}

_{II. Book 1 of the Oracles of Jeremiah (chap. 225)
(TN#3)}

_{In chaps. 26, there is a discussion of Israel's
faithlessness, exhortations to repent (3:15, 22), a warning of judgment coming as a foe
from the north (4:6), and graphic imagery of Judah's sinfulness (chaps. 56). Jeremiah 7
records Jeremiah's famous temple sermon, a stinging indictment of complacent religion.
Chapters 1120 contain the personal laments of the prophet (Note 11:1812:2 and
15:1518). (DQ#4)}

_{Jeremiah 18:123 contains the familiar parable of the
potter and the clay.}

_{III. Biographical Interlude 1 (2629)}

_{As a response to Jeremiah's temple sermon, priests and
prophets threaten to kill him (26:711). Jeremiah further antagonizes many of his
countrymen by stating that God had given the nation over to their enemies (27:27).
Jeremiah 28:9 provides the test of a prophet. The prophet is a true spokesman of God if
what he predicts comes to pass. The letters Jeremiah wrote to the exiles (29:19) told
them to prepare for a lengthy stay in captivity.}

_{IV. Book 2: The Book of Consolation (3031)}

_{Here the defeated nation is promised restoration
(30:8). The everlasting love of God will restore the purity of Israel (31:34). God
promised a new covenant (31:3134). While the old covenant was written on tablets of
stone, the new covenant will be written upon the heart, indicating it will be intimate and
personal.}

_{V. Biographical Interlude 2 (32-45)}

_{In chap. 32, Jeremiah bought a field as an investment
in a future day when the land would be restored to the people of Israel. As part of the
restoration of the nation, God promised that a descendant of David would return to execute
justice and righteousness in the land (33:14-16). Chapter 39 records the fall of
Jerusalem. When Jeremiah was proven correct by the invasion of Babylonia, people turned to
him for advice concerning their plans to flee to Egypt (42:110). As he told them not to
fear their conquerors, they again displayed the willfulness by rejecting his warning and
by taking the prophet with them in Egypt (43:17).}

_{VI. Book 3: Oracles against the Nations (4651)}

_{This section includes oracles against Egypt (46), the
Philistines (47:17), Moab (48), the Ammonites (49:16), the Edomites (49:722),
Damascus (49:2327), Kedar and Hazor (49:2833), Elam (49:3439) and Babylon
(50:151:64). In 51:119, the prophet predicted that, like Assyria, Babylon would fall.
(TN#5)}

_{VII. Historical Appendix: The fall of Jerusalem (52)
(TN#6)}

_{OUTLINE OF JEREMIAH}

_{I. The call of Jeremiah (1)}

_{II. Book 1 of the oracles of Jeremiah (225)}

_{III. Biographical interlude 1(2629)}

_{IV. Book 2: The book of consolation (3031)}

_{V. Biographical interlude 2 (3245)}

_{VI. Book 3: Oracles against the nations (4651)}

_{VII. Historical appendix: The fall of Jerusalem (52)}

_{Taken from Hill and Walton's A Survey of the Old
Testament.}

_ASSIGNMENT

_{1. Read the Book of Lamentations and list the reasons
for sorrow among the survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem.}

_{2. Read chapter on Daniel in text such as Chapter 32
in the Hill and Walton text.}

_{Discussion Questions}

_{#1 How do you characterize the response of Jeremiah to his call
(Jeremiah 1:46)? What reassurances did God give to the prophet in Jeremiah 1:410 and
1719?}

_{#2 Babylonia was displacing Assyria as the power of
the Middle East. Nabopolassar ruled over Babylonia until 605 B.C. when he was replaced by
his son Nebuchadrezzar (or Nebuchadrezzar) who ruled for 43 years. In 605 B.C. the
Chaldens or NeoBabylonians defeated the Assyrians and Egyptians in the battle of
Carchemish.}

_{Discussion Question: #4}

_{How did God respond to the lament of Jeremiah (15:1921)? Do
these verses indicate that the prophet himself had a need to repent? How do you account
for that?}

_{Discussion Questions:}

_{#1. Would a person's age affect society's ability to view
him/her as a prophet? How would you feel if God called you in the same way that Jeremiah
was called?}

_{#2. What circumstances of Jeremiah's day were similar
to those of today? Are there any current invading enemies which might be used by God to
chastise a disobedient people?}

_{#3. Why are people at times more inclined to listen to
a false prophet than a true messenger from God?}

_{Teacher's Notes: #3}

_{The Book of Jeremiah consists of a collection of oracles which
Jeremiah delivered to his scribe Baruch. The present arrangement of oracles is not in
chronological order. For example, the prophet's Temple sermon in chapter seven is related
to the contents of chapter 26. A vision of good and bad figs is found in 24.110.}

_{Teacher's Notes:}

_{#5 Babylonia fell to Cyrus of Persia in 539 B.C.}

_{#6 The appendix was added to the book of Jeremiah in
order to show how some of the prophecies of Jeremiah were fulfilled in the fall of
Jerusalem and the exile of many Jews (The Interpreter's Bible, 5, 1137).}

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