It’s hard to believe that I began a year ago to walk through the book of Jeremiah! Jeremiah lived through interesting times as his nation fell apart. He tried to warn people, but few paid attention. Most scoffed at him instead. The pivotal moment in Jeremiah’s life was the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. He’d been predicting it for decades, lived to see it, and then saw the aftermath. 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles also document Jerusalem’s destruction. When 2 Chronicles recounts the end of the kingdom of Judah, it mentions Jeremiah’s involvement, which is not mirrored in 2 […]
Tag Archives: Jeremiah
Jeremiah 52
Lifted Heads It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the last chapter of Jeremiah! This chapter is an appendix to the book, recounting the capture and destruction of Jerusalem. It closely mirrors the account in 2 Kings 25. We’ve already seen Jeremiah’s account in chapter 39. Each of these accounts has its similarities and differences. Following Jerusalem’s demise, the book ends with an uplifting tale of Jehoiachin’s release from prison. Jehoiachin had surrendered to Babylon and was carried into exile. His uncle Zedekiah was made king in his place (who would reign until Jerusalem’s destruction). Jehoiachin wallowed in prison for […]
Jeremiah 51
Laboring for what? Jeremiah continues his long prophecy against Babylon. It ends by telling how the message was delivered to Babylon: And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no […]
Jeremiah 50
Jeremiah comes to the final prophecy against the nations: Babylon. Spread over two long chapters, he announces that the instrument of God’s wrath against the nations will be punished. I want to focus on a few words in this verse: Come against her from every quarter;open her granaries;pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;let nothing be left of her. Jeremiah 50:26 The word “granary” (מַאֲבוּס ma’avus) is unique to this verse. Its root is probably אָבַס (avas), which means to fatten. It is used in 1 Kings 4:23 (“fattened fowl”) and Proverbs 15:17 (“fattened ox”). […]
Jeremiah 49
Nations in the Crosshairs Jeremiah’s prophecies against the nations continue in this chapter, looking at a variety of small nations. Other prophets speak to these nations as well, which provide some parallels. For instance, the opening verses of Obadiah parallel some of Jeremiah’s words against Edom. Edom is south of Moab (mentioned last time), southeast of the Dead Sea. Ammon is north of Moab with their capital of Rabbah located where the modern Jordanian capital of Amman lies today. Damascus was the capital of the Arameans, encompassing part of modern day Syria. These nations were frequently Israel’s enemies. Kedar and […]
Jeremiah 48
Judgment on Moab Jeremiah turns his prophetic words across the Jordan River towards Moab, situated on the east side of the Dead Sea with Ammon to the north and Edom to the south. This chapter shares parallels with Isaiah 15-16, which is also a prophecy against Moab. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the Babylonians attacked Moab five years after Jerusalem’s fall (Antiquities, 10.9.7). There is a number of place names (cities, routes, etc) throughout the chapter. The Lord’s judgement would not be isolated, but would affect the entire nation. Besides the geographic details, one word play stuck out at […]
Jeremiah 47
Mourning of the Philistines The next nation on Jeremiah’s prophecy list is Philistia. The Philistines occupied a small strip of land on the southern coast. The modern area of Gaza encompasses a portion of it, although the Philistines controlled a larger area than that. The Philistines had occupied five main cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. They had migrated from Caphtor around 1200 BC (Jeremiah 47:4, Amos 9:7). By Jeremiah’s time, Gath had already been destroyed a couple of centuries earlier. When the Persians arrived a half-century after Jeremiah, the Philistines were no longer a people. Amidst the prophecy […]
Jeremiah 46
Judgment on Egypt We now enter a new section of the book of Jeremiah. Chapters 46-51 are a series of prophecies against the nations. This first chapter addresses Egypt. This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: Jeremiah 46:2 There was a major battle at the city of Carchemish in 605 BC between the two great powers of the day: Egypt and Babylon. The Babylonians had been gaining strength […]
Jeremiah 45
This chapter focuses on Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. He is mentioned multiple times throughout the book. Chronologically, it is attached to the events of Jeremiah 36, when King Jehoiakim burned the scroll Jeremiah dictated to Baruch. The name Baruch means “blessed” and is a shortened form of Berechiah (“blessed by the Lord”). His father’s name, Neriah, means “Lamp of the Lord”. His grandfather’s name, Mahseiah (Jeremiah 32:12) means “refuge of the Lord”. A seal impression from this period was found saying “Belonging to Berechiah son of Neriah the scribe”. We don’t have any original copies of Jeremiah but this little clay […]
Jeremiah 44
Around Egypt In the previous chapter, we left the remnant of Judah in Egypt, specifically in the city of Tahpanhes. As this chapter opens, it addresses Judeans who are spread out over a wider area: “Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the land of Pathros” (Jeremiah 44:1). “Migdol” (meaning “watchtower”) was located nearby. Memphis (Hebrew Noph) was the ancient northern capital of Egypt, not far from modern Cairo. Pathros, on the other hand, was a region, not a city. Egypt had two major regions: the north and south (literally “Lower” and “Upper”, referring to the elevation with Lower being […]