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Introduction
As with all the prophets, the book takes its name from its author. The one exception to this is the book of Lamentations, which comes next in the biblical order because it was written by Jeremiah. (Major Prophets and Minor Prophets)
Jeremiah was born about 50 years after Isaiah died. Although Isaiah had prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in 586 BC (Key Dates for Ancient Israel), Jeremiah actually lived through it and offers personal testimony of events he experienced before, during, and after the actual fall of the city.
Jewish tradition is that Jeremiah by stoning in Egypt. He had been taken there after the sacking of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Although the book of Isaiah has more chapters than Jeremiah’s (66 to 52), the book of Jeremiah is 15% longer by word count (42,654 to 37,036). Part of the explanation is that the ratio of narrative to poetry is so much greater in Jeremiah. That is, Jeremiah tells us more about events he witnesses than Isaiah does. Therefore, since words per line are usually greater for prose than they are for poetry, Jeremiah comes out longer. And when you consider that Lamentations was also written by Jeremiah, we have almost 25% more words from Jeremiah than we do from Isaiah.
Ussher’s Chronology indicates that the dates associated with the various chapters of Jeremiah’s book move in a general chronological order but that there is some jumping around in time. Therefore, it is best to read his book as a collection of various pieces strung together rather than as a single writing following a strict chronological order. It will serve you be to focus on the immediate context of each chapter or passage. The entire period Jeremiah ministered was roughly 630 BC to Jerusalem’s fall in 586 BC – a span of 45 to 50 years.
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Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah’s Call and Commission
Jer 1:1 – “priests“
Jer 1:3 – “the exile of Jerusalem“
Jer 1:4-10 – I can easily imagine a young Jesus taking comfort in words like these as hearing the Scriptures prepared Him for the messianic mission. Every prophet walked in the footsteps of the prophets who had preceded him, and Jesus would be the greatest prophet of all. He would, after all, exceed the great Moses, who had prophesied this:
Deut 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
Thus Jesus learned how to be a prophet by learning about the prophets.
Jer 1:5 – “prophet“ ***** See “The Preexistence of Jesus.” #RPJ #FJOT
The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot
Jer 1:11-12 – This vision is reminiscent of Aaron’s rod that produced ripe almonds in Num 17. See accompanying BSN notes. To tighten the connection, notice that Jeremiah says he sees “a rod of an almond tree” rather than “a branch of an almond tree” as we might otherwise expect. ***** There is some wordplay going on here between “almond tree” and “watching.” We can know this because the NASB footnote shows that the Hebrew word for the former is “shaqed,” while for the latter it is “shoqed.” This verbal connection and the visual stimulation combine to make the vision more understandable and memorable for the prophet.
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Jeremiah 2
Judah’s Apostasy
“Judah” refers to the southern kingdom, based in Jerusalem where the temple was located. (The Divided Kingdom) The best use of this chapter for us is to try it on as a shoe to see if it fits. That is, read with the understanding that Jesus is “the Lord”, and that an apostasy (a “falling away” from Him) is being described. If it doesn’t apply to you, wonderful! If it does, follow its prescription for repentance. In this way of reading, you can allow many of the words and phrases to apply to you metaphorically, even you don’t understand the metaphor (e.g “the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head” in verse 16 may not find an immediate correspondence to any people in your life). It’s not necessary to have a specific application for every metaphor – rather, the point is to notice the overall spiritual pattern being conveyed…and learn from it. For example, consider the first three verses to be the Lord Jesus speaking to someone’s first days of following Him. And consider as well your own early days with Jesus to see if there’s a correspondence that applies – and so on throughout the chapter. We are to learn from the patterns and principles we discover in the Bible.
Jer 2:6 – The “land of Egypt” for us was the state of walking in sin, in the flesh – living without regard to the Lord’s watchful eyes.
Jer 2:8 – See Jn 7:47-49 and accompanying BSN note for a fulfillment of this word in the time of Jesus. ***** By the nature of Hebrew poetry, the “priests“ were those who “handled the law.” Those who handle the law today – that is, handle the Bible – are preachers. How many of them truly “know” Jesus? Are they helping you stay on the right track with Him? They should be. Here’s a relevant word from the New Testament:
Heb 13:7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
Do not listen to Bible teachers who show no sign of knowing the Lord.
Jer 2:11 – Modern-day America is a nation that has “changed gods When they were not gods,” and its people have “changed their glory for that which does not profit.” How so? At its late 18th century founding it was “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions” in the light of “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Now, in the early 21st-century its leaders are “promoting the safety and dignity of LGBTQI+ persons” (this quote from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 17, 2024, but it is only typical of many, many others from US officials in recent years). Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and cursed is the nation whose god is not (Ps 33:12).
Jer 2:13 – Have we forsaken Jesus for other teachers who don’t spiritually edify us? Who else has the living water of life that He does?
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
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John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus is the fountain of living water. If your soul does not bubble up with good thoughts when you have your PDT’s and FDT’s, then you’re not doing them right. (For more on this foundation of living water, see the notes below on Jer 17:12-13.
Jer 2:17 – This is the central and recurring question of this chapter.
Jer 2:19 – Should we be in “dread” of Jesus? Yes, because He is Judge as well as Savior. Remember what David said about Him.
Ps 2:12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
And remember that Isaiah said something similar.
Is 8:13 “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
Is 8:14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And remember what Paul said about Him in the New Testament.
Heb 10:28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Heb 10:29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30 For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
Heb 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Jesus is love. He is not a patsy.
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Jeremiah 3
The Polluted Land
This is a continuation of the previous chapter. (Chapter and Verse Divisions) ***** Idolatry is spiritual adultery.
Faithless Israel
Jer 3:6-10 – The Lord is reminding Jeremiah of the the northern kingdom’s history. (The Divided Kingdom) Here and elsewhere in the Old Testament, the Lord is using the metaphor of two reprehensible sisters to describe the behavior of the two kingdoms. The Lord assigns the names “Oholah” and “Oholibah” to them in Ezek 23, providing graphic metaphors of their unfaithfulness. Since the southern kingdom has outlasted the northern kingdom, the Lord expects the southern kingdom to learn from the northern kingdom’s bad example.
God Invites Repentance
Jer 3:16 – “The ark of the covenant of the Lord“ symbolizes our covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus. The reality of that relationship should be kept at the center of our hearts and lives as the physical ark was kept at the center of Israel’s worship experience.
Jer 3:17 – We take this to be speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, for we are living in the kingdom of heaven – that is, where heaven rules in the affairs of men.
Jer 3:17 – Notice that this is “the Lord“ who has been talking, and that He says here, “You shall call Me, My Father.” That’s consistent with what He said through Isaiah.
Is 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus Is the Father. He was revealed to be the Son of God by virtue of His resurrection of the dead, and He was revealed to be God and Father by His Second Coming, whichh was the coming of the kingdom of God.
More at notes on Jer 10:10 below.
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Jeremiah 4
Judah Threatened with Invasion
Jer 4:3 – Are we seeing in this verse the seed that, when planted in Jesus’ heart, grew into the parable of the sower and the seed that is featured so prominently in the synoptic Gospels (Mt 13; Mk 4; Lk 8)?
Jer 4:4 – Are we seeing in the first half of this verse an inspiration for what Paul wrote in Romans?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
Do we have in the second half of the verse a sketch of the wrath that comes with Messiah when men do not purify their hearts? People seem to recognize the kindness of Jesus but not His severity…yet there is a severity with Him.
Luke 3:15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,
Luke 3:16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 3:17 “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Let us recognize both the kindness and severity of God – even in Messiah, perhaps most especially in Messiah.
Heb 10:26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.
Heb 10:28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Heb 10:29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30 For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
Heb 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The wrath of God did not go away in the New Testament. Humanity was just blessed with greater knowledge of God through Christ so that they might avoid that wrath. Hell is on this earth, in this life; avoid it at all costs. Seek Jesus – the eye in the storm. See related notes on Jer 2:19 above.
Jer 4:14 -Here in the Old Testament, people were being encouraged to cleanse their hearts. How much more in the New Testament!
Matt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
The Law of Moses established an ancient nation; the law of Jesus establishes human hearts in every generation since He came.
Lament over Judah’s Devastation
Jer 4:30 – “enlarge your eyes with paint” – Judah is acting like Jezebel who “painted her eyes” (2 Kings 9:30). Recall that Jeremiah wrote the books of Kings, so he was borrowing his own phrase. The prophet Ezekiel uses this expression in the same metaphorical way to portray Judah’s behavior when calling her “Oholibah” in Ezek 23:40.
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Jeremiah 5
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
Jer 5:1 – Such a one was finally found: Jesus of Nazareth by name. #FJOT
Judgment Proclaimed
Jer 5:21 – Jeremiah appears to be referring to what God said to Isaiah in Is 6 – the description of Israel that is quoted so often in the New Testament (Matt 13:14; Mark 8:18; John 12:40; Acts 28:26)
Is 6:9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
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Matt 13:14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
We should regularly check on ourselves that we are not developing a hardened heart.
Heb 3:12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
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Jeremiah 6
Destruction of Jerusalem Impending
Jer 6:16 – Here’s Jesus including a reference to this verse in His teaching.
Matt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Matt 11:26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
Matt 11:27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
Matt 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
God – through Christ – brings rest to restless souls.
The Enemy from the North
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Jeremiah 7
Message at the Temple Gate
Whether it is in the tabernacle of Moses, the temple in Jerusalem, the local synagogue or church in the time of the apostles, or anywhere else we find ourselves in modern times, what good will it do us to proclaim the presence of God if we do not do righteousness?
Jer 7:9 – How many of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20; Dt 5) do you recognize in this verse?
Jer 7:11 – Jesus borrows Jeremiah’s “den of robbers” epithet to make a point to the money changers in the temple (Mt 21:13; Mk 11:17; Lk 19:46).
Mark 11:15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;
Mark 11:16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.
Mark 11:17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”
Mark 11:18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
Being able to see “den of robbers” in its original context helps us to see beyond the temple scene that faced Jesus and recognize that the problem He recognized is occurring all over the earth throughout all agees. God has given us this beautiful planet with all its resources. He returns harvests for our planted seeds and fill our hearts with gladness from all the delights of this world. Yet we are ungrateful so much of the time. We take, rather than receive thankfully. This doesn’t just make us ingrates; it makes us thieves! Let us therefore always give thanks to the God from whom all good things flow.
Jer 7:12-15 – The reference to Shiloh takes us back to 1 Sam 4 when the ark of the covenant was taken in battle by the Philistines from its resting place in Shiloh. See the BSN notes on that chapter, especially regarding Ichabod in 1 Sam 4:19-22. That event not only foreshadows the defeat of Jerusalem at the hands of Babylon about which Jeremiah was warning, but, more importantly, against the defeat of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome about which John the Baptist and Jesus warned. (Key Dates for Ancient Israel). When judgment falls on God’s house it means “the glory has departed” (Ichabod).
Jer 7:32 – The origin of the word “hell” can be traced to this expression: “the valley of the son of Hinnom.” In the Hebrew language of the OT, the prefix “Ben-” means “son of.” “Ben-Hinnom” in Hebrew (OT) became “Gehenna” in Greek (NT). This word appears 12 times in the New Testament and is always translated as “hell” in the NASB. It has nothing to do with Sheol/Hades. See more at these links. The most extensive treatment I offer of the distinction between Sheol/Hades on the one hand and hell on the other is in the book The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven. Oddly, most Christians know hardly anything about Sheol/Hades, yet it is mentioned as the place of the dead 65 times in the Old Testament and 10 times in the New Testament. How can any treatment of life after death be considered biblical without addressing this subject?
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Jeremiah 8
The Sin and Treachery of Judah
Jer 8:8-9 – There is nothing new under the sun. Jesus Himself encountered such scribes.
Mark 7:1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,
Mark 7:2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.
Mark 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders;
Mark 7:4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)
Mark 7:5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
Mark 7:6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
Mark 7:7 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
Mark 7:8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
Mark 7:9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
Mark 7:10 “For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’;
Mark 7:11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’
Mark 7:12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
Mark 7:13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The scribes in Jesus’ day had greater access to the book of Jeremiah and the rest of the Scriptures than anyone else in Israel…and yet they could not recognize themselves in Jer 8:8-9. No wonder God called them “blind.” “Lord, please deliver us always from such blindness!”
Jer 8:22 – Jesus has the balm we need.
Luke 5:31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.
Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
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Jeremiah 9
A Lament over Zion
Jer 9:1 – We should weep for those who sin and for the doleful consequences they are bringing on themselves.
Luke 23:27 And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.
Luke 23:28 But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Luke 23:29 “For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
Luke 23:30 “Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’
Luke 23:31 “For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
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James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Jer 9:13-14 – The Lord who pleads with us in the Old Testament is the same Lord who pleads with us in the New Testament.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
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Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Jer 9:17-21 – See notes on Jer 9:1 above – especially about “mourning/wailing women.”
Jer 9:23-24 – Paul finds multiple opportunities to apply this thought from Jeremiah in his letters.
1 Cor 1:26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
1 Cor 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
1 Cor 1:28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
1 Cor 1:29 so that no man may boast before God.
1 Cor 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1 Cor 1:31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
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2 Cor 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.
2 Cor 10:13 But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you.
2 Cor 10:14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ;
2 Cor 10:15 not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you,
2 Cor 10:16 so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the sphere of another.
2 Cor 10:17 But HE WHO BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD.
2 Cor 10:18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.
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Gal 6:12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Gal 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
Gal 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Finally, I should add that although Paul does not employ Jeremiah in Phil 3, that chapter comprehensively expresses the attitude of Jer 9:23-24. It’s just too long to reproduce here. I hope you will read it sometime and reflect on how deeply Paul internalized the direction God gave to us through Jeremiah in this passage. Truly our boast in not in ourselves but in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ps 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Ps 34:2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
Ps 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
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Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
We are either proud of Jesus or ashamed of Him. There’s no in between.
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Jeremiah 10
A Satire on Idolatry
Jer 10:6 – “There is none like You, O Lord” in the book of Jeremiah reminds us of “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” in the Gospel according to John.
John 7:43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.
John 7:44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
John 7:46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
Jer 10:7 – The prophet Jeremiah and the apostle John remain on the same wavelength revering the same Lord of the nations.
Rev 15:4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”
Jer 10:10 – Jesus is Lord, God, and King.
John 18:33 Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
John 18:34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”
John 18:35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
John 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
John 18:38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”…
Further to Jesus being God and Father, see notes on Jer 3:17 above.
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Jeremiah 11
The Broken Covenant
Jer 11:1-17 – The key word in this section on the chapter is “covenant“ and the key issue is how the Lord’s people have broken it. Covenant defines our relationship with God.
Jer 11:19 – #FJOT What part of this verse does NOT point to what we read in the Gospels about Messiah!
Jer 11:21-23 – Anathoth was Jeremiah’s hometown. This scenario would be replayed about seven centuries later when Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth tried to throw Him off a cliff (Lk 4:16-30). It was also replayed when the Sanhedrin tried to get the apostles to stop speaking in the Lord’s name after His resurrection.
Acts 4:15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,
Acts 4:16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
Acts 4:17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.”
Acts 4:18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
Acts 4:20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Great suffering came upon Jerusalem in due time (70 AD) because of its hostility to the messengers of the Lord…just as great suffering came upon Anathoth because of their hostility against Jeremiah’s preaching. That is, Anathoth sat about three miles north of Jerusalem and it suffered greatly when King Nebuchadnezzar’s army came through (586 BC). (Key Dates for Ancient Israel) The patterns of divine-human interaction are documented in the Bible in the same way that weather patterns are documented in a textbook on meteorology.
Plots against Jeremiah
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Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah’s Prayer
Jer 12:1-4 – The questions Jeremiah asks here are perennial for the righteous. But though God’s judgments can seem slow in coming, it is only because He is merciful and wants to give as much time as possible for sinners to repent.
Eccl 8:11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.
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2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
God’s judgment may seem slow in coming but that’s only because He is patient in looking for our repentance. Regard any seeming delay in His judgment to be further opportunity to repent more thoroughly.
Jer 12:2 – The word of the Lord through Jeremiah on this point is very consistent with the Lord’s word through Isaiah.
Is 29:13 Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
The apostle Paul warns Titus that he will encounter the same sort of problem people that Isaiah and Jeremiah did.
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
God’s Answer
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Jeremiah 13
The Ruined Waistband
Jer 13:1-11 – This vignette about the waistband speaks well for itself – even to thoroughly modern minds. It has roots in the Lord’s command to His people through Moses hundreds of years before Jeremiah.
Deut 10:20 “You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
Jer 13:11 – Jeremiah uses the same Hebrew word for “cling” here that he used in 2 Kings 18:6. It’s also the same word for “cling” that Moses used in Deut 10:20 and 13:4.
Captivity Threatened
Jer 13:17 – The weeping here foreshadows the weeping the Lord would one day do in the flesh.
Luke 19:41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
Luke 19:42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
Luke 19:43 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
Luke 19:44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Jer 13:23 – If an Ethiopian cannot change his skin, and a leopard cannot change his spots, how can a man become a woman?
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Jeremiah 14
In the midst of drought, Jeremiah prays for the people…but they do not repent. Instead, false prophets tell the people that peace will come…and people believe the false prophets instead of Jeremiah. So it would be when Messiah came. That’s why the Christ repeatedly warned the people about false prophets.
Matt 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
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Matt 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
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Matt 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Similarly, there are false prophets today who tell us that America can continue going in the direction it is going and survive. Repentance is the only hope for any people.
Drought and a Prayer for Mercy
Jer 14:3 – For a desirable alternative to cisterns that hold no water, see the notes on Jer 2:13 above and Jer 17:12-13 below.
False Prophets
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Jeremiah 15
Judgment Must Come
Jer 15:1-14 – Though God’s judgments against sin seem delayed they will come. We must not lose heart. We must not fall away. Stay alert!
Jer 15:1 – “Moses and Samuel” – The Lord speaks to Ezekiel in similar fashion, invoking the names of “Noah, Daniel, and Job” in Ezek 14:14-20. See also “Moses, Aaron, and Samuel” grouped as intercessors in Ps 99:6. Recall also how Abraham interceded for the righteous in Sodom, and how Moses interceded for Israel when God wanted to destroy them and start over with Moses’ descendants. God looks for righteous intercessors.
Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
Jer 15:16 – This sounds similar to something Ezekiel said in Ezek 3:3. ***** Somehow you found Jesus’ words. You ate them and they became a joy and the delight of your heart. Let that be your experience every single day going forward through your PDT’s and FDT’s. If those times become stale, pray for refreshing. Repent of any sin or cold-heartedness. The joy will return. If you are sincere and determined, it cannot fail. I know of what I speak.
Jer 15:18 – Jeremiah’s faith in on the verge of buckling…but watch what the Lord says in the next verse.
Jer 15:19-21 – The nation doesn’t have to repent for Jeremiah to repent. America doesn’t have to repent for you and I to repent. The man who won’t go along with the crowd when the crowd is wrong will be strengthened by the Lord.
You and I must teach our families what’s right – not give up and let the crowd teach them what’s wrong.
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Jeremiah 16
Distresses Foretold
God Will Restore Them
Jer 16:16 – This finds some literal fulfillment in the New Testament.
Mark 1:17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
As for “hunters,” I guess you could say Matthew was a “hunter” of taxes being made into a hunter of men – but I’d say it with a chuckle.
Matt 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
Jer 16:17 – This is still true. It will always be true. It always has been true.
Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
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Jeremiah 17
The Deceitful Heart
Jer 17:1-4 – What a tragedy to see an inheritance go unclaimed – and all the more so when the heir is poor and the inheritance is substantial enough to supply anything he could ever need. Yet I see this happen all the time. I say this because the inheritance of Christ belongs to every human being and the Bible contains the documentation and guarantee of it along with detailed instructions about how to lay claim to it – but Bibles go unread every day. I stagger at the thought of all that unclaimed wealth!
Jer 17:5-8 – If you want to understand faith, underline these verses and get the images firmly in your mind. For one thing, faith doesn’t so much produce things as it opens our eyes to things that God has already put within our grasp. ***** See Gen 21:15-19 and note on it about how God opens Hagar’s eyes to a well in the wilderness of Beersheba. ***** Connect the visual of a tree in this passage (Jer 17:5-8) with the visual of a tree in Psalm 1. It’s the same tree of righteousness.
Jer 17:9-11 – Think of all the corrosive things you have found at one time or another in your heart.
Mark 7:20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
Mark 7:21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Mark 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Mark 7:23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Don’t let this crud in your heart cause you to despair. Instead, let it lead you to turn to a doctor qualified to deal with your case of heart disease.
Luke 5:31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.
Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Jer 17:12-13 – Jeremiah previously described the Lord as “the foundation of living water” in Jer 2:13. Integrate this metaphor with what we are taught in Gen 16:13-14 (seeing the accompanying BSN note for explanation). Also contrast this metaphor with cisterns that hold no water in Jer 2:13 and 14:3.
Jer 17:17 – The Lord makes a place for us in the eye of the storm.
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
Jer 17:19-27 – Jeremiah explains here how to keep the sabbath under the old covenant, when it meant one day a week of rest. But we can use his words to guide us to how keep this commandment under the new covenant, which is to keep our hearts at rest as we live for the Lord and not ourselves. This is the fourth commandment, and I have a chapter on it in the book The Ten Commandments According to Jesus.
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Jeremiah 18
The Potter and the Clay
If a vessel of clay is spoiled, the potter has the right to make it into a another vessel. That’s what God has done with His creation. He made everything good, but Adam and Eve spoiled it when they sinned. Therefore, the Lord made it into something else. The two books – The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven and The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact – tell the story of how God re-made the original three-tiered, two-dimensional universe into the two-tiered, two-dimensional universe we now inhabit. The old one had humans descending from earth to Sheol/Hades at death, and the new one has them ascending to heaven instead. You should only consider the possibility that I’m right if you value what the Bible says more than you value what people say. In these books, I show you what the Bible says. You can read what the Bible says and decide for yourself. But I’ll go ahead and assure you now: I am not lying and I am not crazy.
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Jeremiah 19
The Broken Jar
The people of Judah and Jerusalem hardened their hearts and would not listen to the word of God through Jeremiah and the other prophets…so God determined to let judgment fall. This chapter marks a sober and somber moment in Israel’s history. The axe has not yet fallen, but it has been determined that it will fall.
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Jeremiah 20
Much of the book of Jeremiah and especially this chapter sound like David in the Psalms foreshadowing Messiah.
Pashhur the Priest Has Jeremiah the Prophet Beaten and Put in the Stocks
Jeremiah’s Complaint to the Lord
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Jeremiah 21
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem. In the run-up to that outcome, Zedekiah sought a word from the Lord concerning what the citizens of Jerusalem should do about the converging Babylonian army. Jeremiah’s response to Zedekiah’s request for a word from the Lord was that anyone who went out of the city to surrender to the Babylonians was doing himself a favor. Die-hard Israelites who put their faith in the nation instead of in the Lord were going to defend “God’s city” to the bitter end. However, to those who listened to God He speaks through Jeremiah and tells them that the city is going to fall…so their path to salvation leads out of the city. This is exactly what would happen in Jesus’ time. He wanted His followers to know that when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, it would not be a sign that God was going to perform a miracle to save the city. On the contrary, it was a sign that the city was going down…because God was going to let them go down. They had refused to repent for too long.
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
Luke 21:21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;
Luke 21:22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
This is why it’s so important to be able to discern true prophets from false ones. It’s also why it’s important to recognize the signs of the times, for there is a time to stand your ground and a time get out of harm’s way. God’s Spirit will guide you in choosing.
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Jeremiah 22
Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall
As husbands and fathers, we should read exhortations like those in this chapter as applying to us as leaders of our families. The buck stops with us. We are to be examples of righteousness, preaching what we practice.
Messages about the Kings
Jer 22:16 – The Lord expects us to “know” Him experientially – not just intellectually.
Jer 22:17 – Did the Lord make us family leaders for our sakes or for our families’ sakes? Do we use our authority to make life better for ourselves or better for our wives and children?
Jer 22:29 – We have PDT’s and FDT’s every day so that we will “Hear the word of the Lord” every day. And do it! Our Lord Himself said:
John 13:17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
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Jeremiah 23
The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch
Jer 23:1-2 – A shepherd is a leader. There are good shepherds and there are bad ones. Jesus is the model of a good shepherd.
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Jesus is the standard of a good shepherd. Judgment comes on bad shepherds.
Jer 23:3-4 – #Hints God Himself was going to become the shepherd of the flock. When the Lord came to shepherd, He would appoint other shepherds…but He would be chief among them. This promise was fulfilled in New Testament times. Note how Peter sees it.
1 Pet 2:25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
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1 Pet 5:1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,
1 Pet 5:2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
1 Pet 5:3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.
1 Pet 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
The “Chief Shepherd” did appear in the Second Coming – He appeared to be God. God cannot be physically seen, but He can be spiritually seen – which means to be understood. For example, if I say that it appears to me that so-and-so has bad motives, I am not saying that I can physically see a motive; rather, I’m saying I realize what so-and-so’s motives are. Further to this point, Strong’s Concordance defines the Greek word that Peter uses for “appear” as “to make visible, make clear.” Obviously, “make visible” refers to physical sight and “make clear” refers to insight (spiritual sight). Thus the Second Coming was a day of revelation. For a more thorough explanation, read the book The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact.
For our purposes in understanding Jer 23:4, we can see that when the Chief Shepherd appeared, the need for under-shepherds went away. We still need preachers today because the gospel still needs to be heard; but we don’t need pastors because God Himself has become shepherd to every single human being through Jesus Christ. That’s why He’s called “the Lord alone” or “the only one” in these prophetic verses from the prophets Isaiah and Zechariah.
Is 2:11 The proud look of man will be abased
And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
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Zech 14:9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Thus did the Lord take over the role of shepherding His sheep – the descendants of Adam and Eve.
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
And how would this be accomplished?
John 11:47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
John 11:48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 11:49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
John 11:50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”
John 11:51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
John 11:52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
John 11:53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
Therefore, let us pay homage to this great Shepherd of the sheep by following Him dutifully and affectionately.
Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
Heb 13:21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jer 23:5-6 #FJOT – This messianic prophecy will be echoed in Jer 30:8-9 and 33:15-16 ***** When the Lord says through Jeremiah “the days are coming” (verse 5) and “His days” (verse 6), He’s talking about New Testament times. Ever since NT times – which is to say “Ever since the Second Coming” – the human race has replaced the church as His primary focus, just as the church replaced the nation of Israel as His primary focus. God had intended to save all the descendants of Adam and Eve from the time He promised Gen 3:15 to them…but He had to get to that goal very patiently, one step at a time. It literally took several thousand years to execute the messianic plan.
***** As for “I will raise up,” is this not a promise to raise Messiah from the dead? It echoes the same promise to raise Messiah that Moses heard and passed on.
Deut 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
***** As for “the righteous Branch,” this is a messianic title. See The Branch.
***** As for the Messiah reigning as king, the very word “Messiah” means king: Christ – Messiah – Anointed – (King). See also Messiah as King.
***** As for this king – the Messiah – being one to “do justice and righteousness,” isn’t this all that the Lord was calling the king of Judah to do in the previous chapter (Jer 22:3)? Thus, as in Jer 23:3-4, the Lord is taking over as king and shepherd. While the church became obsolete with the coming of the kingdom of God (The Second Coming), and therefore leaders for it were no longer needed, we still need leaders in every other realm of life including nations and the families that comprise them. All of them are subordinate to Messiah the chief leader.
Is 55:4 “Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
***** As for calling Messiah’s name “The Lord our righteousness,” the apostle Paul, in effect, declared this fulfilled in New Testament times when he wrote these things about Messiah:
1 Cor 1:26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
1 Cor 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
1 Cor 1:28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
1 Cor 1:29 so that no man may boast before God.
1 Cor 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1 Cor 1:31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
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Phil 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
Phil 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Jer 23:7-8 – Notice the pattern here. This is like saying, “The days are coming when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who created us,’ but ‘As the Lord lives, who redeemed us’.” And, indeed, the gospel of God doesn’t call us because we are creatures (even though we surely are); rather, it calls us because we’re sinners.
Mark 2:17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
False Prophets Denounced
There were false prophets in Old Testament times. There were false teachers in New Testament times. And there are false speakers for God and Christ in our time – which is the eternal age of the kingdom of God. Be on guard!
Matt 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
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Matt 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
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Jeremiah 24
Baskets of Figs and the Returnees
Jeremiah’s vision of the “two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord” is reminiscent of Jesus parables, such as this one:
Matt 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
Matt 13:48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
Matt 13:49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,
Matt 13:50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Whether is the Lord giving visions to His prophets in the Old Testament, or the Lord teaching parables to His disciples in the New Testament, the effect is the same. Jesus’ disciples walk in the footsteps of the prophets of old.
Matt 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Matt 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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2 Tim 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
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Jeremiah 25
Prophecy of the Captivity
This is a prophecy of the The Babylonian Exile.
Babylon Will Be Judged
Though Babylon will conquer Jerusalem and hold its best and brightest captive for 70 years, Babylon itself will be conquered at the end of that period. As so it goes with the Lord’s judgment of the nations. He makes one to rise and another to fall – in both testaments.
Old Testament:
Job 12:23 “He makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
New Testament:
Acts 17:26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
The Bible gives us close-ups of how God has judged some ancient nations – especially Israel, of course. But He always has judged, and always will judge, all the nations. He’s ruling them at this very moment. Their fates are in His hands. Just because children sing it, doesn’t means it isn’t profoundly true: “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Without a doubt He has America in His hands…and, alas, the handwriting is on the wall. My prayer is:
Hab 3:2 LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear.
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
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Jeremiah 26
Cities of Judah Warned
Jer 26:1-6 – It can be frustrating to read the book of Jeremiah because over and over the people are warned but refuse to repent – which is all it would take to avoid the punishment. We’ve got to regularly ask ourselves, “Are we being this pig-headed and self-destructive?” God forbid! ***** As for the reference to “Shiloh,” see notes on Jer 7:12-15 above.
A Plot to Murder Jeremiah
Jer 26:7-15 – Israel’s fate is quite personal to Jeremiah. This connection is seen throughout the book and especially in this chapter. ***** As for the “priests“ and “prophets“ who opposed Jeremiah, they should have known better – just like the Pharisees and Sadducees should have known better when it came to Jesus.
Jeremiah Is Spared
Jer 26:16 – These officials and people were more righteous than Pontius Pilate and the people of Israel were when Jesus was threatened with death as Jeremiah was.
Jer 26:17-19 – These elders are quoting Micah 3:12.
Jer 26:20-23 – This is all the Bible tells us about this Uriah. The obvious difference between this man and Jeremiah is that one man fled while the other man stood his ground.
Jer 26:24 – It was the man who stood his ground who was spared. That said, even if men don’t distinguish themselves, the Lord decides when and how it’s our time to go – who will stand and who will fall in any given situation.
John 21:15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
John 21:16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
John 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
John 21:18 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
John 21:19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
John 21:20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
John 21:21 So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
John 21:22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
John 21:23 Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
John 21:24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
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Jeremiah 27
The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar
This chapter echoes previous references in the book of Jeremiah to God ruling the nations (such as in Jer 25; see notes above). It also sets up the next chapter, which is about a false prophet named Hananiah.
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Jeremiah 28
Hananiah’s False Prophecy
Hananiah the prophet spoke in the name of the Lord that the Babylonian Captivity would only last two years. This was in stark contrast to the prophet Jeremiah who said it would last 70 years. How would the people decide which of these two prophets was to be trusted as speaking for the Lord? Moses had prescribed a test to be applied to anyone claiming to be speaking for God – a test that would tell whether the prophet was true or false.
Deut 18:16 “This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’
Deut 18:17 “The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well.
Deut 18:18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Deut 18:19 ‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
Deut 18:20 ‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
Deut 18:21 “You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’
Deut 18:22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Hananiah did not pass this test. And he died.
Notice that Jeremiah was measured in his initial response to Hananiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah loved his nation and would have preferred to be the one who was wrong about the length of Israel’s captivity. In the end, however, his prophecy of 70 years was vindicated. Knowing the truth, no matter how bad it is, is always better than believing a lie, no matter how good it is.
Jer 28:9 –#FJOT (No one can give peace to the human heart like Jesus can.)
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Jeremiah 29
Message to the Exiles
The problem of false prophesy was not restricted to Hananiah (Jer 28), but had sprung up among the exiles in Babylon, too. Therefore, the Lord prompted Jeremiah to write a letter to the Jews there to remind them that the exile (The Babylonian Exile) would last 70 years, but in the interim the Jews were to seek the welfare of the people of Babylon. This is just the sort of thing we see Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego doing in the book of Daniel. We see the same by Mordecai and Esther in the book of Esther. The false hopes being raised in Babylon of an early return to Jerusalem were distracting the Jews from seeking the good of their neighbors. Jeremiah’s letter would settle their hearts the way Paul’s letters encouraged congregations.
Jer 29:7 -This is a good word for us today. No matter where we live on earth, it is temporary until we arrive home at the Jerusalem in heaven. As Paul wrote…
Heb 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Jer 29:10 – Jeremiah’s prophecy was of a 70-year exile; there would be no “time off for behavior.”
Jer 29:11 – This word gave very specific hope to the Jews exiled in Babylon, but in a profoundly more important way, it promised unending life in heaven after death on earth for human beings. This eternal life, however, would not be revealed until the time of Jesus Christ.
Jer 29:12-14 – These words speak prophetically and profoundly to the life we have in Christ.
Jer 29:25 – This “Zephaniah” is a priest who is also mentioned in Jer 21:1: 29:29; 37:3; 52:24. He is not the prophet Zephaniah who wrote a Bible book by that name.
Jer 29:29 – As for “Zephaniah the priest,” see note on verse 25 above.
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Jeremiah 30
Deliverance from Captivity Promised
After dealing with false prophecy in Jer 28 and 29, Jeremiah now emphasizes true prophecy. Even though it was to last 70 years, which meant a return to Jerusalem would not be practical for the initial exiles, there was a lot of good news associated with it for succeeding generations – most of all, the ultimate hope of Messiah (Jer 30:9).
Jer 30:8-9 – #FJOT This passage echoes Jer 23:5-6. Another echo will appear in Jer 33:15-16. ***** In this passage, Messiah is not called the Branch (as in the other two), but rather “David.” That is, David’s promised great descendant is called “David” as if it’s become a title. This fits because the real David is type of the Messiah (see “David” under “Types” at Identifiers of Jesus Christ). Something similar is happening when John the Baptist is called Elijah (see BSN note on Mal 4:5)
Restoration of Jacob
Jer 30:18-24 – This passage prophesies of New Testament times. Although there was some measure of fulfillment in the restoration to the promised land led by Ezra and Nehemiah, the true fulfillment was in the New Testament. Notice the references to Messiah (“ruler” and “leader”) and His coming near to God (an allusion to Dan 7:13-14) in verse 21. #FJOT This is also confirmed in verse 24 when it says “In the latter days you will understand this.” (The Last Days) This prophecy continues into the next chapter. (Chapter and Verse Divisions)
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Jeremiah 31
Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy
Jer 31:1-14 – This passage is a continuation of the one in Jer 30:16-24 (see note above).
Jer 31:15 – In the midst of all the joy being prophesied we have this mention of weeping, which Matthew quotes in his Gospel.
Matt 2:16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Matt 2:17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
Matt 2:18 “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH,
WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING,
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN;
AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED,
BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”
The coming of Messiah would bring great joy, but it would also bring suffering because Messiah had enemies. But the pains associated with Messiah are like birth pains – overcome by the joy of a child coming into the world.
John 16:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
John 16:21 “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
For more, see Suffering and Glory.
A New Covenant
Jer 31:31-34 – Here is where Jeremiah introduces the term “new covenant.” this is the only place it appears this explicitly in the Old Testament (it’s “an everlasting covenant” that God will make in Ezek 16:60), but it is mentioned explicitly and often in the New Testament. (The very terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” come from “old covenant” and “new covenant,” but the former pair are mainly used to organize and label writings in the Bible while the latter pair focuses more on relationship with God.)
The frequent mentions of the “new covenant” in the NT are indications that the promise of God through Jeremiah was being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself says during the Passover meal (aka the Last Supper) the night before He died…
Luke 22:20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Paul contrasts the two covenants in 2 Cor 3. Here’s just a snippet of that comparison.
2 Cor 3:5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
2 Cor 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul quotes Jer 31:31-34 in its entirety in Heb 8. And he makes follow-up references to it in Heb 9:15; 10:16-17; 12:24. Here are some of the most telling.
Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.
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Heb 8:13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
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Heb 9:15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
The seed that God planted through Jeremiah in Jer 31, fully blossomed in Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Jeremiah 32
In this chapter, the Lord has Jeremiah “buy dirt” as a sign of faith in God’s promise to restore Israel to the land. By contrast, in the last days of Israel, we see people selling their land and giving away the proceeds to the poor, indicating that the new covenant had come (Acts 2:43-45; 4:36-37). That is, the new covenant would not be for a single nation on a single piece of land, but would be for all the nations throughout the whole earth.
Jeremiah Imprisoned
Jer 32:1-5 -King Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah for pretty much the same reason that King Herod would imprison John the Baptist. Neither king liked what the prophet was saying.
Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.
Mark 6:18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Mark 6:19 Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so;
Mark 6:20 for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.
By the way, this Herod was “Herod Antipas “(also called “Herod the Tetrarch”) – not to be confused with other kings named Herod (such as the one involved in the Matt 2:16-18 quotation of Jer 31:15 (see notes above).
Jer 32:6-15 – “Anathoth” was the home of Jeremiah’s family (Jer 1:1); it was only three miles north of Jerusalem. ***** “Baruch” was Jeremiah’s scribe and servant.
Jeremiah Prays and God Explains
Jer 32:17 – “Nothing is too difficult for You” is a phrase Jeremiah pulled from Genesis.
Gen 18:14 “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Jesus will paraphrase it.
Luke 18:27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
Jer 32:18 – “The Lord“ ***** “of hosts“
Jer 32:20 – “You have made a name for Yourself“
Jer 32:27 – As for “is anything too difficult for Me?” – see note on verse 27 above.
Jer 32:40 – “I will make an everlasting covenant with them” – This is the “new covenant” (see Jer 31:31-34 and corresponding notes above). That said, it would be foreshadowed in the return after the Babylonian Exile, but it would not be fulfilled until Jesus Christ came.
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Jeremiah 33
Restoration Promised
Jer 33:3 – What a promise for us to claim! What right do we have to claim such promises from God? Paul answers:
2 Cor 1:19 For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us–by me and Silvanus and Timothy–was not yes and no, but is yes in Him.
2 Cor 1:20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
All the promises of God were made about, and to, Christ. Through our relationship (covenant) with Christ, we inherit these promises.
Jer 33:6 – Another wonderful promise! See note on verse 3 above.
The Davidic Kingdom
Jer 33:14-26 – Jeremiah is prophesying here of New Testament times.
Jer 33:15-16 – This passage echoes Jer 23:5-6 and 30:8-9 (see notes above). See more at BRANCH (a name/title of Messiah).
Jer 33:20-26 – “covenant“
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Jeremiah 34
A Prophecy against Zedekiah
This chapter provides a good lesson for us in the matter of following through on doing right. If we tell God we’re going to repent and actually begin that repentance – that is, if we turn from some evil and start doing good instead – we have to continue on that course. Otherwise, we open ourselves up to even worse consequences than we were facing before. This is because we not only returned to the sin we were previously practicing, we’ve added to it the broken promise of repentance. This kind of failure is highlighted in verse 11 and verses 15-16. Let us learn from this lesson.
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Jeremiah 35
This chapter provides an even richer lesson than the previous chapter because there is more going on in the account being relayed.
The Rechabites’ Obedience to Jonadab
Judah Rebuked
Jer 35:13 – We should take the Lord’s question – “Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?” – as if He were speaking to us personally about the red letters.
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Jeremiah 36
In this chapter we learn that censorship is not a modern invention.
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
Jer 36:17-19 – To write documents through the intermediary of a scribe was one of the ways texts were produced in ancient times. It was not even necessary for an author to be literate if a scribe was nearby. A New Testament example of using a scribe would be Tertius who penned Paul’s letter to the Romans (see Rom 16:22 and accompanying BSN note).
The Scroll Is Burned
The Scroll Is Replaced
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Jeremiah 37
The relationship that Jeremiah had with King Zedekiah as depicted in this and the next chapter was somewhat like the relationship John the Baptist had with King Herod (first mentioned in the notes above on Jer 32:1-5). Makes you wonder why such kings couldn’t come to a place of repentance. Each had a certain measure of respect for the man of God, but, in the end, was unwilling to humble himself to the word of the Lord.
Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh
Jeremiah Imprisoned
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Jeremiah 38
See note at the beginning of the previous chapter.
Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern
Jer 38:16 – #FJOT King Zedekiah’s words – “As the Lord lives, who made this life for us” – mean so much more to us than Zedekiah could have imagined. As for “the Lord lives,” think of how this refers to the Lord Jesus for us. As for “this life,” this, too, refers to the Lord Jesus for He is life to us, and it is a life that He had made for us – see THE LIFE for other verses that speak to this reality.
Interview with Zedekiah
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Jeremiah 39
Jerusalem Captured
All the warnings of coming destruction over all the years by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others were to no avail – at least not to the people who first heard them. But we who still read these warnings today can benefit from them – if we heed them! This is 586 BC, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon finally destroyed Jerusalem. (Key Dates for Ancient Israel) This destruction of Jerusalem will be revisited in the last chapter of this book (Jer 52).
Jeremiah Spared
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Jeremiah 40
Jeremiah Remains in Judah
Jer 40:1-4 – Jeremiah is offered the choice of joining the best and brightest of Judah in Babylon or staying in Judah with the poor.
Jer 40:5-6 – Jeremiah chooses to remain in Judah. He is sent to Gedaliah. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to be his representative to govern Judah. This appointment is also recorded in 2 King 25:22-24. (The oldest Jewish tradition about the books of Kings is that Jeremiah was the author, perhaps with some help from others.)
Jer 40:7-12 – The rest of the chapter is about Gedaliah’s faithful administration of Judah, including how Jews from outlying areas felt safe in returning because of him.
Jer 40:13-16 – Gedaliah’s trust in Ishmael – an agent of the rival Ammonites – will lead to disaster in the next chapter.
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Jeremiah 41
Ishmael Kills Gedaliah
Ishmael – an agent of the neighboring Ammonite nation – led a group who killed Gedaliah and his subordinates.
Jer 41:9 – The incident involving Asa and Baasha being referenced here is recorded in 1 Kin 15:17-22 (and also 2 Chr 16:1-6).
Johanan Rescues the People
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Jeremiah 42
This chapter illustrates the folly of praying for the Lord’s guidance…but then not following that guidance. Johanan and the other survivors of Ishmael’s violence went to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for them in order to receive guidance for what they should do next. Jeremiah prayed, received the answer from the Lord, and then reported it to Johanan and the other petitioners. They promptly rejected the idea. I am ashamed to say that I have done the same – but I have learned my lesson!
Warning against Going to Egypt
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Jeremiah 43
In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment
Jer 43:1-7 – Johanan and all the Jews with him head to Egypt – the exact opposite of what the Lord had told them to do. They took Jeremiah and Baruch (Jeremiah’s servant) with them.
Jer 43:8-13 – Once in Egypt, Jeremiah delivers the people a word from the Lord. It is perfectly consistent with what the Lord had said to them in the previous chapter when they were asking for divine guidance. The Lord had told them that if they would stay put in Judah, He would protect them from the king of Babylon. But they were too afraid of the king of Babylon to stay in Judah so they had fled to Egypt to escape him. Jeremiah’s word was that the king of Babylon would track them down in Egypt. These Jews thought they were getting away from the king of Babylon when they fled to Egypt, when the only thing they were getting away from was the Lord’s protection against the king of Babylon. When God tells us not to be afraid of someone or something, and we give in to those fears anyway, we will bring about the very outcome we fear. Let us fear God…and no one else!
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Jeremiah 44
Conquest of Egypt Predicted
Jer 44:1-19 – Even after Jerusalem and Judah had been destroyed by the king of Babylon in 586 BC (Key Dates for Ancient Israel), the people were not learning their lesson. While the best and brightest Jews had been commandeered for service in Babylon (The Babylonian Exile), the remaining Jews had fled to Egypt for refuge. (They failed to make the Lord their refuge, as described in the previous two chapters.) Even in Egypt, they continued offering sacrifices to false gods. Even more amazingly, when times were hard for them in Egypt, they attributed the hardship to not sacrificing enough to the false gods (verse 18)!
Calamity for the Jews
Jer 44:20-23 – Jeremiah sets the people straight. The calamities that have come on them have come as a result of their continued rejection of the one true God.
Jer 44:24-30 – Jeremiah prophesies that these Jews are going to fail in Egypt. Contrast this with the promises He has made to protect the Jews who were hauled off in the Babylonian Exile and the promises He had made to protect the Jews who remained in Judah. It’s the Jews who fled for safety to Egypt – the nation that had enslaved their ancestors – who have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
2 Pet 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
2 Pet 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.
2 Pet 2:22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
Whenever we find ourselves stalled on the path of righteousness, we must keep moving forward! There is no salvation in turning back.
Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
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Luke 17:32 “Remember Lot’s wife.
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Gen 19:15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”
Gen 19:16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.
Gen 19:17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”
…..
Gen 19:23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,
Gen 19:25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Gen 19:26 But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s wife had been provided a way of escape, but she didn’t pursue it with all her heart. As a result, she didn’t escape even though the way had been paved for her. We have been provided a way of escape from sin, but, if we neglect to pursue that way of escape with zeal, sin’s consequences will consume us.
Heb 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
Heb 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
Heb 2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
The way of escape that has been provided for us is obedience to Jesus Christ. Let us not neglect Him; let us never look back! Even Satchel Paige knew not to do that.
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Jeremiah 45
Message to Baruch
For Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, the Lord puts a finer point on Jeremiah’s prophecy in the previous chapter. The theme of the Lord’s word to Baruch is the same as…
James 4:6 …Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
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1 Pet 4:18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?
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Matt 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
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The next six chapters – Jer 46-51 – are a collection of prophecies that Jeremiah gave about the nations surrounding Israel. Jeremiah had been called as “a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5). The prophecies begin with Egypt (where the poorer Jews had fled) and end with Babylon (to which the best and brightest Jews had been exiled). In between were the nations of Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. The prophecies to these nations reinforced the point that though God had judged Israel and brought wrath against it, He would also judge the surrounding nations for their sins. Those nations didn’t have the Law of Moses, but they did have a conscience – so they knew better than they were behaving.
Beyond God’s role as judge of the nations, these prophecies also reinforce the point that though God had judged Israel, He was not finished with Israel. Messiah was still to come and Israel was the nation chosen to deliver Him. Until Messiah came, Israel had to have a future. Once Messiah came, God would no longer need Israel because Messiah would be the Savior of all the nations which would, of course, include the Jews.
Ezekiel has a section like this in his book – that is, a series of chapters that prophesied about the nations that surrounded Israel. It’s Ezek 25-32 (eight chapters). The lists of nations addressed by the two prophets are not identical, but they are similar.
As with all other Bible prophecy, the prophecies of all ancient nations have been fulfilled. We can learn God’s ways from these prophecies, but their fulfillment is in the past, not the future. Only the principles and patterns remain…for there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9).
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Jeremiah 46
Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold
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Jeremiah 47
Prophecy against Philistia
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Jeremiah 48
Prophecy against Moab
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Jeremiah 49
Prophecy against Ammon
Prophecy against Edom
Prophecy against Damascus
Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
Prophecy against Elam
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Jeremiah 50
Prophecy against Babylon
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Jeremiah 51
Babylon Judged for Sins against Israel
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The previous six chapters – Jer 46-51 – consist of prophecies that Jeremiah gave about the nations surrounding Israel. For more explanation, see the note above between Jer 45 and Jer 46.
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Jeremiah 52
The Fall of Jerusalem
This is the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (Key Dates for Ancient Israel). This destruction was previously reported in Jer 39; it is also covered in 2 Kings 25 and 2 Chr 36, and briefly announced in Ezek 33:21. ***** The next book after Jeremiah – Lamentations – is an extended and sorrowful reflection of the fall of this once-great city.
Jer 52:1-11 – Babylon conquers Jerusalem and humiliates its king.
Jer 52:12-30 – The temple of Jerusalem is plundered, the buildings and walls of the city are demolished, and its citizens are taken captive to Babylon (The Babylonian Exile) – with only the poorest Jews being left in the land.
Jer 52:31-34 – Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah or Coniah) is listed in Matthew’s genealogy that runs from Abraham to Jesus.
Matt 1:11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
Matt 1:12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
What Matthew calls “the deportation to Babylon” is also called the Babylonian Exile.
Although King Zedekiah remained alive after the fall of Jerusalem, the king of Babylon had killed all Zedekiah’s sons before putting his eyes out. Therefore, the lineage of David continued through Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and that’s why his welfare is spoken of in this passage rather than Zedekiah’s. (If you’re confused about these kings, see The Last 5 Kings of Judah.)
All this is according to Isaiah’s prophecy, which had been delivered almost two hundred years before Jerusalem’s fall.
Is 6:11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,
“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
Is 6:12 “The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Is 6:13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
That stump was what Ezra and Nehemiah would come back from Babylon and tend, and the holy seed was the shoot that would grow from from that stump: Messiah.
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