(Part 1 of 3)(Part 1 of 3)(Part 1 of 3)
BULLSEYE!
ACCURATE
BIBLE
KNOWLEDGE!
JEREMIAH
(Part 1 of 3)
Question:
“WHY IS JEREMIAH CALLED THE WEEPING
PROPHET?”
JEREMIAH
Isaiah
saved Jerusalem from Assyria.
Jeremiah
tried to save Jerusalem from Babylon but failed.
Jeremiah
was
called as a prophet in 626BC.
Further
devastated 597 BC
Finally burned and desolated 586 Jeremiah
lived
through 40 terrible and dreadful years (626 – 586 BC)
He
was a
‘pathetic’ and lonely figure as God’s last attempt to his holy city
that had
become hopelessly and fanatically attached to idols. He implored and
begged
them, crying that if they would repent than God would save them from
Babylon.
His ministry was one of failure for 40 years.
The
northern
kingdom had fallen about 100 years previous in 722 BC, and when
Jeremiah was
called to prophetic office in 626 BC, much of Judah had fallen as well,
till
only Jerusalem was left. Still they ignored the continued warnings of
the
prophets, and grew harder and harder in their idolatry and wickedness.
They
were 20 years away from doom in 606 BC.
There
had
always been a three cornered contest for world domination between
Assyria,
Babylon and Egypt.
WORLD POWERS
2340 – 2000 BC Babylon
was the
dominating world power. After the flood, Babylon had been the cradle of
the
human race, being situated down river from the garden of Eden. Assyria
was
founded by colonists from Babylon.
2000 -1000 BC a struggle
between Babylon
and Assyria
2000 – 1446 BC Egypt
a world
power. Destroyed with the Jew’s exodus.
1446 – 900 BC Babylon
takes
over as world power
900 – 600 BC Assyria
rules the
world
606 BC – Babylon
breaks the
power of Assyria, conquers Egypt, destroys Judah.
606 – 536 BC Babylon
536 – 430 BC The Jewish
struggle
430 – 332 BC Persia
336 BC Greece with
Alexander
the Great was the world power
332 BC – Alexander invades
Palestine.
He dies 323 BC.
Four generals of Alexander the Great
Syria in the North went to Seleucus (the
Seleucids)
Egypt in the South went to Ptolemy (the
Ptolemies) (See
Daniel 11 for wars between Syria and Egypt)
333–301 BC - Israel in the
middle
under control of Syria
301-198 BC – Israel under Egypt
198 BC - Antiochus the
Great
re-captures Israel under Syria
175-164 BC – Antiochus
Epiphanes (Syria)
extreme violence to exterminate the Jews.
167-63 BC – Maccabean
revolt
& independence. Mattathias had 5 sons – Judas (a brilliant
warrior),
Jonathan, Simon, John and Eleazar
63 BC - Rome under
Pompey. Then
Antipater (Esau descendant ruler of Judea).
Then Herod the great (Matt
2:1)
46 BC-180 AD Height of
Roman power
46-44 BC Julius Caesar
From
the very
beginning, and especially from 606-586 BC (20 years), Jeremiah stresses
that
Babylon would be the victor.
1. Judah will be
destroyed by
a victorious Babylon.
2. If Judah would
turn form
her wickedness God would save Israel
3. If no
repentance, and from
a realistic standpoint, if Israel would submit to Babylon, God will
spare her
4. Babylon
herself will be
destroyed and never rise again
JEREMIAH
WAS BOLD
1. His enemies
called him a
traitor because he didn’t waver when repeatedly saying Israel should
surrender
to Babylon
2. Nebuchadnezzar
rewarded
Jeremiah for advising Israel to submit and could have any request
fulfilled (39:12)
3. Jeremiah cried
aloud that
Nebuchadnezzar was committing a crime in destroying God’s people
4. For that
Babylon would be
destroyed (chap 50-51)
Manasseh 697-642 BC 55 years. Very wicked. Jeremiah
born under his reign
Amon
641-640 BC
2 years The wicked
reign of Manasseh his father had
long sealed the doom of Israel
Josiah 639-608 BC
31 years
Good king Great reformation but
only on the outside not in the heart.
Jehoahaz
608BC 3 months carried off to Egypt
Jehoiakim
608-597 BC 11 years Openly for idols,
boldly defiant of God, bitter enemy of Jeremiah
Jehoiakin
597
BC 3 months carried off to Babylon
Zedekiah
597-586 BC Friendly to Jeremiah but a
weak king, a tool in the hands of the wicked princes of Israel
627
BC Josiah begins reforms (See 2
Chron 14)
626
BC Jeremiah’s call
626
BC Scythian invasions that began in 634 to
about
618, weakened Assyria.
621
BC The Book
of Deuteronomy found in the temple. Josiah’s reformation (2Ki 22,
23)
608
BC Josiah
slain at Meggido by Pharaoh
607
BC
Nineveh destroyed by Babylon
606
BC Judah
subdued by Babylon 1st captivity
605
BC Battle
of Carchemish – Babylon crushes Egypt
597
BC
Jehoiachin’s captivity
593
BC
Zedekiah visits Babylon
586
BC Jerusalem
burned. Temporary end of David’s kingdom
Jeremiah was the leader and there
was a brilliant
group of prophets around the destruction of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel went into captivity and
preached
Daniel was in Nebuchadnezzar’s
court
Habakkuk and Zephaniah
helped Jeremiah
in Jerusalem
Nahum predicts fall of Nineveh
Obadiah predicts fall of Edom
Like
Moses he
was reluctant to accept the call (Ex 3:11; 4:10). Anathoth was 2.5
miles NE of
Jerusalem
V14
– Babylon
will destroy from the North
Israel
likened to a wife going after other men. Like a common prostitute
Blind
to the
Northern tribes captivity and fall, sunk into lower depths of depravity
under
Manasseh
Describes
the
advancing armies of Babylon. Possibly? No. Also the Scythian invasion
which
preceded that came from the East. In the same year Jeremiah was called,
immense
armies of Barbarians from the North struck terror to nations. They
weakened
Assyria to a tottering nation.
v1
- No
righteous man to be found; promiscuous sexual indulgence (v7-8);
scoffing at
Jeremiah (v12); deceit, oppression and robbery (v26-28); rotten
government
(v30-31)
v22-26
–
vivid description of the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. Over and
over he
warns that repentance is their only hope
v5-7
If only
the people of Israel would hearken to their God Jerusalem would never
fall.
Evil practices (v9, 31); idols in the temple (v30); God’s temple is
there
(v4,10); the Queen of heaven is Ashtoreth which is the foremost deity
of the
pagan Canaanites (v18); Hinnom (v31-32) was a valley on the South side
of
Jerusalem where children were thrown into fire to sacrifice to Molech
V20
Jeremiah
speaks as if Jerusalem has fallen already; V10-11 false prophets
insisted that
Jerusalem was not in danger
People
had
given themselves up to everything vile (8:6; 9:2-9) and weeping day and
night,
begging, pleading, persuading, threatening, entreating, imploring that
they
turn form their wickedness. But in vain
People
were
making idols, stocks of vanities (v3-11) but they could not save them
as they
were dumb and made of wood; this was only adding to their appalling
sins
against God.
God
will not
hear them. They have disobeyed. V19-21 – Jeremiah’s enemies seek to
kill him
Pastors
have
trodden down the flock and the pasture (v10); they have sown wheat and
shall
reap thorns; but the Lord will
eventually have compassion v15-16
**** ****
Harley Hitchcock
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