Jeremiah - Introduction(1)

Introduction

Jeremiah’s ministry covers a period of about forty years. The main focus is on God’s judgement upon Judah, leading upto the Babylonian conquest. However, there is also focus on Jeremiah’s own struggles, for his ministry was far from being an way one, and he certainly did not find it easy. Jeremiah was most definitely not telling the people what they wanted to hear. So there are important lessons on how to be a faithful servant of God. So there is much gloom in the book, and we sometimes talk of someone being a Jeremiah, ie someone who always brings bad news, or sees the dark side of everything. However, there is light in the book as well, most importantly in Jer 31 with the promise of the new covenant. It is only when we face up to the reality of the human condition, of our own condition, that we see the full glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah’s ministry ran from 626 BC to about 586 BC. Zephaniah came just before Jeremiah, and Habbakuk was a contemporary. Ezekiel started his ministry in 593 BC, though he was based in Babylon. So we see that God was speaking to His people in several places through different prophets. People often complain that God hasn’t revealed Himself clearly enough, that He hasn’t spoken. The problem is not that God does not speak, but that we do not listen. 

Jeremiah was part of the priestly household of Hilkiah. In Jer 16:2 we find that God told him not to marry or have children because of the coming disaster. Perhaps Paul had this in mind when he spoke of the “present crisis” in 1 Cor 7:26.

When he started his ministry Josiah was still on the throne. He carried on through the reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Egypt, Assyria and Babylon were the dominant powers at the time. Assyria’s power was waning and she was conquered by Babylon. For a time Judah had enjoyed some success as the major powers were concerned with fighting each other, but then Babylon’s attention turned to Judah. Nineveh fell to babylon in 612 BC. Egypt sought to help Assyria. The Egyptian army was crushed by Babylon in 605 BC at Carchemish, and Babylon was the the undisputed dominant power in the region.