Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem before its destruction in 586 BC. People sometimes call him the "weeping prophet" because he shared his struggles and sorrows while delivering God's messages.

Jeremiah was born in Anathoth, near Jerusalem, during Manasseh’s reign. His father was Hilkiah from the tribe of Benjamin. Jeremiah became a prophet in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (627 BC). At first, Jeremiah hesitated to accept his role (Jeremiah 1:6), but God promised to guide and protect him and to provide the words he needed, even when facing opposition (Jeremiah 1:7–8, 18–19).

Jeremiah warned the kings and people of Judah to repent to avoid exile. They had broken God's covenant (special agreement), mainly through idol worship (Jeremiah 10:1–16), and faced the consequences (Deuteronomy 27–28). They refused God's call to repent, so Jeremiah later announced that God's judgment was unavoidable.

Judah's leaders especially disliked Jeremiah. King Jehoiakim despised him and tried to stop him from speaking. King Zedekiah secretly asked for Jeremiah's advice but gave in to his officials when they wanted to silence the prophet. However, God's word could not be stopped. The promised judgment occurred in 586 BC: Jerusalem was attacked, the temple was destroyed, and Judah's leaders were either killed or sent to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, knew about Jeremiah and liked him (Jeremiah 39:11–12). Because of this, the captain of the Babylonian army let Jeremiah stay with the people left in Judah. Jeremiah advised those who stayed to accept Babylon's rule, even after Judean rebels killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon. The Judeans ignored Jeremiah's advice and fled to Egypt. Jeremiah was taken with them, and little more is known about him after that. Tradition says he was stoned to death by Jewish exiles in Tahpanhes, Egypt.

Jeremiah was constantly rejected, imprisoned, and physically abuse during his life. But, his ministry did have positive aspects. He predicted that the exile to Babylon would be temporary (Jeremiah 25:1–14) and that God would create a new covenant with his people (31:31–34). Jesus Christ fulfilled this promise (Luke 22:20).

Passages for Further Study

2 Chronicles 35:25; 36:12, 21; Jeremiah 1:1–10; Jeremiah 13:1–14; 18:1–12; 19:1–20:6; 24:1–10; 26:1–29:32; 32:1–15; 36:1–44:30; Daniel 9:2; Matthew 16:14; 27:9