General Presentation of the Prophet Jeremiah and His Book
Born ca. 646 B.C. in Jerusalem
Just over a century after the prophet
Isaiah, Jeremiah was born in
ca. 646 B.C. to a priestly family living in Jerusalem. Of all
the prophets in the Old Testament, Jeremiah may probably be the most
human and the one in which many people can easily identify with. We
can learn of his life and character through: the biographical narratives
on him written in the third person in Jer 19:2-20:6; 26; 36; 45; 28-29;
51:59-64; 34:8-22; 37-44, and the autobiographical passages known as
the 'Confessions of Jeremiah' in Jer 11:18-12:6; 15:10-21; 17:14-18; 18:18-23;
20:7-18.
The historical context of Jeremiah's call
God called Jeremiah as a young man in 626 B.C. during the tragic years
preceding and succeeding the ruin of the kingdom of Judah (the southern
kingdom). At the time, the peoples' hopes were raised by King Josiah
through religious reforms and through his rallying of the nations. However,
these hopes were dashed and destroyed by the king's death at Megiddo in
609 B.C. and the rise of the Chaldaean empire. From 605 B.C., King
Nebuchadnezzar imposed his will on Palestine. Though Judah rebelled,
Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and deported a number of its population.
When Judah revolted a second time, the Chaldaean armies captured Jerusalem
in 587 B.C., burnt its Temple, and had more of its inhabitants deported.
It is within these historical events when Jeremiah was called to prophesy
by God. So Jeremiah preached and prophesied disaster and admonished the
Davidic kings for their infidelity to Yahweh. His prophetic call earned
him persecution and imprisonment from the war party of Jerusalem. However,
when Jerusalem finally fell to the Chaldaeans, Jeremiah remained in Palestine.
He remained with his friend Gedaliah whom the Chaldaeans appointed as governor.
Another turn of events happened when Gedaliah was assassinated. Fearing a
reprisal from the Chaldaeans, a party of Jews fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah
with them. It is believed that Jeremiah may have died in Egypt.
Jeremiah's prophetic message
The inner conflict within Jeremiah was as dramatic as the historical
events he was immersed and involved in. Though basically affectionate
and of gentle disposition, he was nevertheless called 'to tear up and
to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow' (Jer 1:10). Disaster was
the main theme and keynote of his message (Jer 20:8). Though a man of
peace by nature, he became involved in war - war with his own people,
war with kings, priests, false prophets, and the nation itself. He
was made to be 'a man of strife and of dissension for all the land'
(Jer 15:10).
A new covenant: the Law written in human hearts
Jeremiah's suffering purified his soul of everything that was unworthy.
He practiced a really inward and heartfelt religion that soon expressed
itself in his prophecy of the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34). This personal
religion of Jeremiah makes him nearer and dearer to many Christians.
Because for Jeremiah: God examines the heart (Jer 11:20); God rewards
each person according to his works (Jer 31:29-30); and man breaks his
friendship with God (Jer 2:2) through the consequence of sin (Jer 4:4;
17:9; 18:12). Because of Jeremiah's spiritual experience, he makes
religion warm for us. His concept of the Law is an 'inward force'
- written in the very heart of man. This spirituality makes Jeremiah
a man who respects the function of love in religion and one who has
concern for the person of the individual.
Jeremiah's influence
Though Jeremiah is considered by many as a failure during his lifetime,
after his death his person grew steadily in stature. His doctrine of a
new covenant written in the heart of man made him the father of all
that was best in Judaism. His influence can be seen in the book of
the prophet Ezekiel, in the second part of the book of Isaiah, and in
several of the Psalms. In the Maccabean period, he was considered
a protector of the nation 2 Mac 2:1-8; 15:12-16. Also, since Jeremiah
showed how intimate man's contact with God can be, he paved the way
for the new covenant of Christian times. His life of renunciation
and of suffering in the service of God makes him an antetype of
Christ - someone of the Old Testament who prefigures the person of Jesus.
The construction of the book
The contribution of the prophet Jeremiah's disciples can be seen in
the way the book is constructed. Its construction also tells us that
this book was clearly not written in one sitting. And the book as we
have it now is not only disarrayed chronologically but also its
protracted compilation by many of Jeremiah's spiritual children have
made it difficult to sort out the historical stages in the writings.
There are some clues though in the book which can lend us an idea
of how the book is constructed. Jer 36 gives some very useful
data: in 605 B.C. Jeremiah dictated to Baruch the oracles he made
since the beginning of his prophetic ministry in 626 B.C. (Jer 36:2).
Jehoiakim burnt the scroll containing this writing but it was
rewritten and then supplemented (Jer 36:32). Many conjecture that
this collection contained the following: Jer 25:1-12 for its
introduction, pre-605 B.C. passages that can be found in Jer 1-18,
and ancient oracles against the nations referred to in Jer 25:13-18.
Supplements were also added with passages dating from after 605 B.C.
including further oracles against the nations. Furthermore, into these
sections were inserted the passages of 'Confessions' and two small
booklets: one on the kings, Jer 21:11-23:8, and the other on the
prophets, Jer 23:9-40.
Four sections in the book
Even though the book is not chronologically arranged and its historical
settings difficult to identify, through some data given in the passages,
we can divide the book of Jeremiah into four sections. Two sections
of the book that are easily identified are: the one containing
threats against Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 1:1-25:13), and the other one
containing prophecies against the nations (Jer 25:13-38 and Jer 46-51).
Jer 26-35 make up a third section - a collection of rather more
cheerful passages written in prose and may be attributed to Jeremiah's
disciple, Baruch. Then Jer 36-44 make up a fourth section - one which
continues the biography of Jeremiah and describes his suffering during
and after the siege of Jerusalem. The end of the book may be seen
in Jer 45:1-5 because it contains a kind of signature from Baruch,
Jeremiah's secretary and disciple.
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