Jeremiah, Jeremy, Jeremias [JÔöÇ├▓remÔöÇ┬¢’ah]…jehovah is high or exalted of god.

Jeremiah

His name may mean: “Yahweh Has Exalted” or “Yahweh Has Established”

His work: Though Jeremiah’s prophecies were primarily directed toward Judah, the Lord also gave him prophetic messages for other nations of the world. His ministry took place during the last forty years of Judah’s existence, from 627-586 BC. His character: Jeremiah has often been called “the weeping prophet.” He struggled with feelings of insecurity, doubt, and alienation. Because of the constant opposition he faced, he became so depressed that he cursed the day of his birth. Despite the cost to himself, he spoke the word of the Lord with uncompromising honesty. His sorrow: Though the date and place of Jeremiah’s death are uncertain, Jewish tradition holds that he was stoned to death by fellow Jews while living in Egypt after the destruction of Jerusalem. Despite their misfortunes, those who had taken refuge in Egypt remained unrepentant, blaming their troubles not on their idolatry, but on their failure to worship Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven. His triumph: It is hard to find evidence in the book of Jeremiah that the prophet enjoyed any sense of personal triumph throughout the course of his ministry. Though he may have felt vindicated when his prophecies about Jerusalem came true, such feelings would have been small comfort in light of the suffering that had befallen his people. Key Scriptures:Jeremiah 1203637:16-2139:1-14

A Look at the Man

Jeremiah is often considered a prophet of doom, a man who warned God’s people of the grievous consequences of their sin. Yet it would not have been possible for him to thunder on about impending judgment if he had despaired of the possibility that Judah might actually repent and be saved. Surely it was hope that kept him going.

This hope was made tangible during Babylon’s sustained siege of Jerusalem. One day Jeremiah heard the Lord telling him that one of his cousins would soon ask him to buy a field belonging to him. But why, he must have wondered, should he waste precious silver purchasing property that was about to be overrun by a foreign invader? Before he had time to puzzle out the answer, he saw his cousin approaching. Sure enough, the man was selling his field and wanted Jeremiah to buy it. So Jeremiah did.

As the prophet tried to make sense of this impractical business transaction, God spoke again, telling him, “I will surely gather [my people] from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them” (Jeremiah 32:37-40).

Jeremiah’s hope was based on the knowledge that nothing is ever too hard for God, not even restoring the fortunes of a people whose future seemed utterly wrecked. So, like a good contrarian investor, he ignored the conventional wisdom and bought the field. His purchase proved valuable, for the Lord eventually brought many of his people back to Jerusalem, a people chastened, purified, and eager to live once again in the land of the promise.

Reflect On:Jeremiah 20:7ÔÇô18Praise God: For his relentless love. Offer Thanks: That he will never fail or forsake us. Confess: Any tendency to try to hide your thoughts or feelings from God. Ask God: To help you develop a deep and honest relationship with him.

……The Man of Inconsolable Grief

This man who was born a priest but became a prophet by the divine call of God comes before us as one of the grandest men of Old Testament history. He was called to the prophetic office through a vision (Jer. 1:1, 4-16) and labored for some forty years. The book Jeremiah wrote gives us more details of his life, methods and work, as an Old Testament prophet, than of any other prophet. He is referred to as a son of Hilkiah, not only to distinguish him from others of the same name, but to prove that he was of priestly origin. He came from the priestly town of Anathoth, a name meaning, "answered prayers."

His call antedated his birth (Jer. 1:5), and he was consecrated to God before his birth. He was distinguished by his humility and native modesty. He felt he was a child and not mature enough to function as a prophet. With Browning he could say:

I was not born informed and fearless from the first, but shrank from aught which marked me out apart from men:

I would have lived their life, and died their death lost in their ranks, eluding destiny.…But Jeremiah could not elude destiny. So we have:

I. His equipment for a God-appointed task (Jer. 1:7-9).

II. His sufferings. What sorrow and anguish were his (Lam. 1:123:1). He was not permitted to marry (Jer. 16:2). Solitude was at once his penalty and greatness. Then we have his sad antagonisms (Jer. 1:1815:16, 17, 2020:1-18).

III. His persecutions. These came to him from many quarters (Jer. 11:18-2012:620:6263738:13-2843:6). Bitter, however, were his denunciations of his foes (Jer. 11:2015:1817:1818:21-23).

IV. His death. Tradition has it that he was stoned to death in Egypt by the Jews, and that when Alexander entered Egypt he rescued his bones from obscurity and buried them in Alexandria. See Hebrews 11:37.

Jeremiah's ministry was an intensely sad one and his song is in the minor key. His was a divine melancholy that made his head "waters" and his eyes a fountain of tears. The truths he had to proclaim were unwelcome and brought him enemies, but he carried out his task without fear or favor. In these days of national apostasy and international strife, the preacher could not do better than live near the Book of Jeremiah, which has, as its dominant note, true religion in heart and life, in church and nation.

7. A priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. 10:212:1, 12, 34).

8. A descendant of Jonadab, son of Rechab (Jer. 35:3).

…What should we learn from the life of Jeremiah?”……Jeremiah the prophet lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Israel. He was, appropriately, the last prophet that God sent to preach to the southern kingdom, which comprised the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God had repeatedly warned Israel to stop their idolatrous behavior, but they would not listen, so He tore the 12 tribes asunder, sending the 10 northern tribes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Then God sent Jeremiah to give Judah the last warning before He cast them out of the land, decimating the nation and sending them into captivity in the pagan kingdom of Babylon. Jeremiah, a faithful, God-fearing man, was called to tell Israel that, because of their unrepentant sin, their God had turned against them and was now prepared to remove them from the land at the hands of a pagan king whom He called "My servant" (Jeremiah 26:7). ……No doubt Jeremiah, who was only about 17 when God called him, had great inner turmoil over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as "the weeping prophet," because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. Furthermore, he found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children (Jeremiah 16:2), and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of impending judgment, he also must have felt very lonely. God knew that this was the best course for Jeremiah, because He went on to tell him how horrible conditions would be in a short time, with babies, children, and adults dying "grievous" deaths, their bodies unable to even be buried, and their flesh devoured by the birds (Jeremiah 16:3-4). ……Obviously, the people of Israel had become so hardened by the numbing effects of sin that they no longer believed God, nor did they fear Him. Jeremiah preached for 40 years, and not once did he see any real success in changing or softening the hearts and minds of his stubborn, idolatrous people. The other prophets of Israel had witnessed some successes, at least for a little while, but not Jeremiah. He was speaking to a brick wall; however, his words were not wasted. They were pearls being cast before swine, in a sense, and they were convicting every person who heard them and refused to heed the warning. ……Jeremiah tried to make the people understand their problem was a lack of belief, trust, and faith in God, along with an absence of fear which caused them to take Him for granted. It is very easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, especially when the focus is not on God. The nation of Israel, just like many nations today, had stopped putting God first, and had replaced Him with false gods, those that would not make them feel guilty or convict them of sin. God had delivered His people from bondage in Egypt, had performed miracles before them, and had even parted the waters of the sea for them. In spite of all these displays of God's power, they returned to the false practices they had learned in Egypt, even making vows to the false "queen of heaven," along with performing the other rites and rituals that were part of the Egyptian culture and religion. God finally turned them over to their idolatry, saying, "Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!" (Jeremiah 44:25).……Jeremiah's constant loneliness and isolation finally got the best of him, and he became discouraged. He sank into a quagmire where many believers seem to get stuck when they think their efforts are not making a difference and time is ticking away. Jeremiah was emotionally spent, even to the point of doubting God (Jeremiah 15:18), but God was not done with him. Jeremiah 15:19 records a lesson for each believer to remember in those times when he feels alone, useless, and discouraged and whose faith is wavering: "Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.'" God was saying to Jeremiah, come back to Me, and I will restore to you the joy of your salvation. These are similar to the words penned by David when he repented of his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51:12).……What we learn from the life of Jeremiah is the comfort of knowing that, just like every believer, even great prophets of God can experience rejection, depression, and discouragement in their walk with the Lord. This is a normal part of growing spiritually, because our sinful nature fights against our new nature, that which is born of the Spirit of God, according to Galatians 5:17: "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." But just as Jeremiah found, we can know that the faithfulness of our God is infinite; even when we are unfaithful to Him, He remains steadfast (2 Timothy 2:13).……Jeremiah was given the task of delivering an unpopular, convicting message to Israel, one that caused him great mental anguish, as well as making him despised in the eyes of his people. God says that His truth sounds like "foolishness" to those who are lost, but to believers it is the very words of life (1 Corinthians 1:18). He also says that the time will come when people will not tolerate the truth (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Those in Israel in Jeremiah's day did not want to hear what he had to say, and his constant warning of judgment annoyed them. This is true of the world today, as believers who are following God's instructions are warning the lost and dying world of impending judgment (Revelation 3:10). Even though most are not listening, we must persevere in proclaiming truth in order to rescue some from the terrible judgment that will inevitably come.