Jeremiah, Prophet of Doom

Wilkinson and Boa in Talk through the Bible introduce the book of Jeremiah like this;

Talk thru the Bible (Jeremiah) Jeremiah is the autobiography of one of Judah’s greatest prophets during the nation’s darkest days. Apostasy, idolatry, perverted worship, moral decay—these were the conditions under which Jeremiah lived and ministered. An avalanche of judgment is coming, and Jeremiah is called to proclaim that message faithfully for forty years. In response to his sermons, the tender prophet of God experiences intense sorrows at the hands of his countrymen: opposition, beatings, isolation, imprisonment. But though rejected and persecuted, Jeremiah lives to see many of his prophecies come true. The Babylonian army arrives; vengeance falls; and God’s holiness and justice are vindicated, though it breaks the prophet’s heart.

I have heard others describe Jeremiah as clinically depressed.

He was the prophet with the broken heart.

Broken because the people he was called to minister to had turned their backs on God.

The nation of Judah is the example of the people who will not listen.

They are warned, they are given second chances.

They have every opportunity to learn and change their ways.

But still, they keep returning to the paths of destruction.

And now it is to late, judgement will come.

The nation is doomed.

And Jeremiah will stand and watch what he has prophesied come true.

Yet Jeremiah has God’s promise.

I will be with you.

Jeremiah, the prophet with a broken heart – finding refuge with God in the midst of doom.

Now, let’s be pretty clear about this from the start.

Jeremiah didn’t exactly get to choose his ministry.

God chose him.

Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

He didn’t want this ministry, he didn’t go searching for it or seeking it out.

In fact in verse six he says, “Lord I can’t speak for you I am too young!”

Yet for fourty years he faithfully ministered, knowing that his message would be largely ignored.

You have to ask, how on earth did he last?

Fourty years of being opposed.

Fourty years of telling people they are doomed.

A lifetime of sorrow, knowing what the future holds.

No wonder Jeremiah has been described as clinical depressed.

So what was the setting in which he received his call.

It was a time full of wars as new empires rose up and conquered old ones.’

The Norhtern Kingdom of Israel and its capital Samaria had already been completely destroyed by the Assyrian Empire.

The tiny kingdom of Judah was caught in the middle, being unfortunately located on the land bridge between Asia and Northen Africa.

Some famous historical battles took place during this time including the battle of Carchemish west of the Euphrates River.

Originally the ancient capital of the Hittites, it then became a fortified city of the Assyrians.

Ultimately Carchemish became the site of one of the most important battles of ancient history when Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon crushed the Egyptian army of Pharaoh Necho who was coming to support the Assyrians.

It was this battle that set up Babylon as the great empire that would later destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple.

Jeremiah was born towards the end of the reign of Manasseh.

A king who lead Israel down the path of evil.

He led the people to worship the cannanite god Baal and its occult practices.

He introduced idols into the temple.

He had even instituted child sacrifice, sacrificing his own sons on pagan altars.

Even though he eventually repented of these things the damage had been done.

An undercurrent of idolatry and evil had been sown in the heart of the nation.

The son who follows after him is Amon who repeats his father sins, but is assasinated.

He followed by Josiah who restores the worship of the Lord and cleans the land of all the idols.

Delaying the Lord’s judgement.

The timeline looks like this

The Bible Guide When Did Jeremiah Prophesy?

Countdown: the decline and fall of Judah

640/39 Josiah becomes king of Judah at the age of eight.

628 He begins his reforms at the age of nineteen.

627 Jeremiah starts to preach.

622 The Book of the Law is found in the temple.

612 The Assyrian empire falls to the forces of Babylon.

609 Josiah is killed in battle at the age of thirty-nine. Jehoahaz becomes king of Judah for three months. Jehoiakim is made king of Judah by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt.

605 The Babylonians defeat the Egyptians at Carchemish. Daniel and other young leaders are deported to Babylon.

604 Jeremiah’s scroll is read to King Jehoiakim—and burned.

601 Jehoiakim rebels against Babylon.

598 Jehoiakim is deposed and dies.

597 Jehoiachin is taken off to exile in Babylon, along with 3,000 skilled workers and the temple treasures. This is the first phase of captivity. Zedekiah becomes king at the age of twenty-one.

588 Zedekiah rebels against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem.

587 Jerusalem falls to the Babylonian army. Eight hundred and thirty-two of her people are taken into exile. This is the second phase of captivity, but Jeremiah is spared and released. Gedaliah is made governor of Judah, and Jeremiah stays with him at Mizpah; but Gedaliah is assassinated by Ishmael. The survivors from Judah go to Egypt, against Jeremiah’s advice; they take Jeremiah with them.

582/1 There is a third phase of deportation, with 745 people taken away to exile in Babylon.

561 A new king of Babylon releases King Jehoiachin from prison, but keeps him in the royal court. He has been in exile for thirty-seven years.

539 Babylon falls to Cyrus, king of Persia.

539/8 Cyrus frees the Jewish exiles and allows them to return home.

What enabled Jeremiah to hang in there when he knew that ultimately the fate of the nation was sealed?

Why would you even bother?

Judah is doomed.

Wouldn’t it just make more sense to run for the hills.

Get out of dodge as they say.

Strategically reposition yourself to safer climes.

Yes, from a human perspective this is what Jeremiah should have done.

Find yourself a nice Island in the Mediteranian that is of no strategic value and take up fishing.

But this is where the call and promise of God come into it.

Nothing in Jeremiah’s life was easy or desirable.

He knew that from the start.

He probably had no real appreciation for just how hard it would be.

But God laid out a path for him and called him to follow it.

Jeremiah 1:4 “The Lord gave me this message:”

Jeremiah 1:5 ““I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.””

Jeremiah 1:7–10 NLT

The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”

A young man receives a call from God.

That is the key point.

Go where I send you.

Say what I tell you.

I am with you.

I appoint you.

To build up and tear down.

Jeremiah, the prophet with a broken heart, found refuge with God in the midst of doom because he was sure of what God had called him to.

Did he struggle and want to give up, certainly.

Was he angry with God at times for what he had to go through, absolutely.

Did he doubt and want to run away, yes.

But the foundation remained throughout his life.

The message is the Lord’s, its expression is accomplished through his servants.

Now what the Lord has called me to is no where near as dramatic and terrifying as what Jeremiah was called to.

Well not yet anyway and hopefully I make it to retirement before it get’s that bad.

But all of those emotions and feelings are just as real today for any believer who answers God’s call on their life.

Every pastor, every person int he pews who genuinely makes themselves available to God is going to have times of saying.

Lord I am too young, to inexperienced, to afraid.

It is to scary, to hard, to costly.

And God will say.

Jeremiah 1:5 NLT

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

God gave Jeremiah a number of assurances.

A vision of an Almond tree branch, in the land of Judah the first tree to bud in spring.

There is a play on word here in verses 11 and 12.

The word for an almond branch and the word for watching over sounding similar.

Jeremiah would have got the idea, just as the Almond buds arrive quickly so the watching of the Lord is quick.

The Lord will not miss what Jeremiah is facing.

Whatever happens the Lord is saying to Jeremiah, “I am ready”

Then in verses 13 to 15 we see another vision.

A boiling pot of water, slightly tilted away from the north and spilling over.

We should think of a large cauldron upon a fire.

It is a sinister vision.

Speaking of impending doom coming upon Judah from the North and spilling south throughout the land.

The meaning was pretty clear in Jeremiah’s day.

Assyria was the power from the north.

At the time of Jeremiah’s call, Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian ruler, had dies or was about to and within a decade the empire which had terrorized the Near East was on the brink of dissolution.

But what was coming in it’s place?

Well the answer is given immediately in Jeremiah 1:15-16 when the Lord says;

Jeremiah 1:15–16 NLT

Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah. I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil— for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!

The doom of Judgement is coming.

Jeremiah you are my messanger.

Jeremiah 1:17–19 NLT

“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Jeremiah, you will stand to the bitter end.

The whole land, the kings, officials, priest and even the people will fight you.

But you will stand.

For I am with you!

Sometimes the task isn’t nice.

For Jeremiah it was horrible with no hope of relief.

The question is what will we do with what God calls us to do.

Wether you are the person up front.

Or the person in the supporting role at the back.

The question, and the promise is the same.

I have called you to declare my will.

I will be with you.

Regardless of what it is like.