Jeremiah The Priest Prophet

The Priest

Jeremiah knew from the time he was born he was to be a priest

when he was old enough the training would begin

How to sacrifice animals

how to conduct all of the daily weekly monthly and yearly sacrifices

once you learned these things you got into the rhythm he could do it blindfolded

he would stay at home until it was his time to go to the temple

he would teach his boy how to be a priest

because that is what men in the priestly line does

Life is pretty good the temple takes care of you

People bring you an animal you kill it and sacrifice it

people come to you to find out if they have leprosy or other diseases

you don’t really deal with the public

Read Jeremiah 1 1-3.

Pray

The Prophet

V 1 from the predictable

A priest from Anathoth just north of Jerusalem

V 2 God’s word came to him

His predictable life has changed to a prophet

Prophets tell people what they don’t want to hear

Prophets tell people to change their ways

the ways they like to live

Prophets stand before kings and pronounce judgement

Prophets go to other lands and pronounce judgement

Prophets are told to do strange things

go around naked

lay on one side for days on end

then on the other

tunnel through walls and run away

Marry prostitutes who will run away then you have to buy her back

Prophets try to change hearts

To Isaiah God said

Isaiah 6:8–12 LEB

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “I am here! Send me!” And he said, “Go and say to this people, ‘Keep on listening and do not comprehend! And keep on looking and do not understand!’ Make the heart of this people insensitive, and make its ears unresponsive, and shut its eyes so that it may not look with its eyes and listen with its ears and comprehend with its mind and turn back, and it may be healed for him.” Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” And he said, “Until the cities lie wasted without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is ruined and a waste, and Yahweh sends the people far away, and the abandonment is great in the midst of the land.

you are going to talk but they will not understand

you don't know where your income is coming from

people will hate you because of your message

there is nothing easy about being a prophet

a prophet will probably be murdered in the end

The Times

V 2-3

Jeremiah ministered during the most evil time in Israel

Babies were sacrificed to Moleck

King Manasseh was the most evil king

King Josiah then caused a false revival in the land

people were good on the outside

he fixed up the temple , the law was found and read

Jehoahaz then lead the people back into Idolatry exiled to Egypt

his brother Jehoiakim was put into his place by Pharaoh

His son Jehoiachin reigned for 3 months

then his uncle Zedekiah was pit in place by Nebuchadnezzar

after Josiah all of the king did stupid things to upset the apple cart

with Nebu, and pharoah

and make the people fall deeper into sin

sort of what is going on here today

someone said when God wants to judge a nation he sends them wicked rulers

Faithful

40 years Jeremiah taught, warned, gave the word of God

in the end Jerusalem, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed

most of the people went into exile, the rest rebelled and went to Egypt and were killed there

even after Jeremiah warned them

Noah over 100 years of preaching saved only his family

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 LEB

Thus let a person consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. In this case, moreover, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful.

Jeremiah was faithful to the end

Jeremiah did not give up even when things were going down hill fast

Jeremiah did not quit when it was obvious that he was tot going to succeed

Neither can we, our job is to be faithful to the end

Matthew 25 14-21.

Take the example of the Priest, Prophet Jeremiah