WHO WROTE:  Jeremiah.

 

 

WHAT TIME PERIOD IS COVERED:  B.C. 645 - B.C. 614.

 

 

WHEN WRITTEN:  B.C. 647 - B.C. 614.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:  Jeremiah is the author of the Book of Lamentations and as such is known as “the weeping prophet.”  See Lamentations 2:11 & 3:48.  Therefore, just as our Lord did (John 11:35), so did Jeremiah for the same reasoning.

 

Jeremiah prophesied for 40 1/2 years under five different kings (see my note in Jeremiah 1:2-3).

 

Something that we need to take notice of for our own lives, is when the Lord asks us over-and-over again, as He did with Jeremiah, “what seest thou?” Jeremiah 1:11 & 13; 24:3, we need to pay attention.  Also, in the Book of Jeremiah, “Thus sayest the Lord” is found 148 times.

 

In Jeremiah 1:10 we fine the prophets mission:  “I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out [evil], and to pull down [evil], and to destroy [evil], and to throw down [evil], to build [up the old standards], and to plant [water and maintain].”

 

According to Jeremiah 1:7, “whatsoever I Command thee thou shalt speak.”  And according to Jeremiah 1:9, “I have put My Words in thy mouth.”  In fact, of the 52 Chapters in the Book of Jeremiah, 51 times Jeremiah mentions that “the Word of the Lord” came to him, or it is because of “the Word of the Lord” that he must give this message to whomever.  Also, 8 times Jeremiah states, “the LORD said unto me.”  Therefore, basically every Chapter is straight from God and not Jeremiah’s interpretation of it.

 

HOWEVER, one of the main themes of The Book of Jeremiah is, “I (God) have even sent unto you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened,” Jeremiah 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4.  Take note that Moses had the same problem with them -- Exodus 6:12 & Numbers 14:22.
 

Jeremiah is the prophet of whom our Lord instructed him not to marry (Jer. 16:2), for what was to come upon His people, in order to symbolize the coming of calamities on Judea so severe that being single (contrary to the natural order) would be preferable to being married.  We find such similar instruction in the New Testament from our Lord again, and from Paul:  Matthew 24:19; Luke 23:29; First Corinthians 7:8 & 26.  Some have thus concluded that Jeremiah’s principle message is related to this instruction.  However, I believe the main message of all the prophets was to let people see just how bad their evil was, and what the consequences would be if they did not turn away from it.

 

The principal Messianic prophecies found in the Book of Jeremiah are:  Jeremiah 23:1-8; 31:31-40; and Jeremiah33:14-26.

 

Jeremiah uses the word “vain” 14 times in his writings; twice in Lamentations and 12 times in the Book of Jeremiah.  In western society we tend to think of the word as meaning, “proud; elated with a high opinion of one’s own accomplishments, or with things more showy than valuable; conceited.”  However, in Jeremiahs Biblical use of this word, it means, “worthless, useless, fruitless, ineffectual,” and in a secondary sense, “empty, false; deceitful; not genuine; not effectual.”  I have found that if I replace Jeremiahs use of the word “vain,” whenever he uses it, with “worthless,” I am not far off track.

 

In an interesting fact the LXX omits:  Jeremiah 10:6-8; 27:19-22; 29:16-20; 33:14-26; 39:4-13; 52:2-3 & 15 & 28-30, among others.  About 2,700 words in all of the original text are omitted.

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