Jeremiah 15:10-21, Israel’s Weeping Prophet

The book of Jeremiah represents God’s final effort to save Jerusalem.  Jeremiah lived about 125 years after Isaiah.  Isaiah had seen Jerusalem saved from the Assyrians.  Jeremiah tried to save the city from the Babylonians but failed.  Jeremiah saw: 1) Jerusalem partly destroyed in 605 BC; 2) Jerusalem laid waste in 597 BC; and 3) Jerusalem burned and made desolate in 586 BC.  Thus Jeremiah lived through the last 40 agonizing years and witnessed the death of his beloved nation and city.

Jeremiah is a pathetic, lonely figure – God’s last messenger to the Holy City which had become hopelessly attached to idols.  Jeremiah ceaselessly cries “Repent, Repent” – but all to no avail.  Thus as Assyria had been the background of Isaiah’s ministry, Babylon is the background of Jeremiah’s ministry.

Jeremiah’s name means “YAHWEH exalts.”  Jeremiah was (1:1) from the priestly line, and lived in the Levitical city of Anathoth (Josh. 21:18).  He prophesied during the reign of 5 kings, from Josiah to Zedekiah. 

Jeremiah 1 recounts Jeremiah’s call to ministry by God.  God promises a difficult ministry with lots of opposition.  His message was that the people of Judah should give up to the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar rather than to fight against them.  That message, as you might think, was considered to be very “unpatriotic,” the kind of message that would weaken the resistance to the Babylonians.  He was considered a traitor (12:13-17; 38:17-23). 

Having noted the obvious difficulty of his ministry, Jeremiah also speaks of the Messiah, and contains a detailed prophecy of the New Covenant. 

Of all the OT prophets, we get more glimpses into the personal struggle of Jeremiah than any other.  At one point he prefers death to continuing in ministry.  He voices his struggles with the LORD who will not change His mind concerning Judah.  Though Jeremiah wants to quit, in the end he cannot because the word of God burns in him.  These struggles occupy much of the first 20 chapters of Jeremiah.  Here are passages of note: 8:20-9:3; 10:2-3,24; 11:18-12:6; 15:10-21; 17:9-11,14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18. 

His contemporaries, as we noted, included 5 kings: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah.  He was also contemporary with prophets Zephaniah, Habakkuk (both in Jerusalem with Jeremiah), Ezekiel and Daniel (both in Babylon).

The theme of his prophecy was twofold: 1) a warning against coming judgment; and 2) a promise of restoration.  Key words include “backsliding” (13X) and “Babylon” (164X).  Here is a simple outline of Jeremiah.

·       Ch. 1: the Prophet’s call

·       Ch. 2-39: Messages before the capture of Jerusalem.

·       Ch. 40-51: Messages after the capture of Jerusalem.

·       Ch. 52: Historical appendix recounting the destruction of Jerusalem.

I highly recommend this book for study.  Jeremiah’s revelation of God’s plan is critical to the Bible’s message.  And the recounting of Jeremiah’s struggles are of great value for believers in Christ today.  We often think it is hard for us to faithfully serve the Lord.  But we have no situation like Jeremiah’s. I praise God for the testimony of this man of God!