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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE

Introduction

God gave the prophet Jeremiah one of the most undesirable tasks that could be asked of a man.

He was called to deliver God’s message to a people that would not listen to him. For 40 years he served as God’s spokesman to Judah. But when Jeremiah spoke, nobody listened.

His ministry took place just prior to Judah's fall into captivity.

Though Judah still possessed some military strength, their spiritual foundation was so eroded that God chose to chastise them with captivity by the Chaldeans (also known as the Babylonians).

The people of Judah were ready to fight for their nation and their freedom, but Jeremiah was instructed to deliver the message of their doom. He spoke against nearly every thing the king desired to do.

Jeremiah tried to encourage them not to fight but to accept the captivity. His message caused him to be called a traitor and resulted in his imprisonment. His life was a sad and lonely one.

He was rejected by his neighbors, by his family, by the false priests and prophets in the nation, by his friends, by his audience, and by the kings.

Many of his messages were taught by personal object lessons that set forth truth in a dramatic way. He wept over the fate of his beloved country and that is why he is called the weeping prophet. We will see that his life has many lessons for us.

I.         THE BACKGROUND OF JEREMIAH. (Jeremiah 1:1-3)

            A.        Jeremiah’s Name Means “Jehovah Is High” Or “exalted of God.”

                        In the Scripture Jeremiah, Jeremy, and Jeremias are all the same name.

                        There are actually eight men mentioned by this name in Scripture:

                        1.         One was an inhabitant of Libna whose daughter , Hamutal, was the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 23:31; 24:18; Jeremiah 52:1)

                        2.         A Manassehite and head of a family. (1 Chronicles 5:24)

                        3.         A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 5:24)

                        4.         A Gadite who also joined David. (1 Chronicles 12:10)

                        5.         Another Gadite who did the same. (1 Chronicles 12:13)

6.A priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah.

                                    (Nehemiah 10:2; 12:1, 12, 34.)

                        7.         A descendant of Jonadab, son of Rechab. (Jeremiah 35:3)

                        8.         The prophet Jeremiah who we will look at tonight.

            B.        Jeremiah’s Family. (Jeremiah 1:1)

                        1.         His father was Hilkiah, from the priestly line of Abiathar, of the city of Anathoth.

                                    a.         This was a very strong family in the line of the priests.

                                    b.         It is possible that Jeremiah's father was high priest in the days of Josiah. (Cf. 2 Kings 22:4,8)

                                    c.         Jeremiah himself would also have been a priest by virtue of his birth but he became a prophet by the divine call of God.

                        2.         Jeremiah had no wife or children.

                                    a.         He was forbidden to marry by God. (Cf. Jeremiah 16:1-7)

                                    b.         This gave emphasis to the condition of Judah.

            C.        The Time Of Jeremiah’s Ministry. (Jeremiah 1:2-3)

                        1.         He Began His Ministry In The Reign Of Josiah.

                                    a.         Josiah was a godly king who led the nation to a brief period of revival (even though the revival was mostly superficial.)

                                    b.         At Josiah's death the people reverted back to their old ways.

                                    c.         Apparently the people were affected by his personality more than what he stood for.

                                    d.         Jeremiah ministered eighteen years under the reign of Josiah.

                        2.         Jeremiah's Ministry Continued During Four Other Kings.

                                    a.         Jehoiakim and Zedekiah are mentioned.

                                    b.         Jehoahaz who reigned three months and Jehoichim who also reigned for three months are not mentioned.

II.       THE CALL AND COMMISSION OF JEREMIAH. (Jeremiah 1:4-19)

            A.        He Was Ordained To Be A Prophet Before His Birth. (Jeremiah 1:4-6)

                        1.         God's election has to do with service

                        2.         God's election has to do with eternal decrees and not with a previous spiritual life of the individual. (As the Mormons declare)

                        3.         Jeremiah responded by claiming to be inadequate for the task.

                                    (Jeremiah 1:6) His response was much like that of Moses.

            B.        God Reaffirmed His Call To Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:7-9)

                        1.         Jeremiah is told that he will go where God sends and speak what God tells him under God's protection. (Jeremiah 1:7-8)

                        2.         God put his Words in Jeremiah's mouth. (Jeremiah 1:9)

            C.        Jeremiah's Call Is Spelled Out. (Jeremiah 1:10)

                        1.         He has been set over nations and kingdoms.

                                    (i.e. He will be more important than their kings.)

                        2.         He is to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down.

                                    a.         This is the negative aspect of the ministry.

                                    b.         Those things that violated God's Law are to be dealt with.

                        3.         He is to build and plant.

                                    a.         This is the positive aspect of his ministry.

                                    b.         When the ground work has been laid, the building up will come.

            D.        Jeremiah Is Instructed To Trust God And Not Fear The People.

                        (Jeremiah 1:17-19)

III.      INCIDENTS FROM THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JEREMIAH.

            A.        He Dealt With The Sin Of The People Of Israel.

                        1.         He condemned their sin against God. (Jeremiah 2:1-13)

                        2.         He spoke against idolatry. (Jeremiah 2:26-29)

                        3.         He condemned lust and adultery. (Jeremiah 5:8-9)

                        4.         He spoke of the deceitfulness of the human heart. (Jeremiah 17:9)

                        5.         He condemned the subjugation of Jews by Jews. (Jeremiah 34:1-22)

            B.        He Called For The People To Repent.

                        1.         He called for them to repent as a nation. (Jeremiah 3:12-14)

                        2.         He called for inner repentance for individuals.

            C.        He Prophesied Of God’s Coming Chastisement. (Jeremiah 5:14-31)

                        1.         He predicted that Babylon would defeat Judah and urged the people not to fight. (Jeremiah 21:1ff)

                        2.         He predicted seventy years of captivity. (Jeremiah 25:12)

                        3.         He told those who were taken captive to settle in for the seventy years. (Jeremiah 29:1-29)

                        4.         He called for the king to surrender and spare the city. (Jeremiah 38:14-23) (After the first captivity)

            D.        The Inner Turmoil Experienced by Jeremiah.

                        1.         He preached knowing the people would not listen. (Jeremiah 7:27-28)

                        2.         He had great remorse for the condition of the people. (Jeremiah 8:18ff)

                        3.         He was instructed not to pray for the people for a time. (Jeremiah 11:14; 14:11)

                        4.         He wanted to quit prophesying, but could not. (Jeremiah 20:7-9)

                        5.         He was broken hearted. (Jeremiah 23:9)

                        6.         His innermost feelings are expressed. (Lamentations 3)

            E.        The Persecutions And Afflictions Suffered By Jeremiah.

                        1.         He was threatened with death by his people. (Jeremiah 11:19-23;

                                    26:10-16)

                        2.         The people devised devices against him. (Jeremiah 18:18-23)

                        3.         He was put in stocks by Pashur, one of the priests. (Jeremiah 20:1-6)

                        4.         He was imprisoned during the siege of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 32:1-5)

                        5.         He was put in prison to die as a traitor. (Jeremiah 38:1-6)

            F.        He Was Involved With Many Signs And Symbols.

                        1.         The sign of the linen girdle. (Jeremiah 13:1-11)

                                    a.         The people's faith had once been white and clean like the girdle.

                                                However, their pride had made them useless.

                                    b.         Like the dug up girdle, their faith was now torn and ragged.

                                                Pride rots our hearts until we lose our usefulness to God.

                        2.         The sign of the potter. (Jeremiah 18:1-17)

This illustrated God’s sovereignty over the nation. God has power over the clay (Judah), and he continues to work with it to make it a useful vessel.

As the potter molded or shaped the clay on the potter’s wheel, defects often appeared. The potter had power over the clay, to allow the defects or to reshape the pot.

                        3.         The sign of the broken bottle. (Jeremiah 19:1-15)

                                    God would smash Judah just as Jeremiah smashed the clay bottles.

                        4.         The sign of the basket of figs. (Jeremiah 24:1-10)

                                    Good figs represent God’s remnant. Bad figs are the people left behind.

                        5.         The sign of bonds and yokes. (Jeremiah 27:1-11)

                                    Nebuchadnezzer had already invaded Judah once and taken many captives.

Jeremiah wore a yoke (a wooden frame used to fasten a team of animals to a plow) as a symbol of bondage.

This was an object lesson, telling the people they must put themselves under Babylon’s yoke or be destroyed.

                        6.         The sign of the purchase of property. (Jeremiah 32:6ff)

God told Jeremiah to buy a field outside of Jerusalem. The city had been under siege for a year, and Jeremiah bought land that the soldiers already occupied which would have been considered a poor investment.

In addition, Jeremiah was a prisoner in the palace at the time. But

Jeremiah was showing the people his faith in God’s promises to return His people to the land and rebuild Jerusalem.

                        7.         The sign of the writing on the roll. (Jeremiah 36:1-32)

Although the king cut up and burned the scroll, he could not destroy the God’s Word.

Today many people try to put God’s Word aside or say that it contains errors and therefore cannot be trusted.

                                    People may reject God’s Word, but they cannot destroy it!

                                    God’s Word will stand forever!

                                    Psalm 119:89–“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”

                        8.         The sign of the large stones. (Jeremiah 43:8-13)

Afraid to obey the Lord, many of the fled to Egypt, even forcing Jeremiah to go with them. (Their reasoning was that God might spare them as long as Jeremiah was with them.)

The stones marked the place where Nebuchadnezzar would set up his throne when God allowed him to conquer Egypt.

                                    Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568 – 567 B.C. Just like Judah, Egypt

                                    rebelled against him an was quickly crushed.

                                    Judah had placed their hopes in Egypt, but God brought them down.

                        9.         The sign of the book sunk in the river. (Jeremiah 51:59-64)

                                    God was showing that Babylon would eventually sink to rise no more.

Again we find here the twin themes of God’s sovereignty and His

                                    judgment. 

Babylon had been allowed to oppress the people of Israel, but it would be judged.

Although God brings good out of evil, he does not allow evil to remain unpunished. The wicked may appear to succeed for a while, but God will bring them to judgment.

IV.      SUMMARY OF JEREMIAH’S LIFE.

            A.        He was faithful to God even under some very trying circumstances.

            B.        He was willing to take an unpopular stand even though he stood alone.

            C.        He faithfully ministered to a people who misunderstood him.

            D.        He lived a sad but victorious life.

            E.        Tradition has it that he was stoned to death by his own people after he had been carried away to Egypt.

            F.        No doubt this servant of God met a great reward when he got home to heaven.

            G.       In The Book of Jeremiah, He is viewing and warning of the judgment that is to come.

                       In The Book of Lamentations, He is viewing and lamenting the judgment that has come.

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!