Historical Review of Jeremiah

Transcript

GR 460
Jeremiah’s Historical Setting
4/08/1984
Jeremiah
Gil Rugh

At this point we want to review the historical setting for the Book of Jeremiah. There is not a chronological development of the book so it is not necessary to follow the progression of the chapters to understand the message. However, you must understand the historical context of Jeremiah to understand its message. The historical setting and the events in Israel at the time are crucial if you are to understand what Jeremiah’s life and ministry are all about.

Jeremiah is an interesting prophet to study, the most personal of all the prophets. He is referred to as the weeping prophet. The Book of Lamentations was also written by him. That book is a lament over the destruction coming upon Jerusalem. Jeremiah is a man whose life was characterized by sadness and sorrow, but his ministry was accompanied by great power and effectiveness which ought to be an encouragement to us even in our difficult times.

Jeremiah came to the point of despair, saying he was not going any further, but he continued to proclaim the message that God had given him. He felt overrun and defeated, but he continued to proclaim the message from God. As we look back on the life and prophecy of Jeremiah, we can see the tremendous victory in his life as God used him in the proclamation of His message. That should be a great encouragement to us. Surely, Jeremiah did not always feel like the victor as he was going through those very difficult and discouraging times. Yet he continued in his service for God and the proclamation of the message God had given him. Eternity will reflect clearly the value of his service.

Just as it was difficult for Jeremiah to measure the effectiveness of his ministry in his lifetime, so it is often difficult for us to do the same. That is why it is so important for our attention to be focused on the Word and our responsibility to proclaim it. We often are not aware of what God is achieving through our lives, but we can be careful in doing what He has called us to do.

Jeremiah functioned in a prophetic time. There are a number of other prophets within the same approximate time span. Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel and Ezekiel all prophesied during the same general time as Jeremiah. In addition to these prophets, Huldah the prophetess is also referred to, although she did not write a book. So, Jeremiah is not unique as a prophet, but rather is one of a number of prophets.

The fact that there were several prophets in Israel at that time tells us something about the serious spiritual condition of Israel. Prophets generally come on the scene in Israel only during times of spiritual decadence in the life of the nation. Any time you are reading the Old Testament and come across a prophet’s ministry, that is an indication of spiritual need in the nation. The prophets came to condemn the people for their sins and to exhort them to repent and turn back to God.

Stephen referred to the unpopularity of the ministry of the prophets when he asked the religious leaders of his day, “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” Acts 7:52. Stephen is saying he cannot find a true prophet that has not been persecuted. Jesus said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets” Luke 6:26. The prophets were unpopular because they had come to speak to the issue of sin. If you confront people who are guilty of sin with their actions and tell them they must confess their sins and submit their lives to God, they will resist you. People do not want to be told they are in sin. It aggravates and agitates them so that they react against the message. That is true of Jeremiah’s message as well.

The first verse of the book tells us about Jeremiah’s family: “The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin” Jeremiah 1:1. Jeremiah was a member of a priestly family who lived in the little town of Anathoth, about three miles from Jerusalem. The location made it very convenient for Jeremiah to come to Jerusalem to proclaim his message. Even though he is of a priestly family, his priestly functions are not an issue in the book. He functions solely as a prophet.

When we look at the response of Jeremiah’s priestly family to his ministry, it tells us something about the decadence of Israel at that time. It also helps us appreciate the added pressure this brings into the ministry of Jeremiah. We like to be encouraged by our family members even if by no one else. Yet, Jeremiah did not have that encouragement. God told the prophet in Jeremiah 12:6, “For even your brothers and the household of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.” Even within his family there was treachery. They rejected his ministry and refused what he taught.

God had called Jeremiah. The second verse of chapter 1 is very crucial regarding this call: “To whom the word of the Lord came.” Jeremiah had a message from God that kept recurring in his prophecy. That was the message telling the Jews that God had spoken to him. That message kept him going. He did not feel like prophesying. He was not excited about prophesying. Often, he felt the opposite, but God had given him a message to proclaim. So, in spite of how he felt and what he thought, his responsibility was still to proclaim the message regardless of the response. In fact, God had told Jeremiah ahead of time that people were not going to listen. He told Jeremiah that rather than believing him, the people would oppose him: “And they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you” Jeremiah 1:19. The encouragement was God’s promise that the people would not defeat Jeremiah. They would resist him and oppose his message, but they would not be able to destroy him. “‘For I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the Lord” verse 19.

God has provided the same encouragement for us. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” 1 John 4:4. We cannot be defeated and destroyed by satanic opposition, but we can be discouraged by it. Therein lies the trap. People will oppose our proclamation of the gospel, but they cannot overcome us because we are proclaiming the truth of God and are His servants.

Jeremiah will go through some difficult times. You will find him in the slime pit. You will find him in prison. You will find him in danger of starving to death. You will find him being kidnapped and taken to Egypt. Each time you have to wonder what must be in his mind. Have I been defeated? Have I been overcome? But he continues on in his ministry proclaiming the Word of God. When they pull him up out of the slime pit, he continues to proclaim the Word of God. When they take him out of prison, he proclaims the Word of God. When they bring him back from starvation, he proclaims the Word of God. Had he been overcome? No, because he continued on with the same task God had given him.

Here we are, thousands of years later, studying the prophecy of Jeremiah. When you consider the impact of his ministry, does it matter that he had difficult times? Not really. What matters is that he was faithful to his calling. He served God faithfully and the impact of his life continues on centuries later.

It is easy for us to study the life of someone else who went through difficulties. We can really appreciate what they went through but the pressure comes when we face difficulties. When the burdens come, we begin to despair. We need to remind ourselves that what God has called us to do has not changed. Times may become difficult. Personal problems may mount. Family problems may surround us. Opposition may build. In spite of all this, God has called us to proclaim His Word faithfully. That is what we must do. The rest is in God’s hands.

Jeremiah was a young man when he was called, somewhere between sixteen and twenty years of age. He resisted the call when it came. “Then I said, ‘Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth’” (Jeremiah 1:6). But God responded, “Do not tell Me you are too young!” It is amazing how we talk to God. We lose sight of the fact that He has given us a command. Sometimes we think we have to tell Him all the reasons why we cannot follow through with His command. But wait a minute. Is He not the God who knows everything? Do you think God needed Jeremiah to tell Him how old he was?

God’s response to Jeremiah in verse 7 is very encouraging: “But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am a youth,” because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak.’” God told Jeremiah that He did not care how old he was because Jeremiah did not have to come up with anything new. God simply told him to take His message and proclaim it wherever he went. So you see, the fact that he was young was really not a problem for Jeremiah.

It will be helpful for us if we understand something about the history of the times in which Jeremiah lived. We are told in verse 2 what the time frame is: “To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.” Beside that verse in your Bible you can write 627 B.C., if you have not already done so. That is the date of the beginning of his prophecy. Some scholars date this one year later. Verse 3 tells us when he completed writing the book: “It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.” Beside that verse you can write 586 B.C. Jeremiah was still ministering at the conclusion of the Book of Jeremiah.

Zedekiah was the last king of Israel’s Southern Kingdom, Judah. Judah was taken captive and Zedekiah was deported to Babylon, but Jeremiah’s ministry was still going on over forty years after it began. It is encouraging to us to read the Book of Jeremiah because at times Jeremiah did not think he was going to see tomorrow. He just dragged from day to day. It is amazing that over forty years later, he was still privileged to serve God and to proclaim His truth.

The history of Israel begins in Genesis 12 with Abraham and the covenant God made with him. The date for that event is about 2000 B.C. The monarchy, the rule of the kings in Israel, began with Saul, the first king, in 1050 B.C. He ruled from 1050 to 1010 B.C., a period of forty years. Saul was followed by David, who ruled from 1010 to 970 B.C., nearly forty years. David was succeeded by his son Solomon, who ruled from 970 to 931 B.C., again almost forty years. Those are the only three men who ruled over the united kingdom of Israel.

After the death of Solomon, Israel was divided into two divisions under Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, in 931 B.C. The two divisions were referred to as the Northern Kingdom, comprised of ten of the twelve tribes, and the Southern Kingdom, comprised of the two tribes, Benjamin and Judah. Usually the Southern Kingdom is referred to as Judah because Benjamin was so small, and Judah was the dominant force in the Southern Kingdom.

The Northern Kingdom, the northern ten tribes, continued in existence until 722 B.C., when they were conquered by the Assyrians. The Assyrians followed the policy of deportation, so the people of the Northern Kingdom were deported to other parts of the Assyrian Empire. The year 722 B.C. is the crucial date, because it marks the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. By the direct intervention of God, the Assyrians were prevented from conquering the Southern Kingdom at that time. As a result, the Southern Kingdom had the advantage of observing God’s judgment on the northern tribes, seeing firsthand what happens when God’s people are disobedient.

Jeremiah’s message was that the Southern Kingdom had not taken the message to heart. The point is clearly recorded in Jeremiah 3:8,9: “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. And it came about because of the lightness of her harlotry, that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.” The issue is spiritual adultery. Stones and trees refer to the false altars and high places in Israel where idolatrous worship was carried out. God said that Judah had observed the punishment given Israel for spiritual adultery, yet they followed the same course. They refused to take the warning, so they were all the more guilty before God.

When Jeremiah began his ministry in 627 B.C., the Northern Kingdom had been exiled for almost a hundred years. Jeremiah began his prophecy in the reign of Josiah according to the opening verse of chapter 1. Josiah was the last godly king of Israel. To be privileged to carry on his prophetic ministry in the context of Josiah’s reign was surely a tremendous encouragement for Jeremiah. Josiah began the last revival in the nation Israel, the last time Israel obeyed God’s call to repent.

Three hundred years before Josiah came on the scene, God prophesied of his coming and gave his name in 1 Kings 13:2. By the time Josiah came to the throne, things had become so bad in Israel that they did not even have a copy of the Law any longer. That would be like the church no longer having a copy of the Scriptures. This shows how decadent Israel had become. All the copies of the Scriptures had been destroyed, perhaps under the godless king Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah.

When Josiah came on the scene, he wanted to restore the proper worship of God. So, he instructed the carpenters and craftsmen to restore the temple, which had fallen into disrepair because of disuse. As they were restoring the temple, someone found a copy of the Law and came and read it to Josiah. He was dumbfounded! He realized that the Scriptures were telling why the nation was experiencing all of its problems. Israel had gotten so far from what God had said that they did not even understand why judgment was coming. Josiah realized that the events they were undergoing had fallen upon them because they were guilty of all of the things God had forbidden in the Law. As a result, Josiah sought God, and God promised not to bring judgment to Israel in Josiah’s day because of Josiah’s faithfulness.

Some significant things were going on in the background during this time. Assyria was on the decline. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed in 612 B.C. When a capital is destroyed, we know that the empire is near its end. In 609 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, destroyed the remnant of the Assyrian armies at Haran and brought an end to the Assyrian Empire.

Then Babylon became the dominant ruling power. It is interesting that God raised up the Assyrians to judge the Northern Kingdom. Now He is going to raise up the Babylonians to judge the Southern Kingdom.

Josiah lost his life by getting involved in some of the political goings-on at the time. He was warned not to get involved in them, but he did anyway. He tried to interfere with the king of Egypt, Pharaoh Necho, who was on his way to help the Assyrians in the battle against the Babylonians. Josiah was killed in this encounter. That was a tragic time for Israel, and the nation mourned him greatly. His death brought the end of any godly rule in Israel. The kings who succeeded him would be hopelessly perverted men spiritually.

The next king, Jehoahaz, who is introduced in 2 Kings 23:31-33, was Josiah’s son and reigned for only three months. He was put on the throne when Josiah was killed. When Pharaoh Necho came back through from his conflicts with Assyria, he took Johoahaz off the throne and replaced him with his half-brother, Jehoiakim, who ruled from 609 to 598 B.C. Under Jehoiakim’s rule, Jeremiah had his most difficult time of ministry. Jehoiakim was a godless man who plagued Jeremiah. He had no place in his life for the Word of God.

Jehoiakim was on the throne when the events of Jeremiah 36 occurred. The Babylonians, the dominant power of the world at the time, would ultimately destroy Jehoiakim and conquer the area. Jeremiah had a message from God regarding the events that were to come. He wrote his message on a scroll and sent it to Jehoiakim. The king was propped up in his winter quarters as described in Jeremiah 36:20-22: “So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him.” Everything was very comfortable for Jehoiakim while they read to him the scroll containing the Word of God that had been given through Jeremiah. “And it came about, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier” verse 23. As they read a few lines, the king would slice the scroll with a knife and throw it into the fire. They would read a few more lines, and the king would slice it with a knife and throw it into the fire.

Verses 24 and 25 describe the attitude of the king: “Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah entreated the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.” The king then tried to take Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, and imprison them. Jehoiakim apparently had no concept that God was speaking. He was just angry that someone would prophesy this way. But even in his efforts to destroy Jeremiah and his scribe, God preserved them.

God’s response is recorded in verses 29 through 32: “‘And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall make man and beast to cease from it?”’ Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. I shall also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I shall bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.’”’ Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neraiah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.” Jehoiakim had the audacity to think he could burn the scroll to prevent God’s prophesies from happening.

To put it nicely, Jehoiakim was a wretch. He had no place in his life for the prophets because they proclaimed the Word of God. In Jeremiah 26 Jehoiakim had Uriah the prophet executed.

As you look at the lives of different servants of God, you begin to appreciate that God works differently in different people’s lives. He continued to spare Jeremiah through the most harrowing experiences, yet He allowed Jehoiakim to execute Uriah.

Verse 20 of Jeremiah 26 indicates that Uriah was a true prophet proclaiming the Word of God: “Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.” The narrative continues in verses 21 through 24: “When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt. And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who slew him with a sword, and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people. But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to put him to death.”

Was God able to deliver Uriah just as He delivered Jeremiah? Yes, He was. Did God choose to deliver Uriah as He did Jeremiah? No, He did not. In these examples we see God’s sovereign control and use of His servants. He does not do the same thing with all of us. Why are some believers afflicted with such difficulty and hardships or called on to endure great pain while others do not face these experiences? It is because God is choosing to use their lives in a special way to glorify Himself.

We should find great encouragement and comfort as we join together in serving the Lord, proclaiming His truth to people around us. God will choose to use our lives in different ways, but we can rejoice in the fact that He is always in control and is using us to bring glory to Himself. Was Uriah’s life cut short? Not from God’s perspective. Uriah’s ministry was finished; Jeremiah’s ministry was not.

It amazes me how God always has the final word during confrontation. Jehoiakim killed Uriah, but notice what God said about Jehoiakim: “Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ‘They will not lament for him: “Alas, my brother!” or, “Alas, sister!” They will not lament for him: “Alas for the master!” or “Alas for his splendor!”’” (Jeremiah 22:18). In other words, when Jehoiakim dies, nobody is going to cry. Good riddance to bad rubbish! Verse 19 continues, “He will be buried with a donkey’s burial,” a pretty blunt statement given God’s opinion of Jehoiakim. He is going to be buried like a jackass, “dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (v. 19). No one has a big funeral for a donkey. Just drag him out of the gates, throw him out in the desert and let the birds and other scavengers clean the carcass. That was the end of Jehoiakim. It is amazing that Jehoiakim, sitting on a throne, precarious as it was, had the audacity to challenge God. Yet God described what his end was going to be.

Jehoiakim was succeeded by Jehoiachin. He reigned only three months, then he was succeeded by Zedekiah, the last king of Israel. Zedekiah was not the same kind of problem to Jeremiah that Jehoiakim was. Jehoiakim was active in his opposition and hatred of Jeremiah and his message. Zedekiah, however, came across as a very weak man. He constantly wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say from God, but he did not have the courage to submit himself to it and trust God. He was constantly afraid of the consequences when he did listen to the message Jeremiah prophesied, but he was afraid to trust God, and it cost him eternal life.

Zedekiah was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to an appointed place to stand trial. Nebuchadnezzar executed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then had Zedekiah blinded on the spot. The purpose of those actions was so that the last thing Zedekiah saw was the execution of his own family. We get the idea from this that Nebuchadnezzar could be quite cruel; and he was. That marks the end of the Southern Kingdom. The end of the Southern Kingdom in 586 B.C. marked the beginning of the seventy-year Babylonian Captivity. We need to understand the reason for the captivity’s length of seventy years.

God’s Word is always carried out to the smallest detail even though it seems to take a long time. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” 2 Peter 3:9.

The Lord gave Israel some instructions about their use of the land early in His dealings with them. These instructions are recorded in Leviticus 25: “The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, “When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard”’” verses 1-4. The Israelites were allowed to plant and harvest their crops for six years. The seventh year was a Sabbath year to the Lord. It belonged to Him just like the Sabbath day in the week did.

The consequences of failing to observe the Sabbath years are outlined in Leviticus 26:27-35: “Yet if in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, then I will act with wrathful hostility against you; and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins. Further, you shall eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat. I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols; for My soul shall abhor you. I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate; and I will not smell your soothing aromas. And I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled over it. You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.”

God is saying that if they fail to observe the Sabbath of rest every seven years so that the land has rest, then God will bring in their enemies and destroy the land. He will deport them from the land and take all of His Sabbaths at one time. God is letting the Israelites know that He will get every seventh year. They can either give it to Him voluntarily in submission to His Word or He will take it later by force.

Jeremiah 25:11 gives the duration of the Babylonians captivity: “And this whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” The Babylonians captivity will be clearly limited to seventy years. The conclusion of the captivity is described in Jeremiah 29:10: “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.’” So, for 490 years Israel had not kept every Sabbath year as a Sabbath—490 years is a long time!

The people of Israel probably thought they had a good thing going without having to observe the Sabbath year. They thought they were getting ahead by planting crops every year rather than letting the ground set idle for one year out of seven. But all along God kept track. He says 490 years later, “All right, I will take all my Sabbaths now.” He had warned them in Leviticus how He would do it--He would send a conquering army in to destroy the land and to deport the people so the land would lay idle. After the people abused the Sabbaths for 490 years, God was now taking His seventy Sabbaths—one year for every seven years. After He got all of His Sabbath years back, then the people could go back into the land.

The Babylonian captivity put an end to idolatry in Israel. However, as we find later in the New Testament, the captivity did not make the people into the nation God wanted them to be. This is a reminder to us that God means business. It ought also be an encouragement to us. Everything that God promised in His Word will happen. Whether it is judgment or blessing it will come just as He promises. It may seem to take a long time, but a day with the Lord is like a thousand years, Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:8.

We can be sure that God’s Word is firm and true. We are privileged to proclaim it with the assurance that what God has said is going to come true. But, some object, they have been proclaiming that for centuries. That is fine. It is still going to come true because it is God’s Word. But they have been saying for two thousand years that the Lord is going to come. Yes, and it is true; He is still going to come. They have been preaching about heaven and hell for all these years. And it is still true!

That should be an encouragement to us. We have not been called to difficult ministries like Jeremiah was. We are not called to serve in a country that stands against the Word of God in the same way that Israel was standing against it with overt persecution—suffering, physical torture and death. But we do face the resistance and opposition to the Word. Sometimes we face it from our own families just as Jeremiah did. Sometimes we face it from people we expect to be responsive.

We must keep our eyes on the Word. Our responsibility does not change. We must proclaim the Word of God and His faithfulness. In the good times and the bad times, when people are responding and when they are not, we must proclaim Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word. We have the full assurance that God will be true to His Word. Therefore, we need not be afraid of people. We need not be afraid of their responses because God is the One who is our defender. Our service is offered to Him, not to people. We are privileged to serve Him, to be used by Him to proclaim His truth. As we study the Book of Jeremiah we should be encouraged to be more bold, more aggressive and more fearless in our service as we see the hand of God using Jeremiah, a seemingly weak instrument, seemingly ineffective in much of his service, but yet used in a ministry with great impact upon a nation, and with an impact which continues even to today.