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Jeremiah

Bible Dictionary

Jeremiah
Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet arementioned in the Old Testament:--

Jeremiah of Libnah, father of Hamutal wife of Josiah. (2kings 23:31) (b.c. before 632.) 2,3,4. Three warriors--two ofthe tribe of Gad-- in David s army. (1 chronicles 12:4,10,13)(b.c. 1061-53.)

One of the "mighty men of valor" of the transjordanichalf-tribe of Manasseh. (1 chronicles 5:24) (b.c. 782.)

A priest of high rank, head of the second or third of thetwenty-one courses which are apparently enumerated in(nehemiah 10:2-8; 12:1,12) (b.c. 446-410).

The father of Jazaniah the Rechabite. (jeremiah 35:3) (b.c.before 606.)(whom jehovah has appointed) was "the son of Hilkiah of thepriests that were in Anathoth." (jeremiah 1:1)

History

He was called very young (b.c. 626) to theprophetic office, and prophesied forty-two years; but we havehardly any mention of him during the eighteen years betweenhis call and Josiah s death, or during the short reign ofJehoahaz. During the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, B.C.607-598, he opposed the Egyptian party, then dominant inJerusalem, and maintained that they only way of safety lay inaccepting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordinglyaccused of treachery, and men claiming to be prophets had the"word of Jehovah" to set against his. (jeremiah 14:13; 23:7)As the danger from the Chaldeans became more threatening, thepersecution against Jeremiah grew hotter. ch. 18. The peoplesought his life; then follows the scene in (jeremiah19:10-13) he was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall," ch.(jeremiah 15:20) and went on with his work, reproving kingand nobles and people. The danger which Jeremiah had so longforetold at last came near. First Jehoiakim, and afterwardshis successor Jehoiachin, were carried into exile, 2Kin 24;but Zedekiah, B.C. 597-586, who was appointed byNebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, thoughpowerless to help him. The approach of an Egyptian army, andthe consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made the positionof Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to effect hisescape from the city; but he was seized and finally throwninto a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. On the return ofthe Chaldean army he showed his faith in God s promises, andsought to encourage the people by purchasing the field atAnathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get rid of.(jeremiah 32:6-9) At last the blow came. The city was taken,the temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate ofJehoiachin. The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in theLamentations. After the capture of Jerusalem, B.C. 586, bythe Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving better treatment;but after the death of Gedaliah, the people, disregarding hiswarnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet withthem. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger thanever. He did not shrink, even there, from speaking of theChaldean king once more as "the servant of Jehovah."(jeremiah 43:10) After this all is uncertain, but he probablydied in Egypt.

Character

Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character ismost interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painfuldegree, timid, shy, hopeless, desponding, constantlycomplaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, butnever flinching from duty...Timid in resolve, he wasunflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face thewhole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring whenalone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he wasfeeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour ofaction and when duty called him, he was in very truth adefenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls againstthe whole land. ch. (jeremiah 1:18) he was a noble exampleof the triumph of the moral over the physical nature." (it isnot strange that he was desponding when we consider hiscircumstances. he saw the nation going straight toirremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. "areign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign),during which not only the prophets but all who weredistinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered.""The nation tried to extirpate the religion of Jehovah;""Idolatry was openly established," "and such was theuniversal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and societywas utterly disorganized." How could one who saw the nationabout to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yethad a vision of what they might have been and might yet be,help indulging in "Lamentations"?--ED.)