Book Of Jeremiah Research Paper

The Book of Jeremiah is of prophecy genre. Jeremiah is appointed a prophet to the nations by the Lord. Israel is unfaithful and Jerusalem is attacked. Jeremiah addresses the people of Judah and declares that false religions are worthless. The covenant is not kept. Jeremiah complains to God of the wicked. God answered

Chapter 29 is composed mainly of letters that were sent between Jerusalem and Babylon. Jeremiah received information that false prophets in Babylon were telling the exiles they would return home soon. Therefore, the exiles made little or no effort, to adjust to their new surroundings. When King Zedekiah sent an official delegation to Babylon, Jeremiah used the occasion to secretly send a letter, carried by Elasah and Gemariah, two of Jeremiah’s few supporters, to “the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people” (29: 1-3). Disturbed by their unrealistic attitude, Jeremiah exhorted them to settle down, build homes, and plant gardens; for he knew they would be in Babylon many years (25:11).5

Additionally, he promised that the Messiah’s family line would survive through a “righteous Branch” when the time was right (Jeremiah 23:5). That ‘righteous Branch’ was ultimately realized through the life and death of Jesus Christ. Jeremiah knew pain and heartache. He knew what it was like to feel all alone in this world, to feel that God had forsaken him. Despite his attempts to change the trajectory of their lives, he helplessly witnessed the people of Judah refuse to heed his warnings and continue in a life of sin and moral corruption which led to their ultimate collapse and destruction.

The Book of Ezekiel is and the man himself is in the midst of historical event associated with the demise of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem (587 B.C.E) Ezekiel, along with other Judahites were taken into exile in Babylon in 597. In effect there were two Judahs one in the land of Judah and one in exile. One king, Jehoiachin was in exile and Zedekiah in Jerusalem. Under Babylonian bonds and rejecting prophetic advice, they refused to pay their tribute. Within a few years, the temple, city walls, and homes of Jerusalem were burned and leveled. More citizens were carried away to Babylon, and those who remained soon fled to Egypt for security. Ezekiel was told to warn God’s people that there were consequences to their lack of fidelity. God cautioned them that refusal to live by the covenant would bring its own discipline. The people did not listen to the Prophet Ezekiel: he was disliked for his words, and alienated for his message. He told the people that God would allow them to live as orphans if they chose to be orphans—to live outside of God’s covenant. After the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonian general Nebuzaraddan was sent to complete its destruction. Solomon 's Temple was destroyed. Most of the elite were taken into captivity in Babylon. Jerusalem was razed to the ground.

When the Hebrew peoples lost everything and entered into captivity to Babylon, they were a lost and floundering nation. “After the days of Solomon, the history of Israel was a story of increasing apostasy and judgement” (Clowney, 2013, p. 185). Despite their breaking of the covenants, and sinning against God in the worst ways, God did not abandoned them. He was very unhappy, and sent many prophets to speak His words to try to bring them back into relationship with Him, then God sent judgements down upon them. However, through these judgements, He kept to His promise to Abraham to ultimately bless the nations of Israel. (Clowney, 2013, p. 193) When they were allowed by Cyrus to return to Jerusalem (Arnold & Beyer, 2008, p. 58), with permission

Desperate to escape the despotic government, many people from Judah turned to false gods and idolatry.6 Pleading to God for rescue from such an immoral, faithless place, Habakkuk learned that the situation of Judah would be rectified in time.7 God said that He had prepared a chastising rod and that Babylon would be the avenging instrument of the just Judeans.8 After the Babylonians expelled Jehoiakim from the throne, God emancipated the Judeans and relieved the heinous social situation. In the end, Habakkuk knew that the just Israelite would not perish from the calamities of the Babylonian attacks;9 he knew that righteousness and faith would prevail. Instead of rectifying the situation at once, the Chaldean empire took control and continued to treat the Judeans harshly. Furthermore, Habakkuk became angry and questioned God again. Nevertheless, he heeded to the previous words of God and kept his faith. Before humanity lost faithfulness, Habakkuk needed to spread this message throughout the empire to save the Judeans. Habakkuk had to extend the word of God to all oppressed people, so he wrote in a style the Israelites could grasp.

The word that Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed. 3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast. 4 In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Jehovah their God. 5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces

The prophet wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon with hopes to diffuse the situation and to provide a sense of reality in their situation (Tullock & McEntire, 2006). In the letter, he advised them to live as normally as possible, by doing the same as they would at home. The people were reminded to be good citizens, to follow the laws of the city, to even pray for the peace of the city so they would have peace (Jeremiah 29:7). The other prophets were false prophets and deceivers, they were advised not to listen, and moreover to be leery of false dreams of prophecy, because they were not from God (Jeremiah 29:8-9). The fourth point that he tried to get across was that when the time was right God will bring them home.

The Hebrew people would not be allowed back into Jerusalem until the end of the century when the Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered the region and permitted them to leave Babylon. From that point, the Hebrews of Jerusalem existed as subjects of various empires, from the Persians to the Greeks to the Romans. Throughout this time, they maintained the dream of becoming an independent kingdom again, inspired by their memory of the Kingdom of Judah. The Temple of Solomon was rebuilt, but the Jews were again banished from Jerusalem after the Romans laid siege to the city in 70 CE. The Jews would be without a homeland for nearly 2,000 years, united in the dream and promise of a renewed Jewish state.

Jeremiah 31:30-34 is often referred to as the pinnacle of Old Testament literature. In a sense it is the climax of Jeremiah 's teachings, the fruits of his years of theological work. The passage begins in verse 31 by saying, "The time is coming" words used various times by Jeremiah to announce a prophesy, the verse 's wording assure that fulfillment is certain. The words that follow are very radical because they invoke the coming of a "new" covenant that he will make with the houses of Israel and Judah. It is at this very moment that we have the first indication that the Mosaic covenant is now the Old Covenant, and that we will have a new covenant, "a covenant of the fullness of the time, of the consummation of the ages" (Heb 8:13). One detail that should be noted is that the parties involved in this covenant are already stated which are God and the house of Israel and Judah. This particular verse brings forth the separation found within Israel, He will not redeem just a part of the nation, but he will redeem it in its entirety.

The Babylonian Exile was a time in which Jewish people were exiled from Jerusalem and forced to live in Babylon as captives. During the Babylonian Exile, many Jewish people had only faith to hold onto as a way of staying strong and not succumbing to their situation and perceived God, or Jeremiah, as their light and support system. In a letter to the Babylon Exiles from the prophet Jeremiah, he gives words of wisdom to the exiles by encouraging them to maintain their faith, reproduce and emphasized the need to “hear the word of the LORD” as those who have not will receive severe punishment. In their case, the Israelites perception of God grew stronger to aid them in their situation, as well as help mediate the social and political forces that were apparent during this time. They were able to create a sense of unity with each other in a time of political uprising and learn to adapt to their situation through the help of

Jeremiah's letter was addressed to the priest, prophets, and all the people who Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon (Jer.29). Verses 4-6, contain the contents of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles. First, it is significant that the Lord, not Nebuchadnezzar, said, "I carried you into exile". This indicates that what had happened to the exiles was under God's sovereign control . The thrust of the message to the exiles was to settle down in Babylon for a long period of time. Apparently, the exiles were anxious to return home because some false prophets told them the return would happen soon. Even though the exiles enjoyed some degree of freedom and had a normal life in Babylon, the only restriction was that they were not allowed to

Have you ever wonder who or what a true friendship means? Serenity and Jeremiah were best friends. You will understand the true friendship of Jeremiah and Serenity. They didn’t have an easy friendship but through it all, they still remained best friends. They did everything together and they were inseparable until one day, it all changed.

Jeremiah was one of the few who challenged the orthodoxy of Zionist theology. With his Temple sermon he condemned the people for being immoral and because of this nothing could save them not even the temple that was so sacred to them. Another reason was that the temple was held as superstition. Almost as a certain security because theology claimed that Yahweh dwelt in the temple and as long as he was there nothing bad could happen to Israel. But as Jeremiah countered only such securities could come from their faith. In this sermon Jeremiah was pitting Mosaic traditions against Zionist-Davidic theology. After the priests and heard of this condemnation they pressed the king to have him executed. Instead he was barred form entering the temple.

Jeremiah’s calling led to unusual occurrences when he was called by God to be a prophet. God spoke to Jeremiah and told him that he was chosen to be a prophet before he was conceived (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Unlike other prophets, Jeremiah was told by God that he would preach in other countries. He was too young to fully comprehend it when he recognized his calling. The Lord promised deliverance and protection for Jeremiah as he ministered to Israel and other countries. His preaching led to the judgment of sin by removing and destroying its negative aspects and replacing it with God’s promise (Tullock & McEntire, 2012).