Jeremiah

God calls Jeremiah as a prophet before he was born, overcoming his objection of being too young. God touches his mouth and commissions him to uproot and plant among the nations. Two visions — an almond branch and a boiling pot — confirm his calling.

God recalls Israel's early devotion like a bride, then charges them with a double sin: forsaking Him, the fountain of living water, and digging broken cisterns that hold nothing. Israel has exchanged its glory for worthless idols.

Despite Israel's spiritual adultery — unfaithfulness worse than a divorced wife — God pleads for them to return. He contrasts faithless Israel with treacherous Judah, and promises that genuine repentance will bring shepherds after His own heart.

Judgment from the north approaches like a lion from its thicket. Jeremiah agonizes over the coming destruction and sees a vision of creation undone — the earth formless and void again. He pleads with Jerusalem to wash its heart from evil.

God challenges Jeremiah to find even one just person in Jerusalem — if one exists, He will forgive the city. But the people are rebellious, their prophets speak lies, and they have no fear of God despite His power over the sea and seasons.

Disaster approaches from the north as God tells Jeremiah to sound the alarm. The people refuse correction, their ears are closed. Jeremiah is appointed as a tester of metals — the people are rejected silver, impure and worthless despite refining.

The famous Temple Sermon: Jeremiah stands at the temple gates warning not to trust in the mere presence of the temple building. Worship without justice is meaningless. God reminds them of Shiloh's destruction and threatens the same fate for Jerusalem.

The people persist in deception, with priests and prophets offering superficial peace. Jeremiah laments: the harvest is past, the summer ended, and we are not saved. Even the stork knows its seasons, but God's people don't know His requirements.

Jeremiah wishes his head were a fountain of tears to weep for his people. The land is full of deceit and no one speaks truth. True boasting is not in wisdom, strength, or riches but in knowing the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness.

A powerful contrast between worthless idols — scarecrows in a cucumber field — and the living God who made the heavens and earth. Idols are crafted by human hands and cannot speak or walk. The Lord is the true God, the living God, the everlasting King.

God reminds Judah of the covenant they broke — the terms of the Mosaic covenant they swore to keep. A conspiracy against Jeremiah's life is revealed, even from his hometown Anathoth, showing the personal cost of his prophetic ministry.

Jeremiah dares to question God: why do the wicked prosper? God's answer is sobering — if running against men exhausts you, how will you compete with horses? The chapter describes God's grief over abandoning His beloved land to enemies.

God uses a linen belt and wineskins as object lessons. The belt buried by the Euphrates and ruined symbolizes how God will ruin Judah's pride. The chapter warns of coming exile and laments whether Ethiopia can change its skin or a leopard its spots.

During a severe drought, Jeremiah intercedes for the people, but God tells him to stop praying for them — their judgment is sealed. False prophets promise peace, but God disowns their message. Yet Jeremiah continues pleading, torn between duty and compassion.

Even Moses and Samuel couldn't intercede for this people. Jeremiah's personal anguish deepens — he wishes he'd never been born. Yet God's words were his joy and delight when he found them. God promises to make Jeremiah a fortified wall of bronze.

God forbids Jeremiah from marrying, attending funerals, or feasting — his solitary life is itself a prophetic sign of the coming devastation. Yet beyond judgment, God promises a second exodus greater than the first, gathering Israel from all lands.

Judah's sin is engraved with an iron stylus on their hearts. The famous contrast: cursed is the one who trusts in man, blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord — like a tree planted by water. The heart is deceitful above all things — who can understand it?

God sends Jeremiah to the potter's house. As the potter reshapes a marred vessel, so God can reshape nations. When the people plot against Jeremiah, he prays for judgment on his persecutors — one of his most raw, honest prayers.

God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay jar and smash it before the elders as a dramatic sign: Jerusalem will be shattered beyond repair. The valley of Ben Hinnom — where children were sacrificed — will become a valley of slaughter.

After being beaten and put in stocks by the priest Pashhur, Jeremiah pours out one of Scripture's most anguished laments. He curses the day of his birth yet cannot stop prophesying — God's word is like fire shut up in his bones.

King Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah during the Babylonian siege, hoping for a miracle like Hezekiah received. Instead, Jeremiah says God Himself will fight against Jerusalem. The only survival is surrender to Babylon.

Jeremiah confronts the royal house of Judah, contrasting good King Josiah with his wicked sons. King Jehoiakim built his palace with forced labor and injustice. King Jehoiachin (Coniah) is declared childless regarding the throne — none of his descendants will rule.

Woe to false shepherds who scatter God's flock. God promises a righteous Branch from David's line who will reign wisely — the Lord Our Righteousness. The chapter fiercely denounces false prophets who speak visions from their own minds rather than from God.

After the first deportation, God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs. The good figs represent the exiles in Babylon whom God will restore. The bad figs represent those remaining in Jerusalem and Egypt — they face destruction.

Jeremiah summarizes twenty-three years of ignored warnings. God will send Nebuchadnezzar against Judah and the nations, followed by seventy years of Babylonian captivity. Then Babylon itself will be judged. A cup of God's wrath passes to all nations.

Jeremiah preaches the Temple Sermon (chapter 7) and is arrested, tried for blasphemy, and nearly executed. Elders defend him by citing the precedent of Micah the prophet. He narrowly escapes death, while prophet Uriah is not so fortunate.

Jeremiah wears an ox yoke as a prophetic sign: all nations should submit to Nebuchadnezzar because God has given him authority. Resisting Babylon means resisting God's plan. False prophets who promise a quick end to exile are lying.

The false prophet Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's wooden yoke and prophesies a quick return from exile. God replaces it with an iron yoke and sentences Hananiah to death within the year — he dies two months later, vindicating Jeremiah.

Jeremiah writes to the exiles in Babylon: build houses, plant gardens, seek the welfare of the city, and pray for it. The massive promise: I know the plans I have for you — plans for welfare, not evil, to give you a future and a hope. After seventy years, God will restore them.

The Book of Consolation begins: God will restore Israel and Judah from captivity. Though discipline was necessary, God will heal their wounds. A new David-like leader will arise, and God's fierce anger will not return until He has accomplished His purposes.

The pinnacle of Jeremiah's hope: God declares an everlasting love, promises Rachel's weeping will end, and announces the New Covenant — writing His law on hearts rather than stone tablets. This becomes the theological foundation for the New Testament.

While Jerusalem is under siege and Jeremiah is imprisoned, God tells him to buy a field in Anathoth — an absurd investment in a doomed land. This radical act of faith demonstrates that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in the land.

God tells Jeremiah to call to Him and He will answer, showing great and mighty things. The Branch of righteousness from David is reaffirmed. God's covenant with day and night is compared to His unbreakable covenant with David's line and the Levitical priests.

King Zedekiah briefly freed Hebrew slaves during the siege, then re-enslaved them when pressure eased. God condemns this hypocrisy and covenant-breaking, declaring that those who passed through the cut calf will be given to their enemies.

The Rechabites obey their ancestor's command to never drink wine, even when Jeremiah offers it to them. God uses their faithfulness as a shaming contrast: the Rechabites obey a human father, but Israel won't obey their heavenly Father.

God tells Jeremiah to write his prophecies on a scroll. When it's read to King Jehoiakim, he cuts it apart and burns it section by section. God commands a new scroll with all the original words plus more — the word of God cannot be destroyed.

During a brief respite in the siege, Jeremiah tries to leave Jerusalem and is arrested as a traitor. Imprisoned in a dungeon, Zedekiah secretly consults him. Jeremiah repeats his message: Babylon will conquer. The king gives him better quarters but won't heed the message.

Officials throw Jeremiah into a muddy cistern to die. Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, courageously rescues him with old rags as padding under the ropes. Zedekiah again consults Jeremiah secretly but lacks courage to follow God's counsel to surrender.

Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 586 BC. Zedekiah flees but is captured, his sons killed before his eyes, then blinded. Nebuchadnezzar spares Jeremiah and frees him. Ebed-Melech is also spared because he trusted in God — faith rewarded amid catastrophe.

After Jerusalem's fall, Nebuchadnezzar's commander frees Jeremiah and allows him to stay in Judah. Gedaliah is appointed governor. Remnant Jews gather around him, and the land begins tentative recovery under Babylonian oversight.

Ishmael, of royal blood, assassinates Governor Gedaliah and massacres his supporters in a horrific act of political violence. He takes captives, but Johanan leads a rescue mission. The survivors prepare to flee to Egypt against God's will.

The survivors ask Jeremiah to pray for guidance: should they stay or flee to Egypt? After ten days, God's answer comes clearly — stay in the land and He will protect them. If they go to Egypt, the sword and famine they fear will follow them there.

Despite God's clear command to stay, the people accuse Jeremiah of lying and force him to Egypt with them. In Egypt, Jeremiah buries stones at Pharaoh's palace entrance, prophesying Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne on that very spot.

In Egypt, Jeremiah confronts the refugees who are burning incense to the Queen of Heaven. They defiantly declare they will continue because things were better when they worshiped idols. Jeremiah pronounces God's final judgment on these stubborn idolaters.

A brief personal message to Baruch, Jeremiah's faithful scribe. When Baruch grieves over his hard life, God tells him not to seek great things for himself — in a time of universal disaster, having his life spared is gift enough.

Oracles against the nations begin with Egypt. Pharaoh Necho's army, defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, is described as a swollen river turned back. Yet God promises that Jacob need not fear — He will save Israel from afar and discipline them justly.

An oracle against the Philistines as Babylon approaches from the north like rising floodwaters. The cities of Gaza and Ashkelon will mourn. God's sword of judgment will not rest until it has accomplished its purpose.

A lengthy oracle against Moab, detailing the destruction of its cities and pride. Moab trusted in its works and treasures, and its god Chemosh will go into exile. Yet God promises to restore Moab's fortunes in the latter days — judgment is not final.

Oracles against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. Edom's destruction is most detailed — their pride in dwelling among the rocks (Petra) cannot save them. God promises restoration for Ammon and Elam in the latter days.

The massive oracle against Babylon begins. Babylon, destroyer of nations, will itself be destroyed. Israel and Judah will return from exile weeping with joy, seeking their God. The vengeance of the Lord will repay Babylon for destroying His temple.

Continues the Babylon oracle with cosmic-scale destruction imagery. God used Babylon as His hammer to shatter nations, but now shatters the hammer itself. Jeremiah tells Seraiah to read this oracle in Babylon and sink the scroll in the Euphrates — so shall Babylon sink.

A historical appendix paralleling 2 Kings 25: the fall of Jerusalem, the temple's destruction, the exile, and the final note of hope — King Jehoiachin is released from prison and given a seat at Babylon's king's table, a small but significant sign of future grace.