1. A Look at the Book:

a. Author - Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah

i. Name = "Jehovah estabishes" or "exalted of Jehovah"

ii. A.k.a. "the weeping prophet" b/c of his book Lamentations

iii. Estimated age when beginning his work = from 14-20 yrs old

iv. Though greatly opposed by the priests and religious / social

v. May have died in Egypt after Jerusalem's destruction - ch 43 leaders of the day (1:18) - he was held in

high regard by the Jews of Jesus' day (Matt 16:14; John 1:21).

b. Date:

i. Began in the 13th year of Josaih - (1:2-3) @ 626 B.C.

ii. Continued thru 4th year of Jehoiakin = 23 yrs later (25:1-3)

iii. Warned and Witnessed the fall of Jerusalem = 586 B.C.

c. Setting:

i. 100 years earlier, Israel had been carried away into captivity by the Assyrians, but Judah had been

delivered from Sennacherib in the days of Hezekiah - 2 Kings 19.

ii. Judah did not learn the lesson of Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was now poised to

conquer Judah from the North - 1:13-14

d. Organization of the Book: (from Glenn Jobe's "Introduction to Jeremiah" - 1995 Power Lectureship Book.)

i. Prophecies during the reign of Josiah

ii. Prophecies during the reign of Jehoiakim

iii. Prophecies during the reign of Jehoiachin

iv. General prophecies of nations and cities (46:1 - 51:64)

v. Historical Summaries (chapter 52)

2. Great texts / lessons from Jeremiah:

a. 1:4-19 - God calls, commands, cautions & conserves Jeremiah

b. 2:7-8 — ingratitude in the face of many blessings

c. 2:13 — turning from God is to turn to emptiness

d. 3:6-8 — those who refuse to learn from history are bound to repeat it (11:7-12)

e. 6:16 — seek the old paths wherein is the good way

f. 8:9 — wisdom of God vs wisdom of men (1 Cor 1:18-29)

g. 10:23 — the way of man is not in himself

h. 18:1-6 — the value of an object lesson (Isaiah 64:8; Hosea)

i. 18:18 — ‘If you can't beat ‘em (11:18-19), lie about ‘em'

j. 18:19-23 — ‘I'm washing my hands of the whole lot of them.'

k. 20:9 — fire in the bones

l. 22:28-30 — refutation of premill's earthly reign of Christ

m. 23:29 — God's word is like a fire and a hammer

n. 31:31-34 — a new covenant, a new nation