The voice of another great prophet, Jeremiah, is raised in the time of king Josiah, and is heard in Judah until the people are carried away into Babylonian captivity. It is the fate of this prophet and patriot to watch while his nation, through its own sin and folly, rushes to its destruction.
JEREMIAH IS CHOSEN BY THE LORD
Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee. . . .
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.1:4–9
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.2:2–3
Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?2:5
Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children’s children will I plead.2:9
Commanded by the Lord, Jeremiah comes forward to oppose the disastrous policies of both the king and the priests. His warnings are unwelcome; his prophecies cause him to be hated and denounced; his very life is threatened because of his pleas for reform.
In the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, Jeremiah is put in prison. He sends for his disciple, Baruch, to whom he dictates all the words of the Lord, saying, Go thou, and read . . . in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day.36:6 Baruch does this. When the matter comes to the ears of the king, he burns the scroll and sends to seize Baruch and Jeremiah; but the Lord hides them.
THE RULERS OF JUDAH ARE WARNED
The Lord orders Jeremiah, Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it. . . .
Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?13:18–20
And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.18:22–23
Thirty years after the death of king Josiah, in the reign of his grandson, Jehoiachin, Jerusalem is besieged by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Jehoiachin surrenders the city. He is carried off prisoner to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar puts a puppet king, Zedekiah, over Judah.
The prophet Jeremiah then goes to king Zedekiah with a warning against a false ally, Egypt: Thus saith the Lord . . . Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. . . .37:7–8
But Jeremiah is cast into a dungeon; the king listens to his false advisers; Nebuchadnezzar returns and takes Jerusalem. The city is destroyed, the king and thousands of the people are carried off captives to Babylon.
Those who remain look toward Egypt for refuge, in spite of Jeremiah’s warnings. To them he says, The Lord hath said . . . O ye remnant of Judah; go ye not into Egypt; know certainly that I have admonished you this day.42:19 To which they reply, Thou speakest falsely.43:2
To his great sorrow, Jeremiah witnesses the fulfillment of all his prophecies. The remnant of Judah, men, women and children, flee into Egypt—taking with them Jeremiah himself and Baruch the scribe.
Then Jeremiah speaks to the exiles: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt. . . . Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah . . . shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.44:26–28