Author: © Christian National Church of Christ

Question:
By which of his predecessors in the prophetic tradition was Jeremiah most profoundly influenced?
Answer:
In his childhood, he must have learned some of the traditions of his people, particularly the prophecies of Hosea, whose influence can be seen in his early messages. Jeremiah was influenced by the northern prophet Hosea in his use of language and examples of God’s relationship to Israel. Jeremiah was sympathetic to, as well as descended from, the northern Kingdom of Israel. Many of his first reported oracles are about and addressed to, the Israelites at Samaria.

Question:
What imagery does the prophet draw from the realm of nature?
Answer:
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. Jeremiah 8:7 KJV
As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
Jeremiah 17:11 KJV

Question:

What promise did God make?

Answer:

“I am with you to deliver you. Behold I have put my words in your mouth.”

Jeremiah 1:8-9

Oh, I know He will today!

Question:
Did Jeremiah welcome his assignment to such a mission?
Answer:
His response was: “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
Jeremiah 1:6 NIV

Question:
Was Jeremiah’s mission to Israel alone?
Answer:
He lived through the siege of Jerusalem along with the rest and was there as the people were taken away as captives. Perhaps worst of all, Jeremiah was alone. He was not allowed to marry (Jeremiah 16:2), and his family abandoned him. The people turned against him and didn’t believe him. God’s word came to Jeremiah: I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Godsaid to him also : Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all nations to whom I send you drink it.

Question:

What personal advice did Jeremiah give to Baruch?

Answer:
And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prize in all places whither thou goest.
Jeremiah 45:5 KJV

Question:
How did Jeremiah work with his secretary?
Answer:
Baruch ben Neriah (Hebrew: בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה Bārūḵ ben Nērīyyā; c. 6th century BC) was the scribe, disciple, secretary, and devoted friend of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. He is traditionally credited with authoring the Book of Baruch. Baruch wrote upon a scroll at the dedication of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him. Isaiah 36:4 KJV: And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Isaiah 45:1 KJV:Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; Jeremiah said: “I am debarred from going to the house of the Lord; so you are to go and in the hearing of all the people you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll which you have written at my dictations. Isaiah 36:6 KJV> Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

Question:
Why do we know more about Jeremiah and his inner life than any other prophet?
Answer:
Jeremiah, Hebrew Yirmeyahu, Latin Vulgate Jeremias, (born probably after 650 BCE, Anathoth, Judah—died c. 570 BCE, Egypt), Hebrew prophet, reformer, and author of a biblical book that bears his name. He was closely involved in the political and religious events of a crucial era in the history of the ancient Near East; his spiritual leadership helped his fellow countrymen survive disasters that included the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the exile of many Judaeans to Babylonia. In the book of Jeremiah reveal a strong conflict between Jeremiah’s natural inclinations and his deep sense of vocation to deliver Yahweh’s message to the people. Jeremiah was by nature sensitive, introspective, and perhaps shy. He was denied participation in the ordinary joys and sorrows of his fellowmen and did not marry. He thus could say, “I sat alone,” with God’s hand upon him. Jeremiah had periods of despondency when he expressed the wish that he had never been born or that he might run away and live alone in the desert. He reached the point of calling God “a deceitful brook,…waters that fail” and even accused God of deceiving and overpowering him. Yet there were times of exaltation when he could say to God, “Thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,” and he could speak of Yahweh as “a dread warrior” fighting by his side. We have not only his own sermons and memoirs, sometimes called the confession of Jeremiah, but also biography materials assembled and set down on his secretary, Baruch.

Question:
What is known of Jeremiah’s childhood and youth?

Answer:

Jeremiah identifies himself 1:1 KJV. The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: “Jeremiah 1:4-5 KJV> suggests predestination: Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Question:
How does Jeremiah date his ministry?
Answer:

It reads in Jeremiah 1:1-3 KJV> The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
So, Jeremiah began his ministry in 626 B.C., the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah. He continued to preach until after the downfall of Jerusalem in approximately 586 B.C. His ministry ended sometime around 582 BC with his prophecy to the Jews who fled to Egypt.