"Only Life Changes"

Question:
What passage describes the forms of idolatry seen by the Jews of Diaspora?
Answer:
This is what the Lord says: “Don’t live like people from other nations. Don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky. The other nations are afraid of what they see in the sky. But you must not be afraid of them. The customs of other people are worth nothing. Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest. Their idols are made by workers with their chisels. They make their idols beautiful with silver and gold. They use hammers and nails to fasten their idols down so that they will not fall over. The idols of the other nations are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field. They cannot walk. They cannot talk, and the people must carry them. So don’t be afraid of their idols. They cannot hurt you. And they cannot help you either.” Lord, there is no one like you. You are great! Your name is great and powerful! Everyone should respect you, King of all the nations. You deserve their respect. There are many wise men among the nations, but not one of them is as wise as you. All the people of the other nations are stupid and foolish. Their teachings come from worthless wooden statues. They use silver from the city of Tarshish and gold from the city of Uphaz and make their statues. Carpenters and metalworkers make the idols. They put blue and purple clothes on them. “Wise men” make these “gods.” But the Lord is the only true God. He is the only God who is alive. He is the King who rules forever. The earth shakes when he is angry. The people of the nations cannot stop his anger. The Lord says, “Tell them this message: ‘These false gods did not make heaven and earth. They will be destroyed and disappear from heaven and earth.’”
Jeremiah 10:2-11 Easy-to-Read Version

Question:
How does Jeremiah set forth the universal character of God?
Answer:
This message is from the Lord. “I am God, and I am always near. I am not far away.
Jeremiah 23:23 Easy-to-Read Version

Question:
“What section found in the Hebrew Bible is lacking in the Septuagint?
Answer:
The Septuagint is not actually lacking any sections found in the Hebrew Bible, but rather, it includes some additional books not found in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, consists of 24 books. It is divided into three parts: the Torah (“Law”), the Nevi’im (“Prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“Writings”). On the other hand, the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, has 46 books. It is divided into four sections: law, history, poetry, and prophets. The additional books in the Septuagint are part of what is known as the “Deuterocanonical” or “Apocryphal” books. These are accepted in some Christian traditions (such as the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions) but are not included in the Jewish canon or most Protestant Bibles. So, it’s not that the Septuagint lacks sections from the Hebrew Bible, but rather it includes additional ones. It reads in Jeremiah 33:14-26 Easy-to-Read Version This message is from the Lord: “I made a special promise to the people of Israel and Judah. The time is coming when I will do what I promised. At that time, I will make a good ‘branch’ grow from David’s family. That branch will do what is good and right for the country. When he rules, Judah will be saved. The people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This will be his name: ‘The Lord Makes Things Right for Us.’” The Lord says, “Someone from David’s family will always sit on the throne and rule the family of Israel. And there will always be priests from the family of Levi. They will always stand before me and offer burnt offerings and sacrifice grain offerings and give sacrifices to me.” This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord says, “I have an agreement with day and night. I agreed that they would continue forever. You cannot change that agreement. Day and night will always come at the right time. If you could change that agreement, then you could change my agreement with David and Levi. Then descendants from David would not be the kings, and the family of Levi would not be priests. But I will give many descendants to my servant David and to the tribe of Levi. They will be as many as the stars in the sky—no one can count all the stars. And they will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore—no one can count the grains of sand.” Jeremiah received this message from the Lord: “Jeremiah, have you heard what the people are saying? They are saying, ‘The Lord turned away from the two families of Israel and Judah. He chose those people, but now he does not even accept them as a nation.’” The Lord says, “If my agreement with day and night does not continue, and if I had not made the laws for the sky and earth, maybe I would leave those people. Then maybe I would turn away from Jacob’s descendants. And then maybe I would not let David’s descendants’ rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But David is my servant, and I will be kind to those people. I will again cause good things to happen to them.”

Question:
What prayer from early liturgy is included here?
Answer:
Jeremiah 32 describes the prophet’s redemption of his uncle’s ancestral land. The scribal authors turned this transaction into an oracle. Eventually, the passage was expanded to include a prayer in which Jeremiah invokes the exodus from Egypt and the gift of the land. The prayer is as follows:
Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm; nothing is too difficult for You, who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day. You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror; and gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them . “As for Jeremiah 32 meaning, it is a chapter that describes how God instructed Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin Hanamel despite being imprisoned by King Zedekiah. This act was symbolic of God’s promise that He would restore Israel after their exile.” So person reading this put your biggest problem up against this great promise of the Lord and watch it dissolve. Lord, meet this reader with blessings and miracles right now in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Question:
For what nations other than his own did Jeremiah a prophetic word from the Lord?
Answer:
Jeremiah, a prophet in the Hebrew Bible, received messages from the Lord concerning several foreign nations. According to the New International Version of the Bible, Jeremiah prophesied about the following nations: Wisdom behind this is that God is not only the God of Israel but also the God of all nations. He cares about all people and desires that they turn from their wicked ways and follow Him. Jeremiah’s prophetic words to these nations were a manifestation of God’s love for them and His desire for them to be saved from destruction.
Egypt (Jeremiah 46:1-28) There is no healing for you.
Philistia (Jeremiah 47:1-7) The Lord is destroying the Philistines.
Moab (Jeremiah 48:1-47) MOAB! The renown of Moab is no more; the Ammonites.
Ammon (Jeremiah 49:1-6) “Behold I will bring terror upon you.” Edom!
Edom (Jeremiah 49:7-22) “Edom shall become a horror,”
Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23-27) Damascus! Panic seized her. “Kadar, and the kingdoms of Hazor.”
Kedar and Hazor (Jeremiah 49:28-33) Hazar shall become a haunt of jackals.” Elam!
Elam (Jeremiah 49:34-39) “I will break the bow of Elam.”
Babylon (Jeremiah 50:1-58) “I am bringing against Babylon a company of great nations the broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground.

Question:

What historical narrative is the source of Jeremiah 52:1-27?

Answer:

Simple: Our narrative curtails its account of Zedekiah’s reign, bringing into strong relief only the two facts of his following Jehoiakim’s evil ways, and his rebellion against Babylon.

Jeremiah 52:1-27 is a historical appendix that describes the fall of Jerusalem and the captivity of Judah. It is believed that this chapter was not authored by Jeremiah, but perhaps by Baruch. The chapter testifies to the truthfulness and integrity of Jeremiah’s long, faithful work as a prophet of God. Nearly every verse of Jeremiah 52 is a fulfilled prophecy, making it a good way to review the entire book of Jeremiah. The chapter is very similar to (2 Kings 24:18-Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule. He ruled 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.) (2 Kings 25:30 And each day, for as long as Jehoiachin lived, the king gave him enough money to pay for whatever he needed.) and it appears that the following chapter is not the work of this prophet: it is not his style. The chapter begins with an account of the evil reign and rebellion of Zedekiah, who was twenty-one years old when he became king and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. The chapter goes on to describe how Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in Zedekiah’s ninth year as king. The city was breached on the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s eleventh year. The Babylonians burned down the temple, destroyed the walls of Jerusalem, and took many captives back to Babylon.

Question:
How did Jeremiah himself meet death?
Answer:
Tradition After Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be handed over to the Babylonian army, the king’s officials, including Pashur the priest, tried to convince King Zedekiah that Jeremiah should be put to death for disheartening the soldiers and the people. Zedekiah allowed them, in Egypt to stone him to death and they cast Jeremiah into a cistern, where he sank down into the mud. Born: c. 650 BC, Anathoth – Died: c. 570 BC, Egypt.

Question:
What effect did this warning have?
Answer:
It reads in Jeremiah 43:2 KJV> Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
It reads in Jeremiah 43:7 KJV> So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.

Question:
When neighboring tribes harassed the Hebrews left behind, where did they turn for help?
Answer:
It reads in Jeremiah 42:16-17 KJV> Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

Question:
How did Jeremiah proclaim his faith that, after the disaster inflicted by the Babylonians, life would be revived in the land of Judah?
Answer:
It reads in Jeremiah 32:14-15 KJV> Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take this evidence, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.