"Only Life Changes"

Question:
How does the southern kingdom compare with the Northern in this respect?
Answer:
The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
Jeremiah 3:11 NIV

Question:
What picture does Jeremiah paint of Israel’s apostasy?
Answer:
Jeremiah returns to the ideal past from which the nation has fallen away. I remember the devotion of your youth. (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. Jeremiah 2:2 KJV) Jeremiah recounts God’s goodness to the nation. ( And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. Jeremiah 2:7 KJV) (My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit Jeremiah 2:11) (And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? Jeremiah 2:18) (A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffed up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. Jeremiah 2:24 KJV) (As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. Jeremiah 2:26-28 KJV) (They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 3:1 KJV) ( Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not seen it by secret search, but upon all these. Jeremiah 2:34 KJV)

Question:
With what visions was Jeremiah’s ministry begun?
Answer:
And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it” Hebrew word.(Jeremiah 1:11- 12). “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14- 15, emphasis added). The boiling pot facing away from the north is a symbol of a foreign army entering Judah from the north and overrunning the country. This was a judgment brought about by God because of Judah’s idolatry. The pot is tilted from the north so as to pour its contents over Judah. The pot is mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 1, verses 13-19! They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you.

Question:
What was Jeremiah’s attitude toward reform?
Answer:
It reads in Jeremiah 11:1-13 KJV> (The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel;) Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord. Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not. And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

Question:
What circumstances in the national life brought about a reform in the days of Jeremiah?
Answer:
It reads in 2 Kings 22:8 NIV
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
It reads in 2 King 23:3 NIV
The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes, and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

Question:
What were some of these symbolic acts?
Answer:
Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
Jeremiah 13:4 KJV
Then I went to Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it: and behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
Jeremiah 13:7 KJV
Thus, saith the Lord, after this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 13:9 KJV
And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jeremiah 18:4 KJV
O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jeremiah 18:6
Thus, saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests.
Jeremiah 19:1 KJV
And shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
Jeremiah 19:11 KJV
Thus, saith the Lord to me; Make these bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
Jeremiah 27:2 KJV
But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
Jeremiah 27:11 KJV
0 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.
Jeremiah 28:10-13 KJV

Question:
What methods did Jeremiah use to proclaim the truth?

Answer:
Chosen by God rejected by men. Not only preaching (The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word. It reads in Jeremiah 7:2 KJV> Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. It reads in Jeremiah 17:19 KJV> Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; It reads in Jeremiah 19:14 KJV> Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house; and said to all the people, It reads in Jeremiah 22:1 KJV> Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, It reads in Jeremiah 26:2 KJV> Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: It reads in Jeremiah 35:2 KJV> Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. It reads in Jeremiah 36:5-10 KJV> And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord: Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It maybe they will present their supplication before the Lord and will return everyone from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the ears of all the people.

Question:
What is the poignancy of Jeremiahs having been so strongly influenced by Hosea?
Answer:
Hoseas distinctive contribution to theology was arrived at through marriage and the relationship of the home: The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land:
Jeremiah 16:1-3 ESV

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