Jeremiah

Judah was given a final chance

The people of Israel repeatedly refused to listen to Yahweh’s commands, and they gave into the evils of earthly kingdoms. But even though they had broken the terms of their covenant with God, he promised to bless them if they repented.

Jeremiah offered this warning and path to restoration for Israel’s southern kingdom of Judah. But the people didn’t listen. God’s justice can only allow evil to go so far. And when the people still failed to turn back to Yahweh, they were exiled to Babylon.

The Consequences of Rebellion

The prophet Jeremiah announced that God would judge Israel’s sins with an exile to Babylon. And then he lived through the horror of his predictions. The book of Jeremiah shows a graphic but important picture of how disobedience leads to destruction.

At a Glance

• Overview
• 2019 Jeremiah Series
• 2023 Jeremiah Series (My Small Group)

Overview

NIV Bible Jeremiah Introduction

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the kingdom of Judah for forty years—from the end of the Assyrian period until Judah was destroyed by Babylon. The book mixes sermons, prophetic oracles, and biographical narratives of Jeremiah’s experiences during the last years of the Judean kingdom. We are given an intimate look into the prophet’s own heart as he brings God’s message to his fellow Judeans, who reject him and even conspire to kill him.

The book begins and ends with historical references to the event Jeremiah was best known for predicting: the fall of Jerusalem. The four main parts generally consist (in order) of oracles, narratives (two sections), and then oracles. Significantly, each of these four parts ends with a reference to Jeremiah’s words being written in a book or scroll. A long poetic oracle is inserted in the middle narrative of the book. So Jeremiah’s prophecies appear at the beginning, middle and end of the book, highlighting their importance. The middle oracle, promising a new covenant designed to change the human heart, is shown to be the most important of all. God will do more than simply punish evil—he will overcome it with good.

The book of Jeremiah carries us back and forth in place and time as we turn its pages, yet its themes are consistent. The message of judgment for wrongdoing is followed by the restorative power of forgiveness and new life: to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

Bible Project

Jeremiah Introduction

Spoken Gospel

2019 Jeremiah Series (Sundays)

Cornerstone Chapel

2023 Jeremiah Series (My Small Group)

First Baptist Maryville