Jeremiah
This
is the book of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah held the office of
prophet. He is a product of grace. He was gregarious and he loved his
friends. But in his ministry he foretold how the Jewish and Gentile
nations would be ripped down and torn apart.
His
name means 'the one who the Lord stabilizes'. He is from the tribe
of Levi and in the line of priests. He lived in Anathoth 5 miles
North of Jerusalem in a very tough area - the land of Benjamin.
Jeremiah
administered in the rule of Josiah. Josiah was the last great king
in Judea. Jeremiah had a ministry under 5 kings of the kingdom of
Judea (Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, and then also
Nebuchadnezzar). His ministry in the land was 40 years from 626 BC to 586BC.
Throughout
the book of Jeremiah, category II love - Right Man (RM) and Right
Woman (RW) are used in an analogy to category I love - between God
and believers. The original RW to God as RM was the nation of Israel.
Chapter
1
{Introduction
to the Book}
1~~Words
{emphasis on content}
of
Jeremiah {name means 'the one who the Lord stabilizes'}
the
son of Hilkiah,
of
the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
{Ministry
in the Land Begins}
2~~To
whom the word of the Jehovah/God
came
in the days of Josiah
the
son of Amon king of Judah,
in
the thirteenth year of his reign {626 BC}.
{Ministry
in the Land Ends}
3~~
It came also in the days
of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah,
unto
the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah {586BC}
the
son of Josiah king of Judah,
unto
the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month
{Jerusalem fell
and the Jews went out under the 5th cycle of discipline}.
{Verses
4-9: Call of Jeremiah the Prophet}
4-5~~Then
the word of the Jehovah/God
came
unto me, saying, 5~~
"
'Not yet' {prior to when} I had formed {yatsar} you
I
discerned/knew you {in eternity past} in the belly
And
before you came forth {yatsa} out of the womb,
I
'set apart'/consecrated you,
and
I gave you {the spiritual gift of being} a prophet
unto
the nations {Jews and Gentile nations}."
{Note:
God discerned all of us in eternity past - omniscience. He knew
Jeremiah and assigned him his spiritual gift of prophet billions of
years before he was in the womb and before he was born as a human -
Jeremiah did not earn it or deserve it - just like all of us.}
6~~Then
said I,
"Ah,
'Adonay/Lord Jehovah/God!
behold,
I do not know how to speak intensively
{like
a prophet does} . . .
for
I am 'young and inexperienced'."
7~~But
Jehovah/God said unto me,
"Shut
up (!) about being 'young and inexperienced'
for
you shall go to all
that
I shall 'send you with a message',
and
whatsoever I {God} command you,
you
shall speak!"
{Jeremiah
Became One of the Most Fearless
Teachers of Doctrine Ever}
8~~
"Be not afraid of their faces.
For
I am with you . . .
to
deliver {to snatch from a terrible danger} you," said Jehovah/God.
{Note:
The majority of Jeremiah's audience is very negative to God and doctrine.}
9~~Then
the Jehovah/God put forth His hand,
and
touched my mouth.
And
the Jehovah/God said unto me,
"Behold,
I have put My words in your mouth."
{Worldwide
Impact of Jeremiah's Ministry - And Aspects of His Ministry}
10~~See/study/'meditate
on this',
For
I have this day {the day of Jeremiah's consecration in 626BC}
caused
you to be in charge {spiritually}
over
the nations {gentile nations}
and
over the kingdoms {5 kings in Judea},
to
pluck out/'root out' {how the Jewish nation will be destroyed},
and
to pull down {destruction of the temple - against 'religion'},
and
to destroy {destruction of 9 great gentile nations},
and
to lacerate {bruised but intact - Jewish remnant/survivors},
to
build {banah}
{communication of doctrine to positive believers -
building Edification Complexes of the Soul},
and
to plant {spread doctrine to the scattered Jews under the 5th cycle
of discipline}.
11~~Moreover
the word of the Jehovah/God
kept
on coming to me, saying,
"Jeremiah,
what are you studying/seeing? "
And
I said, "I keep on studying/seeing
a
sprout of an almond tree {its theoretical significance}."
{Note:
The 'almond tree' is the Hebrew word 'shaqed' which means the 'alert
tree'. It was named alertness because the almond is the tree that
sprouts its fruit first. So the noun is a derivative of the verb
meaning alert. Jeremiah will be the first prophet to alert the nation
to the fact it is destroying itself.}
12~~Then
said the Jehovah/God unto me,
"You
have done very well to study
{a communicator of the Word must study}.
For
I will keep watch over My Word to construct {`asah} it."
{Note:
When he prophesizes what God tells him to, God will faithfully make happen.}
13~~And
the word of the Jehovah/God
came
unto Me the second time, saying,
"What
are you studying/seeing?"
And
I said, "I am studying a boiling pot
{message of the people going soft - peace movement}.
And
it is facing from the north."
{Note
there were two parties - pro-Egypt and pro-Chaldea. The pro-Egypt
party was the liberal group. They liked to worship idols like the
Egyptians did. In contrast, Jeremiah was conservative and headed the
pro-Chaldea party. This party was pro-doctrine and pro-Jehovah.}
14~~Then
the Jehovah/God said unto me,
"Out
of the north an evil shall be released
{not held back by God - 5th cycle of discipline}
upon
all the inhabitants of the land."
{Note:
The invasion will come from the North - from Chaldea. Actually they
are to the East of Judea, but to get to Judea, the Chaldeans have to
go North and then attack from the North. Nebuchadnezzar will enter
Judea three separate times.}
15~~"For,
lo, I will call upon all the clans
of
the kingdoms . . .
out
of north they shall come {Chaldeans had 5 clans},"
said
the Jehovah/God,
"and
they shall set every one
his
throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem,
and
against all the walls thereof round about,
and
against all the cities of Judah."
{Note:
The Chaldeans would pillage and destroy towns but leave the gates
standing. The troops would have a senior officer at each gate and he
would say what should happen to the captives in the town - death or
slavery. Psalm 119 tells us of the death march that followed the fall
of Jerusalem. Jeremiah and those he indicated as believers were
liberated by the Chaldeans.}
{Jeremiah
the Communicator of God's Judgments}
16~~"And
I will utter my judgments {intensive message}
against
them touching all their wickedness,
who
have forsaken Me {God - negative volition to God and idolatry},
and
have burned incense unto other gods,
and
worshipped the works of their own hands."
17~~"You
therefore 'get ready for action'
{idiom - literally 'gird up your loins' meaning tuck robe into your belt
before battle - here means study, study and study},
and
arise, and speak unto them
all
that I command you {follow God's instructions}.
Do
not 'fall apart'/'be weak'
at
their faces {negative attitudes of hearers},
with
the negative result that I do not cause you {Jeremiah}
to
break down before them."
{Note:
He must communicate God's Word and forget the response of the
audience - that is not the important part. 'God is not a respecter of
persons'. What the sheep THINK about the sermon is not at all
important - get your message from God/from God's Word today.}
{Prophet's
Body Guard - a Promise from God}
18~~"For,
behold, I make you this day
a
fortified city {same as God's wall of fire},
and
an iron pillar {protected from all storms of life},
and
brass walls {a weapon proof wall of the day}
against
the whole land {almost everyone will be down on Jeremiah},
against
the kings of Judah,
against
the princes thereof {rulers under the kings},
against
the priests thereof,
and
against the people of the land."
19~~"And
they shall 'fight to kill' against you.
But
they shall not be permitted to overcome you.
For
I am with you,"
said
the Jehovah/God,
"to
cause you to be rescued/delivered {snatch from downing}."
|