Major Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah

c. 627–586 BC

Section: Major Prophets · Old Testament
Events span: c. 627–586 BC
Written: c. 580 BC
Author: Jeremiah, with Baruch as his scribe

Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” warns Judah of Babylonian judgment for decades, pleading with them to repent. Rejected, imprisoned, and ignored, he lives to watch Jerusalem fall, yet foretells a new covenant that God will write on the heart.

Historical setting: Judah's final decades, through the fall of Jerusalem and the start of the Babylonian exile (586 BC).

Key themes

Persistent call to repentance
Coming judgment by Babylon
The cost of faithfulness
The new covenant
Hope beyond exile

Key events

Jeremiah's Call & Warnings (Jeremiah 1–29)

God calls Jeremiah, set apart before birth, to be a prophet to the nations Jer 1627 BC
Jeremiah indicts Judah for forsaking God, "the fountain of living waters," for idols Jer 2–6c. 620 BC
The temple sermon: trusting the temple building will not save them from judgment Jer 7c. 609 BC
The potter and the clay: God can reshape a nation that repents Jer 18c. 605 BC
He foretells seventy years of exile in Babylon Jer 25605 BC
He writes a letter to the exiles, telling them to settle and seek the peace of Babylon Jer 29c. 597 BC

The New Covenant & the Fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 30–52)

God promises a new covenant, written on the heart, with sins remembered no more Jer 31c. 590 BC
Jeremiah buys a field during the siege as a sign of future restoration Jer 32588 BC
The king burns Jeremiah’s scroll, so he dictates it again to Baruch Jer 36604 BC
Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy cistern for demoralizing the city Jer 38588 BC
Babylon captures and burns Jerusalem and the temple, and the people are exiled Jer 39; 52586 BC
The survivors flee to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them against his will Jer 43586 BC

Key lessons

Faithfulness can be costly and lonely; Jeremiah preaches for forty years to people who reject, imprison, and ignore him, yet God’s word is “a fire” he cannot hold in. Jer 20:9
Religion is no substitute for a changed heart; trusting the temple building while living in sin will shield no one from judgment. Jer 7:4–7
God’s deepest answer to sin is a new covenant: he promises to write his law on the heart and remember sin no more, a promise fulfilled in Christ. Jer 31:33–34

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV