Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 13: Friday

Friday’s Bible reading of Jeremiah 1–6, begins the book of prophecy of the man known as the weeping prophet. As a brief background to Jeremiah’s time, after the death of Solomon the kingdom of Israel split into two. Jeroboam, who was not a son of Solomon, led a rebellion against Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and took with him the ten northern tribes to establish the northern kingdom that became known as Israel; none of the kings of Israel fully followed the Lord, and their history is rampant with wickedness. The southern kingdom was called Judah, and it encompassed the tribes of Judah and Benjamin as well as the Levites and those from other tribes who supported Rehoboam (cf. 1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 11). In Judah the kings were of David’s line, and they were a mix of good and wicked kings.

God sent prophets to both kingdoms, but the rebellion of the northern kingdom of Israel led to their judgment, and they were defeated and deported by the Assyrians in 722 BC.¹ Jeremiah began to prophesy during the final days of Judah, and Judah’s continued rebellion led to God’s judgment of that nation, and in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded it.  Judah’s king, Jehoiachin, his household, captains, officials, craftsmen and smiths were deported in 597 BC. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king in place of Jehoiachin, but his rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar led to the burning of Jerusalem in 587 BC, and those who remained were taken captive into Babylon. (cf. 2 Kings 24–25).² The timeline gives you a broad overview.

In his opening words Jeremiah tells us who he is and gives us a careful record of when the word of the Lord came to him.

Jeremiah could also be called the reluctant prophet.

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth.”

In chapter 2, Jeremiah contrasts God’s faithfulness with the faithlessness of the house of Jacob—all the families of Israel. Jeremiah prophesied after Isaiah did, and when the people heard these words of Jeremiah, Isaiah would have already recorded the invitation in Isaiah 55 for everyone who was thirsty to come to the waters of the living God (see also Dreams & Ashes):

Chapter 3 is a litany of the evils of ‘faithless Israel’ and ‘treacherous Judah’ as they went after other gods. God says to them return, return:

In chapter 4, God continues to call His people to repentance and describes the destruction that will come upon Judah from the north. In chapter 5, He says

Jeremiah writes in chapter 6:

As a new Christian, the book of Jeremiah was one of the first books of the Bible I looked at. Jeremiah 2:13 and 6:14 made a strong impression on me because it so aptly described my experience. I had heard so much false teaching prior to believing in Christ, and I knew it had never helped me or answered my questions. When I became a Christian, I knew that I knew the living God and I recognized the difference between those broken cisterns of the past and the fountain of living waters.

We can never be healed if our disease is falsely diagnosed. Our thirst can never be quenched if we go after other gods. Read God’s Word, heed it. Turn to Him and be made new.

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Isaiah 42 Photograph: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications. (Site has been deleted since posting).
^{1, 2}J. G. Baldwin, “The History of Israel,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 23–24.
Timeline by Dee Alberty: (Original title: The Period of the Judges in Old Testament History).

Original content: Copyright ©2011 Iwana Carpenter