This series will serve as an extension to the previous series.

By his own admission, Jeremiah had been called to become who he became and to do what he did even before his conception.  In 1:4,5 he writes: “Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the belly I KNEW YOU; and before you came forth out of the womb, I SANCTIFIED (SET APART) YOU AND ORDAINED (CHOSE AND ANOINTED) YOU TO BE A PROPHET UNTO (ALL) THE NATIONS.'”  Conception is the first act resulting in the formation of a human being.  God knew him before the act of conception took place which initiated his formation in his mother’s “belly.”

INSERT: WHAT DOES GOD’S STATEMENT ABOUT KNOWING JEREMIAH BEFORE HIS FORMATION TELL US ABOUT ABORTION?  The ultimate question relative to the rightness or wrongness of abortion involves WHEN HUMAN LIFE BEGINS.  Instead of men putting forth their totally subjective opinions, let us consult the Creator of human life Who, of all living beings, KNOWS THE TRUTH.  LET HIM TELL US WHEN HUMAN LIFE BEGINS.  The Almighty answers in a way that a child can understand: JEREMIAH AND ALL OTHER HUMAN BEINGS BECAME A HUMAN BEING (“YOU”=PERSON) AT THE INSTANT OF CONCEPTION.  WE “KNOW” THIS BECAUSE GOD DECLARED THAT HE “KNEW” JEREMIAH, NAMED HIM, SANCTIFIED HIM AND ORDAINED HIM BEFORE THAT POINT IN TIME.  The Lord had determined who Jeremiah would become and what he would do before he was conceived.  Recall that Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother, declared that “… the mother of my SAVIOR” had just entered her home, causing John to leap in her womb (Lk. 1:41).  Mary had been impregnated by the Holy Spirit only hours earlier–AND HER FERTILIZED EGG WAS ALREADY BEING IDENTIFIED AS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.  Read When Does Human Life Begin?  Key word–Human.  Biblically, 7 people were named by God before they were born.  Cyrus was was named approximately 250 years before his birth.  Holy King Josiah was named by God many years before he was born.  God does not give “meaningless globs of cells” a name and declare what their future lives will be.  Which is exactly what He did in the case of Jeremiah, Cyrus and Josiah.

Note in Jeremiah 1:5 and 10 that before his birth God appointed him to be His “… prophet unto THE NATIONS” and set him “over THE NATIONS” before his birth.  God was referring to the Gentile nations of the earth to where most of the Israelites had already been sent many generations earlier.  Jeremiah’s commission came many generations after the 10 northern tribes had been defeated and scattered throughout the Gentile nations of the earth.  Over time they abandoned their Israelite characteristics and came to identify with the Gentiles among whom they lived.  This is still true today.  For this reason they are known today as the “lost 10 tribes of Israel.”  Their true identity remains lost to both themselves and those who live around.  But God has always known where they were.  Recall that later Jesus of Nazareth would send His apostles to find “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and to teach them the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mat. 15:24; 24:14).  Keep this in mind as we study what God said to the people of Judah (the “Jews”) through the Prophet Jeremiah.  As Scripture and secular history reveal, the ancient Jews of the Holy Land were not the only Israelites Jeremiah would teach.  He is teaching some unknown Israelites right now.  Read Who and Where is Israel Today?  Key word–Today.

In Jeremiah 39:1-8 we read that, upon realizing that Jerusalem was about to fall to the Babylonians, King Zedekiah and the princes of Judah tried to escape the city but were captured and brought before King Nebuchadnezzer who killed the king’s sons in front of him, then blinded him so that the last thing he saw were his children being killed.  Then Nebuchadnezzer burned down the city.

Following this the captain of the king’s guard captured the remaining people of Judah and carried them off to Babylon where they would become slaves.  He did, however, allow the very poor of Judah to remain in the land.  He also gave them the properties of those who had been taken as prisoners.  Nebuchadnezzer then ordered Jeremiah to be freed from his prison and to be allowed to live wherever he desired.

Earlier, before the fall of Jerusalem, the Lord had instructed Jeremiah to find an Ehtiopian eunuch named Ebedmelech and tell him not to be afraid of what was coming, that He (God) would keep him safe.  The reason for the Lord’s protection of this Gentile is found in 38:13.  There we learn that the eunuch had gone to King Zedekiah and pleaded for the right to take Jeremiah food and water for he was on the verge of starving to death in the king’s prison.  Zedekiah had allowed it.  This is a good example of how God takes care of people who are kind to His servants.  This is also brought out in Matthew 10:41 where it is written that if someone gives even a cup of water in the name of a prophet, that person will “receive a prophet’s reward.”

In the meantime the captain of the Chaldean guard set Gedaliah as governor over the poor people who had been left behind in Judea.  Over time Jews from all over the kingdom came together under Gedaliah’s leadership.  Gedeliah told the people to submit themselves to the Babylonians and to live peacefully under their authority.  He himself would set the example.  During that time people who had earlier escaped to other countries, or who had been in hiding began to return to Judea where Gedeliah had been left in charge.  One of those who had been in hiding–Johanan–told Gedeliah that one of those who had come back to Jerusalem–a man named Ishmael–was going to kill him.  The informer offered to kill Ishmael in order to save Gedeliah’s life.  Gedeliah did not believe him and ordered him not to kill Ishmael.  However, Gedeliah had formed that opinion without consulting God’s man Jeremiah.  This would prove to be a deadly mistake.

In chapter 41 we find that the informant was right.  Ishmael and his friends came to Gedeliah in peace, ate with him, then killed him, along with many of those who obeyed Gedeliah.  Ishmael then forced those he did not kill to go with them to the Amonites.  After hearing what Ishamael had done, Johanan, tracked down Ishmael and his men and defeated most of them.  Ishmael and eight others escaped.  Johanan then took the Jews he had captured from Ishmael back to where they had been in Judah, including Jeremiah and Baruch, his scribe.  Without consulting Jeremiah and His God, Johanan and his men determined to leave the land of Judah and go into Egypt, for they feared what Nebuchadnezzer would do to them because Ishmael had killed Gedeliah whom the king had placed in charge of the Jews he had left in Judea.

Consider the fact that the 10 northern tribes of Israel had been defeated and scattered throughout the world some 150 years before Jeremiah’s time.  Then consider all that happened to the Jews of Judea.  Then ask yourself why the 12 tribes of Israel had suffered so many curses over the centuries.  The answer is SIN.  Had they obeyed God, none of the above would have taken place.  All 12 tribes would still be in the Promised Land.

As horrendous as their punishment has been, Israel’s rebellion did not end at the coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant Church.  As He and His apostles tell us, there is still much sin for Israel to commit and much punishment for her to receive.  “Hard-headed” doesn’t come close to describing Israel’s mind-set to this day.  Sin, followed by woe, followed by sin, followed by woe, ad infinitum.  Does this sound familiar, America?  COVID, INVASION, INFLATION, FOOD SHORTAGE, FIRES, DROUGHT, CRIME WAVES, IDIOTIC LEADERSHIP LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT, ETC., ETC?  GOD IS “SPEAKING” TO HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL.  HE IS WARNING HIS TRUE CHURCH–HIS “NEW CREATIONS,” WHICH HE CALLS “THE ISRAEL OF GOD” (GAL. 6:16) TODAY.  HE HAS BEEN WARNING AND PUNISHING HIS PEOPLE FOR THE PAST 1900 YEARS, ASKING THEM TO RETURN TO HIM.  IF THEY DO NOT OBEY HIS COMMAND THE GREAT TRIBULATION AND THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL CONSUME THEM. 

Today Jeremiah’s book serves in his stead.  In it God warns His people to believe and obey Him.  Is anyone listening?  L.J.