JEREMIAH
Summary Of Jeremiah: Jeremiah's prophetic ministry (627-586 B.C.) spoke to Judah in the final years before her fall to Babylon. Despised and persecuted, Jeremiah delivered God's messages of doom. His grief at Judah's unrepentant, stubborn nature, and her forthcoming judgment and destruction, have earned him the title of "the weeping prophet".
Lesson: The only way to escape calamity is to surrender to God's will.
JEREMIAH 1-2
GOD'S CALLING
Chapter 1 Jeremiah's Call
Summary: Jeremiah recounts his background (1-3), his call (4-10), the visions confirming his call (11-16), and his challenge from God (17-19). [The almond branch [11-12], literally "the awake tree", is the first to blossom after winter, and speaks of God's being awake and ready to perform His word. The boiling pot [13-16] speaks of impending disaster to be poured out on Judah (at the hands of Babylon).
Lesson: God calls all of us from the womb; will we respond and be used?
Chapter 2 God's Case Against Judah
Summary: [This is the first of 13 messages of judgment in chapters 2-20.] God presents His case against Judah. She was once devoted (1-3), but now has departed (4-12). She has followed false gods (13), for which she will suffer (14-16). She has made false alliances (17-19). Her waywardness is seen in four pictures: [1] a stubborn animal (20); [2] a wild vine (21); [3] a permanent stain; and [4] a wild animal in heat (23-25). Her irresponsibility is seen in four areas: [1] her rebellion (26-30); [2] her forgetfulness (31-33); [3] her murders (34-35); and her fickleness (36-37).
Lesson: Sinning against God brings severe consequences.
JEREMIAH 3-4
GOD'S WARNING
Chapter 3 God Rebukes And Forgives
Summary: God rebukes the Southern Kingdom, Judah, for idolatry (1-5). She has seen God's judgment on the idolatrous Northern Kingdom, Israel, (destruction by Assyria in 722 B.C.). Yet she has continued her sin, and has added the sin of hypocrisy, pretending to return to the Lord (6-11). God calls Israel to repent and return to Him. He promises to gather and bless a remnant of Israel, along with Judah [in the millennium] (12-18). Israel's future response is a model of true repentance (19-25).
Lesson: God rebukes our sins and offers repentance and forgiveness.
Chapter 4 God Judges Our Sins
Summary: God calls for repentance (1-4); He warns of an imminent invasion and coming judgment [at the hand of Babylon] (5-18). Jeremiah expresses anguish for the doomed nation of Judah (19-31).
Lesson: Jesus bore God's judgment for our sins. Praise His name forever!
JEREMIAH 5-6
GOD'S JUDGMENT
Chapter 5 The Justice Of God's Judgment
Summary: Judah will be judged for her corruption. No one is righteous (1-13). God will send a destroyer (Babylon) in judgment (14-17). Judah will go into captivity, for she is a sinful nation (18-31).
Lesson: Sin brings bondage; but Jesus Christ sets us free.
Chapter 6 The Completeness Of God's Judgment
Summary: The enemy (Babylon) will completely destroy Judah (1-15). Since the people will not obey God (16-21), they will be punished (22-30).
Lesson: To cure sin, return to the old paths of God's righteousness.
JEREMIAH 7-9
FALSEHOOD BRINGS JUDGMENT
Chapter 7 False Worship
Summary: Don't trust in ritual; repent to righteousness, or be destroyed (1-27). God will judge false worship (28-34).
Lesson: God demands we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Chapter 8 False Teaching
Summary: False teaching will lead to God's judgment (1-17). We should weep for those who will be destroyed (18-22).
Lesson: Share Jesus with everyone you can; without Him they are lost.
Chapter 9 False Living
Summary: False living will bring judgment (1-16). Mourning will come because of God's judgment (17-26).
Lesson: We should mourn over falsehood; it brings judgment.
JEREMIAH 10-12
GOD'S CHASTISEMENT
Chapter 10 False Idols And The True God
Summary: God is superior to man's worthless idols (1-16). Judah's forthcoming captivity will be devastating (17-22). Jeremiah prays for mercy and justice (23-25).
Lesson: Ask if there is any idol in your life, which needs to be cast out.
Chapter 11 The Broken Covenant
Summary: Judah has not obeyed God and His covenant (1-10). So God will send them into captivity (11-17). God reveals the plot against Jeremiah, assuring him of his enemies' downfall (18-23).
Lesson: Disobedience brings destruction; obedience brings protection.
Chapter 12 Question And Answer
Summary: Jeremiah complains about the comparative blessing of the wicked (1-4). God says "toughen up", for things will get worse; and be assured He will punish the nation for its wickedness (5-17).
Lesson: Don't be fooled by the blessings of the wicked. Payday is coming.
JEREMIAH 13-15
JUDGMENT WILL COME
Chapter 13 Repent Or Be Judged
Summary: The linen sash [representing Judah], when bound around Jeremiah's waist, has value. When buried, it is ruined. So Judah is ruined when it departs from God (1-11). The empty jars are the people. God will fill them with drunkenness (judgment) and smash (destroy) them (12-14). The King (Jehoichin), his mother (Nehushta), and the nation are warned to repent or be captured [which happened in 597 B.C] (15-27).
Lesson: Turning to the Lord brings blessing and avoids judgment.
Chapter 14 Confess Or Be Judged
Summary: God's judgment through drought is adversely affecting both man and beast (1-6). Their superficial confession and pleading with God for rain do not move Him (7-10). God says He will destroy Judah, moving Jeremiah to tears (11-18). Again the people plead for God's mercy (19-22).
Lesson: Confession and repentance must be sincere to avoid judgment.
Chapter 15 Judgment Will Come
Summary: Judah passed the "point of no return" through King Manasseh's idolatry, so God will not withhold judgment (1-9). Jeremiah complains about his condition (10-18), so God rebukes and reassures him (19-21).
Lesson: Don't wait for the "point of no return". Repent today!
JEREMIAH 16-18
WICKEDNESS OR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Chapter 16 First Comes Judgment, Then Restoration
Summary: God places restrictions on Jeremiah's life as object lessons for the people: no family (1-4); no mourning (5-7); and no feasting (8-13). God will restore Israel (14-15), but first judge her (16-18). Jeremiah affirms his trust in God as his strength, fortress, and refuge (19-21).
Lesson: God's chastises us, in order to correct us, in order to bless us.
Chapter 17 Choose Righteousness, Not Wickedness
Summary: Judah will be punished for her idolatry (1-4). The wicked are cursed, while the righteous are blessed (5-8). Man's deceitful heart causes him to sin (9-13). Jeremiah prays for deliverance from enemies (14-18). Keep the Sabbath and be blessed; do not keep it and be cursed (19-27).
Lesson: Wickedness brings judgment; righteousness brings blessing.
Chapter 18 Yield To The Lord
Summary: As the potter with the clay, God can do with Judah as He desires. Her righteousness will bring blessing, her wickedness will bring destruction (1-11). They will reject God's warning, and suffer judgment (12-17). They will persecute Jeremiah, who asks for their doom (18-23).
Lesson: As the clay with the potter, yield to the Lord and His will.
JEREMIAH 19-22
JERUSALEM'S DOOM
Chapter 19 The Sign Of The Broken Flask
Summary: Jeremiah warns the leaders about God's vow of disaster on Judah because of her idolatry (1-9). He commands Jeremiah to smash a flask, dramatically symbolizing his smashing of the nation (10-13). Jeremiah then delivers the message to the people at the Temple (14-15).
Lesson: As in smashing the flask, God may use drama to get our attention.
Chapter 20 Jeremiah's Unpopular Ministry
Summary: Jeremiah's message of judgment is rejected by the priest, Pashhur (1-6). He complains to God about his ministry (7-10), then expresses trust in Him (11-13), and then is plunged into despair (14-18).
Lesson: Difficulties in ministry will cause our emotions to fluctuate.
Chapter 21 Judah's Judgment
Summary: Jerusalem's choice is clear—surrender or die (1-10). The House of David's doom is sealed, judgment for disobedience (11-14).
Lesson: Judgment for unrepentant sin will surely come.
Chapter 22 The Kings' Judgment
Summary: God warns the House of David to repent or be judged (1-10). God speaks judgment against King Josiah's sons Jehoahaz (11-17) and Jehoiakim (18-23), and Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah (24-30).
Lesson: God knows and judges us individually, as He did these kings.
JEREMIAH 23-25
GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS
Chapter 23 Jesus Our Righteousness
Summary: Jesus will reign over the earth in righteousness [during the millennium] (1-8). But now, Judah is led by false prophets, whom God rebukes. He describes their character (9-15) and their message (16-40).
Lesson: Jesus wants to reign in our hearts now in righteousness.
Chapter 24 The Two Baskets Of Figs
Summary: God shows Jeremiah the vision of two baskets of figs (1-3). The good figs represent the righteous exiles to Babylon (4-7), while the bad figs represent the unrighteousness survivors who remain (8-10).
Lesson: Jesus said, " by their fruits you will know them".
Chapter 25 Seventy Years Of Captivity
Summary: God's warnings are ignored (1-7). So He will bring judgment on the people, with 70 years of captivity in Babylon [see 2 Chron. 36:20-21] (8-14). He then describes his judgment on the nations (15-38).
Lesson: God's judgments are precise and righteous.
JEREMIAH 26-28
GOD'S WARNINGS
Chapter 26 Jeremiah's Message Of Repentance
Summary: Jeremiah brings a message of repentance in 609 B.C. (1-6). He is arrested and tried (7-15), and then he is delivered (16-24).
Lesson: "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Lk. 13:3).
Chapter 27 Jeremiah's Message Of Submission
Summary: Jeremiah delivers a message of submission in 593 B.C. to the ambassadors (1-11), to Zedekiah (12-15), to priests and people (16-22).
Lesson: Full salvation requires submission to God in all areas.
Chapter 28 Jeremiah's Message Of Rebellion
Summary: In 593 B.C. Hananiah urges rebellion against Babylon (1-11). Jeremiah says Hananiah is being rebellious against God (12-17).
Lesson: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. (1 Sam. 15:23)
JEREMIAH 29-30
GOD'S RESTORATION
Chapter 29 Jeremiah's Letters To The Captives
Summary: Jeremiah's first letter to the captives in Babylon foretells a long exile (1-14), and warns against false prophets (15-23). Jeremiah's second letter is in reply to Shemaiah's letter, attacking Jeremiah (24-28). In it God rebukes Shemaiah as a false prophet, foretelling his fall (29-32).
Lesson: When held captive by life's problems, remember God's promise in verse 11: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Chapter 30 Israel's Restoration
Summary: Despite her imminent captivity, God will deliver the nation physically (1-11), heal her spiritually (12-17), bless her materially (18-22), and judge the wicked (23-24).
Lesson: God promises to restore all who come to Him in Jesus' name.
JEREMIAH 31-32
ISRAEL'S FUTURE
Chapter 31 Israel's Restoration
Summary: God will restore the whole nation. He will save the remnant of the northern kingdom of Israel (1-14), and show mercy on her (15-22). He will also prosper the southern kingdom of Judah (23-30). God will make a new covenant of salvation with the whole nation (31-40).
Lesson: Christians also receive this new covenant by faith in Jesus Christ.
Chapter 32 Israel's Return
Summary: In 587 B.C., at God's instruction, Jeremiah buys his cousin's land, which is subject to the siege. (1-15) [Jerusalem was under Babylonian siege from 1/15/588 to 7/18/586 B.C.] Jeremiah prays for understanding as to why to buy land under seige (16-25). God replies that Jerusalem will be destroyed (26-35), but then it will be restored (36-44).
Lesson: Though we are besieged by adversity, God will bring restoration.
JEREMIAH 33-35
OBEDIENCE
Chapter 33 Judgment and Restoration
Summary: After judgment (1-5), God will bring restoration (6-13). He makes covenants of continuity with David's throne (14-17) and the Levitical priesthood (18). He then offers confirmation of the covenants by two assurances, both by natural order (19-22) and natural laws (23-26).
Lesson: God's promises are sure; we can stake our lives on them.
Chapter 34 God's Warnings To Obey
Summary: God warns Zedekiah his rebellion will not succeed (1-7). He warns the people to free their Jewish slaves or suffer consequences (8-22).
Lesson: Disobedience to God always brings judgment.
Chapter 35 The Obedient Rechabites
Summary: Here we see obedience by example. We have the fidelity of the Rechabites (1-11), and the example of the Rechabites (12-19).
Lesson: Are we examples to others of obedience to God?
JEREMIAH 36-38
JEREMIAH'S IMPRISONMENT
Chapter 36 Jeremiah's Scroll
Summary: In 604 B.C. Jeremiah records on a scroll all God's prophecies since 627 B.C. It is read to the people in the Temple (1-10), then to the officials in the palace (11-19), and finally to the king, who has it burned (20-26). The scroll is rewritten at God's direction (27-32).
Lesson: Man can burn the Bible, but he can't destroy the Word of God.
Chapter 37 Jeremiah's Imprisonment
Summary: Jeremiah gives the king a message of defeat (1-10). He is arrested and confined in a dungeon (11-16). He meets with the king and is transferred to the court of the prison (17-21).
Lesson: Serving the Lord is not always easy, but it is always profitable.
Chapter 38 Jeremiah's Continued Imprisonment
Summary: Jeremiah is then cast into a cistern (1-6). He is rescued from there and transferred to the court of the prison (7-13). He has a second meeting with king Zedekiah, in which he warns the king to surrender, or Jerusalem and his family will fall (14-28).
Lesson: Speak God's word openly and honestly, no matter the cost.
JEREMIAH 39-42
JERUSALEM'S FALL
Chapter 39 Jerusalem's Fall
Summary: Babylon's 30 month siege [1/15/588-7/18/586 B.C.] ends with the fall of Jerusalem. Zedekiah and most of the people are led away captive to Babylon (1-10). Jeremiah is set free from prison (11-18).
Lesson: As Jerusalem learns, God's warnings always come to pass.
Chapter 40 Gedaliah's Governorship
Summary: Jeremiah chooses to stay in Judah with Babylon's appointed Governor Gedaliah (1-12). Gegaliah is warned about a threat on his life, but he ignores it (13-16).
Lesson: As with Jeremiah, God cares for His own in the worst of times.
Chapter 41 Gedaliah's Murder
Summary: Ishmael murders Gedaliah, and others, and takes the remnant captive (1-10). Johanan overtakes Ishmael, who flees. Johanan then leads the survivors (including Jeremiah) to Chimham (11-18).
Lesson: As with Jeremiah, God exposes us to sudden changes of fortune.
Chapter 42 Warning Against Flight To Egypt
Summary: Johanan and the people ask Jeremiah for God's direction, promising to obey (1-6). God says if they stay in Judah, they will be blessed (7-12). If they leave, disaster will follow (13-17). Jeremiah announces that their certain disobedience will bring their death (18-22).
Lesson: When will mankind learn that disobeying God brings disaster?
JEREMIAH 43-47
BACK TO EGYPT
Chapter 43 The Remnant's Flight To Egypt
Summary: The leaders refuse God's word and warning, and go to Egypt (1-7). Jeremiah prophesies of Babylon's invasion of Egypt (8-13).
Lesson: Seeking God's will, and then refusing to follow it, brings trouble.
Chapter 44 God's Warning Of Judgment
Summary: God warns the refugees of their idolatry (1-23), and of his impending judgment on them (24-30).
Lesson: God punishes idolatry (worshipping something other than Him).
Chapter 45 God's Assurance To Baruch
Summary: Baruch is discouraged by God's message of judgment.
Lesson: In discouragement, don't worry, worship (Habakkuk 3:17-18).
Chapter 46 God's Judgment On Egypt
Summary: Egypt (with Assyria) is defeated by Babylon at Carchemish [605 B.C.] (1-12), She is later invaded by Babylon and exiled [around 570 B.C.] (13-28). God will correct, but not destroy Jacob (27-28).
Lesson: God punishes the unrighteous, but corrects the righteous.
Chapter 47 God's Judgment On Philistia
Summary: God will defeat Israel's enemy, Philistia, through Babylon.
Lesson: God's enemies cannot escape His judgment.
JEREMIAH 48-50
JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS
Chapter 48 Judgment Of Moab
Summary: Moab's judgment includes land destroyed (1-10), complacency ended (11-17), cities devastated (18-28), pride ended (29-39), destruction complete [Arab conquest, Ezek. 25:10] (40-47). Sins: (1) trust in works/riches (7); complacency (11); pride (26, 29); contempt (27).
Lesson: God's judgment comes on self exaltation.
Chapter 49 Judgment Of Other Nations
Summary: Ammon's judgment (1-6). Sins: contempt (1); pride (4a); trust in riches (4b). Edom's judgment (7-22). Sins: (1) contempt [Obadiah 10-14] (12); (2) pride (16). Damascus' judgment (23-27). Kedar's and Hazor's judgment (28-33). Elam judgment (34-39).
Lesson: God's judgment comes on all for self exaltation.
Chapter 50 Judgment Of Babylon And Babylonia
Summary: Judgment is announced (1-10). Babylon will fall (11-16). Israel will be restored (17-20). The attack will be devastating (21-46).
Sins: contempt (11); contention (24); pride (29).
Lesson: Babylon's future judgment will symbolize the destruction of evil.
JEREMIAH 51-52
UTTER DESTRUCTION
Chapter 51 The Utter Destruction Of Babylon
Summary: God will destroy her (1-14), declare His sovereignty (15-26), gather her enemies (27-33), execute revenge (34-44), warn the remnant (45-48), declare her fall (49-58), and offer a sign of confirmation (59-64).
Lesson: God will utterly destroy Babylon, the symbol of all evil.
Chapter 52 The Utter Destruction Of Jerusalem
Summary: The Babylonian siege [1/15/588-7/18/586 B.C.] brought the fall of Zedekiah (1-11), the destruction of the city (12-16), the destruction of the temple (17-23), the death of some leaders (24-27), and the final deportation [3 deportations: in 598, 587, and 582 B.C.] (28-30). In 560 B.C Jehoiachin was released from captivity (31-34).
Lesson: God chastises His people in order to restore them [Heb. 12:11].
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