In the small town of Anathof, near Jerusalem in the 6th century BC, an amazing boy was born. His name was Jeremiah. His homeland, Judea, was going through difficult times. God’s people have forgotten God’s law, worshipped idols, and did not keep their covenants.
Occasionally, the king ascended the throne, who tried to follow the laws of Moses, but his successors destroyed what was created. Jeremiah’s youth fell on the reign of Hosea, a king who kept the commandments. For a short time he managed to regain the lost lands, restore peace and get rid of the Assyrian occupiers.
When Jeremiah was 15 years old, the Lord called him to the ministry of prophecy: “The LORD stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). The young man, like Moses a few centuries before him, experienced fear and tried to abandon his great mission. “Before you came out of the womb, I sanctified you; I made you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5-10). Jeremiah accepted the will of the Lord with obedience.
Jeremiah called on the people to repent, to keep the law, to trust in the Lord. But the people were euphoric from victories, deliverance from the Assyrians, nothing but hostility and condemnation, Jeremiah achieved.
The gift of prophecy is a heavy burden. While others enjoy the present, the prophets see the future. The people celebrated the present victories, and Jeremiah told them of the coming curses, that the temple of Solomon would be destroyed.
In vain he called to turn away from evil ways, to end wicked habits. Even in Hosea’s time, he was little listened to, and when his sons inherited the throne,
Ignorant and cruel, Jeremiah was treated like an enemy. Several times they wanted to end him, but the intervention of people who believed that Jeremiah was a prophet saved them. Eventually, however, he was arrested and Jeremiah appeared in court. A great many people
I’m going to trial. There were strong opponents of the prophet, but there were also defenders. The first demanded the death penalty, the second said that the prophet Micah in the time of Ezekiah also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem if the people did not take the right path. Then the rulers and the people listened to his words, corrected their unjust ways, and disaster did not happen.
Jeremiah was released. But the hatred of the ruling elite against him grew.
Meanwhile, Nebuchadnezzar ascended to the throne in Babylon. He ruled his kingdom with an iron hand and conquered new and new. At this time there was a word from the Lord to Jeremiah that he should begin to write down his prophecies. Baruch helped him with that. From the scroll, Baruch read the prophecies in the temple, urging people to stop unjust life, otherwise war, devastation and captivity await them.
When King Joachim was brought the scroll, he ordered the book to be burned, and Jeremiah and Baruch arrested, but they managed to escape. God promised to punish Joachim and his children. And Jeremiah commanded to restore what was written.
The Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, but did not capture the city, but received orders to go to war with Egypt. The false prophets mocked Jeremiah and boasted of “victory.” The Prophet was arrested and brought to the king. Jeremiah predicted that Jerusalem would be conquered and destroyed. Secretly, the king respected Jeremiah and wanted to listen to his speeches, but he was afraid to go against the courtiers and the people. He left Jeremiah under guard in the palace. When Jerusalem was captured, the Babylonians treated the prophet with respect. However, the Jews, who did not accept the capture of the city, seized it and forcibly took it to Egypt. There Jeremiah again called upon the people to worship the true God and repent, but they did not listen to him. Jeremiah probably died in Egypt. Tradition says that Jeremiah was stoned because he continued to denounce the unjust behavior of the Jews.
In the 2nd Book of Maccabees it is said that Jeremiah called to take with him to Egypt the fire from the temple, the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the altar used by the Levites for sacrifices. These items were hidden in a cave until it was time to return to Jerusalem.
But Jeremiah not only predicted devastation and trouble. He also talked about hope. He promised that in 70 years, the prisoners taken to Babylon would be able to return. Far away, when he predicted the appearance of a Savior from the family of David.
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