(10.) lxi. to lxvi.—Encouragement is given especially to the ענוים “the meek,” “the broken-hearted;” the day of vengeance is announced against the haughty and sinners. The prophet prays to God, and God answers him with the promise of the ultimate triumph of the ענוים and יראי יי “the meek and the God-fearing.”
2. Jeremiah (ירמיה).—Jeremiah prophesied in the thirteenth [[71]]year of Josiah, and continued to prophesy during his reign and that of his successors, and after the fall of Jerusalem, but it is not certain how long he lived after the destruction of the Temple, and where he died. He was the son of Hilkiah, of the priests in Anathoth, in the tribe of Benjamin. He was exposed to cruel persecutions, but these did not deter him from delivering the Divine message with which he was entrusted to the king and to the people. The prophecies of Jeremiah were written down by Baruch, at Jeremiah’s dictation (chap. xxxvi.), but the book was seized by King Jehoiakim, and burnt by him. The Book of Jeremiah, in our Bible, is probably the copy made later on by Baruch, and mentioned in Jer. xxxvi. 32.
The book is composed of the following parts:—
(1.) Chap. i.—The appointment of Jeremiah as prophet “over the nations and the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (ver. 10).
(2.) Chaps, ii. to vi.—Jeremiah addresses the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “Israel is a holy portion, belonging to the Lord; whosoever eats of it is guilty, and will be punished.” Israel ought therefore to be faithful to God. This they are not, in spite of the benefits bestowed on them; they are exhorted to repentance: in vain. They are therefore threatened with a hostile invasion from the north.
(3.) Chaps, vii. to x.—The prophet addresses the people in the gate of the Temple, exhorting them to true repentance. Without obedience to God the Temple and sacrificial service have no value. The [[72]]foundation of the Law is, “You shall be to me a people, and walk in the way which I command you.” You have not obeyed, and punishment is determined upon. Jeremiah, foreseeing the desolation of the country and the ruin of the nation, laments and weeps, but he is sure that God is עשה חסד משפט וצדקה “one who doth loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness,” and that those nations which indulged in cruelties against the Israelites when under Divine punishment will themselves not escape retribution.
(4.) xi. to xiii.—“The covenant was: Hear my voice, and do what I command you: ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” You have broken this covenant and worshipped idols; evil must come upon you. This Jeremiah proclaimed in “the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,” and probably also in Anathoth; whereupon he was threatened with death. Such conduct gave occasion to further prophecies concerning the wickedness of the people and their impending punishment. The fact that Israel has been chosen to be the people of the Lord and has shown himself unworthy of the distinction, is symbolised by a girdle, forming at first an ornament to man, but which when rotten by moisture in the crevices of rocks, is no longer of any use.
(5.) Chaps, xiv. to xvii.—Drought visits Judah; Jeremiah prays to God for relief from famine. God rejects his petition. The prophet is disappointed, but he is assured that God will protect him from the attacks of the people, if he tries “to bring forth a precious thing from the vile.” He tries, but in vain.
(6.) xvii. 19–27.—Exhortation to keep the Sabbath, [[73]]to abstain from all manner of work, and from carrying burdens out of or into the town.
(7.) xviii.—God changes His decrees according to the deeds of man, as a potter transforms the clay from one vessel to another. Jeremiah is again insulted and threatened, and he prays to God against his persecutors.