Community on Columbia

The destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. was a monumental tragedy for Israel. The Babylonians finally breach the walls of Jerusalem and burn the Temole. King Zedekiah tries to flee, is captured, blinded and carried into captivity. Jeremiah describes the ravages of the siege in the Book of Lamentations. He is allowed to stay, but is taken away by some Jewish survivors in the opposite direction – to Egypt.

Notes on Jeremiah 39:1-18 (and Jeremiah 52:16-34; 2 Kings 25:22-26)

As Babylon tightens its siege of Jerusalem, Jeremiah’s enemies have him thrown into a mud-filled cistern, hoping he’ll die there. A eunuch who is a servant to King Zedekiah persuades the king to allow him to rescue the prophet. Finally, even though Zedekiah seems to be leaning toward obeying God’s direction, he vacillates out of fear of the powerful princes of Judah.

Notes on Jeremiah 38:1-28

God delivers a withering takedown of the numerous false prophets who opposed Jeremiah’s predictions of doom with prophecies of success and prosperity for Israel. He contrasts the damage they’ve done with the future, righteous reign of Messiah. And the frivolous and flesh-pleasing words of the false prophets are contrasted with the Word of God, which is like fire and like a hammer.

Notes on Jeremiah 23:1-40

Jeremiah is thrown into prison by King Zedekiah for constantly saying that the Babylonians would defeat Israel, and that they should submit to Nebuchadnezzar. God has the prophet buy a piece of land as a sign of future prosperity for the land. In a prophecy, God recites a litany of sins that have doomed His people to exile, but also presents a vision of hope and a new covenant.

Notes on Jeremiah 32:1-44

After Jehoiakim rebels and is killed by Nebuchadnezzar, his son briefly succeeds him until Babylon replaces him with Jehoiakim’s brother Mattaniah, now renamed Zedekiah. This new evil king cultivated a group of false prophets. The most prominent – Hananiah – confronts Jeremiah in the Temple. God curses Hananiah, and he dies within a year.

Notes on Jeremiah 28:1-17

The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple – first by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. and later by the Romans in 70 A.D. – are marked by Jews each year at the Fast of Ab. It is a time of mourning and deep reflection on the sins that brought God’s judgment on them, and points us all toward the path of repentance.

For Christians, the fast can be a time of thanksgiving for the forgiveness provided by Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.

In fact, the medieval Jewish commentator Maimonides said that all these fasts would cease in the times of the Messiah:

Zechariah 8:19 – “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.”

Notes on the Fast of Ab

God tells Jeremiah to write down all his prophecies in a scroll and recite them to the people, in a final attempt to call the people to repentance. Jeremiah dictates to his disciple Baruch, who reads the scroll in the Temple to the people. The king Jehoiakim obtains the scroll and, as his servant reads it, he slices it apart bit by bit and throws it in the fire. Jeremiah recreates the scroll, and adds a curse on the king and his descendants.

Notes on Jeremiah 36:1-32