Jensens survey of the old testament adam 199

A. HIS NAME

The name Jeremiah translates the Hebrew
word yirmeyahu, to which has been assigned
the literal meaning “Jehovah throws.” On
the basis of this, various translations have
been made, such as “Jehovah establishes,”
“Jehovah exalts,” “Jehovah is high,” and
“whom Jehovah appoints.” Any of these
names would have been appropriate for the
prophet called to such a ministry as his.
B. HIS RANK AMONG THE PROPHETS

Someone has said of Jeremiah, “Amid all
the bright stars of Old Testament history
there is not a name that shines brighter than
that of Jeremiah.” By divine design it was
Jeremiah who was called to prophesy in the
darkest hours of Judah, when Judah as a
nation died. He is known as the “weeping
prophet” and “the prophet of the broken
heart.” But he wept not for his own trials,


grievous as they were. It was the sins of his
nation and the fearful destruction these sins
were bringing upon them that broke
Jeremiah’s heart. Jeremiah lived in a day
when tragic events were unfolding, and he,
as perhaps no one else at the time,
comprehended their full signi cance. He

knew that within a short time the proud,
beautiful city of Jerusalem with its
magni cent Temple would be in ruins, and
that his beloved people would be in
captivity. He also knew that the nation
which had been God’s own peculiar treasure
would be set aside for a time because of
incorrigibility, and that supremacy would be
given to the Gentiles. No wonder Jeremiah
wept.
Of all the writing prophets, Jeremiah and
Isaiah stand out preeminently. To place one
above the other is perhaps arbitrary, for in
many ways their ministries were di erent,


and therefore di cult to compare. Their
personalities di ered, Isaiah being the bold
and fearless type, Jeremiah the gentle and
compassionate type. Isaiah lived more than
one hundred years before the captivity of
Judah; Jeremiah ministered just before and
during the nal catastrophe. (See Chart 45.)
Isaiah had foretold the judgments which
were coming unless the nation turned to
God; Jeremiah’s particular mission to Judah,
toward the end of his career, was to notify
the nation that their judgment was at hand,
that God had rejected them (at least for the
present), and that nothing now could save

them from the punishment they so fairly
deserved.
Chart 82 shows other prophets who
ministered during Jeremiah’s time. You may
want to refer to a Bible dictionary for a brief
description of each of these as background
to your study of Jeremiah. The prophets are:


Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and
Ezekiel. They were all faithful spokesmen for
God; Jeremiah was prince among them.
C. TIMES IN WHICH HE LIVED

When one reads the history of the times in
which Jeremiah lived (2 Kings 22-25), he
does not wonder that God would no longer
bear with His people. Through Isaiah, God
had said all He could say to keep them back
from ruin, but they would not hearken. So
when Isaiah’s voice was still, there was
virtual silence on God’s part for about sixty
years. Look at Chart 45 and observe the
absence of a prophet during the reign of
King Manasseh.
Scarcely had Isaiah and good King
Hezekiah
died
when
idolatry

and
numberless heathen abominations began to
ourish in the land under the reign of
Manasseh, one of the worst of Judah’s kings.