Jeremiah

God tells Jeremiah: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.' Jeremiah protests his youth, but God promises to give him words and be with him.

Jeremiah begins prophesying during King Josiah's reforms. Even during this revival, Jeremiah warns that the reforms are superficial and judgment is coming. He preaches against idolatry and empty religious ritual in the temple courts.

At the temple gate, Jeremiah warns against trusting in the temple as a talisman. He compares Jerusalem to Shiloh, which God destroyed despite the tabernacle's presence. This message enrages religious leaders who seek his death.

God commands Jeremiah not to marry or have children because those born in the land will die. His unmarried state becomes a prophetic sign of coming devastation. His loneliness is part of his message.

Pashhur the priest beats Jeremiah and puts him in stocks at the temple gate. When released, Jeremiah prophesies Pashhur's captivity in Babylon. This persecution deepens Jeremiah's anguish, and he curses the day of his birth.

God commands Jeremiah to write his prophecies on a scroll. His scribe Baruch reads it in the temple. When brought to King Jehoiakim, the king cuts off sections and burns them in a brazier. Jeremiah rewrites the scroll with additions.

While imprisoned and while Babylon besieges Jerusalem, God commands Jeremiah to buy his cousin's field. This seems absurd, but it is a sign that 'houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' Even in judgment, hope remains.

Officials throw Jeremiah into a muddy cistern to die for prophesying surrender to Babylon. Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, persuades the king to rescue him. Jeremiah sinks into mud but is pulled out with ropes and rags.

After Jeremiah's decades of warnings, Babylon conquers Jerusalem. The temple is destroyed, the city burned, and the people exiled. Jeremiah's prophecies are vindicated, though he takes no pleasure in being right.

After Gedaliah's assassination, the remnant flees to Egypt despite Jeremiah's warning. They force him to accompany them. In Egypt, Jeremiah continues prophesying against their idolatry, declaring judgment will follow them even there.

Jeremiah dies in Egypt, never seeing his homeland restored. According to tradition, his own people stoned him for his persistent prophecies. He was rejected his entire life yet faithfully proclaimed God's word for over forty years.