Jeremiah Jeremiah, a prophet in Jerusalem before its destruction in 586 BC, is sometimes called the “weeping prophet” because he shared his personal struggles and sorrows as he delivered God’s messages. Jeremiah was born in Anathoth, near Jerusalem, during Manasseh’s reign. His father was Hilkiah of Benjamin. Jeremiah received his calling as a prophet during the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (627 BC). At first, Jeremiah retreated from his call (Jer 1:6), but God assured Jeremiah that he would tell him what to say and would guide and protect him despite opposition (Jer 1:7-8, 18-19). Jeremiah warned the kings and people of Judah to repent in order to avoid exile. They had broken God’s covenant, primarily through idolatry (Jer 10:1-16), and as a result, they were subject to the consequences (Deut 27–28). They rejected God’s invitation to repent, so Jeremiah later delivered messages that God’s judgment had become inevitable. Jeremiah was particularly hated by Judah’s leaders. King Jehoiakim held Jeremiah in contempt and tried to silence him. King Zedekiah secretly sought Jeremiah’s advice, but bowed to his administrators when they wanted to silence the prophet. God’s w...

The Written Word When Jeremiah’s ministry was in crisis during his public trial on the Temple grounds (Jer 26), some friends saved his life, but King Jehoiakim had the prophet Uriah killed and tried to arrest Jeremiah. Would this signal the end of Jeremiah’s public ministry? Was public speaking the only way to get the Lord’s messages to the leaders and people of Judah? As it turns out, killing and silencing the messengers did not stop the Lord’s messages—the Lord’s word could be broadcast effectively in writing. The Lord told Jeremiah to write down all the messages he had ever delivered (Jer 36). Jeremiah had a helper, Baruch, who was skilled in writing and making as many copies as were needed. While Jeremiah and Baruch were in hiding, they purchased a scroll (a roll of papyrus) and prepared it so as to record the written messages. When the writing was finished, the scroll was read in the Temple courtyard and in the presence of King Jehoiakim. The king cut up the scroll and burned it, but Jeremiah had the messages rewritten on a new scroll, adding new material. Throughout the remainder of Jeremiah’s ministry, he had his messages written on papyrus and sent to the leaders of v...