Characters
Known As
Prophet of Doom & A Man of Sadness
Where in the Bible?
The Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations
Did You Know
That’s a serious and melancholy man, Jeremiah understood how bleak the future would be, but he kept his faith in God’s love and mercy, and he offered hope to all those in despair.
Bio – Jeremiah
7th–6th century BC
Jeremiah, a son of a priest, was called to serve God at an early age. His first reaction was to shrink from the call, claiming that he was too young, that he did not have the right words. But God did not take no for an answer, and so began his ministry.
Jeremiah lived in a time of turmoil and imminent threat of invasion and war. He preached mainly in the southern kingdom of Israel, and was dismayed that although on the surface many of the people seemed to live a godly life, their hearts had hardened and they had turned from the Lord.
A man of deep sensitivity and understanding, Jeremiah lived a melancholy and apparently lonely life filled with sadness—knowing of God’s boundless love for his people and willingness to show mercy, yet faced with the reality of the people’s unwillingness to acknowledge their sins, and their refusal to repent and turn back to the Lord and beg for his forgiveness. The message he delivered was not welcome, and he lived a life filled with danger, facing persecution and imprisonment more than once. None of this ever discouraged him from telling the truth and passing on God’s message.
Often referred to as the Weeping Prophet, Jeremiah spoke achingly of the pain of the fall of his nation and the time of exile. He saw with his own eyes the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. Yet despite the sadness and sense of loss that feature in much of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (which was also written by Jeremiah) it would not be fair to say that his writings were entirely despondent and dark. Time and time again, Jeremiah wrote of God’s everlasting love and of his plans to give them hope and a future. He told the people that the Lord would punish them, but that he would never stop loving them, and that he would forgive them once they had learnt their lesson and returned to him with open and repentant hearts.
It is clear that Jeremiah was a humble and sensitive man who loved his country deeply and was filled with sadness at its destruction and at the sins of those around him. The stubborn refusal of his countrymen to heed his warnings broke his heart, yet he never gave up trying to convince them to change direction and seek forgiveness. A serious and melancholy man, Jeremiah understood how bleak the future would be, but he kept his faith in God’s love and mercy, and he offered hope to all those in despair.
Copyright ©2020 International Publishing Services (IPS) Sydney Australia
Bible Verses About Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:4-5
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:9
Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
Jeremiah 15:20-21
“For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
“I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 33:3
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Lamentations 1:1
How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
Lamentations 2:3
He has cut off in fierce anger
Every horn of Israel;
He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Lamentations 3:31-32
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
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