The Book of Jeremiah
The book of Jeremiah is a book in the old testament of the bible written by prophet Jeremiah. Prophet Jeremiah was born in the 650BC. He was the son of a priest in a small town called Anathoth in Judah. Jeremiah was called to prophesy at a young age, and at about 20 years old, began to prophesy. To many, he is called the weeping prophet because of the various difficulties faced, as noted in the book of Jeremiah and lamentations that he wrote. Jeremiah is most recognized for his prophecy on the 70 years of the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon (Jer. 25:11). The book of Jeremiah contains warnings and teachings to the southern kingdom of Judah. He recognized the fore coming disaster that would befall the people of Jerusalem because upon breaking their covenant with God.
The personality of Jeremiah is visible throughout his writings. His life and character is documented in the book and is full of surprises. The book of Jeremiah is written in the style of poetry and prose. Note that not all poetry is written in the same way. Different poets have different writing styles that make their work distinct from that of others. A poet’s work is characterized by particular traits in their writing that notably stand out and make it different or easily identifiable. Holladay notes that “chiasmus, double meaning whereby Jeremiah plays with a variety of meanings which a verb offers. Assonance which is the coining of phrases, the double occurrence of roots, which is joining a verb and related noun. Heightened vocabulary, irony and abrupt changes in speaker moods” (p.44-45). This depicts Jeremiah as not only a prophet but a great writer and poet.
In the book of Jeremiah, there are several subjects and themes that he treats. These include; Abandonment. The people abandon God and resort to the ungodly ways of life, and in turn, God also abandons the people of Judah and are exiled in Babylon. Compassion and forgiveness. Although God exiles the people of Judah in Babylon, he promises to forgive them and lead them back to the lands of Judah once they have served their time in captivity. Courage. Jeremiah personal shows courage throughout the book. He’s delivering a message that’s very unpopular to the people and risks a lot in the process, gets arrested continuously, threatened with death, and tormented. But shows courage and resilience and fulfills his life’s mission: Justice and judgment. God judges the people of Judah for their crimes against him and serves with justice by exiling them. Suffering. Jerimiah suffers multiple times throughout the book until his death, whereby he is stoned to death. The people of Judah suffer when the Babylonians invade, the city of Jerusalem is left in rubble, and the temple destroyed.
Jeremiah’s point of view is quite intriguing and exciting. This is because Jeremiah possessed a dynamic personality. The book offers us an insight into his thoughts. They are clouded with emotional feelings and battles for his people. He feels compassion for them, wants the evil punished, and at the same time, is concerned about his safety. Jeremiah’s point of view in his teachings circulates mainly around the theme of judgment and reforming. He focuses much on the inner relations between God and his servants. Outer deeds and showings are useless unless there is a devotion of the heart and life towards God.
Works Cited
Holladay, William L. “Style, Irony, and Authenticity in Jeremiah.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 81, no. 1, 1962, pp. 44–54. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3264825.