We introduced the Book of Jeremiah yesterday. Now, I’d like for us to consider the first of three contexts: the historical context. Later we’ll consider the immediate context and the personal context.
You will not understand the prophetic books if you don’t understand the historical context within which the prophets lived and ministered. It is introduced in the opening verses: “The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests of Anothoth, in the territory of Benjamin. The Word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah.” The Word of the Lord continued to come to Jeremiah “through the reign of Jehoikim, son of Josiah down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, King of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.”
Jeremiah prophesied during the final climactic years before Jerusalem was overthrown and the people were led into captivity. This is described in the historical books of 2 Kings, chapters 22-25 and 2 Chronicles chapters34-36, especially chapter thirty six. Read and reflect on those portions to better understand why Jeremiah wrote what he did.
Since the world we live in could be characterized as having similar conditions, what he had to say to God’s people then is important for us to hear and heed now. It’s like reading today’s headlines and listening to one of God’s servants proclaim God’s relevant, dynamic message to us, His people.
