Jeremiah
Josiah was the last ray of light for Judah. He gave Judah 31 years of stability and tried to remove idolatry. He did remove it outwardly by force, but he failed to remove it inwardly. After his death, idolatry returned. Assyria, which had already conquered the ten tribes to the north was collapsing. Egypt stepped in to help Assyria, and Josiah tried to block them. He was killed in battle with a Egypt at Megiddo. Egypt then took over Judah. The Babylonians finally destroyed Egypt at Carchemish in 605. Babylon continued to pursue Egypt and took control of Judah in the process. Babylon began deporting people from Judah. Judah tried one more time to rebel against Babylon and failed. Jerusalem was destroyed July-August in 586.
Jeremiah served from the thirteenth year of Josiah until the destruction of Jerusalem. He is often called the weeping prophet because the majority of the Israelites rejected him. Yet God called him the "iron prophet." His book is the longest in the Bible. Most of it is a call to repentance, and this can be a little difficult to read over and over. The English word "jeremiad," meaning "a long literary work full of bitter complaints," comes from this book. But there are three very important chapters (The Book of Comfort, chapters 30-33) that promise a new covenant. There are also quite a few shorter, beautiful, glimmers of hope and faith scattered throughout the book.
Very Simple Outline
1 The Call of the Prophet
2-29 Warnings for Judah
30-33 The Book of Comfort and the New Covenant
34-35 Historical Appendix
36-38 The Persecution of Jeremiah
39-45 The Fall of Jerusalem
46-51 Judgment on the Nations
52 Historical Appendix
Chapter Summaries
01 Jeremiah prophesied from the time of Josiah until the destruction of Jerusalem. He was called by God before his birth. Jeremiah was reluctant because of his youth. The LORD put His words in his mouth. Jeremiah is called to utter God’s judgments against the nations and against Judah.
02 Jeremiah reminds Jerusalem how God led Israel out of Egypt to be holy. But they followed after idols instead. They traded the living water for broken cisterns. Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes were cities in Egypt. Jeremiah is referring to Egypt's victories over Judah. They also tried to make alliances with Egypt and Assyria. He compares their sin to a stain and their lust for idols to a donkey in heat. He mocked the uselessness of their idols.
03 Under the Law of Moses a man who divorces his wife could not remarry her. Judah’s spiritual promiscuity has created a mess. Judah should have learned from Israel’s idolatry, but they didn’t. God was continually calling for their return, but they did not return.
04 This chapter begins with God calling Judah back to Him. When they refuse, the consequences will be God’s judgment. This will come in the form of war and cosmic upheaval. The Bible often connects God’s judgments on nations with the final judgment of the world.
05 They knew the LORD but they refused to follow His ways. They served other gods therefore they will serve another nation. The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their own power, and the people love it so.
06 He warns that Jerusalem will be destroyed because they have no delight in God’s word. All are covetous and deceitful. They did not blush at their abomination. They could walk in the old ways, but they would not. A cruel enemy is coming. Jeremiah is like a smelter trying to refine the people, but the wicked are not drawn off.
07 He stood at the gates of the temple and called them to amend their ways. He told them not to trust lying words. The temple had become a den of thieves. The LORD told Jeremiah not to pray for the people. We will hear this again in 11.14 and 14.11. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies. But this is a special situation. God knew that Israel was not going to repent. Their judgment day had come. Among all their abominations was the worship of Baals, and particularly, Tophet, the god of child sacrifice. Shiloh was the location of the tabernacle from the time of the Joshua (18.1) until it was captured by the Philistines.
08 He presents a morbid scene: The people will bring out the bones of their leaders and spread them before the sun, moon and stars (the “gods” they worshiped). They will then choose death rather than life. They rejected the word of the LORD, and they will suffer the consequences. Jeremiah hurts for the hurt of his people!
09 Jeremiah weeps for his people. They are liars and deceivers. God will avenge. The land will be desolate. He will scatter them. The wise man understands the LORD and exercises lovingkindness, etc. The LORD will punish the circumcised with the uncircumcised. Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
10 Idols made by man are worthless. The LORD is the maker of all things. Man does not direct his ways. Jeremiah prays for correction and for God’s judgment upon the Gentiles.
11 Judah has broken the covenant. Their gods will not save them. They are so far gone that the LORD says not to pray for them. Men of Anathoth want to kill Jeremiah, but God will bring catastrophe upon them.
12 Jeremiah asks why the wicked prosper. Even the beasts and birds are consumed for the wickedness of man. Judah is weak. It is like a great speckled bird being consumed by other birds. God will punish those He used to punish His people, and He will have compassion on His people.
13 The LORD commanded Jeremiah to bury a sash by the Euphrates. It was ruined and represented Judah and Jerusalem. But God wants Israel to cling to him as a sash clings to the waist of a man. God promised to destroy His people with drunkenness. They are so used to doing evil that they cannot do good. They are like an Ethiopian who cannot change the color of his skin or a leopard who cannot change his spots.
14 One of the judgments the LORD promised was drought. When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he specifically told the people to repent in times of drought (2 Chronicles 6.26). Jeremiah offers a prayer of repentance. Yet the people continue in their sins. The LORD tells Jeremiah not to pray for their good. The prophets not sent by God prophesy peace. Yet God will punish. Jeremiah wept again for the slain and starving people that he could foresee. Nevertheless Jeremiah prays and repents for the people. Some interpreters say that the people were praying hypocritically.
15 The LORD told Jeremiah that even Moses or Samuel could not change His mind about the people. He condemned them to sword, famine, captivity, etc. Much of the blame goes to King Manasseh. Jeremiah complained to God over all the strife he faced. God reaffirmed His “man of iron” message from chapter one. “I will deliver you from the head of the wicked…”
16 The LORD told Jeremiah he could not marry because those born at this time will die gruesome deaths. Jeremiah was not to lament for them because the LORD took away their peace. When the people would finally ask about their punishment, Jeremiah was to tell them that each followed “the dictates of his own evil heart.” Jeremiah prayed and acknowledged God’s concerns. The last verse appears to be God’s response to Jeremiah’s prayer.
17 Israel’s behavior had angered the LORD. They were cursed because they made man, not God, their trust. The man who trusts in God is blessed (Psalm 1). The heart of man is deceitful above all things. Jeremiah prayed for healing and salvation. The LORD told Jeremiah to emphasize the keeping of the Sabbath. If they had done so, Jerusalem would not have been destroyed.
18 The LORD told Jeremiah to watch a potter remake a vessel that was marred. God can build or destroy any kingdom He has made depending on their obedience or not. Israel continued to follow the dictates of their own heart and God promised to scatter them. Men plotted to attack Jeremiah with the tongue. Jeremiah prayed for their punishment. It appears that Jeremiah is reaching the end of his patience as God apparently already has.
19 Jeremiah took a flask and preached catastrophe at Tophet. They worshiped idols and burned their children there. The LORD will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. Jeremiah broke the flask.
20 Pashhur, a priest and governor, struck Jeremiah and put him in stocks. Jeremiah prophesied that he and all of Judah would be deported to Babylon for prophesying lies. Jeremiah then complained to the LORD that He had deceived him by calling him to be a prophet. He tried to stop prophesying, but he could not. The words burned like fire inside him. In his bitterness, Jeremiah cursed the day of his birth.
21 King Zedekiah sent Pashhur and Melchiah to Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD about Nebuchadnezzar. They were hoping for something positive. Jeremiah said the LORD will fight against them and deliver them to the Babylonians. Those who stay in the city will die. Those who defect to the Chaldeans will live. This was punishment upon the house of David for its doings.
22 The LORD told Jeremiah to speak to the king of Judah. Jeremiah is not arranged chronologically, so we can’t be sure which of the four kings this might be (He served under: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin [Jeconiah or Coniah]). We can think of it as something applying to all the kings of David. They were to execute judgment and righteousness. If not, they would face destruction. Gentiles would ask “why?” Because they forsook the LORD and worshiped idols. Shallum (aka Jehoahaz) will die in captivity. Jehoiakim will be buried like a donkey. Coniah (aka Jeconiah or Jehoiachin) will die in captivity.
23 Jeremiah promised God’s woe to the bad shepherds. He promised a Branch of Righteousness for the remnant and good shepherds. He went on to condemn the prophets and the priests who led the people away from God.
24 Jeremiah saw two baskets of figs before the temple. The good figs represented the faithful in Babylon who would return. The bad figs represented those left behind in Judah and Egypt who would be destroyed.
25 Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be taken captive to Babylon for seventy years. After that He would punish Babylon. He told Jeremiah to make all the nations drink the cup of God’s wrath. All of them will be destroyed because of their wickedness.
26 In chapters seven to ten Jeremiah delivered a message in the temple. Chapter eleven and following doesn’t tell us the response. Rather, the book goes on with other messages of Jeremiah. In this chapter we return to that temple message and the response of the people. Remember that the Book of Jeremiah is a kind of anthology of his prophecies. It doesn’t follow in chronological order. Jeremiah promised that the temple would be destroyed just as Shiloh (where the tabernacle was set up after the conquest) was destroyed and the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4.4ff - This is when Hophni and Phinehas, and their father Eli died. Phinehas’ wife gave birth and named her son “Ichabod” because the glory of Israel had departed.) The people said Jeremiah should die for saying this. The princes intervened for Jeremiah remembering how Micah prophesied in a similar way. Jehoiakim had killed another prophet named Urijah for prophesying like Jeremiah. Finally, Ahikam intervened to save Jeremiah.
27 We probably have a rare manuscript problem here. Zedekiah was the grandson of Jehoiakim. (Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah) The scribe may have accidentally repeated 26.1. The LXX omits 27.1. This message was for Zedekiah. Using an object lesson of yokes and bonds, Jeremiah promised that the surrounding nations and Judah would serve Nebuchadnezzar. The false prophets said otherwise. He also warned the priests that the remaining vessels of the temple would also be taken to Babylon just like those which had been taken in an earlier deportation. Only after all of that would they be returned.
28 Hananiah falsely prophesied the return of the captives in two years. Jeremiah said when it comes to pass we’ll know if he was sent by the Lord. Hananiah broke the yoke off of Jeremiah’s neck. Jeremiah said the yoke of wood would be replaced with a yoke of iron. He also prophesied Hananiah’s death. He died in that same year.
29 Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon that they would stay there 70 years and should build houses, marry, have children, and seek of the peace of the city where God caused them to live. After 70 years they would return. Jeremiah also prophesied the destruction of false prophets who had gone to Babylon (Ahab & Zedekiah). He also prophesied the punishment of Shemaiah, who had sent letters to Jerusalem calling for Jeremiah to be rebuked.
This is the end of a long section of warnings. See outline.
30 The LORD told Jeremiah to write a book of all the words He had spoken to him. He promised and end of the captivity and return to their land. He explained that He will make an end to the nations where they were scattered, but He wouldn’t make a complete end of Israel. He did punish them severely for their sins, but He would also restore them.
31 The first verse really goes with the previous chapter. In verses 2-22 Jeremiah promised that the northern tribes which were destroyed in 722 BC will be restored through repentance and faith. Jeremiah mentioned Ramah, a village north of Jerusalem where the Babylonians gathered the people who would be deported. Rachel gave birth to Benjamin not far from Ramah (near Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem) and died in childbirth. Benjamin was one of the southern tribes. She was also the mother of Joseph. His two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, were part of the northern tribes. Ramah and Rachel became a symbols of Israel’s and Judah’s weeping for her defeated and exiled children. The phrase “A woman shall encompass a man” has several possible interpretations. One would be that Israel, who formerly backslid, would now cling to the Messiah. Jeremiah said that Judah would also be restored and would stop blaming their punishment on their parents (“the children’s teeth are set on edge”). Israel and Judah would both receive a new covenant centered on forgiveness, faith, and a deeper, more internal knowledge of God. The LORD promised that the seed of Israel would not cease anymore than the sun, moon, stars and sea cease. Even before Jerusalem would be destroyed by Babylon, Jeremiah prophesied that it would be rebuilt. The Tower of Hananel and the Corner Gate lie to the north. The Valley of the Dead and the Horse Gate lie to the south. Thus the whole city will be rebuilt.
32 As Babylon began to besiege Jerusalem in the reign of Zedekiah, Jeremiah was put in prison. While he was there, the LORD told him to buy a piece of land not far from it. Thus God promised to bring His people back again where they would live and possess the land. Jeremiah praised God as creator, deliverer of justice, and as the one who gave Israel the promised land. But he wondered about God’s promise of restoration. God again affirmed His promise of restoration despite the wicked deeds of the people.
33 While Jeremiah was still in prison, the LORD reaffirmed His covenant of the restoration of Israel. The captives would return. Their iniquities would be forgiven. God would raise up a righteous branch of David for his throne. The priests would continue to offer sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled both the promises of a continuing king and a continuing priesthood through His death and resurrection. Holy Communion continues to remember the sacrifice of Christ and to distribute its benefits.
34 Nebuchadnezzar began to attack Jerusalem, and Jeremiah told Zedekiah he would be taken captive. Yet he would die in peace. Zedekiah commanded the release of all Hebrew slaves. The people did so, but then they enslaved them again. For this, God promised to give them over to Babylon’s army.
35 The events in Jeremiah thirty five took place eleven years earlier than in chapter thirty four. The chronological order doesn’t matter. Jeremiah is showing the wickedness of the last kings of Judah and therefore God’s justification in punishing them.
1 Chron 3.15 tells us Josiah had four sons: Johanan, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, & Shallum. One of them, perhaps Shallum, was also called Jehoahaz. He succeeded Josiah. Jehoiakim became king after him. His son, Jehoiachin, reigned next for a hundred days. Nebuchanezzar replaced him with Zedekiah, his uncle.
The Rechabites were descendants of the Kenites who had joined Israel when they entered the Promised Land (Judges 1.16). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was a Kenite. Jonadab, the son of Rechab, commanded all his descendants to be nomads, and they obeyed. In this chapter Jeremiah was contrasting the obedience of the Rechabites to their father verses the disobedience of people of Judah to the LORD.
36 This is still eleven years before Zedekiah (chapter 34). Jeremiah dictated to Baruch all his words in the hope that the house of Judah might repent. Jehoiakim, instead, burned the book, and Jeremiah dictated another copy to Baruch.
37 Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah urging him to pray to the LORD. Jeremiah said the Chaldeans (Babylonians) would return and destroy Jerusalem. They put Jeremiah in prison.
38 Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern. He was rescued and put in the court of the guard until the fall of Jerusalem. He still advised Zedekiah to surrender to the King of Babylon in order to be saved. Jeremiah remained in prison until Jerusalem was taken.
39 Nebuchadnezzer besieged Jerusalem and captured it. He killed Zedekiah's sons and blinded him. He deported the people to Babylon but left some of the poor. The Babylonians treated Jeremiah well, and entrusted him to Gedaliah. Jeremiah prophesied that Ebed-melech would be saved because he trusted in the LORD.
40 Jeremiah was given the opportunity to go to Babylon. He stayed with Gedalaia at Mizpah. Judeans who had fled began to return. Johanan discovered a plot to assassinate Gedalaia. Gedalaia didn’t believe it.
41 Ishmael, the assassin, killed Gedalaia at Mizpah. Johanan went after Gedalaia and fought him at Gibson. He recovered the people Ishmael had captured, but Ishmael and eight men escaped to the Ammonites. Johanan went south toward Bethlehem to go to Egypt.
42 The leaders of the remnant asked Jeremiah to pray to the LORD for guidance. He said not to go to Egypt. Jeremiah said they will disobey and therefore die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence.
43 Johanan and the leaders of Israel took the people to Tahpanhes, a city in the northern part of Egypt. Jeremiah promised that Nebuchadnezzar would set his throne there and destroy Egypt.
44 Jeremiah condemned the people who fled to Egypt because they had burned incense to the Queen of Heaven. The people were defiant and said they were better off when they did that.
45 The Lord gave Baruch a special message through Jeremiah. Baruch was not to seek great things for himself because God would bring adversity to all flesh. Baruch should be glad that God will give him his life. This is good advice to all of us in light of Judgment Day.
46 Jeremiah prophesied against Judah in chapters 2-45. Then he turned his prophetic eye toward the nations. The Egyptians killed King Josiah in 609 BC at Megiddo. In 605 BC they were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish. Jeremiah used a flashback to contrast the confidence of the Egyptians with the reality of defeat according to God’s vengeance. He went on to prophesy Babylon’s invasion of Egypt. Nevertheless, while God destroyed these nations, He promised not to make a complete end of Israel.
47 The Philistines were ancient enemies of Israel. They were sea peoples from Crete. In 604 BC Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Ashkelon.
48 Jeremiah gave a long prophecy about the judgment and destruction of Moab. Moab had taken over the land and cities that belonged to the tribe of Rueben in the Transjordan. They had led a relative peaceful existence and had grown proud. They were known for their vineyards and wine. They would not be saved by their god, Chemosh.
49 Jeremiah prophesied the judgment of Ammon. Moab was the child born to Lot and his eldest daughter. Ammon was the child born to Lot and his youngest daughter (Gen 19.37-38). Moab was just east of the Dead Sea. Ammon was just north of Moab. Their god was Milcom, another spelling for Molech. The next judgment was upon Edom, south of Moab, the descendants of Esau (Gen 36.1-19). They were persistent enemies of Israel. Jeremiah pronounced judgment on Damascus, north of Israel. He pronounced judgment on Kedar and Hazor (not the city of Hazor). These were kingdoms in the Arabian desert. He pronounced judgment on Elam, a land that was east of Babylon. Jeremiah promised that the captives of Ammon and Elam would be brought back. Neither of these nations have survived. But this probably refers to the people from these nations who came to faith in Jesus. Elamites heard the Gospel at the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus.
50 Babylon conquered Judah in 586 BC. In 539 BC Persia conquered Babylon. Jeremiah begins by going to the very heart of the evil that needed to be conquered - the god of Babylon. “Bel” corresponds to the Hebrew “Baal.” “Merodach” or “Marduk” was the Babylonian personal name of this god. The last verse of the chapter shows us that the fall of Babylon was a kind of mini judgment day. This is the way the Bible treats God’s destructive acts such as the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. They are warnings to the world. At the same time, the judgments of God are one side of a coin. The other side is salvation. Jeremiah says that “in those days,” that is, in judgments of God upon evil, Israel and Judah shall seek the LORD their God. The stubborn and unrepentant will be judged. The repentant and believing will be saved.
51 The LORD promised the destruction and desolation of Babylon. Jeremiah told Seraiah, the quartermaster who went with King Zedekiah to Babylon, to read a book that described the destruction of Babylon. He was to tie a stone to it and throw it in the Euphrates. This symbolized that Babylon would sink and not rise. These were the end of Jeremiah’s words.
52 Jeremiah had described the destruction of Jerusalem in chapter 39. Now an editor, perhaps Baruch, concludes the book with a more detailed account of the destruction. Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, brought Jehoiachin out of prison and was kind to him. Jehoiachin had been king before Zedekiah. He was the son of the previous king, Jehoiakim (Chapter 35).
Memory Verses for Jeremiah
The Iron Prophet
Jeremiah 1:18-19 (NKJV) For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.”
Broken Cisterns
Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV) “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water."
Seek the Old Ways
Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV) “Thus says the LORD: Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Obey My Voice
Jeremiah 7:23 (NKJV) But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’
The Weeping Prophet
Jeremiah 9:1 (NKJV) Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
The Wise Man
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NKJV) Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.
Man's Ways
Jeremiah 10:23-24 (NKJV) O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
Delight in the Word
Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV) Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
A Bronze Wall
Jeremiah 15:20-21 (NKJV) And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. 21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Cursed Who Trust in Man
Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV) Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
Human Heart Wicked
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Prayer for Healing
Jeremiah 17:14 (NKJV) Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.
God's Work Like a Burning Fire
Jeremiah 20:9 (NKJV) Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.
Branch of Righteousness
Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NKJV) “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
God Fills Heaven and Earth
Jeremiah 23:23-24 (NKJV) 23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.
Speak God's Word Faithfully
Jeremiah 23:28-29 (NKJV) 28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. 29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
The Gift of a New HeartbJeremiah 24:7 (NKJV) Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
Do Not Diminish a Word
Jeremiah 26:2 (NKJV) “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.
Seek the Peace of the City
Jeremiah 29:5-7 (NKJV) Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
A Future and a Hope
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NKJV) 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. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
An Everlasting Love
Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
A Prayer for Repentance
Jeremiah 31:18b (KJV) Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
The New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:33 (KJV) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Seek Not Great Things for Yourself
Jeremiah 45:5 (KJV) And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.