Who was Jeremiah in the Bible?

From Jeremiah's own records we see that he was born during the reign of the ungodly king Manasseh (696–642 BC). He came from the priestly family of Aaron. His hometown was Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem (Jer. 1:1). In his very early years he was called by the Lord to be a prophet (Jer. 1:4-10). This happened in king Josiah's 13th year, which was 627 BC (he reigned from 640–609 BC). Jeremiah's service lasted over 40 years, until after Jerusalem's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC (Jer. 39). At the Lord's command Jeremiah remained unmarried (Jer. 16:2).

The word of the Lord, as we are told in Jeremiah 1, came to Jeremiah, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you." "I appointed you," it is carefully added, "a prophet to the nations." Why to the nations? This special commission brings before us a feature of Jeremiah's service which we shall find abundantly confirmed in this book. Although he was a Jew himself and even a priest, and although the Jews in Jerusalem have an immense place in his prophecy, the nations also are given great prominence.

The Lord encourages him by the assurance of His presence. He puts His words into his mouth, and appoints him as prophet over the nations, to root out and to plant… Under these circumstances Jeremiah is set before a rebellious people who will strive against him. Nevertheless he must declare everything; and as the Lord had already encouraged the prophet, He now adds to that encouragement, to press it home, a threat in case of disobedience: namely, that if through fear he drew back from his commission, the Lord would become a greater cause of fear, and would break him to pieces before those of whom he was afraid.

Now this was an extremely painful task for Jeremiah. I think myself that of all the prophets, greater or lesser, who were used by God, there was never one to whom it was a greater trial to pronounce judgment than Jeremiah. He was a man of unusually tender spirit. He shrank from the work he was called to, for the very reason he was called to it.

The Lord meant their exile to be for their eventual good. This is a very important point. In a day of ruin faith always recognises the chastening of God and bows to it. Unbelief always resists, and calls that resistance patriotism, or perhaps religion. For this reason Jeremiah seemed to the men of Judah to be a very false Jew. He always advised them to submit to the king of Babylon. They thought themselves much better Jews, because they were willing to fight against the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah is next accused of high treason. The charge is based on his message, given to him by the Lord: "He who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live"… "This man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." They demand his life. In verse six we see him in a deep dungeon, into which he was lowered by ropes. And Jeremiah sank into the vile mire. This reminds us of Him, our blessed Lord, who was also accused by false witnesses, and who Himself went into the horrible pit and the miry clay, into the deepest suffering and the jaws of death, to take us out of the dungeon where sin has put us.

He loved Jerusalem well; for though Anathoth in Benjamin was his birthplace, understanding as he did what Jerusalem was in God's purposes, how could he help loving her, and dearly? Her troubles were therefore a grief of heart to him; and though he had suffered such ill treatment in the city from men in high office, he did not gloat over her fall. Tears filled his eyes as he saw the destruction of the daughter of his people, and his heart only found a fitting outlet in the laments he poured out as the Spirit of God directed him.

Jeremiah, who spoke so much about the righteous judgment Israel deserved because of their sins, was also enabled to look ahead to the blessing of God's people, writing, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land" (Jer. 23:5)… while Jeremiah 31:31-34 shows that this would be when the new covenant was brought in, with rich blessings for God's people. From the Lord's words in the New Testament we learn that this would rest on His atoning work, "the blood of the new covenant".