He prophesied of a time when Yahweh would make a covenant with Israel, superseding the old Mosaic Covenant Yahweh would write his law upon the hearts of men (rather than on tables of stone), and all would know God directly and receive his forgiveness. While the present literary form of the passage is probably not Jeremiah’s, the thought is essentially his. Jeremiah’s most important prophecy concerning the future is one regarding the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34). In the presence of witnesses, he weighed out the money and made the contracts and said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” In this and other ways he expressed his hope for a bright future for Israel in its own land. He bought, from a cousin, a field in Anathoth, his native town. He expressed his own hope vividly by an action that he undertook when the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem and he was in prison. In the latter part of his career, Jeremiah had to struggle against the despair of his people and give them hope for the future. Repentance thus had a strong ethical colouring, since it meant living in obedience to Yahweh’s will for the individual and the nation. He called upon men to turn away from their wicked ways and dependence upon idols and false gods and return to their early covenantal loyalty to Yahweh. Jeremiah had more to say about repentance than any other prophet. He found the source of sin to be in the weakness and corruption of the hearts of men-in what he often called “the stubbornness of the evil heart.” He considered sin to be unnatural he emphasized that some foreign nations were more loyal to their pagan (false) deities than Judah was to Yahweh (the real God), and he often contrasted nature’s obedience to law with man’s disobedience to God. He denounced social injustices but not so much as some previous prophets, such as Amos and Micah. He was concerned especially with false and insincere worship and failure to trust Yahweh in national affairs. Yet there were times of exaltation when he could say to God, “Thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart,” and he could speak of Yahweh as “a dread warrior” fighting by his side.Īs a prophet, Jeremiah pronounced God’s judgment upon the people of his time for their wickedness. He reached the point of calling God “a deceitful brook,…waters that fail” and even accused God of deceiving and overpowering him. Jeremiah had periods of despondency when he expressed the wish that he had never been born or that he might run away and live alone in the desert. He thus could say, “I sat alone,” with God’s hand upon him. He was denied participation in the ordinary joys and sorrows of his fellowmen and did not marry. Jeremiah was by nature sensitive, introspective, and perhaps shy. They reveal a strong conflict between Jeremiah’s natural inclinations and his deep sense of vocation to deliver Yahweh’s message to the people. He also suffered inner doubts and conflicts, as his own words reveal, especially those passages that are usually called his “confessions” (Jeremiah 11:18–12:6 15:10–21 17:9–10, 14–18 18:18–23 20:7–12, 14–18). This sketch of Jeremiah’s life portrays him as a courageous and persistent prophet who often had to endure physical suffering for his fidelity to the prophetic call. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
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