Jeremiah: Judgment and a new covenant

Where Jeremiah sits

In the story

Act IV, Israel · Divided, c. 930–586 BC

In the Bible

Old Testament · Prophets · book 24 of 66

Before it in the story

Habakkuk

After it in the story

Lamentations

As Judah approaches exile, Jeremiah announces the judgment of the old covenant order and the promise of enduring renewal through Christ.

Jeremiah summary

Jeremiah speaks through Judah’s final decades as a kingdom. He exposes idolatry, injustice and false security in the temple, while suffering opposition to the word he proclaims. Babylonian conquest fulfills the warnings, but exile does not exhaust God’s purpose. He promises a righteous Davidic ruler, a restored people and a new covenant marked by forgiveness and knowledge of Him. The narratives of rejection and destruction stand beside promises of renewal, and the nations that oppress Judah also answer to the LORD.

Jeremiah in context

Written by

Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, with Baruch serving as his scribe (1:1; 36:4, 32). The closing historical appendix continues beyond the heading at 51:64.

Written to

Judah and Jerusalem, their rulers and priests, exiles in Babylon, survivors in Judah and Egypt, and the surrounding nations.

Setting

Assyria’s dominance gives way to Babylon. Judah seeks security in alliances and religious privilege while rejecting the LORD’s repeated warnings.

When

The ministry begins in Josiah’s thirteenth year, conventionally about 627 BC, and continues beyond Jerusalem’s fall into the early sixth century. The appendix reaches Jehoiachin’s release in Babylon.

Why

To establish the truth of the LORD’s word, expose the rebellion that brings exile, and announce the forgiving and renewing mercy fulfilled in Christ.

Themes of Jeremiah

• The effective word
• A faithless people
• The righteous King
• The new covenant

Jeremiah chapter by chapter

Part 1 · Called to speak God’s word 1:1–19

1. 1
   Jeremiah 1: God appoints and strengthens His prophet

   The LORD gives Jeremiah His words and promises to preserve him as he announces judgment and restoration.

Part 2 · Return from faithlessness 2:1–6:30

1. 2
   Jeremiah 2: The people forsake their fountain of life

   The LORD exposes His people’s exchange of His faithful care for idols, injustice and unreliable allies.

2. 3
   Jeremiah 3: Return, and I will heal your faithlessness

   The LORD exposes false repentance and promises to gather and restore a people who acknowledge their guilt.

3. 4
   Jeremiah 4: Return from evil before judgment overtakes the land

   Judah is called to inward repentance as invasion and devastation expose the consequences of rebellion.

4. 5
   Jeremiah 5: No truth among a people who refuse correction

   Persistent injustice, idolatry and false prophecy bring judgment, though the LORD will not destroy His people entirely.

5. 6
   Jeremiah 6: False peace cannot stop the coming judgment

   Judah rejects the LORD’s warning and the way of rest, while deceptive leaders conceal the seriousness of its sin.

Part 3 · A broken covenant and a burdened prophet 7:1–20:18

1. 7
   Jeremiah 7: The temple cannot shelter persistent rebellion

   The LORD rejects confidence in the temple and sacrifices when His people persist in injustice and idolatry.

2. 8
   Jeremiah 8: False peace leaves a wounded people without healing

   Judah refuses to return, rejects God’s word and faces devastation that its false teachers cannot heal.

3. 9
   Jeremiah 9: Know the LORD instead of boasting in human strength

   Deceit and stubborn rebellion bring mourning, while true glory lies in knowing the LORD who loves justice.

4. 10
   Jeremiah 10: The living Creator exposes powerless idols

   The LORD alone made and rules all things; idols cannot save Judah from the judgment that calls for humble prayer.

5. 11
   Jeremiah 11: The broken covenant brings judgment and opposition

   Judah’s disobedience brings covenant curses, while a plot against Jeremiah exposes rejection of God’s word.

6. 12
   Jeremiah 12: God answers lament with judgment and a wider mercy

   The LORD calls His troubled prophet to endure and promises justice and mercy that extend beyond Judah.

7. 13
   Jeremiah 13: Pride ruins a people meant to display God’s glory

   Judah’s refusal to hear the LORD turns its privileges into shame, exposing a bondage to sin it cannot cure.

8. 14
   Jeremiah 14: False peace cannot answer drought and judgment

   Judah’s distress and prayers expose its need, but persistent wandering and false prophecy bring the LORD’s judgment.

9. 15
   Jeremiah 15: The prophet needs correction as well as preservation

   Judah’s judgment stands, while the LORD corrects His anguished messenger and renews His promise to sustain him.

10. 16
    Jeremiah 16: Judgment interrupts ordinary life, but hope remains

    Jeremiah’s restricted life announces disaster, while the LORD promises to gather exiles and draw nations to worship.

11. 17
    Jeremiah 17: The LORD searches the heart and calls for trust

    Judah’s engraved sin brings judgment; blessing belongs to trust in the LORD expressed in obedient worship.

12. 18
    Jeremiah 18: The Potter calls a stubborn people to turn

    The LORD has authority to judge and restore nations, but Judah rejects His merciful summons and attacks His messenger.

13. 19
    Jeremiah 19: A shattered jar announces Jerusalem’s downfall

    Idolatry, innocent blood and refusal to hear make Jerusalem’s coming destruction as certain as a broken jar.

14. 20
    Jeremiah 20: The word endures through the prophet’s anguish

    Jeremiah suffers for the word and cannot suppress it, even as confidence in God stands beside profound distress.

Part 4 · Kings answer to the LORD 21:1–22:30

1. 21
   Jeremiah 21: The city must face the LORD’s judgment

   Jerusalem cannot escape the LORD’s judgment through royal appeals; its people must heed His word to live.

2. 22
   Jeremiah 22: A throne cannot survive injustice and unbelief

   Judah’s kings face ruin for injustice and refusal to hear; royal descent and splendid buildings cannot save them.

Part 5 · Whose word will stand? 23:1–29:32

1. 23
   Jeremiah 23: The righteous Branch stands against lying shepherds

   The LORD will gather His flock under a righteous King and expose prophets whose invented words sustain rebellion.

2. 24
   Jeremiah 24: God promises to renew the exiles’ hearts

   The LORD will care for the exiles and give them hearts to know Him, while false security in Judah meets judgment.

3. 25
   Jeremiah 25: The cup of judgment reaches every nation

   Judah’s long refusal brings Babylonian rule, but Babylon and the other nations also face the LORD’s judgment.

4. 26
   Jeremiah 26: The temple warning brings the prophet to trial

   Jeremiah faithfully warns the temple worshipers and is spared, though another faithful prophet is killed.

5. 27
   Jeremiah 27: The LORD appoints Babylon’s temporary yoke

   The Creator commands submission to Babylon for a limited time and rejects promises of an immediate reversal.

6. 28
   Jeremiah 28: A broken wooden yoke cannot cancel God’s word

   Hananiah’s reassuring prediction fails, and his death confirms the LORD’s judgment on a prophet He did not send.

7. 29
   Jeremiah 29: Seek the city’s good while awaiting God’s promise

   The exiles must live faithfully in Babylon, resist false hopes and await the restoration God has promised.

Part 6 · Restoration and a new covenant 30:1–33:26

1. 30
   Jeremiah 30: The LORD heals the people He has disciplined

   The LORD will save His people through judgment, heal their wounds and restore them under His appointed King.

2. 31
   Jeremiah 31: A new covenant brings forgiveness and a renewed heart

   The LORD will gather His people and make a new covenant in which all know Him, with His law within and sins forgiven.

3. 32
   Jeremiah 32: A purchased field witnesses to promised restoration

   Jeremiah buys a field during the siege because the LORD will restore His people and keep their hearts faithful.

4. 33
   Jeremiah 33: The faithful LORD restores and provides a lasting King

   The LORD promises healing, forgiveness and renewed worship under the righteous Davidic ruler His covenant secures.

Part 7 · The word resisted and preserved 34:1–38:28

1. 34
   Jeremiah 34: Broken promises of freedom bring judgment

   Judah’s return to oppression profanes the LORD’s name and brings the judgment its covenant breakers cannot escape.

2. 35
   Jeremiah 35: A family’s obedience exposes Judah’s refusal to listen

   The Rechabites honor their ancestor’s command, exposing Judah’s refusal to heed the LORD’s repeated calls to turn.

3. 36
   Jeremiah 36: The burned scroll cannot silence the LORD

   Jehoiakim burns the written warning, but the LORD preserves His word and confirms judgment against the unrepentant king.

4. 37
   Jeremiah 37: Confinement cannot change the prophet’s message

   Temporary relief from siege and the imprisonment of Jeremiah cannot overturn the LORD’s announced judgment.

5. 38
   Jeremiah 38: Fear resists the word, but faith acts with courage

   Ebed-melech rescues the threatened prophet, while Zedekiah’s fear keeps him from embracing the LORD’s way of survival.

Part 8 · Jerusalem falls and rebellion continues 39:1–45:5

1. 39
   Jeremiah 39: The city falls, but God preserves those who trust Him

   Jerusalem’s fall fulfills the rejected warnings, while the LORD preserves Jeremiah and promises Ebed-melech his life.

2. 40
   Jeremiah 40: A fragile beginning remains after the judgment

   Jeremiah joins Judah’s survivors under Gedaliah, but a dismissed warning threatens their fragile new beginning.

3. 41
   Jeremiah 41: Murder overturns the remnant’s fragile peace

   Ishmael’s treachery brings slaughter and captivity, and the rescued survivors turn toward Egypt in fear.

4. 42
   Jeremiah 42: A request for guidance requires a willing heart

   The LORD tells the remnant to remain under His care, exposing a request for guidance that conceals its own choice.

5. 43
   Jeremiah 43: Disobedience cannot move beyond God’s rule

   The remnant rejects the LORD’s warning and enters Egypt, where a sign announces that Babylon’s judgment will follow.

6. 44
   Jeremiah 44: The people’s explanation cannot overturn God’s word

   The remnant defends its idolatry as the source of prosperity, but the LORD identifies it as the cause of judgment.

7. 45
   Jeremiah 45: God corrects Baruch’s hopes and promises him life

   Amid coming upheaval, the LORD calls Baruch to relinquish great things for himself and receive preservation as His gift.

Part 9 · The nations face judgment 46:1–51:64

1. 46
   Jeremiah 46: Egypt’s strength cannot withstand the LORD

   The LORD humbles Egypt’s military pride and false gods, while promising to preserve His people through just discipline.

2. 47
   Jeremiah 47: The appointed sword falls upon Philistia

   The LORD’s appointed judgment overwhelms Philistia, and human anguish cannot command the sword to stop.

3. 48
   Jeremiah 48: Moab’s proud security gives way to lament

   The LORD judges Moab’s pride and false confidence, yet the long announcement of ruin ends with a promise of restoration.

4. 49
   Jeremiah 49: No nation’s strength places it beyond God’s rule

   The LORD overturns the nations’ confidence in territory, wealth, wisdom and weapons, while preserving hope by His mercy.

5. 50
   Jeremiah 50: Babylon’s fall means deliverance for God’s people

   The LORD will judge proud Babylon and redeem His scattered people, forgiving the remnant He preserves.

6. 51
   Jeremiah 51: Babylon sinks under the judgment it cannot escape

   The Creator vindicates His people against Babylon, and a sinking scroll portrays the certainty of the empire’s downfall.

Part 10 · Judgment confirmed, hope preserved 52:1–34

1. 52
   Jeremiah 52: Fulfilled judgment ends with a sign of continuing hope

   Jerusalem’s ruin confirms the LORD’s warnings, while Jehoiachin’s release leaves the story open to His promised mercy.

See the outline of Jeremiah