An outline of the Book of Jeremiah
Hebrew Name - Yirmiyahu "Yah is my appointer"
Greek Name - Ieremias (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Jeremiah (According to Tradition)
Date - 629 BC Approximately
Theme - The destruction of Judah
Types and Shadows - In Jeremiah Jesus is the Lord our righteousness
The prophet Jeremiah prophesied to the
Jews in Jerusalem and Judah about 50 years before Jerusalem would fall and
be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Jeremiah continually preached against
the folly of idolatry and pleaded with the people the Word of God, "what
injustice have you found in me?" he cried, "why have you gone far from me and
followed idols, and have become idolaters?", "I brought you into a beautiful
country to eat of its fruit and its goodness, but you have defiled my land and
made my heritage and abomination." Jeremiah warned that Jerusalem would be
destroyed and the Jews would be taken away as captives to the land of
Babylon. The words of Jeremiah were violently rejected and he was continually
persecuted, but God warned them at the beginning of his ministry not to be
"afraid of their faces". While Jeremiah was in prison grieving over the sins of
his people the Lord came to him and said "behold, the days are coming, says the
Lord, when I will make a new covenant" (Jeremiah 31). Soon afterwards Jerusalem
was indeed destroyed in 586 BC as Jeremiah prophesied. But he claimed that their
captivity would only last 70 years and then they would return to their land.
Jeremiah also prophesied against the pagan nations around Israel. Later he was
forced to go and live in the land of Egypt and there is no record of what
happened to him.
1:1-1:19 Jeremiah's Call and Commission
2:1-2:37 God Pleads with Israel to Repent
3:1-3:5 Unfaithful Israel
3:6-4:4 A Call to Repentance
4:5-4:18 Invasion and Desolation of Judah Threatened
4:19-4:31 Sorrow for a Doomed Nation
5:1-5:31 The Utter Corruption of God's People
6:1-6:30 The Imminence and Horror of the Invasion
7:1-7:15 Jeremiah Proclaims God's Judgment
7:16-8:3 The People's Disobedience
8:4-8:17 The Blind Perversity of the Whole Nation
8:18-9:16 The Prophet Mourns for the People
9:17-9:26 The People Mourn in Judgment
10:1-10:16 Idolatry Has Brought Ruin in Israel
10:17-10:25 The Coming Exile
11:1-11:17 Israel and Judah Have Broken the Covenant
11:18-11:23 Jeremiah's Life Threatened
12:1-12:17 Jeremiah Complains to God
13:1-13:11 The Linen Loincloth
13:12-13:14 Symbol of the Wine-Jars
13:15-13:27 Exile Threatened
14:1-14:12 The Great Drought
14:13-14:18 Denunciation of Lying Prophets
14:19-14:22 The People Plead for Mercy
15:1-15:9 Punishment Is Inevitable
15:10-15:21 Jeremiah Complains Again and Is Reassured
16:1-16:13 Jeremiah's Celibacy and Message
16:14-16:21 God Will Restore Israel
17:1-17:18 Judah's Sin and Punishment
17:19-17:27 Hallow the Sabbath Day
18:1-18:11 The Potter and the Clay
18:12-18:17 Israel's Stubborn Idolatry
18:18-18:23 A Plot against Jeremiah
19:1-19:15 The Broken Earthenware Jug
20:1-20:6 Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
20:7-20:18 Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors
21:1-21:10 Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadrezzar
21:11-21:14 Message to the House of David
22:1-22:10 Exhortation to Repent
22:11-22:23 Message to the Sons of Josiah
22:24-22:30 Judgment on Coniah (Jehoiachin)
23:1-23:4 Restoration after Exile
23:5-23:8 The Righteous Branch of David
23:9-23:40 False Prophets of Hope Denounced
24:1-24:10 The Good and the Bad Figs
25:1-25:14 The Babylonian Captivity Foretold
25:15-25:38 The Cup of God's Wrath
26:1-26:24 Jeremiah's Prophecies in the Temple
27:1-27:22 The Sign of the Yoke
28:1-28:17 Hanamiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies
29:1-29:23 Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles in Babylon
29:24-29:32 The Letter of Shemaiah
30:1-30:24 Restoration Promised for Israel and Judah
31:1-31:26 The Joyful Return of the Exiles
31:27-31:30 Individual Retribution
31:31-31:37 A New Covenant
31:38-31:40 Jerusalem to Be Enlarged
32:1-32:15 Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
32:16-32:25 Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
32:26-32:44 God's Assurance of the People's Return
33:1-33:13 Healing after Punishment
33:14-33:26 The Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David
34:1-34:7 Death in Captivity Predicted for Zedekiah
34:8-34:22 Treacherous Treatment of Slaves
35:1-35:19 The Rechabites Commended
36:1-36:10 The Scroll Read in the Temple
36:11-36:19 The Scroll Read in the Palace
36:20-36:26 Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
36:27-36:32 Jeremiah Dictates Another
37:1-37:10 Zedekiah's Vain Hope
37:11-37:21 Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
38:1-38:6 Jeremiah in the Cistern
38:7-38:13 Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech
38:14-38:28 Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again
39:1-39:10 The Fall of Jerusalem
39:11-39:18 Jeremiah, Set Free, Remembers Ebed-melech
40:1-40:16 Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor
41:1-41:18 Insurrection against Gedaliah
42:1-42:22 Jeremiah Advises Survivors Not to Migrate
43:1-43:13 Taken to Egypt, Jeremiah Warns of Judgment
44:1-44:30 Denunciation of Persistent Idolatry
45:1-45:5 A Word of Comfort to Baruch
46:1-46:12 Judgment on Egypt
46:13-46:26 Babylonia Will Strike Egypt
46:27-46:28 God Will Save Israel
47:1-47:7 Judgment on the Philistines
48:1-48:47 Concerning Moab
49:1-49:6 Judgment on the Ammonites
49:7-49:22 Judgment on Edom
49:23-49:27 Judgment on Damascus
49:28-49:33 Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
49:34-49:39 Judgment on Elam
50:1-51:19 Judgment on Babylon
51:20-51:23 Israel the Creator's Instrument
51:24-51:58 The Doom of Babylon
51:59-51:64 Jeremiah's Command to Seraiah
52:1-52:30 The Destruction of Jerusalem Reviewed
52:31-52:34 Jehoiachin Favoured in Captivity
