All the Men of the Bible

Jeremiah, Jeremy, Jeremias [Jĕre mī'ah]—jehovah is high or exalted of god.

1. An inhabitant of Libnah whose daughter, Hamutal, was the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:18; Jer. 52:1).
2. A Manassehite and head of a family (1 Chron. 5:24).
3. A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:4)
4. A Gadite who also joined David (1 Chron. 12:10).
5. Another Gadite who did the same (1 Chron. 12:13).
6. Son of Hilkiah, the prophet from Anathoth in the days of Josiah and who was of the line of Abiathar (2 Chron. 35:25; 36:12, 21, 22; Jer. 1:1).

The Man of Inconsolable Grief

This man who was born a priest but became a prophet by the divine call of God comes before us as one of the grandest men of Old Testament history. He was called to the prophetic office through a vision (Jer. 1:1, 4-16) and labored for some forty years. The book Jeremiah wrote gives us more details of his life, methods and work, as an Old Testament prophet, than of any other prophet. He is referred to as a son of Hilkiah, not only to distinguish him from others of the same name, but to prove that he was of priestly origin. He came from the priestly town of Anathoth, a name meaning, “answered prayers.”

His call antedated his birth (Jer. 1:5), and he was consecrated to God before his birth. He was distinguished by his humility and native modesty. He felt he was a child and not mature enough to function as a prophet. With Browning he could say:

I was not born

Informed and fearless from the first, but shrank

From aught which marked me out apart from men:

I would have lived their life, and died their death

Lost in their ranks, eluding destiny.

But Jeremiah could not elude destiny. So we have:

I. His equipment for a God-appointed task (Jer. 1:7-9).

II. His sufferings. What sorrow and anguish were his (Lam. 1:12; 3:1). He was not permitted to marry (Jer. 16:2). Solitude was at once his penalty and greatness. Then we have his sad antagonisms (Jer. 1:18; 15:16, 17, 20; 20:1-18).

III. His persecutions. These came to him from many quarters (Jer. 11:18-20; 12:6; 20:6; 26; 37; 38:13-28; 43:6). Bitter, however, were his denunciations of his foes (Jer. 11:20; 15:18; 17:18; 18:21-23).

IV. His death. Tradition has it that he was stoned to death in Egypt by the Jews, and that when Alexander entered Egypt he rescued his bones from obscurity and buried them in Alexandria. See Hebrews 11:37.

Jeremiah’s ministry was an intensely sad one and his song is in the minor key. His was a divine melancholy that made his head “waters” and his eyes a fountain of tears. The truths he had to proclaim were unwelcome and brought him enemies, but he carried out his task without fear or favor. In these days of national apostasy and international strife, the preacher could not do better than live near the Book of Jeremiah, which has, as its dominant note, true religion in heart and life, in church and nation.

7. A priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. 10:2; 12:1, 12, 34).

8. A descendant of Jonadab, son of Rechab (Jer. 35:3).