The Prophet Jeremiah’s Greatest Hits. by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
Author’s Note: Readers can find all previous volumes of this series here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible.”
Thanks for joining our Memorial Day weekend Bible study. While enjoying a BBQ or shopping for a new mattress, never forget the solemn reason for this holiday – to honor those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. That said, let us begin.
Today’s title reflects the third installment of a greatest hits mini-series within this study. The first was “Jesus’s Greatest Hits” Vol. 56, the second was “St. Paul’s” Vol. 61, and now Jeremiah joins that distinguished group.
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If you wonder what inspired this topic, there is the pop culture answer. My husband spotted the 1998 movie “Jeremiah” on Amazon Prime starring Patrick Dempsey. Watching the movie piqued my interest since I knew little about Jeremiah, but I had quoted from his self-titled Hebrew Bible/Old Testament book on numerous occasions.
A brief introduction provides context for Jeremiah’s “greatest hits.” The book of Jeremiah is an account of his prophetic ministry that spoke of Divine judgment for nations marred by sin, including Judah (approximately the same area as modern Israel.)
Jeremiah was born around 650 B.C in Anathoth, Judah, near Jerusalem. It is believed that he died in Egypt around 570 B.C., giving him a life span of about 80 years.
Jeremiah is often called the “prophet of doom” or a “weeping prophet” since he repeatedly warned against idol worship, wicked rulers, false prophets, and nations’ destruction. While very young, the Lord called Jeremiah into His service:
“ ‘The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations ’ ” (Jeremiah 1: 4-5). (Note the phrase, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” is often requoted by the pro-life movement.)
