Scripture Helps
Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20
The Lord taught Jeremiah that he was foreordained to be a prophet. He ministered to the people of Judah, who had forsaken the Lord and turned to idolatry and were ripening for destruction. Jeremiah preached repentance, urging his people to turn from their wicked ways so the Savior could heal them. He prophesied that the people of Judah would suffer at the hands of an enemy nation as a punishment for their sins. He also prophesied of the miraculous gathering of Israel in the latter days.
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Background and Context
What is the book of Jeremiah?
The book of Jeremiah records the prophecies, warnings, and teachings of Jeremiah to the people of Judah. Jeremiah came from a priestly family from the tribal territory of Benjamin. The Lord called Jeremiah to be a prophet in the 13th year of King Josiah’s reign, when Jeremiah was a young man. Jeremiah’s ministry in Jerusalem spanned over 40 years, from about 627 to 586 BC. Other prophets who lived during Jeremiah’s lifetime include Lehi, Ezekiel, Daniel, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.
Jeremiah lived during a period of great wickedness and political turmoil. Throughout his ministry, Jeremiah warned the people of Judah that they would be scattered and destroyed if they did not repent. However, many rejected his message. Jeremiah witnessed the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the downfall of the Kingdom of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. After the destruction of Jerusalem, a group of survivors fled to Egypt and took Jeremiah with them, where it is traditionally believed that he was stoned to death.
Jeremiah, by Walter Rane
The book of Jeremiah can be divided into the following sections:
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Jeremiah 1–6: Jeremiah’s call and prophecies against Judah during the reign of King Josiah.
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Jeremiah 7–20: Prophecies during the reign of King Jehoiakim, including warnings of judgment and Jeremiah’s personal struggles.
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Jeremiah 21–38: Prophecies during the reign of King Zedekiah and the final events before the downfall of Jerusalem.
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Jeremiah 39–45: The fall of Jerusalem and its aftermath.
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Jeremiah 46–52: Prophecies against foreign nations, followed by a historical appendix that recounts Jerusalem’s fall.
What does it mean that Jeremiah was “ordained … a prophet” before birth?
The Lord revealed to Jeremiah that his calling as a prophet predated his birth. This principle is known as foreordination—“God’s premortal ordination of His valiant spirit children to fulfill certain missions during their mortal lives.” The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was.”
“Foreordination does not guarantee that individuals will receive certain callings or responsibilities. Such opportunities come in this life as a result of the righteous exercise of agency, just as foreordination came as a result of righteousness in the premortal existence.”
What is a cistern?
Cisterns were man-made pits dug into the ground to collect and store rainwater. In the dry regions of the ancient Near East, where rainfall was scarce and natural water sources were rare, cisterns were an important part of daily survival. Cisterns were often lined with plaster to make them watertight. If a cistern developed cracks, it could no longer retain water and became useless.
In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord described Himself as “the fountain of living waters”—a continually flowing, life-giving spring. But Israel turned away from Him and chose false gods instead. Like broken cisterns that could “hold no water,” the false gods worshipped by many Israelites had no power to help them.
What is meant by the phrase “thy backslidings shall reprove thee”?
Jeremiah frequently used the word backsliding in reference to the people of Judah and Israel. Backsliding refers to the people returning back to waywardness, faithlessness, or apostasy. Jeremiah taught that Israel’s repeated lapses into idolatry and wickedness would “reprove” (or correct) them. President Boyd K. Packer explained, “Often, very often, we are punished as much by our sins as we are for them.”
Why did the Lord consider Judah to be more “treacherous” than Israel?
The Lord compared the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to two sisters. One sister (Judah) watched the other (Israel) ignore the warnings of the prophets and ultimately reject the Lord. Because of this rejection, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in the century before Jeremiah’s time. The people of Judah, despite having witnessed Israel’s downfall, continued in their sinful ways. For this reason, the Lord considered them more “treacherous” than the people of Israel.
What does it mean that the Lord is married to Israel?
The Lord used the concept of marriage to teach the Israelites about His covenant relationship with them. Even though the people of Israel had “played the harlot” and broken their covenant, the Lord still desired a relationship with them. He pleaded, “Turn, O backsliding children, … for I am married unto you.” The Lord’s symbolic marriage to Israel is a consistent theme throughout the Old Testament, and it exemplifies His unwavering love, loyalty, and commitment to His covenant people.
President Russell M. Nelson explained: “Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.”
What “lying words” did the Lord say the Israelites were trusting?
In Jeremiah’s time, many people were misled by the “lying words” of their leaders, who taught that having the temple in their midst would provide divine protection regardless of their actions. Through Jeremiah, the Lord promised that the people would be spared if they would repent. Otherwise, not even the temple, which had become a “den of robbers,” would save them. To illustrate His point, the Lord reminded the people that the tabernacle in Shiloh in the Northern Kingdom had been destroyed and that the people had been taken away captive.
The language of Jeremiah 7:11, combined with that of Isaiah 56:7, was used by Jesus when He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem during His mortal ministry.
What does it mean that the Lord would send hunters and fishers after the children of Israel?
Jeremiah 16 begins with a prophecy of the coming destruction and scattering of the people of Judah due to their persistent wickedness. Jeremiah then prophesied of a future day when the children of Israel would be gathered back to their lands. He taught that this gathering would be even more miraculous than the Lord’s deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt.
Latter-day prophets have affirmed that this prophesied gathering is underway. This includes the efforts of missionaries—symbolized in Jeremiah as “fishers” and “hunters.” President Russell M. Nelson explained: “Here on earth, missionary work is crucial to the gathering of Israel. … In many nations our missionaries have searched for those of scattered Israel; they have hunted for them ‘out of the holes of the rocks’; and they have fished for them as in ancient days.”
What does it mean to hallow the Sabbath day?
Jeremiah promised that if the people would hallow the Sabbath day, Jerusalem would remain free from foreign oppression. But if they failed to do so, the city would be destroyed. The Hebrew word translated as “hallowed” in the King James Version means to make something holy or regard it as holy. It can also mean to consecrate or dedicate something to God. The Lord Himself “blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
What is the east wind?
The east wind is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. From the perspective of those in ancient Israel, this was a scorching wind that blew in from the Arabian Peninsula. It could be powerfully destructive, killing vegetation, drying up springs, and sometimes destroying houses. The Israelites often identified the east wind with the judgment and power of God.
Why did Jeremiah say that the Lord deceived him?
The book of Jeremiah includes a series of poetic laments or complaints, which scholars often refer to as Jeremiah’s “confessions.” These passages reveal the emotional and spiritual turmoil Jeremiah experienced during his difficult ministry.
One such lament appears in Jeremiah 20, following an incident in which Jeremiah was beaten and confined after prophesying against the people of Judah. The lament begins with the phrase “O Lord, thou hast deceived me.” The Hebrew word translated as “deceived” can also mean “enticed” or “persuaded.” Jeremiah may have been expressing frustration that the Lord had drawn him into prophetic duties that proved to be deeply challenging.
Initially, Jeremiah declared that he would no longer speak in the Lord’s name, but he quickly concluded that remaining silent would be impossible. President Jeffrey R. Holland summarized: “Angry that he had been so mistreated and maligned, Jeremiah vowed, in effect, never to teach another lesson. … ‘I will not make mention of [the Lord], nor speak any more in his name,’ the discouraged prophet said. But then came the turning point of Jeremiah’s life. Something had been happening with every testimony he had borne, every scripture he had read, every truth he had taught. Something had been happening that he hadn’t counted on. Even as he vowed to close his mouth and walk away from the Lord’s work, he found that he could not. Why? Because ‘his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay’ [Jeremiah 20:9].”
Learn More
Jeremiah’s ministry
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Jean A. Tefan, “Jeremiah: As Potter’s Clay,” Ensign, Oct. 2002, 11–13
Foreordination
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Topics and Questions, “Foreordination,” Gospel Library
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Steven R. Bangerter, “Foreordained to Serve,” Liahona, May 2024, 56–59
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“What Is the Relationship Between Foreordination and Agency?,” Liahona, Oct. 2023, 47
Sabbath day
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Topics and Questions, “Sabbath Day,” Gospel Library
Missionary work
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Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 79–81
Media
Video
Images
Moses Parting the Red Sea, by Robert T. Barrett. Jeremiah prophesied that the gathering of Israel would someday be seen as an even more miraculous event than the parting of the Red Sea.