Jeremiah & the fall of Jerusalem
How does the book of Jeremiah the Prophet help readers of the Bible to understand the historical and cultural circumstances that surrounded the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians?
The book of Jeremiah tells the story of the Prophet and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. Jeremiah helps the readers to understand why the events occurred and how the circumstances came to be. He gives a lot of information before, during and after the Babylonian attacks. The son of Hilkiah deals with the Israelites rebellion, idolatry and false prophets.
God allowed the exile and the fall of Jerusalem to occur to the Israelites because it came directly from God to punish them for turning away from Him. God used the king of Babylon to bring judgment against Israel. God told Jeremiah in the book Jeremiah 1:16 that God was willing to “pronounce [His] judgments on [His] people because of their wickedness in forsaking [Him], in burning incense to other gods and in worshipping what their hands have made.” He even wanted to “…pursue them with the sword until [He] destroy them” in Jeremiah 9:16b. To destroy and put Israel into exile for their rebellious act, God used Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument to punish His people. Jeremiah 27:6 says “now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him”. Meaning the Babylonians were part of God’s almighty plan to bring back His people to Him. Speaking to and through Jeremiah, God clearly states that the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians was directly from Him and began because of the rebellious people. The king of Babylon was used to fulfill God’s punishment.
The prophets, false prophets and Israel rejecting to listen to God’s warnings and opportunities to repent all contributed to the fall of Jerusalem. When God saw how the people broke the commandments, He sent prophets like Jeremiah to be his spokesperson as it...