Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2
  "Verse 2 describes the condition of the land before God prepared it for human beings."31"Deep"(tahom) describes the world. In the Old Testament tahomrefers to the ocean, which the ancient world regarded as symbolic of chaos a...
• 3. The peace offering ch. 3
  The peace (fellowship, NIV) offering was the third sacrifice of worship. It represented the fellowship between God and man that resulted from the relationship that God had established with the redeemed individual. Peace and f...
• The preservation of God's people within a world under divine judgment 24:1-20
  Isaiah revealed that the Lord's people are at the center of His plans for the world (cf. 14:2; 21:10). He will preserve them even though He will judge sinful humanity.227This passage contains many connections with the flood n...
• Purpose
  Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
• Outline
  I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
• 1. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-10
  1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
• A. Warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem chs. 2-25
  Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to the Judahites in view of their sins and the consequences of those sins.
• 1. Warnings of coming punishment because of Judah's guilt chs. 2-6
  Most of the material in this section is prophetic oracles that are poetic in form. There are three messages, the first indicting Judah for her evil (ch. 2), the second pleading for repentance (3:1-4:4), and the third declarin...
• The intensity and severity of the coming judgment 4:11-18
  4:11-12 The Lord also said that when this invasion would come it would descend like a violent wind from the north. It would be far more severe than an ordinary attack that the prophet compared to a gentle breeze that would wi...
• The anguished response of Jeremiah 4:19-22
  This section is the first of Jeremiah's so-called "confessions."1224:19 Jeremiah complained that his heart was pounding and he felt very upset because he had heard the Lord's announcement of impending invasion and destruction...
• A vision of the coming destruction 4:23-26
  "In one of the most magnificent lyrical passages in the entire prophecy [vv. 23-31], Jeremiah experiences a dramatic moment of insight concerning the outpouring of divine anger upon Judah."1254:23 Jeremiah described the land ...
• An oracle concerning the coming destruction 4:27-31
  4:27 The Lord promised to destroy the whole land but not completely. A remnant of His people would survive the disaster.4:28 Yahweh's fixed purpose to bring this destruction on Judah was such bad news that even the earth and ...
• The siege of Jerusalem predicted 6:1-8
  "The striking feature of this chapter is its rapidity of movement leading to the gathering storm of invasion soon to engulf the capital and the land."1506:1 The Lord called the Benjamites, Jeremiah's tribal kinsmen, to flee f...
• The people's response to the invader's attack 6:22-26
  6:22 Again Yahweh announced that people from a great and distant land would descend on Judah from the north.6:23 They would be cruel warriors riding on instruments of warfare shouting loud battle cries and making as much nois...
• Jeremiah's evaluation of his people 6:27-30
  6:27 Yahweh informed Jeremiah that He had given the prophet a roll in Judah that was similar to that of an assayer of metals. He would be able and be responsible to test the "mettle"of the Lord's people (cf. 5:1).6:28 The Jud...
• Aspects of false religion 7:1-8:3
  All the messages in this section deal with departure from the Lord in religious practices, either in pagan rites or in the perversion of the proper worship of Yahweh that the Mosaic Law specified. All the material in this sec...
• Jerusalem's ruin 9:10-16
  9:10 The Lord took up a lamentation on behalf of the land that suffered because of His people's sin. The coming invasion would leave the land deserted even by beasts and birds. The rest of this message indicates that the inva...
• Jerusalem's incurable wickedness 13:20-27
  13:20 The Lord called Jerusalem to look north and she would see people coming.238The city was about to lose the flock of special people over whom the Lord had made her responsible, namely, His people of Judah.13:21 What would...
• A collection of Jeremiah's denunciations of Judah's kings and false prophets chs. 21-23
  This section of the book contains some of Jeremiah's messages concerning Judah's kings (21:1-23:8) and false prophets (23:9-40) that he delivered closer to the time of Jerusalem's invasion than the previous chapters.300Beginn...
• Universal judgment to come 25:30-38
  25:30 Jeremiah was also to announce that God would prepare to judge all the inhabitants of the earth (v. 29). As a lion announces its intent to attack with a roar, so Yahweh would one day announce His attack on earth dwellers...
• B. Controversies concerning false prophets chs. 26-29
  These chapters contrast the true prophet of Yahweh with the false prophets. Distinguishing between them was difficult for Jeremiah's contemporaries, but their essential difference is clear. The true prophets proclaimed the Lo...
• Israel rebuilt and planted by a loving God 31:2-6
  31:2 When the Israelites would seek rest from the attacks of their enemies (cf. 6:16; Exod. 33:14; Deut. 3:20; Josh. 1:13, 15; 22:4; Isa. 63:14), they would find it in the wilderness (cf. 2:2; Rev. 12:14-16).401They will find...
• D. Incidents surrounding the fall of Jerusalem chs. 34-45
  The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
• Baruch's despair and consolation ch. 45
  This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
• Bibliography
  Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
• A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11
  Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem's destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.1:1 Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so g...
• Proof of rebelliousness 11:1-4
  11:1 The Lord reminded His people that when Israel was in its early days as a nation, like a youth, He loved the nation (cf. Exod. 4:22-23). As often, loving refers to choosing (cf. Gen. 12:2-3). God chose Israel for special ...
• 3. The relentlessness of the army 2:6-9
  2:6 As this army advanced, all the people in and around Jerusalem felt terrified and turned pale with fear (cf. Isa. 26:17; Jer. 4:31; Mic. 4:10).2:7-9 The enemy soldiers ran with great stamina and climbed over walls, as locu...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• B. Yahweh's answer about Judah 1:5-11
  Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
• D. Israel's restoration to God's favor 8:1-17
  Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, "a decalogueof divine words,"155that make up the two major ones. "Thus says the Lord"introduces each of these minor message...
• 3. Jesus' general description of the future 24:7-14 (cf. Mark 13:8-13; Luke 21:10-19)
  Jesus proceeded to give His disciples a general picture of conditions just before He will return to end the present age and inaugurate His kingdom.24:7-8 Wars, famines, and earthquakes will anticipate the end of the present a...
• 5. Jesus' triumphal entry 12:12-19 (cf. Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40)
  The importance of this incident in Jesus' ministry is evident from the fact that all four Gospel evangelists recorded it. Matthew and Mark placed this event before Mary's anointing of Jesus in Simon's house (vv. 1-8). However...
• The dragon's hostility toward the male child 12:1-6
  This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...