The Circumcised Heart and Tablet of the Heart
Okay, try to retain your composure—yeah, we know: we're talking about circumcision… but it's circumcision of the HEART, people… Jest if you must. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the...
The End of the Ark
This is one prophecy that partly came true. Jeremiah (or someone who wrote the relevant prophecy) predicted that the original Ark of the Covenant would disappear and people would no longer think ab...
The Exodus
Jeremiah says that God will be praised not only for leading the Israelites out of Egypt, but for leading their descendants out of Babylon, as well. Therefore, the days are surely coming, says...
Good and Bad Figs
In Chapter 22, God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed before God's temple. But it's not lunchtime; it's moral lesson time. Come on—we're talking about God here. He's not feeding you figs w...
Israel
Israel as Daughter, Bride, Virgin, or ProstituteIn parts of the Book of Jeremiah, God addresses Judah as a female, typically an adulterous wife cheating on God. Israel's even compared with a female...
Jeremiah's Loincloth
Not only does God compare Judah to a disobedient wife, he also compares it to a filthy loincloth that is now unusable, though it used to be his (God's) loincloth. That's right—God says, "For as t...
The Rechabites Refuse Wine
The Rechabites are a nomadic group of people who take refuge from the Babylonian invasion by holing up in Jerusalem. In Chapter 35, God tells Jeremiah to offer them wine, but they refuse, saying th...
Vegetation Imagery
Along with the other prophets, Jeremiah loves a good vegetation metaphor (see our earlier comments on figs, e.g.). In the second chapter, God attacks Judah for being a domesticated vine that went r...
Wine Jars and the Earthenware Jug
As we know by this point, Jeremiah's God, like Guns n' Roses, has an immense "Appetite for Destruction." So naturally, he compares humans to easily smash-able wine jars and earthenware jugs. This a...
The Yoke
In Chapter 27, God commands Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke, symbolizing the yoke of captivity that Babylon will put on Judah by conquering it. However, in Chapter 28, the false prophet Hananiah sna...