Chronologically this is the last of Jeremiah’s prophecies to his countrymen. The fact that Jeremiah took ten days in which to think the problem through may be significant. It shows that the prophet’s sense of the authenticity of the word of God was often arrived at through hours of inner struggle and concern, the wrestling with the angel, until the blessings of the Lord should come. He must have been searching long for a way to tell his people that the way of Yahweh was not in flight but in learning to accept him where they were. The narrative leaves him an old man nearing seventy, rejected by his people. According to tradition, he was murdered in Egypt by fellow Judeans. At the conclusion of his narrative, Baruch appends a prophecy given him personally by Jeremiah when he first wrote down Jeremiah’s words. The future revealed by the prophet had depressed Baruch. This prophecy was to assure him of his person safety, while repeating the Lord’s determination to destroy Judah.
Chronologically this is the last of Jeremiah’s prophecies to his countrymen. The fact that Jeremiah took ten days in which to think the problem through may be significant. It shows that the prophet’s sense of the authenticity of the word of God was often arrived at through hours of inner struggle and concern, the wrestling with the angel, until the blessings of the Lord should come. He must have been searching long for a way to tell his people that the way of Yahweh was not in flight but in learning to accept him where they were. The narrative leaves him an old man nearing seventy, rejected by his people. According to tradition, he was murdered in Egypt by fellow Judeans. At the conclusion of his narrative, Baruch appends a prophecy given him personally by Jeremiah when he first wrote down Jeremiah’s words. The future revealed by the prophet had depressed Baruch. This prophecy was to assure him of his person safety, while repeating the Lord’s determination to destroy Judah.
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