Week 25 Jeremiah
By verse three I know that Jeremiah worked as a prophet during the time of three kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Jeremiah was there right up until Jerusalem was sacked and the people exiled to Babylon.
But that doesn’t catch me totally by surprise. I read that history seven weeks ago.
I turn back to Chronicles. Josiah reigned thirty-one years.
I flip over two pages. Jehoiakim reigned eleven years.
On the same page I see that Zedekiah reigned eleven years.
31 + 11 + 11 = 53 years of kings.
Jeremiah says in verse 2 that he became a prophet when Josiah had been king for thirteen years. So 53 – 13 = 40. The ninety-six page Book of Jeremiah covers about forty years of Jeremiah’s life.
While I’m looking at the last chapter of Chronicles I see that Zedekiah, last king of Judah: did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. And nine verses later the Babylonians totally deconstruct Jerusalem: to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.
Notes: Josiah II Chronicles 34:1; Jehoiakim 36:5; Zedekiah 36:11. Scanning through I realized I’d forgotten about two other kings during that time. Neither lasted more than four months and Jeremiah didn’t include them: Jehoahaz (36:1-2) and Jehoiachin (36:9). Quotes from 36:12, 21 (NASB version).