What did the Prophet Jeremiah do?

Answer 1

He prophesied

Answer:

Jeremiah is only one of three men God says He knew before He formed them. Jeremiah had an immense tasks and it wasn't only for the Nation of Judah:

Jeremiah 1:4-5New King James Version (NKJV) The Prophet Is Called4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

Answer 2

The message of Jeremiah [from God] to the Jews to whom he personally spoke at that time was for the leaders of his nation, the clergy, as well as the people.

But the message had to be RE-recorded by Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, after the king burned the original message... for "the lost ten tribes of the House of Israel" that had disappeared from world history some 130 years before Jeremiah.

"Hear the Word of the LORD, O House of Jacob, ALL YE CLANS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. This IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: 'What fault did your fathers find in Me, that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves." (Jer.2:5 NIV)

The message Jeremiah spoke to the Jews was the same one declared by God's prophets to those scattered nations today who profess His name:

"I will pronounce My Judgments on My people because of their wickedness in forsaking Me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made." (Jer.1:16 NIV)

Idolatry [the worship of false gods; gods that are no gods], the longest of the Ten Commandments; has always been the most often repeated sin by the nations. And ultimately... it is "the nations" to whom Jeremiah's message still speaks, today:

"See, today I APPOINT YOU OVER NATIONS and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jer.1:10 NIV)

Jeremiah presided as God's prophet over the Jews, who were about to be "destroyed"... it's king and his kingdom "overthrown" by the Babylonian Empire.

The message to his people was the same one God's Word preaches today: REPENT! Turn back to the ways of God before your nation is destroyed.

"Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the Truth, I will forgive this city." (Jer.5:1 NIV)

"O LORD... You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and REFUSED TO REPENT." (verse 3)

The masses, however, are guided and take their cue from their leaders:

"...These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds." (verses 4-5)

Jeremiah's message cried out to a people who felt safe in their abuse of God's blessings which they enjoyed.

"Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by other gods that are not gods. I SUPPLIED ALL THEIR NEEDS, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are WELL-FED, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man's wife. 'Should I not punish them for this?' declares the LORD. 'Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? (verses 7-9)

Jeremiah's message from God to the people... to the nations is: "The House of Israel and the House of Judah [the Jews] have been utterly unfaithful to Me..." (verse 11).

"They have lied about the LORD; they said, 'He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. The prophets are but wind and the Word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.'

"Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: 'Because the people have spoken these words, I will make My Words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.

"O House of Israel,' declares the LORD, 'I am bringing a distant nation against you -- an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand... they will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust." (verses 12-17)

"And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' You will tell them, 'As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.'

"ANNOUNCE THIS TO THE HOUSE OF JACOB and PROCLAIM IT IN JUDAH: HEAR THIS, YOU FOOLISH AND SENSELESS PEOPLE, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: 'Should you not Fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Should you not tremble in My presence? ...these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us Fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

"Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good." (verses 19-25)

Jeremiah's message to the "stubborn, rebellious-hearted" peoples of the nations is a scary one.

"'A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and MY PEOPLE LOVE IT THIS WAY. But what will you do in the end?" (verses 30-31)