Jeremiah 22–31 (NIV) and How It Relates to the U.S. Today
In the 6 th century BCE (before the common era, or BC, before Christ), the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar was successfully harrying the Mediterranean world and the Levant (Palestine today). A way of life in jeopardy As foretold in shadowy simile in the book of Joel, they were as unstoppable as a locust plague and just as destructive. Northern Israel had already gone into Assyrian captivity (721 BCE), even as several prophets of Yahweh had clearly predicted, so they could not be called upon as allies in resistance. The Judahite king Jehoiakim was warned by Jeremiah that if Judah didn’t end their sinful ways and idolatry, they would be next. Kings have always had advisors, and in the ancient world, some of those advisors were prophets, seers, and sorcerers. They would rattle arrows and throw them on the ground, read tea leaves, convey their dreams, read a sheep’s liver, or look for signs in nature. The prophets of Yahweh were not allowed the usual methods of divination. G...