The Holy Scriptures

From: The Christian Shepherd: 2002 By: Nicolas Simon

Jeremiah 1‑52; Lamentations 1‑5; Ezekiel 1‑48; Daniel 1‑12 • 7 min. read • grade level: 11

Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel all prophesied during the final turbulent years of the kingdom of Judah. While Jeremiah remained among the poor of the land dwelling at Jerusalem (Jer. 40:6⁶Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. (Jeremiah 40:6)), Ezekiel is found dwelling among the captives (Ezek. 1:1¹Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. (Ezekiel 1:1)), and Daniel is in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar. How beautiful it is to see each in their appointed place, faithfully proclaiming the message given them of Jehovah. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were priests (Jer. 1:1¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: (Jeremiah 1:1); Ezek. 1:3³The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. (Ezekiel 1:3)); Daniel was of royal descent (Dan. 1:3³And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; (Daniel 1:3)).

Chronology

The entire period from Josiah to the destruction of Jerusalem is a little over fifty years. There were five kings who reigned during this time. The first was Josiah—slain by Pharaoh-nechoh (2 Kings 23:29²⁹In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. (2 Kings 23:29)).

Next came Jehoahaz (Shallum) the son of Josiah—made king by the people (2 Kings 23:30³⁰And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. (2 Kings 23:30)) and taken captive by the king of Egypt (2 Kings 23:33³³And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. (2 Kings 23:33)).

Jehoiakim (Eliakim), another son of Josiah, was third—made king by Pharaoh-nechoh (2 Kings 23:34³⁴And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there. (2 Kings 23:34)), and later a vassal of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:1¹In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. (2 Kings 24:1)). Daniel was captive during this time.

Fourth was Jehoiachin (or Jechoniah or Coniah), a grandson of Josiah, the son of Jehoiakim—taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:15¹⁵And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. (2 Kings 24:15)). Ezekiel was taken captive at this time (Ezek. 1:2²In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, (Ezekiel 1:2)).

The fifth king was Zedekiah (Mattaniah), a third son of Josiah and the last king of Judah—made king by Nebuchadnezzar and taken captive by him (2 Kings 24:17; 25:7¹⁷And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. (2 Kings 24:17)
⁷And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. (2 Kings 25:7)). It was a time of profound change during which God was setting aside Israel and placing His government in the hands of a Gentile nation. Understanding this is key to understanding these books.

Outward Appearances

Outwardly things appeared to be very good in the days of Josiah. However, while the king zealously followed the Lord, the hearts of the people were unchanged, and the recovery to Jehovah was feigned (Jer. 3:6-11⁶The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. ⁷And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. ⁸And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. ⁹And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. ¹⁰And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord. ¹¹And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (Jeremiah 3:6‑11)).

Jeremiah had the task of prophesying to a nation that refused to hear—to a people that would soon be subdued by a foreign power as ordered by the government of God. False prophets, whose words pleased the people, constantly opposed him.

Jeremiah enters into all this personally. His love for the people and his jealousy for a holy God produced a tremendous conflict in his soul and resulted in physical suffering. He is known as the weeping prophet (Jer. 9:1¹Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! (Jeremiah 9:1)), standing in the breach, pleading for the people. Jeremiah’s life is woven into the fabric of his prophecies.

Jeremiah

The book consists of a number of distinct prophecies. Since they are not ordered chronologically, a moral order must be understood.

In the first twenty-four chapters Jeremiah pleads with the people, appealing to their heart and conscience, taking us to the siege of Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. 21-24).

In chapter 25 we have a general summary of God’s judgments by the hand Nebuchadrezzar (ch. 25:8-11), the punishment of the king of Babylon after seventy years (ch. 25:12), and the judgment of the nations (ch. 25:31).

The remaining prophecies have much more to do with historic events. In chapters 30-33 we are taken prophetically to the future time of Jacob’s trouble. It looks forward to a coming day when God will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah (ch. 31:31), restore the land to them again, and “cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land” (ch. 33:15).

In chapters 40-44 we have the final history of the remnant in the land and their escape into Egypt contrary to the word of the Lord by Jeremiah (ch. 42:7-22). Chapters 46-51 give the judgment of the nations, beginning with Egypt and ending with Babylon.

Lamentations

The book of Lamentations contains the lament of Jeremiah over Jerusalem—once great among the nations—now solitary and desolate (Lam. 1:1¹How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! (Lamentations 1:1)). The Lord had done righteously, but understanding God’s government against that city only deepened Jeremiah’s sorrow (vs. 18).

Jeremiah confessed the sin of the city as his own, and he felt what it was to be rejected by the very ones for whom he wept. In his sorrow we see expressed something of the sorrow so fully felt by the rejected Christ (vs. 12).

Chapters one, two and four each have twenty-two verses commencing with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Similarly, chapter 3 has twenty-two stanzas of three verses each. The fifth chapter, while having twenty-two verses, is not constrained by this arrangement, for it is a prayer. With confession made, Jeremiah can bring that which has afflicted the people before a compassionate (ch. 3:22-36) and unchanging God (ch. 5:19).

Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s prophecy takes in all Israel (Ezek. 2:3³And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. (Ezekiel 2:3)). The book does not concern itself with the times of the Gentiles. This period is to be found fully detailed in the book of Daniel. Rather, this interval is skipped over and Ezekiel’s prophecy resumes with the millennium, when Jerusalem will again be the center of God’s government. Ezekiel’s prophecies are full of symbols and imagery.

The book may be divided into four parts. Chapters 1-24—the rebellious house of Israel (ch. 3:9). These are arranged chronologically and tell of the impending Chaldean invasion and the destruction of Jerusalem (ch. 24).

Chapters 25-32—the judgment of the seven Gentile nations—Ammon (ch. 25:1), Moab (ch. 25:8), Edom (ch. 25:12), Philistia (ch. 25:15), Tyre (ch. 26-28:19), Zidon (ch. 28:20), and Egypt (ch. 29-32).

Chapters 33-39—the return of the remnant, which of necessity includes judgment on Israel and those that oppose that restoration.

Chapters 40-48—the future millennial temple.

Daniel

Of all the Old Testament prophets, Daniel is the one with whom we are most familiar. There are numerous practical lessons to be learned from his life. His faithfulness is recorded by Ezekiel (Ezek. 14:14¹⁴Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 14:14)), and as a faithful one amidst a Gentile nation, he is a picture to us of the Jewish remnant of the later day.

As a prophet in the court of Gentile kings, he is occupied with the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24²⁴And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)). The book may be divided into two. The first six chapters give us the history of the monarchs from Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Cyrus the Persian (Dan. 6:28²⁸So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. (Daniel 6:28)) and Daniel’s interaction with them. Here are to be found general principles concerning the times of the Gentiles. The details of this period are covered in the remaining six chapters in Daniel’s visions.

There are four Gentile nations beginning with the Babylonian empire (Nebuchadnezzar). That kingdom would be succeeded by the Persian (under Cyrus), which in turn would be overtaken by the Grecian (Alexander the Great). A final empire, the Roman, would conquer the Greeks.

Though the Roman Empire declined and collapsed, no superseding kingdom rose in its place. In a coming day the Roman Empire will reappear in its final form as a ten-nation confederacy—a beast—dreadful and terrible (Dan. 7:7⁷After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7)).

In this book we also find that seventy weeks (or periods of seven) are determined upon Daniel’s people (the Jews) and upon the holy city (Jerusalem; ch. 9:24). From the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem (Neh. 2) until Messiah the Prince would be sixty-nine weeks (seven plus sixty-two; Dan. 9:25-26²⁵Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:25‑26)). When each week is taken as seven years, we find that the 69 weeks, or 483 years, has been fulfilled precisely.

Further, a prince will come—of the people that would destroy Jerusalem (the Romans)—and will confirm a covenant with the many for one week. This is the final and seventieth week (Dan. 9:26-27²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:26‑27)).