Jeremiah 26 - Introduction

Jeremiah 26:1-24. Solemn warning addressed to the people and its results

This ch. as a whole gives us a rapid sketch of the circumstances under which Jeremiah had uttered the prophecies that went before. The more definite he had become in his warnings, the more he excited the wrath of the false prophets and of those who sided with them; and now that he had explicitly announced (Jeremiah 25:11) a seventy years" captivity, their indignation boiled over, and they sought to compass his death. From the contents of this ch. then we can realise better under what conditions and with what courage the prophet continued his fore-castings of definite calamity in the Chapter s which follow. "The beginning" will naturally denote some date earlier than the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, when the crisis came about, and Jeremiah was no longer listened to nor tolerated (ch. 36).

The ch. may be summarized thus. (i) Jeremiah 26:1. Jeremiah declares publicly that in the absence of amendment the Temple shall share the fate of Shiloh. (ii) Jeremiah 26:7. He is in consequence attacked by priests and prophets, and speaks in his own defence. (iii) Jeremiah 26:16. The princes and people rescue and defend him. Micah's case is adduced in his support. (iv) Jeremiah 26:20. Jeremiah's danger is illustrated by the compiler by means of the story of Uriah.