One of Manasseh’s gravest sins was to desecrate the court of the Temple by building altars to Baal, and to set up a graven image in the holy house where God had set His name (read Kings 21) The moral condition of Judah in the days of Jeremiah is pun-gently described by the prophet in 5:31: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so!” For fty years blasphemous insults to God were heaped up by king, priest, and people, until the climax was reached, and Judah’s doom was irrevocably sealed Although the judgment was postponed for a while because of the tender heart and righteous life of King Josiah, twenty- ve years after his death the kingdom of Judah was a thing of the past Into this political and moral turmoil, God sent Jeremiah to be His spokesman Much of Jeremiah’s ministry concerned the international situation in which Judah was intimately and precariously involved Look a t Map T and observe that Canaan was the geographical link between Egypt in the southwest and Syria, Assyria, Babylon, and other nations in the north Each nation sought to be the world power Control of Canaan was a must for such a claim D HIS CONTEMPORARIES S t u d y Chart 82 for orientation to the historical setting of Jeremiah Observe the three groups of contemporaries: Contemporary prophets These have been referred to above Contemporary kings These are the kings who were reigning over Judah while Jeremiah prophesied Only Josiah was a good king Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin reigned for only a brief time Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah are the kings who played a major role in Jeremiah’s career Sections of the book of Jeremiah referring to these reigns are: Josiah: 2:1—12:17 Jehoiakim: 13:1—20:1g; 25:1—27:11 Zedekiah: 21:1—24:10; 27:12—39:18 Contemporary foreign powers Observe that in the early part of Jeremiah’s ministry, Judah was threatened mainly by Egypt and Assyria Judah was continually tempted to make alliance with one power so as to be protected from the other Jeremiah’s consistent message was to get right with God and trust Him for protection from any nation In the latter part of Jeremiah’s career, the threats were from Babylon Two events had brought about the change of threat: (1) the Assyrians were defeated by the Babylonians in 612 B.C with the fall of Nineveh; (2) the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians in 605 B.C at the Battle of Carchemish Judah resisted Babylon; but Jeremiah, by direction from God, urged Judah to give in to Babylon so as to avoid utter destruction, ... In the latter part of Jeremiah’s career, the threats were from Babylon Two events had brought about the change of threat: (1) the Assyrians were defeated by the Babylonians in 612 B.C with the. .. orientation to the historical setting of Jeremiah Observe the three groups of contemporaries: Contemporary prophets These have been referred to above Contemporary kings These are the kings who... after his death the kingdom of Judah was a thing of the past Into this political and moral turmoil, God sent Jeremiah to be His spokesman Much of Jeremiah’s ministry concerned the international