Jeremiah 26 Study Notes: Jeremiah on Trial for His Life
Jeremiah warns in the temple that it will share the fate of Shiloh unless the people repent, and the priests and the prophets demand his death. The officials and the people refuse, and elders recall how Hezekiah heeded Micah. Jehoiakim had the prophet Uriah killed for the same message, but Ahikam protects Jeremiah.
General
Unlike Uriah, Jeremiah escaped being given up to the crowd for execution. Who supported him (Jeremiah 26:24)?
Answer: Ahikam son of Shaphan
The chapter ends by noting that Ahikam son of Shaphan stood with Jeremiah, which kept him from being given up to the crowd and killed (26:24). Ahikam had served as one of King Josiah’s officials (2 Kings 22:12). Uriah, who preached the same message, was killed, but Jeremiah was kept alive. God had promised Jeremiah at his call that his enemies would fight against him but never overcome him, because God was with him to rescue him (1:19), and He repeated that promise later (15:20). God kept His word through a supportive official.
- Jeremiah 26:24 (BSB)“Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.”Ahikam son of Shaphan supports Jeremiah so he is not put to death.
- 2 Kings 22:12 (BSB)“and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:”Ahikam son of Shaphan appears among King Josiah’s officials.
- Jeremiah 1:19 (BSB)“They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”God promised that Jeremiah’s opponents would not overcome him.
- Jeremiah 15:20 (BSB)“Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, declares the LORD.”God renewed His promise to save and deliver Jeremiah.
Theological
In contrast to Uriah’s fate, whose support kept Jeremiah from being given up to the crowd for execution (Jeremiah 26:24)?
Answer: Ahikam son of Shaphan
Ahikam son of Shaphan, who had served among Josiah’s officials (2 Kings 22:12), supported Jeremiah so that he was not given up to the crowd for execution (26:24). Set beside Uriah’s execution, the verse shows God’s providence preserving His prophet through ordinary human means. It fulfills the promise given at Jeremiah’s call that his opponents would fight against him but not prevail, because the LORD was with him to deliver him (1:19; renewed in 15:20).
- Jeremiah 26:24 (BSB)“Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.”Ahikam son of Shaphan supports Jeremiah so he is not put to death.
- 2 Kings 22:12 (BSB)“and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:”Ahikam son of Shaphan appears among King Josiah’s officials.
- Jeremiah 1:19 (BSB)“They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”God promised that Jeremiah’s opponents would not overcome him.
- Jeremiah 15:20 (BSB)“Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, declares the LORD.”God renewed His promise to save and deliver Jeremiah.
General
Some elders reminded the assembly that Micah of Moresheth had foretold Jerusalem’s ruin in Hezekiah’s day. According to the elders, how had Hezekiah responded, and what followed (Jeremiah 26:17-19)?
Answer: Hezekiah feared the LORD and sought His favor, and the LORD relented
Certain elders rose and reminded the assembly that in King Hezekiah’s day the prophet Micah of Moresheth had foretold that Zion would be plowed up like farmland and Jerusalem reduced to ruins (26:17-18). His words are recorded in the book of Micah (Micah 3:12), which says he prophesied during Hezekiah’s reign (Micah 1:1). Hezekiah did not put Micah to death. Instead, he feared the LORD and sought His favor, and the LORD held back the ruin He had threatened (26:19). The elders warned that killing Jeremiah would bring serious trouble on themselves.
- Jeremiah 26:18-19 (BSB)““Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and told all the people of Judah that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.’ Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and seek His favor, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!””The elders recall Micah’s prophecy and Hezekiah’s response of fearing the LORD.
- Micah 3:12 (BSB)“Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.”Micah foretold that Zion would become farmland and Jerusalem a ruin.
- Micah 1:1 (BSB)“This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:”Micah prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Theological
What precedent from Hezekiah’s reign do the elders cite in Jeremiah’s defense, and what lesson do they draw (Jeremiah 26:17-19)?
Answer: Hezekiah feared the LORD and sought His favor, and the LORD relented
The elders appeal to precedent: in Hezekiah’s days Micah of Moresheth prophesied that Zion would be plowed as a field and Jerusalem become ruins (26:17-18; Micah 3:12; compare Micah 1:1). Hezekiah did not execute him but feared the LORD and entreated His favor, and the LORD relented of the calamity He had pronounced (26:19). The argument draws a clear lesson: the right response to a word of judgment is repentance, not silencing the messenger, and to kill Jeremiah would bring serious harm on themselves.
- Jeremiah 26:18-19 (BSB)““Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and told all the people of Judah that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.’ Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and seek His favor, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!””The elders recall Micah’s prophecy and Hezekiah’s response of fearing the LORD.
- Micah 3:12 (BSB)“Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.”Micah foretold that Zion would become farmland and Jerusalem a ruin.
- Micah 1:1 (BSB)“This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:”Micah prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah.
General
When Judah’s officials came to hear the case, how did Jeremiah answer the charge that he deserved death (Jeremiah 26:12-15)?
Answer: He said the LORD sent him, urged them to change, and warned of guilt
Jeremiah did not take back a word. He told the officials and the people that the LORD had sent him to prophesy everything they had heard against the temple and the city (26:12). He urged them to change their ways and obey the LORD, so that He would hold back the ruin He had announced (26:13). He placed himself in their hands, but warned that if they killed him they would bring the guilt of shedding innocent blood on themselves, on the city, and on its people, because the LORD truly had sent him (26:14-15). The LORD had told Jeremiah at his call to speak everything He commanded and not be afraid (1:17). God’s law treated shedding innocent blood as serious guilt (Deuteronomy 19:10). Later the apostles also chose God’s authority over human authority (Acts 5:29).
- Jeremiah 26:12-13 (BSB)“But Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you.”Jeremiah says the LORD sent him and calls the people to amend their ways.
- Jeremiah 26:14-15 (BSB)“As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.””Jeremiah puts himself in their hands but warns of the guilt of innocent blood.
- Jeremiah 1:17 (BSB)“Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.”At his call God told Jeremiah to speak everything commanded without being intimidated.
- Deuteronomy 19:10 (BSB)“Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.”The law sought to keep the land free of the guilt of innocent blood.
- Acts 5:29 (BSB)“But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.”The apostles likewise put God’s command above human authority.
Theological
How does Jeremiah respond before the officials to the demand for his execution (Jeremiah 26:12-15)?
Answer: He said the LORD sent him, urged them to change, and warned of guilt
Jeremiah neither recants nor resists. He grounds everything in his commission: the LORD sent him to prophesy all these words (26:12, 15). He repeats the call to amend their ways so the LORD may relent (26:13), surrenders himself to their judgment (26:14), and warns that killing him would bring innocent blood on themselves and the city (26:15), a grave matter under the law (Deuteronomy 19:10). His stance fulfills the charge given at his call to speak all that God commands without fear (1:17), and parallels the apostles’ resolve to put God’s command above human command (Acts 5:29).
- Jeremiah 26:12-13 (BSB)“But Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you.”Jeremiah says the LORD sent him and calls the people to amend their ways.
- Jeremiah 26:14-15 (BSB)“As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.””Jeremiah puts himself in their hands but warns of the guilt of innocent blood.
- Jeremiah 1:17 (BSB)“Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.”At his call God told Jeremiah to speak everything commanded without being intimidated.
- Deuteronomy 19:10 (BSB)“Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.”The law sought to keep the land free of the guilt of innocent blood.
- Acts 5:29 (BSB)“But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.”The apostles likewise put God’s command above human authority.
General
True or False: After hearing Jeremiah, the officials and the people ruled against the priests and the prophets, saying he did not deserve to die because he had spoken in the LORD’s name (Jeremiah 26:16).
Answer: True
This is true. Once Judah’s officials learned what was happening, they came from the royal palace and took their seats by the temple’s New Gate to hear the case (26:10). The priests and the prophets accused Jeremiah of deserving death for prophesying against the city (26:11). But after Jeremiah’s answer, the officials and the people ruled against the priests and the prophets, saying he did not deserve death, because he had spoken to them in the LORD’s name (26:16). The same crowd that had joined in seizing him now sided with the officials. God’s law condemned a prophet who spoke a message in His name that He had not commanded (Deuteronomy 18:20), and the law also gave a way to tell a word the LORD had not spoken (Deuteronomy 18:21-22), but the officials judged that Jeremiah had been sent by the LORD.
- Jeremiah 26:10-11 (BSB)“When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate. Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!””The officials sit at the New Gate as the priests and the prophets accuse Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 26:16 (BSB)“Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, “This man is not worthy of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God!””The officials and people declare that Jeremiah does not deserve death.
- Deuteronomy 18:20 (BSB)“But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.””The law condemned a prophet who spoke in God’s name a message God had not commanded.
- Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (BSB)“You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”The law gave Israel a way to recognize a word the LORD had not spoken.
Theological
True or False: The officials and the people rejected the demand of the priests and the prophets for Jeremiah’s death on the ground that he had spoken in the LORD’s name (Jeremiah 26:16).
Answer: True
This is true. The officials come up from the palace and take their seat at the New Gate (26:10); the priests and the prophets press the capital charge (26:11); and after Jeremiah’s defense the officials and the people declare that he does not deserve execution, since he has spoken in the LORD’s name (26:16). The law condemned a prophet who presumed to deliver, in the LORD’s name, a message He had not commanded (Deuteronomy 18:20), and it gave a test for discerning such a word (Deuteronomy 18:21-22), so the verdict amounts to recognizing Jeremiah’s word as genuinely from God. The religious leaders who should have discerned this are the ones overruled.
- Jeremiah 26:10-11 (BSB)“When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate. Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!””The officials sit at the New Gate as the priests and the prophets accuse Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 26:16 (BSB)“Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, “This man is not worthy of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God!””The officials and people declare that Jeremiah does not deserve death.
- Deuteronomy 18:20 (BSB)“But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.””The law condemned a prophet who spoke in God’s name a message God had not commanded.
- Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (BSB)“You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”The law gave Israel a way to recognize a word the LORD had not spoken.
General
When Jeremiah finished speaking in the temple, who grabbed him and declared that he must die for saying the temple would become like Shiloh (Jeremiah 26:7-9)?
Answer: The priests, the prophets, and the crowd of worshipers
The priests, the prophets, and the whole crowd listened to Jeremiah’s message. The moment he finished, they seized him and shouted that he must surely die, because he had prophesied in the LORD’s name that the temple would end up like Shiloh, with the city left empty (26:7-9). The crowd then gathered around him in the temple. Those who should have led the people to God led the call for the death of His messenger. Jeremiah had faced deadly threats before, from the men of his own hometown (11:21). Centuries later, religious leaders likewise said Jesus deserved to die (Matthew 26:65-66).
- Jeremiah 26:8-9 (BSB)“and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!” And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.”The priests, prophets, and people seize Jeremiah and declare he must die.
- Jeremiah 11:21 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.””The men of Anathoth had earlier threatened to kill Jeremiah for prophesying.
- Matthew 26:65-66 (BSB)“At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered.”Jesus’ accusers likewise declared that He deserved to die.
Theological
Who laid hold of Jeremiah after the temple sermon and demanded his death, and on what charge (Jeremiah 26:7-9)?
Answer: The priests, the prophets, and the crowd of worshipers
The priests, the prophets, and the whole crowd seize Jeremiah the moment he finishes and pronounce that he must die, because he has prophesied in the LORD’s name that the house will be like Shiloh and the city desolate (26:7-9). They treat a word of covenant judgment as a capital offense. The religious establishment leads the opposition, as the men of Anathoth had earlier threatened his life (11:21), and as the Sanhedrin would later declare Jesus worthy of death (Matthew 26:65-66).
- Jeremiah 26:8-9 (BSB)“and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!” And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.”The priests, prophets, and people seize Jeremiah and declare he must die.
- Jeremiah 11:21 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.””The men of Anathoth had earlier threatened to kill Jeremiah for prophesying.
- Matthew 26:65-66 (BSB)“At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered.”Jesus’ accusers likewise declared that He deserved to die.
General
Early in Jehoiakim’s reign, the LORD sent Jeremiah to the temple courtyard and told him to hold nothing back from the message. What reason did the LORD give (Jeremiah 26:2-3)?
Answer: So that the people might turn from evil and the LORD might hold back disaster
The LORD told Jeremiah to stand in the temple courtyard and speak to everyone who came from Judah’s towns to worship, leaving out nothing He had commanded (26:2). The reason was that they might listen and each turn from his wicked way, and then the LORD would relent, or hold back, the ruin He had in mind because of their evil (26:3). God had explained this pattern before: when a nation He warns abandons its wickedness, He holds back the ruin He announced (18:7-8). The warning itself was a mercy. God does not delight when the wicked die; He calls them to turn and live (Ezekiel 33:11). Nineveh is an example of a people who turned and were spared (Jonah 3:10).
- Jeremiah 26:2-3 (BSB)““This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.”The LORD sends Jeremiah to the temple court with the full message, hoping the people will turn.
- Jeremiah 18:7-8 (BSB)“At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring.”When a nation God has warned forsakes its wickedness, He holds back the judgment He announced.
- Ezekiel 33:11 (BSB)“Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”God finds no joy when the wicked die and urges them to change course and live.
- Jonah 3:10 (BSB)“When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.”Nineveh abandoned its wicked conduct, and God withheld the judgment He had threatened.
Theological
What purpose does the LORD state for sending Jeremiah to deliver His full message in the temple court (Jeremiah 26:2-3)?
Answer: So that the people might turn from evil and the LORD might hold back disaster
Jeremiah must speak in the temple court to all who come up from Judah’s cities, omitting nothing (26:2), and the LORD states His purpose: that they may listen and each forsake his wicked conduct, so that He may hold back the calamity He purposes because of their deeds (26:3). This is the principle God announced at the potter’s house (18:7-8). His warnings are the very means He uses to call people to turn, and when a people turns, He withholds the judgment He announced, as He did with Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). The command reflects His character: He finds no joy when the wicked die, and He calls them to turn and live (Ezekiel 33:11).
- Jeremiah 26:2-3 (BSB)““This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.”The LORD sends Jeremiah to the temple court with the full message, hoping the people will turn.
- Jeremiah 18:7-8 (BSB)“At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring.”When a nation God has warned forsakes its wickedness, He holds back the judgment He announced.
- Ezekiel 33:11 (BSB)“Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”God finds no joy when the wicked die and urges them to change course and live.
- Jonah 3:10 (BSB)“When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.”Nineveh abandoned its wicked conduct, and God withheld the judgment He had threatened.
General
What did the LORD warn would happen to the temple if the people would not listen to Him, obey His law, and heed His prophets (Jeremiah 26:4-6)?
Answer: It would become like Shiloh, the earlier sanctuary God abandoned
The LORD said that if the people refused to listen to Him, to walk in His law, and to heed the prophets He had sent again and again, He would make the temple like Shiloh and make Jerusalem a curse among all nations (26:4-6). Shiloh was the place where the tabernacle, Israel’s tent for worship, had stood in earlier times. God had abandoned it (Psalm 78:60). Jeremiah had already told the people to go and look at Shiloh and see what God did there because of His people’s wickedness, and warned that He would do the same to the temple they trusted in (7:12, 14). Having God’s house among them would not protect a people who rejected His word.
- Jeremiah 26:4-6 (BSB)“And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’””The LORD warns that refusal to listen will make the temple like Shiloh.
- Psalm 78:60 (BSB)“He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.”God forsook His dwelling at Shiloh.
- Jeremiah 7:12 (BSB)“But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.”The LORD sends the people to Shiloh to see how He judged it for Israel’s sin.
- Jeremiah 7:14 (BSB)“therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.”God warns He will do to the temple what He did to Shiloh.
Theological
What warning about the temple does the LORD attach to Judah’s continued refusal to hear His law and His prophets (Jeremiah 26:4-6)?
Answer: It would become like Shiloh, the earlier sanctuary God abandoned
If Judah will not listen, walk in the law set before it, and heed the prophets sent persistently, the LORD will make the temple like Shiloh and the city a curse to all the nations (26:4-6). Shiloh, where the LORD first made His Name dwell, had been forsaken in judgment (Psalm 78:60), and the temple sermon had already pointed to its ruins as a warning (7:12, 14). The presence of the sanctuary was no guarantee of safety for a people who despised the message of the God who dwelt there.
- Jeremiah 26:4-6 (BSB)“And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’””The LORD warns that refusal to listen will make the temple like Shiloh.
- Psalm 78:60 (BSB)“He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.”God forsook His dwelling at Shiloh.
- Jeremiah 7:12 (BSB)“But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.”The LORD sends the people to Shiloh to see how He judged it for Israel’s sin.
- Jeremiah 7:14 (BSB)“therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.”God warns He will do to the temple what He did to Shiloh.
General
Uriah son of Shemaiah, a man from Kiriath-jearim, prophesied the same message as Jeremiah. What happened to him (Jeremiah 26:20-23)?
Answer: He fled to Egypt, but was brought back and killed by King Jehoiakim
Uriah son of Shemaiah, a man from Kiriath-jearim, was another prophet who spoke in the LORD’s name against Jerusalem and Judah, saying the same things as Jeremiah (26:20). When King Jehoiakim, his warriors, and his officials heard it, the king tried to have him killed. Uriah was afraid and escaped to Egypt (26:21). Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and others to bring him back, and then had him executed and his corpse cast into the common people’s burial ground (26:22-23). Jesus later grieved over Jerusalem as the city that kills the prophets (Matthew 23:37), and Stephen asked which prophet their fathers had not persecuted (Acts 7:52). Hebrews also remembers people of faith who were killed with the sword (Hebrews 11:37).
- Jeremiah 26:20-21 (BSB)“Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did. King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.”Uriah prophesies as Jeremiah did and flees to Egypt when the king seeks his life.
- Jeremiah 26:22-23 (BSB)“Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.”Jehoiakim has Uriah brought back from Egypt and put to death.
- Matthew 23:37 (BSB)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!”Jesus laments over Jerusalem as the city that kills the prophets.
- Acts 7:52 (BSB)“Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—”Stephen says their fathers persecuted the prophets.
- Hebrews 11:37 (BSB)“They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.”Hebrews remembers faithful people who were put to death by the sword.
Theological
What became of Uriah son of Shemaiah, who prophesied against Jerusalem as Jeremiah did (Jeremiah 26:20-23)?
Answer: He fled to Egypt, but was brought back and killed by King Jehoiakim
Uriah son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim prophesied in the LORD’s name against the city and land in words like Jeremiah’s (26:20). Jehoiakim, with his warriors and officials, sought his death; Uriah fled in fear to Egypt (26:21), but the king sent Elnathan son of Achbor with others to extradite him, executed him with the sword, and cast his corpse among the graves of ordinary people (26:22-23). The episode shows how real the danger to Jeremiah was. It belongs to the long record Jesus laments of Jerusalem killing the prophets (Matthew 23:37), which Stephen also charges against his hearers (Acts 7:52), and Hebrews counts among the faithful those who were killed with the sword (Hebrews 11:37).
- Jeremiah 26:20-21 (BSB)“Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did. King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.”Uriah prophesies as Jeremiah did and flees to Egypt when the king seeks his life.
- Jeremiah 26:22-23 (BSB)“Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.”Jehoiakim has Uriah brought back from Egypt and put to death.
- Matthew 23:37 (BSB)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!”Jesus laments over Jerusalem as the city that kills the prophets.
- Acts 7:52 (BSB)“Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—”Stephen says their fathers persecuted the prophets.
- Hebrews 11:37 (BSB)“They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.”Hebrews remembers faithful people who were put to death by the sword.