Jeremiah's Covenant and Chronology
sinned so greatly that it seemed as tho at times their case was hopeless; as impossible to change as the Ethiopian's skin or the leopard's spots; and yet the prophet pleads God's name, and pleads it in such a way that it would show to every soul who should read the record afterward how much was pledged in the Gospel of forgiveness. Take for instance the expression in the twenty-first verse of chapter fourteen: "Do not abhor us, for Thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory: remember, break not Thy covenant with us." In other words, if God should forsake the people who sought Him it would disgrace the throne of His glory, it would break His covenant. But this is not in harmony with His character, for He is "pleased with them that hope in His mercy." The reader of Jeremiah will notice that the chapters are not always chronologically arranged; he will see, for instance, that some pertaining to Zedekiah's reign come previous to others written in the days of Jehoiakim. Some have supposed that in the gathering of the manuscript together by Ezra and others they were transposed in some way in the ancient scrolls. If the reader would like to carry through Jeremiah in chronological order, we give the following suggestions from Boothroyd: Up to chapter 20 the chapters are in fairly chronological order. Following 20 to 46 the order is as follows: 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 35, 36, 45, 24, 29, 30, 31, 27, 28, 21, 34, 37, 32, 33, 38, 39:15-18; 39:1-14; 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, etc. The seventy years' captivity is noted, dating not from the captivity of Judah, but from the events given in chapters 25 and 27, when Nebuchadnezzar started on his great campaign and swept in all the kingdoms in that vicinity under his power. Jeremiah knew that God's revelation to him was true, and therefore he sent yokes and messages to the rulers of all these different countries through their regular ambassadors at Jerusalem, warning them of the coming conqueror, and telling them that they should serve the king of Babylon seventy years, which ended in 536.