Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Messages to a Nation in Crisis

By James D Brandt

A Bible study of the kings and prophets during the final years of the kingdom of Judah.

This Bible study guide focuses on the last kings of Judah and the prophets of that time. It is de-signed for Christians who would like to "dig below the surface" of Scripture to understand what is really happening. The Bible reading is arranged into seg

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637691816

Book preview

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Jeremiah

and

Ezekiel

messages to a nation in crisis

A bible study guide of the kings and prophets impacting the final years of the kingdom of Judah

James D. Brandt

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2021 by James D. Brandt

All scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-63769-180-9

ISBN 978-1-63769-181-6(ebook)

Contents

Welcome v

Understanding the Format vii

A Brief History of Israel 1

King Josiah 12

King Jehoahaz 35

King Jehoiakim 37

King Jehoiachin 58

King Zedekiah 62

After the Fall 91

The Aftermath 99

From the Author 109

Appendix 110

Commentary on Habakkuk 120

Ezekiel’s Vision 126

Welcome

Welcome to the Bible study guide entitled Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Messages to a Nation in Crisis.

Have you ever found yourself tediously plodding through one of the books of the Old Testament (like Jeremiah) wondering if you would ever finish? Maybe you paged through to the end of the book to find how many chapters were left. Then you realized, I’m not even half through yet. But you reminded yourself, This is something I need to read. So you continued reading.

Maybe the choice to read an Old Testament book was your own idea, or maybe it was part of the preplanned Bible reading system that you were following. But your innermost thoughts were, I need to read this because I’m a Christian and I need to read all parts of the Bible, but so much of it seems so detached.

You’re not alone.

Recently I was reading through Jeremiah, because it was time. I hadn’t read it in a while and it seemed appropriate that I go through it again. After a few chapters, I did look ahead to check on the number of chapters (fifty-two). I wasn’t yet halfway through. Then I asked myself, Why isn’t this fascinating to me?

You see, I find the Bible fascinating. I love reading it. After all, the Bible, as Peter said, contains the words that give eternal life. But why wasn’t I finding Jeremiah fascinating? What was I missing?

I like to ask questions as I read. And these two questions I had just asked bothered me. Something inside prompted me to tell myself, You need to dig into this. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit (He does things like that, you know).

So I started digging. I found that the book of Jeremiah is like a puzzle with all the pieces dumped on a table. Once you put all the pieces together correctly, it makes sense. So I first arranged Jeremiah in chronological order. Much of Jeremiah can be so arranged because he dated his writings. Then I started fitting it in with other Scriptures that have been dated. Long story short, this study guide resulted.

Now I find Jeremiah (and the other books) fascinating. My hope is that this will be your experience also.

James D. Brandt

Understanding the Format

Scope

This study covers the time period between 650 BC and a little after 585 BC, a period of about sixty-five years. We start with the birth of Josiah (who later became king) and the birth of Jeremiah (the prophet), and end during the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem.

We will focus on the final five kings of the kingdom of Judah along with the prophets that preached during that time.

The Kings

King Josiah

King Jehoahaz (Shallum)

King Jehoiakim (Eliakim)

King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah)

King Zedekiah (Mattaniah)

The Prophets

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel

Huldah

Uriah

Habakkuk

Obadiah

Five of these prophets wrote books which became part of our Old Testament. Reading assignments for this study will include:

The entire book of Jeremiah

The entire book of Ezekiel

Daniel 1–4

The entire book of Habakkuk

The entire book of Obadiah

2 Kings 22–25

2 Chronicles 34–36

Deuteronomy 28

This is a significant amount of scripture because there is a lot of information that God wants us to know about these people.

Format

Our study is broken into segments, or subjects, in chronological order. Each segment is introduced with a short narrative describing the situation. The appropriate scripture reading is assigned. Often, the subject is addressed in more than one Old Testament book. It is advised that the reader use bookmarks to help keep their place. Consider using four bookmarks to hold your place in your Bible. You will probably need one each for 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

The study starts with a brief history of Israel to refresh the reader’s mind and to set the stage for our study. The last pages of this study guide include an appendix with information about the nations referenced in our readings. Some additional comments are also included.

Clearly, a study of this type will consume a significant amount of time. But be assured that you will come away with a better understanding of Scripture and a broader knowledge of Jehovah God.

Acknowledgments

Scriptures and other background material have provided resources for the preparation of this study guide. None of what is presented is original research. This is a compilation of information gathered from various sources.

Certainly, the Scriptures provided the major source of information. In recent years, I have valued the New Living Translation (NLT). Its publishers state that it is a text that would communicate as clearly and powerfully to today’s readers as the original texts did to readers and listeners in the ancient biblical world.

A major publication that reviews archeological findings with ancient, non-biblical texts in light of scripture is The Old Testament Speaks, by Samuel J. Schultz. I have owned this book for over fifty-five years. It is currently in its fifth edition.

Another valuable publication is A Biblical History of Israel, by Provan, Long, and Longman. It is a comprehensive, very well documented book from a conservative perspective.

And finally, I value the book Jeremiah, a part of the Believers Church Bible Commentary by Elmer A. Martins whose writing on Jeremiah