3. Third message (7:1–10:25)
A number of questions arise, such as: 1) How can one explain God's forbidding prayer for the Jews (7:16) and saying that even Moses' and Samuel's advocacy could not avert judgment (15:1)? 2) Did Jeremiah make an actual trek of several hundred miles to the Euphrates River, or did he bury his loin cloth nearby (13:4– 7)? 3) How could he utter such severe things about the man who announced his birth (20:14–18)? 4) Does the curse on Jeconiah's kingly line relate to Christ (22:30)? 5) How is one to interpret the promises of Israel's return to its ancient land (chs. 30–33)? and 6) How will God fulfill the New Covenant in relation to Israel and the church (31:31–34)? The answers to these will be included in the study notes at the appropriate passages.
A frequent challenge is to understand the prophet's messages in their right time setting, since the book of Jeremiah is not always chronological, but loosely arranged, moving back and forth in time for thematic effect. Ezekiel, by contrast, usually places his material in chronological order.
Outline
I. Preparation of Jeremiah (1:1–19)
A. The Context of Jeremiah (1:1–3)
B. The Choice of Jeremiah (1:4–10) C. The Charge to Jeremiah (1:11–19) II. Proclamations to Judah (2:1–45:5)
A. Condemnation of Judah (2:1–29:32)
1. First message (2:1–3:5) 2. Second message (3:6–6:30) 3. Third message (7:1–10:25) 4. Fourth message (11:1–13:27) 5. Fifth message (14:1–17:18) 6. Sixth message (17:19–27) 7. Seventh message (18:1–20:18) 8. Eighth message (21:1–14) 9. Ninth message (22:1–23:40) 10. Tenth message (24:1–10) 11. Eleventh message (25:1–38) 12. Twelfth message (26:1–24) 13. Thirteenth message (27:1–28:17)