Jeremiah 25–26

Rejecting Prophets Leads to Captivity

Jeremiah 25–26 is similar to the order and theme of Jeremiah 21–22. In chapter 25, Jeremiah prophesied with certainty that Babylon would conquer Judah because they rejected the words of Jeremiah and other prophets (such as Lehi). Furthermore, Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would serve Babylon for seventy years, at which time another kingdom would conquer Babylon. The rest of the chapter is about the destruction of other wicked nations. This chapter teaches that God punishes unrighteous people, regardless of what nation they are in or from.

Jeremiah 26 records events prior to and helps explain some history of chapter 25. Jeremiah 26 tells how Jeremiah prophesied that the people must repent or be taken captive. Because of his message, which still left some hope for deliverance through repentance, leaders in Judah wanted Jeremiah killed. We also read of a prophet named Urijah who was killed for delivering a similar prophecy. This fact helps explain why the judgment was so certain in chapter 25.