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After nearly 50 chapters of (mostly) doom and gloom, you’ve reached the final stretch of Jeremiah. But the weeping prophet’s somber message isn’t quite over. When you approach Jeremiah’s conclusion, it’s worth taking a moment to review the basic literary design of this sprawling, intense book.

In the first section of Jeremiah (chs. 1-24), the prophet accused Israel of breaking its covenant with Yahweh by joining with idols and military allies rather than Yahweh and by treating one another unjustly, harming especially the most vulnerable. Jeremiah warned that such choices were the equivalent of covenant adultery and would bring severe consequences.

Today’s reading brings you to the end of the book’s second movement (chs. 26-45). This concludes with a flashback to the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry and echoes Yahweh’s message to Jeremiah way back in Jeremiah 1:10: He was to serve as a prophet to Israel and to the surrounding non-Israelite nations. God said Jeremiah’s words would “uproot and tear down,” and they would also “plant and build up.”

So far, you’ve seen Jeremiah bring this dual message of judgment and hope to Israel. Now, in the third and final section of the book (chs. 46-52), Jeremiah turns to judgment and hope for the surrounding nations.

The poetry in this final section employs vivid, apocalyptic imagery to describe how violent empires will ultimately collapse. It emphasizes Babylon’s warmongering as the wicked agent that will crush wicked empires. Soldiers will descend upon Egypt like a locust swarm. Chariots will flood Philistia’s land like the cosmic waters of chaos, a common image of de-creation (as you’ll see in the video). Moab will be shattered like an empty jar. The simmering pot of disaster from Babylon is about to boil over.

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on the imagery in today’s reading. Do you recognize any themes or scenes from other prophetic passages? How do these repeated patterns help you understand the way the biblical authors describe cosmic judgment?
• Where else in Jeremiah have you seen Yahweh use pot-smashing imagery to describe his judgment on a nation’s injustice? What does this hyperlink reveal about the scope of God’s judgment?