The Babylonian Captivity: Comments on Jeremiah 20–52 & Lamentations

“Jeremiah, left behind in a desolate city by the Babylonian captors, asked some pointed questions. How did it happen that a city once full of people, visited by kings and queens of other nations, now lay desolate and empty? There was no echo of people calling in its streets. Anything of value now rested in other homes, in other temples. How could it happen? Indeed, why do great men and women—like great cities—fail to maintain their greatness and fall short of their destiny?
“Jeremiah had the answers to these questions. What he needed was someone to truly listen.
“This chapter surveys Jeremiah’s teachings and warnings to his people in the context of the impending Babylonian captivity. (See 2 Kings 24–25 .) But Jeremiah was not just a prophet of doom, although it may seem so in this lesson. Like Enoch (see Moses 7:41–69 ), Jeremiah was allowed to see the coming of the Savior and the restoration of God’s church and people in the latter days. (See chap. 25.)
“As you read Lamentations and the historical chapters of Jeremiah, observe the correlation between a nation’s righteousness and its long-term power, the correlation between a people’s leaders and the righteousness of the people, and the relationship between a prophet and God’s dealings with His children.”


This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on Jeremiah chapters 20–52 & Lamentations in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link. 

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