Jeremiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom (Judah) during the last forty years of its existence (627-586 b.c.). He lived through the period of the disintegration of the kingdom, witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and spent the remaining years of his life in Egypt. The book bearing his name offers the content of his messages and extensive information about the prophet during OT times.

Although more is known about Jeremiah and the circumstances concerning the book’s writing bearing his name than about the other books of the OT, numerous questions about its composition remain. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 605 b.c, Jeremiah was explicitly instructed to commit his messages to writing (Jer 36:1-8). Baruch was the prophet’s scribe to record that pertained to Jeremiah’s ministry, which had begun in 627 B.C. This scroll was burned by King Jehoiakim the following year.

Once more, Jeremiah was instructed to write down what had been consumed in the fire. Again, it was Baruch who served as scribe. How much the concluding notation “and many similar words were added to them” (36:32) included is difficult to ascertain. Significant also is the fact that in the year 605 b.c. Jeremiah assured Baruch that his life would be preserved through the perilous years that awaited Judah and Jerusalem as predicted in the prophet’s message, which was committed to writing (45:1-5).

Acts (The Acts of the Apostles)

The narrative of Acts overlaps the last scenes of the gospels and shows the risen Christ commissioning His apostles for a worldwide task and their enabling for its performance by the gift of the Holy Spirit. It describes the first assault upon the world at Pentecost, with the scattered followers of Christ confident, united, and clear-cut in their message, proclaiming fearlessly in Jerusalem the truth committed to their care. It recounts their confrontation with the guilty hierarchy and the beginning of priestly and political persecution directed equally against the activities and the preaching of two distinct groups, those represented by Peter and the apostles on the one hand and those represented by Stephen and the Hellenistic Jews on the other. The early appearance of the latter group in the internal and external activities of the Church is not without relevance in its careful pattern.

The book is, in fact, early preoccupied with showing the emergence of a new dynamic witness. Stephen, Philip, Paul is its sequence; Peter, at first the representative of a more exclusive and orthodox Jewry, is shown with subtle art adapting himself to a broader proclamation and merging his activities with those of the vigorous groups of Hel. Jews who claimed and won a part and place in the Church were soon thrust to the forefront of its testimony. Peter was found significantly in the home of a tanner at Joppa when the historic call to Caesarea came to him.

Later, the book follows the journey of the Apostle Paul, from his conversion to his arrest and journey to Rome. Many complicated issues are addressed – such as the place of Torah observance among Jewish believers and the freedom of Gentile believers from any such restrictions, and the inclusion of all peoples in the Kingdom of God and the Gospel.

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Introduction to the Books of the Bible

Jeremiah

Acts (The Acts of the Apostles)

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