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CHRIST IN JEREMIAH Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Every aspect of the statement is true of the Lord Jesus Christ, which becomes even more significant when we consider the meaning of Jeremiah’s name: “raised up or appointed by Jehovah.” Jeremiah 6:21: “Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.” One of the “stumblingblocks” that God lays before the Jewish people is Jesus Christ, as Paul affirms in Romans 9:32-33 and Peter affirms in I Peter 2:5-8. Both passages refer to the prophecies of Isaiah 8:14, Psalm 118:22, and Jeremiah 6:21. Jeremiah 11:19: “But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.” If you’re familiar with Isaiah 53, then you understand the type very well. See Isaiah 53:7-8 for the language match-up. Jeremiah 14:8: “O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?” Israel’s Saviour in “time of trouble” will be Jesus Christ. The time of trouble will be the “time of Jacob's trouble” (Jer. 30:7), and Israel’s salvation is mentioned there also: “but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 23:5-7: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.” The “King” that shall prosper is obviously Jesus Christ. He is also called a “Branch” in Isaiah 4:2, Isaiah 11:1, Zechariah 3:8, and Zechariah 6:12. Jeremiah 26:15: “But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.” The “innocent blood” points us to Christ in Matthew 27:4. Jeremiah 33:15-17: “In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.” The “Branch” in the verse is Jesus Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. Also see Isaiah 4:2, 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8, 6:12. This Branch was “cut off” (Isa. 53:8), yet He lives and will grow into a great King. Jeremiah 47:6-7: “O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.” This “sword of the LORD” is the one that will render judgment to Christ’s enemies at the Second Advent. The references are Deuteronomy 32:41, Isaiah 34:6, and Revelation 19:11-15. Jeremiah 50:28: “The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.” The reference is to the vengeance that Christ will take on His enemies when He returns (Isa. 63:1-6; Rev. 19:11-21).