1. Symbolism in Jeremiah
Tim Haile

2. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Almond Tree (Jer. 1:11, 12)
“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ And I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.’”
“Almond” From Heb. Meaning “Hasty” (Blooms Early)
Signifies God’s Readiness To Punish

3. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Boiling Pot (Jer. 1:13, 14)
“The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, ‘What do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land..’”
The Pouring Out of Pain, Punishment and Destruction (Jer. 1:15-ff)

4. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Boiling Pot (Jer. 1:13, 14)
To Come From “the North” Because This Was the Normal Travel Route Into Palestine
Jer. 4:6 - “I am bringing disaster from the North, even terrible destruction”
Jer. 6:1 - “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.”

5. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Boiling Pot (Jer. 1:13, 14)
Jer. 6:22 - “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth.”
Jer. 10:22 - “Listen! The report is coming- a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals.”
Jer. 31:8 - Exiles To Return From the Land of the North

6. Broken Cisterns (Jer. 2:13)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Broken Cisterns (Jer. 2:13)
“For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
A “Fountain” Provides Life-Sustaining Water (cp Jn. 4:14)
“Cisterns” Produce No Water: “Broken” Cisterns Can’t Even Retain Water! (false religion)

7. Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
Jeremiah to Purchase and Wear the Linen Girdle:
“Linen” = Priestly Garments of Holiness
No Contact With Water Suggests Filth (Judah’s Building Corruption)

8. Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
Jeremiah Told to Take the Belt to Perath (Euphrates) and Hide it in a Crevice (4, 5)
“After Many Days,” Jeremiah Told to Retrieve the Belt
Found It “Ruined and Worthless” (7, 10)

9. Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Linen Girdle (“Belt,” “Loincloth” (Jer. 13:1-11)
As the Girdle Wasted Away In the Earth, So Would Judah in Captivity - see Leviticus 26:39:
“Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers’ sins they will waste away.”

10. Symbolism In Jeremiah Wineskins (Jer. 13:12-27)
Jerusalem Told “Every wineskin should be filled with wine”
People Missed the Figurative Application: “Don’t we know…”
They Would Drink of God’s Wrath: (Isa. 51:17) - “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.”

11. Jeremiah Not To Marry (Jer. 16:1-4)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah Not To Marry (Jer. 16:1-4)
“The word of the Lord also came to me saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.’ For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land: ‘They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on

12. Jeremiah Not To Marry (Jer. 16:1-4)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah Not To Marry (Jer. 16:1-4)
“… the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.’”
Jeremiah’s Marriage Prohibition Was to Suggest to the People That There Was No Positive Future For His People

13. Jeremiah Not To Attend Funerals (Jer. 16:5-7)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah Not To Attend Funerals (Jer. 16:5-7)
“For thus says the Lord, ‘Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn my peace from this people,’ declares the Lord, My lovingkindness and compassion. Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them. Men will not break bread in

14. Jeremiah Not To Attend Funerals (Jer. 16:5-7)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah Not To Attend Funerals (Jer. 16:5-7)
“mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone's father or mother.’”
Jeremiah’s Lack of (Expressed) Compassion Representative of God’s Withdrawal of Compassion
People To Die Without Burials

15. Jeremiah Not To Attend Feasts of Joy (Jer. 16:8-9)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah Not To Attend Feasts of Joy (Jer. 16:8-9)
“Moreover you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.”
Time of Joy Soon Over!

16. The Potter’s Clay (Jer. 18)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
The Potter’s Clay (Jer. 18)
Jeremiah Sent to the Potter’s House - Observed That the Clay Was Marred in the Potter’s Hands - The Potter Formed it Into Another Pot (cp. Job 4:19; Rom. 9:20, 21)
Signified the Spiritual and Moral Corruption of Israel (6-17)

17. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Clay Jar (Jer. 19)
Jeremiah Told to Buy a Clay Jar and Take It, With Certain Elders and Priests, to the Valley of Ben Hinnom
Told to Pronounce Judgment Against Judah For Their Sins (sacrifice to idols, child sacrifice, etc)

18. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Clay Jar (Jer. 19)
Jeremiah Told to Break the Clay Jar (10) While People Were Watching (visual aid)
Represented God’s Smashing of Judah in Judgment, And the Irreparable Consequences to Judah

19. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Figs (Jer. 24)
Jeremiah Shown 2 Baskets of Figs in Front of the Temple: 1 Basket Very Good: 1 Basket Very Bad
Good Figs Represented Exiles Whom God Would Watch Over
Poor Figs Represented Rebels Like Zedekiah, Objects of Wrath

20. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Yoke (Jer. 27)
“Early in the reign of Zedekiah (see 28:1 = 4th year = 593 BC), Jeremiah Told to “Make a Yoke Out of Straps and Crossbars” And Place It On His Neck
Told To Send Word to the Kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon (Zedekiah Already Heard (12) Through Envoys…

21. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Yoke (Jer. 27)
… That Their Countries Would Come Under The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
False Prophets Were Saying:
“You will not serve the king of Babylon” (14)
“Very soon now the articles from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon” (16) (those carried off in 605 & 597)

22. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Yoke (Jer. 27)
Among the False Prophets Was Hananiah (Jer. 28):
Claimed That “the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel” Would “Break the yoke of the king of Babylon within two years” (28:2, 3 contrast 30:8)
Jeremiah Said 70 Yrs (25:11,12)

23. Symbolism In Jeremiah The Yoke (Jer. 27)
Hananiah Removed the Yoke From Jeremiah’s Neck and Broke It (Jer. 28:10, 11):
Claimed That God So Signified the Breaking of Babylon’s Rule
God Replaced the Yoke of Wood With a “Yoke of Iron” (28:14) - Hananiah Died 2 Months Later, Per Jeremiah’s Prediction (28:16, 17)

24. Jeremiah’s Field (Jer. 32)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah’s Field (Jer. 32)
Jeremiah Told to Purchase a Field From His Cousin, Hanamel
Weighed Out 17 Shekels of Silver For Hanamel
Signed & Sealed the Deed Before Witnesses
Had Baruch Place the Deed in a Clay Jar For Storage

25. Jeremiah’s Field (Jer. 32)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Jeremiah’s Field (Jer. 32)
Jeremiah Would Never Live On His Land, But His Purchase Signified Future RESTORATION:
“For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land’” (Jer. 32:16, 44)

26. Stones at Tahpanhes (Jer. 43)
Symbolism In Jeremiah
Stones at Tahpanhes (Jer. 43)
Jeremiah to Bury Large Stones in Clay in the Brick Pavement at the Entrance to Pharaoh’s Palace in Tahpanhes (8, 9)
Signified God’s Sending of Nebuchadnezzar to Destroy Egypt - He Would Erect His Royal Tent Over the Stones (10)