Jeremiah, Volume 1: Chapters 1-20 (Mentor Commentary | MC)
Overview
Jeremiah served as a prophetic voice in a crumbling world. He spoke out against kings and rulers, and suffered for his role in proclaiming God’s truth. His complex book is filled with history, poetry, and prophecy, and in this commentary, John L. McKay helps modern readers decipher the details and apply Jeremiah to today. He examines the life of Jeremiah, the structure and theology of the books, as well as translation difficulties. He then provides nearly 500 pages of commentary on the first twenty chapters of Jeremiah.
Key Features
- Discussion of important textual, literary, and philological questions
- Introduction to the style, structure, and composition—including authorship
- Background studies on the literary traditions
- Exegetical and interpretive issues are discussed
- Outlines the significant theological themes from the text
- Introduction to the historical and cultural setting of the book
Top Highlights
“Jeremiah’s ministry involved the proclamation of impending doom. What was to befall the people would not be a chance occurrence in the flow of human history, nor even the outworking of fundamental, underlying economic and social forces. It was an expression of the sovereign rule of the God who determines the flow of human history and whose covenant had been violated. If the people would not respond in repentance to the situation that had arisen because of their sin, then they would be swept into exile.” (Page 15)
“While the course of events is undoubtedly moving on towards its consummation, there have often been times of darkness which call into question whether God’s purposes will ever be achieved. It was at such a period of darkness that Jeremiah served as a prophet of the Lord at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth centuries bc when the expansion of the neo-Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bc.” (Page 15)
“In a way that had been partially anticipated by Hosea and the marriage he was instructed to enter into (Hos. 1–3), Jeremiah was required to live out his message as well as to proclaim it. The Book of Jeremiah is more than the record of the nation’s history; it is a record of the prophet’s experience of rejection, hardship, suffering and eventual vindication that parallels that of the people as a whole.” (Page 16)
“This too takes on a deeper meaning in the light of New Testament revelation because it is not difficult to detect the parallels that exist between the reception Jeremiah was accorded and that given to the one who ‘came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him’ (John 1:11).” (Pages 16–17)
Praise for the Print Edition
John L. Mackay's commentary on Jeremiah is a first class explanation of the prophet. . . . It is certain to become the first ‘port of call’ in my studies of the book. . . . He has the ability to uncover the significance of the original message in such a way as to leave the application (almost) transparent.
—Stephen Dray, Ferndale Baptist Church, Southend-on-Sea, England
The commentary is as full as is reasonably possible, verse by verse, often word by word, and covers every question likely to be raised.
—The Gospel Magazine
Product Details
- Title: Mentor Commentary: Jeremiah, Vol. 1
- Author: John L. McKay
- Publisher: Mentor
- Publication Date: 2004
- Pages: 576
About John L. McKay
John Kitchen is internationally known as an Old Testament Scholar, and is in demand for church retreats where his skill in the practical exposition and application of doctrine are well respected. He is also the author of Haggai, Zechariah, & Malachi and Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, & Zephaniah in the Focus on the Bible Commentary.