Explaining the Book

Jeremiah 1:2 says that God’s word started coming to Jeremiah — A.K.A. he began his ministry — in the thirteenth year of King Josiah’s reign.

The Start of Jeremiah’s Ministry

The thirteenth year of Josiah was 627 BC. Josiah’s reign started in about 641 BC.

The Start of Jeremiah’s Life

Some say that the year when Josiah began his reign was also the year in which Jeremiah was born.

Dr. Thomas Constable says that Jeremiah was born in 643 BC, but allows for a few years of flexibility.

Jeremiah’s Age When He Started His Ministry

If that is the case, and Jeremiah was born somewhere between 641 and 643 BC, then Jeremiah was somewhere around thirteen to sixteen years old when the Lord started giving him his word.

Jeremiah’s Youth in Relation to His Call

If you haven’t realized before how young Jeremiah really was when he started his ministry, you might have just gained some new insight into the excuse that Jeremiah makes in Jeremiah 1:6.

Remember? God calls him to be a prophet to the nations . How does Jeremiah reply? “But Lord I’m just a kid!”

If Jeremiah is forty years old when he says that, that’s a lot different than if he’s thirteen. That’s my point.

If Jeremiah is in his early-to-middle teens then that might explain why God doesn’t seem to chide Jeremiah about his response to the call.

Summary

So, I’m going on the assumption that Jeremiah was born in the year that Josiah began to reign. And that was 641 BC.

And by the way, Josiah himself was really young when he began to reign. Remember — he was eight years old when he was made king. So thirteen or sixteen is a ripe old age compared to eight!

Alright, so that’s when Jeremiah began his ministry – in the thirteenth year of Josiah. 627 BC.