The Major ProphetsShembull

Jeremiah has been called the “weeping prophet” because of the sheer weight of emotion he brought to his prophetic role. As judgment we being prepared for the sinful kingdom of Judah through the Babylonian empire, Jeremiah was called to announce the rightness of that judgment because of Judah’s great sin against God. It was Jeremiah’s daunting task to bring this message of rejection to God’s people. In the midst of this negative message, Jeremiah issued a call to the people to repent. Repent so that they wouldn’t be in the current situation, and a call to the people who would not be taken into captivity to repent, in order to avoid things getting worse. Instead, repenting would aide things getting better for them. Jeremiah was commanded by God not to marry as an illustration of the isolation God was feeling from His sinful people. And yet, it is in Jeremiah that God reveals a new covenant He is going to make with His people. A covenant to cleanse them, give them new hearts, and restore them to Himself. The good news of Jeremiah is that despite our sin, God offers us restoration if we will repent and return to Him.