The book of Jeremiah is a collection of the words God commanded the prophet to speak to Judah in the closing chapters of its existence. It is a challenging book because of its immense size, its chronology (which is not linear but a continual “fidgeting” back and forth through history), and its frequently foreboding subject matter (additionally it is difficult, even impossible, to discern any thematic organization).
Jeremiah lived in a dark period of Judah’s history. Israel, Judah’s sister kingdom to the north, had already been conquered and many of its people carried away into exile by the Assyrian empire. This was punishment for their rebellion against the Lord but apparently Judah did not learn the lesson of this tragedy. Manasseh, a king who had wholeheartedly embraced the worship of the surrounding nations including child sacrifice, reigned for decades leading Judah into further social and spiritual decay. God graciously raised up Josiah, at the time a young boy, to rule over Judah ushering in social and religious reform. At the same time, God was calling Jeremiah to speak His Word though it would come at a great personal cost to him. Jeremiah had come to announce the good news that God would make a new covenant with His people, one that could not be broken. But Jeremiah was not sent to simply speak God’s Word of salvation. Though God persistently called Judah to turn from their sin they would not listen. Jeremiah was appointed to announce God’s Word of impending judgment because of their refusal to heed His voice. God’s Word would not be thwarted despite the people’s resistance to listening. Salvation would come to God’s people but it would be salvation through judgment. Ultimately, this salvation foretold by Jeremiah would be accomplished through God’s righteous judgment displayed on the cross.