Jeremiah Jeremiah, a prophet in Jerusalem before its destruction in 586 BC, is sometimes called the “weeping prophet” because he shared his personal struggles and sorrows as he delivered God’s messages. Jeremiah was born in Anathoth, near Jerusalem, during Manasseh’s reign. His father was Hilkiah of Benjamin. Jeremiah received his calling as a prophet during the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (627 BC). At first, Jeremiah retreated from his call (Jer 1:6), but God assured Jeremiah that he would tell him what to say and would guide and protect him despite opposition (Jer 1:7-8, 18-19). Jeremiah warned the kings and people of Judah to repent in order to avoid exile. They had broken God’s covenant, primarily through idolatry (Jer 10:1-16), and as a result, they were subject to the consequences (Deut 27–28). They rejected God’s invitation to repent, so Jeremiah later delivered messages that God’s judgment had become inevitable. Jeremiah was particularly hated by Judah’s leaders. King Jehoiakim held Jeremiah in contempt and tried to silence him. King Zedekiah secretly sought Jeremiah’s advice, but bowed to his administrators when they wanted to silence the prophet. God’s w...

Invasion In the ancient world, invasions by foreign powers were relatively common. When they occurred, they brought great hardship; and if the invaders succeeded, what followed was staggering: destruction and suffering as the victorious invaders killed the adult men, raped the women, enslaved the children, plundered all that was valuable, and destroyed everything else. The threat of invasion brought terror. In the last decades of the monarchy, the people of Judah and Jerusalem were living in the shadow of Babylon and under constant threat of hostile conquest. Over a century earlier, the Assyrians had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, had flooded into Judah, and had besieged Jerusalem. These events were still fresh in the memories of the people of Judah. The prophet Jeremiah warned of another impending invasion and the desolation it would bring. In times when invasion threatened, it was tempting to look for anything that could prevent the suffering that was coming. Prophets like Jeremiah encouraged God’s people to turn away from false gods and back to the Lord, to stop looking to powerful allies to rescue them and instead look to the Lord for protection. The prophet...