Jeremiah was from a priestly family who lived in a town of Levites east of Jerusalem. During the reign of King Josiah, God called to him with the instruction that he had been set aside as a prophet before his birth. Despite the prophet’s youth, the Lord appointed him “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, and overthrow, to build and to plant.” As his initial vision of God ends, Jeremiah learns that destruction will come upon Judah from the Babylonians, and that his ministry would not be against the invaders but against the fallen people of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah prophesied against Jerusalem by reminding the people that they had turned against the commandments of God and had forgotten the work that the Lord had done for His Chosen People. His message described searching through the streets of the capital for one person who acted righteously and honestly. While pronouncing punishment upon the people, Jeremiah reminded them that they will not be destroyed completely.
Our readings this week do not cover the capture and destruction of Jerusalem, as we studied those in the final week of May. (Read 2 Kings 25 for a refresher if you desire to do so). After the people of Judah were taken into exile in Babylon, Jeremiah wrote a letter to the elders, the priests, the prophets, and other people among the exiles. The letter encouraged the exiled Israelites to continue to live and prosper, while also seeking the prosperity of Babylon. The prophet reminded them that the Lord had decreed that after seventy years they would return to their homeland, their land would be restored, and Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
The Book of Lamentations is believed to have been written by Jeremiah in response to the destruction of Jerusalem. In the midst of his own pain at the loss of his homeland to the Babylonians, the prophet continued to remind the people that God was not displaced as their Lord and would redeem them from their exile.
Our Psalm of the Week, Psalm 70, is one of the psalms of King David that reflects the feeling of loss conveyed in Lamentations. In a moment when the psalmist felt as though he was overwhelmed and in need of salvation by God, we are reminded that “The Lord is great…[and] you are my help and my deliverer.”