Jeremiah 4:3-4, "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings."

Jeremiah, whose name means "whom Jehovah has appointed," was the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. God appointed Jeremiah over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build, and to plant. For fifty-three years Jeremiah's voice was heard in the land of Judah.

During the days of Josiah a great revival came to the land of Judah when the Book of the Law was found in the Temple; however, after his death the kings of Judah forgot the Lord their God and did evil in His sight. Once again the people returned to their idolatrous acts, bowing down to false gods and worshipping under every green tree upon the high places of Jerusalem playing the harlot.

Jeremiah, called by most the 'weeping prophet,' was appointed by God when he was yet a youth. His call to the people of Israel was 'turn around and repent'. Time and time again Jeremiah went to the kings of Judah. The king tried to silence Jeremiah by putting him into a pit and imprisoning him; however, not to be silenced, Jeremiah sent written messages to the king by the hand of his servant. Each time the king destroyed the messages and refused to listen to his words. Words that spoke of exile and captivity unless they returned to God.

In 586 B.C., after years of conquest, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took all Judah to Babylon into captivity, including Jeremiah, leaving only the old, the sick, and the poor behind. While on their way to Babylon Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, let Jeremiah go. "So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land," (Jeremiah 40:5-6).

Jeremiah 23:5-8, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land."

The book of Jeremiah reminds us of the depths God will go to bring His people back into righteousness.

Although the prophets of old prophesied that which was, that which would shortly come to pass, and that which shall be in the future, one cannot help but realize, that while the prophets were often pronouncing the judgment of God, they also understood that they would go through that circumstance as well. However, in the midst of judgment there is always a word of promise. A promise of restoration and salvation.

There is and will always be a remnant in Israel. God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are forever. His promises given through His servants the prophets are sure. God has established a place for His people to live forever. A place where He chose to put His name, Jerusalem. And of His kingdom there will be no end.