We are beginning a series on Jeremiah, the Prophet of God.
Jeremiah was a prophet in Judah. He prophesied to the nation of Israel for 40 years and spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. He has one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
This was written at a terrible time in Israel’s past. This is the context that this verse was written: Israel and Judah, divided kingdoms by this point, continued to sin against God. Although God sent many prophets, like Jeremiah and Isaiah, they refused to listen. God had let them know that if they refused to listen, repent and change their ways, they would be taken captive and their cities and their Temple would be destroyed. This was exactly what happened.
