The Message of Jeremiah

Book excerpt: The prophet Jeremiah and King Josiah were born at the end of the longest, darkest reign in Judah's history. Human sacrifice and practice of the black arts were just two features of the wickedness that filled Jerusalem from one end to the other with innocent blood. As outspoken prophet and reforming king, these two men gave their country its finest opportunity of renewal and its last hope of surviving as the kingdom of David. The book of Jeremiah is full of turmoil and national tragedy, the story of key people like Baruch, Gedaliah and Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, and the drama of rediscovering the forgotten book of Mosaic law. National events interweave with the lives of individuals; the rediscovered book of God's law transforms Josiah, Jeremiah and the future of the world. Derek Kidner, with careful attention to the text, reveals its startling relevance to our own troubled time.