Jeremiah was writing at a time of great suffering in Israel. The Babylonians were destroying the kingdom bit by bit, eventually leading to exile. Early on in his prophetic ministry Jeremiah was constantly fussing with the people to shape up. (Look up the English word “jeremiad” which recalls this aspect of his life.) As the situation deteriorted Jeremiah shifted his tone — from afflicting the comfortable to comforting the afflicted. He promises them that in the future they won’t just have the memory of their exodus from Egypt but also of their exodus from Babylon. The Childrenof Israel shall say “The LORD brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”– and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land. Which season are you in now — the early Jeremiah who kept pushing the people to a change of heart or the later Jeremiah who gave the blessed assurance that all will be well?
