Jeremiah was the primary prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah during the dark days leading to her destruction by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" because of his personal distress over the sins of the people and the sins of their leaders. He was called by God to shine a bright light on this evil situation.
Jeremiah did not actually call Judah to repentance in hopes of turning away the judgment of God. Jeremiah, rather, prophesied about the judgment that was going to come. In fact, when the army of Babylon was breathing down the neck of Jerusalem, ready to attack and destroy, Jeremiah told the king to give up and told the people to surrender. God's judgment had arrived. There was no escape.
As is common in the prophetic books of judgment, there is a glimpse of future hope for Israel revealed at the end. Jeremiah pens four verses to close his book reminding us that God has not abandoned his people.
