Jeremiah was a man called by God to prophesy concerning the doom of his own beloved nation. He carried on this ministry for over 40 years, while suffering tremendous personal sacrifice for doing so. Jeremiah began his ministry in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah king of Judah and continued it through the destruction of Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah prior to the exile.
The northern kingdom of Israel had long since been destroyed by the Assyrians, so Jeremiah's prophetic ministry was restricted to the southern kingdom of Judah.
