Jeremiah

One of the greatest Old Testament prophets and also the most unpopular. He was a prophet during the reigns of five kings of Judah—Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah—about forty years. God called him to be a prophet when he was a young man. The messages God gave Jeremiah made the people of Judah angry. He told them that God would judge them for their evil acts, and that a great power from the north would soon come and conquer them. So Jeremiah spent much of his time as a prisoner or hiding from angry kings.

But God still spoke to him, so Jeremiah put his words in writing instead, with the help of his friend Baruch. Baruch came from a noble family in Jerusalem. He could have been a powerful friend of the king. Instead he chose to be the friend and assistant of Jeremiah. He wrote down Jeremiah’s words and read them to the people.

Because Jeremiah told the king to submit to the rule of the Babylonians, he was considered a traitor and was placed in a dungeon half full of mud. But nothing could stop God’s words from coming true. The Babylonians conquered the city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was left in Jerusalem with the others. The few who were left later decided to go to Egypt and try to make new lives for themselves there. They forced Jeremiah to go with them. In Egypt Jeremiah continued his prophecies, urging the people to turn away from idolatry and worship God again. Jeremiah died in Egypt.