Chapter 17

God had tried everything to get his people to

listen, to be sorry for the things they had done

wrong, and to return to loving him, but everything

had failed. God could not continue to bless his

people while they disobeyed him. The covenant

was broken and could not be repaired. God had to

punish his people. Then he would rebuild and

restore his people. Then he would give them hope

and a future.

Sparks flew from the burning temple.

Citizens ran screaming through the streets.

Children wailed for their parents. Soldiers

dragged the king and his officers to the outskirts

of Jerusalem.

The great city was suffering. The Babylonian

king Nebuchadnezzar and his army had swept

through town like an angry whirlwind. The

Babylonian soldiers did their job, destroying

everything in their path, capturing the people,

eating their food, scaring the children and elderly.

When the chaos settled down, Jerusalem was

ruined, empty, and scorched, the city walls

broken down. Smoke rose from the smoldering

houses.

And on a nearby hill stood old Jeremiah the

prophet, shedding his tears for the city he loved.

Crying for the Israelites he tried to save. Why

wouldn’t they listen? he thought. Jeremiah cried,

remembering how hard he tried to warn the

people. “Turn back to God!” he had told them

over and over. But they ignored him and chose to

disobey God.

And now the people were being carried off to

Babylon to become slaves to the king. King

Nebuchadnezzar had spared Jeremiah. The old

prophet had one last message for the people.

Despite his tears, Jeremiah felt a new hope for

the future and he wanted his friends in Jerusalem

to believe his words.

“Don’t give up hope,” the prophet urged. “The

Lord is good to those whose hope is in him. If

you truly seek him and wait patiently, God will

save you.”

The sad and suffering people of Jerusalem

needed Jeremiah’s words. His tears showed them

he truly cared. And his words gave them courage

in the years ahead, to wait patiently for God to

rescue them and return them to their homeland.

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