I think it’s maybe safe to assume, or at least reasonable to expect, that not everyone in the nation of Judah was horrible. I mean, Jeremiah was a faithful man. He can’t have been the only one, right?
But the king was corrupt. And the culture was corrupt. And the nation had, as a community, as a whole, earned retribution. The judgment was coming, and it was just.
All the same, God promised that redemption would come. Eventually. Always.
That had to come as a comfort to those like Jeremiah, right?
Was the promise included for their sake? Or was it included for the purpose of the narrative? The inclusion in Scripture for the generations to come? Look: I kept my word even when they did not. Here, once more, is the thread running throughout history, the thread of redemption. Or was it, quite equally, included for both?
I ask that, and then I wonder: is that promise more a statement along the lines of: no matter what you do, no matter what you deserve, I will not give up on you. I will not give up on humanity because of you.
Over and over, God reminds Jeremiah that opportunities had been given for repentance. That opportunities had been scorned for repentance. But still, God was not going to give up for all time. There would be consequences. And there would be, eventually, redemption. Because God is love and chooses mercy.