These chapters cover the last years of Jerusalem before Babylon destroyed it. Jeremiah had warned the people for decades, and the kings kept ignoring him. Chapter 36 happens under King Jehoiakim. Chapters 37–39 happen years later under King Zedekiah, while Babylon’s army surrounds the city. He’s the same king named in 1 Nephi 1:4, when Lehi’s story begins.
In Jeremiah 36 the Lord tells Jeremiah to write His words in a scroll. He hopes the people will turn back so He can forgive them. Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, writes it all down and reads it at the temple. It’s read to King Jehoiakim beside his winter fire. The king cuts it up piece by piece and burns the whole thing. Some of his own princes beg him not to. The Lord hides Jeremiah and Baruch, then simply has them write it again, with more words added. A king can burn paper, but he can’t stop the word of God.
In Jeremiah 38 angry princes lower Jeremiah into a cistern. It’s a deep pit for storing water, but it holds only mud, and he sinks in it. Ebed-melech is an Ethiopian servant in the king’s palace. He has no power or title. Yet he goes straight to the king and says it’s wrong. He takes thirty men, ropes, and old rags so the ropes won’t cut Jeremiah’s arms, and pulls him out. He’s brave and kind at the same time. Later the Lord promises to protect him “because thou hast put thy trust in me,” in 39:18. For eight-year-olds, he’s the perfect hero. He’s an ordinary person who stands up for what’s right when no one else will.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 promises a new covenant. The Lord will write His law in His people’s hearts, be their God, and forgive their sins. Children who’ve been baptized have made that kind of covenant, as Mosiah 18:8–10 describes. Lamentations is a book of sad poems about Jerusalem’s destruction. But in the middle comes bright hope. The Lord’s compassions “fail not. They are new every morning.” That’s Lamentations 3:22–23. Because of Jesus Christ, every day can be a fresh start.
