JEREMIAH
Encountering the Weeping Prophet
By Roger Ellsworth
DayOne. 105 pages. £6.00
ISBN 978 1 846 254 253
Whenever I read from the book of Jeremiah I am so thankful it was him and not me who was called to be the ‘weeping prophet’. As Roger Ellsworth rightly says, God’s message to Jeremiah seems to have been: Cheer up! It’s going to get worse!
Studying the book of Jeremiah can be daunting for ‘ordinary’ Christians, such as myself. It’s a long book – 52 chapters – covering a long period of time and not chronologically arranged. The message itself seems to be one of unremitting gloom as the Lord calls on Jeremiah to proclaim his approaching judgment on his unrepentant people.
Roger Ellsworth has written a little gem of a book: short, concise, informative and divided into 19 easy-to-read chapters. Rather than attempting to cover the entire book of Jeremiah, he picks out key passages, fills in the background information and then gives a thoughtful and informative explanation in terms we can all understand.
The real strength of the book lies in the author’s gospel application at the end of each chapter and his relevant and thought-provoking questions for meditation and discussion. He also points us to the hope, blessing and consolation to be found in the promises of God to his people.
This book lends itself so well to group or one-to-one study that I now feel compelled to find someone to share it with!
