Terror on Every Side!
THE LIFE OF JEREMIAH
Bible-based fiction by Mark Morgan
From a family of priests in the peaceful reign of good King Josiah, came a young man, Jeremiah, bringing words from God to his people. It was no message for the fainthearted, either. This was a message of terror and destruction. Could the disaster be averted?
Jeremiah was a prophet of God for over 40 years, always warning of judgement on the nation of Judah and all the nations around. Few would listen at all, and fewer still would take him seriously.
Jeremiah lived to see the prophecies come true, but many he spoke to didn’t.
No-one would believe his words until it was too late – there was Terror on Every Side!
“It was on my 17th birthday that I first heard – or felt – God’s voice. In those days, we seemed to have a happy extended family in Anathoth and I was welcome in it. Times are different now: no happy family, all are dead except me – the one they all hated.”
The words of God came to Jeremiah as a fire, burning within him, and with them, his lifetime mission – to be a prophet to the nations. Walk with Jeremiah as he begins his life's work. Share his unfolding difficulties: opposition from family, friends and the leaders of the nation. Join him in his struggle to understand God's ways and the value of obedience.
Meet King Josiah, one of the greatest kings of Judah and watch as he begins to work with Jeremiah to invigorate and reform the worship of God.
“I was twenty-one years old when the letter arrived. It was the most exciting letter I ever received. Written in my father’s untidy scrawl, it had obviously been sent in the joy of discovery and his happiness showed in every word.
The Book of the Law of God had been found!”
King Josiah hears the words of God and everything starts to change.
Idolatry is forced to take a backward step and the true servants of God have some breathing space.
Let the Passover celebrations begin!
Josiah’s tireless work for God continues to the very end, but can a king really change an unwilling nation?
“Josiah was close to death as the chariot passed out of the valley of Jezreel, and well before the small convoy stopped for the night, the last great king of Judah was dead.”
Josiah’s sons Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim rule after him, and Judah enters moral free fall.
“As darkness had fallen on me, locked in the stocks, so darkness was falling on Judah.”
But what about the individuals who listened to Josiah and Jeremiah and shared their faith in God? Will God protect them when the Babylonian army arrives?
The end of the reign of King Jehoiakim comes as his body is dumped outside the gates of Jerusalem, and his son Jeconiah reigns briefly over a city under siege.
“Nebuchadnezzar’s army surrounded Jerusalem, preventing any from coming or going, patiently and methodically strangling the life from a beleaguered city in which supplies, once used, could not be replaced.”
Nebuchadnezzar, appoints Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah, as king, but Zedekiah is weak and easily swayed. Jeremiah continues to provide godly guidance, but powerful forces are working against him, and the king's good intentions are overridden by foolish advice.
In the last volume of the series Jeremiah's work as a prophet comes to a climax: God's judgement will soon be poured out on Judah and Jerusalem.
King Nebuchadnezzar has lost patience, and Jerusalem will pay the price. The Babylonian army waits outside the city and King Zedekiah continues to vacillate instead of providing godly leadership – and then food starts to run out.
No-one would believe Jeremiah’s words until it was too late – and then there was Terror on Every Side! The only hope left is to follow Jeremiah’s advice and surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar. But who would dare to do that?