The prophetic writings can be a bit scary and confusing. There's a lot of talk about judgement and wrath from God that can cause us to want to skip over and ignore them. But when we do that we miss the vital truth that God is communicating through the prophets.

Yes, there are horrible judgements foretold for egregious injustices and sin (for more on this listen to last week's episode, "The Rise and Fall of the Monarchy"), but just as prevalent is the calling back of sinners to redemption, the reminder that God has not forgotten His promises (even though Israel has forgotten theirs!), and that God will be doing a new work that involves the promised Davidic heir and the giving of new life to God's people.