Jeremiah 14 challenges the people’s attitudes and expectations concerning prayer and rituals in the temple. It includes a series of protests and responses between Jeremiah, Judah, and the LORD. The language of the chapter is characterized by confrontation and warning, focusing on attitudes and beliefs about the LORD’s covenant responsibilities regarding the land.

Jeremiah 15 invites the Judahites to present their protest to the LORD, confess their sins, and plead with him to maintain his relationship with them. The LORD responds to their prayer with another declaration that he will not heed their prayers or pleas. The aim is to push them into an attitude of repentance. Those reading this after 587 would see in it an affirmation that their punishment was deserved. It spells out the reasons for the calamity. They shared in the promises the LORD made to their ancestors. Do they also share in the corporate guilt accrued by the previous generations?