In this careful reconstruction of the prophet Jeremiah's life and work, Professor Holladay attempts to sort out Jeremiah's utterances chronologically and to hear them as closely as possible within the context of the events of their time. Jeremiah is a model for us to understand the prophets of the Old Testament. But more than that, he alone of the prophets saw his relationship with God as a problem to be grappled with rather than an obligation to be taken for granted. His willingness to question and to doubt was unique and, Holladay suggests, may put him more in step with our time than his own. For while many of us are willing to undertake a life of faith lived under God's guidance, few of us do not at some point question God's ways.
