"...I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more." What a comforting word. Especially for folks who knew with every fiber of their being that they were in their current mess (and BIG mess it was) because of their sin. It was a wonderful word of hope.

The word came from what might have been seen by some in that day as a surprising source...Jeremiah. By this point in the prophet's career (probably 40+ years by now), he was fairly well known. He was NOT famous for bringing words of comfort and hope. If anything, he was seen as sort of a curmudgeon who was a constant gadfly to both the religious and political establishment. He had attacked the nation's religious hypocrisy that saw folks look on Temple worship as a national good luck charm - "As long as we go through the motio…