In His own life, Jesus underwent the experience of Israel: the flight into Egypt, the return from Egypt ("Out of Egypt I have called my son"). As Israel wandered for forty years in the desert, undergoing many trials and temptations, so Jesus spent forty days in the desert, being tempted by the devil. The suffering figure of Jeremiah is a prefigure of Jesus. Little wonder then that in the life of Jeremiah, as in the life of Jesus, we can see some reflection of the history of Israel. As Israel wandered for forty years in the desert, so throughout forty years Jeremiah worked to reform Israel, and was often attacked, as we read today.

In the desert, Israel complained against God. So, too, Jeremiah was driven by the tenor of his life to complain against God. In his complaint, however, he acknowledged his fundamental joy in receiving God's words: "they became my joy and my happiness in my heart".

God does not rebuke Jeremiah for his complaints, but rather calls him to repentance in order to receive the gift of restoration. God makes Jeremiah a promise that could only be fully realized in the resurrection of Jesus: "In my presence you shall stand".