Jeremiah is often referred to as the
The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to the Assyrians, almost a hundred years before Jeremiah began his ministry. The Assyrians, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah, fell to the Babylonians a few years after Jeremiah began prophesying. Egypt was always in the picture trying to resist both Assyria and Babylon. That put Jerusalem right in the middle of those struggles.
What caused Jeremiah to weep was the prophecy given to him by God and then his own eye-witness experience of it coming to be: the conquering of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the exile of the Jewish people into Babylon. His laments were not only about the fate of his people, but also about their lack of fellowship with their God, which was the cause of their situation.
This reading is not always enjoyable, but it is very valuable. May your study of this part of God