These haftarot deal with the promises of God to Israel – that the Jewish people will survive in spite of exile and defeat and that they will yet return to their homeland and prosper there. The haftarot emphasize the necessary optimism that will mark the character of the Jews throughout all of their exiles, troubles and persecutions. They reaffirm the covenant between God and Israel and the understanding that, even though it may be strained, it will never be broken.