Jeremiah

• Introductory Matters
• • The prophet
  • • A priest
    • • From a priestly family in Anathoth, a small town not far from Jerusalem (Jer. 1:1)
      • When Solomon became king, he inherited two priests, Zadok and Abiathar - Solomon kept Zadok but sent Abiathar to Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26-27)
      • Jeremiah's great understanding of the Torah may imply he was trained as a priest although never having the opportunity to serve in the Jerusalem Temple - he was an exile in his own land
    • Instructed by God not to marry (Jer. 16:1-2)
    • • This would have been an awful tragedy for Jeremiah - he would have no one to care for him in his old age and no one to carry his name on - he would cease to exist
      • God told Jeremiah to remain single in order to symbolize the punishment God would send to Judah - Judah also would cease to exist
    • His ministry lasted about 40 years in Jerusalem - from the best of times during Josiah's reforms to the worst of times when Jerusalem lay in ruins and Judah was brought under Babylonian control
    • After Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah was forcibly brought to Egypt by fellow Judeans and died there (Jer. 43:1-7) - tradition says he was stoned to death and thus died as a martyr
  • Date
  • • Jeremiah probably began his career as a prophet during the reform of Josiah and ended his career shortly after Gedaliah, the governor of Judah, was assassinated in 586 B.C.E.
    • The dates 626-586 B.C.E. are a good guess
  • Textual problems in Jeremiah
  • • Septuagint reflects a different version of the Book of Jeremiah than the Book of Jeremiah found in Hebrew texts and English translations
    • • Differences
      • • Septuagint version is 1/8 shorter
        • Septuagint version is in a slightly different order
      • Dead Sea Scrolls' versions of Jeremiah sometimes agree with the Hebrew version and sometimes with the Septuagint version
    • It is interesting that two versions of Jeremiah circulated at one time with both regarded as scripture - the question as to which one is the original version is difficult to answer
• Message of the Book

• • Jeremiah's call (Jer. 1:1-19)
  • • Felt that even before he was born, God had destined him to be a prophet (Jer. 1:5) - he could conceive of no other vocation
    • Yet, like Moses, he tried to excuse himself from the task (Jer. 1:6) - he argued that he was too young but God dismissed that excuse
    • Jeremiah's message, like that of the other prophets, was to be primarily one of judgment (Jer. 1:10-16) - he would proclaim destruction but there would be some hope that he would provide (Jer 1:10)
    • God told him he would be persecuted but God would take care of him (Jer. 1:8,19) - "God with him" caused Jeremiah's problems (i.e., Jeremiah would be hated for preaching God's judgment) but it was also Jeremiah's salvation
  • Sin of Judah
  • • Basically two elements to the people's sin (Jer. 2:2-37)
    • • People had abandoned God
      • People had chosen and worshiped other gods
    • Jeremiah could not believe this had happened - no other nation had ever changed gods like Judah had (Jer. 2:11)
    • All elements of society were caught in these sins - both rich and poor had abandoned God (Jer. 5:1-5)
    • As a result of these sins, the prophets prophesied falsely, priests ruled the way they wanted (not by God's law), and the people loved it (Jer. 5:30-31) - apparently no one wanted to live the difficult life of commitment
  • Judgment
  • • An enemy would come from the north to destroy Judah (Jer. 1:13-16)
    • The nation from the north was obviously Babylon but the real enemy was God (Jer. 5:15) - God had selected Babylon as His instrument to punish Judah
    • The destruction to come would be a reversal of creation (Jer. 4:23-28)
    • • The earth would again be "without form and void" (Jer. 4:23, cf. Gen 1:2) - where there had been people, animals, and land, there would be nothing
      • Yet God would not bring everything to a full end (Jer. 4:27) - there was hope for a remnant
      • The picture Jeremiah painted of the totality of destruction became a picture apocalyptic writers would use to describe the end of the world
  • The Temple Sermon (Jer. 7:1-15)
  • • The people believed God would never destroy His Temple because He had chosen that place as His special place - thus they could do anything they wanted and, when things got bad, simply retreat to the Temple and be safe
    • Jeremiah stated God would destroy His Temple - God had chosen that place but now He would un-choose it
    • • Jeremiah gave Shiloh as an example of a place God had chosen for His tabernacle and then later destroyed - by Jeremiah's time Shiloh was in ruins
      • God cannot be controlled by a place or a people
    • Jeremiah viewed repentance and commitment to God like the other prophets (Jer. 7:5-7) - God wants people who care about others and about God - God does not need people who care only about themselves
    • Jeremiah wanted to intercede for the people like Moses but God did not allow him to do so (Jer. 7:16-20) - Judah must be punished and God would not listen to Jeremiah's prayers for mercy
  • Jeremiah's laments
  • • Jeremiah faced much difficulty in his prophetic ministry - not only did his words get him in trouble with the people and royal officials (Jer. 26:7-24, 32:2) but his hometown plotted to kill him (Jer. 11:18-19)
    • Jeremiah was not reluctant to argue with God and accuse Him
    • Examples of his laments
    • • Jer. 12:1-6 - Jeremiah wondered why the wicked prosper - he asked God to judge them - God told him things would get worse and he had best be prepared
      • Jer. 15:15-21 - Jeremiah told God he had been faithful and then asked why God had abandoned him - God startled Jeremiah by saying that if he returned to God, God would return to him
      • Jer. 17:14-18 - the people ridiculed Jeremiah because judgment had not come - Jeremiah asked God not to be a terror to him but to avenge him
      • Jer. 18:18-27 - Jeremiah wondered if God would repay his good with evil - Jeremiah then called for the awful destruction of the people
      • Jer. 20:7-13 - Jeremiah boldly accused God of seducing and overpowering him - Jeremiah wanted to stop preaching but could not - even though he felt this way, he still had confidence in God and asked for vengeance
      • Jer. 20:14-18 - Jeremiah cursed the day he was born (see Job 3) - he expressed no confidence or vengeance and God did not answer
    • Jeremiah's laments show him at his most human
    • • For him being a prophet was difficult
      • Jeremiah did not let God off easily for giving him such a difficult job - why would God do this to him? - it was not fair
    • Yet despite his laments, Jeremiah still obeyed and served God - Jeremiah's commitment to God enabled him to overcome his human anger and frustration and to follow God with superhuman obedience
  • Symbolic actions
  • • Linen waistcloth (Jer. 15:1-11) - Judah should have clung to God like a waistcloth but they did not - thus God would spoil them like a waistcloth that has been buried
    • Potter (Jer. 18:1-17) - as a potter can destroy one vessel and remake it, so God can destroy his people for abandoning Him and then remake them - God reacts to human decisions
    • Broken flask (Jer. 19:1-13) - God will break Judah just as Jeremiah broke the flask - people will bury in the unclean valley of Topheth where human sacrifice was offered because there will be no other place to bury
    • Two baskets of figs (Jer. 24:1-10) - the good figs represent the exiles who have been judged, now live in Babylon, and will have a future - the bad figs are those still in Judah who escaped exile and will be judged again - the future of Judaism lay in Babylon
    • Wooden yoke (Jer. 27:1-22) - Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke to show Judah should submit to Babylon or it would be judged - people should not listen to the false prophets preaching salvation
    • Confrontation with Hananiah (Jer. 28:1-17)
    • • Hananiah broke Jeremiah's wooden yoke and stated that Judah would be saved within 2 years
      • Jeremiah expressed hope Hananiah was correct and remained quiet until he received a further word from God
      • Eventually God told Jeremiah to tell the people and Hananiah that Hananiah was a false prophet and would die within the year
      • Jeremiah continued to preach wearing an iron yoke Hananiah could not break
      • Within the year Hananiah died - despite the fact that Jeremiah's prophecy had come true, no one seemed to believe he was a true prophet and listen to what he said
    • Purchase of a field (Jer. 32:1-44) - while Jerusalem was besieged and Jeremiah was in prison, he bought a field to show that land would again be bought and sold in Judah - he acted out the future with its hope for a new beginning
  • Salvation
  • • Jeremiah envisioned a bright future with good rulers and no need for the Ark of the Covenant (Jer. 3:15-18) - God's presence would replace the Ark
    • God would restore the land and fortunes of Judah (Jer. 30:1-31:14)
    • The new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34)
    • • Features of the new covenant
      • • A new covenant with both Israel and Judah - the two would be reunited
        • Better than the covenant made at Mt. Sinai - the new covenant would not be written on stone tablets like the Ten Commandments, but would be written in people's hearts
        • No teachers would be necessary - people would want to obey and would know how to obey
        • Sins would be forgiven
      • For Christians, this passage points to the new covenant brought by Jesus

Artwork by Michelangelo from the Sistine Chapel. From the Bible Picture Library Photo Art (c) Christian Computer Art, 1994-97