56…JEREMIAH - NOT ALL DOOM & GLOOM

Based on the Books of Jeremiah (JER) & Lamentations (LM)…Read more there. [1]

One of the greatest Prophets [2], JER was born near Jerusalem c. 650BC. JER is often called a ‘prophet of doom’ for warning leaders & people of doom if they don’t mend their ways. But he’s more positive than that. He has a strong empathy with & compassion for the people & their plight under rulers making foolish decisions in local & foreign affairs & equally blind religious leaders. Sometimes using symbolic actions to drive home his points, JER never tires of pleading YHWH’s case for ethics at the personal level as well as nationally, & beyond borders. For the most part leaders & people don’t want to hear this. JER in his times may be likened to today’s prophets speaking godly wisdom we don’t want to hear! 

JER stands for all that is best in Judaism, but this brings condemnation, not acceptance & reform. He is largely dismissed & scorned, put in the stocks, & at one point thrown down a well & left to die, only to be rescued by a sympathiser. Judea is eventually invaded by Babylon & many leading people deported. JER chooses to stay among the poor of the land. When a governor appointed by the Babylonians is assassinated, many flee to Egypt to escape retribution. JER & his loyal scribe, Baruch are kidnapped & taken with them. Legend has it JER is assassinated there. The book JER consists of verse & prose & has been edited in the making. Its chronology isn’t always consistent. 

Some ‘stand-out’ passages that may help us grasp JER’s message & its importance are as follows: 

2:13 lends itself later to Jesus’ & S. John’s theme of ‘living water’. 7:1-15 (cf MT21:12+) form a background to Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. 13:1-14 contains one of JER’s symbolic actions or acted parables about a cloth, & a word-picture about wine flasks. 15:15+ is a reflection by JER on his sufferings relevant to some who question why they have to put up with things others don’t! 17:5-11 is a little group of wise sayings. 18 & 19 begin with acted parables, about pottery. 22:13+ is a plea for social concern, & much of 23 concerns good & bad shepherding reflected in Jesus’ use of shepherding as a metaphor for caring. 24 is a kind of acted parable about figs, but in the form of a vision. 25 begins with a vision about a cup, raises the threat of Babylon acting as God’s judgment on Israel & then introduces prophecies against nations. By some process, though, these have become placed later in the book (CH.46-51). In 26 JER is arrested & tried in a setting very reminiscent of that of Jesus, but escapes with his life. 27 starts with another acted parable, this time about yokes for rulers. Jesus (cf. MT11:28-9) makes a very different offer concerning a yoke. 30-33 offer consolation to the people like that offered by DT-IS (cf. IS 40-55, see Ep.54) to captives in Babylon about the same time. In 36 JER’s scribe, Baruch writes a scroll at JER’s dictation & then reads it in the Temple, getting JER into further trouble. 38 tells of the treatment of JER at the hands of enemies who throw him into a well only to have him rescued by supporters ordered to do so by king Zedekiah. 39 reports the taking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (BC 587) which changes the Hebrew people for ever. 46-51 contain prophecies against various nations. 52 is a summary of history (cf. 2K24:18 - 25:30).        

[1] As so often the NJB has excellent notes. [2] cf MT 16:13-14 where some think Jesus may be Jeremiah returned.

LAMENTATIONS

We don’t know who wrote these five short poems, exactly what their title calls them, probably written after the fall of Jerusalem, & ever since associated with JER. Jewish folk may still chant them to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. Read - or chant - them aloud for best effect.

And there’s more to come…57…Ezekiel: Priest & Prophet

Q: How does Jesus manage to put a more positive ‘spin’ on repentance, reform, etc?