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Sermon - The Book of Jeremiah - 24th September 2006
St Alban’s Epping Evensong 6:00pm
Readings: Jeremiah 7:1-20 Acts 19:21-end
The book of Jeremiah is the second longest book in the Bible, surpassed only by the book of Psalms. While not all of the book is necessar ily from the prophet Jeremiah himself, the vast extent of his prophetic career and its set ting in one of the most critical times in the history of Israel , from the reform of Josiah through the downfall of Judah and into the time of exile, suggest why this book looms so large in Scripture. The great crisis of Israel 's history in the Old Testament period involved the destruction of the Temple , the dwelling place of the Lord of Israel, and the exile of God's people. Much of the biblical literature either deals with those matters or comes from that time in Israel 's history.
The great events of Judah's history during the years of Jeremiah's prophecy were the religious reform of Josiah (622) and the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (587) and the exile of many of its leaders and citizens (597 and 587). These events, however, took place at the time of major political upheavals in the ancient Near East, affairs of nations in conflict with one another that are constantly reflected in the book of Jeremiah and were often the focus of attention in his oracles. Jeremiah began to proclaim God's word during the time of Assyrian decline and the ensuing conflict between Egypt and Babylon for domination of the Fertile Crescent . Over the years there were various battles and engagements involving these nations against each other.
The loss of Assyrian control in Syria-Palestine permitted a more independent stance on the part of Judah , especially during the reign of Josiah. It was obvious especially in his religious reform, which included the removal of all Assyrian religious practices that had become a part of the religious life of Jerusalem and elsewhere and also in political reform, his taking control of the Assyrian provinces that had once constituted the northern kingdom, Israel .
The reform, which is dated to Josiah's eighteenth year seems to have been quite comprehensive and even seems to have extended into the former northern kingdom. The reform was the most extensive and far-reaching in Israel 's history, though its effects were not very lasting. It seems to have had its impetus in nationalistic stirrings during the decline of Assyrian domination. Josiah's abil ity to take control of northern territory inevitably meant conflict with the northern shrines, which were regarded as idolatrous by those in Jerusalem . The reform, how ever, was not only a political endeavour. The discovery of a law book while the Temple was being renovated, itself a part of Josiah's reforming activity, gave significant impetus to the impulse for reform.
During his reform, Josiah eliminated all non-Yahwistic cults and practices, both those seen in the Temple and those in the high places or shrines. The reform was massive and involved the destruction of all the shrines outside Jerusalem , whether Yahwistic or not, and the complete centralization of worship in the capital city and its Temple . This reform meant the destruction especially of the shrines in the northern kingdom.
However successful Josiah's reform may have been, resistance to the reform is evident from the book of Jeremiah. Both the testimony of the texts in Jeremiah to the wor ship of other gods because of their apparent productivity and his counter effort to insist that the other gods did not "profit" suggest that there was fairly wide spread continuing devotion to other cults than the worship of Yahweh or that the single devotion to Yahweh in the one sanctuary was fairly short-lived.
Josiah was killed at Megiddo in 609 when he met and sought to stop Necho, the king of Egypt and his army from going to the assistance of Assyria when it tried to retake Harran . The people of Judah had anointed Josiah's son Jehoahaz as king after Josiah's death, but Necho deposed him after only three months and deported him to Egypt , imposing tribute on Judah . He placed another son of Josiah on the throne and changed his name from "Eliakim" to "Jehoiakim." Jehoiakim paid the tribute by heavily taxing the country.
If Jeremiah's response to Jehoiakim and the latter's disdain of Jeremiah's prophetic word are any indication, Jehoiakim's rule served well the interests of those opposed to Josiah's reform, he showed no interest in the covenant. Jehoiakim died in 598 and his young son was made king. Within about three months, Jerusalem surrendered to the Babylonian army, and the young king, together with the queen mother and many offi cials and citizens, was deported to Babylon .
Jehoiachin's uncle Zedekiah was placed on the throne by the Babylonians, where upon the nation went through a decade of unrest. Jeremiah's encounters with him indicate that he had some good intentions but was unable to stand up to those who opposed him.
A rebellion in Babylon in 595 seems to have stirred hopes of Judah 's breaking free of Babylonian domination. In 594, envoys from Edom , Moab , Ammon, Tyre , and Sidon met with Zedekiah in Jerusalem to plan a revolt against Babylon , a move that Jeremiah thought was a disaster, even contrary to God's will. The Babylonians reacted quickly. The account of their siege of Jerusalem and the end of Judah is preserved in the final chapters of the books of Kings and Jeremiah. Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed after the Temple was looted. Many of the leaders were executed, and many people were taken into exile in Babylon .
A number of Judeans were left behind, including Jeremiah. Gedaliah, the appointed governor counselled the people to remain in the land and accept Babylonian control, the same message Jeremiah had offered. Gedaliah was assassinated. Fearful of Babylonian retaliation because of the murder of Gedaliah, some of the remaining leaders ignored Jeremiah's counsel to stay put and insisted on fleeing to Egypt , taking Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch with them. We last hear him preaching a sermon against the Judean refugees in Egypt , accusing them of idolatry and abandoning their allegiance to the Lord of Israel.
While the book of Jeremiah is not intended to tell the story of the prophet, the figure of Jeremiah is often the focus of attention in the book. How much, if any, access to the "historical" Jeremiah is provided by the book of Jeremiah. Opinion ranges from the conviction of a detailed chronology of the prophet and that most of the oracles in the book of Jeremiah can be dated to some time in his prophetic career, to the opinion that the book provides little access to the prophet and his words and thoughts because so much of the book is an editorial product from a later time. There is little doubt, however, that the process of formation of a prophetic book was long and complex with considerable creative editing activity as oracles were added and interpreted, sometimes moved from one place to another, expanded by words and phrases and the like. The existence of two different forms of the book in the Hebrew text and the Greek text further confirms the complex growth of the book
Out of the whole, remnants of Jeremiah's prophecy and editorial additions, expan sions, and the like, there comes a picture of the prophet that cannot be labelled as either historical or unhistorical, fact or fiction. Some scholars have spoken of this image as the persona of the prophet, a coherent depiction of the prophet as presented by the book. It can be said that much of what is recorded there accurately conveys the experiences and happenings of Jeremiah as well as his prophetic message. However, that depiction is also the result of the growth of the book and so may involve embellishment from a later time. The reference to Baruch's recording of many of Jeremiah's oracles suggests that the book has a nucleus of Jeremiah's actual oracles. We can assume a high degree of consistency between the portrait of the prophet in the book and the actual events and experiences of Jeremiah's prophetic career.
Jeremiah as a prophet is so prominent in the book that any interpretation is forced to pay attention to him and to see in his story and in his struggles something of the book's own proclamation. The anguish of the prophet over the heedlessness of the people over laps with the anguish of God. Jeremiah's laments provide a glimpse into the inner strug gle of those figures who were called by God to an often demanding and, indeed, terri ble task. Jeremiah was not alone in resisting and fighting God over the burden laid upon him; witness Elijah and Jonah, for instance. No other book so vividly portrays that inner anguish created by a burden imposed that cannot be laid down. The material in the book tells us something of the cost of obedience to the prophetic calling. As much as anything, therefore, the overall presentation of the prophet, which centres in his fre quent conflicts with false prophets, with kings, with the religious and political leaders of the community, and finally with his God, provides important material for understanding and interpreting the role of a prophet.
Tonight's portion is a sermon by the prophet. Jeremiah's joining of a fundamental set of moral and religious principles with sev eral of the commandments of the Ten Commandments provides a fairly unique ethic of command in the Old Testament. We are given a summary of the law, of what matters in the relationship with God, that is already indicated by the Shema (Deut 6:4-5) and that we find later in the Great Commandment of Jesus. Here is the heart of the mat ter in defining the moral life in ancient Israel . Jeremiah points out the Covenant stipulations in this sermon. Such simple statement of God's will enables the listener to discern the shape of the life God intends us to live.
The guidelines provided by the Ten Commandments join with basic concerns for justice and protecting the life and security of those on the margins of society or without the means to sustain or protect themselves. The moral life in covenant with God involves rejecting those ways in which we can harm a neighbour. It also calls for a continuing attitude of fairness and a special concern for the weaker members of the community Neither should it be missed that in this significant summary of the moral life, both parts, prophetic principles and Ten Commandments, set devotion and proper allegiance to the Lord as an essential ingredient. There is no separation of ethics from religion and devotion to God.
The refusal to separate the attitude toward God and the attitude toward the neighbour is at the heart of Jeremiah's sermon and places before us the intimate relation between worship and ethics that are fundamental to his message. There are few themes so repeat edly enunciated in the prophets than the insistence on a strict correlation between what goes on inside the sanctuary and what takes place outside it. In this case, the focus is on the meaninglessness of the sanctuary and what it suggests about God's presence and protection when the life-style of the community runs counter to the will of the God who dwells within. The Temple of old, like the temple or church sanctuary of the present, is a powerful symbol of divine pres ence and security. Such symbols are rendered meaningless when we believers have violated God's instruction and used our economic and other powers for personal gain at the expense of others.
"Where does our ultimate trust lie?" The community Jeremiah addressed placed its trust in the Temple , and not in God. Misplaced trust is an issue that continues today as the community of faith is tempted, individually and communally, to count on other means of safeguarding its life than the Lord it worships.
In like manner, the later conversation between Jeremiah and the people uncovers the degree to which we give religious devotion to that which profits us, to what ben efits us and also the way in which we may totally misread the situation. The people really thought that worship of the queen of heaven profited them. The activity of God is dependent upon faith and a faithful reading of what happens. The Judeans who spoke with Jeremiah really thought that another worship benefited them.
he reading reflects the way in which we can tie the worship of God to notions of benefit. In contemporary society, we often hear people speaking about how worshiping God and going to church have given them a good life and kept them healthy. This is not inherently wrong. Indeed, part of the divine argument in the book of Jeremiah is against a faulty realization of where the "profit" lies. The problem is the ease with which people relinquish their loyalty to God, who has guided and sustained their lives and their destiny, in order to find some quick fix for immediate problems. How does this religion of success fit into the worldview of the persecuted Christians of Darfur?
[i] This sermon produced using the New Interpreter's Bible Vol VI, Abingdon Nashville. 1994.