Sermons Online ...
Sermon: The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Evensong - 26th September 2010
St Alban's Anglican Church Epping 6pm
Readings: Psalm 96, Jeremiah 26:1-16, Acts 19:21- end
The Old Testament reading for the Eucharist for the Sundays in the period 22nd August till 17th October, bar one day, are all from the book of Jeremiah. That is quite a sizable part of the lectionary. Tonight I wish to reflect upon that book and the prophet.
The book of Jeremiah is one of the longest books in the Bible, surpassed only by the book of Psalms. While not all of the book is necessarily from the prophet Jeremiah himself, the vast extent of his prophetic career and its setting 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. 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 No other biblical book so enables us to comprehend theologically what was going on at that time. It enables us to hear both what happened and why it happened.
The two 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 in the context of major 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 the divine word during the time of Assyrian decline and the ensuing conflict between Egypt and Babylon for domination of the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is those areas that bestride the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers and reach up to what is now Turkey and down to Egypt.
The demise of Assyria was under way during the first part of Josiah's reign . The last great king of Assyria died in the year given as the date of Jeremiah's call, 627. Thereafter, Assyria was unable to resist the rise of Babylon, even with help from Egypt. Babylon broke from Assyrian control in 626. Pharaoh Necho sought to help Assyria, probably to exercise some power in Syria-Palestine, but also to resist the greater threat of Babylonian dominance. Meanwhile, the Medes supported the Babylonians. Over the years there were various battles involving the Medes, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians 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 manifest 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, 622 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, if the prophecy of Jeremiah is any indication. It seems to have had its impetus in nationalistic stirrings during the decline of Assyrian domination. Josiah's ability to take control of northern territory inevitably meant conflict with the northern shrines, which were regarded as idolatrous by those in Jerusalem. The reform, however, 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 reform. Josiah was Yahwist as well as an assertive nationalist. Yahwists’ used the name Yahweh to describe God.
During his reform, Josiah eliminated all non-Yahwistic cults and practices, both those manifest 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. The priests of the outlying shrines of Judah were invited to come to Jerusalem.
However successful Josiah's reform may have been, resistance to the reform is evident from the book of Jeremiah. There was widespread continuing devotion to other cults rather than the worship of Yahweh and that the single devotion to Yahweh in the one sanctuary was short-lived.
Josiah was killed at Megiddo in 609 when he met and sought to stop Necho and his army from going to the assistance of Assyria. The Egyptian-Assyrian coalition failed to counter Babylon's strength, and by 605 bce, with Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of the Egyptians, Assyrian power was at an end. Meanwhile, Necho had sought, successfully, to regain Egyptian control of Palestine. 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.
Jehoiakim reigned until 598 , when he died or possibly was assassinated. If Jeremiah's response to Jehoiakim and his 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 covenantal norms. Meanwhile, the defeat of the Egyptians 605 allowed the Babylonians to move westward and begin to establish control of Syria-Palestine. Jehoiakim transferred his allegiance to Babylon. That submission to Babylonian rule was, however, short-lived. Within three years, Jehoiakim, probably in response to pro-Egyptian elements and nationalistic zeal, rebelled against the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. That was a big mistake. By 598 bce, the Babylonian army was in Judah. Jehoiakim died that year, 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 officials and citizens, was deported to Babylon.
The Babylonians placed Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah on the throne, whereupon the nation went through a decade of unrest. Zedekiah was a relatively weak king. Jeremiah's encounters with him indicate that he had some good intentions but was unable to stand up to those who opposed him. The record of Zedekiah's reign, preserved primarily in the book of Jeremiah, shows a vacillating rule that ended in terrible defeat at the hands of those who had set him up as king. That some considered his predecessor, Jehoiachin, still to be the rightful king of Judah, even though in exile, did not help him rule with the support of his subjects.
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 plans did not go anywhere, and Zedekiah sent to Babylon, or went to Babylon, to settle things with the Babylonians and assure them of his loyalty. Within five years, however, Judean leadership with pro-Egyptian and anti-Babylonian sympathies had pushed Zedekiah into open rebellion. 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. Zedekiah was forced to watch his sons being executed before the Babylonians put out his eyes and dragged him off to Babylon.
A number of Judeans were left behind, including Jeremiah. The Babylonians appointed Gedaliah, a member of an important Judean family whose father and grandfather had been each been officials in the court, serving as governor of Judah. He counselled the people to remain in the land and accept Babylonian control, the same message Jeremiah had offered. Unfortunately, Gedaliah was assassinated by Ishmael, a member of the royal family, who failed to gain any support for his action and fled to the Ammonites. 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. There are, however, two issues that need to be identified.
One is the whole question of how much, if any, access to the "historical" Jeremiah is provided by the book of Jeremiah. Opinion ranges from most of the oracles in the book of Jeremiah can be dated to some time in his prophetic career, to position that the book provides little access to the prophet and his words and thoughts. These two extremes, not surprisingly, do reflect features of the book. The prophet is so prominent in the book, proclaiming many oracles that were highly appropriate to specific circumstances that one can hardly believe his prophetic activity is not attested in the book. Furthermore, the references to his dictating oracles and the identification of a scribe who wrote them down and who was himself involved in the story of the last days of Judah tend to move in the same direction. There is little doubt, however, that the process of formation of a prophetic book was long and complex with considerable creative editing. 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.
We may presume that much of what is recorded there accurately conveys the experiences and happenings of Jeremiah as well as his prophetic message. 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 may 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. With regard to particular details and the ascription of particular oracles to the prophetic activity of Jeremiah, we may not always be able to say with certainty how close the connection is between the presentation of the prophet and the life of the prophet.
A second question addresses the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry. When did he receive his call and what oracles can be associated with his early career? The words at the beginning of the book places Jeremiah's call in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, which would be 627 . That date is accepted by many scholars as accurate while others observe that the book shows little indication of Jeremiah's connection with the reform of Josiah. Only one passage, 3:6-11, is actually dated to "the days of Josiah", while the other references to him allude to his sons and assume Josiah's death. The association of Jeremiah's preaching with Josiah's time is further complicated by the problem of the identity of the "foe from the north," a topic prominent in the early chapters of the book. In Josiah's time, this could hardly have been Assyria or Babylon.
The absence of explicit dates in chapters 2 to 20, gives rise to ambiguity. Some scholars have connected various oracles in chapters 1-6 to that period. Others have sought to explain in different ways the apparent silence about Josiah's time and his reform. Some have accepted the date in 1:2 but assumed long periods of inactivity on Jeremiah's part. Others see the given date as a convention so unreliable.
These difficulties cannot be resolved. The book does present most of Jeremiah's prophetic activity as stemming from the time of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. If there are earlier oracles, they seem to be consistent with his proclamation from 609 onward, in their condemnation of the religious and social practices of the Judeans. It is likely, however, that such rhetoric followed the deterioration after the reform.
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 overlaps with the anguish of God. Jeremiah's laments provide a glimpse into the inner struggle of those figures who were called by God to an often demanding and, indeed, terrible task. Jeremiah was not alone in resisting and fighting God over the burden laid upon him; witness Elijah and Jonah, for instance. However, no other book so vividly portrays that inner anguish created by a burden imposed that cannot be laid down. The biographical material in the book tells us something of the cost of obedience to the prophetic calling, a testimony echoed in the lives of other prophets as well.
As much as anything, therefore, the overall presentation of the prophet, which centres in his frequent 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 prophetic role in the Old Testament and its consequential development through the New Testament and down to our own calling today.
This sermon based upon the material found in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VI, pages 555 to 563, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2001