The Prophet Jeremiah

The prophetic tradition has a rich and extensive history in the Hebrew Bible, stretching as far back as to include such iconic figures as Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel, and Ezekiel, among others. The prophets were counted among the most important members of Jewish society, in that they were thought to serve as a direct link, or axis mundi, to God. Consequently, they were instrumental in keeping the Hebrew people appraised of their standing in God's eyes, and of the status of the covenant. Because of the intensely importance of the prophets' role, and because they felt compelled by God to relate his unmitigated will to the people and to the ruling class regardless of whether it would be received, prophets were often harshly persecuted for relaying unfavorable news. It was in these trying times, in which prophets were compelled by their faith to relay bad news despite the punishment it incurred, that the depth of their dedication to their position was most severely tested. The most profound and compelling example of a prophet's dedication in the face of universal backlash, however, is to be observed in the Book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah, a highly successful prophet in Judah who took up the calling circa 627 BCE, was a well-recognized figure in Jerusalem. Though he was one among many prophets in Jerusalem upon taking up residency there, and likely belonged to a prophet's guild, he was one of the central players in the city, and through his prophetic insights and ties to the nobility wielded influence over the decisions of the monarchy. Earlier in his career, Jeremiah's prophecy centered around more traditional, mainstream themes. However, as time went on his subject matter became decidedly more political and grim. This was likely due to his knowledge of international affairs: As more and more nations fell to Babylonian expansion, including the Northern Kingdom of Israel, tension was mounting over the fate of Judah - tension of which Jeremiah's prophecies were acutely conscious.

Indeed, throughout the Book of Jeremiah, he stresses the vital importance of repentance before God, claiming that the Babylonian scourge was a direct product of Israel's deviance from God's covenant, and that Judah would be next if it did not cleanse its own impurities: "Why do we sit still? Gather together, let us go into the fortified cities and perish there; for the lord has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord" (Jer. 8.14). Here Jeremiah rebukes his fellow citizens for their own complicity in their impending fall, and seeks to expose the futility of attempting to resist it; "The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan;

at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it" (Jer. 8.16). This passage parallels the preceding; here he speaks directly to the coming invasion, and to his repeated attempts to warn King Zedekiah of Judah's plight and convince him to not rebel against Nebuchadnezzar.

The trope of impurity and corruption runs deep in Jeremiah, and he offers countless examples of the iniquity evident at all levels of society as the cause of God's revocation of his divine protection. Perhaps chief among these wrongs is the persistence of the people of Judah in the commission of apostasy: In a poignant and striking literary device, Jeremiah humanizes God, imbuing him with distinctly human emotion when he relays God's message that "My grief is beyond healing, my heart is sick within me," and his question, "Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with their foreign idols?" (Jer. 8.19). In this strikingly beautiful passage, Jeremiah presents God not merely as a vengeful, jealous God, but as a God deeply wounded by the faithlessness of his chosen people - a relatable and compelling emotion.

Also, according to Jeremiah, God is not only provoked to wrath by Judah's perceived infidelity to himself, but also by its infidelity to itself: "Let every one beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother; for every brother is a supplanter, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Every one deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent" (Jer. 9.4-5). By exposing the extensive corruption and degradation of a society in which "no one speaks the truth," Jeremiah sought to awaken people to their deviance from the covenant and their own complicity in the Babylonian threat, and urged repentance to God as the sole route to salvation.

Because of the controversial nature of his message, which called for personal accountability for one's wrongs - never a popular proposal - and because of its highly political bent in a time of considerable hand-wringing over the situation with Babylon, Jeremiah was harshly persecuted. However, despite public scorn, imprisonment, and even his sequestration in a pit where he was at one point left for dead, he persevered in what he perceived to be God's attempt to reconcile with his people before it was too late. This dedication, coupled with the key role he played in a defining passage in ancient Jewish history make Jeremiah the most compelling of the Hebrew prophets, and the Book of Jeremiah one of the most humanizing and powerful in the Hebrew Bible.

Works Cited:

The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version.

New York: Penguin Books, 1974.