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Background to the Book of Jeremiah Historical Background to the Book: Jeremiah began his ministry in Jerusalem around 627 BCE and he witnessed the final years of Jerusalem before it fell to Nebuchadrezzar in 597 BCE. While there may be some dispute about the exact dating of his call that is what the author of the Book of Jeremiah wanted us to accept. Jeremiah was a young man who protested to God when he was called (Jeremiah 1:4-10) and who later made bitter lament to God about the way he was treated by colleagues. He came from a priestly family from the town of Anathoth, a few kilometre north of Jerusalem and close to the border of what had been the territory of Northern Israel. He was well aware of the traditions from the northern tribes, on which he drew , rather than the southern tradition used by the prophet Isaiah. The king at the time of the first part of Jeremiah's prophecies was Josiah who had instituted reforms to purify the worship practices in 621 BCE. He did this by removing the local shrines and their sacrifices, outlawing the country Levites from presiding over sacrifices (at local shrines) and made Jerusalem the only place in which sacrifice could be made. Because the Levites gained their livelihood from this practice he made laws which dictated they had to be cared for by the local people (Deuteronomy 14:27-28). The early part of the reign of King Josiah was relatively peaceful from the ravages of the superpowers - Assyria, Babylon and Egypt which gave him the opportunity to instigate his reforms based on the Book of Deuteronomy. Josiah got caught up in a war with Egypt in 609 BCE and was killed when he tried to prevent Pharaoh Necho from going to the aid of the Assyrians in their last ditch stand against the upcoming power of Babylon (and was killed in battle in 609 BCE). The situation of Jerusalem rapidly deteriorated from this time with a quick turnover of kings and the continued rise of Babylon. Josiah's son Jehoahaz was sent in bonds to Egypt after three months. His brother Jehoiakim took the throne and from a vassal of Egypt he became a vassal of Babylon in 604 BCE. Jehoiakim died in 598 BCE (or assassinated) and his son Jehoiachin had been on the throne for three months when Nebuchadrezzar took Jerusalem in 597 BCE. He deported Jehoiachin, the Queen mother, state officials and took enormous booty including the temple vessels and treasures, but did not destroy the city or temple (Thompson: 24). Jeremiah's preaching appears to indicate that the reforms had been unsuccessful because his preaching is calling the people back to faithful worship of Yahweh. He prophecies the impending fall of Jerusalem with all its horrific implications. The people refused to believe him because they thought that Jerusalem would always be safe, as indeed, Isaiah had told them 110 years previously. After 598 BCE Jeremiah suffered personally because he was prophesying exile for 70 years and this was an unpopular message. Zedekiah (uncle of Jehoiachin) supported rebellion against Babylon and Nebuchadrezzar came and destroyed Jerusalem after a terrible siege. The city was destroyed, including the temple and further officials taken into exile. The Governor set up by the Babylonians was assassinated in 582 BCE and further deportations occurred. Some Judeans fled to Egypt before the arrival of Nebuchadrezzar taking Jeremiah with them (Jeremiah 42). Literary Background to the Book: We don't know the precise process whereby the book was formed from the oral traditions into the final form we have now. It appears to be in blocks of material which are deliberately structured to reinforce the message. Chapters 1-29 depict the divine judgement on Judah and Jeremiah's controversy with false prophets: chapters 30-33 make up the Book of Consolation: chapters 34-45 depict events around the fall of Jerusalem: chapters 46-51 contain the oracles against the nations and the final chapter parallels 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 which tells us about the final fall of Jerusalem. The Greek translation of the Book of Jeremiah is shorter by one seventh which is unusual as the Greek translations are usually longer. The Hebrew and Greek translations were both circulating in Israel at the time of the Qumran community ( ). Whether there was a shorter Hebrew version which is now represented by the Greek and this was later expanded into the Hebrew edition of the Book is a matter of some debate. The arrangement of the blocks of material are different in each edition with the Oracles against the Nations to be found in the Greek edition in chapters 26-32. The Greek edition names Jeremiah as the prophet four times whereas the Hebrew edition names Jeremiah as the prophet thirty times. The book is a mixture of poetry and prose. It appears to many scholars that much of the prose is preaching on aspects of Jeremiah's oracles from the poetry. This preaching has many similarities to the theology and language used by the Deuteronomistic writers. Whether the Deuteronomists took Jeremiah's oracles and use them as a basis for preaching God's word to a later situation we can never be certain. However, the message and language of the prose sections are compatible with Deueteronomic thought. For example, the message to the exiles was the need to believe in the true prophets like Jeremiah. He is held up as an excellent example. Another message was to explain that they were in exile was because they had been disobedient and therefore lost the land. Yahweh had been faithful to them and they had failed to keep their side of the covenant as depicted in Exodus 19. |
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Context of Jeremiah 17:5-10 There have been many oracles by Jeremiah calling for Judah to repent and turn again to God. He has painted graphic pictures of what will happen if Judah fails to turns again to Yahweh. In the chapters leading up to Jeremiah 17 he has expressed his bitter anger against God for what he suffers at the hands of his colleagues because of the unpopular messages he is proclaiming on behalf of God (Jeremiah 12, 15). The complaint by God against the people is their rejection of him but if they return then Yahweh will restore them (Jeremiah 15). Jeremiah 16 and 17:1-4 spell out the rejection in very strong terms and the prophecy tells of their servitude in a foreign land which they do not yet know. Jeremiah 17:5-10 is followed by a personal petition of Jeremiah requesting that God heal him and Jeremiah's affirmation that the Lord has always been his refuge. However, while in Jeremiah 17:16 he says that he has never requested evil he does petition the Lord to put to shame those who have persecuted him (Jeremiah 17:18) and to bring upon his enemies the day of evil. A somewhat contradictory message. In response to this God commands Jeremiah to proclaim an oracle about the abuse of the Sabbath. They have ignored the Sabbath commands by working on this holy day. If they choose to change their ways Jerusalem will be safe forever, but if they fail to keep the Sabbath holy then Jerusalem will be totally destroyed. This chapter is followed by the lovely symbolic story of the potter's wheel in which the people are likened to the clay in which they can be reshaped by the Lord if they repent. The message is very constant in Jeremiah: if the people repent then God will turn back to them and continue to care for them. However, we know by later narrative in the Book of Jeremiah that the people have failed to heed the message of Jeremiah and the Babylonians descend and take Jerusalem and the people captive. |
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Insights/Message of Jeremiah 17:5-10 Literary structure: This chapter is a mixture of poetry and prose. It has been suggested that the prose material consists of sermons based on the oracles of Jeremiah. It is certainly the case that the language and theology is very similar to that that of the Deuteronomist. Verses 5-10 is a prophetic oracle which begins with the usual phrase; 'Thus says the Lord', giving a clear authority to what follows must be understood as the word of God to the people through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah. Not only is it a prophetic oracle but closely resembles Psalm 1 which is the set Psalm for the day. Verses 5-6 paint the negative picture of a person who trusts in humans and verses 7-8 paint the positive picture of the person who trusts in God. The positive picture picks up the imagery of a tree planted beside water which parallels that in Psalm 1. The Psalm is constructed with the positive effects first followed by the negative picture (Holladay: 490). Jeremiah may have drawn on phrases about trusting in the Lord from Ps 40:4-5 as well. There is a play in the Hebrew on the words 'see' (v.6) and 'fear' (v.8) which is not apparent in the English. The writer now turns to the heart which picks up links from vv.1 (written on the heart) and 5 (whose heart turns away from God). (Miller: 708). The message in vv.1-4 of Jeremiah was addressed specifically to the people of Judah and now the message has broadened to the whole of humanity. Jeremiah 17:11 connects to vv.9-10 because it uses a metaphor of the partridge to give an example of what happens when people try to gain more than they deserve. Jeremiah 17:12-13 can be seen to reiterate the theme of vv.5-6, but now places it in the heavenly realm. Message / Theology: The imagery painted in vv.5-10 speaks very poignantly to Australian congregations, many who would know from experience the consequences of drought and others would know from the national news . It is an image picked up by Jesus when he talks with the Samaritan woman beside the well as he says that He is the source of living water. The basic message speaks as much to us today as to the world of Jeremiah. In whom do you trust? God or self. This question is not a denial for the need to use all one's faculties or take initiative, but is the fundamental question of where does one place one's primary trust. This primary trust in the Lord will result in wholeness and anxiety free life. It is not necessarily the road to riches and wealth but gives us far more in life. The heart is seen as a separate place which controls will, disposition, intention and feeling. It is to this that God turns realising the need for people to change the focus of their hearts if there is to be a turning away from trust in humans to trusting in God alone. When the text speaks of God searching our hearts we know it is at the deepest level of our being. |
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Resources/Worship for Jeremiah 17:5-10 Worship: If the Psalm was used it could be read in two parts by the congregation vv.1-3 (the positive picture of a person who follows the way of the Lord), vv.4-6 (the picture of the wicked). The OT reading could be read by two people: P1: vv.5-6; P2:vv.7-8, P1 v9-10, P2:v.11. I think v.11 needs to be included because of the connecting word 'like' which gives the concrete negative example of the consequences of v.10. You could ask if people noticed the change around in the construction of the Psalm and prophetic oracle. Resources: The Old Testament Guides (OTG) by Sheffield Academic Press are an excellent small resource which give many suggestions for readings on particular aspects in the Book of Jeremiah The New Interpreter's Bible is another very helpful resource and published in the late 1990's - 2002 is more up to date than some earlier works.
The Dramatised Bible: ed. Michael Perry. London: Marshall Pickering: Bible Society, 1989 Web sites with helpful lectionary resources: These links were updated 23/11/06
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