Jeremiah: Life, Work, and Writings

Last night I finished reading John Bright’s commentary on Jeremiah (The Anchor Bible Commentary). This was an excellent book, one of the best commentaries I’ve ever read. I thought I would give some general overview of the prophet and his work.

Jeremiah was born into a priestly family from the Benjamite village of Anathoth. He had his call to the prophetic vocation as a youth (626 BCE), a call he was reluctant to take and with which he himself never seems to have reconciled. He seems to have been most influenced by the book of Deuteronomy and the prophet Hosea, but also Amos and first Isaiah. One of his earliest visions (if not the first) was the ultimate impending doom facing God’s people for their sins. This prophecy set the tone and mission for most of Jeremiah’s life and career. Because of the certainty of destruction, he neither married nor had children. He also abstained from many of the joys of the life, setting his own body up as a living example of the immediate nation’s future. A life of mourning.

Jeremiah had visions, performed prophetic acts, dictated oracles, and wrote both poetry and prose. Though his writings fell under the general theme of the coming Exile, there was a lot of diversity within that subject. What we have as the Book of Jeremiah is a collection of various material written by and about the prophet, probably built around the nucleus of the scroll Jeremiah originally constructed of his early prophetic sayings and which was burned by King Jehoiakim (Jer. 36). The book includes oracles concerning Judah and Jerusalem (people, prophets, government, etc.), oracles concerning the judgeemnt of surrounding nations (Jeremiah 46-51), personal confessions, and biographical episodes written by another hand, possibly Jeremiah’s friend and associate Baruch. Unfortunately, during the extended assembling process, with too many cooks in the kitchen, the material in the Book of Jeremiah is largely disorganized. I appreciate John Bright’s efforts at remedying some of the confusion.

Throughout the early parts of his ministry, Jeremiah’s prophetic oracles about the coming destruction from Babylon went largely unheeded (the prophecies concerning the Temple [Jeremiah 7, 21] and the Valley of Gehinnom [Jeremiah 7, 19, 22] are two of my favorites). Indeed, he frequently received persecution from the people, priests, government officials, and other prophets because of his dire warnings. There were a minority of people from all strata of society (including government officials) who took Jeremiah’s warnings seriously and sought to protect him and his associates from persecution. However, this minority, even at high levels of leadership in Judah, was unable to divert the nation and government from destruction. Even as the prophecy began to come true, Jeremiah’s further warnings and advice continued to be unheeded.

Jeremiah seems to have resented his life and calling. It was something he never wanted. He was called to proclaim absolute destruction upon his society, culture, nation – everything he knew – without hope of divergence. He knew that few would listen to him. He knew he would be persecuted. When persecution hit and he cried out to God, Yahweh told him to expect more of the same. Jeremiah continued praying for his people and nation, but God continued telling him to stop because it wouldn’t do any good. In his confessional poetry, Jeremiah empties himself out before God, weeping because of his lot, praying for vengeance upon his enemies, and even accusing Yahweh himself of unfaithfulness (Jer. 15:5-21).

Not all of the Jeremiah’s oracles were entirely negative. Despite the national disaster of the Exile, Jeremiah also proclaimed that Yahweh would one day restore his people, bringing them back, forgiving their sins, and establishing a new covenant with them (Jeremiah 30-31). While he himself never saw this restoration, he nevertheless was certain of it. If Jeremiah was right about the destruction of Israel, he would be right about its reconstruction. If Yahweh spoke Exile, Exile it would be. If Yahweh spoke Restoration, Restoration it would be. God will do what he says he will do. That is his righteousness. That is his covenant-faithfulness. That is hope. See Jeremiah 23:6.

After the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah was carried off to Egypt against his will by the remaining Judeans fearful of the wrath of Babylon. He probably spent the remainder of his life there.