Jeremiah Chapters 3-5;Thine Own Wickedness Shall Correct Thee!

       King Josiah destroying the idols of Baal.

 

Previously, Israel has been shielded from foreign invaders but now it will be punished by the empire from the north. Child sacrifice, neglect of the poor, idolatry and sexual cult ritual have turned God’s favor from his people as they have turned away from God. Attempts at reform have come too little and too late to meet God’s expectations. Exile draws near and restoration of the righteous is promised but they must wait patiently for this process to run its course.

 Chapter 3 begins with a question: Can the people ever return to God after chasing false gods and straying so far from his laws?

Carl: Can the lord forgive? God is using the word “defiled “ in Ch. 3:2  “you defiled the land/With your whoring and your debauchery…”

God doesn’t appear to be closing the door – there is a ray of hope here.

Joel: There is a very specific morality here. Men can whore about but women can’t. Women are blamed for men straying.

Ceil: If a couple strayed they were both stoned.

Joel: There is the famous Torah story of a man and a woman copulating at the altar and Pinchas (Phineas) runs his sword through the two of them in one action.

Carl: Doesn’t this bother you?

Joel: Well, yes. In the text Pinchas is rewarded directly by God for his righteousness.

Carl: God isn’t saying he is jealous, but he does seem to be expressing this emotion.

Joel: The contract is with Israel and her actions are being described as a whoring adulteress.

Carl: If God mentions his jealousy then this would mean that he can be emotionally hurt.

Joel: In the text he does respond as an injured being.

Carl: But God is infinite and this makes him appear finite so that the humans – his spin-off creations, can understand.

Joel: Maimonides said that God appears human only so we can understand him.

Carl: So I am in good company.

Julie: We are made in God’s image; it doesn’t specify exactly how.

Carl: If God has an issue he will decide in a finite way how to resolve it.

Julie: In this case he is sending in the Babylonian Empire to punish the people.

Carl: Is Judah being saved by Josiah?

Joel: Josiah is seen as the first monotheistic reformer but his reforms are unable to off- set how far the people have strayed. He dies at the battle of Megiddo.

Jane: Josiah dies in 609BCE.

Julie: Maybe he is the lucky one. He doesn’t have to see his people conquered.

Jane:  Referring to Ch. 3:14 “Turn back, rebellious children…since I have espoused/you, I will take you…  

Jonathan: This sounds very familiar. It sounds like Isaiah. It sounds like the two prophets are texting each other.

Jane: This is the rationale for the coming punishment.

Carl: Referring to ch3:22 “Turn back, O rebellious children,/I will heal your afflictions!”

God seems to be relenting.

Julie: He will forgive them but they are still getting punished.

Jane: This is like a time-out.

Joel: Creativity happens under stress. The prophets are the expression of this stress. But it’s a process. They lead the way to modern Judaism.

Jane: Cataclysmic events drive change.

Joel: The prophets bring in a new level, a more sophisticated level of morality that is developing under tremendous political and social upheaval.

Chapter 4

Jane: Referring to Ch. 4: 15-17 “Hark, one proclaims from Dan/And announces calamity from Mount Ephraim!/Tell the nations: Here they are!/ Announce concerning Jerusalem:/ Watchers are coming from a distant land,/ They raise their voices against the towns of Judah,/ Like guards of fields, they surround her on every side.”

This is war.

Ceil: Yes, it sounds like an invasion.

Jane: Referring to Ch 4:23-26 “I look at the earth,/It is unformed and void;/ At the skies,/And their light is gone…I look: no man is left,/…

 God is giving the warning. If you keep this up, this is what is in store for you. He is telling them the future. 

Jonathan: If you don’t stop, I’ll call your mother… This is the story of Jewish Guilt!

Joel: This is more like “Wait till your father gets home!!.”

Joel: Illness, plague, crop failure… these things are always the repercussions of poor behavior. It kind of gets annoying.

Ceil: This is not limited to Judaism. Most people would ask, “What have I done to deserve this?”

Jonathan: Well, an atheist might say, I ate poorly or this illness is due to my genes. This is the reason I am ill, but a believing Jew would eat chicken fat and then say, why am I ill? God must be punishing me.”

Carl: referring to Ch. 4:4 “Remove the thickening about your hearts…”

This is about the dangers of cholesterol.

All: Laugh!

Carl: This is so descriptive.

Joel: Yeah, it’s all powerful poetry.

             Chapter 5

Carl: referring to Ch. 5: 5 “the poor…/They act foolishly;/ For they do not know the way of the LORD,/ …I will go to the wealthy/And speak with them.”

Joel: The wealthy should know better, but they are worse.

Ceil: The poor may not know better.

Joel: The prophets are always railing against the rich.

Jonathan: Same as today.

Ceil: The wealthy should be more moral because they have more information.

Jane: They are arrogant because they know and still do not do the right thing.

Carl: This sounds so crazy, rambling and redundant.

Joel: I don’t think this is rambling at all. I think he’s on target.

Julie: God is laying out the reasons for the upcoming punishment. I work for the Dept. of Education in New York. When I do staff development I always begin by telling the group what I am about to discuss, then reiterate the important points and sum them up again at the end.

Paul: referring to5:: 4-5 “The poor folk;/ they act foolishly…”

Why punish fools? Why not educate them?

Joel: The Rabbis are clear on who is foolish. It is not people of low I/Q s. as we would have it today. They mean people who do not accept the reality of God. They mean the non-believers.

Ceil: Dumb means you should know better.

Jane: or ungrateful.

Julie: The people are foolish for not following what I have shown them.

Ceil: It’s ultimately about transgression.

Jonathan: It can mean a person lacking in judgment.

Historians and cultural critics have noted that Jeremiah’s form is exactly like ancient near East court of law tracts between a King or Overlord and his vassal state. The Overlord will send a messenger to read a document to the offending vassal stating his case. There is an implied accusation, a description of what the Overlord has done for the vassal state, a declarations of the vassal’s guilt and then culpability. This format is also seen in the book of Deuteronomy, which was contemporaneous with Jeremiah. We see here the Prophets using existing material, but put to new use in the service of a new Judaism.