Come Follow Me: Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20

Jeremiah! The man, the book, the bullfrog…

Jeremiah is the second longest book in our longest book of scripture. (Only Psalms is longer). We know more about Jeremiah than any other Old Testament prophet because, for reasons unknown, much more biographical information is included.

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First, though, the setting. We are now in Jerusalem, c. 625 BCE. Josiah the reformer has been on the throne for 15 years. The northern Kingdom was destroyed and resettled a century earlier, and all but Jerusalem sieged (2Ki 18, Isaiah 36). What remains of Israel is technically an Assyrian vassal but under the direct administrative and cultural control of Egypt. Lehi is either at his Jerusalem residence or north of Jerusalem at his ancestral home. We have a lot of sources on the events of this time, and one of the best ways to get a handle is to read the essays in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem (now only in PDF). I also suggest reviewing the history in 2 Kings 22-24. Robert Alter summarizes.

A century before the beginning of Jeremiah’s mission, the northern kingdom of Israel had been overwhelmed by Assyrian invaders. A large part of the population was deported to sundry locations elsewhere in the Assyrian empire—this was when the so-called ten lost tribes were “lost”—and all vestiges of national sovereignty in the area once governed by the northern kingdom were eradicated. The extirpation of the northern kingdom was a national catastrophe that haunted its southern counterpart throughout the century and more that followed, since—given powerful military threats from foreign powers (for the first part of this period, the principal threat continued to be Assyria, then superseded by Babylonia)—the fate that had overtaken Israel could easily overtake Judah as well. In some of his prophecies, Jeremiah harbors the hope of a restored Israel reunited with a restored Judah, but one may justly describe this as a utopian fantasy, because by the late seventh century B.C.E. and early in the next century there were no visible remnants of the kingdom of Israel that could serve as the ground for such a restoration.
The other major event that stamped a strong mark on Jeremiah’s prophecies was the sweeping religious reforms instigated by King Josiah beginning around 622 B.C.E.

Those reforms are debated— partly because the Biblical data are internally conflicting—  and LDS have their own varied takes. See here and references,

Jeremiah himself was from a priestly family in Anathoth, a small village 3 miles N.E of Jerusalem. We know several things about his life; it was… hard. He was accused of treason, desertion (Jer 37:13-14), thrown in jail (Jer 37:15), stocks (Jer 20:2) and in pits (Jer 38:6), and divinely commanded not to marry or have children, since they would just die horribly anyway (Jer 16:1-4). It is bleak to be a Cassandra, to see the apocalypse coming, know it is avoidable, and watch it happen anyway; Jeremiah just generally felt very alone and abused by God. He laments his life and calling, and dies after Israel is destroyed and he is hauled away against his will to Egypt by surviving Israelites. One book I have  has a section on Jeremiah called A Sense of Impending Doom, which opens with “One of the most distinctive features of Jeremiah’s prophecy is the acute sense of impending disaster that informs much of his poetic oracles.” In that light, here’s an appropriate soundtrack for the Book of Jeremiah.

On the positive side, chapters 36-38 tell us about Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch, a close (and only?) friend. As is likely with other prophets, Jeremiah himself did very little, if any, of the writing of his prophetic sermons. Orality was the main form of communication, and writing was not terribly significant for the vast majority of the population. (See here, first few sections.) Baruch, at least, is named and mentioned. Other disciples/memorizers/scribes/”tradents” who orally preserved and shaped the teachings of past prophets are simply anonymous.

Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon (chapters 7, 26)

Like a lot of the Old Testament, the Book of Jeremiah is not really chronological.

Whoever was responsible for the book of Jeremiah did not arrange its contents chronologically. This causes consternation on the part of some readers. Indeed, no theory about the process of the book’s composition has reached consensus among interpreters. One can point, however, to subunits within the book that are collections of traditions united thematically (e.g., chs. 2–20; 27–29; 30–32; 37–44). Readers will often recognize links (both verbal and thematic) between proximate chapters, even if reasons for the structure and arrangement of the book as a whole eludes them.

– NIV Application Commentary: Jeremiah, Lamentations

So Jeremiah jumps around and sometimes repeats. For example, chapter 26 is actually a restatement or a different account, of what’s called Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon. Chapter 7 is the other place this is set forth. It’s one of my favorite chapters, and it dovetails nicely in some ways with the Book of Mormon. Chapter 7 contains more of the actual sermon, and chapter 26 reduces it to a paragraph or so but provides a lot of context.

Jeremiah is commanded to go to the gate of the temple complex, the equivalent of the one entrance to the temple parking lot. There is a tradi

Jeremiah at the temple

tion that worshippers “were greeted at the temple gates by a servant of the institution, who asked them to examine their moral lives prior to passing through the gates and participating in the worship.” (Word Biblical Commentary. On that tradition, see here.) Psalm 15, Psalm 24, and Isaiah 22 all seem to indicate questions for those ascending to the temple, or perhaps questions asked of people at the gate. We all know well Psalm 24:3-4, who ascends into the house of the lord? Those with clean hands and a pure heart. ¹C.f. Gee “The keeper of the gate.” In The Temple in Time and Eternity Perhaps Jeremiah was fulfilling this role, and magnifying it.

At the gate, he is to preach in a particular way. Jeremiah has to convince the people to repent and undermine one of their beliefs, namely that the true temple of the true God in the holiest city on earth means complete and utter protection from enemies, that Jerusalem cannot fall. (Think of Laman and Lemuel’s protestations here, that Jerusalem was righteous and could not be destroyed.) They are, so they think, protected and justified in their actions, though contrary to God’s commandments and the covenants they have made.

For the Israelites, in some way, the edifice, the establishment symbolized by the magnificent temple at the peak of the capital city, guaranteed their righteousness and subsequent protection.“…the people flocked to the temple, confident that their violations of the divine code were of little moment to the deity and that, as it were, the wonderful temple covered a multitude of sins!” (WBC again) Certainly God would never allow his city let alone his temple at its height to be destroyed. Jeremiah launches a frontal assault on this belief with both logical and historical arguments.

Here I quote some short verses from chapter 7,  words Jeremiah spoke in the temple gate. (Jesus quotes v. 11 in Matt 21:13 and Luke 19:46). I’ve italicized the key bits. Powerful language.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Amend your ways and your doings, that I may dwell with you in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: “Temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place… 8 Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by *my* name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight?

Robert Alter notes that

“Most translations render the word for the place as “den” in the interest of English idiomatic usage. But the Hebrew term clearly means “cave,” and caves, especially abundant in the cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea, were favored sites for hideouts. There is surely an intended contrast between the Temple, celebrated in the Book of Kings as a magnificent architectural structure erected by Solomon, and a dark hollow in a cliff used as a refuge by criminals.”

Jeremiah continues, saying in essence, “you think the Temple protects you? Think again!”

You know, I too am watching, says the Lord. 12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently, you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors, just what I did to Shiloh.

Shiloh, as you may recall, was the place the tabernacle had been set up in the days of Eli and Samuel, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem, as found in 1st Samuel 1-4.

What’s left of Shiloh, on the ground. Pic by me.

If the people thought God’s temple guaranteed God’s presence and inviolability, Jeremiah says, they should go check out Shiloh and see what happened there.

[Shiloh] too had been a place where God’s presence was established, but now it was in ruins. The reason for ruin was equally clear to the prophet, for its demise was “because of the evil of my people” (v 12). A temple or shrine, in other words, which was the symbolic location of God’s presence among his people, provided no absolute security; God could be driven out of his temple by evil, and when that happened, sooner or later the place would collapse in ruin. Thus, Jeremiah drew upon the resources of contemporary “archaeology” to drive home his point; the stones and ruins of Shiloh, only a few miles north of Jerusalem and known no doubt to the prophet’s audience, had a story to tell. (WBC)

Jeremiah wants the people to have no illusions about the mere presence of the temple. Unless they change their behavior, Jerusalem and the temple will become like Shiloh. Now note, these people being rebuked were the ones entering the temple, not the ones staying home! At least in theory, these were the righteous people making the required sacrifices. Jeremiah doesn’t have issue with them carrying out their religious rituals, as much as the other things they’re also doing (offering sacrifice to other gods as well) and the things they’re omitting (e.g. acting justly one with another, not oppressing the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow).

It all sounds very much like some of the things we read in the Gospels, as well as problems we have today. Simply because we wear our white shirts and dresses and attend our meetings and the temple does not mean we are safe and secure against spiritual ruin, particularly if we are living our lives inconsistently with our covenants and commitments. I doubt any Israelite actually verbalized “Hey, I can totally steal and kill and oppress the foreigner, cause I live in Jerusalem with God’s temple”… but that is effectively how they were thinking and acting.

Jeremiah’s Call

I have two notes here. First, most of us have to read the Old Testament in translation. For English-speaking saints, that most often means the King James Version. There’s no reason why LDS can’t study other translations as well, of course, and the various issues with the KJV are well-known.  However, no translation can perfectly convey what the original author appears to have meant for any but the simplest sentences. Many of the subtle and not-so-subtle connections or messages the text is trying to communicate are lost in translation, because we need more than just the words.

Jeremiah 1:11-12 is one such thing, as it recounts a vision of Jeremiah.

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. ”

What possible connection is there between the almond tree and God’s reliability in carrying out his word?

When limited to English translation, one might surmise almond trees were symbols of reliability or were particularly resistant to change. Indeed, when confronted with the strange and unfamiliar in scripture, Latter-day Saints tend to look for (speculative) doctrinal reasons. We think of theological causality primarily in terms of revelation. But much of scripture’s weirdness is attributable to historical/cultural/linguistic contingency, not “doctrinal” ideas.

And in fact, almond trees had no such symbolism. Instead, there is a Hebrew pun here, a linguistic quirk under the surface. Jeremiah reports that he sees a shaqed (“shah-cade” or almond tree), and God replies that he will shoqed (“show-cade” or watch over, assure) his words. So there are things going on in Hebrew that simple English translation can’t capture, and for that we either need to learn Hebrew or use a study Bible with explanatory footnotes. (My recommendations are here, see Joshua Sears on LDS and Study Bibles here and here.)

The Jewish Study Bible says, “11–12: A pun upon the word “shaked,” almond tree, and “shoked,” “watching.” The almond tree is one of the first trees to blossom in the spring, signifying God’s resolve to bring about the divine word concerning Jerusalem and Judah” and goes on. The NET Bible says

“There is a play on the Hebrew word for “almond tree” (שָׁקֵד, shaqed), which blossoms in January/February and is the harbinger of spring, and the Hebrew word for “watching” (שֹׁקֵד, shoqed), which refers to someone watching over someone or something in preparation for action. The play on words announces the certainty and imminence of the LORD carrying out the covenant curses of Lev 26 and Deut 28 threatened by the earlier prophets.”

(I’ve discussed Jeremiah 1:11 in a few different presentations.)

Second, Jeremiah’s call says in good poetic parallelism,

Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you.
Before you were born I set you apart,              I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.

This has often been read by LDS as referring to a doctrine of pre-mortal existence. However, it’s far from certain that this doctrine had been revealed to or commonly understood by the Israelites. On this, then, see Dana Pike, Divine Election in the Ancient Near East and the Anchor Bible Dictionary article on “Soul, Preexistence of” which was authored by LDS scholar S. Kent Brown.

Various notes

• Jer 3:2 was meant to shock, and may perhaps be vulgar, even, as I discuss in my article on Bible translation under the “Appropriate Language” section.
• Jer 16:16 used to be (is?)  a seminary Scripture Mastery list, and was related to prophecies of missionary work. However, read in context with v. 17 onwards, it appears to be a prophecy of the Babylonians, and how the Israelites will not be able to hide from them.
• Jer 17:1 gave the title to Robert Alter’s book about the vast influence of KJV English on American prose. Pen of Iron: American Prose and the King James Bible
• Jer 17:7-8 seems particular appropriate during this time of drought.
  

  7 Blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
  whose trust is the LORD.
  8 They shall be like a tree planted by water,
  sending out its roots by the stream.
  It shall not fear when heat comes,
  and its leaves shall stay green;
  in the year of drought it is not anxious,
  and it does not cease to bear fruit.

• Jer 17:9-10 Israelites did not recognize the brain as the location of conscious thought; Americans have a heart/mind distinction where the heart is instinct and emotion, the mind is logic and rationality. For Israelites, the heart contained all of these.  And when they wanted to talk about real deep emotion (we might talk about a “gut” feeling or describe something as “visceral”), they mentioned the kidneys and internal organs, kjv “reins” and “bowels.” So in v. 10, the KJV says “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins,” most modern translations will sound more like the NRSV, “I the lord test the mind and search the heart.” It’s a transitional equivalent indicating a  deep and full search of human intentions and commitments. Note also Jer 4:19. Where the  KJV says quite literally “my bowels, my bowels”²Quoted by many a South American missionary 😉 , others translate as “my anguish” or “my suffering.” There is a similar connection between a different word for “bowels” or “womb” and a cognate, translated as “mercy;” we see all of these things in Moses 7:41, “his bowels yearned” and Mosiah 15, which speaks of Christ “having the bowels of mercy” (C.f. Alma 7:12, 26:37, 34:15, 3Ne 17:7) For further reading, see here .
  Now I want to emphasize something slightly different, namely, the way translation affects our understanding. If we read the KJV, we get a fairly word-for-word translation… which makes no sense. If you even know what “reins” are, how do you know why Jeremiah is invoking them? Or “bowels”? On the other hand, if you’re reading a modern translation operating on “functional equivalency,” you might well assume that Israelites had the same heart/mind distinction as Americans do today, because that’s how it’s translated. The VERY different Israelite understandings will be concealed from you in service of accessibility. This is true of a number of things in the Bible, particularly when it comes to issues of creation, cosmology, and other things of interest to me.John Walton is an OT scholar I follow, who has done a lot of work on the early chapters of Genesis, the ancient Near Eastern context of Old Testament thought and culture, and creation/evolution. (See my book review here, and significant mentions here and here, for example.) Walton is also an Evangelical who signs a theological commitment to inerrancy as condition of his continued employment at Wheaton. He edited the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, as well as the multi-volume Bible Backgrounds commentary set from which the Study Bible draws its notes. One reviewer of Walton noted this.

  There is, it is important to note, no movement among conservative Christians to argue against the modern viewpoint that our thinking and emotions are not centered in either the heart or the bowels but the brain. Indeed, I think it is worth pointing out that many Christians find themselves able to believe that they are ‘Biblical literalists’, and that the Bible is in all things scientifically accurate, precisely because they read the Bible in translations that have translated ancient Israel’s literal understanding into modern metaphors, replacing ‘bowels’ with ‘compassion’ and ‘‘heart’ with ‘mind’ where necessary. And thus we have the Catch-22 that the better the job that translators do, the more likely it is that Christians reading the Bible may be unaware that they are thinking in ways that may be similar to ancient Israelites in crucial ways, but are also vastly different from them in terms of understanding of anatomy and other matters of science.

  This matters very much when it comes to a) the specific issue of convincing people that scripture can be true and reliable without it being inerrancy or a scientific textbook and b) that a single translation with no notes simply cannot convey everything scripture means, or even sometimes the crucial parts. You need a good translation with explanatory notes. Even knowing Hebrew doesn’t teach you the cultural/historical backgrounds, and the first time I read Jeremiah 1:11-12 in Hebrew, I completely missed the pun.

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