THIS IS WHAT the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
5“Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction.”
7A lion has come out of his lair;
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitant.
8So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
has not turned away from us.
9“In that day,” declares the LORD,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats.”
11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”
13Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16“Tell this to the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,’”
declares the LORD.
18“Your own conduct and actions
have brought this upon you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
20Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22“My people are fools;
they do not know me.
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good.”
23I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
27This is what the LORD says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back.”
29At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted;
no one lives in them.
30What are you doing, O devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why shade your eyes with paint?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
my life is given over to murderers.”
5:1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person
who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
I will forgive this city.
2Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’
still they are swearing falsely.”
3O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You struck them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than stone
and refused to repent.
4I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,
for they do not know the way of the LORD,
the requirements of their God.
5So I will go to the leaders
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the LORD,
the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.
7“Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn by gods that are not gods.
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
8They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man’s wife.
9Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the LORD.
“Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
10“Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.
Strip off her branches,
for these people do not belong to the LORD.
11The house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly unfaithful to me,”
declares the LORD.
12They have lied about the LORD;
they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;
we will never see sword or famine.
13The prophets are but wind
and the word is not in them;
so let what they say be done to them.”
14Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says:
“Because the people have spoken these words,
I will make my words in your mouth a fire
and these people the wood it consumes.
15O house of Israel,” declares the LORD,
“I am bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17They will devour your harvests and food,
devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
the fortified cities in which you trust.
18“Yet even in those days,” declares the LORD, “I will not destroy you completely. 19And when the people ask, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’
20“Announce this to the house of Jacob
and proclaim it in Judah:
21Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
22Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD.
“Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’
25Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.
26“Among my people are wicked men
who lie in wait like men who snare birds
and like those who set traps to catch men.
27Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
they have become rich and powerful
28and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,
they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the LORD.
“Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
30“A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
6:1“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster looms out of the north,
even terrible destruction.
2I will destroy the Daughter of Zion,
so beautiful and delicate.
3Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents around her,
each tending his own portion.”
4“Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
and the shadows of evening grow long.
5So arise, let us attack at night
and destroy her fortresses!”
6This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Cut down the trees
and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.
7As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8Take warning, O Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it.”
9This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”
10To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the LORD is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11But I am full of the wrath of the LORD,
and I cannot hold it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.
12Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
declares the LORD.
13“From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
14They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.
15Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the LORD.
16This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17I appointed watchmen over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
18Therefore hear, O nations;
observe, O witnesses,
what will happen to them.
I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
and have rejected my law.
20What do I care about incense from Sheba
or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.”
21Therefore this is what the LORD says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”
22This is what the LORD says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.
23They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.”
24We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
25Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side.
26O my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27“I have made you a tester of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.
28They are all hardened rebels,
going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
they all act corruptly.
29The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
30They are called rejected silver,
because the LORD has rejected them.”
Original Meaning
THIS SECTION OF Jeremiah is essentially a collection of prophecies concerning judgments to befall Judah. It is interspersed, however, with quotations attributed to Jeremiah, God, Jerusalem, and the people, all of which give this section a dialogical character (e.g., 4:10; 5:1–6).
As with the previous section, the individual prophecies in this collection likely date from various times in Jeremiah’s public ministry. The primary theme is judgment on Judah and Jerusalem through the historical process as God sends disasters and enemies against his people. A few “catchword topics” provide links between some of the oracles and assist with the thematic coherence of the collection. Among these topics are descriptions of a foe (often “from the north”)1 who will wreak havoc on Judah, the senselessness of the people, the corruption of the “heart” (leb), and a call for the people to lament insofar as God is judging them.
As to its dialogical character, there is little indication how this conversational material was presented to the prophet’s contemporaries in Judah (or even if all of it was made public orally). For readers, however, these interchanges are intended to be instructive, setting forth a depiction of the prophetic office as the location of pain and prayer, not just the source of accusation and judgment. The prophet laments over the pain he observes and over the inability of his hearers to comprehend the true nature of their predicament.
4:3–4. It is difficult to know whether these two verses conclude the Lord’s reply concerning repentance in 4:1–2 or if they originated independently of 4:1–2. The Hebrew particle ki (“for”) with which verse 3 begins can be a linking particle—meaning “therefore” or something similar—or it can be an emphasizing particle introducing something new. In either case, the basic point of these two verses can be appreciated: Repentance toward God is symbolized by a circumcision of the heart.
Genesis 17 provides an etiology for the role of circumcision in the religious life of ancient Israel. In that account the removal of the foreskin from the male genitalia is a sign (17:11; ʾot) of the covenant, a mark in the flesh that represents the bond established by God with Abraham and his descendants. Males so marked bore a permanent sign in their flesh of their acceptance of and membership in God’s covenant. Circumcision of the heart, the organ of understanding and will, is obviously a metaphor for preparing a “wholehearted” commitment to the Lord and proper obedience to the revelation of his will. This metaphor in Jeremiah presupposes that the fleshly mark is inadequate apart from personal commitment.
There are similar references elsewhere in Jeremiah and in Deuteronomy to the significance of both the terms circumcision and heart. In Jeremiah 17:1–10 the sin of Judah is described as engraved on the tablets of their hearts. One way in which God assesses character and commitment is through examining the heart; according to 17:9–10, the heart of the people is desperately sick. In 24:7 God promises to give a new heart to his people (this assumes the fatal fallibility of the “old” one!). Similarly, Deuteronomy 10:16 preserves the imperative to Israel to circumcise their hearts, much like the command here in Jeremiah 4:4, and Deuteronomy 30:1–10 preserves the prophecy that after the coming judgment, the Lord will circumcise the hearts of his people so that they will love him with all their heart and soul.
These various references presuppose that Israel must make a radical commitment to God but also that God’s people will be unable to fulfill that commitment unless he acts decisively to renew and transform them. In the previous chapter (Jer. 3:22), Jeremiah has already indicated that healing and restoration come only from the Lord. The call in 4:3–4 takes seriously the role of the people and their affections, but it does not assume that a mere act of the will on their part will make everything restored. Elsewhere Jeremiah puts this dynamic in the context of the new covenant that God will make with Israel and Judah, a transforming act that will include writing his Torah on their hearts (31:31–34).2
4:5–13. Judah and Jerusalem are called to assemble, to put on sackcloth, and to lament the approach of a foe from the north. The approach of this enemy is in reality the approach of the Lord, who comes against the people like a lion or whose blast of anger is like a searing wind. God is a warrior (Ex. 15:3), but in this context the divine warrior comes against his own people.
Verse 10 is an autobiographical comment that accuses God of deceiving the people by giving a word of “peace” (šalom) when in actuality a mortal threat is at hand. Just what this means is not clear, although it is a frank indication that Jeremiah and God engage each other pointedly! Perhaps the prophet’s charge assumes the words of the prophets and priests mentioned in the previous verse, who may have assured the people in the name of the Lord that deliverance will come (cf. 6:13–14; 8:11–12). Elsewhere, Jeremiah shows respect to a prophet who proclaims a word of deliverance, even if he repudiates that message after further reflection and prayer (Jer. 28). A related possibility is that Jeremiah’s own words about judgment to come have been proclaimed for several years, but, as yet, no catastrophic blow has fallen. Those prophets and priests who have proclaimed peace have been right (so far), and in both frustration and alarm, Jeremiah wonders how God can allow these circumstances to exist.
4:14–22. These verses continue the sentiments of 4:5–13. The prophet beseeches Jerusalem to cleanse her heart and remove her wicked thoughts. Note the reference to the heart—one of the “catchwords” in this collection of oracles. Those who would besiege her are approaching. God reminds Jerusalem of the dire consequences of her activity. Her own “conduct and actions” (v. 18) have brought these appalling circumstances to light.
In his own heart (note again the catchword) Jeremiah expresses horror at the realization of Jerusalem’s impending doom (4:19–22). In striking fashion his emotional reaction to this doom is translated into physical reaction, with “writhing in pain.” One wonders if the prophet somehow publicly acts out this physical reaction or if a recognition of such horror is left to the inference of hearer and reader. If he does, it will add illustration and poignancy to his role. Even as “the voice” reflects the pain of judgment, the prophet lays the responsibility for failure with the people, who are described as “fools” and “senseless children.”
A close reading of this section brings together the voices of Jeremiah, God, and the people in an amazing way. It begins with Jeremiah addressing Jerusalem in almost frantic fashion. The emotion fits that of the prophet, but the refrain of 4:17 (“declares the LORD”) indicates that this concern for the city is also that of God. The writhing pain of 4:19–20 may be that of Jerusalem as she watches her land and inhabitants being consumed, or perhaps it is that of the prophet, who has begun to grasp the enormity of the tragedy to come. The third party to this emotion-laden conversation is God himself. The sad comment in 4:22 that the people “do not know me” can be no other than the voice of God himself, as represented through the prophet. The conversation and mixing of voices are such that they blend together. In the final analysis, no one—people, prophet, or God—remains aloof from the horror of it all.
4:23–26. In the visionary perspective of the prophet, the Judean landscape is transformed into something “formless and empty,” as if judgment on Judah will undo the very goodness and order of creation. “Formless and empty” are the same two terms used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the chaos of creation before the creative Spirit of God began its work and God spoke order into existence. Judah’s sinfulness takes on a type of cosmic context in this visionary account, as if the people’s folly makes them complicit in a consuming cosmic chaos. Four times comes the refrain “I looked,” followed each time by a vision of the unraveling of creation. The passage functions as a horrible visionary interlude, as the prophet pauses from his projection of the foe coming on Jerusalem and casts his Spirit-aided eye toward a looming chaos.
4:27–31. The prophet returns to the horror that will befall Jerusalem. God will speak and judgment will come, just as surely as in the creation account God spoke and order was brought out of chaos. Verse 28 states that the earth will “mourn” (’abal) or languish. This sad comment reflects a synthetic understanding of existence, whereby the personified land is affected by the folly of the people’s sinfulness.3 The folly and failure of the people affect more than their historical circumstances; it extends to their whole cultural and environmental setting.
In 4:31 the prophet depicts Jerusalem’s cries like those of birth pains. It is not, however, the joy of giving birth but the fear of death that is on her lips. She is in collapse before murderers! Again, did Jeremiah publicly present this message? Such emotion is not presented well through smooth modulation but through identification with the pain that arouses it.
5:1–9. This section contains an interchange between God and the audience in Jerusalem, mediated by the prophet, who offers commentary in verses 3–6. The passage begins with a challenge for people to search Jerusalem for anyone who “deals honestly and seeks the truth.” One can also translate “deals honestly” as “does justice” (mišpaṭ). Apparently no one fits these requirements. Although judgment has already struck Jerusalem (death of Josiah? drought? first Babylonian onslaught?), there has been no repentance.
In 5:3–6 Jeremiah himself attempts a search of people, both the poor and great, but “their rebellion is great.” God’s reply is that forgiveness is not presently an option (cf. 5:9 with 5:29).
5:10–17. Jerusalem is now personified as the possessor of vines and branches, which symbolize people (cf. Isa. 5:1–7, where the vines of a vineyard represent the people). Not only have both Israel and Judah refused to accept that their misfortune is the Lord’s judgment on them; there is even a sense among some that the Lord is not active and will not judge in the future either. Jeremiah 4:12 places a quotation in their mouth to the effect that neither sword nor famine will strike them. Apparently these sentiments are provoked by “prophets” (v. 13), since Jeremiah replies that these prophets “are but wind.” Underlying a text like this is heated debate among prophets, all of whom claim to represent the will of God.
The Lord makes Jeremiah’s prophetic word of judgment like a fire consuming wood (v. 14). More specifically, the Lord declares that a foreign nation is coming to devastate the people (vv. 15–17). This depiction is one of the “catchword topics” used repeatedly in chapters 4–6. One result of their onslaught is that the people will be carried away and serve foreigners in a strange land (i.e., the Exile).
5:18–19. In this short prose section the Lord offers commentary on the previous verse and its reference to exile. Two sentiments are expressed succinctly. (1) Exile from the Promised Land does not bring an end to the existence of the people. In context, that is “good news.” (2) The Lord also reinforces the Exile as a just reward for the polytheistic deviations of the people in forsaking him. In the Exile they will serve foreigners.
5:20–31. Jeremiah describes the people as “senseless”4 and employs the rhetorical device of describing them as possessing eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. According to Isaiah 6:9–10, prophetic preaching of judgment actually confirms that the people are dull of sight and sound, appearing heedless of their predicament.5 Jeremiah’s invective continues by noting that they refuse to “fear” the Lord; that is, they do not hold the Lord in awe and serve him with reverence, as is befitting a holy and righteous God, who has always blessed them with regular crops and rain. Jeremiah 5:25 then underscores the correspondence between act and consequence: “Your sins have deprived you of good.” The Lord indicts both priest and prophet for misleading God’s people in the concluding verses of the chapter (cf. 2:8; 6:13–14; 8:11).
A general breakdown of common decency, not to mention the covenant responsibilities of an elect nation, is described in 5:26–28. Greed and violence go hand in hand. Here Jeremiah joins his work with that of other prophets who call for social rectitude among the people.
6:1–9. Chapter 6 functions like a summary of chapters 4–5. It contains calls to flee from the enemy (6:1) and to mourn the fall of the city (6:26). One cannot tell from the poetry if the depiction of the siege and fall is proleptic, projecting what will come in the near future, or if these words are offered during one of the times when the city of Jerusalem is surrounded by the Babylonians. Because the text contains no reference to dates, the effect of the call to flee and mourn is to remind the readers that Jeremiah announced in advance what befell the nation.
Disaster is imminent for Judah and Jerusalem. The city is “the Daughter of Zion” (6:2), so beautiful and yet so tragic. Verse 6 depicts a siege along with a succinct statement of the reason: “This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.” In 6:9 the prophet returns to a theme articulated in 5:10: The enemy will glean the vineyard of the Lord, making sure that even a surviving remnant feels the brunt of judgment.
6:10–15. Announcements about the coming judgment have fallen on deaf ears. Jeremiah, speaking for himself and for God, wonders to whom else can he speak? He confesses that he is wearied at holding in God’s wrath, and he hears the command to pour it out on the city that has known no shame. As in previous oracles, the priests and prophets come under special censure for their failures. They have led the people astray with their proclamations of “peace … when there is no peace” (v. 14; cf. 8:11). In a memorable comment the people are judged as so corrupt and shameless that they do not know how to blush (6:15)!
6:16–26. Through his prophet, the Lord asks the people to (re-)consider the “good way,” the “ancient paths,” that lead to security. The prophet, as vocal mediator, represents God and the people in conversation, while the people rudely contravene or reject divine guidance. They are reminded that God raised up “watchmen” (earlier prophets? godly reformers?), who warned the people—but to no avail. The people continue to reject God’s “law” (Torah, instruction, v. 19). The fate to befall them is actually the “fruit of their [own] schemes.” Correspondingly, God rejects the sacrifices of the people as inadequate in light of their moral and spiritual disobedience. As part of their judgment God will put “obstacles” in their way. This may be another way to refer to the foe that is coming from the north to attack the land. Jeremiah utters a severe warning about this foe.
6:27–30. Jeremiah’s prophetic role is that of a “tester of metals.” The refining process of calling for repentance and announcing judgment has not separated the wicked from the righteous but simply confirmed that the people as a whole are corrupt. These verses provide something of a commentary or definition of the prophetic office. Prophets are raised up by God as refiners.
Bridging Contexts
THREE CONTEXTS FOR prophetic judgment. The Bible offers us three broad contexts in which to set these judgmental prophecies. (1) In the context of Jeremiah 1, these prophecies in chapters 4–6 further articulate how God’s words will “uproot and tear down … destroy and overthrow” (1:10). Judah and Jerusalem face a judgment sent by God that takes shape in space and time. A foe from the north (eventually Babylon) will devastate the land, besiege the city of Jerusalem, and destroy it. Not only do these prophecies contain a startling combination of visionary depictions of judgment with detail and specificity, but one will find many additional prophecies of judgment in Jeremiah that elaborate on these same themes.
(2) We can also set these prophecies in the context of the fellowship of prophets in the Old Testament. For all the attention to detail and historical setting, Jeremiah is at one with fellow prophets such as Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Ezekiel. Judgment begins with the “family of God” (cf. 1 Peter 4:17). The common prophetic claim is that no generation is guaranteed security when it stands in flagrant violation of its God-given identity. The prophetic call for covenant loyalty and filial obedience to the Lord has a flip side to it of judgment on a faithless people.
With respect to a prophetic posture or profile, it is important to call attention to the dialogical way in which these prophecies are presented. They contain rhetorical questions, quotations, and indications of such physical reactions that hearers are invited to respond. On more than one occasion it is difficult to separate the reaction of the prophet from that of God, so closely are the two of them tied by textual reference. This does not stop the prophet, however, from adding his own questions to God!
(3) A final context comes in the manifold witness of the New Testament that the way is broad that leads to destruction and many find their way to it (Matt. 7:13). Jeremiah’s painful prophecies are not at variance with the New Testament proclamation of the gospel; they are part of the very foundation of the gospel that begins with the conviction that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). No foundation for renewal can be built until it is recognized that corruption infects all human institutions and vitiates all human intentions for self-preservation.
Corporate thinking. These prophecies of judgment insist that hearers think corporately about human affairs. This is more difficult for modern Western people than for others. Many in the West have oriented themselves toward the autonomy of the individual in such a way that attempts to define institutions and cultures as a whole become problematic. People increasingly find themselves unable to think in these categories, and without some patient probing on the part of pastors and teachers, they will revert to a more comfortable individualism. To paraphrase Jeremiah, corporate responsibility is a theme that falls on deaf ears.
For Jeremiah, however, it is “Judah and Jerusalem,” “Daughter of Zion,” God’s “people,” the “house of Israel” who are under scrutiny and subject to judgment for their sins. Should there be a righteous person in Jerusalem, God will pardon the city (5:1), but the clear implication is that no one is righteous, no, not one (Ps. 14:1; Rom. 3:10). Perhaps there are overtones of the Sodom and Gomorrah account in Genesis 18 and the dialogue between Abraham and God. The story of the cynic philosopher Diogenes is also a parallel; he searched Athens for one honest man, only to be frustrated. Jeremiah’s role as tester of metals (6:27–30) produced the same results: the corporate guilt of the people.
Modern Christians may be helped to see the relevance of these prophecies by considering them in the context of institutional life. To individuals who protest that they personally are “right with the Lord,” we must stress that God also deals with the character of congregations and church bodies as a whole, just as God assesses cultures and nations. Individuals are participants in institutional life and part of its manifold character. Many individuals will tell you how they are influenced by or even victimized by institutional powers.
One of the keys to appropriating the prophetic critique of Jeremiah is to show Christians how we are all complicit in the work of larger institutions, even when we feel aloof from them. No one finally is an island (John Donne) and unconnected with institutional life. To argue the opposite—that a person was truly unconnected to institutional life—will incur the judgment that such an isolated individual ignores the demands to love one’s neighbor as one’s self.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7). This apostolic claim corresponds on a corporate level with these prophecies of Jeremiah. What God’s people have sown they will reap (Jer. 4:18; 5:25; 6:19). It is worth a moment’s reflection that the apostolic claim for a relationship between moral act and consequence comes in a letter (Galatians) most passionate about justification by grace through faith. God will not be mocked by the misunderstandings of cheap grace and divine indifference.
Jeremiah’s words reflect this misunderstanding of God’s character on the part of some contemporaries (Jer. 5:12). The prophet does not, however, represent a legalistic understanding of covenant faith, since God is the initiator of the covenant with his people, and God will bring healing where none can be produced by Israel. There is a hint of God’s freedom in the aside comment of 4:27 that God will not destroy the land completely. What Jeremiah does represent is a prophetic claim that God will use the historical process to bring on the people the consequences of their own infidelity to his rule.
Contemporary Significance
JUDGMENT TODAY. A fundamental question of theology faces any interpreter of judgmental passages like these in Jeremiah. It is not enough to affirm that Jeremiah’s words fit in the larger biblical context of God’s righteous judgments in history. This affirmation is what the book of Jeremiah demanded from its first readers, who looked at Judah’s fall and asked “Why?” The question really is not even whether one is prepared to affirm that God will judge the failures of the current generation of his people—though this is a significant question. It is really the question of whether the interpreter can affirm that even now the decline of the moral and spiritual life in segments of the church (and the corresponding moral decline and indifference in much of the Western world) is part of God’s corporate judgment, and whether one should point to further judgments to come as a consequence of this decline.
Perhaps an interpreter will hesitate to affirm the second part of this issue and want to concentrate on a theological analysis of current ecclesiastical failures. A legitimate interpretation of Jeremiah’s words for the contemporary church is not required to announce judgment on the audience (as Jeremiah did to his contemporaries), but his words should drive the interpreter to note the failings of Judah and Jerusalem and then to ask if corresponding failures inhibit the life of God’s people today. Even if contemporary sins differ somewhat in kind from those enunciated by Jeremiah, his words should also drive the reader to repent for failures and to seek moral and spiritual renewal.6 What follows is a (nonexhaustive) list of interpretive proposals based on this section in Jeremiah.
In 4:23–26 Jeremiah visualizes the earth in chaos and disorder. As noted above, the imagery reflects Genesis 1:2 and the chaotic conditions of the cosmos before God spoke order into existence. “I looked, and there were no people” (Jer. 4:25), exclaims the prophet. Creation is the theater of God’s glory, and people made in God’s image are the crowned stewards of the land (Gen. 1:26–31; Ps. 8). Moral and spiritual failure in Judah prompt prophetic eyes to see the land and people as turned back to chaos and disorder. One wonders if this vision is something like moral entropy,7 where the disintegration of communal life is the inevitable outworking of moral and spiritual failure.
In the modern West (the part of God’s creation that I know best), there is great concern in some quarters about the decline in order and civility. Among many Western churches there is correspondingly concern over the diminished morality of members and declining spiritual vitality. Are these factors related, and is a visionary depiction of coming chaos an accurate assessment of trends? Jeremiah’s vision of chaos emerges spiritually from his deep involvement with a people who are heedless of divine standards and skeptical that God will actually judge them. Does this not sound familiar to Western ears? Is it not the case that Western society has essentially capitulated to the demands of secular pluralism that moral and values-based judgments be restricted to the private realm, where they will not intrude on public policy decisions? And does the rising perception that society is spinning out of moral control because of its spiritual bankruptcy not point to a future chaos?
Heart. Jeremiah indicts his audience as fools who lack perception and who are stubborn and rebelliously corrupt in heart (Jer. 4:22; 5:21–23; cf. 17:9–11; 18:12). By “heart” Jeremiah means the source of understanding and volition that makes a person a responsible agent to love God and one’s neighbor. Fools in this sense are those who fail to grasp moral meaning and significance; it is not a question of a lack of native intelligence but of culpable failure to perceive the truth and to act accordingly. The fools whom Jeremiah depicts are those whose hearts have rebelled against the truth and who can be held morally and spiritually responsible for their failures.
Jesus speaks similarly of folly and hardness of heart when he refers to those whose thoughts and actions contradict what they know is right (Matt. 5:27–28; Mark 7:14–23). When he tells his disciples that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21), Jesus affirms that the heart is the seat of the human will and that human allegiance is a moral and spiritual commitment, not a neutral lifestyle choice.
One might paraphrase Jeremiah’s language about the corruption of the people’s heart by saying that rebellion against the truth of God is essentially moral, not intellectual. “Although [people] claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22), because they have willfully evaded God’s prior claim to their allegiance. God’s judgments are righteous because they take into account the moral agency of people. Jeremiah would insist that this is never more true than with God’s people. An interpreter of Jeremiah’s judgmental words for today would do well to emphasize that God’s standards for judging are not derived from lists of forbidden activities; they result more fundamentally from his taking seriously the moral agency of people and the privileged responsibility accorded them in the high calling of their creation.
Prophetic activity. Jeremiah’s words of judgment stand as a critique of immoral society and the complicity of the church as societal members. The church can hear these words of judgment as reasons why it must always insist that society’s problems are at root moral failures (not technological or administrative problems), and the church can hear through Jeremiah’s preaching that it must always examine its character in light of God’s Word. Moreover, the church can hear his words through the gift of the gospel as it seeks to follow her Lord through the gift of regenerated hearts (Eph. 3:17). What Christians know in their hearts to be the truth, they should joyfully seek to do, not as justifying activity but as spiritual obedience grounded in gratitude.
Jeremiah’s words raise the question of prophetic activity on the part of the church and by individual Christians who seek to follow the Lord. (1) Prophetic activity is in obedience to the revealed word of God. Jeremiah’s “call” in chapter 1 sets the power of God’s spoken message at the center of the prophet’s work. In 5:14 Jeremiah’s words of judgment are like fire that consumes wood. Prophetic activity brings the word of the Lord to bear on circumstances and reveals God’s assessment of them. A contemporary application of Jeremiah’s words means first of all that Christians have assessed a situation in light of God’s standards of judgment. This is not an easy task; prophetic activity is easily misunderstood, and it may expect to get a prophet’s reward (Matt. 5:11–12). So it was for Jeremiah, as other texts will make clear. The depiction of Jeremiah as a “tester of metals” (Jer. 6:27–30) underscores prophetic activity as the refining of character and motives, as a means of exposing God’s truth among differing options, and as a way to weigh and assess the value of human commitments.
(2) Jeremiah’s dialogue with the Lord (4:10; 5:4) implies that a prophetic response to sin is active. The prophet seeks the Lord’s leading so that sinfulness is not just named for what it is and judgment is not simply announced for what it is, but a prophet searches for ways to end the evil activity and its evil consequences.
(3) Prophetic activity is prayerful engagement with God about the nature and purpose of judgment. So it was with Jeremiah, and so it must be for the church. One may denounce evil and march for justice and the amelioration of societal ills; but unless one also prays that God’s temporal judgments become a means to discipline and to transform evildoers, denunciation and marching are not prophetic activities according to Jeremiah’s example.