GEMS FROM JEREMIAH (20) The most interesting Man in Jerusalem: The mindset of a prophet, part IV


Public proclamation: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house…and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord.” (Jer. 7.1-2)

No need of a publisher: “Then …Baruch wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him.” (Jer. 36.4)

Secret consultations: “Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon… King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.” (Jer. 37.17; 38.14)

Assassination attempt by “members of his own team”: “So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern …in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” (Jer. 38.6)

VIP treatment from the evil empire: “King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him well and do him no harm, but deal with him as he may ask you.” So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard …and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan to be brought home.” (Jer. 39.11-14)


     In 2006, the Dos Equis beer company began running a series of commercials featuring American actor Jonathan Goldsmith as “The most interesting man in the world”.  Even James Bond would have been in thrall to this guy.  Some say of an interesting man that “other men want to be him and women want to be with him”.  When it comes to Jeremiah, we could say that “even those he insults ask him for advice; his enemies respect him so much they don’t dare detain him; the only thing the king hates more than his guts is not getting his opinion[1]; most people hate him – no one can ignore him; those who would ban his books still read them before burning them… he is the most interesting man in Jerusalem”.  Jeremiah lived life by his own (i.e., God’s) rules, and sometimes that meant spending the night keeping his head above the mud at the bottom of an empty well. 

     Jeremiah’s life was, to put it mildly, profoundly paradoxical.  He was constantly rubbing shoulders with members of the socio-political elite, and yet he had no status in these circles – he was an outlier at the centre of Jerusalem’s power politics.  It’s hard to get a handle on Jeremiah – he doesn’t fit into any available category, he’s an unclassified human phenomenon.  But when we think about it, we shouldn’t be surprised.  Jeremiah is called to share the pain of both his people and his God – the anguish of both Judah and Yahweh.  He is called to live at the interface of heaven and earth.  Jeremiah “embodies” God to his contemporaries and represents the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the divine council (cf. Jer. 23.18-22).  We might say that Jeremiah was a negotiator – he presents Yahweh with the people’s complaints and the people with God’s demands.  He runs back and forth between these two estranged parties and receives negative and inflexible reactions from both sides.  Jeremiah’s challenge is that of communication – making the people understand God’s message and making Yahweh understand the people’s situation.  This is not for the faint of heart, but definitely makes for an interesting life.

    


[1] Cp. John the Baptist’s relationship with Herod Antipas: Lk. 3.1-2, 19-20; 7.18-33; Mk. 6.14-29.

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