GEMS FROM JEREMIAH (9) “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold: The Life & Times of Jeremiah”, part III

 


     “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah… to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah…” (Jer. 1.1-3).

     In the 12th year of his reign, Josiah seems to have begun a renovation project in the Temple (2 Chr 34.3-13; 2 Kgs 22.3-7).  Six years later, the High Priest found there “the scroll of the covenant” (probably the book of Deuteronomy)[1].  Following his listening to a reading of the scroll, Josiah sends a delegation to consult the prophetess Huldah, who tells them to inform the king that Yahweh will ensure that all the curses in the law befall Judah because of its sin, but that due to his repentant attitude, Josiah will not live to see the disaster[2] (2 Kgs 22.14-20).  Josiah then conducts a public reading of the Scroll of the Covenant in the Temple courts (cf. Dt. 31.12; Jos. 24.1-28; Neh. 8.1-9).  There is a bitter irony in the fact that, upon hearing the words of the scroll, the residents of Jerusalem commit themselves to a renewed faithfulness to the covenant, when we recall the prophecy of Huldah which declared their doom to be sealed (cf. 2 Kgs 23.1-3, 26-27; Jer. 3.6-10).  There is a sense that the people of God have sunk too deeply into the abyss for an easy resurfacing; they must hit rock bottom before there can be any hope of a “resurrection”.  During this period, Jeremiah is prophesying in his home town of Anathoth, until he becomes aware of a plot against his life (Jer. 11.18-23).  Perhaps there were pagan shrines in Anathoth, run by priests who depended on them for their livelihood? (cf. 2 Kgs 23.4-9).

     After a “shock and awe” campaign of religious reform throughout Judah and even in the territory of the now-defunct kingdom of Israel, Josiah returns to Jerusalem and presides over a celebration of the Passover, all before the end of the 18th year of his reign (2 Kgs 23.4-25).  Thirteen years pass, and then the inevitable slide into chaos begins.  In the year 609, Pharoah Neco II of Egypt passed through Judah on his way to link up with Assyrian forces at the Euphrates River, in order to engage the Babylonian army, who was making a bid to overthrow the Assyrian empire.  In spite of Neco’s request not to interfere, Josiah took the field against him at Megiddo, and was killed in battle.  The Jerusalemites install Josiah’s youngest son[3] Jehoahaz (aka Shallum) as king (2 Kgs 23.28-30).  After a three-month-long reign, Jehoahaz is deposed and exiled by Pharoah Neco, who replaces him with his brother Jehoiakim (aka Eliakim: 2 Kgs 23.31-34).  The kingdom of Judah, formerly a vassal of Assyria, now becomes a vassal of Egypt.  However, this was just the beginning… In 605, the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar (who was on the verge of becoming King of Babylon), defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish, thus establishing themselves as the dominant power in the Levant (cf. 2 Kgs 24.7).  2 Kings chapter 24 opens ominously: “In [Jehoiakim’s] days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant…”  In the fateful year 604 B.C., Jeremiah began to commit his prophecies to writing (Jer. 36.1-4).  Another scroll, another king, but the same Temple and the same people and the same stubborn rebellion…


[1] Goldingay, John, The Theology of Jeremiah, Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2021, p. 25.

[2] Just as King Hezekiah’s son (Manasseh) and grandson (Amon) undid all his reforms, so three of Josiah’s sons will not only sabotage his 13-year campaign to restore Judah to covenant-faithfulness, they will preside over the final decline and destruction of the kingdom and the Davidic royal line.

Also, just as Josiah consults Huldah, his great-grandfather Hezekiah had consulted Isaiah (2 Kgs 19.1-7), who had given him a message similar to that of Huldah (cf. 2 Kgs 20.16-19; 2 Chr 32.24-26).

[3] Josiah had four sons: Johanan, Eliakim/Jehoiakim, Mattanyahu/Zedekiah, and Shallum/Jehoahaz (1 Chr 3.15).

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