GEMS FROM JEREMIAH (41) Prophetic Pain, part II
Everyone has their breaking point.
Everyone is vulnerable to psychological distress and the experience of
doubt regarding the goodness of God and of life itself. Jeremiah was indeed well acquainted with
pain. I believe that the “painful” tone
of much of Jeremiah’s writing is that of a tired preacher, an exhausted
messenger. Think about it – Jeremiah
warned his contemporaries (in vain) of coming disaster for 40 years, after
which time Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. Not only was he called to deliver a message
that no one wanted to hear, but Jeremiah also had to face hostile (and
potentially deadly) opposition, even from those people closest to him. As he experienced this solitary suffering,
Jeremiah recorded 6 “lamentations”[1],
i.e., 6 cries of distress to Yahweh, both expressing his anguish and requesting
that God defend him and avenge him on his enemies. These cries resemble those psalms in which a
righteous, innocent person is unjustly persecuted by “wicked” people and pleads
with God to take up their cause (e.g., Ps. 22).
The third lament is found in Jer. 15.10-21. Once again, “the wicked” and “the ruthless”
are after him (15.21). Jeremiah bemoans
having been born (cf. Job 3.1-7, 11-16).
Once again, juridical language is used: “a man of strife (Hb: rib;
i.e., “litigation”) and contention” (15.10, NRSV). Not only does Jeremiah claim not to have done
anything wrong, but he also insists that he has been interceding for the people
against Yahweh, who is threatening to execute judgment against them. Why is he being persecuted?[2] In 15.14, Yahweh says that his anger is an
eternal fire (cf. Jer. 17.4, 27).
The lament contained in 15.15-21 contains three parts: petition (v. 15b),
statement of innocence and loyalty (15c-17) and complaint (18). As in the first lament (11.20), Jeremiah again
asks for God to bring down retribution on his persecutors (15.15). The demand “do not take me away” (15.15,
NRSV) demonstrates both the prophet’s awareness that his life is in danger and
his desire to continue living. Jeremiah
goes on to accuse Yahweh of not only being the cause of his suffering, but also
of willingly abandoning Jeremiah to face the attacks of his adversaries alone.[3] In 15.18, Jeremiah accuses Yahweh again, this
time of being as false and unreliable as a wadi during a drought (cf. Jer. 2.13;
17.13). As he announces imminent national
disaster, Jeremiah experiences the anguish that the nation of Judah will experience
once they are in exile in Babylon. As
Jeremiah is persecuted by his countrymen, and complains to Yahweh, so the
Judahites in Babylon will direct their laments to Yahweh, the covenant Lord.[4] Yahweh’s promise to be with Jeremiah to
deliver him – part of his vocation narrative (1.18-19) – is repeated in 15.20
(cf. 15.12).
[1] “They seem to be the most direct, candid, and intimate prayers that
we know about in the OT”: Brueggemann, Walter, A Commentary on Jeremiah,
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998, p. 114.
[3] Brueggemann, Walter, A Commentary on Jeremiah, Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1998, pp. 146-47.
[4] Brueggemann, Walter, A Commentary on Jeremiah, Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1998, p. 150.
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