Day 222. Jeremiah 12-14

As you have probably noticed, The Book of Jeremiah is rather like an overheard conversation in which the prophet and the LORD speak to each other on intimate terms. That dialogue at times spills over into public utterances—something like sermons—in which the prophet addresses the people on behalf of God. At times it is hard to know exactly who is speaking—sometimes it is the prophet—sometimes it is the prophet conveying the word of the LORD. Most of the time it doesn't matter--the prophet is so over-filled with the word of the LORD that the two become a single voice.
At other times the prophet disputes with God—that happens in today's reading where, very much in the spirit of Job, Jeremiah complains of a world in which "the guilty prosper" and "the treacherous thrive" (12:1). Where is the God of justice in such a world? (It is a question you and I have asked at times.) Has the Creator abandoned his creation entirely?
But God replies that it is the world that has abandoned him. And he reminds Jeremiah what treachery and abandonment feel like. The prophet should remember that "even [his own] kinsfolk and [his] own family, even they have dealt treacherously with [him]; they are in full cry after [him like hounds]." And he warns Jeremiah—as one who knows-- not [to] believe them, [even] though they speak friendly words" (12:6). He should know what betrayal is like first-hand, because he is experiencing it from his own family.
Then God concedes that he has indeed abandoned his family, the people of Israel—and with good cause. Now they and their land will be devoured from one end to the other. But there is always hope of the "eternal return." After the LORD has plucked them up and taken them into exile, he "will again have compassion on them. . . . and bring them again to their heritage and to their land, every one of them" (12:15). Even those nations who have devoured and destroyed Israel will be redeemed; if they swear by the LORD's name "they shall be built up in the midst of my people" (12:16). The LORD assures the prophet that he will at last forgive the treachery of Israel—but that forgiveness is in the world of the "not yet.'
Then Jeremiah is given a dramatic parable—a sort of children's sermon for adults. He commands the prophet to take a fresh loincloth—we might for modern listeners substitute a clean pair of underwear—and bury it in a cleft of the rock by the river Euphrates. "After many days" the prophet is told to uncover it. Of course, the loincloth is ruined—"good for nothing" (13:7). The people of Israel—who have refused to hear the words of the LORD and worshipped other gods—have made themselves like the ruined loincloth. They were as close to the LORD as loincloth might be—his underwear. They should have been his people—"a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen" to him. (13:11). They rejected his plea for an intimate friendship of love and faithfulness.
And because they will not listen to him, the LORD says that he is "about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness. There will be utter disorder and drunken chaos in society. The Lord " will dash them one against another, parents and children together," says the LORD. " I will not pity or spare or have compassion when I destroy them" (13:13-14). They will wander befuddled in the growing darkness, seeking guidance; while they "look for light" the LORD will turn "it into gloom" (13:16). Their king—it is Jehoiachin at this time—and the queen mother—King Josiah's wife—will lose their crowns, and "all Judah [will be] taken into exile" (13:19).
And when they ask—Why is this happening to us?—the answer is that "for the greatness of [their] iniquity that [their] skirts are lifted up, and [they] are violated" (13:22). Rape has always been one of the heinous consequences of war, but this time it is not just the soldiers of a foreign army—it is the LORD himself who "will lift up [their] skirts over [their] face[s]" so that "[their] shame will be seen" (13:26). And all these terrible things will happen to Israel because the LORD has seen the shameless "prostitutions"—the orgies that were part of pagan worship—that they performed "on the hills of the countryside" (13:27).
And as the first act of destruction of Judah, a terrible drought comes upon the land; the prophet describes it in vivid detail (14:1-11). All who live in on land—animals and human beings alike—are in agony for lack of water. The earth withers, human beings and animals perish of hunger, and the prophet asks the LORD—"Why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night" (14:8). Why are you so detached from the suffering my people, the prophet wants to know, seeing that "we are called by your name?" And he begs the "hope of Israel" not to forsake them and send relief (14:9).
In reply the LORD commands the prophet not to pray for his "wandering" people—he is past listening to prayer. He is adamant—utterly determined that "by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence" he will "consume them" (14:11-12). Jeremiah complains that there are other prophets around who are contradicting his message of doom. They are telling the people that all is well, that they will not see the sword or famine, but that instead the LORD "will give you true peace in this place" (14:13). But the LORD denies that he ever spoke to these so-called prophets--they are prophesying lies in his name and palming off their own delusions as the word of God. These false prophets will be consumed by the very sword they said would not come, and together with their families their bodies "shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem," where there will be "no one to bury them" (14:16).
This terrible future is already present. It is as certain as if it had already happened. So the prophet uses the present tense to describe what will be. "If I go into the field, look—those killed by the sword. If I go into the city, look—those sick with famine" (14:18). And the religious authorities go about their trade without any understanding of what is happening—that this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. Jeremiah cannot help it—ignoring the LORD's command he begs mercy for his starving people. On their behalf, he does what they will not do—he acknowledges their wickedness and the iniquity of their ancestors. And he implores the LORD "not to spurn" them, to instead to "remember and . . . not break [his] covenant" with his people (14:21). He beseeches the LORD to send relief. Idols cannot do this; they cannot bring rain—or withhold it. The people "set their hope on you" [LORD]; gods and men are helpless. "It is
[only] you who do this" (14:22).