The Tanakh Podcast

In Chapter 11 and 12 we hear how the people of Anatot want to murder Jeremiah. Today we discuss 3 responses by Jeremiah to the threats on his life.

In Chapter 11 Jeremiah calls the people to express alliegance with God's covenant. Many suggest that here he is expressing support in the religious revolution of King Josiah who returned to God after years of Judah following idolatry. The chapter records how this return to and renewal of the ancient covenant of Israel was, tragically, extremely short-lived. The people returned to their idol worship.

This chapter intersperses depictions of God's greatness with statements belittling and making a parody of the idols that the nations serve, encouraging Israel to remain true to their faith.

Jeremiah can no longer countenance the corruption and deception of Jerusalem. He expresses a desire to escape to the wilderness. In today's podcast we discuss the wilderness as a counterpoint to a society of luxury and decadence, insensitivity and exploitation.

In this chapter, we speak of three themes: 1. Jeremiah imagines the destruction of king and country and depicts it all in graphic detail, as if he can see it, as if it brings him to tears. 2. Teshuva: When a man falls, he rises up! So why don't my people repent?! Learn from the bird migration. They know when to return! 3. The Loss of wisdom. The guardians of Torah in society - priests and prophets - have failed in their moral guidance.

What happens when society is thoroughly corrupt, but worships God in a false sense that the Temple of the Lord will protect Jerusalem? Here, Jeremiah stands at the Temple gates and tries to convince the people of their hypocrisy.

Chapter 6 intersperses warnings of the impending doom, with rebuke about the dismal state of social justice in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah critiques the people and warns of national calamity, due to the people's exploitation of the weak and vulnerable and for their failures in the sphere of social justice. Please support this podcast using my Patreon page: https://patreon.com/user?u=51407457

Our podcast addresses two aspects of this chapter: 1. The experience of the prophet, directly seeing and experiencing the events about which he is prophecying, and having a very visceral emotional response to the terrifying images that he is seeing 2. The usage of Creation language to express the spectre of the natural world disintegrating due to the sin of the nation. We dwell upon the deep connection between sin and the physical land, from Genesis to Jeremiah.

God opens the chapter proclaiming that that Israel has betrayed her fidelity to God and therefore cannot return to God. And yet, with a play of words: "shuvu - return", and "shovav - rebel", God ultimately expresses his intent that of his "rebellious children" sincerely reform their behaviour, they will indeed be able to rebuild trust, and the relationship with God.