Jeremiah never misses an opportunity to dramatize his message. The Rechabites have come to Jerusalem in fear of the ravaging Chaldeans. They notoriously lived in tents, did not sow seeds nor plant vineyards, and refrained from drinking wine. All this they did because of their ancestral law, a 200 year old ancestral law. Jeremiah, well aware of this, takes the Rechabites into the temple where he publicly offers them wine. Of course, they refuse. Here, in front of his own people, he points out the faithfulness of these people to the command of a single ancestor, a 200 year old tradition. The stage is now set to lash out at his own. “But, this people has not obeyed me…I have spoken to you persistently, says the Lord, but you have not listened to me.” In Chapter 37 Jeremiah prepares a scroll in hopes that the people on hearing it will turn from their evil way and repent in order to avoid God’s anger. Baruch reads the scroll in the hearing of all the people. Micaiah, grandson of Shaphan, is deeply impressed, and carries the word to the princes. The princes send for Baruch and the scroll is read to them. When the princes hear the scroll, they turned one to another in fear. They agree that the words must be reported to the king, but Baruch and Jeremiah must go and hide. Upon hearing the words, the king seized the scroll and threw it into the fire. Neither the king nor any of his servants show any sign of repentance. This is in contrast to the reaction of Josiah when the scroll of the book of the law was read to him. He rent his clothes and instituted reform. Here, Jehoiakim orders Jeremiah to be put to death. Jeremiah, in hiding, prepares another scroll, with a fresh oracle concerning the fate of Jehoiakim added to it. The king may be able to destroy a book. But, he cannot destroy the living Word! Jeremiah’s open criticism of corporate management has consequences. He is arrested upon leaving the city and accused of desertion. Imprisoned he is secretly summoned at night to talk to the king. Jeremiah stood gently firm to his words in the face of an incompetent leader. The king returns him, not to the dungeon, but to the court of the guard. “And a loaf of bread was given him daily for the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone.”
Jeremiah never misses an opportunity to dramatize his message. The Rechabites have come to Jerusalem in fear of the ravaging Chaldeans. They notoriously lived in tents, did not sow seeds nor plant vineyards, and refrained from drinking wine. All this they did because of their ancestral law, a 200 year old ancestral law. Jeremiah, well aware of this, takes the Rechabites into the temple where he publicly offers them wine. Of course, they refuse. Here, in front of his own people, he points out the faithfulness of these people to the command of a single ancestor, a 200 year old tradition. The stage is now set to lash out at his own. “But, this people has not obeyed me…I have spoken to you persistently, says the Lord, but you have not listened to me.” In Chapter 37 Jeremiah prepares a scroll in hopes that the people on hearing it will turn from their evil way and repent in order to avoid God’s anger. Baruch reads the scroll in the hearing of all the people. Micaiah, grandson of Shaphan, is deeply impressed, and carries the word to the princes. The princes send for Baruch and the scroll is read to them. When the princes hear the scroll, they turned one to another in fear. They agree that the words must be reported to the king, but Baruch and Jeremiah must go and hide. Upon hearing the words, the king seized the scroll and threw it into the fire. Neither the king nor any of his servants show any sign of repentance. This is in contrast to the reaction of Josiah when the scroll of the book of the law was read to him. He rent his clothes and instituted reform. Here, Jehoiakim orders Jeremiah to be put to death. Jeremiah, in hiding, prepares another scroll, with a fresh oracle concerning the fate of Jehoiakim added to it. The king may be able to destroy a book. But, he cannot destroy the living Word! Jeremiah’s open criticism of corporate management has consequences. He is arrested upon leaving the city and accused of desertion. Imprisoned he is secretly summoned at night to talk to the king. Jeremiah stood gently firm to his words in the face of an incompetent leader. The king returns him, not to the dungeon, but to the court of the guard. “And a loaf of bread was given him daily for the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone.”
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