Indomitable Spokesperson for Deity - Prophet Jeremiah

I

ndomitable Spokesperson

for Deity –

Prophet Jeremiah

Stumbling onto the National Stage

Waves of Opposition

Dialogues with Supreme Commander

Reggie Howard

Wewak, Papua New Guinea

2019

Copyright © 2019 Reggie Howard

Section 30, Lot 5,

Wewak, East Sepik Province,

Papua New Guinea

All rights reserved.

ISBN Printed Book: 978-1-54395-739-6

ISBN eBook: 978-1-54395-740-2

Unless otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New Living Translation, second edition. Copyright © 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact Info: JeremiahBenHilkiah@Gmail.com

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Indomitable Spokesperson for DEITY - Prophet Jeremiah

Three Parts of This Book

Prophet as Spokesperson

Qualities of a Good Spokesperson

Section 1, Stumbling onto the National Stage

Introduction - Stumbling

1. Two Visits to Jerusalem, 30 Years Apart

2. Drafted into His Service (The Call)

3. The First 18 Years

4. Horrible Catastrophe - Press Release

5. Funeral Speech

6. The Aftermath - Succession

7. Third Visit to Jerusalem, 20 Years Later

8. Walking, Speaking, Living on That Stage

Summary Conclusion to Stumbling

Section 2, Waves of Opposition

Introduction - Waves

1. His Early Naivety

2. Temple Mob Pacified

3. Broken Pot, Night in Stocks

4. Prophet on the Run - Burnt Scroll

5. Showdown of Two Prophets

6. Stuck in the Mud

7. Reluctant Landowner

8 Conclusion: Waves of Opposition

Section 3, Dialogues with Supreme Commander

Introduction – Dialogues

Conscripted into the Lord’s Army Jer. 1:4-19

On-The-Job Training Jer. 3:6 – 6:30

Growing Deeper Jer. 7:1 - 10:25

Conspiracy Leading to Understanding and Empathy Jer. 11:1 - 12:17

Sharing in God’s Greater Heart-Pain Jer. 14:1 - 15:21

Full, Unreserved Compliance Jer. 16:1 – 17:27

Wrestling in the Mud Jer. 18:1 – 20:18

Theaters of Operation – 24:1-10

An Adult Prayer Jer. 32

Choose Your Zip Code

Summary Conclusion

Recap of the Relationship

Conclusion

Appendices

What is Creative Nonfiction?

Clashing Value Systems – Western vs Majority World

Chronology of Events

Unwelcome Career Change

Jeremiah’s Preferred Title for God

Key Phrase – Know Me

Two Sticky Issues: God’s Weeping and a Conditional Future

Spokesperson’s Social Concern

Of Metaphors and Wit

Spokesperson’s Broad Interests

Afterword

Bibliography

Dedication

To the most beautiful woman in the land. My bestie for life, Susan.

And our four incredibles: Jodie, Hada, Icey, and JJ.

I couldn’t be expected to live life, let alone write a book,

without the 5 of you.

The hundreds of life-lessons I’ve learned from Prophet Jeremiah are dwarfed by the thousands of lessons I’ve learned from the five of you.

Thank you,

Let’s live forever!

Preface

Seems a warning is in order. An old man in the grave for 2500 years shouldn’t be considered armed and dangerous. But the human subject of this book, Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, isn’t happy to remain a historical curiosity. If you are fortunate to meet him, in Scripture and the pages of this book, you will not come out the same.

He challenges, he stretches, and he motivates. For the last 10 years, this relentless man, Jeremiah Ben Hilkiah, has been hounding me on all sides. He exposes serious shortcomings. Challenges us to see clearer, do more, and be better. This pesky man doesn’t quit!

Jeremiah was honest and uncompromising with God. Transparent and forthright among people. He had doubts and failures; but was genuine to the core. I want to be like him.

Hope he will hound you too.

He suffered because of his open and caring heart. Amidst this suffering, he shared a rare closeness with the True and Living God. This heart-relationship is the treasure buried in a field, the pearl of great price.¹ Interactive relationship with our Creator and Father. Life with Him makes us cherish and invest more in our family members, our friends, and every needy person in our lives. Because God excels in compassion, life with Him makes us more involved with all of them.

We are truly, truly, truly blessed to know HIM and live as his people on this planet. Amen.

1 Mat. 13:44-46.

Indomitable Spokesperson for DEITY - Prophet Jeremiah

Where to start?

This book portrays a most remarkable human being. Vulnerable, strong, brash, funny.² Derided then, misjudged today.

Meet him. Get to know him. You will never look back.

Indomitable?

He is called indomitable and here is why. His Divine message enraged the powers of his day. They boiled. Religious leaders publicly insulted him, stripped him, whipped him, locked him in stocks. Neighbors he grew up with wanted him gone. Crowds rioted for his death. Kings hunted him, jailed him, destroyed his work, threw him in a muddy pit, jailed him again. But he never quit!

What motivated him?

He was desperately trying to prevent his nation and people from disappearing.

Does Deity Communicate?

Yes, the Bible describes God as a communicator. He speaks in the Bible as early as the third verse (Gen. 1:3, Let there be light.) and is still speaking in the second to last verse (Rev. 22:20, Yes, I am coming soon).

Why?

He pursues connection; meaningful, interactive engagement with His human creatures. He craves to bless everyone through mutually beneficial, interactive relationships.³ Yes, God is above all else a Relational Being.⁴ His relational nature permeates Jeremiah’s prophetic work. Meet the Living God!

Deity weeps. Deity pleads. Deity rebukes. Deity warns and disciplines. And through his spokesperson he repeatedly, tirelessly, works for reconciliation with his rebellious people.⁵

Note a few of the Lord’s statements:

She [Jerusalem] spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores. 6:7.⁶

Am I the one they are hurting? Most of all they hurt themselves to their own shame. 7:19.

Why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? 8:5.

And responses the people fired back:

Save your breath. I’m in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now! 2:25.

At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore! 2:31.

Let’s destroy this man and all his words… Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever. 11:19.

The Lord, through his chosen spokesperson, spoke for decades, reaching out in love and compassion; aiming to woo his beloved people back to relationship. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. 31:3.

Tug-a-war

The Divine Communicator is passionate⁷, relentless⁸, and demanding.⁹ His spokesperson is swept into the harrowing task of mediating between Him and the belligerent recipients¹⁰ of these communications.

There is a dynamic, massive, 3-party tug-a-war erupting throughout the book of Jeremiah. Recognizing and tracking these dynamics illuminates the book and the parties involved. There is nothing flat or boring when the book of Jeremiah is permitted to speak for itself.¹¹

What’s Ahead?

Detailed and comprehensive study of Jeremiah’s scroll awaits later publication.¹² It is a massive labyrinth that takes courage and endurance to scope out. Yet, it is packed with gold, diamonds and precious stones that demand multiple coverage.

The starting point is to get to know the remarkable man himself. The environment he lived and breathed and served. The duties he was asked to perform. And the callus, vengeful responses of those in power and in all strata of society.

Let’s endeavor to encounter the wily character himself, spokesperson for Israel’s God, Prophet Jeremiah.

Although it is not an easy task simply to read the Book of Jeremiah… nevertheless it is an indisputable fact that… a partial but striking picture of the prophet emerges from the pages of the book named after him. Unlike many of the biblical prophets, who remain perpetually as figures in the shadows of history, Jeremiah stands out as a truly human figure. He is torn between faith and doubt, he is deeply involved in the contemporary affairs of his time, and, in the pages of this book, he passes from youth to old age against the backdrop of the history of his era.¹³

Three Parts of This Book

Jeremiah the man is ample study. His life was unique and diverse; its study is therefore multifaceted. This book comprises three major sections:

I. Stumbling onto the National Stage

Jeremiah started his work with a sterling ally sitting on Judah’s throne.¹⁴ But catastrophe struck, and he was asked to contribute to the late king’s funeral by composing the dirges. Now he finds himself in the national spotlight.

This section gives an easy-access brief on the life and times of Jeremiah. Areas of background include the historical, political, social, religious, and economic conditions of those times. Creative Nonfiction¹⁵ is used in chapters 1, 4, 5, and 7, for enjoyable reading and better retention.

II. Waves of Opposition

God’s spokesperson met trauma and abuse for much of his 40 years of service. It came from his Master’s rebellious people and their leaders. Priests, prophets and kings contributed. Creative Nonfiction is again the medium for chapters 2-7. The prophet never withdrew from his people or society, nor from speaking out on behalf of the marginalized and neglected. His predicaments drew him closer to the Living God; the theme of the next section.

III. Dialogues with Deity

Nowhere else in scripture is there such a gold mine; cataloging 40 years of interactive, growing relationship between the Living God and his fallible ambassador. These interactions are interlaced deliberately into the text of Jeremiah; but overlooked by most of the Christian world.¹⁶

Here lies a 2-party dialogue that progresses throughout Jeremiah’s large book. Relationships have difficulties, ebbs and flows, but mature individuals value relationships above the costs involved. And this is what we find, both parties commit to success in the relationship. Turbulence strains, conflict arises, but the relationship supersedes.

Appendices

These three sections are followed by 10 Appendices, covering a range of important and related topics.

Let’s try to discover Jeremiah, this deeply human and attractive prophet, whose oracles comprise struggle and courage, torments and happiness, rejection and solidarity, disappointment and hopes, doubts and passion.¹⁷

Prophet as Spokesperson

This book uses the term spokesperson as a near equivalent to the biblical word prophet. Some may not like this.

But consider a few Biblical facts:

Who is the first person God recruited to be a prophet? Aaron.¹⁸

Whose prophet was he? Not God’s, but his own little brother’s.¹⁹

Why did his brother need a prophet? Because Moses claimed to be inadequate at speaking.²⁰

What did Aaron do as his brother’s prophet? He served as his brother’s spokesperson.

When the Lord called Jeremiah to be his prophet, what was Jeremiah’s response? O Sovereign Lord, I can’t _______ for you.²¹

How was Jeremiah going to serve the Lord? Not by miracles, not by demonstrations of power, but by speaking. The Lord told him, "Look, I have put my words in your mouth. Jer. 1:9. Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say." Jer. 1:17.

Prophets in the Bible served as spokespersons for the invisible, heaven-residing, eternal, living God.

Qualities of a Good Spokesperson

Professional spokespersons provide essential services for corporations, organizations, institutions and public office holders. As societies get more diverse and complex, these professionals are in greater demand.

A List of qualities

Responsible: Must always speak, act and carry oneself in ways that favourably represent their clients’ values, wishes, and reputation (whether an individual, organization, corporation, nation, etc.).

Knows the client well: Their purposes, goals, values, likes, dislikes, and intent.

Knows their audience well: Their interests, blockages, abilities, focuses, attitudes, knowledge base, experience base, language, and motivations.

Captures attention: Leads audience to new perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and eventually behaviors.

Adjusts: Is flexible to speak the message faithfully amidst rapidly changing scenarios.

Broad vision: Speaks wider than just the immediate group and situation.

Pragmatic: Uses real world examples that connect and bring positive impact.

Closes: Brings audience to a point of decision and action when the time is right.

Jeremiah was held to higher scrutiny, because of the Being he represented, the critical time that he served, and the severe implications spawned by his work.

2 Yes, funny.

3 God is by nature one who blesses. He seeks relationships not for selfish reasons but because he desires to bless and improve everyone’s existence.

4 The relational God of Jeremiah is no aloof God, somehow present but detached. God is a God of great passions (pathos); deep and genuine divine feelings and emotions are manifest again and again. Sorrow, lament, weeping, wailing, grief, pain, anguish, heartache, regret, and anger all are ascribed to God in Jeremiah. Fretheim, Terence E. Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Jeremiah. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys, 2008. p. 33. To ponder the complexities involved here, please read Appendix 7, Two Sticky Issues: God’s Weeping and a Conditional Future.

5 God is jealous for your heart, not because he is petty or insecure, but because he loves you. The reason why God has such a huge problem with idolatry is that his love for you is all-consuming. He loves you too much to share you. Kyle Idleman, @KyleIdleman [Twitter], 11, 26, 2018.

6 Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from: New Living Translation, second edition. Copyright © 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

7 Jer. 14:17; 44:6.

8 Jer. 31:3; 44:4.

9 Jer. 7:5-7.

10 Jer. 44:16-17.

11 It is often easy for us to read millennia-old accounts that describe death and devastation, misery and grief, suffering and tears, and to remain unmoved. After all, the written text can seem so impersonal and distant, and we do not actually hear the cries of the wounded and dying - in reality, the people involved are complete strangers to us - nor do we smell the smoke rising from the flames of destruction … We tend to demonize the villains, lionize the heroes, and seek primarily to gain theological or practical insight from the (sometimes) stern dealings of God with his people, forgetting that these were real people, too, with real hopes and dreams and all too human disappointments and hurts. Brown, Michael L.; Ferris, Paul W. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Jeremiah, Lamentations. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010, Kindle Edition, Location 1742.

12 This book is produced as part 1 of a trilogy. The second book title: Masterful Communication from DEITY - The Book of Jeremiah. Third title: Urgent, Critical, Paradigm-Shifting Communiques from DEITY - Via Jeremiah.

13 Craigie, Peter c., Kelly, Page H., Drinkard, Jr., Joel F. Word Biblical Commentary, Vol 26, Jeremiah 1-25. Dallas TX: Word Inc., 1991, p. xxxvii.

14 King Josiah receives the highest endorsement of all the kings of Israel and Judah. Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. 2 Kin. 23:25.

15 This is a well-documented genre in modern literature, with guidelines, code of ethics, and taught in Universities. For further information see Appendix 1, What is Creative Nonfiction?

16 Indeed, these dialogues are among the more difficult threads to uncover and follow in scripture.

17 Prevost, Jean-Pierre. How to Read the Prophets. NY, NY: Continuum Publishing Company, 1997, p. 73.

18 Ok, Abraham was referred to as a prophet in Gen 20:7, these words were to a foreign king and include nothing about a call or assigned work.

19 … and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. Exo. 7:1.

20 I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Exo. 6:30.

21 Jer. 1:6.

Section 1, Stumbling onto the National Stage

Introduction - Stumbling

Every student of Jeremiah’s book faces an arduous read. A perennial member of the Most difficult to read book list. A mammoth maze of conflict and despair.

Rebellion is oblique and rancid. Priests, prophets, kings and common people reject God at will. Not a great storyline!

God himself seems to vacillate between angry rage and heart-wrenching tears.

Perhaps 80% are words of judgement; but peppered throughout with snippets of hope, promises of new beginnings, a new covenant, transformed hearts, and replanting in the land.

Throughout the judgements, messages, predictions, and events, a human being - Jeremiah - is there; living, breathing, feeling, and trusting.

He slogged on, believing that ultimately all will make sense. The goodness and love of God will overcome the foolish rebellion of his people. Foreign enemies may demolish the Holy City, Temple, and the Palace stone by stone, but no foreign nation or army can place a finger on the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Divine love and commitment will outlast man’s sinfulness and pride. God’s hankering to live blissfully with his people WILL be fulfilled. These convictions kept Spokesperson going.²²

Context is Essential

The prophetic messages and the stories in the book of Jeremiah are context specific. God, through Jeremiah, spoke to people distinct from us. Different language, world-view, occupations, schedules, diets, hopes, aspirations, and the list goes on. It is therefore necessary, when studying this book, to get heavily briefed in several important areas.²³

Historical, political, cultural, religious, social, economic (etc.) knowledge of his time is essential to hearing Jeremiah’s words as they are intended.²⁴

"Each prophetic oracle was delivered in a specific historical setting.

God spoke in history and about history.

God spoke through his prophets to people in a given time and place, and under given circumstances.

To understand his Word we must know something of that history."²⁵

This history, and cultural and other background information, can be learned the hard way - by slogging through multiple academic sources - or the easy way, by reading the next eight chapters.²⁶

What is this about stumbling?

The title of this section is, Stumbling onto the National Stage. At the start of Jeremiah’s prophetic service, Judah and Jerusalem bustled with activity and people. It appears Jeremiah was not part of national and political consciousness for the first 18 years.²⁷ He was off stage in relative peace and quiet. But tragedy struck and shoved him front and center. He is henceforth an inescapable part of the national stage.²⁸

Early in his career, Prophet Jeremiah rested under a wonderful shadow, the shadow of a sterling man of God who ruled on the throne, King Josiah.

Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. 2 Kings 23:25.

Josiah morphed the nation. He modeled godliness, justice and truth. With kingly authority he transformed Judah and Jerusalem from entrenched paganism, to worship of the True and Living God. Idols banished. Temple purified. Proper worship revived as prescribed in the Torah (the Law given through Moses hundreds of years earlier).

The first eighteen years of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry took place under this very welcome shadow. But suddenly things changed…

Brace yourself for time travel! Yes, a journey through time to ancient Jerusalem, over two-and-a-half millennia ago.

1. Two Visits to Jerusalem, 30 Years Apart

Visit #1, Year: 640BCE

Arriving on the Mount of Olives, the first surprise and eye-catchers are the massive buildings in front of you. Made of huge stones and beams of cedar, these buildings have large columns, high roofs, and ornate sculptured images. Not Greek or Roman like the Parthenon, they have a style and impression of their own.²⁹

Foot traffic is busy this morning. People - almost entirely men - are entering and exiting the buildings. Many come from the city. Wrapped in Bedouin-type garb and wearing sandals. Don’t know how to interpret the pace of their walking, or body language, but some people stop and talk while others do not. Not sure what to do, you seek shade behind a nearby building. There’s the city!

Jerusalem! Directly in front to the west! Eye-catching. Not colorful, but encircled by a massive stone wall, maybe fifteen feet high. A couple busy gates enter the city through the wall. Two buildings stand out from the others. In front center, just inside the wall, must be the ancient temple built by King Solomon.³⁰ Left of it must be the royal palace, built by David and extended by others. Jerusalem is a hive of activity. People and animal driven carts move in, out, and all around.³¹

Curiosity drives your feet; the mysteries of the Mount of Olives can wait for the return. Time to hit the city and grab some fresh fruit at an outdoor market.

Less than a mile, the road slopes down the valley and up the other side. You join a group of families as you try to blend in. It’s a sparkling fall morning. Your mind wanders happily and aimlessly. Then a remarkable discovery - you start to catch snippets of the surrounding conversations. Hebrew! The people prove friendly and welcoming. They give