Exegesis of the Prophet Jeremiah

Exegesis of the Prophet Jeremiah

Introduction

The prophet Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet was called to the service of the Lord before he was formed in his mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:4-5). And, his prophetic ministry was written between 627 and 580 B.C. His ministry lasted between 40-47 years as it begins under the rule of Judas last good king Josiah (Rainbow Study Bible, 2007, p. 857).In addition, Jeremiahs weeping was not just because of his personal persecutions, of beatings, “sorrows opposition, imprisonment and excommunication from the temple because of his unpopular message” of God's truth. Jeremiah also, weptfor an unrepentant nation that was headed for afflictions caused by their own sins and disobedience. But Jeremiah does not deter from proclaiming God's judgment upon the nations that reject God. Jeremiah perseveres as to tell the truth of God's prophecies rather than tell of idolatry and perverted worship (Rainbow Study Bible, 2007, p. 857).

Historical Context and the Extent to which the Prophecy is Oriented

As realtors will say, the key to success is location, location, location. The same applies in hermeneutics. However, when talking about texts and not real estate, the proper phrase is context, context, context. The location of the text, historically, canonically, and culturally, determines how to interpret a text. This is being reiterated because nowhere in biblical literature is context more important than in the prophetic literature. Despite the span of time that the biblical prophets cover collectively, the active role of the prophets can be appropriately described in clusters. The first cluster involves Moses and Aaron and the beginning of Israel as a nation proper. The second cluster involves most of the so-called nonwriting prophets, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha. However, these first two are pale in comparison to the final two clusters of prophets, numerically speaking. The first centers on the religious and political crisis of the Assyrian conflict of the 8th century B.C. The second centers on the Babylonian religious and political crisis of the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. In order to properly interpret the prophetic voice for today, it is imperative that the reader grasps the original historical and cultural role of the prophets. While the personality and background of these prophets can be diverse, they are united in their service to YHWH through these three roles: God's messengers (2 Kings 17:13), God's lawyers (Micah 6:1-2), and the people's mediator (1 Samuel 12:21-23).

Poetice Devices

The rulers of Jerusalem would not hear anything else but imprisoned Jeremiah. But at the same time, this was Jeremiah advisor for him was to be the last king of Israel, King Zedekiah. Zedekiah would not listen to the advice of Jeremiah to surrender to the Babylonian army and he tried to escape. Thus, the city was captured and burned the temple. Zedekiah was captured. The upper class in Jerusalem was forcibly moved to Babylon, while the poor were allowed to remain in the country. This was the beginning of exile or the Babylonian captivity (Joubert, 2012, ...