You're listening to Tim Bulkeley's
5 minute Bible Jeremiah's second confession
chapter 15 verses 10 to 21
this confession is also a dialogue
with speech by Jeremiah in the first personal replies by Yahweh
though it begins as a soliloquy
Jeremiah is addressing himself at the start
but after a response
by Yahweh addressed to Jeremiah
the rest of the speeches are addressed to Yahweh notice the messenger formulae
15:11 15:19 marking these speeches
this confession has a less strongly marked
narrative character that the earlier passage that we looked at but
the dialogue form really isn't common in the Psalms
Let's look at how the passage
presents Jeremiah and his God, Yahweh, it starts straightforwardly
verse 10 with a brief lament the speaker has ever been born
and an implied complaint about the rather monotone nature the message he is
being given to deliver
this together with an assertion of his righteousness in fiscal matters
makes this opening verse read rather like a typical example a lament psalm
the very brief: "however..."
Yahweh's response in verses 11-14
which at first perhaps
addresses Jeremiah's complaint, though I find it interesting
translators the NET Bible felt the need to explicitly address these words to
jerusalem
either way it very quickly segways into a warning to the land and its people
in this the second confession is like the first
it links the prophet at the fate of the nation taking
those to linkages together we've got a strong cue
the confessions are not meant to be read as
merely personal dialogues with God but as part of a much larger theological and
political picture of
the book as a whole after this first divine response
the speaker then pleads to be spared this general disaster that he's talking
about
claiming to have been the faithful Messenger in verses 15-16 and to have
endured trouble and pain as a result
in verses 17 to 18 (beginning) and then complains that Yahweh
by contrast has been unfaithful to him he calls Yahweh a liar
and compares him to waters that fail which makes
really interesting calling to mind the cracked cisterns
that Judah had been resorting to in chapter 2 verse 13
so by implication suggesting that Yahweh is no better than an idol
how will
God respond to this challenge the beginning of his reply
sounds like a call to Judah: "If you return
I will return my presence to you, and you will stand
if you distinguish what is precious from what is worthless
however the end of the verse contrasting
you and them makes it clear that it is applied to Jeremiah
that once again note how
the destinies of the prophet and the nation are intertwined the tone of Yahweh's reply
implies that Jeremiah's earlier complaints have been a dereliction of duty
verse nineteen
well verses 22-21 echo the promises of Jeremiah's call
and promise that if he does indeed return that Yahweh
will strengthen him and even deliver him from his enemies
verse 20, for the
second confession the end of the passage is quite clear remember for the first
it was very unclear where we should stop reading but this time
16:1 marks a very clear new beginning: "The word of
Yahweh came to me again." So
we've got a neat little passage, it's a dialogue but what it overall
impact on the reader? Maybe
that overall impact is as a confession of Jeremiah's faith in his God
but the rhetorical stance of the speaker in the text is rather
quite clearly complaining to and about God
so here we really begin to notice that the interplay of speakers and their
attitude is
complicated and interesting, the rhetorical effect
may not simply reproduce the attitude attributed by the writer to the implied
speaker the prophet's part, Jeremiah,
and we'll explore this richness more
as we look at others in this series of confessions
oh, they are fun texts to read, challenging!
I'll return
with more on these confessions next time. God bless