Jeremiah: A Comedy

When you read, do you see the characters and story play out like a movie in your head? I do. I thought everyone did but I've been told that's not true. Well, if you're one of those who doesn't, you're really missing out.

My Bible study has been on break since Thanksgiving so, for some reason that I don't remember or maybe never had, I decided I would use this break to read the book of Jeremiah. Even if you've never read it, you probably have the impression that it would be filled with doom and gloom, and your impression is right. But the thing is, the movie in my head, while dramatic at times, is mostly a comedy. I'm only about halfway through, but so far God has instructed Jeremiah three times to buy things. Now, remember, this guy is a prophet of an unpopular God, and his message is mostly "repent or die"--Not a fun guy to be around. Who would employ him?--I'm assuming this is his own personal money he's spending. I don't think he's getting reimbursed out of the temple's Prophetic Object Lesson Supplies fund. And it's not just the buying things: First God tells him to buy a linen belt and then tells him to bury it, ruining it. ("Thanks, God. I finally thought I might be able to dress with some style... But not now.") Then God tells him to buy a pot ("Great! That'll spruce the place up a bit!") only to be told to break the pot to pieces. Then God tells him to buy a yoke and put it on himself no less. (I imagine he's thinking "I am NOT going to destroy this too!") And while in an argument with the false prophet Hananiah, his opponent removes the yoke and, yes, breaks it. I can't wait to find out what happens next when God tells him to buy a field!

But it's not just that. As I mentioned, Jeremiah was not the most popular guy. In fact, many people wanted to take his life and he knew this. By no coincidence, often the recipients of the messages God spoke through Jeremiah were the very people who wanted him dead. Now I don't know how these messages got from God to Jeremiah to the recipient. Sometimes I picture Jeremiah first writing the message on a scroll to be read to the recipient, but sometimes I picture God telling Jeremiah to go the person but that Jeremiah doesn't actually know the message to speak until he's standing there with the person/people face to face. Either way, but especially with the latter, Jeremiah has to be rather uncomfortable delivering a message like this: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ...You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?'" How can that be delivered in a way that wouldn't be funny to watch, especially if Jeremiah wasn't completely prepared to speak about himself like this?

Anyway, I'm obviously enjoying this book. There's a lot of good serious stuff in there too, but I figured you'd get that stuff on your own.