Commentary on Jeremiah 11:18-20

A phrase not uncommon in English translation among the prophets is “The word of the LORD that came to…” We find this phrase in the opening verse of Hosea, Joel, Micah, and Zephaniah. Nowhere, however, does the phrase gain as much use as with the prophet Jeremiah, where it occurs no fewer than five times (1:2; 14:1; 46:1; 47:1; 49:34).¹

While the rendition “The word of the LORD that came to…” is a reasonable option for a widely read English translation, it fails to do justice to the theological depth and power of the Hebrew phrase. A much better translation, both semantically and theologically, would be “The word of the LORD that happened to…”² This translation rightly indicates that the word of the Lord is not a silent, even dead, word on a page, but rather a dynamic force that (re)shapes and directs the world on all levels. Consider in this vein that in Genesis 1, it was by word that God created the world and everything in and around it. Likewise, it is through God’s word that mere water, bread, and wine become life-altering and life-giving sacramental elements.

These observations about a few Hebrew words have special import for Jeremiah, for as indicated by the citations above, no other prophet makes more reference to the word of the Lord “happening.” Likewise, it would be difficult to argue that any prophet experienced the happening of the word of the Lord more profoundly, having their life shaped and shifted more significantly, than Jeremiah. Although we moderns (forgetting the sage words of Ecclesiastes 1:9) typically like to think of our challenges as patently unique in character and scale, Jeremiah may beg to differ.

The late seventh and early sixth centuries were particularly tumultuous within and around the kingdom of Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem. These years would bear witness to one of the best kings ever to rule in ancient Israel’s history (at least according to the Deuteronomistic History)—the reforming king Josiah, who sought to eliminate the worship of other deities besides the God of Israel and centralize sacrificial worship at the temple in Jerusalem. These efforts were lauded by some but met with tension and resistance by others, particularly those who were connected to shrines in what was earlier the northern kingdom of Israel.

Nonetheless, the years would also see Josiah’s political and religious reform efforts, and life, cut short when he was abruptly killed by Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo. A later king, Zedekiah, would be forced to watch his two sons be executed, after which his eyes were gouged out and he was carried off into exile in Babylon. All the while, international conflict raged between the declining Assyrian Empire, Egypt, and the neo-Babylonians—a conflict in which Judah continually found itself deeply entangled.³ It was into this chaotic and contentious context that God called Jeremiah to prophesy.

It is, therefore, little wonder that Jeremiah is often referred to as “the weeping prophet.” Jeremiah would find that it is impossible to speak a happening word of the Lord into such conditions from a safe distance or an insulated position. The word of the Lord happens not only to those toward whom God wishes to direct the word but perhaps, at least sometimes, even more so to those who are tasked with directing and delivering that word. As a result, we find among the best known parts of the book of Jeremiah one that is typically referred to as the “Confessions of Jeremiah” (11:1–20:18), although a title of “Prayers” or even “Laments of Jeremiah” would more accurately indicate the content.

Within these 10 chapters, we find five conversations the prophet initiates with God that are, in form, very similar to the laments of the book of Psalms.⁴ In these texts, Jeremiah expresses dismay toward God for the pain and suffering brought by the task to which he has been called and asks for God’s vindication, typically through actions of judgment on those who are troubling the prophet. At times, there are hints that, despite the difficulty he faces, Jeremiah remains committed to and confident in God (for example, 11:20). At other times, it would seem the prophet has lost nearly all hope (for example, 20:18).

Our pericope for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost comes from the first of Jeremiah’s laments. The chapter began with Jeremiah saying that the word had (again) happened to him. In the verses that follow, God calls upon Jeremiah to remind the people of the covenant that God established with them on bringing them out of the land of Egypt, and to draw the people’s attention to how they had egregiously broken that covenant primarily by worshiping other gods.⁵ As a result, calamity will come upon the people. They will cry out to their various gods, but to no avail. In fact, even the God of Israel will not heed their cries, nor even the prayers of the prophet himself should he call upon God on their behalf.

After the conclusion of the words of God through the prophet in verse 17, Jeremiah begins his first lament in verse 18, speaking in the first person of how God had made known to him the doings of the people. Verse 19 begins to reveal the import these things have for Jeremiah. He is not a passive mouthpiece, but rather discovers himself to be like “a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.” He then references schemes devised against him to destroy him, cutting him off from the land of the living so that even his name will no longer be remembered.

We have to look a bit beyond our pericope to realize just how painful this realization is for the prophet. Verse 21 suggests that it is the people of Anathoth who have conspired to kill Jeremiah, for they have said of him, “You shall not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand.” Recall that the first verse of the book tells us that Jeremiah himself was from Anathoth, and even part of a priestly line there. So these are his own “hometown folks” who are now ready to kill him for prophesying in response to the word of the Lord happening to him!

In verse 20, Jeremiah, after essentially reminding God that God judges righteously (in other words, rightly), asks to see retribution upon those who are seeking his life. The prophetic plea then concludes with a declaration that he has committed his cause to the Lord.⁶

The degree to which we see Jeremiah’s plea being heard by God depends greatly on where we stop reading. If we stop with the assigned pericope, it remains very open-ended. Does God hear or do anything? Continuing just one more verse, however, we find God responding, and in verse 22 beginning to spell out punishment, including death by sword and famine that leaves not even a remnant. But does this happen?⁷ Looking just a few verses farther, in chapter 12, it at least sounds like Jeremiah has gotten no satisfaction in his case with God, asking, for instance in verse 1, “Why does the way of the guilty prosper?” And then there are four more laments still to come from the prophet before we get to the end of chapter 20!⁸

The word of the Lord happening may sound exciting—and it is!—but it can also be complicated, confusing, confounding—even dangerous. The disciples would come to know this truth of which Jesus was already very aware. If certainty is to be found, it comes far down the road—rarely, if ever really at all, on the journey.⁹

Despite the deep pain and suffering evidenced by the laments of Jeremiah, the prophet never relinquished his devotion to the God of his ancestors or to speaking the word that happened to him as it would—still prophesying the word of the Lord that was still happening, even after he was taken against his will to Egypt (46:13–28).

We affirm that God’s word still happens among and to God’s people to this day. If we learn anything from Jeremiah, it may be that chaos and conflict are not indicators of the absence of God’s word, but in fact point to the opposite—that God’s word is still alive and dynamic and active and happening. And thus we see the powers of this world that are contrary to God still trying to resist, oppose, and thwart it. It’s more than OK for us to join Jeremiah in lament when the contrary forces become almost too much to bear. But we also join Jeremiah in committing our case to God, knowing that God judges righteously.

Notes

1. The word order, both in the Hebrew and as rendered in English, is a bit different in Jeremiah. However, the vocabulary and thrust of the phrase are the same as among the aforementioned prophets. Twelve additional times, Jeremiah has the phrase “The word that came to Jeremiah” (7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1; 25:1; 30:1; 32:1; 34:1; 34:8; 35:1; 40:1; 44:1).
2. The Hebrew verb in question is hayah.
3. For a fantastic summary of the historical backdrop to Jeremiah, see Patrick D. Miller, “The Book of Jeremiah: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994), 555–560.
4. Jeremiah 11:18–12:6; 15:10–21; 17:14–18; 18:18–23; 20:7–18.
5. Verse 13, for instance, notes that the people’s gods had become as many as their towns.
6. The Hebrew word translated as “cause” (riv) normally has a juridical connotation and is rendered as “case” or even “lawsuit.” Jeremiah is thus bringing a case of injustice to God the righteous judge—the wrong of one to whom the word of the Lord has happened and who seeks to prophesy that word in turn having his life threatened for doing so.
7. One could suggest that it does happen eventually, at the hand of the Babylonians, but even that falls short of a specific recollection of the people of Anathoth actually getting what they had coming to them.
8. Although if we read still farther, we reach chapters 30 and 31—the Book of Consolation—where we find rather profound words of confidence and hope from Jeremiah.
9. See the wonderful book by Peter Enns, The Sin of Certainty (New York: HarperOne, 2016).