Most of us would prefer not to hear bad news. Maybe that's why I've not really been excited about delving into the book of Jeremiah. After all, if someone or something is called a "jeremiad", the expectation is of impending gloom and lots of bad news.
An online dictionary explains a jeremiad as
- a long, mournful complaint or lamentation; a list of woes."the jeremiads of puritan preachers warning of moral decay"
- [There's an interesting novel by American author Nathanael West called "The Day of the Locust" which has been described as a jeremiad. Its cover calls it "the great novel of Hollywood dreams turning sour".]
A quick search for "Jeremiah" in the Bible shows references in the Old Testament in II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah, and in the New Testament in Matthew and Hebrews. Here's a familiar passage from Matthew 16:14 "Disciples: Some say John the Baptist. And some say Elijah. And some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets" (The Voice Bible). And from Hebrews 10:15 "the Holy Spirit keeps testifying to us through the prophet Jeremiah" (The Voice).
Jeremiah's pronouncements have been described as laments (which could be sung). Does anyone have an example of a lament? I recently heard a YouTube recording of jazz legend (singer/pianist) Nina Simone performing what I would call a lament: very soulful and impassioned. Perhaps that was how Jeremiah sounded.
Michelangelo (1475-1654) included Jeremiah in his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which some readers may have visited.
We understand that Jeremiah was born 650 BCE. The Assyrian capital, Nineveh had fallen to the Babylonians. Now Judah fell also. The people were in captivity. Jeremiah gets an important commission.
Julie Swannell
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