Biblical Theology XX: Jeremiah

Jeremiah is a prophetic book that contrasts true and false religion along with true and false covenant members. It is a series of final warnings given to Judah before the judgment of the exile, as well as a series of promises of hope toward those who go into the exile.

Theology: God only accepts a worship that comes from the internal devotion of a whole mind given to Him that expresses itself in repentance and good works. He does not accept a superficial worship of external rituals, prayers, etc. God’s grace and mercy is only with those who truly worship Him. It is not with those who do not truly worship Him in the way described above. Hence, a new covenant is promised to the exiles where God writes His Torah upon their minds to where they will walk in them forever. For these people, He will send forth an individual to sit upon the throne of David and to intercede for His people as a representative of the Levitical Priesthood forever.

Ethics: The writing of God’s Torah upon the minds of His genuine worshipers will result in their living out a total worship that is made up of their obedience to the Torah. God’s mercy and calling is specific to these people. As such, Jeremiah is told that he is not to pray for God to have mercy upon those within the visible covenant community that are unrepentant, and therefore, are not a part of the invisible covenant community as evidenced by their fruit. Instead, prayers for their destruction are given instead.

A major theme in the book concerns also the type of “word from the Lord” these false covenant members want to hear. Their pastors speak positive, encouraging messages to them in the midst of their unrepentant sin. This is what characterizes the false prophet in the book, as well as characterizing the false believer in the book. The community that wants to emphasize “positive messages” in the midst of their sin persecutes Jeremiah, kills the other prophets that speak as he does, and lifts up false prophets that lull them into a false sense of security with those encouraging and positive messages when, in fact, a severe message of warning and rebuke is needed instead.

What the false believers do is trust in the promises of God, find security in the messages that refer to God’s salvific works among His people, and assume that they are a part of that covenant community receiving those promises of salvation because of the labels they place upon themselves and the symbols of God’s presence among them, such as the temple. God, however, only considers them a part of those promises if they repent and worship Him whole-heartedly with all of their deeds. If not, none of those promises belong to them, and to emphasize them as a comfort is a deception that leads to everlasting destruction and removal from God’s communal presence.

Even though judgment falls upon the entire visible community of God, He turns the hearts and minds of His people toward Him through it, and promises both to be with them as they are going through the discipline of exile as well as to restore them fully both after the exile and beyond. What leads to the destruction of the false covenant member will, therefore, lead to the salvation of the true covenant member, even though hardship befalls both. Hence, all need to be rebuked when in sin, those who belong to God will repent from thought to deed, and thus receive the promise of salvation into God’s eternal kingdom ruled by the Davidic King and Priest. Those who do not repent have no part in that kingdom, and their comfort in positive and encouraging messages of God’s love and care for them merely lay a path leading to their ultimate destruction.