Jeremiah and God's Plans of Well-being

2 Overture—Problems and Resolutions Rehearsed

26 2 Overture—Problems and Resolutions Rehearsed Chapters 2–10 Death, cultural death, is the concern of Jeremiah. A. R. Pete Diamond, Playing God Having encountered Jeremiah’s persona at his calling and initial prophetic speech and considered some of his classic language regarding Judah’s neighbors, we are now ready to meet him in what are plausibly early days of ministry.1 We will now examine chapters 2–10 as an overture, hearing characters’ voices both tangled in complex discourse and drawing on classic imagery. The intersection among speakers and the play of imagery will provide us a sense of Jeremiah’s role as God’s prophet, a rehearsal for the larger book. The Unit For the unit proposed, there is less disagreement about span than about component parts. We will follow Joseph M. Henderson, who wants to read what is present rather than to excavate small pieces to reassemble something else, and who insists that that material in chapters 2–10 is not simply a pile of repeating pieces but demonstrates action, progress.2 Hence arises my insight that this unit functions as an overture precapitulating the story about to be represented in the fuller narrative of the whole book, with both overture and “symphony” stretching from the long and sorrowful past of Israel and Judah, centering on the crisis faced during the final days of the Davidic/Judean monarchy, contemplating more briefly the aftermath and the perennial choice of how the future is to be faced—in a word, exodus to exile.3 In the manner of overtures, themes to appear later in the book are previewed, alerting us to anticipate and recognize them when we hear them again. Considerdivisionintofivesubunits:A.2:1–4:4(66vv.);B.4:5–6:30(86vv.);C.7:1– 8:3 (37 vv.); D. 8:4–9:254 (46 vv.); E. 10:1–25 (25 vv.). In addition to plot progress, the 27 problems and resolutions rehearsed dominant rhetorical feature is dialogue among characters, with the main speaker— the deity—peppering his talk with quotations and questions of various sorts. A common root metaphor—Judah as ancestral heritage—holds the material together, makes it coherently effective, allows room for a variety of hosted imagery without excluding the occasional wild card subimage. Articulated is the long story of infidelity of YHWH’s people and the deity’s concomitant disappointment in and reproach for this past, detailing God’s efforts to conduce better behavior by threat and punishment. The final chapter of the unit poses an open future: better behavior as a result of invasion, defeat, and journey to the east—or not? A note about narration: We will hear, briefly (7:1), from the book narrator, but to a surprising extent, the prophet and deity take over the recital and introduction of speakers: themselves, each other, and other characters, steadily attributing quotation to such others.5 In all five sections, dialogue occurs, involving God, Jeremiah, and God’s people (Lady Zion, constructed as a feminine singular; men of Judah as masculine plural persons), another unnamed agent—so five character sets—with details and proportions varying as noted below. The voices are distinguishable much of the time, derived from formal characteristics (inflection), content, or tone. Where there is uncertainty (confusion about whether deity or prophet is speaking, or whether the deity is speaking or attributing), I will offer a preference.6 Henderson’s most compelling contribution is to show the discourse as powerfully presented and dramatic dialogue, with clashing and contesting viewpoints . God and characters are in opposition, though with diverse intensity. Deity and prophet occasionally differ in angle but without contending in quite the same way as others do or as they themselves later will do. Henderson’s second key point is that narrative progress occurs over the set of verses, with the end position quite removed from the beginning. Rhetoric of the Voices For each unit of overture, I will offer a rough outline, some analysis of the voices— with special attention to the questions—and sum up the insights.7 A. Chapters 2:1–4:4: This first unit is best seen as a series of God’s addresses to and exchanges with the people, a female singular alternating with male plurals. At four points (2:1; 3:1, 6, 11) the prophet indicates that he was addressed, with the speech in each case functioning not so much to provoke his participation as to allow the speaker a wider platform...