The name Jeremiah means "God loosens the womb," or "God exalts." The son of Hilk-iah, a Priest of Anathoth, a City of Priests located in Benjamin's territory, N-NE of Jerusalem. (Jer.1:1; Josh. 21:13, 17, 18). Jeremiah's father, Hilk-iah, was not the High Priest of that name, who was of the line of Eleazar. Jeremiah's father was of the line of Ithamar and descended from Abiathar, the Priest whom King Solomon dismissed from priestly service. (1Kings 2:26, 27).
Jeremiah in himself was not a chronic complainer. Rather, he showed himself to be loving, considerate and sympathetic. His courage and marvelous endurance were matched by his deep love for his people. He exercised fine control, and was moved to great sadness by the conduct of his people and the judgments they suffered. (Jeremiah 8:21).
Jeremiah clearly saw the Human World of social and political events as the Realm of God's activity in which Justice and Righteousness must prevail.
He initially supported Josiah's bid to return the people of Northern Israel to Davidic rule, but he concluded that Josiah's untimely death signaled God's intention to punish Judah for abandoning God in a manner analogous to that of Northern Israel.
Jeremiah is presented as a Priest and prophet who was heavily involved in the public affairs of his own society at a time of deep national crisis.
Jeremiah called for Just Treatment of the underprivileged in Judean Society, and severely criticizes Jeho-Iakim for neglecting the Welfare of his people while building a sumptuous palace for himself.
Jeremiah was equally capable of chastising God for abandoning him to enemies after proclaiming God's Word, and cursed the day of his birth for his inability to resist his Prophetic Calling.
Hanan-iah, son of Azz-Ur, was a Prophet from the Benjamite City of Gibeon. He prophesied that Babylon's power would be broken, the Jewish exiles there would be released, Jerusalem would be liberated from Babylonian oppression and that the Temple Vessels, which had been taken by the Babylonian army in 598, would be returning to Jerusalem, all of this in within 2 years of his oracle. (Jereremiah 28). To illustrate his point, Hanan-iah, with this prophecy, was removing the "wooden yoke" from off Jeremiah's neck, and breaking it, interfering with God's purpose directly placed over Jeremiah's call as a Prophet.
God then commanded Jeremiah to inform Hanan-iah that the "yoke bar of wood" was to be replaced by an "iron yoke," and that Hanan-iah's death would occur on that year. True to the Prophecy, Hanan-iah died in that year.(Jeremiah 28).
The ideology of Hanan-iah seemed out-of-touch with the Historical sensibilities, but ran directly counter to the entire tradition associated with Jeremiah, that Exile and Suffering must be accepted and embraced as a consequence because it is necessary yet dangerous Work of God before hopeful constructions can be articulated.
A Prophetic Conflict arose in which 2 opposing messages claimed to enjoy Divine Authority.
Hanan-iah did not discern that many well-established pre-exilic social and symbolic structures (including the Royal Temple ideology) were no longer part of God's Program.
As a result, Hanan-iah was both "false" in content and a "dangerous" voice from the past that jeopardized the Powerful New Vision of Reality articulated by Jeremiah.
During the interim between the First Deportation (598) and the Destruction of Jerusalem (588/587), Jeremiah declared that Judah should Not Join an anti-Babylonian coalition of other Syro-Palestinian States, but instead accept Babylonian hegemony given as a Theo-political.
Hanan-iah insisted that Babylonian rule would be short-lived, thus inciting Rebellion against Judah's Suzerain.
Jeremiah condemned Zedek-iah for reneging on the release of slaves when the Babylonians temporarily lifted their siege of Jerusalem.
When the Babylonians offered to take Jeremiah back to Babylon for his own protection in the aftermath of Jerusalem's Fall in 587, he chose to remain among his people.
Jeremiah is the representation of how a deep commitment to God and to his own people must work. The principles of Righteousness and Justice stood as the foundation of God's relationship with the people of Israel and Judah.
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