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Oct 30, 2023

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2. Pressler, Jeremiah: Introduction Jeremiah is perhaps the most thoroughly historical and yet the most contemporary of all the prophets. He is immersed in the history his time, The prophetic spokesperson of what Norman Gottwald has called the opposition party at court, his speeches were are highly controversial responses to concrete national and international policies and events. He is tried for treason, and barely escapes with his life. Later, he both counsels and tangles with King Zedekiah. This is a thoroughly political, thoroughly historical prophet. Yet he is also the most contemporary of the prophets. Plays, poems and novels attest how strongly this prophet speaks to our time. Why so contemporary? In part, this is because of the very political character of his work. In our day, too, struggles against corrupt rulers exact a heavy cost. I think of Romero, of Medgar Evans, of countless women and men under house arrest or in prison around the world for their opposition to oppressive powers. Moreover, the character of Jeremiah, and the intensity of his God wrestling claim our imagination. We know more about this prophetic character than any other O.T. figure except David. In earlier lectures, I have insisted that the prophetic literature focuses on the message, not the messenger. In the case of Jeremiah, we must nuance that a bit. For in his case, the messenger embodies the message. In the next set of notes, I try to sketch out what we know of Jeremiah, the man, then lift up highlights of Jeremiahs career in response to the historical events, and finally discuss Jeremiah as a prophet of suffering and a prophet of hope. I am not going to cover the question of composition history of the book of Jeremiah. Everything that I know about that, I learned from Rich Weis, and you will do far better to consult his notes than to hear me summarize his position!

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