The Three "R's" of Jeremiah 23

"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. 5 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Introduction

My attitude toward the Bible has changed over time. Thirty years ago my favorite books were the Prophets and the Epistles of John. I loved the former because of their uncompromising attacks on unrighteousness and their "stand for justice." The latter thrilled me because of the emphasis on love as central to faith. Yet, in the last few years the Book of Job has risen to the top of my "poetic literature favorite" list, while the Gospel of Luke and some of the OT historical narratives have fired my imagination as never before. Thus, my first reaction in returning to a prophetic passage was that I was going to have a "hard time" identifying with or appreciating its fervor. After all, I know enough to know that the great hoped-for and hyped return of the people of Israel to the Promised Land after exile really wouldn't eventuate in the paradisiacal situation envisioned by Isaiah or Jer. 23. Read Haggai or portions of Nehemiah if you doubt this.

Yet, as I read and re-read the text for today, I became drawn in by its language and imagery. We have shepherds and sheep, scattering and gathering, branches and remnants, and the pursuit of justice and righteousness. Jeremiah's picture is strongly indebted to images from other prophetic literature (such as Isaiah or Ezekiel), and the Psalms are full of images of God as shepherd and rulers as undershepherds. As I continued to massage the passage, it seemed that it naturally broke down into three "R's," which will be the basis of my remarks: (1) The Rush to Destruction; (2) The Re-creation of the People; and (3) The Reign of the King. If we keep these in mind, it must might be that our imagination is refreshed and invigorated for the Advent journey.

II. The Rush to Destruction (vv. 1-2)

One engaging passage where the image of sheep scattered on the mountain denotes the people's imminent destruction is in I Kings 19. The Kings of Israel and Judah were planning a battle against Ramoth-Gilead, and they called for the prophets to bless their endeavor. Dutifully, most did. But then, King Jehoshaphat asked the King of Israel if there was another prophet to speak. Reluctantly, the King of Israel brought in Micaiah. Micaiah was hesitant to speak because he had the reputation of always bringing bad news, but the kings badgered him until he spoke. After first giving a rosy scenario and begin rebuked for it, he then spoke again:

"I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd" (I Ki. 22:17).

Such a statement brought forth the king's ridicule, even though this was the Word of God. So, when Jeremiah speaks of shepherds leading the people to destruction, he is drawing upon an ancient tradition of the leaders misleading the people. It really is a horribly sad thought, but it was the felt reality of Jeremiah.

There are two interesting word plays in these two verses that arrest the reader. First is the similarity of the Hebrew words for shepherd and destruction--raah and rah. It is almost as if the two are equated in this passage. You mention one, and you have the other concept immediately brought to your mind. Second is the use of the word "attend," which is caught in our translation. Because the shepherds do not "attend" to the people, God will "attend" to them. The Hebrew verb, pakad, is fairly common in the OT, and can range in meaning from "appoint" (its most frequent use--in Numbers) to "give heed" in Ex. 3:16. Actually, in the Exodus passage God uses the word to describe the divine attentiveness to the people's oppression in Egypt. Just as the Scripture tells us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31), so it is fearful for God to "attend" to the "inattentive" shepherds. Destruction is imminent.

III. Re-Creation of the People (vv. 3-4)

The words of these verses are crystal clear and need little exposition. God gathers those who were scattered. Three times in the first four verses of the chapter there appears the little word "my" ("my pasture," "my people," and "my flock"), and in this threefold cord is a great truth--that even though the people of God may be abandoned, misled, mistreated or delivered to the enemies, yet they/we remain the people of God, the ones whom God is pleased to call "my flock." This passage is the theological equivalent of Hosea's description of God's unwillingness to give up Israel:

"How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath," Hos. 11:8-9.

But there is something else going on here. When God brings back the people, they shall "be frutiful and multiply" (v. 3). This Hebrew phrase is identical to the divine command to our first parents in Gen. 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Thus, not only is a deliverance in sight that has military connotations, but the underlying image here is of returning to the creation. Return from the coming exile will truly be like a fresh start.

The promise of a fresh start is worth pondering in our day precisely because we, jaded as we are, don't really believe in "fresh starts." We know of "tendencies to recidivism" and know that one can never begin from "square one." We have "too much baggage," or "too much history" with someone or some situation. But the truly good news of this passage is that the prophet sees a time of spankingly fresh newness. To keep hoping in that newness and opportunity is a mark of faith. And, let me say from personal experience, there is newness and new creativity after long periods of drought and distress.

IV. The Reign of the King (vv. 5-6)

Shepherd and sheep imagery are particularly powerful in Ezekiel (ch. 34). The image of a righteous branch for David, however, finds its home in these verses and in several passages from Isaiah (chs. 7; 11). Rather than notions of fissiparous scattering, which lie behind the "shepherd-speak," here we have ideas of justice and righteousness. The righteous Branch is no little twig, but he will rule as king and deal wisely. It is this panoply of ideas that stands behind one of my favorite Psalms, Ps. 72. Let's end with some of its verses:

"Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more."

Can you say "Amen" to that?

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