"All the Insolent Men" - Brief Reflection on Jeremiah 43-44

 

It was disheartening. I'd read it a number of times before, but for some reason this morning it really struck a note with me. It was the situation and setting of Jeremiah 43-44. 

God's people had been defeated and demoralized. Their own actions brought it on them, their own power-hungry, self-gratifying morals and their turning their backs to Yahweh and not their faces. And now that their country had been toppled by Babylon, most of the people had been hauled off into captivity. And the few that were left in their homeland had to live with the consequences of their actions. For those poor souls, impoverished and insubstantial, there was a glimmer of hope, but they didn't respond well. 

First, there was the murder of the Babylonian-installed leader, a godly man, Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. Murdered at the hand of one of the royal family, a descendent of David. It was cold blooded, brutal, and senseless. After all the decimation they had faced, you would think this kind of barbarity would have been avoided, but, whatever the motives were behind the attack, it was huge jolt. This murder, of course, left a power vacuum.

Second, up steps the old captain of the guard to fill in the vacuum, Jehanan the son of Kareah. Surely, he will do better? He even leads the people to seek God's direction for them from Jeremiah the prophet. They come with words of submission and repentance, "We'll do whatever God says" (42:1-6). After 10 days, Yahweh gives Jeremiah the direction the people say they are seeking. "Stay here in Judah and I will relent of the disaster I've brought on you for your sins. I am with you to save you and deliver you. But stay here in the land and don't imagine there's any refuge in Egypt (42:7-17). 

But they reject what Jeremiah directs. The rejection came from the two recognized leaders, Azariah and Johanan. But, and here was the disheartening moment, the momentum for rejection was from "all the insolent men" (43:2). They reject the word of Yahweh - "did not obey the voice of Yahweh" (43:4), and they renounce Yahweh. That's basically the rest of chapter 43 all the way to the end of chapter 44.  All of the rationalizing, reasoning, and religious persuasion is an act of open rebellion - rejecting God's word and renouncing the God of the word!

That description of the majority of the men is what lingered, "all the insolent men". Rude, rebellious, resistant, arrogant, and recalcitrant. And they were the momentum and motion behind this moment, "all the insolent men." For whatever reason, I couldn't get that phrase out of my mind: "all the insolent men."

With this statement in my head and running around my heart, I went for my morning run. While I was out in the clear, cold, crisp air, an old prayer I had learned many years ago came to me, one that I have used many times (I can't recall its source, but think I stumbled on it in a Lutheran prayerbook). The prayer put me back into this scene in Jeremiah 43, and reminded me that I, too, could be numbered with "all the insolent men." But this prayer gave me hope that if I would recognize that I am among the insolent men, and yet run to Jesus, there is a way out and a way forward. The prayer goes like this:

Lord Jesus Christ, who walked the way of the cross as the obedient Son of God,

open our eyes, ears, and hearts, and teach us by your word and Spirit that we may not rebel, 

but may walk in the obedience of disciples who have learned well from you. Amen.

I think that gave me some relief. Remembering that I am part of "all the insolent men" but coming to Jesus, imploring him to remediate my insolence, and to walk after him as a disciple who has learned well from him.

Mike