• Midrashing on the life and way of Jeremiah, the prophet . (Remember the essence of midrash is the feeling of an ee cumming poem; run on’s baby!)
  •  This passage where Jeremiah buried his underwear–Perath-a reference to the Euphrates where the Jews would soon be taken–ie babylon. Whether Jeremiah literally went 300 miles to the Euphrates or whether God used the closer river with a name which the Jews would have understood to reference the Euphrates isn’t clear. But in this “acted oracle” or symbolic action, each detail mattered.
  • the jews liked riddles, then. and often jeremiah, the prophet, was using riddles and puns. good study this! Jeremiah 11
  • (also it is thought, that jeremiah started dictating because he was not allowed in the temple to teach them; so he sent Baruch. interesting). 
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  • Jeremiah was very much associated with temple life; but not the inner court where priest did rituals; rather the outer court where conversation and teaching occurred.
  • Daniel, who lived at the same time as Jeremiah, met God in study and revelations; daniel would have had Jeremiah’s writings, or at least been familiar with them for some time;  for they both lived in Jerusalem at the same time, and Jeremiah was famous. And had to have started circulating his writings through Baruch for these temple conversations which he was not allowed to attend after a period. 
  • kin the outer court, people offered wisdom, poems, political thought etc–it was the place where the intellectual life of the Jews developed and occurred.
  • the book of Jeremiah the prophet is an anthology crossing 40 years of ministry. the first collection was probably just the first 8 chapters which was destroyed by the king; then jeremiah kept having his teachings, poems, thoughts, stories, compiled over time…
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  • Jeremiah had a lot of problems getting published! Baruch does a retelling or contextualizing of the whole compilation, later in Egypt, and then someone else also tried to cull together all the writings. it is truly an anthological collage of the writings and life and times of Jeremiah the Prophet!
  • HIS LEGACY
  • the lasting legacy of Jeremiah is often said to be his PERSONAL INTIMATE relationship with God. That he and God were in very close contact for a very long time. 
  • He, like Daniel, sought to understand the times from a spiritual perspective, but his hallmark seemed to be a real living spirituality as opposed to just religion. So in many ways, his life bumped against the religious spirit! As well as the governments-at times. Daniel had great favor in government; Jeremiah had erratic favor from the various kings.
  • Jeremiah=personal COMMUNION with God was his foundation. 
  • as they are exiled, Jeremiah buys land un Israel–sign of hope!
  • He cared about the people to whom he was prophecying!