{"id":69734,"date":"2020-02-05T15:17:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T13:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=69734"},"modified":"2023-09-04T16:53:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T13:53:25","slug":"pr-parody-and-prayer-purge-paganism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/pr-parody-and-prayer-purge-paganism\/","title":{"rendered":"PR, Parody and Prayer Purge Paganism"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[622,429,437],"acf":{"old_id":"69734","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38552,"related_cahpter":"410","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Three strategies to cleanse the country\r\n","content":"

In chapter 10, Jeremiah uses three rhetorical strategies to help purge the land of idolatry: public relations, parody, and prayer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah turns to the “House of Israel,” a collective name for the kingdoms of Judah and Ephraim, and appeals to them to abandon the ways of foreign nations. He contends with those who plan their every move based on the constellations. Astrology was well-developed in Babylonian religion, and his plea not to fear the heavens may be the first indication that the people are beginning to absorb a new and increasingly prevalent pagan culture. Jeremiah’s call to Israel not to fear heavenly signs is echoed in a later, well-known rabbinic saying: “Israel is not subject to constellations.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A midrash based on our chapter depicts the human experience of divination based on the stars:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cR. Eliezer says: A solar eclipse is an ominous sign for the nations of the world, and a lunar eclipse is an ominous sign for the enemies of Israel [a euphemism for Israel itself], for Israel is likened to the moon, and the nations of the world to the sun…. If [the eclipse] is in the west, it bodes ill for those in the west; if it occurs at the zenith, it bodes ill for the whole world. If its face looks like blood, the sword is coming to the world; if it looks like sackcloth, famine is coming to the world…. When Israel carries out the will of God, [it] shall not fear, as it says, “Thus said the Lord: Learn not the way of the nations, and fear not signs in the heavens, though the nations fear them” \u2014 the nations will fear, but [Israel] will not\u201d (Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Zuta 16).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After addressing those who place their faith in horoscopes, Jeremiah turns to those who worship idols of wood and stone. A similar style of mockery can be found in Isaiah 44 as well as other prophetic works. Jeremiah describes the absurdity of idol worship: The worshippers themselves cut down trees, carve statues out of the wood, decorate them with gold and silver, hammer them full of nails, and finally, worship their own creations. Israel’s faith in the God of heaven and earth contrasts with prostration before replaceable, man-made statues:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Lord, God, is true, the living God and King of the world; at His wrath the earth shakes, and the nations cannot withstand His fury. (Jer. 10:10)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/i>. Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cA Confrontation with Idolaters and a Prayer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":69252,"id":69252,"title":"jer-lau2","filename":"jer-lau2.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/running-a-gauntlet-of-pain\/jer-lau2\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer-lau2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":69251,"date":"2020-01-27 21:59:05","modified":"2020-01-27 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