Depends on who you ask. Jeremiah goes straight to the top - with a noticeable omission.
Jeremiah’s earliest years as prophet coincide with the religious reform of young King Josiah, meant to eradicate Assyrian loyalty from Judea and reinstate - or invent - a much stricter monotheistic religion that will eventually define Judaism. Like Isaiah before him, Jeremiah combines scathing resistance to idolatry and foreign worship with attacks on the people’s greed and lack of social justice. Both religious idolatry and economic injustice are seen as the two main affronts to what the original pact with YHWH was all about - remember what it was like to be a slave in Egypt, commit to freedom and equality, centered around a radical idea that there is only one god shared by all. And like Isaiah before him, Jeremiah will use the language of marriage and its pitfalls to describe the ups and down of the ongoing relationship between Israel and its god. One of his most famous lines is delivered at the top of this second chapter -a nostalgic nod to better days:
Whatever happened at Sinai centuries ago may no longer matter. The people of Jerusalem, as Jeremiah sees it, have lost the thread of trust and loyalty to the old ways.
According to this line of thought he does seem to support Josiah’s sweeping religious reforms though he does not explicitly mention it. But it’s what he’s not saying, or who he is not blaming that gives us a clue as to his thoughts about the first king he will know. What it comes to pinpoint who’s to blame for societal ills, Jeremiah is not hesitating:
This is a bold attack on the leaders of the day -- the priests, the religious teachers, and the shepherds -- likely those in charge. But it’s interesting to note who of the leaders is missing from the list.
In his excellent book Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet, Rabbi Benny Lau sheds light on who and why is missing from this roster of guilty leaders, and who’s next on the list:
“Jeremiah's prophecy describes a pagan society whose chain of command has completely lost its way.
First, we should note that the king is not explicitly mentioned here. On the contrary, Jeremiah greatly esteems Josiah and his efforts to cure Judean society's spiritual ills.
By "shepherds," Jeremiah generally means the leaders who direct the people and their behavior. Relating to such leaders as shepherds is a favorite metaphor of his; after all, he grew up on the edge of the desert. Throughout his childhood, he watched the shepherds and determined that the behavior of the flock depends on the shepherd.
The prophet wanders among his people, shouting at all sectors of society about their rejection of God. He is met with total indifference: "I am not defiled." For the first time, the young prophet adds social criticism to his religious reproach. "In addition, your garments are stained with the lifeblood of the innocent destitute" — this refers to overt, shameless social violence. After this great prophetic reprimand regarding the spiritual prostitution spreading across Israel, its painful conclusion is presented at the opening of chapter 3. “
By the end of the chapter, Jeremiah’s rage against the leaders and the rest of the people does spill over to include the king and the court, co-conspirators of a plot against the original pact between god and people, guilty as a wife who has forgotten her wedding vows and openly cheats on her husband, or as thief caught in broad daylight:
With this public attack on the officials - is it any surprise that Jeremiah quickly makes his way to the top of the list of Jerusalem most unpopular prophets? He’ll eventually show up on the ‘most wanted’ list, for treason.
His next prophetic protest focus is not just the people of Judah - but also his long lost kin, the last survivors of the kingdom of Israel, way up north. Again and again he’ll return to the theme of young love, long forgotten, trying to light the original spark that once upon a time gave birth to a hopeful nation.
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