The constant cry of God as it is heard throughout the Prophet Jeremiah is “You have forsaken me.” (Jer. 16: 11; 1:18; 2:17, 19; 5:7, 19; 9:13; 17:13, 19:4 . . .). It is the heart cry of the LORD who saved the people from horrible forms of slavery, and many disasters. It is the heart cry of a Husband, who rescues his bride, time and again. Yet, the people choose to make their own gods and goddesses, which enable them to commit many acts of injustice against lower class people- the poor, the widow, and the orphan. Despite this God says, “I will remain faithful to you, and bring you back to the land. I will not forsake you.” (Jer. 16:15).
It is crucial to realize that when the people created and espoused false deities and religions, they were not just committing injustices against the common people. They were also desecrating “the holy land of God.” (Jer. 16:18). In the book of Jeremiah, and in the rest of the Bible, human rights violations and environmental degradation are intrinsically related. Therefore, the land, the environment, vomits them out (Lev. 18:25).
In John 6, Jesus addresses this issue of human and environmental degradation squarely. He does this in the context of the Passover (John 6:4). He encounters hundreds of hungry people-hungry because of the poverty which society had brought upon them. Jesus blessed the Passover bread, and feeds the poor multitude. This was an amazing miracle. In doing so, Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of the Prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied that in the last days the Messiah would bring about healing- healing to people who are suffering, and healing to the land. This is what the miracle of the feeding of the hundreds of people signified. Lest people turn this miracle into a superficial mundane thing, Jesus said, “I AM the bread of life. He who comes to me shall not hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). He is the only one who can bring about true miraculous healing to society and to the environment, which human beings have desecrated and destroyed.
Rev. Dr. R. Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
It is interesting to hear your perspective on a relationship between human sin and the environment in the bible and this text. This is not something I ever really thought about before I took your classes. It seems to offer an interesting new (or perhaps old but forgotten) answer to the problem of natural evil (such as natural disasters). I would be interested to hear you get into more detail about the specifics of how these two relate. Thanks for the interesting post.
Posted by: Jeff Ganim | 04/08/2011 at 04:27 PM
I really enjoyed your insight about how Jesus feeding the people was prophesied in Jeremiah. I know there are many prophesies about the Messiah and what he will do, but I am less familiar about how there were specific things that Jesus did to fulfill specific prophesies. This is something I am interested in exploring further. Thanks.
Posted by: Andy Hayes | 04/11/2011 at 01:53 PM
Reading this made me think of those on campus who believe in Christ but are afraid to give there life to Christ. As followers, we need to realize how we are those examples of Chris. We arelights on campus and looked at daily and how we react to those who ask for help or even those we see hurting. Through the word, God provides us opportunities to speak up and be a witness. When times are hard with friends or faculty we need to remember exactly what you've mentioned that God says, “I will remain faithful to you, and bring you back to the land. I will not forsake you.” (Jer. 16:15).We need to be that example of christ and know in those struggles we will never go hungry. During this Lenten season I have realized TRUST is a large factor with faith along with GODS PERFECT TIMING. So even when situation that we are asked to help with are difficult we need to be consistent like God and speak up.Just how he will always provide and never leave us alone
Posted by: Bianca Pinetti | 04/12/2011 at 11:04 AM