Jeremiah 22.b. What Does God Require of a Nation's Leaders?

 God is in the middle of a long sermon that he is preaching through the prophet Jeremiah. And ‘No’ God doesn’t care if you are out of church by noon. God has a lot to say about the ungodly behavior of the nation of Judah. Moreover, God places the blame for the people’s failures directly on the shoulders of the leaders of the nation. 

 God’s understanding of what leaders should be doing is not the same as the common understanding today. What is God’s sense of the primary duties of government? One commentator says, rightly: 

  “Jeremiah puts justice top of the list and argues that if the state would concentrate on defending the rights of the needy, God would look after the defense of the nation. It is remarkable how this emphasis on ‘doing justice and defending the needy’ (21:12a) as the chief roles of government is found throughout the strata of the Old Testament” (Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Jeremiah, 2014, pages 233-235). 

 First up is king Shallum, the fourth son of king Josiah. Earlier, King Josiah had decided on his own that he should try to stop Egypt from allying with Assyria to oppose Babylon. After a career of being a good king, this time he was dead wrong. As I said, Assyria was on the decline and Babylon in the ascendancy, so he picked the wrong side in this war. Josiah was wounded at the Battle of Megiddo (Armageddon) in 609 BC and he died soon afterwards.

 He was succeeded briefly by his son Shallum whose throne name was Jehoahaz. Egypt defeated Judah in battle. Then, Egypt went on to try to help Assyria, but they lost that battle to Babylon. As Pharaoh headed home,  he stopped to assert his power over Judah by deposing Jehoahaz and taking him into exile. Here is where Jeremiah picks up the story, talking about the dead king Josiah and his captured son Shallum now in Egypt.

Jeremiah 22: 10-17. 

Do not weep for him who is dead,   

nor bemoan him;

weep rather for him who goes away,   

for he shall return no more   

to see his native land.

For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah and who went away from this place: He shall return here no more, but in the place where they have carried him captive he shall die, and he shall never see this land again.

Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness   

and his upper rooms by injustice,

who makes his neighbors work for nothing   

and does not give them their wages, who says,

“I will build myself a spacious house   

with large upper rooms,”

and who cuts out windows for it,   

paneling it with cedar   

and painting it with vermilion.

Are you a king   

because you compete in cedar?

Did not your father eat and drink   

and do justice and righteousness?   

Then it was well with him.

He judged the cause of the poor and needy;   

then it was well.

Is not this to know me?   

says the LORD.

But your eyes and heart   

are only on your dishonest gain,

for shedding innocent blood,   

and for practicing oppression and violence.

Let us appreciate the amazing relevance of the Old Testament prophets to today's setting. Jesus certainly quoted them often enough even when they were hundreds of years previous to his time.

Jehoahaz did not reign very long, but Jeremiah takes the occasion to rage against the arrogance of kings like him. This is a devastating passage, full of charges against the recent Davidic kings, with the exception of Josiah. There are many lessons here for any national leader. If a preacher preached this sermon today, he or she could expect a knock on the door tomorrow. Let’s look at what the charges are.

First, while Jeremiah respected and supported Josiah in most of his reforms, this time he dismissed him in a verse: “Do not weep for him who is dead, nor bemoan him.” He was good, but now he is gone. You can’t blame your problems on the previous administration.

 Second, he advises weeping instead for Jehoahaz who has been taken captive to Egypt and will never return. Perhaps that is a fate worse than death.  

 Third, Jeremiah speaks to Jehoahaz and his brothers who followed him concerning their values and their sense of responsibility as leaders of a nation. Jeremiah expresses horror, a word translated by ‘Woe’ (Goldingay, page 492) as he begins by calling out kings who are constantly building and remodeling while burdening the people with the cost. He calls this an injustice. Today we would call this ‘conspicuous consumption’, a concept introduced by economist Thorstein Veblen, where a person chooses the most expensive modifications to show off his ill-gotten wealth. 

 Jeremiah asks, “Is this what makes a king?” The question is rhetorical because the intended answer is ‘No’. A person is not a king because they ‘compete in cedar or paint with vermilion’ The choice of the verb ‘compete’ is a sure sign that Jeremiah is talking about doing outlandishly extravagant things in order to impress others with his opulence. However, the sons of Josiah are outstanding only in corruption, extortion, and pride. All that is gold does not glitter. Some gold is tarnished by shame. 

 Then Jeremiah compares Jehoahaz and his brothers with king Josiah himself. What made Josiah great? Was it his expensive building and remodeling projects? No. Was it his starting or joining wars and failing? No. Did he get even richer by draining the government coffers? No. 

 God says, let me emphasize, God says that what makes a leader great is to do justice and act with righteousness, to defend the cause of the poor and needy. That is what a real leader does, and then things will go well for him. A godly leader’s first obligation is not to the military, not to the market sector, and not to other rich people.  

 Why should kings act in ways that are not in their self-interest? Why should leaders work the hardest on behalf of the lowly in society, that is, the poor and needy, and the vulnerable? Isn’t that communism? That is the rabid claim of pretend-Christians who fail to follow the character of Jesus. The actions of Jesus mirror the character of the Father.

 No, the real reason that kings should work the hardest on behalf of the lowly in society, that is, the poor and the needy, as well as the vulnerable is because that is the way that God acts! Do the powerful and wealthy people think that they have a better way than God?

 To prove this contention, we come now to a most shocking declaration by God: “Is not this to know me? says the LORD.” 

 What does that mean? Isn’t knowing God a matter of belief? That is what ‘evangelical’ and ‘fundamentalist’ leaders want you to think. They say, ‘Just believe in God, understand the right things about God, and you will have the faith that leads to salvation’. It is by this misguided assurance that belief is all you need that creates in many Christians a false confidence. 

 God declares himself saddened and angered when those who make a verbal commitment to him turn and follow other gods. But the reason for the anger eludes conservative Christians. God is concerned because people who claim belief in God through Jesus Christ are supposed to get closer to God, to know God, his values, his character, and his behavior toward others. To know God is to become like God, to be transformed in our world view, our opinions towards others, and our actions on behalf of justice for the poor and needy, the orphan, the alien, and the widow. Is that not to know God? 

 God insists on single-minded worship because knowing God intimately means that one’s life is changed. If a person follows other gods like money and possessions (Mammon), then that is the god that they will become like, the god called Selfish Greed. If you want to know what people believe, don’t ask, just watch what they actually do.

 A true Christian begins to mirror (or reflect) God’s values, their behavior begins to mimic God’s behavior. In a sense, a devoted disciple becomes like God (not God but like God) in that he or she shows mercy, feels compassion, works for justice, and lives a righteous life of loving and serving those who are in need. That is the reason why we worship God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and no other because as disciples, through a long obedience in the same direction, we become like our master.  

 Although prophets like Jeremiah warned them, the leaders of Judah did not change and did not begin to reflect godly values and godly behavior. Who will tell our president, the cabinet, our Congress, and our Supreme Court justices that they must repent, act with compassion, show mercy, live a righteous life, and work for justice for the poor and vulnerable? Who but you?