ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah is a book of failure and disaster. The people of Judah have failed as YHWH's people. That the book's audience knows of the resulting disaster is clear even from the book's opening verses: the prophet's activity runs "until the captivity of Jerusalem". The narratives have three elements in common: the remnant is fearful because of its vulnerability; the prophet demands that they resist seeking security from others than YHWH, though this demand is rejected; and YHWH expounds his own reinterpretation of events that urges the remnant to fear him alone and heed the prophet's message. The chapter examines each of these elements in the Egypt narrative and then move on to the Queen of Heaven narrative. Accordingly, the book ends with a rehearsal of the fall of Jerusalem. Even the hopeful image of Jehoiachin at the table of the king of Babylon does not dull the pain.
