26:18//Mic 3:12 (Micah’s prophecy
against Jerusalem). Jeremiah faced a death sentence for preaching a sermon
against the temple (Jer 26:4-6; cf. 7:1-15). The elders defend his message by
citing Micah’s message of doom against Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah
(italics signify verbatim citation with one term spelled differently, bold
signifies verbal parallels, and broken underlining signifies marking):
[Micah said] Then I
said . . .”This is what Yahweh says . . . ‘Therefore because of you, Zion
will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple
hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’” (Mic 3:1a, 5a, 12)
[The elders said]
Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told
all the people of Judah, “This is what Yahweh Almighty says: ‘Zion
will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple
hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’” (Jer 26:18)
Micah blames the
establishment of Jerusalem for its imminent doom at the end of a horrific
oracle, Micah uses ironic language of the temple mount becoming an “overgrown
high place” (בָּמוֹת יָעַר), using a term which
connotes false worship (Mic 3:12). This may build on “What is Judah’s high
place [בָּמוֹת]? Is it not
Jerusalem?” (1:5) as well as set up a simile wordplay of the hope of Jacob like
a lion among “beasts of the forest” (בָּמוֹת יָעַר) (5:8[7]). The important issue of the elders trying to clear Jeremiah
turns on the absence of the fulfillment of Micah’s threat of judgment. The
standard of prophetic messages’ accordance with reality stands in the
background (Deut 18:22) as does the ever-present exception clause “unless they
turn back” (Jer 26:3). The success of prophetic threats ironically results in
avoidance of the judgment they threaten (26:19). The narrative of
the death of the prophet Uriah for his Jeremiah-like message against the city
reinforces the theme of a constituency refusing to listen (26:20-23). As the
next narratives continue emphasizing true versus false prophecies, Jeremiah
states an important principle to Hananiah: “From early times the prophets who
preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many
countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be
recognized as one truly sent by Yahweh only if his prediction comes true”
(28:8-9, emphasis mine). (Gary Edward Schnittjer, Old Testament Use of Old
Testament: A Book-by-Book Guide [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Academic,
2021], 277-78)
