THE YOKE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR OR THE POKE OF YAHWEH: CHARACTERISATION OF GOD AND THE SOCIO-THEOLOGICAL STAKES IN PROPHETIC MINISTRY IN JEREMIAH 27-28

Abstract

The article points at the enduring dynamics and the theological contextual stakes in the question of biblical prophecy and prophetic ministry. The sample text for consideration, using narrative exegesis, is Jer. 27–28 which concentrates on the motif of the Yoke of Babylon – Jeremiah advises submission to Nebuchadnezzar as sovereign will of Yahweh amidst opposition from other prophets. The presupposition is that the narrative intricacies in this text showcase a lot about the narrator’s characterisation of God, his omnipotence and his sovereignty over the relative (qualified) power of Babylon. Through a hermeneutic of appropriation, the article shows how these intricacies in the text play out in the ministry of the word (prophecy) even in our contemporary religious settings. The emerging socio-theological stakes from the text open up room for the contextual relevance in the preaching of the word which is the essence of prophetic ministry.