A Mouth Full of Fire: The Word of God in the Words of Jeremiah (Volume 29)

New Studies in Biblical Theology #29

by D.A. Carson, Andrew G. Shead

"I am putting my words as a fire in your mouth; these people are tinder and it will consume them." (Jeremiah 5:14) In the book of Jeremiah, the vocabulary of "word" and "words" is not only uniquely prevalent, but formulae marking divine speech also play an unprecedented role in giving the book's final form its narrative and theological shape. Indeed, "the word of the Lord" is arguably the main character, and a theology that is both distinctive and powerful can be seen to emerge from the unfolding narrative. In this stimulating study, Andrew Shead examines Jeremiah's use of word language; the prophet's formation as an embodiment of the word of God; his covenant preaching and the crisis it precipitates concerning the recognition of true prophecy; and, in the "oracles of hope," how the power of the word of God is finally made manifest. Shead then brings this reading of Jeremiah to bear on some issues in contemporary theology, including the problem of divine agency and the doctrine of Scripture, and concludes by engaging Jeremiah's doctrine of the Word of God in conversation with Karl Barth. The prophet's major contribution emerges from his careful differentiation of "word" and "words."

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christian, Scripture, Old Testament, Academic

321 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Donald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.

Reviews

[Tim Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! There were so many things I loved about it - not least its ambition! Though Jeremiah has a biblical significance that far exceeds its size, I’m sure I’m one of many who has infrequently dared to tour its streets. Yet Shead simultaneously provides us with a road map, spends particular time exploring some of its greatest tourist hotspots, and shows how Jeremiah’s message engages with wider theological debates on ‘the word of God’. He shows us that Jeremiah’s ‘main character’ is ‘the word of the LORD’ - and goes on to demonstrate some of the key things that we learn about it.

Amongst many observations for which I was particularly grateful, Shead shares a potted summary of Jeremiah’s life (116-119) that was especially useful at providing orientation, where the book of Jeremiah itself deliberately disturbs chronology. He frequently allowed tensions in the text of Jeremiah to speak, rather than smoothing them out and losing their voice; exploring the failure of Jeremiah’s prophecy to transform his hearers (chapter 4) set us up beautifully to feel the incomparable significance of Jeremiah 30-31 (chapter 5). Though he didn’t have space to discuss much of Jeremiah in detail, he has made some excellent choices over the bits to focus on, and his material on Jeremiah 30-31 (188-206) and 50-51 (207-216) rejoiced my heart. Chapter 5 is easily worth the price of the book.

If it had lacked those qualities, it would have lost a star; for those of us without a theological education, it isn’t an easy read, and his ‘conversation’ with theologians such as Karl Barth is tricky for those of us less familiar with the debates. It would be unfair to criticise it for that - it is written as an accessible academic book, not an easy ‘beach read’ - but it’s worth knowing that as you go in. I confess that some of his material probably went over my head, and I’m aware I need to do more thinking about his central thesis (distinguishing so sharply between the “word of God” and the “words of God”).

And yet he has left me wanting to read more of the Bible - and more particularly the book of Jeremiah. If that isn’t a warm enough commendation of a book on biblical theology, I don’t know what is.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning piece of exegesis on the book of Jeremiah discussing the correlation between the Word and the words.

I definitely saw Jeremiah in a new light. Shead paints a nuanced picture of a deeply personal relationship between the prophet and His God, between the words spoken and the Word that gives life, showing that one cannot be separated from the other.

This has changed the way I will read Jeremiah and the other prophets in the future.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremiah is very intimidating and very hard going. But this definitely helps. Wonderful to think about the enduring power of God's word. Lots of it went over my head so I probably need to come back to this book in years to come.

[Ben Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not only a great introduction to Jeremiah (a much neglected book), but a very profound and helpful reflection on the doctrine of Scripture. Really excellent.

[Ben Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Where to begin with a book like this.

It has made me desperate to know Jeremiah better which is wonderful.

Shead’s overall argument is that the main character of Jeremiah is the Word of God embodied in His prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah thus becomes, in a sense, a conduit for the Word in his words of prophetic speech but also in his life.

So as you watch Jeremiah, you see him being transformed, torn apart, delighting in and proclaiming the Word of God. The more we see Jeremiah, the more we see the Word of God. This has a stunning implication that systematics often misses- that the Word is deeply personal, radically so. And that personhood cannot be seen other than in a person, in this case Jeremiah- ultimately foreshadowing Christ.

We see the books thrust that even the Word of God embodied in the prophet cannot change stone hearts, and so it fulfills what it always intended, destruction and judgement.

But then a glimmer of hope, that one day God will give His people new hearts, and a new covenant, and speak again in His embodied Prophet. This time the Word incarnate Jesus Christ; through whom Gods Word is truly embodied and who thus brings about not just judgement and the destruction of death, but a new community with the Word of God written on their hearts and the words of God coming from their lips.

Stunning book. Unbelievably hard to understand, but wonderful.

[David Clouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the content. In terms of reading for pleasure, there were times where I was really interested and tracking with the author. Other times it was hard to comprehend.

This book focuses specifically on the difference between the Word of God and the words of God seen in Jeremiah. It explains how the Word is essentially personified and the main character throughout the book of Jeremiah.

Overall I’d only recommend this book to someone who is interested in scholarly reading or growing a deeper understanding of the book of Jeremiah and a deeper theology of the Word of God.

[Ray Clendenen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. The topic didn't warrant such a long treatment. It didn't have as much theological import as I was hoping for.

[Richard Mounce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant in parts. Some dense forests to slog through in others. Worth the journey.

I think the author's thesis holds together, but as a secondary or derivative import of the book of Jeremiah.

[Matthew Le Croissette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unnecessarily hard work, and I’m sure lots went over my head, but it’s so full of good stuff on Jeremiah, and so highly recommended by others that I’d feel bad giving it less than 4*.

[Spencer R · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review here: http://wp [.] me/p3JhRp-cq

http://spoiledmilks [.] wordpress [.] com/2014/05/30/review-a-mouth-full-of-fire/


"I am putting my words as a fire in your mouth; these people are tinder and it will consume them." (Jeremiah 5:14)

Shead argues that in the book of Jeremiah, the vocabulary of "word" and "words" is a literary and theological blueprint to give the book's final form its narrative and theological shape. It is not Jeremiah, but the phrase "the word of the Lord", who is the main character in the book of Jeremiah. Shead's Structure offers a great outline of Jeremiah (this is seen in ch 2 'Structuring Jeremiah', but is relayed in the following chapters 3-6).

The NSBT series believes there is an inner unity to the Old and New Testaments and works to synthesize the whole-Bible's teaching on the God we worship. "Biblical theology…may be defined as knowledge of God as God in the Bible" (pg. 28). The Bible is one which reveals God in such a way that we may in fact know Him, His character, and His Son, the Word.

(+) Shead's exegesis is excellent. Shead's outline and structure of Jeremiah gives way to pages and pages of note-taking (hopefully in your Bible too!). He provides us with a movie director's perspective, and how the camera draws into Jeremiah's character, and out to show him as an incidental character caught up with the rest of Judah in the destructive power of the Word of God. This was the best part of the book (in my opinion).

(-) While exegesis was gold and alluring, theological discussions were bewildering. Considering this is a book from a pretty academic series, I can't come down hard on Shead. It's not his fault I'm not smart enough to understand. But whether talking about ‘speech’ in the divine agency debate, Goldingay's 'model of scripture' as inspired word, or the difference between prophetic speech and a prophetic book (to name a few), I didn't always know if Shead agreed with an opposing position or not. And whether or not he did, I didn't know why it mattered in the end.

(-) The section on Barth was interesting, but still confusing. If you've read Barth, or have some knowledge on 'word' theology, this will make more sense to you. While there was gold to be found, I had trouble with the overall idea flowing through and the concepts discussed. Thankfully, Shead doesn't present Barth as the enemy.

If you're studying Jeremiah and you want a bigger picture of Jeremiah, his structure, and his portrayal of the power and place of God's word, read Shead.


[Many thanks to IVP UK for providing a review copy of this book. I was not required to provide a positive review in exchange for this book].

[Trevor Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. Highly technical in places, but will never see Jeremiah the same way again.