Out of Babylon critical book response

Abstract:

The key ideas for critical evaluation in this critical book response of Walter Brueggemann’s “Out of Babylon” include hegemonic power of empires, especially that of Babylon and the US, prophetic calls to obedience, covenantal failure, denial, hope, and the warning that we are already in Babylon, but we can also be “Doin’ time in Persia”, where God is doing transformation work in society. Brueggemann’s book gets me thinking about contemporary society and his examples help me understand some theological concepts in Jeremiah and Isaiah 40–55, especially that of hegemonic powers, idols and denial. However, this book misses out many important aspects such as the superiority of God over the idols and the identity and mission of “the Servant”. It is important to return to the Scriptures and read some commentaries for a fuller understanding so that we can better apply these Scriptures to our own life and ministry.   

This critical book response will evaluate the key ideas of Walter Brueggemann’s book, “Out of Babylon” and discuss how the book contribute to my understanding of Jeremiah and Isaiah 40–55 and their application to contemporary life and ministry.

Brueggemann opened the book by comparing the power relationship between the hegemony of Babylon vs the resistant Jews who continued to hold their “local tradition” to the contemporary Christians living in the midst of the US empire.[1] He then describes the hegemonic power of the empire as lacking both patience and tolerance towards those whose ultimate loyalty belongs to someone or something other than the empire itself, and that in response to such resistant loyalties, the empire will move into totalitarian “final solutions”.[2] He believes that although the contemporary US mirrors ancient Babylon in its propensity, there appear a well-known series of totalising powers in history, notability Rome, Spain, the Netherland, and England.[3] He cautions that the signs of challenge to the present US hegemony are everywhere, eg. the rise of the Chinese economy.[4] We see in Jeremiah 46-51 the prophecies against the nations, and in history we see the rise and fall of many world powers. So in addition to Brueggeman’s example using the US, the book of Jeremiah and Isaiah is applicable to many other hegemonic powers too, including that of the Vatican in Martin Luther’s time.[5] Interestingly we see through history that hegemonic power is associated with the spread of the gospel. Currently the Chinese church has a strong burden for spreading the gospel back to Jerusalem.

Brueggemann believes that the entire prophetic literature is to be understood as a sustained summons to Israel to repent and return to Torah obedience. However, Israel refused to heed[6], so their covenantal failure led to judgment, with the empire being both the vehicle and violator.[7] Similarly, there is also a history of summoning poetic voices about socioeconomic exploitation and political injustice in the US, eg. Martin Luther King Jr., but this empire is pretty immune to these warnings.[8] This contemporary example helps us understand the covenantal failure of Israel that we see in Jeremiah, where the people are greedy and selfish (5:26-29) and had not obeyed the covenant that they had made at Mount Sinai (9:12-16). In fact, instead of listening to the prophets, they killed the prophets (2: 30). Meanwhile, false prophets and priests preach false confidence, “We are safe” (5:30-31, 7:10).

Brueggemann[9] notes that even in the fall of Jerusalem, there continues to be denial, and in Jeremiah, there is a contest between the voices of grief and the voices of denial that wanted to “move on.” Brueggemann believes that similarly the 9/11 incident and collapse of the US economy is a dismantling of the US “chosenness” and exemption from the vulnerability of the world, and people soon return to their “business as usual”.[10] This is because the empires do not know about loss and cover everything in the splendour of power, victory and stability. In contrast, the Jews and Christians are aware that at the centre of truth is the durable force of historical loss and therefore resort to the Book of Lamentations.[11] So between the local tradition and empire is the contest between truth and pretence.[12] The empire’s quick fix solution is to push for tighter hegemony. Whereas the local tradition knows that there is no quick fix for loss, no easy resolve of anxiety, and no ready antidote to the widely felt vulnerability.[13] I find Brueggemann’s US example useful in understanding how denial functions in society today, but I do not think it matches the Biblical example he’s using, where he takes the opinion that the book of Jeremiah consists of several interpretive voices[14] and the book also stretches over several generations.[15]^,[16]

Brueggemann notes that in the midst of the seemingly hopeless situation, there is hope. New poems were offered on Yahweh’s own commitment to the future of Jerusalem.[17] In contemporary US culture, we also hear voices of hope, eg. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream”.[18] The new poetry of hope suggests that another reality exists beyond the empire’s control, and the alleged speaker of this new possibility is Yahweh.[19] Indeed we see various messages of hope in the Scriptures, for the future, for rescue out of Babylon, and for the nations (Jeremiah 3:17; 16:15; 16:21; Isaiah 44:24-28). Brueggemann observes that in contrast, the empire is beyond saving, and the sovereign God is indifferent to its fate. The prophets say that the empire is in fact a transient phenomenon. There is a movement of prophetic attitudes from Ezekiel’s affirmation of the empire to Jeremiah’s affirmation that turns to devastating critique, and finally to complete dismissal by Isaiah.[20] Indeed we see in Jeremiah 25:1-14 that there will only be 70 years of captivity in Babylon, and in Isaiah 47 Babylon’s humiliation, Babylon’s false pride, and Babylon’s inability to do anything about the humiliation.[21]

Brueggemann believes that the deepest theological conviction of Israel in exile is that Yahweh continues to be faithful and will bring Israel safely back to Jerusalem and to restore the shalom of covenant.[22] Exile is not home and Babylon could never be the land of promise.[23] Brueggemann thinks the master narrative of departure is the Exodus narrative. There is always “Moses”, a human agent who summons Israel to an alternative historical reality.[24] There is always Pharaoh, who seeks to reduce this peculiar people to a pawn in the large game of imperial production. There is always Yahweh, the God whose signature command to the empire is, “Let my people go”[25], who is stronger and more reliable than the gods or human agents who sought to prevent departure.[26] Indeed we see in Isaiah 47-48 two things must happen if God is to keep his promises: Babylon must fall, and the exiled people must listen to God and believe him so that when Babylon does fall and they have the opportunity to return home, they will dare to act on the opportunity.[27]

However, despite this stirring call to faith, Isaiah 49:14 describes the people’s negative response.[28] Brueggemann describes three dimensions of departure. The first is liturgical, which is a symbolic, bodily performance of what leaving is like, that we do not belong to empire and need not obey empire. The second is a psychological transformation, to a baptismal identity and the discovery that we need less, and that anxious self-advancement does not promote our well-being.[29] The third is economic, with a refusal to participate in the aggressive economy of accumulation with all its practices of credit and debt. Departure is difficult because the empire have a compelling capacity to draw us always back again into its grip, just like Israel promptly and regularly wanted to return to Egypt.[30]

Although Brueggemann tries to link his theological ideas to the Scriptures and use some example from the world today, he does not go into details about how departure is difficult in today, so I had to turn to the book of Isaiah and another commentary for more information on contemporary application. Firstly, people who believe they have been treated unfairly ask questions like “Why?”, “How can God forget us?”[31] But it is important to remember that even if the circumstances do not turn out as we might wish, that is no indication that God does not love us, and our situation is not hopeless.[32] Secondly, departure difficult from a financial viewpoint because life is so comfortable in developed nations that some preachers are calling people to become Christians so that they may become rich, prominent, and comfortable. However, that is not the message of Isaiah. We are called to submissive obedience, which can mean we will not be as comfortable, wealthy, powerful or prominent as we might be otherwise.[33] Faith is to truly hear the word of invitation and hope from the God. It is also to hear a word of condemnation from the God who is light to our darkness, purity to our filth, and strength to our weakness. These words leave us no option but to move.[34]

Brueggemann uses the song “Time in Babylon” as a metaphor about the various “idols” in contemporary society and cautions us that we are already in Babylon.[35] He suggests that while “doin’ time in Babylon”, we might want to spend time in prayer for the city, confront and instruct the empire about the truth of governments, and spend time remembering our true place,[36] which is Jerusalem, the seat of God’s deep promise of presence and well-being.[37] This is useful in our understandings of how the idols in Jeremiah 10:1-6, Isaiah 40:18-20 and 44:12-20 apply today. Indeed, the idols personalised all the things that have come to replace God in our lives, such as a job, a house, a car, a love relationship, or even one’s self-image, give us our sense of identity and meaning in life. Yet many of us are suffering from burnout because we have all these things to carry and they have become too much for us. Instead of our using them, they use us.[38] So, instead of being saved by their gods, the worshippers will have to save the gods (Isaiah 46:7).[39] Brueggemann warns us that there is an amnesia that comes with wealth, power and control.[40] This danger is very real in society today and we have to constantly review the Scriptures to remember God.

Brueggemann then points out that simultaneously, the empire has a bureaucratic remembering of everything of its enemy.[41] Although this statement is quite true, I found the flow confusing because he was just talking about the amnesia of the empire before. Brueggemann goes on to say that the fruits of the US empire are greed, being a predator economy that seizes resources, imposes a certain culture, does immense damage to the environment, and leaves many societies in poor shape by a pattern of intrusion and departure.[42] We see that Nebuchadnezzar is also described as greedy in Jeremiah 51:34. In addition to descriptions on the idols, the Scripture makes various references to God’s superiority over the idols, eg. Isaiah 41:21-42:9, Jeremiah 10:1-16[43], but Brueggemann did not point this out.

The Babylonian hegemonic power did not last long because Cyrus, the king of Persia, was the one that the Lord has chosen to bring about the downfall of Babylon and rebuild Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1). Brueggemann observes that the new circumstance of Israel under Persian hegemony evoked a very different rhetoric. There is no explicit polemics against Persian rule in the Old Testament. The Persian policy toward conquered peoples was very different in that they permitted the deported Jews to return home and were committed to funding the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple.[44] The militant model of exile-restoration is displaced by the more fluid model of accommodation and resistance.[45] To demonstrate this, Brueggemann uses the narratives of Ezra-Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph and Esther to illustrate that these characters are not going anywhere out of the empire, but rather, they must use their agility, shrewdness, and patience to come to terms with the imperial power and mobilise that power to work for their own wellbeing.[46]

Brueggemann concludes that “doin’ time in Babylon” bespeaks imprisonment in a system from which there is no escape, but “doin’ time in Persia” is different in that God is at work, even transforming Persia.[47] These statements get us thinking about contemporary society. However, we still have to turn to the Scriptures because Brueggemann did not give us details about central character of Isaiah 49-55 and Jeremiah 33: “the Servant” and “righteous Branch sprout from the David’s line”, who is responsible for this transformation. Today, nonbiblical worldviews include that of the web of fate, and sees no real possibility of change.[48] But the biblical understanding of reality sees that there is One who “sits above the circle of the earth” (40:22), who is not a prisoner of its cycles. He is able to break into it and do something never done before. We too can leave the “Babylons” that have enslaved us, because God has made a way for us through Jesus.[49]

In conclusion, Brueggemann’s book gets me thinking about contemporary society and his examples help me understand some theological concepts in Jeremiah and Isaiah 40–55, especially that of hegemonic powers, idols and denial. However, this book misses out many important aspects such as the superiority of God over the idols and the identity and mission of “the Servant”. The points he made are based on his own interpretations of the world and of the Scriptures, so some of the passages he used are not suitable examples for the points he made. Sometimes he uses the Scriptures to back his own agenda rather than studying the passages for what it is. Some of his points does not flow well and can even be confusing. Therefore, it is important to return to the Scriptures and read some commentaries for a fuller understanding so that we can better apply these Scriptures to our own life and ministry.   

Bibliography:

Brueggemann, Walter. Out of Babylon. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.

Brueggemann, Walter. Old Testament Theology: The Theology of the Book of Jeremiah. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Longman, Tremper and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Nottingham: Apollos, 2007.

Oswalt, John N. The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Williamson, Paul R. Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in God’s Unfolding Purpose. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2007.

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[1] Walter Brueggemann, Out of Babylon (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010), 1.

[2] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 10.

[3] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 11.

[4] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 14.

[5] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 115.

[6] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 17.

[7] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 24.

[8] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 18.

[9] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 33.

[10] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 34.

[11] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 35.

[12] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 36.

[13] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 45.

[14] Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament Theology: The Theology of the Book of Jeremiah (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 1.

[15] Brueggemann, Old Testament Theology, 2.

[16] Tremper Longman and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nottingham: Apollos, 2007), 326-327. There is controversy about this in the literature. One approach finds the book an accurate picture of Jeremiah and his words, eg. Holladay, Lundbom. Another view sees little connection between the man and the book, and believes that it is a collection of independent materials gathered and arranged by later editors, eg. Carroll, McKane.

[17] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 50, 72, 75, 76. Brueggemann describes the prophetic voices as pluralistic, with Ezekiel focusing on a priestly holiness, Jeremiah on a scribal covenant as in the tradition of Deuteronomy, and Isaiah having a vision of kingship in the Yahwist tradition which connects the promise to Abraham to the fulfilment in David, and then the blessing of the nations.

[18] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 51.

[19] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 55.

[20] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 90.

[21] Oswalt, Isaiah, 529.

[22] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 92.

[23] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 93.

[24] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 93.

[25] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 94.

[26] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 95.

[27] Oswalt, Isaiah, 529.

[28] Oswalt, Isaiah, 554.

[29] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 106.

[30] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 107.

[31] Oswalt, Isaiah, 558.

[32] Oswalt, Isaiah, 543.

[33] Oswalt, Isaiah, 567.

[34] Oswalt, Isaiah, 540.

[35] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 122.

[36] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 125.

[37] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 123.

[38] Oswalt, Isaiah, 524.

[39] Oswalt, Isaiah, 522.

[40] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 125.

[41] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 126.

[42] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 127.

[43] Oswalt, Isaiah, 458.

[44] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 133.

[45] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 134.

[46] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 149.

[47] Brueggemann, Out of Babylon, 154.

[48] Oswalt, Isaiah, 541. Fate is where human beings are caught in continuous cycles of time, where everything is changing but nothing is really different.

[49] Oswalt, Isaiah, 542.