Date of Award

5-1-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Exegetical Theology

First Advisor

Paul Raabe

Scripture References in this Resource

Jeremiah 26:2-3; Jeremiah 1:4-12; Jeremiah 7:27; Jeremiah 15:16-21; Jeremiah 20:1-18; Jeremiah 26:1-24; Jeremiah 20:1-18; Jeremiah 14:13-18; Jeremiah 23:9-32; Jeremiah 28:1-17; Jeremiah 1:31-34; Malachi 3:10; Jeremiah 1:1; Jeremiah 1:16; Judges 5:20; Ezekiel 37:22; Judges 13:5; 7; 8; 12; 1 Samuel 4:21-22; Genesis 37:2; Genesis 41:12; Exodus 2:6; Jeremiah 4:26; Jeremiah 33:4; 2 Kings 25:10; Exodus 4:10; 1 Kings 3:7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Amos 3:2; Isaiah 6:7; Daniel 10:16; Exodus 4:15; Deuteronomy 18:18; 2 Samuel 14:19; Deuteronomy 18:21; Jeremiah 7:27-8:3; Ezekiel 2:3-8; Ezekiel 3:4-11; Isaiah 30:1a; 8-9; Ezekiel 2:8-3:3; Jeremiah 50:39; 1 Kings 10:2; 1 Chronicles 24:14; 1 Chronicles 24:14; 2 Chronicles 16:10; Ezra 2:38; Exodus 22:28; Deuteronomy 4:2; Hosea 13:14; Jeremiah 26:7-11; Jeremiah 26:12-24;

Abstract

Magero Jared Otieno “The power of God’s Word: Jeremiah speaks to Kenya today.” Master of Arts Thesis. Concordia Seminary, 2018. 106pp.

This thesis searched what moved Jeremiah to keep proclaiming God’s Word when the people opposed it, when by proclaiming God’s Word Jeremiah himself went through a lot of suffering and persecution, and when the people instead heard and delighted in the words of false prophets. My research explored how the theology of the powerful Word of God and the task of its proclaimer speak to my church in Kenya where, even though we are a confessional church, we are still surrounded with self-proclaimed prophets and apostles. These groups of self-made clergies bring confusion especially when they assert that it is by the power of the word of God they can perform miracles. This research tried to give a biblical response using texts from the book of Jeremiah. This work proves to be helpful to the proclaimers and members of our church in Kenya. The texts from Jeremiah herein analyzed set the basis of understanding the power of God’s word and the task of its proclaimer. The passages are used to examine the theological and biblical meaning of the power of the Word and the task of the prophet to lay foundation for the motivation of the faithful ministers serving in the Kenyan context today.

An exegetical look at texts (Jeremiah 1:4–12; 7:27; 14:13–14; 15:16–21; 20:1–18; 23:9–32; 26:1–24; 28:1–17; and 31:31–34) was accomplished. These are the texts which are related to the thesis topic, chapters, and the thesis question. Each text was summarized to give what it says about the Word of God and the task of proclaiming it. It is described how these texts are to be understood in the context of Jeremiah’s own time and place. The features of focus in this thesis are as follows: the call of Jeremiah to be the prophet and the proclaimer of the powerful word of God; the challenges and persecution that Jeremiah faced as a messenger of Yahweh; the presentation of Jeremiah versus the false prophets and what made the false prophets popular. Provided also, is a summary of the overall constellation of theological emphases. This thesis also described the current conditions in Kenya and discussed how this theology speaks and relates to our situation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and why the theology of Jeremiah is important for Kenya. Jeremiah’s theology of the Word speaks a powerful and relevant message to faithful ministers working in Kenya today.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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