Biblical Alchemy
Thus says the Lord, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty?” Jeremiah 2:5 NASB
Became empty – Certainly you recognize this Hebrew word. It is famous illustrated in the opening of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”[1] The NASB opts for the familiar KJV translation of hebel, also translated as “vapor, breath” and symbolically as “worthless.” But what you might not realize is the connection between hebel and idolatry. Note Hamilton’s comment:
The denominative verb appears five times in the OT, four times in the Qal and once in the Hiphil (Jer 23:16). Of particular interest here are the parallel verses Jer 2:5 and II Kgs 17:15: They went after vanities and “became vain.” (NIV; They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”) Two inexorable principles are illustrated here: (1) every man takes on to some degree the character and nature of the God he worships; (2) the characteristic of all false gods is that they destroy their worshippers.[2]
Now we can understand God’s concern with Israel. It’s not just worthless pursuits that characterize the people. It’s the fact that these pursuits are leading them into idolatry and that will eventually destroy them.
But we’re not quite in line with God’s thinking even at this point. Notice, if you will, that God’s question is about the actions of past generations. He doesn’t inquire of the current, at risk, population. He asks about the actions of the fathers. It is the previous generation that has caused this crisis of faith. They challenged God’s justice. They abandoned God and pursued their own agendas. They adopted a way of life that they thought would benefit them. And it is the children who will pay the price.
Jeremiah is a prophet of doom. We don’t like to hear that. We want the prophets to be sterling examples of holy men who bring the message of God’s great compassion and forgiveness. We have been trained to think that love is the answer to everything. But Jeremiah stands at the end of the road, shouting to those who are coming. “You have taken a wrong turn. This way leads only to death. Abandon your hope in what the world offers. Give up those treaties offering protection, production, and prosperity. Look what your fathers did and see where it leads. If you pursue worthlessness, you will become worthless.”
The Bible does not provide spiritual formulas that turn hebel into tsedeqah. Alchemy is not a biblical idea. Just as God created each after its own kind, the same formula applies to behavior. Hebel produces yehbalu. Now ask yourself: “Just what did my ancestors really do?”
Topical Index: hebel, worthless, Jeremiah 2:5
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ec 1:2). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Hamilton, V. P. (1999). 463 הָבַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 204). Chicago: Moody Press.
