A social scientific reading of Jeremiah 35:1-19; towards a social-cultural fight against corruption in Kenya

Abstract

The book of Jeremiah 35:1-19 presents a narrative of the obedience to a father’s command to the generation of the house of Jonadab son of Rechab. The Rechabites obeyed their father in all the prohibitions he had given them. They were never to drink wine, never to build houses, not sow seeds or crops or to plant vineyards and to always live in tents (Jer 35:6-7). This is in contrast to Judah’s disobedience to the word of God spoken by the prophets. Jeremiah therefore juxtaposes the two communities, Judah and Rechabites in matters of obedience. The word of God is alive and active to bring knowledge and change lives. Unfortunately, Christians, attend churches, read and memorize scripture while the praxis lacks. Prophets and preachers proclaim the word of God, but its assimilation in the lives of believers is wanting. This research found out that the medium of authority is the problem, since the word of God has inherent power to change lives, including addressing corruption. The medium of disseminating the message must therefore have a part to play, so that the word may have the total authority to influence people. The exegesis of the text is done to bring out the intended meaning of the text. Both the themes of Rechabites and halakah gives the context of the matter addressed. Corruption in Kenya is a social-cultural evil that is passed on from generation to generation which has taken roots, hence requiring a way of mitigation through the text. Just as the Rechabites community in the text, one Kenyan community, the Agῖkῦyῦ is examined comparatively, to bring out the socio cultural context of how the African society mitigated against vices like corruption. Through a Social Scientific method of Biblical Criticism to Jeremiah 35:1-19, it is possible to see how social-cultural influence is used as an authority to the subsequent generations in the dissemination of a value system to inform the conduct of individuals and community’s lives as an authoritative way of mitigating against the vice of corruption in Kenya