Jeremiah 27:5
Although brief and at first glance apparently insignificant, the reference to the Arm of the LORD as Creator in Jeremiah 27:5 provides an impressive contribution to the motif. The verse readily may be divided into three sections: 1) The Creator’s work (v. 5a); 2) The means by which the Creator created (v. 5b); and 3) The Creator’s preeminence over the nations (v. 5c). Walter Brueggemann observed that “the foundational statement” in verse 5a (the pronoun I) identifies God as the sole Creator.[1]
The intent of the passage is quite clear. Since God created all humans, He possesses authority to set any person on any earthly throne at His discretion. Verse 5c, therefore, provides the logical conclusion to the information presented in verse 5a,b. Because His Arm molded mankind, God serves as the “Administrator in the affairs of the nations.”[2]
Jeremiah 32:17
The second Jeremiah passage worthy of consideration appears at the beginning of a doxology[3] which the prophet directed to the LORD: “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too impossible for You” (Jer. 32:17). Whereas in Jeremiah 27:5 the discussion is limited to the creation of human and animal life, the entirety of the universe is the focus of 32:17, which makes use of terminology similar to that found in Psalm 89:11(12).
[1] Walter Brueggemann, Jeremiah 26-52: To Build Up, To Plant, in the International Theological Commentary, ed. Fredrick Carlson Holmgren and George A. F. Knight (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 15.
[2] Charles Lee Feinberg, Jeremiah: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 188.
[3] Brueggemann, Jeremiah 26-52, 82. Brueggemann observed that the praise of v. 17 emanates from “the wonder of creation,” which testifies to God’s might.
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