Throughout Peace like a River, Jeremiah Land is shown as a Christ figure. There are several things that have happened with Jeremiah that have also happened with Jesus.
The first similarity between Jeremiah and Jesus is their names. In Hebrew, the name Jeremiah means “may Jehovah exalt” and “the Lord exalts”. Although the name Jesus has Hebrew origin, it is most commonly used in Spanish cultures with the name meaning “the Lord is salvation”. Both Jeremiah and Jesus have names that reflect the character and attitude of God. Jeremiah’s name definitely reflects his relationship with Christ since no matter what may have happened in Jeremiah’s life, the Lord was ALWAYS exalted and was always put first in his life. This brings me to my second similarity: both Jeremiah and Jesus took time out of their day to pray.
On page 217-218 of Peace like a River, we find Jeremiah praying or rather wrestling with God.
“Reuben, he stayed up all night. I woke and heard him. Do you know what he was doing?”
“I suppose praying,” I answered miserably.
“Yes- not like I ever heard anybody pray.”
We can assume that Jeremiah knew what he had to do but was struggling with it so he took it to God- he confronted Him about it and sought after him. Jeremiah wasn’t the only one though that did this. Jesus was caught praying too before he had to do something that he too would rather not do. In Mark 14: 35-36 we see Jesus calling out to his Father saying, “Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” In both of these cases, Jeremiah and Jesus, they weren’t pleading their cases to God gently, no- they were CRYING and YELLING out to God. But they did more than just complain to God they were submissive to God and they both said these words “Not my will, but your will Father”. They may have not wanted to do the things that God was telling them to do BUT they still did it- they obeyed.
Both Jeremiah and Jesus walked on impossible things. On page 17, his son Reuben saw him walk right off the truck and not fall. “He went on pacing-God my witness- walking on air, praying relentlessly, a good yard of absolutely nothing between the soles of his boots and the thistles below.” In Mark 6:48-50 Jesus walks on water. “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified”.
Lastly and probably the most important similarity between Jeremiah and Jesus is that they died for someone else. On page 307, Dr. Nokes begins to explain to Reuben that Jeremiah shouldn’t have died. After examining him, none of Jeremiah’s organs were damaged- blood vessels, yes. But he actually shouldn’t have died. Reuben on the other hand should have died. This is very similar to how Jesus died for all of us- he endured the pain, he shed his blood, and he was the one that took the blame for our mistakes.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Jeremiah is the Christ figure in Peace like a River. There are too many similarities between Jeremiah and Jesus for him to not be the Christ figure. Leif Enger did a fantastic job making Jeremiah like Christ.
“Reuben, he stayed up all night. I woke and heard him. Do you know what he was doing?”
“I suppose praying,” I answered miserably.
“Yes- not like I ever heard anybody pray.”
We can assume that Jeremiah knew what he had to do but was struggling with it so he took it to God- he confronted Him about it and sought after him. Jeremiah wasn’t the only one though that did this. Jesus was caught praying too before he had to do something that he too would rather not do. In Mark 14: 35-36 we see Jesus calling out to his Father saying, “Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” In both of these cases, Jeremiah and Jesus, they weren’t pleading their cases to God gently, no- they were CRYING and YELLING out to God. But they did more than just complain to God they were submissive to God and they both said these words “Not my will, but your will Father”. They may have not wanted to do the things that God was telling them to do BUT they still did it- they obeyed.
Both Jeremiah and Jesus walked on impossible things. On page 17, his son Reuben saw him walk right off the truck and not fall. “He went on pacing-God my witness- walking on air, praying relentlessly, a good yard of absolutely nothing between the soles of his boots and the thistles below.” In Mark 6:48-50 Jesus walks on water. “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified”.
Lastly and probably the most important similarity between Jeremiah and Jesus is that they died for someone else. On page 307, Dr. Nokes begins to explain to Reuben that Jeremiah shouldn’t have died. After examining him, none of Jeremiah’s organs were damaged- blood vessels, yes. But he actually shouldn’t have died. Reuben on the other hand should have died. This is very similar to how Jesus died for all of us- he endured the pain, he shed his blood, and he was the one that took the blame for our mistakes.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Jeremiah is the Christ figure in Peace like a River. There are too many similarities between Jeremiah and Jesus for him to not be the Christ figure. Leif Enger did a fantastic job making Jeremiah like Christ.
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