Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 1:1
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
1. Jeremiah ] For the meaning of the name, see Intr. ch. 1 2 ( a).
the son of Hilkiah ] The small number of proper names among the Jews made it necessary to add the father’s name for purposes of distinction. Compare the Welsh custom ap-Thomas, ap-Richard, etc. If we were to render it by Ben-Hilkiah we should no longer be in danger of connecting the words that follow with Hilkiah rather than with the name of the prophet himself.
Anathoth ] See Intr. ch. 1 2 ( c).
Benjamin ] The territory of this tribe was 26 miles in length by 12 in breadth, and was thus about the size of the county of Middlesex. It was bounded on the south by Judah, on the north by Ephraim, and was for the most part hilly, being crossed by deep ravines which, mounting from the Philistine country on the west, descend precipitously into the valley of the Jordan on the east. The tribe of Benjamin is noteworthy as having supplied the first of the Jewish kings, as well as his namesake “Saul, who is also called Paul,” the great Apostle of the Gentiles.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ch. Jer 1:1-3. Title
The Title is a composite one: Jer 1:2 probably was intended simply to date the prophet’s call, while Jer 1:3 was added later to indicate that his activity was continued during subsequent reigns (though some of his utterances were delivered after the breaking up of the kingdom, see Intr. i. 17). The first verse then is the general title of the Book or of some substantial part of it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The words of Jeremiah – The usual title of the prophetic books is the Word of the Lord, but the two books of Amos and Jeremiah are called the words of those prophets, probably because they contain not merely the words of those prophets, probably because they contain not merely prophecies, but also the record of much which belongs to the personal history of the writers. This title might therefore be translated the life of Jeremiah or acts of Jeremiah, though some understand by it a collection of the prophecies of Jeremiah. One derivation of Jeremiahs name is God exalteth.
Hilkiah, may have been the high priest of that name.
That were – Or, who was, i. e., dwelt. The meaning is, that Jeremiah was a priest who dwelt at Anathoth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
Chronological notes relative to the commencement of Jeremiah’s prophesying
-Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3375.
-Year from the Deluge, according to the generally received Hebrew text, conferred with Ac 7:4, 1719.
-Fourth year of the thirty-seventh Olympiad.
-Year from the building of Rome according to the Varronian account, 125.
-Year before the vulgar era of Christ’s nativity, 629.
-Twelfth year of Ancus Martius, the fourth king of the Romans: this was the one hundred and twentieth year before the expulsion of the Tarquins.
-Nineteenth year of Phraortes, the second king of Media.
-Twenty-third year of Archidamus, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Proclidae.
-Sixteenth year of Eurycrates II., king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae.
-Third year of Sadyattes, king of Lydia, which was the eighty-second year before the conquest of this kingdom by Cyrus.
-Twelfth year of Philip, the sixth king of Macedon, or the two hundred and ninety-third before the commencement of the reign of Alexander the Great.
-Thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah.
-Epoch of the building of Cyrene by Battus, according to some chronologers.
CHAPTER I
General title to the whole Book, 1-3.
Jeremiah receives a commission to prophesy concerning nations
and kingdoms, a work to which in the Divine purpose he had been
appointed before his birth, 4-10.
The vision of the rod of an almond tree and of the seething
pot, with their signification, 11-16.
Promises of Divine protection to Jeremiah in the discharge of
the arduous duties of his prophetical office, 17-19.
NOTES ON CHAP. I
Verse. 1. – 3. The words of Jeremiah] These three verses are the title of the Book; and were probably added by Ezra when he collected and arranged the sacred books, and put them in that order in which they are found in Hebrew Bibles in general. For particulars relative to this prophet, the times of his prophesying, and the arrangement of his discourses, see the introduction.
Eleventh year of Zedekiah] That is, the last year of his reign; for he was made prisoner by the Chaldeans in the fourth month of that year, and the carrying away of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was in the fifth month of the same year.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The words, i.e. sermons or prophecies, which he received from God, (as being his mouth to declare them unto the people,) and comprised all in the volume of this book going under his name, as the matter and substance of them. See Poole “Isa 2:1“.
The son of Hilkiah: as this serves to distinguish him from other priests, so his being of Anathoth ranks him among the common priests; not that high priest mentioned 2Ki 22:8, under whose progeny Jeremiah is not named, 1Ch 6:13; who, it is probable, would have been named, being one of so much note, and who always lived at Jerusalem, not at Anathoth, which was a city three miles from Jerusalem, lotted out of the tribe of Benjamin for the priests, Jos 21:18. Of an ordinary teacher he was made a prophet, not so the rest.
In the land of Benjamin, i.e. that part of Canaan that fell to Benjamin’s share.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Anathotha town inBenjamin, twenty stadia, that is, two or three miles north ofJerusalem; now Anata (compare Isa10:30, and the context, Isa10:28-32). One of the four cities allotted to the Kohathites inBenjamin (Jos 21:18). Compare1Ki 2:26; 1Ki 2:27;a stigma was cast thenceforth on the whole sacerdotal family residentthere; this may be alluded to in the words here, “the priests .. . in Anathoth.” God chooses “the weak, base, and despisedthings . . . to confound the mighty.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah,…. This is the general title of the whole book, and includes all his discourses, sermons, and prophecies; and designs not his own words, but the words of the Lord, which were put into his mouth, and he delivered under divine inspiration. The Septuagint version renders it, “the word of God”: and the Arabic version, “the word of the Lord”: the Targum,
“the words of the prophecy of Jeremiah;”
who is described by his descent and parentage, “the son of Hilkiah”. The Arabic version calls him Selkiah. This was not Hilkiah the high priest, who in the days of Josiah found the book of the law,
2Ki 22:8 as Kimchi’s father and Abarbinel think, and so Clemens of Alexandria n; since he is not said to be a high priest, or of the high priests, but
of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin; though the Targum paraphrases the words to the other sense,
“of the heads of the ward of priests, of the amarcalin, or governors which were in Jerusalem, a man that took his inheritance in Anathoth, in the land of the tribe of Benjamin;”
nor is Jeremiah mentioned among the posterity of Hilkiah the high priest in 1Ch 6:13, besides, Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth, must be of the family of Ithamar; the last of which family that was high priest was Abiathar, who had fields in Anathoth, 1Ki 2:26, and so could be no other than a common priest; for Hilkiah the high priest was of the family of Phinehas; for, from the times of that Abiathar to the Babylonish captivity, there was no high priest but of that family. The Jews say that Jeremiah descended by his mother’s side from Rahab the harlot o. Anathoth was a city in the tribe of Benjamin, as is here said, and belonged to the priests, Jos 21:18, it lay north of Jerusalem about three miles from it, according to Jerom p and others; but, according to Josephus q, it was but twenty furlongs from it, that is, two and a half miles.
n Stromat. l. 1. p. 328. o T. Bab. Megilia, fol. 14. 2. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 59. 3. Jarchi in loc. p Comment. in Hieremiam, I. 1. fol. 121. H. tom. 5. & I. 2. fol. 135. F. & I. 6. fol. 161. C. Isidor. Hispalens. de Vit. & Mort. Sanct. c. 38. q Antiqu. I. 10. c. 7. sect. 3. Ed. Hudson.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jer 1:1-3 contain the heading to the whole book of the prophecies of Jeremiah. The heading runs thus: “ Sayings of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests at Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, to whom befell the word of Jahveh in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, and in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.” The period mentioned in these verses includes the time of Jeremiah’s principal labours, while no reference is here made to the work he at a later time wrought amidst the ruins of Judah and in Egypt; this being held to be of but subordinate importance for the theocracy. Similarly, when the names of the kings under whom he laboured are given, the brief reigns of Jehoahaz and of Jehoiachin are omitted, neither reign having lasted over three months. His prophecies are called , words or speeches, as in Jer 36:10; so with the prophecies of Amos, Amo 1:1. More complete information as to the person of the prophet is given by the mention made of his father and of his extraction. The name , “Jahveh throws,” was in very common use, and is found as the name of many persons; cf. 1Ch 5:24; 1Ch 12:4, 1Ch 12:10, 1Ch 12:13; 2Ki 23:31; Jer 35:3; Neh 10:3; Neh 12:1. Hence we are hardly entitled to explain the name with Hengstb. by Exo 15:1, to the effect that whoever bore it was consecrated to the God who with almighty hand dashes to the ground all His foes, so that in his name the nature of our prophet’s mission would be held to be set forth. His father Hilkiah is taken by Clem. Alex., Jerome, and some Rabbins, for the high priest of that name who is mentioned in 2Ch 22:4; but without sufficient grounds. For Hilkiah, too, is a name that often occurs; and the high priest is sure to have had his home not in Anathoth, but in Jerusalem. But Jeremiah and his father belonged to the priests who lived in Anathoth, now called Anta, a town of the priests, lying 1 1/4 hours north of Jerusalem (see on Jos 21:18), in the land, i.e., the tribal territory, of Benjamin. In Jer 1:2 belongs to : “to whom befell (to whom came) the word of Jahveh in the days of Josiah,…in the thirteenth year of his reign.” This same year is named by Jeremiah in Jer 25:3 as the beginning of his prophetic labours. in Jer 1:3 is the continuation of in Jer 1:2, and its subject is : and then (further) it came (to him) in the days of Jehoiakim,…to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, etc. In the fifth month of the year named, the eleventh of the reign of Zedekiah, Jerusalem was reduced to ashes by Nebuzar-adan, and its inhabitants carried away to Babylon; cf. Jer 52:12., 2Ki 25:8. Shortly before, King Zedekiah, captured when in flight from the Chaldeans during the siege of Jerusalem, had been deprived of eyesight at Riblah and carried to Babylon in chains. And thus his kingship was at an end, thought the eleventh year of his reign might not be yet quite completed.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Inscription. | B. C. 629. |
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
We have here as much as it was thought fit we should know of the genealogy of this prophet and the chronology of this prophecy. 1. We are told what family the prophet was of. He was the son of Hilkiah, not that Hilkiah, it is supposed, who was high priest in Josiah’s time (for then he would have been called so, and not, as here, one of the priests that were in Anathoth), but another of the same name. Jeremiah signifies one raised up by the Lord. It is said of Christ that he is a prophet whom the Lord our God raised up unto us, Deut. xviii. 15, 18. He was of the priests, and, as a priest, was authorized and appointed to teach the people; but to that authority and appointment God added the extraordinary commission of a prophet. Ezekiel also was a priest. Thus God would support the honour of the priesthood at a time when, by their sins and God’s judgments upon them, it was sadly eclipsed. He was of the priests in Anathoth, a city of priests, which lay about three miles from Jerusalem. Abiathar had his country house there, 1 Kings ii. 26. 2. We have the general date of his prophecies, the knowledge of which is requisite to the understanding of them. (1.) He began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign, v. 2. Josiah, in the twelfth year of his reign, began a work of reformation, applied himself with all sincerity to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the images, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3. And very seasonably then was this young prophet raised up to assist and encourage the young king in that good work. Then the word of the Lord came to him, not only a charge and commission to him to prophesy, but a revelation of the things themselves which he was to deliver. As it is an encouragement to ministers to be countenanced and protected by such pious magistrates as Josiah was, so it is a great help to magistrates, in any good work of reformation, to be advised and animated, and to have a great deal of their work done for them, by such faithful zealous ministers as Jeremiah was. Now, one would have expected when these two joined forces, such a prince, and such a prophet (as in a like case, Ezr 5:1; Ezr 5:2), and both young, such a complete reformation would be brought about and settled as would prevent the ruin of the church and state; but it proved quite otherwise. In the eighteenth year of Josiah we find there were a great many of the relics of idolatry that were not purged out; for what can the best princes and prophets do to prevent the ruin of a people that hate to be reformed? And therefore, though it was a time of reformation, Jeremiah continued to foretel the destroying judgments that were coming upon them; for there is no symptom more threatening to any people than fruitless attempts of reformation. Josiah and Jeremiah would have healed them, but they would not be healed. (2.) He continued to prophesy through the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, each of whom reigned eleven years. He prophesied to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive (v. 3), that great event which he had so often prophesied of. He continued to prophesy after that, ch. xl. 1. But the computation here is made to end with that because it was the accomplishment of many of his predictions; and from the thirteenth of Josiah to the captivity was just forty years. Dr. Lightfoot observes that as Moses was so long with the people, a teacher in the wilderness, till they entered into their own land, Jeremiah was so long in their own land a teacher, before they went into the wilderness of the heathen: and he thinks that therefore a special mark is set upon the last forty years of the iniquity of Judah, which Ezekiel bore forty days, a day for a year, because during all that time they had Jeremiah prophesying among them, which was a great aggravation of their impenitency. God, in this prophet, suffered their manners, their ill manners, forty years, and at length swore in his wrath that they should not continue in his rest.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
JEREMIAH
AN HISTORICAL DIRECTORY (to the times of Jeremiah the Prophet)
Josiah, King of Judah 639-609 B.C.
626 B.C. Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry begins.
625-585 B.C. Cyaxares reigns over Media.
625-605 Nabopolassar founds the Chaldean Dynasty of Babylon.
611-606 B.C. Ashuruballit II rules to the end of the Assyrian Empire.
609 B.C. Josiah slain in battle at Megiddo.
Johoahaz (Shallum, son of Josiah), King of Judah. 609
B.C. – Ruled 3 months
Jehoiakim, King of Judah 608-598 B.C.
605 B.C. Battle of Carchemish where the Egyptian army was crushed.
604-562 B.C. Rule of Nebuchadnezzar II over Babylon.
604 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar interrupted his campaign of expansionism – returning to Babylon to succeed his father as King, and then resuming his campaign in Syria.
601 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar’s drive halted in a bloody battle with Egypt.
598 B.C. (Dec.) Siege of Jerusalem
Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Jer 24:1; or Coniah, Jer 37:1, Son of
Jehoiakim), King of Judah -ruled 3 months in 598 B.C.
597 B.C. (2 Adar, or March 16) Jerusalem surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiachin taken captive.
Zedeklah, King of Judah 597-586-ruled 11 years.
593-588 B.C. Psamtik II ruled in Egypt.
588-568 B.C. Hophra (Apries) ruled in Egypt.
548 B.C. The City of David again placed under siege due to Zedekiah’s rebellion against Babylon.
586 (Aug. 16) The fall of Jerusalem. Zedekiah taken captive and led to Babylon; his sons, advisors, etc. are slain. Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed.
586 B.C. Gedaliah appointed governor over Judah.
585 B.C. Gedaliah slain by Ishmael.
585 B.C. The remnant of Judah (including Jeremiah and Baruch) compelled, by military leaders, to take refuge in Egypt.
561 B.C. Evil-Merodach enthroned in Babylon, and Jehoiachin set free-
INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH’S PROPHECY
Jeremiah was preceded in the prophetic office by such men as: Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah and Nahum. His contemporaries, in the land, were Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Obadiah. For a brief time his ministry overlapped that of Daniel and Ezekiel in Babylon. He was officially placed in the prophetic office during the thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah -continuing through the rule of his four successors on the throne of David, and then in the land of Egypt, where he was taken as a captive by his own self-willed people.
Five years after his call, the long-lost “book of the law” was found in the Temple, (2 Kings 23). Its reading brought grief to the tender heart of young king Josiah, who knew that his people had wandered far from God’s appointed pathway for His covenant-community. Thus, he instituted reforms in Judah which were designed to rid the land of its idol worship, and to restore the true worship of Jehovah.
Jeremiah dearly loved young Josiah, and was to him what Isaiah had been to king Hezekiah. Though he sympathized with Josiah’s reforms, he knew that they had no depth; the hearts of the people were not in them -though they went through the motions of compliance, out of respect for the king whom they all loved.
Variously described as: courageous, loyal, patient, retiring, sensitive, severe, sympathetic and tender; Jeremiah stands so near to us, in a human sense, that one may almost feel his heartbeat. The weight of his task would have been unbearable apart from the faithful promise of divine support, (Jer 1:10-19). He was to be the very voice of Jehovah to a stubborn, stiff-necked, presumptuous, self-willed and hard-hearted people determined to follow a path that led to inevitable destruction! He would put forth an heroic effort to turn the nation back from spiritual suicide – only to fail and to watch her leap over the precipice to such misery as she so richly deserved l
The attitude of the nation toward the man of God, and the message he proclaimed, ranged from that of tolerance, to resentment, resistance, antagonism, hatred, violence and attempted murder. Yet, through it all, Jeremiah remained true – to his God, to his people, to himself, and to his task. His message was not his own; it was the word of Jehovah that he was sent to deliver to a thankless and gainsaying people, (Rom 10:21).
1. It was a message of DENUNCIATION: they had forsaken the One who had delivered them from bondage in Egypt – constituting them a holy nation at Mt Sinai, establishing with them His covenant, and marvelously sustaining and protecting them by the faithfulness of His loving grace. They have treacherously turned away from Him to walk in vanity and to trust in lies-worshipping “no-gods”
2. It was a message of VISITATION: judgment MUST COMET Judah’s sin will find her out! (Num 32:23). It must be punished. A just reward is always attached to the practice of evil.
3. Nevertheless, Jeremiah’s message was also a divine INVITATION for Judah to REPENT and RETURN; she was still the beloved of Jehovah, (Jer 21:7). While God is just, in the punishment of evil, He is also gracious, compassionate and caring. Will not Judah mend her ways, and return to her first-love? (Jer 7:3; Jer 18:7-10; comp. Rev 2:4-5).
4. Included in Jeremiah’s task was a message of CONSOLATION, (ch. 30-33). Through fiery trials, suffering, and humiliation, Judah will repent and learn to obey the voice of the Lord her God! Even midst the fury of the storm one may catch glimpses of light and hope. There will dawn a new day in which the nation will be liberated from the captivity toward which she is heading. Having broken and forsaken the covenant of Jehovah, Judah has forfeited all claim to its blessings; but, the Messiah Himself (the Branch) will ultimately come and restore such blessedness as, in her disobedience of unbelief, she had never thought possible.
In Jeremiah one beholds THE MAN OF SORROWS – who loses all thought of himself in grief over the willfulness of a people whom he loves so dearly.
“Oh that my head were waters,
And mine eyes a fountain of tears,
That 1 might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people! , 9:1
JEREMIAH – CHART
I.Message of Warning Against Disobedience, ch. 1-25.
li.A Mixture of Judgment and Hope, ch. 26-36.
Ili.Judah, A Nation in Crisis, ch. 37-45.
IV.Prophecies Against Foreign Nations, ch. 46-51.
V.An Historical Postscript, ch. 52:1-34.
CONTENTS
PART I
MESSAGES OF WARNING AGAINST
DISOBEDIENCE
(Chapters 1-25)
I. THE EARLY MINISTRY OF JEREMIAH (1:1-6:30)
A. Jeremiah’s Call & Induction into the Prophetic Office,
(1:1-19)
B. A Rebuke of Judah’s Infidelity Toward God, (2:1-37)
C. A Call for Repentance, (3:1-25)
D. Judgment: Invasion from the North, (4:1-31)
E. The Hopeless Sinfulness of Judah, (5:1-31)
F. Warning of a Coming Siege of Jerusalem, (6:1-30)
11. THE WARNING AT THE TEMPLE GATE – AND
OTHERS, (7:1-10:25)
A. Jeremiah’s Message at the Temple Gate, (7:1-8:3)
B. The Punishment of a Backsliding People, (8:4-9:1)
C. Lamentation over Judah’s Sin, (9:2-26)
D. The Folly of Worshipping Portable Gods, (10:1-25)
III. PERSONAL CRISES IN THE LIFE OF THE
PROPHET, (11:1-20:18)
A. Judah’s Breach of the Covenant, (11:1-23)
B. A Prophetic Complaint & God’s Answer, (12:1-13)
C. Warnings and Lamentations, (13:1-27)
D. Famine and Intercession, (14:1-22)
E. The Prophet Wrestles with God, (15:1-21)
F. Grievous Trouble and Ultimate Redemption, (16:1-21)
G. Warnings and Exhortations, (17:1-27)
H. Learning the Secrets of Divine Government, (18:1-23)
I. A Lesson from an Earthen Bottle, (19:1-15)
J. Jeremiah’s Imprisonment and Complaint, (20:1-18)
IV. JUDAH AND THE NATIONS, (21:1-25:38)
A. The Impending Fall and Destruction of Jerusalem,
(21:1-14)
B. Judgment Upon the Royal House, (22:1-30)
C. A Denunciation of Judah’s Leaders, (23:1-40)
D. A Vision: Two Baskets of Figs, (24:1-10)
E. The Wrath of God Upon All Nations, (25:1-38)
PART II
A MIXTURE OF JUDGMENT AND HOPE
(Chapters 26-36)
I. CONFLICT WITH THE LEADERS OF JUDAH,
(26:1-29:32)
A. Jeremiah Indicted for Treason, (26:1-24)
B. Jehovah Counsels Judah’s Neighbors, (27:1-22)
C. The False Prophecy and Death of Hananiah, (28:1-17)
D. Jeremiah’s Message to the Exiles of Babylon, (29:1-32)
II. MESSAGES OF HOPE, (30:1-33:26)
A. A Song of Deliverance (30:1-22)
B. A New Covenant (31:1-40)
C. Redeeming Property at Anathoth (32:1-44)
D. Assurance of Restoration (33:1-26)
III. A MIXED RESPONSE TO JEREMIAH’S
MINISTRY, (34:1-36:32)
A. The Profanation of Jehovah’s Name (34:1-22)
B. A Lesson from the Rechabites (35:1-19)
C. Reacting Rashly to God’s Word (36:1-32)
PART III
A NATION IN CRISIS
(Chapters 37-45)
I. JERUSALEM BESIEGED AND TAKEN, (37:1 – 40:6)
A. Jeremiah Beaten and Imprisoned, (37:1-21)
B. Counselling Judah to Surrender, (38:1-28)
C. The Fall of Jerusalem, (39:1-18)
D. Jeremiah Remains in Jerusalem, (40:1-16)
il. EVENTS FOLLOWING THE FALL OF
JERUSALEM, (40:7-45:5)
A. The Murder of Gedaliah and Flight of Ishmael, (41:1-18)
B. Jeremiah’s Counsel Sought by the Remnant, (42:1-22)
C. Rejecting the Counsel of God, (43:1-13)
D. Jeremiah Prophesies in Egypt, (44:1-30)
E. A Word for Baruch, (45:1-7)
PART IV
PROPHECIES AGAINST FOREIGN NATIONS
(Chapters 46-51)
I. AN ORACLE CONCERNING EGYPT, (46:1-28)
II. AN ORACLE CONCERNING PHILISTIA, (47:1-7)
III. AN ORACLE CONCERNING MOAB, (48:1-47)
IV. ORACLES CONCERNING VARIOUS PEOPLES, (49:1-39)
A. Concerning Ammon, (49:1-6)
B. Concerning Edom, (49:7-22)
C. Concerning Damascus, (49:23-27)
D. Concerning Kedar and Hazor, (49:28-33)
E. Concerning Elam, (49:34-39)
V. AN ORACLE CONCERNING BABYLON, (50:1 – 51:64)
PART V
AN HISTORICAL POSTSCRIPT
(Chapter 52)
FROM THE REIGN OF ZEDEKIAH TO THE LIBERATION OF JEHOIACHIN, (52:1-34)
PART I
Messages of Warning Against
Disobedience
(Chapters 1-25)
JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 1
JEREMIAH’S CALL & INDUCTION INTO THE
PROPHETIC OFFICE
It is remarkable that, after Judah’s repeated disobedience to the words of His former prophets, God should raise up another one to plead for their repentance and the reformation of their national life. But He cared for the people whom He had called into covenant fellowship with Himself – and would not give them up easily. Nor could He have found a more faithful, zealous and courageous message-bearer than what He found in the tender-hearted Jeremiah of Anathoth.
Vs. 1-3: THE AUTHOR, AND THE EXTENT OF HIS PROPHETIC MINISTRY
1. The words here written are those of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, (vs. 1).
a. His descent was from a line of priests in Anathoth (four miles NW of Jerusalem), in the land of Benjamin – a people who certainly were not loyal to the prophet that God raised up among them. (Jer 11:2).
b. It is quite likely that Jeremiah was a descendant of Abiathar, whom Solomon banished to Anathoth because of his complicity with Adonijah – the brother of Solomon, who attempted to seize the throne of David in an effort to frustrate the purpose of David to have Solomon succeed him on the throne, (1Ki 2:26).
2. The prophecies of Jeremiah cover a period of more than 40 years – during the reigns of Judah’s last five kings: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah.
a. The word of the Lord first came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (approximately 627 B.C.).
b. He continued as God’s spokesman to Judah – calling upon her to repent and turn to the Lord her God – until the carrying away of the captives to Jerusalem during the eleventh year and fifth month of Zedekiah’s reign, (or until approximately 587 B.C.).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
I Have said that the time, when Jeremiah began to discharge his office of a Prophet in God’s Church, is not stated here without reason, and that it was when the state of the people was extremely corrupt, the whole of Religion having become vitiated, because the Book of the Law was lost: for nowhere else can be found the rule according to which God is to be worshipped; nor can right knowledge be obtained from any other source. It was then, at the time when impiety had by a long custom prevailed among the Jews, that Jeremiah suddenly came forth. There was then laid on his shoulders the heaviest burden; for many enemies must have risen to oppose him, when he attempted to bring back the people to the pure doctrine of the law, which the greater part were then treading under their feet.
He calls himself the son of Hilkiah The Rabbins think that this Hilkiah was the priest by whom the Book of Moses was found five years after: but this seems not to me probable. The conjecture also of Jerome is very frivolous, who concludes that the Prophet was a boy when he began to prophesy, because he calls himself נער ( nor,) a child, a little farther on, as though he did not use the word metaphorically. (6) At what age he was called to the prophetic office, we do not know; it is, however, probable that he was of mature age, for it was a work of high authority; and further, had he been a youth, doubtless such a miracle would not have been passed over in silence, that is, that he was made a prophet before the age of maturity.
With regard to his father, it is nothing strange that the Rabbins have regarded him as the high priest; for we know that they are always prone to vain boastings. Ambition possessed them, and hence they have said that Jeremiah was the son of the high priest, in order to add to the splendor of his character. But what does the Prophet himself say? He declares indeed that he was the son of Hilkiah, but does not say that this was the high priest; on the contrary he adds, that he was from the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin Now we know that this was a mean village, not far from Jerusalem; and Jeremiah says, that it was in the tribe of Benjamin. Its nearness to Jerusalem may be gathered from the words of Isaiah, who says that small Anathoth was terrified. (Isa 10:30) He threatened Jerusalem by saying that the enemy was near.
“
What,” he says, “is your security? Ye can hear the noise of your enemies and the groans of your brethren from your very gates; for Anathoth is not far from you, being only three miles distant.”
Since then Jeremiah only says, that he came from Anathoth, why should we suppose him to be the sort of the high priest? And frivolous is what the Chaldee paraphraser adds here, that Hilkiah had possessions in the town of Anathoth, as though it was allowed the priests to possess land: God allowed them only what was necessary to feed their flocks. We may then take it as certain, and what the Prophet indeed expressly declares, that he came from the village of Anathoth. (7)
He further says, that he was of the priestly order. Hence the prophetic office was more suitable to him than to many of the other prophets, such as Amos and Isaiah. God took Isaiah from the court, as he was of the royal family, and made him a prophet. Amos was in a different situation: he was taken from the shepherds, for he was a shepherd. Since God appointed such prophets over his Church, he no doubt thus intended to cast a reflection on the idleness and sloth of the priests. For, though all the priests were not prophets, yet they ought to have been taken from that order; for the priestly order was as it were the nursery of the prophets. But when gross want of knowledge and ignorance prevailed among them, God chose his prophets from the other tribes, and thus exposed and condemned the priests. They ought, indeed, to have been the messengers of the God of hosts, so as to keep the law in their lips, that the people might seek it from their mouth, according to what is said by Malachi. (Mal 2:7) But as they were dumb dogs, God transferred the honor of the prophetic office to others; but Jeremiah, as I have already stated, was a prophet as well as a priest.
(6) The word does not properly mean a “child,“ as in our version, or “ puer , “ as re ndered by Calvin, but a youth, or rather a young man. Abraham’s trained servants were thus called, Gen 14:24, and his servant who dressed the calf for the angels, Gen 18:7, and his “young men” who accompanied him to Mount Moriah, Gen 22:5. Joshua had this name given him, when he was attending Moses at the tabernacle, Exo 33:11. It is rendered “( νεωτερος)-a youth or a young man,“ by the Septuagint The most probable thing is, that he was, not as Adam Clarke supposes, about 14, but a young man verging on maturity. The length of time during which he prophesied, would lead us to conclude that he was young when he was appointed to his office.
There are two remarkable resemblances between Jeremiah and Moses. They both made an excuse for declining the office to which God called them, and made a similar excuse. The other resemblance is what Lightfoot has noticed, that Moses was a teacher of the people for forty years before they entered the land of Canaan, and that Jeremiah was their teacher for forty years before they were banished from it and driven into exile. — Ed.
(7) The reasons alleged against Jeremiah being the son of the high priest are by no means conclusive: indeed, all the circumstances being considered, the probability is in favor of that supposition. The family of the high priest resided no doubt at Anathoth; what is said in 1Kg 2:26, respecting Abiathar, is a proof of this. That the high priest resided at Jerusalem during the term of his office forms no objection; nor is the genealogy of the high priests as given in 1Ch 6:1, any objection; for though in verse 13, Azariah is said to be the son of Hilkiah, yet Jeremiah might have been one of his younger sons. Most commentators agree indeed with Calvin, – Gataker, Henry, Scott, Blayney, etc.; but they adduce no satisfactory reasons, sufficient to invalidate the opinion of the Rabbins and the intimation contained in the Targum: and this opinion is what the translators of the Geneva Bible have adopted. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE TWICE-BORN PROPHET
THE DUAL GENEALOGY OF JEREMIAH
Jer 1:1-19.
IN beginning the study of this Book it is essential that we make ourselves at once acquainted with the author. Practically every man and woman in so-called Christian lands knows that Jeremiah was a Prophet, and one of the major Prophets. But as to the particulars of his life only those who make this Book a special study are familiar.
However, the Book itself properly introduces the Prophet. He was Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (Jer 1:1).
Now Anathoth was of the Sacerdotal City, only three Roman miles distant from Jerusalem.
So much, then, for the birth and location of this man. Before we have finished the study of this volume we will discover that his birth was a matter of great joy (Jer 20:15). The phrase is Making him very glad. In all probability lie was a direct answer to prayer; and the language of this mornings text would indicate that he was pledged for service to God by his parents before he was born.
The chapter as a whole will give us further information concerning his life and character; while the Book itself will reveal his accomplishments.
In this chapter we have presented in clear, and somewhat complete manner, His Dual Genealogy: His Utter Diffidence: and His Personal Visions.
HIS DUAL GENEALOGY
He was a twice-born man. We have already heard of his fathers joy at his first birth. Doubtless that priest of God rejoiced even more in his second birth, for while the birth of the flesh is important, the birth of the spirit is more essential still. The first birth may be merely to a life of sin to which the flesh itself tempts; the second birth is not only unto salvation but anticipates blessed service.
We are not told in which year the first birth took place; but we are informed concerning the second: For the Word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign (Jer 1:2). Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
Harold Begbie has a book on Twice Born Men. In the introduction to the same he tells us that Prof. James teaches the student of psychology to expect something exceptional and eccentric in men who have suffered a profound spiritual experience. He contrasts such men with the ordinary religious believer who follows the conventional observances of his country, whether it be Buddhist, Christian, or Mohammedan; his religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation, and retained by habit.
He declares that it profits us little to study this second-hand religious life, and says,
We must search rather for the original experiences which were the pattern-setters to all this mass of suggested feeling and imitated conduct. These experiences we can only find in individuals for whom religion exists not as: a dull habit, but as an acute fever rather.
Certainly Jeremiah belonged to that company. His experience was definite and would compare with many a modern call; even to the very hour when the Lord came to him and gave him an overwhelming revelation of His love, and accomplished in him a conviction never to be shaken.
The circumstance that one is definitely intended for this office from his birth does not abrogate this necessity. John the Baptist heard the voice of God and received His direct commission, resulting in his ministry. And notwithstanding the circumstance that Jeremiah before he was formed in the belly and before he came forth from the womb was set apart of God for the sacred office of Prophet, still God had to add to that Divine decision the human consciousness of a call.
His conversion and call came together. It has been so with thousands of the greatest prophets of the centuries. Doubtless one reason why so many men, now in the ministry, drift away from their theological moorings, accept current false philosophies and teach the same, is due to the circumstance that they have not heard definitely a call from Heaven and are not in the ministry by Divine appointment.
Jeremiah was a predestined Prophet. It is not unusual for God to make prophets after that manner. John the Baptist was of that sort. Samuel of the Old Testament after the same order. Moses seems to have been elected from his infancy for his leadership. John G. Paton, the great missionary to the New Hebrides, in his Autobiography, gives us an explanation that would fit many an instance of pre-destined birth.
He says: My father had a strong desire to be a minister of the Gospel; but when he finally saw that Gods will had marked out for him another lot, he reconciled himself by entering with his own soul into the solemn vow that if God gave him sons he would consecrate them unreservedly to the ministry of Christ, if the Lord saw fit to accept the offering, and open up the way. It may be enough here to say that he lived to see three of us entering upon and not unblessed in the holy office myself, the eldest born, my brother Walter, several years my junior, and my brother James, the youngest of eleven, the Benjamin of the flock.
When I read those words I was reminded of my own history. My dear father felt called to the ministry and to his dying day never escaped the conviction of disobedience to the Divine Voice. But owing to his lack of education and the large family looking to him for support at the time of his conversion and this conviction, he feared, for financial reasons, to entertain the same; and went to his death a farmer. But it was a way of sorrow and of conscious disobedience.
He, like Paton, sought to make restitution by constant prayer that God would put his sons into the ministry. Three of us entered the same, my brother older than myself and my youngest brother. Owing to an injury to his vision my oldest brother dropped out, but Rev. Walter and myself abide to this day, and it is the conviction of both of us that we are in the ministry to take the place my father might have occupied had he seen his way clear to enter the same.
So much for the dual genealogy of Jeremiah.
Now go back into the text and you will discover another characteristic, namely,
HIS NATURAL DIFFIDENCE
Then said I, Ah! Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child (Jer 1:6).
That was his answer when God called him to the ministry, Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
His first plea, then, was his extreme youth; the second, his consequential inability as a spokesman, his lack of eloquence; and through this speech he revealed his natural timidity.
Those things are not barriers to God. The reasons are not far to seek. First of all, God wants you. He always wanted you, and He always will want you.
Every time I think of my youthful ministry, I marvel at it. Absolutely, I do. I cant quite make it out. I cant imagine myself at twenty-one years of age standing, Sunday after Sunday, before the crowds of people who had come to hear a lad of that age talk. I dont know why they wanted to hear me; so shallow was my experience, comparatively speaking, and so comparatively poor my information; and yet, week after week, I saw the house of God filled with people who had come to hear what the lad had to say.
God wants you, and there is hardly a minister on the earth who ever amounted to much who didnt begin his ministry while yet a boy.
Charles Spurgeon, when seventeen to eighteen years of age, was preaching to tens of thousands of people. They could hardly find a house big enough to hold the crowds.
The first-born in the Old Testament was especially to be dedicated to God. Not only was that true of the lamb, the firstling of the flock, but it was also true of the family, the firstling of that flock also.
You will recall how when Davids call came by the Prophet Samuel, David couldnt comprehend it, and his brothers still less. Such a stripling in the Divine service! And yet such was the Divine will, as history abundantly proved; and I have showed you that not only young men, but boys back there in the days before they reached their teens, were the subject of Divine choice.
Consequently the plea of youth did not get by in the instance of Jeremiah. Youth was what God wanted then. Youth is what God wants at this moment. If it were not for the yielding of youth and consecration of youth, the future of the Church would be black indeed.
Now we find another thinghe argued his lack of eloquence.
Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child (Jer 1:6).
He meant just that! He didnt have a fluent tongue. He spake with difficulty.
Moses doubtless was a stutterer. When God called Moses to become the leader of Israel, he excused himselfI cannot speak. God said, Now * * go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
God responded to Jeremiah very much after the same manner. The fact is, we dont have to have eloquence with which to begin. That is not the first essential. I have known a good many young preachers who were eloquent who never amounted to much in later life. So have you! That is not the first essential.
Sometime since I read a little clipping in which the story was told of a man who went up to one of the towers on a railroad, and saw three or four men there working the levers which threw the switches and let the trains come in. He watched them for some time, and then said to the man in charge,
It must take very keen, intelligent fellows to accomplish this, when life itself is risked. They must be men of good minds; to which the master of ceremonies replied, No; the first requisite here is not intelligence. It is faithfulness. A man must do what he is told to do.
Gods engineering first requires faithfulness. When Moses yielded himself faithfully, God took care of his tongue, and when Jeremiah is faithful, God will take care of his tongue. Inability to speak is not an adequate excuse.
I saw this morning, for the first time in my life, the history of the Blarney stone. It is said that when the Castle of Blarney was built, Cormac McCarthy, the leader in construction, chanced one day to save a queer old woman who had dropped into the Blarney river which flows hard by the castle, and she, in her gratitude, said to him, I am going to make you a great gift.
What is that? he asked.
The gift of speech.
How so?
Climb to the top of the castle, and kiss a certain stone, and the gift of eloquence will be given.
He took her seriously; climbed up the several stories and kissed the stone. When he came down, the gift of speech had been imparted to him, and he was able to persuade his fellows to almost any act.
Now that is like a good deal else that comes out of Ireland, one of their little superstitions. It is a bit like St. Patrick who is said to have banished all the snakes; and snakes never existed there.
However, it has its illustrative point. It is not the kiss of the Blarney stone that makes for eloquence, but contact with God. Men with no eloquence may be made men with the tongue of a Moses, and when did oratory ever exceed what that stutterer was finally able to speak.
He revealed a shrinking timidity. He was afraid, but God said, Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee.
It is historically true that whenever we find a man with courage, he has had likely an experience sometime, somewhere, with the Lord, and his courage has come out of that fact.
During his forty long years on the desert, Moses met God again and again. John the Baptist had his experience in the wilderness, in the backside of the desert also. Jesus Christ Himself went to the wilderness to endure temptation, and also to have His counsels with the Father. The man, therefore, who has courage is the man who has met God, and who has discovered the secret and source of strength.
It is a remarkable thing, and yet a fact, that the most courageous men in the world didnt begin after that manner. Most of them began timidly. Moses is one of them, and this man Jeremiah is another. It is a common experience. They began timidly.
There were five of us boys who grew up, husky enough to take care of ourselves. My oldest brother, as a boy, was such a coward that I was ashamed of him. But after he became a man, he had more courage than any of the rest of us.
Some years ago I bought a beautiful bird dog. He was the biggest coward I ever saw. He would follow Mrs. Riley in the carriage, and everytime a little feist would go after him, he would fall on his back and stick his feet in the air, quivering from head to foot. In the process of time some dog, not content with that, bit into him, and this bird dog, impelled by nature, discovered for the first time that his teeth were for fighting as well as eating. He began to fight, and in a few years he was the fiercest fighter I ever knew. He discovered a source of strength that he didnt know existed.
When a man gets into touch with God, he discovers there an unfailing source.
So God says to him, Now you go! Be not afraid!
Be courageous! I will be with thee, and the enemy shall flee before thy face!
This brings me to my last point, namely,
HIS PROPHETIC VISIONS
Jeremiah saw two things: he saw the sign of the almond tree which bears its fruit quickly. God interpreted that for him, I will hasten My Word to perform it.
Then he saw the pot boiling, with its mouth to the north, and the Lord interpreted that, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
It has been .so already. It will be so again in the last days. Right at the present moment Russia is fulfilling part of that prophecy; for out of Russia the evils of this hour are pouring themselves over the whole earth, until, in our city, police have to stop the infamous Communism that is coursing through Russia and even seeking to conquer every land on the face of the earth, and it is making many modernist preacherspropagandists. Out of the north these things shalt come yea; they are coming.
Two or three things, then, from these visions! The objects of nature are suggestive.
Jesus Christ constantly appealed to nature. Every now and then some wiseacre comes out and tells us that we ought to accept science. Who ever thought of doing anything else? There isnt an intelligent fundamentalist on the face of Gods earth who doesnt believe in science. We praise God for nature. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. Every flower that blooms in the field is an expression of Divine favor; the aroma that goes forth from it and seems to sweeten the very atmosphere, is nothing other than the breath of God. The stars that twinkle at night speak of his own shining countenance, even though He may seem to some as distant. All nature is vocal to the man who believes the morning stars are singing still. Nature is as much the work of God as is this Book.
We have no objection to science! No! No! Our objection is that they take the wretched philosophy of Darwinism and palm it off as a science. There is nothing scientific about it. That is the thing we are condemning. We have never been against natures ways. Jesus Christ turned to them constantly. The flower, the lily of the valley, was a beautiful illustration to Him. The birds which hung under the eaves of buildings and in the branches of the treesto them He referred. The rocks, the vines, the sheep-fold, the flocks were all full of spiritual suggestions to the Son of God, typifying even His own great work in the world. We have no objection to bringing from nature symbols of spiritual truth.
So Jeremiah was seeing visions of nature; but through them he had a great spiritual conception of what would shortly come to pass, and then
HE LISTENED TO THE DIVINE INTERPRETATION
The door can suggest to you the way into Heaven. The vine suggests to you the fruitful Son of God. There are marvelous things in natures ways if you will but look after them.
He was encouraged for the coming conflict.
And, they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
How badly we need that, and how constantly, for our own encouragement.
Jesus Christ wouldnt have sent out His disciples to the uttermost parts of the earth to face famine and sword and all conceivable opposition, and martyrdom, without encouraging them, Lo, I am with you alway.
This morning, whatever task you may face, however difficult it may be, however hard the path; draw not back. Life is not a thing of ease. God never promised us we should be exempt from hardship, difficulty, and trial. On the contrary, He promised to be with us through them all, and to make us victors against them all. That is all any man who knows God ought to desire or even covet.
This hymn expresses exactly the spirit of true discipleship of Jesus Christ.
Am I a soldier of the Cross,
A followr of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord;
Ill bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
I tell you, that hymn is worth-while. It has in it the ring of enthusiasm; the conviction, the daring and courage that belong to Christianity itself; consequently, it ought to be the sentiment of every soul of us. Jeremiah; we salute you! Oh, Prophet of God, lead on! By His grace we will follow!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.
1. Chronology. Jer. 1:1-3, penned cir. B.C. 578; Jer. 1:4, sq. B.C. 629. But the recently discovered Assyrian chronology would make the date of the thirteenth of Josiah to be B.C. 608.
2. Cotemporary Scriptures. 2Ki. 22:1-2; 2Ch. 34:1-7. Books of Habakkuk and Zephaniah.
3. Historic Facts. Judah tributary to Assur-Banipal, king of Assyria; yet the kingdom at rest: for her northern foe, Assyria, had ceased invasions since Sennacheribs overthrow (2Ki. 19:35-36, B.C. 710); and her southern foe, Egypt, was engrossed and disabled from aggression by intestine wars. Josiah had reigned thirteen years; began religious reformation of Judah B.C. 634; was vigorously prosecuting it when Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry, B.C. 629 (or, according to Assyrian chronology, B.C. 608).
4. Cotemporary History. General outline: International ascendancy had been temporarily with Assyria (cir. 680640) during the reigns of Esar-Haddon and Assur-Banipal: Saracus saw its overthrow. Judah was tributary to Assyria when Josiah reigned. During the thirty-one years of Saracus, Assyrian power was being undermined by the defection of its chief province, Babylonia, over which Nabopolassar was appointed governor by Saracus, and this at a time when Egypt was consolidating its power under Psammeticus (B.C. 664), and thus menacing Assyria. The Median empire was founded in the sixth year of Josiahs reign (B.C. 633), by Cyaxares, the Ahasuerus of Dan. 9:1. Four years after Jeremiah began his mission (B.C. 625), Babylonia, under Nabopolassar, rose in revolt against Assyria, aided by Cyaxares with his Median forces, took Nineveh, and thereby overthrew the Assyrian domination, and with it the empire, on whose ruins rose the Babylonian empire, Nabopolassar its king. To him Judahs tributary dependence was now transferred. Egypt, under Psammeticus successor, Pharaoh-Necho, then rose against Babylonia, and, by victorious war at Charchemish, claimed a short-lived international ascendancy. [Josiah succeeded by Jehoahaz.] This defeat was soon redressed by Nebuchadnezzar, son and successor to Nabopolassar, in a decisive conquest over Egypt at Charchemish, whereupon he became monarch of the all-powerful Chaldean dynasty. Judah, having been subject to Egypt, was then reduced to vassalage under Chaldean supremacy.
5. Geographical References. Jer. 1:1. Anathoth, in land of Benjamin (cf. 1Ch. 6:60). Situate on or near the great road from the north to Jerusalem (Dr. Smith); = Anta, 1 hour distant N.N.E. of Jerusalem (Robinson). Remains existing of walls and strong foundations. A poor village of only about twenty houses.Dr. Porter. Jer. 1:15. Families of the kingdoms of the North; denoting the numerous tribes or smaller nations of which the kingdoms forming the Babylonian empire were composed. This description is itself a prophecy of the compound elements, the admixture of petty nationalities, which would constitute the (then non-existing, but destined to become) ascendant Chaldean dynasty.
6. Personal Allusions. Jer. 1:1. Jeremiah, see Introduction, p. 1. Hilkiah, idem., also Literary Criticisms below. Jer. 1:2. Amon, king of Judah, son and successor of Manasseh, reigned two years, B.C. 642640, killed in a conspiracy (2Ch. 33:21-24). Josiah, a most religious king (2Ki. 23:25). Ascended throne in eighth year, awoke to religious life and divine claims in sixteenth year (2Ch. 34:3, B.C. 634), commenced reformation of Judah in twentieth year (B.C. 630), restored Temple services, re-established worship of Jehovah, and cleansed the land of flagrant vice and idolatry. Book of the Law found during Temple restoration. Reigned thirty-one years; during the latter eighteen years Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem. Fell in war at Megiddo when resisting PharaohNecho, king of Egypt, in his advance upon Assyria (B.C. 610). Ewald conjectures that Psalms 59. was composed by Josiah during a siege of Jerusalem by Scythians. Jehoiakim (see infra), He was an impious man, and impure in his course of life.Josephus. The nation, fearing his despotic character, passed him by, and elected Josiahs second son, Jehoahaz, as king. But Pharaoh-Necho, returning after three months from Assyria (war at Charchemish), deposed Jehoahaz and enthroned Jehoiakim as dependent king. Reigned eleven years; slain by Nebuchadnezzar, the then all-conquering monarch of Chaldea (B.C. 599). Zedekiah (see infra) followed Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, he reigning only three months and ten days. He was the youngest son of Josiah, name Mattaniah; placed on throne by Nebuchadnezzar as his vassal, who named him Zedekiah. A despiser of justice and duty.Josephus. Not so much bad at heart as weak in will.Dr. Smith. In eleventh year of his reign, his Chaldean master ravaged Jerusalem, put out the kings eyes, and carried him, with the nation, into Babylonian captivity (B.C. 588).
7. Natural History. Jer. 1:11. Rod of an almond-tree. Luz , the wild tree (Gen. 30:37); shaked the cultivated, here mentioned: so suggests Rosenmller. Earliest tree to bloom; in January (Kitto). Resembles peach-tree in leaves and blossoms; bears white flower (allusion made in Ecc. 12:5); and almonds, which in the warm southern latitude mature in March (Paxton).
8. Manners and Customs. Jer. 1:13. A seething pot, a large caldron used for cooking purposes (2Ki. 4:38; Eze. 24:3-5). Jer. 1:15. Set his throne at the entering of the gate. Inside the gates of Oriental cities wide covered streets or squares were and are found: these were(a.) places of concourse (Neh. 8:1); (b.) of merchandise (2Ki. 7:1); (c.) of judicial administration (Deu. 16:18; Deu. 17:2; Deu. 25:7; Amo. 5:10; Amo. 5:12; Amo. 5:15); (d.) of royal judgment (2Sa. 19:8; 2Sa. 15:2); (e.) of court councils (1Ki. 22:10 sq.). Possessing the gate implied dominion (Gen. 20:17; Isa. 24:12). These words were literally fulfilled; see Jer. 39:3. [Refer to Land and Book, pp. 2628.]
9. Literary Criticisms. Jer. 1:1-3. Words of Jeremiah, &c. The title to the entire book; not merely to Baruchs roll, which ends with Jehoiakims reign (Jer. 36:12). Yet Henderson suggests Baruchs authorship. Michaelis thinks Jeremiah prefixed them to the whole collection of his prophecies ere he gave them to his captive countrymen to carry with them to Babylon. But Lange remarks that the book contains prophecies of later date than Zedekiah (ch. 4044.), and supposes Jeremiah carried on the writing, under Gedaliah, or in Egypt. Jer. 1:1. Hilkiah of the priests. Clement Alex., Jerome, Eichhorn, Umbriet, and others, think him the high priest of that name (2Ki. 22:4): but Henderson, Wordsworth, Keil, &c., object, for the name was a common one; and the high priest was limited to the line of Eleazar and the house Phinees not Abiathar; and the high priest would live at Jerusalem, not Anathoth; moreover, he would have been designated by the appellative the high priest, or at least the priest, by way of eminence; instead of the priests at Anathoth. Yet Lange thinks it is possible, but cannot be proved, he was Hilkiah who found the Book of the Law; while the Speakers Commentary affirms that beyond a doubt he was the high priest. Jer. 1:4. Then the word; rather And or Now; a conjunction, not adv. of time. Jer. 1:5. Sanctified thee. Henderson, separated from a common to special purpose; Keil, consecrated; but Gesenius points to this passage as illustrating the Piel significance of to declare any one holy. Jer. 1:6. I cannot speak, for I am a child. Sharpe translates, I know not how to speak, for I am a youth. Keil, I know not how to speak, for I am too young (1Ki. 3:7). The Rabbins understood by a boy in his fourteenth year. Jer. 1:11. A rod of an almond-tree. Three interpretations of ; for here is a noticeable paronomasia; I see ; Thou hast well seen, for I will , &c. Jerome, a watchful twig; a twig whose eyes are open, whose buds have burst; denoting God would be watchful over His word; it should not fail. Keil, a wakeful rod, suggestive of alacrity, haste; for God would quickly perform His word (E. V., I will hasten my word, &c.). So also Henderson, rendering to be awake, vigilant; so called because the almond-tree wakes earlier than all other trees from the sleep of winter; meaning therefore Gods determination to execute with all promptitude His threatened judgments. Kimchi, Lange, Schmidt, and others, render the words an almond-tree staff; the reverse of leafy and blossoming; stripped, a threatening rod of castigation; urging that an instrument of chastisement is required by the context. I see a wakeful rod; for I will be swift (alert) to strike. The event shall follow quick upon the prediction. Jer. 1:13. Face toward north. Keil, it looketh hither from the north; the direction whence would come the evil; and being blown (), will boil over, pouring its contents upon Judah. Among Arabs a steaming pot figures war is preparing. Jer. 1:14. Out of the north, &c. Not from southviz., from Egypt, whence disaster was dreaded; but from Chaldea, which as yet showed no menace. All armies marching from the Euphrates towards Palestine entered the land from the north; thus explaining the geographical discrepancy; Chaldea being on the east, not north. Jer. 1:17. Be not dismayed, lest I dismay thee. Another paronomasia , first in Niphil, then in Hiphil. The Niphil signifies broken in spirit by terror and anxiety; the Hiphil, to throw into terror and anguish.Keil. If Jeremiah appeared before his adversaries in terror, then he will have cause to be terrified for them. Sharpe translates, Be not affrighted at their faces, lest I afright thee before their faces, for the repetition of the verb is followed in each case by , with prefix at and to or before respectively.
HOMILIES AND OUTLINES UPON SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 1
Section
Jer. 1:1-3.
Gods messenger to rebellious Judah.
Section
Jer. 1:4-10.
The prophets call, consecration, and commission.
Section
Jer. 1:11-16.
Premonitory visious.
Section
Jer. 1:17-19.
Fearless performance of perilous service.
Jer. 1:1-3. Theme: GODS MESSENGER TO REBELLIOUS JUDAH
Introduction. Jeremiahs ministry would prove lengthy and chequered. For forty years in Jerusalem he would sustain the arduous duties of his office, amid the successive reigns of five kings, under each of whom the nation sank to lower stages of decrepitude and vassalage, until at length the ruthless Chaldean forces swept down upon the apostate and impenitent people, and wrought the captivity of Judah, the demolition of Jerusalem, and the desolation of the sacred land.
That so prolonged a period intervened illustrates the Divine forbearance (Psa. 103:8; 2Pe. 3:9); that God grants lengthened respite, and opportunity to repent and escape, ere He rises to punish. Through so long a time He spake unto them by His prophet, if so they would forsake transgression and turn aside the judgments impending.
Yet, however long the interval of respite, the threatened calamities will surely come (2Pe. 3:10); and they came in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the carrying away Jerusalem captive (Jer. 1:3).
I. Godly parentage recognised and honoured. Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah of the priest, &c.
Besides Jeremiah (and Nathan, 1Ki. 4:5, Tholuck), the prophet Ezekiel (Eze. 1:3; cf. Josephus, Ant. x. 5, 1), and most probably Zechariah (Jer. 1:1, Khler), were of sacerdotal origin.Lange.
1. Sacred ancestry Divinely selected. Jeremiah was to be sanctified for Gods services even before birth (Jer. 1:5): it was appropriate that his parents should be holy to the Lord. So John the Baptist (Luk. 1:13) and Timothy (2Ti. 1:5). This messenger of Jehovah had existence in the Divine mind before he was conceived (Jer. 1:4); and his birth into the world was an incident of Divine arrangement. God appreciates, recognises, and honours religious ancestry. Samuels dignity, which so greatly honoured Hannah, the reward of her piety and prayers (1Sa. 1:27-28; 1Sa. 2:1). Solomon also (1Ki. 2:1-4 sq.); Esther (Jer. 2:5-7; Jer. 2:17); and, in a special sense, the Child Jesus (Mat. 1:18; Mat. 1:23; Luk. 1:28; Luk. 1:30). Godly parents are not lost sight of by God; and their offspring are objects of His special regard. (See Addenda, Parentage.)
2. The childs birth a home joy (Jer. 20:10): Making him very glad. Possibly the child was a gift in answer to prayer, and hence the great joy; as with Hannah. Surely his birth was anticipated by prayer, and followed by dedication, as an expression of gladness and gratitude. It was unsuspecting joy, for they knew not to what eminent office, and to what a career of suffering, their son was born. How is a childs life overshadowed by ignorance and mystery!
3. Honour to the household through the child. Hilkiah had been unknown to history and Christendom but for his son! Who would have heard of the widow Anthusa but for her son Chrysostom? Or of devout Monica but for her son Augustine? Or of the household of the Wesleys but for the boys John and Charles? A child may bring dignity and undying fame to his family and to his birthplace. For Anathoth is thereby raised from obscurity. As is Stratford-on-Avon and Olney, &c. The son may take higher office than his parents (cf. Jer. 1:1; Jer. 1:5); prophet more than a priest. Loftier honour to stand and speak for God among men than to appear for men before God. Hereditary social status is not regarded by God (1Sa. 2:8).
II. Social seclusion invaded by Divine requirements. The messenger of God was born; in due time God would demand him. Boyhood spent in studious and reverent pursuits. His scriptural knowledge gained during those years; his prophecies show accurate acquaintance with the law. At length, to the quet home at Anathoth, God came, to seek for Himself a prophet.
(a.) God can seek out whom He chooses; and (b.) speak to whom He selects: To whom the word of the Lord came, &c. (Jer. 1:2).
1. A communication from God works wondrous changes in him who receives it. It wrought such changes
a. In Jeremiah himself; a new creature that moment; no longer a mere Anathoth boy; awoke to a new consciousness, new visions, new trusts.
b. In his relation to others; belonged to Hilkiah before, now to God; had something which was not his own, word of the Lord; not, therefore, to be kept for himself, not to be silenced; he must speak what he had heard; others must know (1Sa. 3:17; 1Jn. 1:3).
c. In his lifes worth and work. Until now he was nothing beyond his own home, now of worth to all Judah; his work had began, and it was a ministry for his nation. Communication from God implies commission for God (Act. 4:18; Act. 4:20).
2. Our natural inclinations may not interfere with Gods claims. To Jeremiah seclusion and irresponsibility would have been far more congenial than publicity, with all its hazards and solicitudes (Jer. 9:2); but God cannot be restricted by our preferences, nor determined by our sense of aptitude and qualification (Jer. 1:6). If so, the natural man would dominate over spiritual laws and Gods demands. Self must be subordinate when God calls. Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first, &c. Christ would hear of no evasions or inclinations.
3. Gods messengers cannot tarry in seclusion. So Anathoth had to be left (Jer. 2:2). There is an outside world which must see and hear those who love and serve the Lord. No timidity can justify seclusion; open witness for Christ is needed. The times were evil for Jeremiah, the sufferings entailed severe; but he boldly spoke for God (Act. 4:29).
III. Speech for God the outcome of inspiration from God (Jer. 1:1). The words of Jeremiah. Yet his first outcry was, I cannot speak (Jer. 1:6). Nevertheless, we have in this book speeches enough to disprove his own plea. The explanation lies in Jer. 1:2, To whom the word of the Lord came.
1. Natural destitution of gifts, no disqualification for service. He found words (Jer. 1:1). See Jer. 20:9. Moses (Exo. 4:10). When duty for God presses upon us, our insufficiency falls out of the question. What ample assurance, what inexhaustible resources, what provision against our own poverty, dwell in 2Co. 9:8.
2. Human speech the channel of Divine communications. The words of Jeremiah; yet they but expressed and conveyed the word of the Lord. Angels brought the Law (Heb. 2:2); but all Gods messages have come through human speech; even The WORD (Joh. 1:1-14) was made incarnate that MAN might speak to man (cf. Heb. 1:1-2; Heb. 2:3-4).
3. The personal characteristics of inspired messages. Though it was the word of the Lord; these communications were words of Jeremiah; his personality, temperament, experiences, style of thought, modes of expression, are all stamped upon these Divine messages. Inspiration does not obliterate, scarcely subordinates individuality. Hence the graceful variety and naturalness of the Scriptures; their humanness as well as Divinity; and the manifold unity of the whole. God employs the man, his own true self, sanctifies him (Jer. 1:5), moves him by the Holy Ghost (2Pe. 1:21); but does not do violence to his natural gifts and qualities of character. In our work for Him whose we are, all our faculties are needed; Christ asks our every talent, our whole true self.
IV. Gods messenger witnessing amid national convulsions and overthrows (Jer. 1:2-3). Jeremiah came to Judah at an eventful crisis and prophesied amid appalling events. But
1. His mission was originated to meet the crisis. To help Josiah in his work of reformation; to resist Jehoiakim in his reckless impiety; to remonstrate with Zedekiah in his weakness and folly; and to show his captive nation their sin and their Saviour. Gods servants are called to their mission at the right hour. He does not allow any age to be destitute of a messenger from Him. There may always be heard a voice for God, whatever the aspect of the times. Alas! (Isa. 1:3-4).
2. However circumstances may vary, Gods prophet must do his work. Friendly or hostile; Josiah king or Jehoiakim; when Judah is reforming, or hastening back to abomination, whether men heed or oppose. Times of calamity afford special opportunities for Gods voice to be heard. When kings fall, and foes are at the gates, and the kingdom is endangered, then God should be heeded. Judah was a TheocracyGods nation; and with every epoch and change He sent directions, warnings, denunciations, promises, according to the hour. This is the work of every preacher, every Christian; to address himself to the hour; to make Gods Word heard amid confusion, degeneracy, disobedience: to warn the people, lest their blood be upon him.
3. No calamity befalling man places him beyond the Divine message. Josiahs death was an evil incident to Judah; the kingdom was doomed from that hour. But God remained, and He would have spoken hopefully to the bereft nation had they hearkened. Nevertheless, though they despised His Word, it came still to Jeremiah for Judah; when at peace, or amid war; before the Captivity and after; in their own land and in Egypt. Nothing befalls us but God observes; and He sends some word for us suited to the time. Wherever we are, amid privileges or in exile from all joys, still He sends messages of mercy and promise. Man is never beyond the need of Gods message, nor beyond its reach, nor beyond the consequences which follow on reception or rejection; life unto life to the observant and obedient, but death unto death to those who will not heed the call to repentance and salvation. Hear, and your soul shall live.
Jer. 1:4-10. Theme: THE PROPHETS CALL, CONSECRATION, AND COMMISSION
The Divine call involves
I. With respect to him who is called:
a. The duty, to discharge the commission without fear of man, and without regard to his own weakness.
b. The privilege, being assured of Divine protection and aid, and certain success in the work.
II. With respect to those to whom he is commissioned:
a. The urgency of their believing obedience.
b. The certainty of the Divine message being fulfilled; no doubt of their realising the threatenings or promises addressed to them.
ZINDENDORF from Lange
Call and consecration. The investiture of Jeremiah with the prophetic office is effected in four distinct acts:
I. The call of Jehovah, 48. This was not the product of a reflective musing, nor the result of an inward impulse, but a supernatural Divine revelation, an inspiration, a voice from without.
II. His Divine consecration, 9, 10. He felt the hand of the Lord touch him: a palpable pledge of His support. Touching his mouth meant endowment. Equipment and qualification for Gods work must be from God. For the man God has chosen before his birth to a special office in His kingdom He equips with the gifts and graces needed for the exercise of his functions.
III. Signs which unveil his mission. These he saw in spirit. God interpreted them to him as confirmatory tokens of his Divine commission; they are a surety of the Divine promise: (a.) Of the speedy and certain fulfilment of the word of God proclaimed by him; and (b.) the contents of his preaching; disaster and ruin which the North will pour out on Judah.
IV. Supernatural assurances of help. Jeremiah is charged to address himself stoutly to his duties, to discharge them fearlessly, and is assured of powerful Divine assistance. Only by unshaken confidence in the power of the Word he preaches in the name of the Lord will he be able to accomplish anything. God will furnish strength, will make him valiant and impregnable.
Condensed and arranged from Keil.
Commission of the Prophet. In all cases it applies equally as with Jeremiah
I. As to the work in the vineyard of the Lord:
1. It must be performed by men whom He prepares and sends.
2. It is a work both difficult and dangerous.
3. Yet it is rich in successes and rewards.
II. As to the office to which the Lord appoints:
1. It is for the purpose of accomplishing His will.
2. It needs the means which the Lord Himself provides.
NAEGELSBACH in Lange.
Provision for the Church.
I. The Lord never allows His Church to lack the strength which time and place demand. He does not seek this, or wait for it: He makes it (Jer. 1:18).
II. He chooses to Himself despised and inefficient agents for His service. Now He selects one who to himself and to others appears too young; as elsewhere He chose what was foolish, weak, and base in the sight of the world (1Co. 1:19-29; Mat. 11:25; Joh. 7:48; Jas. 2:5). It is not always the greybeard who is wanted.Frster.
III. When God gives office He give, also understanding. (a.) It would be presumptuous to begin a great work in ones own strength. (b.) It is natural in view of a great and difficult task that one should be afraid. (c.) But it would be wrong if, from any pusillanimous despondency or love of ease, one should take no heed to an evident call of God.
IV. It devolves upon God to protect the cause of His servant. Since (a.) It is not our cause, but His; and (b.) we do not undertake it in our own strength, but in obedience to His command.
V. To bear a Divine office ensures Divine succour. When the office is received from the Lord, and is conducted according to His purpose and in His spirit, there the Lord Himself is present with weapons of defence and offence.
VI. Gods Word is mighty, however weak His messenger.
a. It may be in the mouth of the humblest of His servants.
b. It is nevertheless a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces.
c. And no rock is too hard or high for it.
Arranged from NAEGELSBACH in Lange.
JEREMIAHS MISSION
Some saints have been consecrated from the womb. The Baptist was; Jeremiah was (Jer. 1:5). The time came for calling Jeremiah out to his work (Jer. 1:4, &c.). His age uncertain, but he was evidently in the morning of life. Gods call was clear, precise, peremptory. Look
I. At his objection, as here given. Not unreasonable; for his age
1. Would indicate inexperience. 2. Insufficient knowledge. 3. Modest diffidence. Yet, 4. His age and defects time would remedy.
II. How God overrules his objection.
1. He refers to his pre-ordination. Knew, sanctified, ordained (Jer. 1:5).
2. He refers to his commission. Go to all that I shall, &c. (Jer. 1:7).
3. He was to speak Gods words. Did not require his own knowledge.
4. He pledged His Divine presence (Jer. 1:8). Shield, help, deliverer.
5. Then there was supernatural communication (Jer. 1:9).
III. Important lessons suggested.
1. God, and not man, arranges the affairs of His moral kingdom. He plans as to the work and the agency, &c.
2. God qualifies the instruments He employs.
3. God often selects His agents not as men would do. Men the mature, He the young; learned, illiterate; the respectable, the poor.
4. God gives His own message to His messengers. My words.
5. The ministry of Gods servants is mighty for good or evil (Jer. 1:10). How great the results; portentous; solemn 1 Jonah, the Baptist, Jesus, the Apostles.
a. Let us listen when God speaks.
b. Obey when He commands.
c. Trust when He promises.
REV. J. BURNS, D.D., LL.D.
Jer. 1:11-16. Theme: PREMONITORY VISIONS
Introduction. Jeremiah glides, almost imperceptibly to himself, from being a hearer into the office of a seer. He had listened only as yet (Jer. 1:4-10), now he is asked to penetrate and gaze. It is a preparatory and initiative incident; his first exertion of the prophetic faculty of seeing visions. God is thereby gently leading him on towards the prophetic office. Without realising that he is undergoing his first lesson, he passes through it. God allures him, surprises him, indeed, into the exercise of the perceptive powers needful for his mission; and He thus renders self-evident Jeremiahs aptitude for the work. So that when he answered the Divine inquiry, What seest thou? God could respond, Thou hast well seen; thus virtually saying to him, You already prove your power of spiritual discernment, your possession of the prophetic insight (Addenda to chap. Jer. 1:11).
In this cautious manner, dealing so tenderly with Jeremiahs misgivings and sense of inability, God leads him on. It is the second stage in the process of his induction. First he hears that be is selected to this mission. Now a proof is unwittingly supplied by Jeremiah to himself that God has not erred in entrusting him with the prophets office; for he shows immediate ability to discern the symbolic force and teaching of things.
I. Truths pictured in symbols. What seest thou? And his eye rested on the blossoming bough of an almond-tree. What seest thou? And he perceived a boiling pot, whose contents ran over from the north. Each thing seen held a truth; and a truth which ran through all Jeremiahs after history and work.
1. Helpfulness of objective signs. Better for God to show Jeremiah these truths than to merely say them. Signs are impressive; they are remembered; they fix their teaching on the understanding.
The childlike temperament of man is always assumed by God; He teaches him by pictures; not tells him abstract truths. All Bible revelation is a series of pictures, an array of symbols which hold truths. We have very little direct teaching compared with picture-teaching in the Scriptures. All the Temple, its services and incidents, were symbols. All Christs miracles were truths acted out in incident; parables in action.
2. The eye an avenue of instruction. When Pharaoh and the magicians saw Aarons rod effect mightier results than their rods could work, they needed not a word to convince them of the supreme power of Aarons God. It was convincing argument; the lesson was trenchant and decisive. Jeremiah never lost the lessons of these visions; he knew that events would follow quickly upon his prediction (Jer. 1:12, hasten); and that calamity would come upon Judah from the north (Jer. 1:14-15). Our Lord knew the value of lessons seen; hence He continually appealed to His hearers to look at things around and heed their teaching: Behold the fowls of the air, &c. (Mat. 6:25). Behold a sower, &c. (Jer. 13:3). Behold my hands, and feel that it is I (Luk. 24:39). This Divine plan with the prophets, and Christs plan with His apostles and the multitudes, supplies the model for effectively teaching sacred truths.
3. Hidden meaning in things. The almond bough, the seething pot, were for signs; and Jeremiah saw their significance. Some persons see nothing; have eyes but see not; blind with a blank literalism. Everything is merely what it is. They have no imagination, no perceptive power, no spiritual vision.
The primrose on the rivers brim
A yellow primrose was to him,
And it was nothing more.Peter Bell.
Yet, to discerning eyes, all things hold hidden truths, a Divine suggestiveness. The world is full of parables, in which sacred teachings are portrayed, and in which the enlightened soul perceives some counsel or promise from God.
To a few even the Bible is nothing more than a printed book, sealed and silent, with no revelation for them. The veil is upon their heart. Yea, the gracious Jesus, fairest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely, has to them no beauty that they should desire Him.
This barren materialism closes the universe around a man like the grim walls of a prison.
Two worlds are ours: tis only Sin
Forbids us to descry
The mystic heaven and earth within,
Plain as the sea and sky.
How different this from the thoughts breathed in Kebles hymn, There is a book who runs may read! so full of enlightened discernment of the sacred side of natural objects. If we see the deep things of God, it is because of grace; and we have reason to say
Thou, who hast given me eyes to see
And love this sight so fair,
Give me a heart to find out Thee,
And read Thee everywhere.See Addenda to chap. 1., Visions.
II The Prophets initiation
He was not ushered suddenly into the dazzling splendours of prophetic visions, making heaviest demands on spiritual insight; the first step was simple, the gradations gradual.
1. The learner tested. What seest thou? Exert your own perceptive powers; try how far they will carry you towards truth. It is wise to educe a learners powers. So Jeremiah looked out first upon nature. Would he see anything? Among all the arboreous growths, would anything suggestive strike him? Trees were all black in winters death; no fertility, no vitality; barrenness, somnolence everywhere! But lo! one solitary twig among the trees bears blossom; it is an early fulfilment of Gods word, which pledged the spring: he calls it the wakeful tree, quick to bloom, hastening into activity with earliest dawn of spring. And God commended his vision, for he had seen well, or aright.
He then turns towards the habitations of men: activity is everywhere; on the open hearth steams the caldron; many things are happening which would engross the idle gazer; does anything stand out specially on Jeremiahs vision? One object arrests him, and he sees that only, all else is excluded; it has a significance to his minda pot boiling over in a certain direction. He observes every minute particular. It makes evident his faculty of suggestive discernment.
There stands a Cross on Calvary. Men pass by. It is nothing to them; but What seest thou? All depends on your discernment. Is it merely a symbol of suffering, or of salvation?
2. Progressive stages of instruction. The first vision was easier far than the second. The almond bough was the only living thing within his gaze. Noticeable, therefore, by contrast with surrounding death; readily discernible. Having passed that test, the second demand comes. This seething pot was only one of many noticeable things; not conspicuous; it required more effort on his part to detect the suggestive object.
But more. The truth taught by the sign was harder to bear. The first simply taught that God would early perform His word; the second indicated mixed elements in the pot, boiling over, with its face from the north, meaning that mingled nations which would constitute the Northern scourge, which would overflow its boundaries and pour calamities on Judah. Thus our Lord gave to His disciples teachings as they were able to bear them, holding back the weightier truths till they had learned the simpler.
God has more to show us of Divine purposes, more great and marvellous truths; but He leads on as we are fitted to discern them. The Israelites under Sinai heard once Gods voice, then entreated that it might never speak again; but Moses, who, reverently regarded, went up to the heights, saw visions of resplendent glory, and talked face to face with God. Our power to receive visions is the only limit to larger revelations.
3. Personal preparation. The visions Jeremiah would eventually behold would be full of awfulness and dark with threatenings. God showed him an outline first, that he might be prepared to meet the wider portrayal of things to come.
His mind received the germ of truth, and he had been exercised in prophetic perception. His eyes had now been Divinely opened. He most conclusively showed his aptitude for sacred communications. He could see well. This aptitude was not at first manifest; but the visions had taught him his qualifications and mission. He was to be a seer, a prophet. It is, then, right to remark that, If God calls us to use powers in His service which we do not think we possess, (a.) Be assured that we have them: (b.) He will teach us to use them: (c.) They will be sufficient for our work: (d.) They will grow into vigour by further use. Reflections:
1. God never errs in calling us to service for Him; He will qualify us.
2. Cultivate a discerning eye of signs God puts before us.
3. Simplest things may hold sublime teachings. Christs parables were simple, but they contained truths of eternal value to the world.
III. The messages taught by the visions. 1. That his prophetic word would be followed quickly by the event (Jer. 1:12). Some prophecies pointed to distant years; but these were nigh. Therefore his mission was urgent; the judgments gathered thick and fast. Comp. Jonah, his preaching to Nineveh. Analogy: Our testimony of the nearing hour of death; the accepted time hastening away; the Spirit grieved, ready to depart. To-day, if ye will hear His voice, &c.
2. That an unexpected foe was gathering his forces for their destruction. They dreaded Egypt; but the Chaldean dynasty would soon gather together the families of the kingdoms, and become a scourge to Judah.
a. Where we look not for calamity it may come (Jer. 1:14).
b. God prepares retribution for transgressors (Jer. 1:15).
c. Apostasy from Him cannot go unpunished (Jer. 1:16). (See Addends to chap. 1, Out of the North.)
Such was the prophets announcement! The Gospel admonitions and denunciations are equally appalling. May they who hear them flee from the wrath to come. For in Christ we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7).
Jer. 1:17-19. Theme: FEARLESS PERFORMANCE OF PERILOUS SERVICE
Jehovahs charge to His servant.
Pauls charge to Timothy is emphatic and vigorous (2Ti. 4:1-5), pointing out the hazards and difficulties of his ministry, the forms of hostility which would assail his word, and encouraging him to assurance, diligence, and fidelity.
But this is a charge from the Almighty God Himself to His prophet, who had shown much reluctance and trembling. (See Addenda to ch. 1., I cannot speak.)
I. Attitude must be valiant, Jer. 1:17.
1. Not craven: Stand, or arise.
2. Not apologetic: Speak.
3. Not awed by men: Be not dismayed.
4. Not forgetful Whom you serve: Lest I confound thee.
II. Strength shall be invincible, Jer. 1:18.
1. God had made him impregnable: I make thee, &c.
2. His work would be against all ranks of the people.
3. He would be assailed, as a defenced city is besieged, Jer. 1:19. Fight against thee.
III. Hostility would be impotent.
An iron pillar which could not be overthrown; brazen walls which fire could not consume.
Judah would be overthrown, and Jerusalem burned; but not Gods prophet: for
1. A Divine promise of safety is given: They shall not prevail.
2. The Divine Presence would be around him: For I am with thee.
3. The Divine Power would be exerted for him: To deliver thee.
A prophets work.
I. The Divinely-called prophet becomes a sacrifice and instrument for God.
1. He regards only Gods will and command.
2. Must do and proclaim what the Lord bids him do and preach.
3. Must expose himself to consequent hostility.
4. Must meet antagonism with fearlessness of man and faith in God.
II. The wrong and results of sin must be proclaimed to all, heedless of their station, Jer. 1:18.
1. The anger of God against sin will certainly overtake them.
2. The preacher must set forth these facts: sin, and Gods consequent displeasure.
3. This must be declared to the whole people: All the land.
4. Equally before governors as subjects; the high as well as the low.
III. A teacher, in view of gross corruption, must not proceed softly.
1. Vigorously overthrowing wrong, Jer. 1:10.
2. Having by the Law destroyed the kingdom of Satan in the hearts of men;
3. He must seek to build up the kingdom of Christ therein by the Gospel.
IV. Resentment may be the only return men make for faithful work for God.
1. Kings and subjects equally hate a reprover.
2. Sense of its justice makes reproof more exasperating.
3. Yet Gods witness must fearlessly tell the whole truth.
4. In courageous service God will protect His messenger.
Enlarged and evolved from STARKE in Lange.
Servants of God.
I. Their duty.
a. Always to have their loins girded, Jer. 1:17.
b. To proclaim without fear of man whatever the Lord commands.
II. Their privilege.
a. Mighty through the power of God.
b. Unyielding to any power on earth.
III. The Lords requirements of His servants.
a. To be always ready for His service: Gird loins.
b. To accomplish what is bidden without delay: Arise and speak.
IV. The Lords promise to His servants.
a. That He will be with them.
b. That no earthly power shall conquer them.
NAEGELSBACH, in Lange.
Gods witness.
I. He must be quick: Arise, and lose no time.
II. He must be busy: Speak unto them, in season, out of season.
III. He must be bold: Be not dismayed.
IV. He must be faithful; for
1. He must speak all that he is charged with. Forget nothing, conceal nothing.
2. He must speak to all that he is charged against.
a. Because he has reason to fear the wrath of God if he should be false.
b. Because he has no reason to fear the wrath of man if he is faithful.
MATTHEW HENRY.
HOMILETIC TREATMENT OF SUCCESSIVE OR SELECTED VERSES IN CHAPTER 1
Jer. 1:1. The word of Jeremiah. A revival of prophecy marked this epoch. Long silent under Manasseh and Amon, it now was heard again (see Intro. Jer. 1:6).
The name Jeremiah means either Jehovah throws down (Hengstenberg and Lange, deriving the name from Ramah), indicating that God would overthrow by him His foes: or Jehovah exalts (Speakers Commentary, from word Ram, high), denoting that none should cast down him whom God upholds.
But the name was borne by others of no significant character, exalted office, or special mission. (1Ch. 5:24; 1Ch. 12:4; 1Ch. 12:10; 1Ch. 12:13; 2Ki. 23:31; Neh. 10:3; Neh. 12:1; Jer. 35:3.) It is not our name makes us great; the mission we fulfil and the grace God bestows, these make our lives of worth.
I. The voice of prophecy heard among men. He was entrusted with words to speak to Judah and the nations.
1. The necessity for Divinely-sent words. Nation was ignorant (Book of Law lost); indifferent (to conscience, memory, Divine claims); insensible (not believing in or preparing against looming peril). Certainly desirable some voice should appeal for God and truth.
2. The mission of Divinely-sent words. To arouse the people to repentance, to true piety (not merely the form of godliness), and to escape by national humiliation the wrath to come (chap. Jer. 36:3).
3. The results of Divinely-sent words. Effect of Jeremiahs preaching on Judah would be either (a.) To lead back the heart to God, and so prove a savour of life unto life; or (b.) to increase their hardness of heart, their responsibility, guilt, and doom; a savour of death unto death.
Divine words, by a Divinely-inspired speaker, cannot be heard without results, saving or hardening, on hearers.
So when Christ spoke: Joh. 15:22; Joh. 9:41, Take heed how ye hear.
II. The messages of prophecy brought to men.
Before a prophet it is natural to ask, What words he comes to utter? (Act. 17:18-20; Act. 10:33.)
1. The tidings which the words convey.
a. Of mingled import. Not all denunciatory. Dark though Judahs criminality, God did not send only words of wrath and menace, but pitiful, pleading, promising also.
b. Suggested by mans spiritual case. Our state, mood, actions, call forth specific words. Gods messages meet man in every circumstance and condition. We turn from the vile in silent loathing, refuse words with those who wrong us; but God speaks to all.
c. Foretelling doom and redemption Doom from the North; redemption by the Lord our Righteousness. Temporal ruin to Judah; but a darker destiny for those who reject the salvation of Christ. Temporal restoration, and a Messiah incarnate in Palestine, to Judah; but a spiritual return to God, and possession of Heavenly Land, for those who rest in Jesus. With Him in paradise.
2. The calling which the Prophet fulfils.
a. He utters what he receives from God. Is not a philosopher, to evolve truths; but a prophet, to accept a message and utter it. His are not, therefore, earth-born speeches, not of human wisdom or human wishes. Preachers are to tell what seen and heard (Luk. 7:22).
b. Announces truths with a grieving heart. Sorrowing over the sin he has to denounce, and the doom he has to pronounce. Not angry with the people (Num. 20:10); not desiring the woeful day (Jer. 17:16); but with tearful pity (chap. Jer. 9:1), as with Paul (Php. 3:18).
c. Suffering at the hands of those he warns. (Joh. 3:20; Joh. 10:31; Joh. 10:39; Gal. 4:16.) The preacher of righteousness is a living denunciation of those who love sin and disobey God. So, too, is every Christian whose character and actions speak out for the Lord against human indifference and iniquity; therefore he is maligned and maltreated.
3. The hearers to whom the words apply. To Judah first, as being his own nation. Beginning at Jerusalem. For there is a patriotism of Divine service (comp. Rom. 9:1-3; Rom. 10:1).
But also to the nations, Jer. 1:4. The world needs the words. Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
Jer. 1:2. To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah.
Theme: THE PROPHETS TIMELY ARRIVAL.
Jerusalem and Judah had already heard the Divine sentence of overthrow from former prophets; now the time was near; and as the interval diminished, God raised up this earnest, pleading witness under the third king before the Captivity.
I. God discerns the spiritual necessities of the age.
He had given Josiah as king; but more was required.
1. The royal reformation. The king, alone in his pious zeal, was doing all a king could; rectifying the evil customs, instituting religious observances, stemming crime, establishing Jehovahs worship. But notwithstanding all, there remained still:
2. The nations degeneracy. The kings work could not reach the nations heart, could not renew Judah, and recall the people to spiritual allegiance to Jehovah. All was external thus far. There was needed, and therefore sent:
3. The sacred call. It was Jeremiahs work to plead for God, speak to the heart of Judah, allure the nations trust and love. This inner work remained to be done. And the prophet came upon the scene to supply the lack which the kings work made more evident.
II. God sends companionship in holy and arduous work.
Jeremiah came to the aid of Josiah. At first no man stood by him. But lonely service will weary the most heroic heart. Christ sent His disciples two and two. All sacred ministry asks helpful companionship.
1. It supplemented the royal deficiency. Not only
a. The impotence of the king, who could not attempt the persuasive ministry, the spiritual pleading with the people, needful to awaken their sympathetic response to his reforming plans; but
b. The ignorance of the king. The Scriptures were lost; Josiah did not know the Law and Covenants until after he had reigned eighteen years, when the Book was found. A child of guilty Amon, brought up in a corrupt court, he could have received no religious instruction. Jeremiah supplied this lack, as Aaron supplemented Moses deficiency.
2. It sanctioned the royal work. Jeremiahs timely arrival would:
a. Show the king Gods approval of his designs; and
b. Impress the nation with the urgency and need of a complete return to God.
III. God supplies effective helps to conversion.
Could He have done more to aid Judah to return to Him than by giving so devotedly religious a king, and so pathetically patriotic a prophet?
1. Guilt and irreligion were condemned and discouraged. Both king and prophet expressed Divine disapproval of wrong. None were left in doubt whether to call good evil or evil good. Sinners cannot plead ignorance or unconsciousness, of sin.
2. Calls and opportunities were offered to newness of life. Oh, how they surround us! The Gospel, the Cross, the Spirit, our instructors, all plead with us. Jeremiahs ministry was an interval of hope to Judah. We have an accepted time, a day of salvation.
3. Neglect of God was left without justification or excuse. They would not hearken (Heb. 10:26-29). How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?
Jer. 1:2-3. Theme: THE CHANGEFUL INCIDENTS OF A LIFES WORK.
Life is full of changes, reverses, and uncertainties. (See Addenda to chap. 1, Changes.)
I. His mission began in auspicious times.
All encouraging and helpful to the prophets mission. King friendly to his work; nation aroused by royal activities; Temple services re-established; Book of Law soon found.
II. His office continued amid regal changes.
1. The various character of kings. Each unlike the other. Royal goodness not hereditary. (See Critical Notes, 5, above.)
2. The royal attitude towards the prophet. What an influence, in furthering or retarding the servants of God, the throne exerts!
3. The overthrow of royal opponents. Each crowned head that lifted itself against Gods purpose and the prophets mission was bowed to ignominious shame (Psa. 2:2-4).
III. His prophecies closed amid national calamity. Destruction and exile.
1. His warnings fulfilled upon the disobedient.
2. His messages followed the captives. He still was with them, and spoke for God among them in Egypt.
3. His promises lighted up their exile, pointing them on to Restoration and to Christ.
Thus:
i. We cannot perceive the end of a thing from its beginning. A career began amid national reformation, closed amid utter overthrow and ruin. What reverses enter life! How may promises perish amid disaster!
ii. God hides the sterner duty from us at the outset. Strength and courage and faith must grow, or Jonahs would always flee from lifes severer ordeals and tasks. He tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, does not lay upon us more than we can bear.
iii. Sacred work must be done regardless of surroundings. It is not for the Lords servants to faint in the day of adversity. Kings may menace, perils may arise: but
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting there.
Painful as are the mutations around usand they were to Jeremiahstill we must be loyal in our duty to God, and responsive to sacred claims.
iv. Our mission is to act the part the hour demands. Help the good Josiah; withstand the rebellious Jehoiakim; chide and correct the compromising Zedekiah; go with the captives into their affliction. Suit our work for Christ to the characters around us, and to the circumstances in which we find them. Human life is not stereotyped; Christian work must be versatile.
v. Every crisis finds the dutiful servant sufficient and sustained. For God is able to make him stand; yea, and he shall be holden up. So this prophet found. So all who are the Lords (2Co. 2:14).
Jer. 1:5. Foreknowledge and predestination.
Gods address here is unequivocal and emphatic. Two antagonistic opinions held: 1. Divine purposes are absolute with man, and include the determination by God of mans will and life. 2. Divine purposes are conditional on man; they foresee and accord with mans own determination.
Certainly Jeremiahs will had to be subordinated; but. it was a free subordination. There was no violation of his liberty of action; God gently conquered his reluctance and rectified his fears. This Divine work upon him gave him liberty, set him free from enthralling misgivings and dreadful apprehensions; raised him into assurance and reliance on Jehovah; his subjugation was his translation from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
I. Facts affirmed.
1. The unborn child foreknown of God. Before I formed, I knew thee. The Divine idea antedates the Divine act (Psa. 139:16). Yet this assertion of mere foreknowledge is not all which the Hebrew word knew implies. Verbum cognitionis verbum favoris est. It as to be taken in the sense of having a regard for; I approved of thee. I know him (Abraham), that he will command his children, &c. (Gen. 18:19; comp. Psalms 1, 6; Nah. 1:7. See cognate N.T. word, Mat. 7:23). Those who know, (revere and cherish) Thy name, &c. (Psa. 9:10; comp. Hos. 8:2).
2. A life predestinated to Gods service. Before birth I sanctified thee. Not from (after) birth, but from before birth. We may understand the word sanctified as meaning (with Henderson and Lange) set apart to sacred service; they contending that primarily the word does not mean to be pure or holy; that God had cleansed Jeremiah from the pollution of original sin, or had regenerated him by His Spirit; but that He had separated him in His eternal counsel to his appointed work. So Samson (Jdg. 13:5); Isaiah (Isa. 49:1); John the Baptist (Luk. 1:15); Paul (Gal. 1:15). Others claim that the primary significance is to be pure, clean (Speakers Commentary); and here, therefore, I made thee holy, and so to dedicate to holy purposes (comp. 2Sa. 8:11). Keil observes and infers that God has predetermined before our birth what is to be our calling on earth, and He has accordingly so influenced our origin and growth in the womb as to prepare us for what we are to become and to accomplish, &c Three interpretations: (a.) Eternal separation to Gods service. (b.) Absolute sanctification prior to birth; personal purity. (c.) Control over the life prior to birth so as to effect individual adaptation for the sacred services he would have to fulfil.
The last is preferable. He whom God foreknows is born with a Divinely secured aptitude for Divine work. (See Addenda to chap. 1, Fore-ordination.)
3. Gods prophet a Divine production. I ordained,i.e., appointed or gave. A prophet is a Divine benefaction; he is born as a boon; his ministry is a gracious bestowment. Thus:
a. Gifted witnesses of God are gifts to the age from God (comp. Eph. 4:11-12). How melancholy if the Divine Father sent forth no messenger to an erring world! All gone out of the way, none seeketh after God;yet God leaves men to their own wilfulness, unchecked, uninformed, uninvited! Dreadful if always trueI looked, but there was none to help, and I wondered that there was no intercessor. But comp. Jer. 11:7; Jer. 7:25.
b. Their presence among men a testimony of God, and their voice a testimony from God. A prophet is a proof that God is: his endowments and mission are supernatural: and his attestations are miraculous: and his word speaks from God; inspired, authoritative. He that heareth you, heareth Me. Such are the assertions of this verse.
II. Truths evolved.
1. Events of time do but unfold projects of eternity. Occurrences on earth, as if the veil is thrown aside, show Divine arrangements till then hidden. God is planning; time is unrolling His plans, bringing hidden devices to pass. God is interested therefore in all incidents; they lie within His anticipation. My Father worketh hitherto.
2. Opportune incidents are Divinely regulated events. It was opportune that Jeremiah came just at that juncture of Judahs history, while Josiah was endeavouring to reform the nation, and ere the foe was at the gates. Was it merely fortuitous, a coincidence? Or rather, He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.
3. A childs birth and occupation work out Gods purposes. There is a providence therefore over our entrance into life. Yes, and the fitfulness of childhood, wilfulness of youth, the risk and uncertainty of opening manhood (as we see them), only screen the movements of a Hand which controls all, directing the life into appointed paths. We work into and work out Divine intents.
4. Messages from God await the advent of a herald. God had much to say to Judah, even while Josiah worked on alone; but Jeremiahs hour was not yet. Startling to think of solemn messages laid up in heaven, kept sealed, until a babe is born at Anathoth, and nourished into youth. But the word of the Lord comes by the appointed herald at the needed hour. O Lord, send by whom Thou wilt send.
Thus, therefore, a man pleading for God is Gods pleading with man.
Query. Is the Divine foreknowledge and predestination true only of earths greatest sons, and Gods special witnesses? In a sense true of all men. Known unto God are all His works, from the beginning of the world. A mans goings are of the Lord. Each should realise his place in Gods plans, and ask, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?
Stand up! thou art as true a man
As moves the human mass among;
As much a part of the great plan
That with creations dawn began,
As any of the throng.
The great! what better they than thee?
As theirs, is not thy will as free?
Has God with equal favours thee
Neglected to endow?
With these, and passions under ban,
True faith, and holy trust in God,
Thou art the peer of any man!
Look up, then, that thy little span
Of life may be well trod.
Jer. 1:6. The pleadings of fear.
Literally, Alas! my Lord Jehovah! There is no resistance on Jeremiahs part, but he shrinks back alarmed. So at the vision of the cherubim, Isaiah cried, Woe is me! and Ezekiel sat astonished seven days. Jeremiahs gentle and tender spirit submits, but with a cry of pain (Speakers Commentary). I cannot speak, &c. The Targum paraphrases this correctly, I cannot prophesyi.e., I have not the powers of oratory necessary for success. The prophets of Israel were the national preachers in religious matters, and their orators in political. The reluctance exhibited by Gods servants (Exo. 4:10; Exo. 6:12; Exo. 6:30; Jon. 1:3) to accept the call shows that they did not assume the office under the impulse of self-deceiving fanaticism.
I. Weakness is the channel of Divine efficiency. God works by weak things (1Co. 1:26-29); for they most magnify God (Psa. 8:2).
II. Conscious disqualification the preparation for noblest achievements. Equipped with nothing of self, there was room for Gods grace to clothe him. He became mighty because he felt himself nothing.
A prophets qualification is not aptitude for uttering Divine discourses or foreseeing calamities, but speaking words given him with all assurance, and as an ambassador. (Addenda to chap. 1., I am a child, and I cannot speak.)
III. Terror in the presence of responsibility.
a. Overwhelmed with vastness. Ah, Lord God!
b. Timidity shrinks appalled. Ah!
c. Inexperience dreads duty. A child to speak!
d. Incapacity urged. I cannot speak.
e. Youths natural misgivings. I am a child.
Jer. 1:5-7. Theme: FEARS AND COMFORTS IN PROSPECT OF LABOUR FOR GOD
Here is a young man trembling on the threshold of a life of arduous service. Here is the Master equipping him for the service, dissipating his fears and assuring his heart.
The scene is a common one. Trembling fingers ever gird on the armour. Nor is it wonderful. Think of magnitude of the undertaking, feebleness of instrument, deadly hostility of foe. Gods Davids always had to meet the worlds Goliaths with nothing but sling and stone.
I. The fear of Gods servants in prospect of labour.
1. He feels his weakness. A child.
a. Having no influence. Men will listen to those of riper years. Speakers who can appeal to public services rendered, and to old and tried friends, thus secure attention. Jeremiah had no such advantages.
b. Having no experience. How can a child find the clue to intricacies of human heart? How successfully combat sophistries of man?
c. Being unstable. A child is easily influenced, soon afraid. While seeking to deliver others, himself may be ensnared.
2. He feels his ignorance. How speak of themes which exhaust vocabulary of angels? How little know of Thy word and ways, or of deplorable and dreadful condition of men!
Every preacher should feel this. Think of the surpassing excellencies of Jesus; and we but beggars outside the city gate, who yet have to tell of the Majesty dwelling amidst splendours of palace! We only know in part; have seen but glimpses of the King. True, we know enough to bless ourselves, but not enough to do Him the honour He deserves.
How little we know of man. Each different from his fellow; exposed to specific temptations and sorrows.
3. He feels his unworthiness. A child, undistinguished, unknown.
4. He dreads the enmity of man. Though a child he knows the hostility of man to truth. Not unnatural to dread worlds malice. Crucified together with Christ, is no mere poetic fancy. We have fellowship with His shame, scourging, darkness, distress. Men drove rough iron into the Masters hands, will not bind ours with silken cords; placed on His head crown of thorns, will not place on ours crown of roses; gave Him vinegar, not us wine; pierced His side, will not merely menace ours!
II. The comforts of Gods servants in prospect of labour.
If our fears be many, our consolations abound.
1. The assurance they are called to the work. I ordained thee a prophet. Despite his ignorance, unworthiness, and fear.
2. The knowledge of the purpose of God. Thou shalt go to whom I send thee. Some find here reason for inactivity; they say, He will save His elect, and then fold their arms. But Gods purpose is not only that Israel shall be saved, but that Jeremiah should go. It contemplates the means as well as end.
Rejoice at the knowledge that it is part of Divine plan to use us.
3. The promise of the presence of God. I am with thee, &c. (Jer. 1:8). We have not to carry out His purpose without His help. This promise a sovereign antidote for every fear. Was he weak? The Almighty was near. Ignorant? The wisdom was at hand. Unworthy? The Lord of glory stood by him.
4. The fact that the message was from God. Whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. We have not to guess our theme; we have the mind of Christ. The teacher sent from God may and must be dogmatic.Items and Twigs.
Jer. 1:8. He had never occupied any public station or performed any public duty. You need not fear their facesthe thing that timid young men are most wont to fear. Think only that the Lord is with you, and let his presence be your joy and strength.
1. His ministry would lead him before high and mighty personages.
2. His messages would arouse the malignity of haughty potentates.
Not easy to confront such men, to condemn them, to incur their hatred, to denounce their designs. Fear of man must retire before fealty to God.
Jer. 1:9-10. Theme: INCAPACITY DIVINELY RECTIFIED.
There is a special feature in Jeremiahs preparation and equipmentno human presence came upon the scene to render aid, as with Saul of Tarsus (Act. 9:17); nor even angelic interposition, as with Joshua (Zec. 3:4-5); nay, nor yet exalted seraphim, as with Isaiah (Isa. 6:6-7)it was a direct act of JEHOVAH. Already there had been (Jer. 1:8)
I. Courage inspired. For God requires valour, and a dauntless faith. These he called into exercise.
II. Ability conferred (Jer. 1:9).
1. The act: stretching forth of the Divine hand = exertion of Divine power. Something was accomplished. There was more than an exertion; an emanation of power.
2. The touch: it indicated Divine energy communicated. It had passed into him whom the Hand touched, like electric fluid into a receiver.
3. The localisation of power: the mouth. Jeremiahs power was to be in speech; not in physical vigour, nor even mental force, but in uttering God-given words. The local incapacity rectified.
III. Communication intrusted. I have put my words in thy mouth. This was a tangible pledge of inspiration. God committed His messages into Jeremiahs charge. Henceforth he would not speak of himself, but as the Spirit gave him utterance.
It was a real, not imaginary occurrence; a positive contact of Deity with the now divinely-endowed prophet, and it imparted to him his sacred commission.
IV. Installation completed (Jer. 1:10).
1. The dividing line of his life. This day. A mere Anathoth youth until that day; henceforth Gods prophet. All things become new.
2. His exalted mission. Set over, &c. Gods deputy: placed as overseer, above kings and nations, to supervise and control events. For his word would work more potently than royal designs or strife of armies (Jer. 23:29). The issue showed this (comp. Act. 5:38-39).
V. Work defined. To root out, &c. He had the highest authority (comp. Mar. 1:22). He moved amid magnates doing Heavens behests, foreshadowing the Lords mission (Joh. 5:2). Gods Word has much to overthrow and demolishin nations, in human habits, in secret affections and thoughts. All forms of sin must fall before its condemnations (Heb. 4:12-13). On the scene of ruin it then begins to build and plant (comp: Eph. 3:20-21; Eph. 2:10).
Such is the work every man of God has to do. Taking the sword of the Spirit, he is to exterminate and slay all hostility to God; and then to rear on the ruins of sin a holy temple unto the Lord. Our sufficiency is of God.
Jer. 1:9. Theme: THE TOUCH OF GOD. The Lord touched my mouth.
Query. Was the act objective, or only subjective; an actual occurrence, or an impression on the inner consciousness?
The Lord cannot literally have put His words into the prophets mouth; He can only have given him the charism of which the words were the necessary resultLange.
Attactus oris signum est notans efficaciam spiritus sancti, quippe qui digitus Dei sit, aperiens labia ministrorum verbi (Psa. 51:13-14; Psa. 51:17; Luk. 21:15).Frster.
A purely subjective transaction, as the moment when the presentiment first flashed clearly through the soul of Jeremiah that his prophetic calling was of Divine appointment.Ewald.
A physical and literal incident; and that the Son of God, in pre-intimation of His blessed incarnation, appeared to Jeremiah in a human form.Starke.
The hand is the instrument of making and doing; the touching of Jeremiahs mouth by the hand of God is consequently an emblematic token that God frames in his mouth what he is to speak. It is a tangible pledge of inspiratio, embodiment of that influence exercised on the human spirit by means of which holy men of God speak, being moved by the Holy Ghost. The act is a real occurrence, taking place not indeed in the earthly, corporeal sphere, but experienced in spirit, and of the nature of ecstasy.Keil.
An appropriate symbolic act. The touching of the lips of Isaiah with a live coal (chap. Jer. 6:7), and the giving of a book to Ezekiel to eat (chap. Jer. 2:8-10), were similarly symbolical of prophetic qualification, and implied a gift of inspiration (comp. Dan. 10:16). In all these instances the actions occurred in supernatural vision.Henderson.
The symbol of the bestowal of divine grace and help, by which that want of eloquence, which the prophet had pleaded as a disqualification, was removed; and distinctly was an external act, impressing itself objectively upon his consciousness, though in what manner it is impossible for us to tell.Speakers Com.
I. The varied consequences of the Divine touch.
Old Testament.
1. Expiation (Isa. 6:6).
2. Inspiration (Jer. 1:9; comp. Eze. 2:8-10; Isa. 51:16; comp. Act. 2:3).
3. Impartation of strength (Dan. 10:16).
New Testament.
Blessing infants (Luk. 18:15).
Removing organic defects (Mar. 7:32; Mar. 8:22).
Curing diseases (Mat. 8:2; Mat. 8:15).
Upraising the prostrate (Mar. 9:27).
Awaking the dead (Luk. 7:14).
Reviving the overwhelmed soul (Rev. 1:17).
Infer:
1. That the hand of power and renewal is the same in the Old and New Testaments. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
2. That all remedial changes in man are Divine. He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new (Rev. 21:5). We are His workmanship (Eph. 2:10).
II. Human need of the transforming touch of God.
1. These varied incidents denote mans varied ailments and afflictions.
a. Incompetent for Divine work (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel).
b. Suffering from physical malformations and maladies.
c. Bowed down before visions of glory (John on Patmos).
2. The gracious issues of the Divine touch reveal the suitability and sufficiency of grace in God.
Power unlimited is in His hand. The everlasting hills tremble and smoke if He touch them. Right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. He never stretched forth His hand to work on frail humanity without (a.) immediate results, no delay in the remedy; nor without (b.) appropriate results, the very effect desired ensued; nor without (c.) beneficent results; in all cases He put His hands upon them and blessed them. Contact with Christ is life-giving, healthful, saving.
Jer. 1:10. Theme: THE PROPHET A SUBVERTER OF KINGDOMS. I have set thee over the nations, &c.
The strict and literal import of words here used assign to the Divine teacher a sway above sceptres, a power mightier than potentates, a spiritual domination over dynasties and temporal kings.
As he stands before God he is a mere servant, a trembling child; but as he stands in Gods stead among men, he is above rulers and princes, installed as vicegerent, swaying the destinies of kingdoms.
This title (Pkeed) is given only to those invested with high authorityEgyptian officers (Gen. 41:34), Abimelechs viceroy (Jdg. 9:28), the high-priests deputy (2Ch. 24:11), the Levitical representative (Neh. 11:22), chief governor in Temple (Jer. 20:1). Jeremiah was Gods highest officer, supreme above monarchs and nations.
I. His official supremacy and supervision. I have set thee over, &c.
1. Empowered with a sway superior to kings; for their sway was soon broken, their word frustrated; but his endured and was accomplished. For there was a Power behind his word, and therefore power in his word.
They thought to defeat Jeremiahs influence by imprisoning him; but his sway went on. The word of God was not bound; it still worked towards fulfilment. Every living servant of God is thus endowed with a sway and a dignity above potentates. A chained prisoner could say to King Agrippa and noble Festus, I would to God ye were both almost and altogether such as I am!
2. Intrusted with the destiny of kingdoms. He was to have his eye upon the conduct of nations, and to utter predictions of prosperity or adversity accordingly.Henderson. What was effected in accordance with, is spoken of as a consequence of, his word. This mode of speech also indicates the certainty of the events he announced: they would follow as effects of the cause. The prophets word would thus determine the fate of nations (comp. Eze. 43:3; Jer. 25:15-17 sq.; Hos. 6:5).
II. The irresistible activity of his word.
In this case the spiritual was ascendant over temporal authority. Divine speech is more stable than sceptres; words are mightier than swords. His words were at the same time deeds, real exhibitions of power.Lange. The word of God in His prophets has power to do what it says will be done.Wordsworth. With the words of the Lord he is to destroy and to build up peoples and kingdoms. The Word of God is a power that carries out His will, and accomplishes that whereto He sends it (Isa. 55:10 sq.). Against this power nothing earthly can stand.Keil.
At first we should say, Such words can never be applied in their literal import to any seer or teacher: they belong to the warrior and the conqueror. We must explain them by a figure of speechhe who discourses of the fall of kingdoms is represented as himself the over-thrower of them. I do not think that either the analogy of language or the facts of the case justify that method of interpretation. If the prophet only talked of what was happening or what was to happen, no poetical licence could permit us to confound him with the subverters of thrones and societies. But have we yet to learn that a great teacher or reformer, though he may never take a sword into his hand, does that which swords cannot do; that swordsmen, in fact, only carry out upon the surface that which he is doing underground? The uprooting of the thoughts and principles in which acts originate, the planting the seeds of life which are hereafter to bring forth fruits that all will recognise, are his functions. If he has received any inspiration, any vital power at all, it must be one which enables him to produce a movement at the very heart of human life and society, in a region of which the ordinary statesman knows nothing.Maurice.
This power would be used for the most part destructively; the overthrowing being expressed by four different similes; yet also constructively, though to a lesser extentonly two words describing this part of his mission. The first is accomplished by prophesying Divine judgment; the second, by promising Divine mercy.
See the power of prophecy (Eze. 37:7-10), and of the LIVING WORD (Rev. 2:16; Rev. 19:15; Isa. 11:4).
Jer. 1:15. Theme: WAR THE STROKE OF GOD.
I will call, = I am calling. The present tense of Hebrew indicates judgment has begun; the Almighty has risen up to decisive action; a Voice which will be obeyed is calling for the long-delayed retribution; Jehovah is summoning His hosts to the war. (See Addenda to chap. 1, War.)
I. Divine punishment by human agency. I will call, &c.
This fact is the basis of text. What man does, he does in obedience to a Force higher than himself. God uses him.
1. Miraculous forms of justice are needless.
God has them, and used them (2Ki. 6:15-17; 2Ki. 19:35).
But the armies of nations are His, to do with as He wills. So also affliction, accident, reverses of fortune, mental and physical disasters. Even crafty and covetous men, who can wreck strong fortresses of wealth and position, God can use.
2. Common incidents of calamity are not the less supernatural. If God employs them, though His hand be not seen, they are supernatural. He now avoids the extraordinary methods of old times, and works by the ordinary.
II. Jehovahs forces of retribution. All the families of the kingdoms, &c. = Nebuchadnezzars motley combination which made up the Chaldean army comp. Isa. 13:4-5).
1. Armies assemble at His bidding. Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus may lead their war-hosts to the siege, but God reigns over rulers; the King of kings doeth according to His will among the armies of heaven and inhabitants of earth. All wars have behind them a Divine use.
2. National overthrow testifies to national sin. So in Judahs case. Guilt is the occasion of all catastrophes. History shows this so with nations (see Nineveh, Babylon, Jerusalem; and recently Paris). Experience reveals the same law at work among men.
III. Military counsels fulfil Gods commands.
They shall set every one his throne, &c.; indicating a tribunal of judgment, a council of war concerning the fate of Jerusalem. The decision would be as God had determined (comp. Critical Notes, above, 8).
1. Over decisions of court the Judge of all the earth presides. This still true concerning senates, chambers, parliaments. See the fact as relating to our Lord (Act. 4:27-28; Act. 2:23; Isa. 14:24-27).
2. Over the plots of armies the Lord of hosts sways rule. Their stratagems He oft defeated; their designs He sometimes prospered. (See Scripture battles.) This equally true of plots of wicked against righteous, and of hellish foes (Psa. 37:12-13; Eze. 35:10; Rev. 20:9).
IV. Foes sweep down on those whom God abandons. Every one his throne against Jerusalem.
1. The protection of Providence withdrawn, they invite the spoilers. Where the carcase is, there the eagles will gather together.
2. The restraint of Providence withdrawn, the spoilers hasten to the prey. Just as serpents in the wilderness rushed into camp as soon as Gods restraining care was forfeited.
a. Unkept by God, our life is hourly imperilled. How different this from Psa. 91:1-7.
b. Around those Divinely forsaken the hosts of evil quickly assemble.
c. Left to our enemies ensures utter ruin. As with Judah (2Th. 2:10-12).
Jer. 1:16. I will utter my judgments, &c. This phrase, to speak or pronounce judgment, is properly to have a lawsuit with one, an expression peculiar to Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 4:12, Jer. 12:1, Jer. 39:5), is equivalent to pleading with a person (cf. Jer. 12:1 with Jer. 2:35; Eze. 20:35), and signifies not only remonstrating against wrong-doing, but also the passing of condemnation, and so includes trial and sentencing.Keil.
To pronounce a judgment or judicial sentence upon any one. Jehovah threatened the Jews with punishment on account of their rebellious conduct; He now declares He will carry His threatenings into effect by means of their enemies, who would sit in judgment and inflict the calamities upon them they merited. The sentences delivered by the foreign princes would be in effect the judgments of God. He would employ them as His instruments in carrying them into execution.Henderson.
By the capture of Jerusalem God as judge pronounces solemn condemnation upon her.Speakers Com.
Viewed in one light, war is the boiling caldron of human passion, upset by hazard, and bringing only ruin in its course; in the other, it is God sitting in judgment, with the kings of the earth as His assessors, solemnly pronouncing judgment upon the guilty.Idem.
Through these idolatrous enemies of Gods people Jehovah would execute His judgments.
Theme: UNCONSCIOUS DIVINE AGENTS.
I. Divine control over the workings of the human will.
II. The ungodly may unknowingly further Gods designs. So Josephs brethren who sold him. So Israels enemies in the wilderness.
III. Reckless hostility may but obey His behests. The wrath of man shall praise Him. Indulging their idolatrous hatred, they wrecked the Temple and the city of God, and thus chastised Judah as God designed; and fulfilled prophecy, thus confirming revelation for after-time.
IV. Man in his most impious moods is still a subject of Divine government. The godless cannot repel the Almighty from their lives. He may work by their very impiety, and compel them blindly to obey Him.
V. To be in the hands of God for His use in our rebellion, forewarns our being in His hands for our just requital. As Egypt (Jer. 46:13); as Chaldea (Jer. 50:1-3; Jer. 50:9-10).
Jer. 1:17. I. Gods method of holding judgment. Brings nations before Jerusalem, and lets them determine the fate of the city. Their resolves respecting Jerusalem would express Gods thought and plan.
II. Gods chastisements are based upon deserts. Judgments touching their wickedness, &c. They would suffer nothing they had not merited. Judicial sentence, righteous, deserved.
Jer. 1:17. Theme: HEROISM IN GODS SERVICE. Gird up thy loins, stand and speak, &c.
Girding the loins = resolute preparation for the performance of duty. A metaphor: the Orientals, who wore long robes, bound them up with a girdle ere attempted work or started on journey (comp. 2Ki. 4:29; Job. 38:3; Luk. 12:35; Eph. 6:14). God here summons Jeremiah to
a.) Earnest exertion; (b.) firm purpose; (c.) ready alacrity; (d.) cheerful hope, not despairing that good might ensue from his ministry.
He is further reminded that
(a.) Fear is a snare and dishonour. (b.) God is greater than the greatest, therefore should His servants bear themselves with assurance. (c.) Cowardice will entail confusion and contempt. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Addenda to chap. 1., Courage before kings.)
I. God will be served by courageous, not by craven souls.
A ministry of whispering humbleness is puerile and revolting. The age wants men. Men appreciate manly fortitude. God is dishonoured by a fawning ambassador. Lion-hearted preachers wanted.
II. Gods work requires resolute preparation and purpose.
Gird and stand, = Equip thyself, and with a stalwart heart preach My words to the land.
1. It is a determined work. Whether they will hear or forbear.
2. It is a denouncing work. Speak to them all that I command, against kings, &c., Jer. 1:18.
3. It is a destructive work. To root out, pull down, &c., Jer. 1:10.
4. It is a Divine work. In Gods stead and name, speak. Who sufficient?
III. Gods servants must confront all menaces with a dauntless faith in Him.
1. As one bearing awful tidings, which must not be trifled with. Stand and speak all I command thee.
2. As a messenger who will himself be condemned if he fail in his charge. Warn the people; with earnestness, and all-conquering importunity, lest their blood be required at thy hand (Ezekiel 33). Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe, &c. (1Co. 9:26; 1Co. 9:17).
3. With unabashed fortitude, remembering for Whom he speaks. I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces. For who is man, even the mightiest, when God is in our thought? What can man do to silence us, when we bethink of the eternal issues at stake, and the urgency of redemption?
Jer. 1:18-19 suggest further
IV. Gods witness assured of invincible strength.
1. The hostile array, Jer. 1:18.
2. Their malevolent treatment, Jer. 1:19.
3. His impregnable strength, Jer. 1:18.
4. His Almighty fortress, Jer. 1:19, I am with thee.
OUTLINES ON NOTICEABLE TOPICS AND TEXTS
Jer. 1:5. Topic: THE DIVINE FORMATION OF A HUMAN LIFE. Text: I formed thee.
This rectifies the scientific idea of natural development; asserts an Active Cause working for definite ends in the instance of an individual; that God has something to do with our formation and our career.
It also explains the startling individuality of character and work which is often apparent, and which cannot be accounted for by parentage and circumstances; children do not reproduce their ancestry always; grand departures from the rule have given the ages their greatest and most useful men. Hence it is right to affirm that
I. Individuality of character and life is a specific creation of God.
1. Our natural qualities are not accidents of human progeniture. (See Addenda to chap. 1, Divine formation of a life.)
2. Our religious disposition is not determined by domestic culture e.g., Manasseh was the wicked son of good Hezekiah, Josiah the good son of wicked Amon.
3. Our personality is a factor in society which God authorises and employs.
Ergo,
a.
The sacredness of our individuality.
b.
Gods interest in each life, and our use of life.
c.
Our place in Divine regard. His readiness to befriend and bless. His desire for our piety and salvation. He who made us, made us for Himself, for His glory and our weal.
II. The Divine purposes forecast the issues of human birth.
1. Our existence argues that there is a place for us in the world; awaiting us, suited to us, needing us.
2. Our being in the world is itself an incentive to the faithful use of life.
3. Our special aptitudes denote and designate our calling. God gives us our distinctive powers. His purpose for us is that we use ourselves, and in the most useful way, and that we make earthly existence a pathway to eternal blessedness and reward.
III. A mission on earth is predetermined to the man of God. I ordained thee a prophet.
God does not ordain the careers of evil men. Men are free to resist and reverse Gods plans for them. They are not helpless slaves of Divine decrees.
1. For the Divine servant there awaits a Divine service. Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?
2. A life of religious usefulness works out Gods plans. Ergo, His plans are beneficent. He who uses life to bless others, and brings wanderers back to God, does what God desires and designs.
3. No career of godly activity can be fruitless or unrewarded. For it effects what God arranged. And God is not unrighteous to forget your work, &c.
IV. Equipment for sacred duties is the effect of Divine grace. I sanctified thee.
Catholic theologians argue that Jeremiah was born without original sin. Neuman interprets the statement as that the Holy Spirit was communicated to him before birth. Hoffman, Henderson, Lange, &c., regard the word as denoting the sacred designation of his life.
1. The importance of a good life, both to God and man. The life we live does affect Him who formed us, and its influence on others may be vast and imperishable. What majestic work one life may do for God!
2. A life wrecked and wasted by sin is a calamity. It arrests the aim of Gods grace; it adds some force to the rule of evil; it deprives a man of his birthright; it is a melancholy perversion and an irremediable catastrophe. Even if the soul is saved at the last, the life is lost.
3. Divine grace avails for the salvation and sanctification of each one. Jeremiah, like Paul, only illustrates the fulness of redemption, the abounding grace of God for others (1Ti. 1:16).
Jer. 1:7. Topic: THE HUMAN OUTCRY SILENCED. Text: The Lord said unto me, Say not!
This outcry was born of shrinking, lowliness, apprehension. It indicated a lack of fortitude and faith. If allowed to rule, it would have arrested Gods plans, and deprived Judah of one of her noblest prophets, and of a warning ministry urgently needed.
I. The human heart is prone to speak out against God.
1. In self-assertion. (a.) Sometimes pride objects to Gods commands and plans: I dislike this kind of service, this mode of salvation. It levels me! (b.) Or self-will utters itself: I cannot bow, cannot acquiesce, cannot think it right. My will, not Thine, be done!
2. In self-excusing. (a.) Cowardice tremblingly pleads: I cannot take up that cross. I should make shipwreck of faith. I am not fit to serve. (b.) Indifference answers with subtle voice: Sacrifice is not required of all. God cannot have given pleasures merely to deny them. It is not urgent that I seek the Lord, or do His bidding. (c.) Graceless humility urges its plea: I am unworthy. I am not qualified. Surely God doesnt mean or want me!
II. Heavens claims override all human reluctance.
1. God has rightful authority over His creatures. Thou, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified (Dan. 5:22-23). Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am! (Joh. 13:13).
2. Mans true attitude is unhesitating acquiescence. Who art thou that repliest against thy Maker?
3. Divine prescience never errs in demands. It is folly, therefore, and presumption for us to question. He does not mistake the man or the appointment. He never calls to service or salvation the wrong person (Joh. 6:45; Joh. 6:37; Rev. 22:17).
III. God silences altercation, and summons to obedience. Say not! Thou shalt go; thou shalt speak.
With unquestioning promptitude we should reply to His call, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. His work is solemn, urgent, all-constraining.
1. Our will and faculties subordinated to God. Even as Abraham obeyed, not knowing whither he went. Do not raise a difficulty in the way of Gods plans. If He wants to use you, let Him; if to save you, let Him; if to honour you, let Him. It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good!
2. Our lives expended in service for God. Times of sore hardship may make us falter; ready again to speak out against God. Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name, &c. (Jer. 20:8-9). But our sole course is to endure to the end.
3. Our entire self completely abandoned to God. No word of excuse (Luk. 9:57end, Jer. 14:18). No looking back. No reservation (Luk. 18:28). For ye are not your own. Calvins motto on his crest was, I give Thee all; I keep back nothing for myself. (See Addenda to chap. 1, Obedience.)
Jer. 1:10. Topic: CHARGE TO PASTORS: THEIR WORK DEFINED. Text: See I have this day set thee over nations and over kingdoms to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Differences between the prophets and pastors office: his an extraordinary, yours ordinary: his was to be exercised over nations and kingdoms, yours over a church and congregation.
Yet, even in his case, there was no civil power: he was no pope: nor was he invested with the authority of a modern bishop: no secular away; he pulled down and built up prophetically. Though you have no such power as this, given by extraordinary inspiration, yet in the way of declaring Gods word, whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained.
Your labour is less, yet the nature of your work is the same; and the same spirit of faithfulness is required over a few things as over many.
Your work is divided into two parts:
1. To discourage evil, root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down.
2. To encourage good, build and plant.
The imagery is of two kinds: that of a house, and that of a garden.
1. The Church is Gods house, Gods building, and you are appointed to labour together with God, to pull down, destroy, and throw down the rubbish, and then to build upon a new and good foundation.
2. The Church is also Gods garden, and you are appointed to work in it, keep it in order, root out weeds, plant and cultivate the godly fruit.
I. Inquire what are the evils against which you must contend, and the methods you are to adopt in this opposition.
1. By your public ministry root out errors in doctrine. Respecting God: His character, His ways with men, His law, both in precepts and penalty. Respecting Christ: defend His dignity, maintain His atonement. Respecting your people: such as self-righteousness and presumptuous hope. Pull down also the vain expectations of sinners.
2. By leading the Church, in the exercise of faithful discipline, root out evil-doers. Churches, formerly respectable and prosperous, are decaying for want of discipline. Some pervert the parable of wheat and tares as excuse for negligence; but the field is the world, not the Church.
3. By rendering your pastoral visits subservient to the purposes of conviction and correction. There are cases which you could not touch in the pulpit without irritating; others which do not fall under church censure, which should come within the cognisance of the pastor. This is difficult; consequently some have declined it, pleading it would offend and damage the cause. Leave results with Christ. Yet all may be done without offence: mingle counsel and encouragement with censure, as did Paul with the Corinthians.
II. What is that good which you are to encourage: what the work denoted by building and planting?
In general, encourage and impart just sentiments. Encourage and cultivate holy tempers and dispositions. A company of modest, humble, upright, diligent, holy people evidences a good minister. But more particularly
1. As a Builder.
1. Be sure you lay a right foundation. Christ is the foundation: of Gods laying, of apostles and prophets; and you must lay Him as the foundation of faith and holiness.
2. See that your materials be fitly framed together (Eph. 2:21): implying that
a. They be hewed and squared. What could a company of proud, prejudiced professors do together with the godly? These sins must be cut off.
b. They be formed by the same rule. Whatever variety, in some respects there must be uniformity: similarity of views; hearts renewed after image of Christ; for what fellowship, &c. (2Co. 6:14-18).
c. Every one be put in the situation for which he is formed. Some have splendid gifts, stones in front of building, for ornament and strength. Others have more private excellences, affectionate in counsel, grave in deportment. Every gift should be disposed of as that it shall be of greatest use to the whole. Offices filled by men because of their property, perverts this law.
3. So frame the whole as that it may be a fit habitation for God. It must be Gods house, not yours. Because of Nebuchadnezzars vanity, This is the house I have built! All buildings are with a view to habitation. Build so that God may take up His abode with you.
2. As a Planter.
1. Sow wholly a right seed.
2. Give attention to the plants as you see them grow.
3. Cultivate them by every means.
4. Pray that they may be watered by the Holy Spirit.
a. While pulling down or building, rooting out or planting, in Gods house and vineyard, do not overlook your own. Personal religion is of utmost importance to a minister.
b. Consider that you are a labourer together with God. He that employs you will reward you.Rev. Andrew Fuller.
Jer. 1:19. Topic: OPPOSITION. Text: And they shall fight against thee, &c.
Every servant of God sure to meet opposition. In proportion as we are faithful to God expect to be assailed by man. Doctrines, habits, and acts of true servants of God antagonistic to maxims and tastes of world: they are protests against what sinners love. Success in Gods service fills them with alarm: these men turn world upside down; and would expel us from every paradise of pleasure, cut off every supply of gratification, and abandon us to a life of melancholy.
I. The vehemence of our foes. Fight against thee.
Not fight against principle so much as persons. Aim to wound the saint more than refute his doctrine.
1. Formerly this virulence was manifested in revolting cruelties; lit fires of martyrdom; crowded prisons with sufferers for conscience sake; drove thousands into exile; even disturbed ashes of pious dead to emphasise their execrations of the living.
2. Now opposition resorts to more secret, though not less deadly means. Seeks to prison confidence and joys; impede progress, disturb peace, destroy spirituality.
The angel of tolerance and specious doctrine is seen, not the foul enemy: but the same implacable heart of hate prompts hostility. They shall fight to end of time, though methods vary.
II. The certainty of our security. They shall not prevail.
Saints may be weary, maimed, fearful, but cannot be ultimately defeated. False professors will fall a prey: indeed they tempt the tempter; but true men are sure of victory. Issue has ever been, We are more than conquerors.
III. The source of our confidence. I am with thee, to deliver thee.
This assures
1. The abiding presence of the Lord. Near to observe our behaviour, hear our entreaties, stimulate our hearts.
2. The constant manifestation of the power of the Lord. To deliver; i.e., such help shall be vouchsafed that every one of His soldiers shall work out his own salvation.
Word of caution: Let us be careful that our enemies are the enemies of truth; that our strict adherence to Divine commandments is the sole occasion of their hostility.
If we suffer, let it be for the kingdom of heavens sake, or we shall not inherit the benediction.
It is possible to fight for God, and yet not be fighting with God, nor with Divinely-appointed means: in which case defeat is neither wonderful nor undeserved.Sermon Framework.
ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 1: ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIVE EXTRACTS
Jer. 1:1. Anathoth. A poor village of some twenty houses, built among white rocks and white ruins, on a bare, grey mountain side. No trees, no verdure, no richness, no grandeur, no beauty: amid mountain solitudes and rocky dells, he (Jeremiah) mourned and wept over the foreseen calamities of his beloved country. One can trace in nearly all the images and illustrations with which his writings abound, the influence of those wild scenes amid which he passed his boyhood. Mountains, rocks, wild beasts, shepherds, are again and again introduced.Dr. Porters Syrias Holy Places.
Hither to his fields Abiathar was banished by Solomon after the failure of his attempt to put Adonijah on the throne (1Ki. 2:26). This was the native place of Abiezer, one of Davids thirty captains (2Sa. 23:27), and of Jehu (1Ch. 12:3). The men of Anathoth returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezr. 2:23; Neh. 7:27). The cultivation of the priests survives in tilled fields of grain, with figs and olives. The quarries still supply Jerusalem with building-stone.Dr. Smiths Dictionary.
Mean as the place is now, it was then a walled town, and its ruins still afford some traces of its ancient importance.Kitto.
Son of Hilkiah. Parentage. A young minister, when about to be ordained, stated that at one period of his life he was nearly an infidel. But, said he, there was one argument in favour of Christianity which I could never refutethe consistent conduct of my father.
Richard Cecil, from contemplating his mothers holy character and inward peace, was persuaded of the Faith, and led to consecrate his life to most successful devotion to the Redeemer.
Plato, seeing a child do mischief, went and corrected the father for it.
Jer. 1:2-3. Mutations of life. When one sea floweth, another ebbeth. When one star riseth, another setteth. When light is in Goshen, darkness is in Egypt. When Mordecai groweth into favour, Haman groweth out of favour. When Benjamin beginneth, Rachel endeth. Thus we are rising or setting, getting or spending, winning or losing, growing or fading, until we arrive at heaven or hell.Henry Smith.
Predestination. If Jeremiah had fancied he was a prophet because there was in him a certain aptitude for uttering Divine discourses and foreseeing calamities, who can tell the weariness and loathing he would have felt for his task when it led to no seeming results, except the dislike of all against or for whom it was exercised,still more when the powers and graces which were supposed to be the qualification for it became consciously feeble. Nothing but a witness, the more sure for being secret, thou wast marked and sealed for this function before thou hadst done good or evil; all thy powers are endowments to fit thee for fulfilling thy vocation, but do not constitute it; it may produce nothing but pain to thyself and to those who are brought within thy influence; still the words must be spoken, the acts must be done; for they are not thy words or thy acts;nothing but such a persuasion, written and rewritten in a mans heart, could sustain him against the conflicts, outward and inward, which pursue the true prophet.Maurices Prophets and Kings.
Jer. 1:5. Divine formation of a life.
Fore-ordination. Propheta nascitur non fit. A man is not educated unto a prophet, but originally formed for the office. Samuel declared a message from God to Eli when he was a little child. Note, God can, when He pleases, make children prophets, and ordain strength out of the mouths of babes and sucklings.M. Henry.
Children do not always reproduce their parents.
Origen had Christian parents, but Clement of Alex., and Justin Martyr were born and trained amid heathenism; rising like stars out of night. St. Francis of Assisi, again, had parents who were gross, brutal, and sordid; whereas he himself became one of the loveliest, holiest, and most self-abnegating of men which Christendom has known. Erasmus, also, the eminent Christian scholar, had a parentage whose history was one of sorrow, shame, and monastic bigotry; yet he rose to great usefulness and honour in the Church. Parentage does not always determine the character and career of the child.
Jer. 1:6. I am a child. Lowliness of mind. Self-distrust is the first proof we give of having obtained a knowledge of ourselves.Zimmerman. St. Augustine being asked, What is the first thing in religion? replied, Humility; and what is the second? Humility: and what the third? Humility. Humility is the truest abstinence in the world. It is abstinence from self-love and self-conceit, the hardest and severest abstinence. Humility leads to the highest distinction, because it leads to self-improvement.Sir B. Brodie. We must be little children in our own sight, in order to be prophets.Bishop Wordsworth. God dwells with the humble.
The saint that wears heavens brightest crown
In deepest adoration bends;
The weight of glory bows him down
The most when most his soul ascends;
Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.
MONTGOMERY.
I cannot speak.
Eloquencea plague upon the word when we are talking of Jesus and of souls!has no gift or benediction.F. W. Faber.
The sign-posts that point the way by the side of the road, never have a quotation of poetry upon them, or sentences from Isocrates or Sophocles. There is just the word, and that is enough.C. H. Spurgeon.
Having heard Massillon preach at Versailles, Louis XIV. said to him, Father, when I hear others preach, I am very well pleased with them; when I hear you, I am dissatisfied with myself?
Even the world honours consistency and courage, and the plainest speaker will have, in general, the most hearers. The only part by which a bull can be safely taken is the borns.Power.
Jer. 1:7. Obedience.
Submit yourself to God, and you shall find
God fights the battles of a will resigned.
BISHOP KEN.
We can have no idea what we should be able to do if we were completely lost in accord with God; if we sought no will but His; if not a word of our mouths, not a beat of our hearts, not a thought of our minds, not a movement of our souls or bodies but were turned to Him obediently, in the spirit of Samuel, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. There have been men who have shown what a man can doa Luther, a Calvin, a St. Paul, a Mosesthese men have shown what a man can do when he only seeks to obey the will of God.A. Monod.
Blessed is that simplicity which leaveth the difficult paths of dispute, and goeth on in the plain and sure path of Gods commandments.Thomas Kempis.
Jer. 1:11. What seest thou? Prophets have need of good eyes; and those that see well shall be commended, and not only those that speak well.M. Henry.
Almond-tree. The rods which the princes of Israel bore were almond rods, at once the ensign of their office, and the emblem of the vigilance which became them as leaders of Gods chosen people (Num. 17:6-8). Aarons rod, that blossomed and yielded nuts, was an almond bough. The almond-tree has always been regarded by the Jews with reverence. Its fruit was among the presents which Jacob charged his sons to take with them on their second visit to Egypt (Gen. 43:11); and the ornaments of the golden candlesticks were made after the pattern of almonds (Exo. 25:33); and even to this day the modern English Jews on their great feast-days carry a bough of flowering almond to the synagogue. An allusion is made in Ecc. 12:5, to the white or silver hair which, ere one is well aware, covers the head of old age.
The hope, in dreams, of a happier hour,
That alights on miserys brow,
Springs out of the silvery almond flower,
That blooms on a leafless bough.
Jer. 1:11. Visions. Refer to Kebels hymn for Septuagesima Sunday.
Earth is crammed with heaven,
And every common bush on fire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.
UNKNOWN.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
As You Like It, SHAKESPEARE.
Jer. 1:14. Out of the North. The swelling waters of a flood are a usual type of an overwhelming calamity (Psa. 69:1-2), and especially of a hostile invasion (Isa. 8:7-8); but this is a flood of scalding waters, whose very touch is death. The caldron represents the great military empires upon the Euphrates The tide of passion and carnage is sure finally to pour itself upon Judea. The caldron looks ominously towards Jerusalem, but it has not yet overturned; and if Judah repent, God may make it exhaust its fury upon itself [Nineveh and Babylon being in conflict], or a defeat instead of victory at Charchemish may alter the whole tide of events. But if Judah remain impenitent, it must become the prey of whosoever conquers in the plains of Mesopotamia.Speakers Com.
Jer. 1:15. War.
Twas man himself
Brought Death into the world; and man himself
Gave keenness to his darts, quickened his pace,
And multiplied destructions on mankind.
One murder made a villain [Cain],
Millions a hero [warrior]. Princes were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.
Ah! why will kings forget that they are men,
And men that they are brethren!
Still monarchs dream
Of universal empire growing up
From universal ruin.PORTEUS.
Jer. 1:17-18. Be not dismayed. Courage before kings.
Said the Roman Emperor to Chrysostom, I will banish thee. Thou canst not, was his answer, for the world is my Fathers house. Then will I Kill thee. That is not in thy power, for my life is hid with Christ in God. I will deprive thee of all thou possessest. Nay, for my treasure is in heaven, and my riches are within me. But I will exile thee, that thou shalt not have a friend or companion left. Neither canst thou do that; for my Friend is He who will never leave me, and from whom none can sever me. I defy thee, proud emperor; thou canst do me no harm at all!From Crowds of the Bible.
When Polycarp was brought before the pro-consul, this officer addressed him: Renounce Christ and I will release you! Polycarp answered, Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He hath done me no wrong; and how can I speak evil of my King, my Saviour? The pro-consul replied, I have wild beasts; to these I will cast you, if you change not your mind. But he boldly rejoined, Thou seemest not to know what I am; hear me freely professing it to theeI am a Christian.
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temple of his gods.MACAULAY.
He holds no parley with unmanly fears;
Where duty bids he confidently steers,
Faces a thousand dangers at her call,
And trusting in his God, surmounts them all.COWPER.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
PART TWO
CHAPTER FOUR
THE CALL OF THE PROPHET
Jer. 1:1-19
The prophets of Israel were launched upon their prophetic career by a definite call. Amos, the herdsman from Tekoa, declared that God took him from following the flock and inducted him into the prophetic ministry (Amo. 7:14-15). He felt a divine compulsion to preach (Amo. 3:8). Isaiah, the aristocrat, saw a vision of divine glory and heard the voice of his God calling for a messenger. Isaiah knew that the call was meant for him and so he volunteered: Here am I! Send me! (Isaiah 6). Ezekiel saw the dazzling and mysterious throne-chariot of God and from this experience he came to realize that he was to preach the word of God (Eze. 2:8 ff.). An essential mark of a true prophet and a primary element in the prophetic consciousness[93] was the assurance of a divine call. Logically and chronologically the prophets career begins with a call.[94] It is therefore most appropriate that the account of the call of Jeremiah stands first in the book.
[93] R. B. Y. Scott, The Relevance of the Prophets (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1944), p. 88.
[94] Lindsay B. Longacre, A Prophet of the Spirit (New York: Methodist Book Concern, 1922), p. 92.
I. PREFACE Jer. 1:1-3
TRANSLATION
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests which were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, (2) to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. (3) Also it came in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, until Jerusalem was carried away captive in the fifth month.
COMMENTS
A great deal of information is packed into the brief preface with which the Book of Jeremiah opens. Most of this information has been sifted and weighed in the preceding pages. It remains here to briefly take note of the literary, personal, geographical and chronological data contained in the first three verses.
The superscription opens with the formal title of the book: The Words of Jeremiah. Though the book contains a great deal of biographical narrative the emphasis throughout is on the preaching of Jeremiah. He was first and foremost a preacher of the word.
Concerning Jeremiah personally the superscription relates three facts: (1) That he was of the family of Hilkiah; (2) that he was a priest before he was a prophet; and (3) that he lived in the priestly town of Anathoth. As a priestpossibly the son of the high priestthe prospect before him was that of a quiet and probably uneventful life teaching the Torah of God in his home town and serving periodically at the Temple in Jerusalem. But God had other plans for this timid young priest. From the obscurity of priestly service Jeremiah was catapulted by the call of God into a position of national and even international responsibility.
The main function of the preface is to sound forth the note that Jeremiah had received divine revelation. The phrase to whom the word of the Lord came describes that mysterious process by which the prophet of God received divine revelation. This expression occurs some twenty times in the Book of Jeremiah. Many attempts have been made to explain how God spoke to the prophets. Did the revelation come to the prophet while in a state of mental unconsciousness and inactivity?[95] Or did they receive their oracles while in complete possession of their rational consciousness?[96] It is interesting to notice that the New Testament is silent as to the manner in which God spoke to the prophets. peter declared: Men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit (II Peter I:21). To go beyond this simple statement is to become involved in useless speculation.
[95] Such was the position of Philo the Jewish philosopher who be lived that the prophet was to the Spirit what a flute would be to a musician. See Harry A. Wolf son, Philo (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1947), II, 2830.
[96] Such was the position of Origen, the Christian Apologist. See Origen against Celsus; The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), IV, 61113.
The superscription is full of valuable chronological information. Three kings are named: Josiah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin, both of whom reigned only a matter of months, are omitted. The year of Jeremiahs call is pin-pointed as the thirteenth year of king Josiah. This was one year after Josiah began to purge Jerusalem and Judah and five years before the discovery of the lost law book.
The superscription seems to imply that the ministry of Jeremiah terminated with the fall of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Zedekiah. The problem is that Jeremiah continued to perform his prophetic duties for some time (possibly years) after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 41-44). The solution to this problem probably lies in the fact that there was more than one edition of the Book of Jeremiah during and shortly after the lifetime of the prophet. See earlier discussion. It is of course possible that the superscription simply means that the active or official ministry of Jeremiah closed with the destruction of Jerusalem. A minister today who has officially retired and terminated his active ministry might still preach occasionally.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
I.
(1-3) The first three verses contain the title prefixed to the collection of prophecies by some later editor. This title would seem, from its unusual fulness, to have received one or more additionsJer. 1:1 giving the general title, Jer. 1:2 the commencement of Jeremiahs prophetic work, Jer. 1:3 the period of his chief activity and its conclusion. Strictly speaking, indeed, we see from the book itself that his work continued after the beginning of the captivity.
The words of Jeremiah.The more usual title of prophetic books is the word of the Lord by the prophet, but the title of Amos (Amo. 1:1) is in the same form as this. The Hebrew for words has a somewhat wider connotation than the English, and is translated acts in 1Ki. 11:41; 2Ch. 33:18.
Hilkiah.Possibly the high priest of that name (2Ki. 22:4; 2Ki. 23:4). See Introduction.
Anathoth.In the tribe of Benjamin, one of the cities assigned to the priests, apparently to the house of Ithamar, to which Abiathar belonged (1Ki. 2:26; Jos. 21:18; 1Ch. 6:60).
That were in Anathoth.There is no verb in the Hebrew, and the description belongs to Jeremiah individually, not to the priests.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE SUPERSCRIPTION, Jer 1:1-3.
The first three verses constitute the general heading of the book. The time described does not cover the whole period of Jeremiah’s life, but rather that of his principal influence on the fortunes of the theocracy. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin are omitted from the list of kings because of their insignificance.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1. Words Speeches or discourses. Most of the prophetical books commence with the title “The word of God;” but those of Jeremiah and Amos are called the “words” of these prophets. For this two reasons have been given: 1) These books contain, along with prophecy, much historical matter; 2) The whole books are historical; even the prophecies being a written record of what was at first delivered in the form of oral discourses. Such matter is in Hebrew often called “words.” See marginal note 1Ki 11:41 ; 1Ch 29:29.
Son of Hilkiah See Introduction.
Anathoth A city lying one and one fourth hours northeast from Jerusalem, according to Robinson; or three miles, according to Eusebius. This place is first mentioned in Jos 21:18. “Men of Anathoth” were among those who returned from the captivity. Ezr 2:23; Neh 7:27. It was a priests’ city and had “suburbs.” Jos 21:18; 1Ch 6:60. It would hence appear that the place was not without consequence; and combining, as it did, what is best in the life of the city and the country, it doubtless contained the ripest fruits of Jewish culture. The conditions there were favourable for producing the great representative man of this period.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Introduction.
Jeremiah’s prophecies are introduced in the usual way by naming the kings in whose reigns he prophesied. His initial call came in the thirteenth year of Josiah, at a time when the land was prospering materially. It was five years before the discovery of the Law Book in the Temple (2Ki 22:8), and was at a time of rampant idolatry in Judah which had become so engrained that YHWH would warn Huldah the prophetess that even Josiah’s reforms would only delay His wrath on Judah (2Ki 22:16-20). However, the fact that Jeremiah was not the one consulted in respect of the Law Book (it was Huldah the prophetess who was consulted) suggests that he was still not established at the court as a prophet at the time when it was discovered. The very discovery of the Law Book undoubtedly gave impetus to the reforms that were already taking place under Josiah, but it must not be seen as commencing those reforms, for the very fact that it was discovered during major repairs to the Temple demonstrates that reform had already begun, as 2Ch 14:3-4 makes clear. It was found, during this extensive repair work, within the fabric of the Temple. That being so it was almost certainly put within the structure at the time that the Temple was built, that is in the days of Solomon (for such was a general custom of the age), and its discovery therefore caused great excitement. It was a powerful voice from the past, and is quite possibly what was in Jeremiah’s mind in Jer 11:1-10. But although Josiah was a good king, and in responding to it made great efforts to restore Judah and Jerusalem to the true worship of YHWH, their roots had become so badly infiltrated with idolatry and immorality that his reforms were only a partial success. For the truth was that the people themselves were so firmly enamoured of idolatrous worship that they would not give it up easily. This was why Huldah had already warned that while Judah would be spared in Josiah’s day it was already doomed to destruction (2Ki 22:15-20). The rot had gone too far. It was therefore into such an atmosphere that Jeremiah first came.
It is also then made clear that he continued to prophesy throughout the reigns of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin (three months) and Zedekiah, and up to (and beyond) the sacking of Jerusalem, which took place in the fifth month of the year 587 BC (2Ki 25:8). These were turbulent days with both kings subjected at different times to either Egypt or Babylon and the general leadership divided on what route to take. In the view of many if independence could not be achieved Egypt offered a more ‘friendly’ and less demanding control than Babylon’s. They found it difficult to believe that Babylon was too powerful for Egypt to cope with. But Jeremiah knew it, and made clear that subjection to Babylon was YHWH’s will for the next ‘seventy years’, and while his message continued to make him decidedly unpopular, it would have been well if they had listened for he proved to be right in the end.
Jer 1:1-2
‘The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of YHWH came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.’
The prophecy commences by drawing attention to the fact that Jeremiah was the son of a priest named Hilkiah, but this Hilkiah was probably not the Hilkiah who was ‘the Priest’ in Jerusalem, for he was ‘one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin’, and thus almost certainly descended from Abiathar (see 1Ki 2:26-27) and not of the line of Eliezer, through whom the High Priestly descent now came. Jeremiah thus commenced prophesying in Anathoth, a local town north of Jerusalem, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, that is in c. 626 BC. The fact that his prophesying in the reign of Josiah is what is initially described, before going on to mention the later kings as an add-on, is an indication that a good number of his earlier prophecies should be dated in that reign, although apart from the reference in Jer 3:6 it is not possible to discern with any certainty which ones.
‘In the thirteenth year of his reign.’ It is probably no coincidence that this followed shortly on the death of Ashur-bani-pal, the strong Assyrian king who had taken Assyria to its greatest heights, and whose death introduced a rapid downward slide in times of great ferment which would result in the destruction of Nineveh and Assyria within twenty years. Meanwhile Judah would be left largely to itself, but only until the rising power of Babylon and a resurgent Egypt, began to make their presence felt.
Being in a small town in which there were many priests of the unfavoured line Jeremiah would have been brought up to be familiar with what was really true of the hearts of the people outside Jerusalem, and was thus aware that in spite of all Josiah’s efforts, the hearts of the majority of the people were not with him, favouring rather the surreptitious worship of YHWH/Baal in the mountain shrines.
This does serve to bring out that in spite of all Josiah’s genuine attempts to win the people back to YHWH, their hearts remained firmly attached to Baalism, with its excessive sexual overtones, no doubt practised discreetly in the mountain shrines, so that it only required a Jehoiakim for Baalism to become rampant once more. State worship had certainly been purified by Josiah, but it was another matter with the hearts of the people of ‘treacherous Judah’ as God makes clear to Jeremiah (Jer 3:6 ff.). Compared with the attractions of Baal worship, the stern demands of YHWH appeared to be too strict.
Jer 1:3
‘It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.’
Jeremiah then continued to prophesy throughout the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, when Baalism was allowed full expression, and right up to the sacking of Jerusalem (and beyond) in 587 BC. Thus he prophesied for over forty years, commencing in the thirteenth year of Josiah (626 BC) and continuing on until the flight into Egypt which followed some time after the sacking of Jerusalem in 587 BC.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Superscription to the Book of Jeremiah Jer 1:1-3 contains the superscription to the book of Jeremiah, identifying the prophet (Jer 1:1) and placing his office and ministry as a prophet to Israel within a specific scope of time (Jer 1:2-3).
Jer 1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Jer 1:1
(1) The Word of the Lord Came to the Prophets – God gave the prophets divine pronouncements to deliver to the people, as with Hos 1:1. The opening verses of a number of prophetic books say, “the word of the Lord came to the prophet” Thus, these prophets received a divine utterance from the Lord.
(2) The Prophets Received Divine Visions – God gave the prophets divine visions ( ), so they prophesied what they saw ( ) (to see). Thus, these two Hebrew words are found in Isa 1:1, Oba 1:1, Nah 1:1, and Hab 1:1. Ezekiel saw visions ( ) of God.
(3) God Told the Prophets to Deliver Visual Aids as Symbols of Divine Oracles – God asked the prophets to demonstrate divine oracles to the people through symbolic language. For example, Isaiah walked naked for three years as a symbol of Assyria’s dominion over Egypt and Ethiopia (Isa 20:1-6). Ezekiel demonstrated the siege of Jerusalem using clay tiles (Eze 4:1-3), then he laid on his left side for many days, then on his right side, to demonstrate that God will require Israel to bear its iniquities.
Jer 1:2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
Jer 1:3 Jer 1:2-3
1. Josiah 640 to 608 B.C. 31 years His thirteenth year is 627 B.C.
2. Jehoiakim 608 to 597 B.C. – 11 years
3. Jehoiachin 597 B.C. – 3 months
4. Zedekiah 597 to 587 B.C. – 11 years His eleventh year is 587 B.C
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Superscription
v. 1. The words of the word of the Lord came in the days of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, v. 2. to whom Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
v. 3. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
AN ACCOUNT OF THE CALL AND CONSECRATION OF JEREMIAH TO THE PROPHETIC OFFICE, FOLLOWED BY TWO EXPRESSIVE SYMBOLS OF THE MATTERS WHICH HE HAS TO ANNOUNCE.
Jer 1:1-3
There are some indications that the original form of the heading has been somewhat modified. Notice
(1) that the words with which Jer 1:2 opens are identical with one of Jeremiah’s characteristic formulae for introducing a prophecy (comp, Jer 14:1; Jer 46:1; Jer 47:1; Jer 49:34); and notice
(2) the awkward connection of verses 1 and 2, and 2 and 3 respectively.. It is a reasonable conjecture that the passage originally ran thus: “The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah,” etc.; verses 1 and 3 being added later, which involved a change in the construction.
Jer 1:1
The words of Jeremiah. This introductory formula only occurs here and in Amo 1:1. The editor of Jeremiah and of Amos deserts the usual phrase (“burden” or , “utterance,” “vision,” “the word of the LORD which came,” etc.) in order to give fuller information concerning the origin of the prophetic writers (but see on verse 2). On the name Jeremiah, and on the position occupied by Hilkiah, see Introduction. That were in Anathoth. So Vulgate; Septuagint, however (followed by Payne Smith), makes the relative refer to Jeremiah ( ). But in this case would not the phrase have been “Jeremiah the priest,” etc. (comp. Eze 1:1)? Anathoth was one of the priestly cities (Jos 21:18); it lay on or near the great northern road (Isa 10:30), and has been identified by Dr. Robinson (so also by Lieutenant Conder) with ‘Anata, situated on a ridge, an hour and a quarter north-northeast from Jerusalem.
Jer 1:3
Unto the end of the eleventh year, etc. The limit is accurate with regard to Jeremiah 1-39. The later prophecies have a superscription of their own (see Jer 40:1.). In the fifth month (comp. Jer 52:12, Jer 52:27).
Jer 1:4-19
The call of Jeremiah.
Jer 1:4
Unto me. For the change of person, comp. Eze 1:4.
Jer 1:5
Knew thee; i.e. took notice of thee; virtually equivalent to selected thee (comp. Gen 39:6; Amo 3:2; Isa 58:3; Psa 144:3). Observe, the predestination of individuals is a familiar idea in the Old Testament (comp. Isa 45:4; Isa 49:1; Psa 139:16). It was also familiar to the Assyrians: King Assurba-nipal declares at the opening of his ‘ Annals ‘ that the gods “in the body of his mother have made (him) to rule Assyria.” Familiar, too, to the great family of religious reformers. For, as Dean Milman has truly observed, “No Pelagian ever has or ever will work a religious revolution. He who is destined for such a work must have a full conviction that God is acting directly, immediately, consciously, and therefore with irresistible power, upon him and through him He who is not predestined, who does not declare, who does not believe himself predestined as the author of a great religions movement, he in whom God is not manifestly, sensibly, avowedly working out his pre-established designs, will never be saint or reformer”. Sanctified thee; i.e. set thee apart for holy uses. Ordained; rather, appointed. Unto the nations. Jeremiah’s prophecies, in fact, have reference not only to Israel, but to the peoples in relation to Israel (verse 10; Jer 25:15, Jer 25:16; 46-49; Jer 50:1-46; Jer 51:1-64?).
Jer 1:6
Ah, Lord God! rather, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! It is a cry of alarm and pain, and recurs in Jer 4:10; Jer 14:13; Jer 32:17. I am a child. I am too young to support such an office. The word rendered “child” is used elsewhere of youths nearly grown up (comp. Gen 34:19; Gen 41:12; 1Ki 3:7).
Jer 1:7
Thou shalt go, etc. Thoughts of self are altogether out of place in one who has received a Divine commission. Jeremiah’s duty is simple obedience. In put-suing this path he cannot but be safe (verse 8).
Jer 1:9
Touched my mouth; literally, caused (his hand) to touch my mouth. Jeremiah had said that he was unskilled in oratory; the Divine answer is that the words which he has to speak are not his own, but those of Jehovah. Two things are obvious:
1. The touching of the lips is not purely metaphorical, as in Psa 51:15 (comp. Psa 40:6); it represents a real experience.
2. This experience, however, can only have been a visionary one, analogous to that vouchsafed to Isaiah at the opening of his prophetic ministry. In the grand account given by Isaiah of his inaugural vision (which has evidently influenced the form of the vision of Jeremiah), we read of the same significant act on the part of one of the seraphim. It is the same act, certainly, but it symbolizes, not as here the communication of a prophetic message (comp. Mat 10:19), but the purification of the lips. Does it not seem as if Isaiah had attained a deeper insight into the spiritual regeneration needed by the prophet than had been granted to Jeremiah? Another point in which Jeremiah’s account seems inferior to that of Isaiah is plastic power. Notice how Jeremiah dwells upon the meaning of the words; this is a reflective element which diminishes the poetic power of the narrative. A word may Be added to explain that “visionary” is not here used in opposition to “based on fact.” That the two epithets are susceptible of combination is well shown in the vision described by Pere Gratry, in his ‘Souvenirs do ma Jeunesse’, the reality of which is not in the least impaired in the writer’s mind by its thoroughly inward character: “Dens teutes ces seines interieures, je n’imaginais rien c’etaient de saisissantes et tres-energiques realites auxquelles je ne m’attendais nullement.”
Jer 1:10
I have set thee; literally, I have made thee an overseer, or vicegerent (comp. Gen 41:34; Jdg 9:28, where the Authorized Version renders the cognate noun “officer”). To root out to plant, viz. by pronouncing that Divine judgment which fulfils itself (comp. Jer 5:14; Num 23:25; Isa 9:8, Isa 9:9; Isa 55:11). As there is so much more threatening than promise in Jeremiah’s writings, the destructive side of his activity is expressed by four verbs, the constructive only by two.
Jer 1:11-16
Two trials or probations of Jeremiah’s inner sight (2Ki 6:17). Two visions are granted him, which he is required to describe. The first expresses the certainty of his prophetic revelation; the second indicates its contents.
Jer 1:11
A rod of an almond tree. The name here adopted for the almond tree is peculiarly suitable in this connection. It means “wakeful;” the almond, blossoming in January, is the first to “wake” from the sleep of winter.
Jer 1:12
I will hasten my word; literally, I am wakeful over my word; alluding to the meaning of the Hebrew word for almond.
Jer 1:13
A seething pot. There is a variety of Hebrew words for “pot.” The word hero used suggests a vessel of large size, since pottage for a whole company of prophets could be cooked in such. a pot or caldron (2Ki 4:38). From Eze 24:11 we may infer that it was of metal. A “seething pot” in ancient Arabic poetry is a figure for war. The same symbol occurs in Eze 24:3-12, but with a different application. The face thereof is toward the north; rather, toward the south; literally, from the face of the north. The “face” of the pet is the side turned to the prophet. We may suppose the contents to be on the point of boiling over.
Jer 1:14
Out of the north. Previously to the battle of Carchemish, the Babylonians are only mentioned vaguely as a northern people (see Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1, Jer 6:22; Jer 10:22). Strictly speaking, they were an eastern people from the point of view of Palestine; but the caravan-road which the Chaldaean armies had to take entered Palestine at Dan (comp. Jer 4:15; Jer 8:16), and then proceeded southward. (On the question whether a Scythian invasion is referred to, at least conjointly with the Babylonian, see Introduction.) An evil; rather, the evil; viz. the calamity which in deepening gloom forms the burden of the prophet’s discourses. Shall break forth; literally, shall open; i.e. let loose by opening. There is, however, some difficulty in explaining the choice of this expression. We might indeed suppose that the caldron had a lid, and that the removal or falling off of this lid is the “opening” referred to by the phrase.
Jer 1:15
I will call; literally, I am calling; i.e. I am about to call. The kingdoms of the north; alluding possibly to the varied origin of the population of Assyria and Babylonia. But more probably it is simply a suggestive phrase, for the wide extent of the hostile empire referred to (comp. Jer 25:9). They shall set every one his throne, etc. The kings, or. the, generals, representing “all the families, etc; shall set up the high seat of power and judicial authority at the broad space within the gate of the city, which constituted the Oriental forum (comp. Gen 23:10; Jos 20:4; Job 29:7; Job 31:21). Thither the besieged would have to come to surrender themselves (2Ki 24:12) and to hear their fate. A similar prediction is made with regard to Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 43:9, Jer 43:10). It is true the seat of authority is there said to be placed at the entrance of the palace, but this was in fact another place where justice was wont to be administered (Jer 22:2, Jer 22:3). Jerome’s view, adopted by Rosenmller and Nagelsbach, that “to set one’s seat” means “to besiege” is against usage, and does not accord with the opening words of Jer 1:16. There is, however, an element of truth in it. The judgment executed ministerially by the northern kings or generals began with the siege of Jerusalem and the other cities, and hence the words with which the prophet continues. And against all the walls, etc. We should have expected something like “and shall set themselves in array against,” etc. (comp. Isa 22:7 b); see, however, last note.
Jer 1:16
I will utter my judgments; or, I will hold a court of justice upon them; literally, I will speak judgments with them. The expression is peculiar to Jeremiah (comp. Jer 4:12; Jer 12:1; Jer 39:6; Jer 52:9), and includes both the examination of the accused, and the judicial sentence (see Jer 39:5; Jer 52:9). All their wickedness, etc. Their “wickedness,” i.e. their infidelity to Jehovah, showed itself in burning incense to “other gods,” and bowing down to their images. “Burned incense” is, however, too narrow a sense. The root-meaning of the verb is to be fragrant, and the causative conjugations will strictly mean only “to make a sweet odor,” whether by the offering of incense or by burnt offerings (comp. Jer 11:12; 2Ki 23:8, where a causative conjugation is used in the same wide sense here postulated; also Psa 66:15 and Isa 1:13, where the word usually rendered “incense” seems rather to mean “a sweet smoke”). The prophet says, “of other gods” (not “of false gods”), out of consideration for the ignorance of his hearers, to whom Baal and Moloch really were as gods; in fact, that expressive word (cf.) which Isaiah uses ten times to express the unreality of the other so-called gods, occurs only once, and then not in quite the same sense (see Jer 14:14) in Jeremiah. But the prophet’s own strict monotheism is proved by such passages as Jer 2:27; Jer 8:19; Jer 16:20.
Jer 1:17
Gird up thy loins, as an Oriental does before making any kind of physical exertion, whether walking (Exo 12:11; 2Ki 4:29), running (1Ki 18:46), or fighting (Job 12:21). Be not dismayed. A want of confidence on Jeremiah’s part will issue in his utter discomfiture by his enemies. “Dismay” in Hebrew has a twofold reference, subjective (“dismay”) and objective (“ruin,” “discomfiture”). Both references can be illustrated from this verse. (Comp. the command andverse 18premise to Jeremiah with the command and promise to Ezekiel3:8, Eze 3:9.)
Jer 1:18
Brasen walls. The plural is used instead of a collective term for the whole circle of fortifications. In the parallel passage (Jer 15:20) the singular occurs; the same alternation of plural and singular as in 2Ki 25:10; 1Ki 3:1. The combination of figures strikingly expresses the invincibility of one whose strength is in his God. The kings of Judah. Why the plural? Most reply, Because Jeremiah would have to do with successive sovereigns. But this meaning would have been just as well conveyed by the singular: “the king of Judah,” without any name being addedwould moan the king who from time to time happened to be reigning. “Kings of Judah” in Jeremiah seems to have a special meaning, and to include all the members of the royal family, who formed a numerous and powerful class (see on Jer 17:20).
HOMILETICS
Jer 1:1-3
On the external surroundings of the life of Jeremiah.
These words, which constitute the preface to the Book of Jeremiah, are evidently intended to furnish a historical setting for the writings of the prophet. But they also throw light on his character and work. For, though the true life of every man is his inner spiritual life, we cannot estimate the worth of this until we have taken account of the circumstances in which it is placed, the aids and the hindrances it receives from without. Let us consider, therefore, the spiritual significance of the main historical surroundings of the work of Jeremiah.
I. THE OFFICIAL RELATIONSHIP OF JEREMIAH.
1. Jeremiah had the advantage of being the son of a priest. He had probably received a religious education from his childhood. The religion of his fathers must have been familiar to him. Its solemn rites and suggestive symbols were often before his eyes. Possibly, like St. Paul, who was trained in Jewish theology before he became a Christian (Gal 1:14), he may have found the Law a schoolmaster to bring him to a higher religion. The children of Christian ministers have peculiar privileges in the early knowledge of Scripture, Church life, etc; which they have opportunities of acquiring.
2. Yet this official relationship of Jeremiah‘s had its disadvantages. It was quite exceptional. Not more than three of the prophets were of sacerdotal origin. For the most part the priestly class regarded the prophetic with jealousy, if not with envy.
(1) Officialism is conservative, and opposed to the free and revolutionary spirit of prophecy.
(2) It is also formal, and tends to repress the inward and spiritual experiences of which prophecy is the highest outcome. It speaks well for Jeremiah that the spirit of prophecy was not crushed out of him by the dry traditionalism and the rigid ritualism of his priestly connections.
3. It is noteworthy that the official relationship of Jeremiah was entirely overshadowed by his prophetic mission. He is known to history not as the priest, but as the prophet. Official religious services are quite secondary to spiritual work.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THE AGE OF JEREMIAH.
1. Jeremiah entered on his mission in the midst of the reformation of Josiah. Yet the prophet’s work was entirely disconnected from that of the king. Political religious activity is very different from personal spiritual work. Ecclesiastical reforms will not effect spiritual regeneration. The king’s overthrow of the idols does not dispense with the need of the prophet’s call to repentance.
2. Jeremiah continued his mission after the failure of Josiah‘s reformation and during an age of national decay. The character of the age changed, but the prophet remained unchanged. Weak men may be content to echo the popular cries of the day. It is too often the mission of the servant of God to contradict these familiar voices. The true prophet is not the creature of his age, the mouthpiece of the Zeit-geist; he is called to resist this influence.
3. Jeremiah closed his mission amidst scenes of national ruin. It was given him to see the fulfillment of his warnings of doom, but not that of his promises of restoration. Hence he is the prophet of tears. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem, but he brought redemption. We should be thankful that we live in these latter times when we can see the realization of the promises of “the Book of consolation.”
III. THE DURATION OF THE MISSION OF JEREMIAH. It lasted for at least forty years; how many more after the overthrow of Jerusalem we do not know.
1. This fact speaks much for the prophetic power of Jeremiah. Many men can only rouse themselves to one supreme effort. True greatness is as much seen in the continuance of powers as in supreme exhibitions of them.
2. This fact is a grand proof of the faithfulness of the prophet. Almost the whole of his work was done “in opposition.” We admire the young martyr who summons up a momentary heroic courage to seal his testimony with his blood; but greater honor is due to the aged confessor who has persevered through a lifelong martyrdom, and, though spared to old age, is also “faithful unto death.”
3. This fact sheds light on God‘s ways with man. Jeremiah commenced his stern prophetic denunciations forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem. This suggests to us
(1) that God mercifully delays the execution of his threats to give man time for repentance; and
(2) that the forbearance of God, which postpones the evil day, does not frustrate the justice which must ultimately bring it upon the impenitent.
Jer 1:5
Predestination.
I. CONSIDER THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A DIVINE PREDESTINATION.
1. This implies
(1) foreknowledgeGod has his idea about a man and his mission before he forms the initial germ of his life;
(2) a sanctifying, or setting apart, by which the man is considered by God in relation to his destined mission, and treated accordingly; and
(3) a preordination, a Divine action in accordance with the Divine idea and purpose which tends to carry these into effect. Every life is prophesied in the mind of God by God’s thought of it, and comes into the world girded with Divine purposes, wrapped up and drawn onwards by the unseen threads of the designs of God.
2. This predestination does not involve fatalism; it is consistent with human freedom of action and personal responsibility. On the one hand we must conclude, from its existence, that there are certain possibilities with which God endows a man, and certain limits with which God has hedged him about. But on the other hand, we must recognize that it depends on the man’s own will and effort whether he use those possibilities, and attain to the end enclosed within those limits. He has a Divine vocation, but he may neglect it; he may fail in realizing God’s idea of his life. There rests on him the responsibility of accomplishing his destiny.
II. CONSIDER THE GROUNDS FOR BELIEF IN A DIVINE PREDESTINATION.
1. It is revealed in Scripture (e.g. Act 2:23; Rom 8:29; 1Pe 1:2).
2. It is involved in the idea of the providence of a supreme God. God foresees all the future; in every act of his all other events and their relation to this must be present to the mind of God. With such knowledge a universal control of events, such as is implied by a providence not interfering from without now and again at critical moments, but immanent in the whole course of the world, must imply a Divine preordination.
3. It is proved to us by experience.
(1) We are born with certain peculiarities, faculties, powers, tendencies. The prophet, like the poet, nascitur, non fit.
(2) The external circumstances of life are largely beyond our control. The child cannot determine the sphere of life into which it is to enter at birth. All the opportunities and duties which result from these circumstances are made for us, not by us. They bring a mission and open up a career, by chance if there be no providence, but by preordination if there be a providence.
III. CONSIDER THE PURPOSE OF A DIVINE PREDESTINATION.
1. It must often he mysterious. Until we review life as a whole we shall not be able to interpret the meaning of its several parts. We cannot judge of the architect’s design by examining the separate stones which lie scattered in the builder’s yard. But:
2. It is not arbitrary. The very idea of destiny as determined by a Being of infinite thought implies purpose based on reason. God would not determine events simply to manifest his unfettered rights of sovereignty. Such aimless caprice could only emanate from a senseless despot.
3. It is turned to a good purpose. This must be so, for if God is good his designs must be good. The predestination is
(1) for the good of the agent, who is blessed by being selected for Divine service; and
(2) for the good of the world. The elect are chosen instruments for benefiting the whole world. Thus Jeremiah was destined to be “a prophet unto the nations.” The Jew was an elect people that he might be the channel of blessing to all mankind (Gen 12:3; Rom 3:2). The Christian is a chosen vessel that he may carry grace to others, and serve as the salt of the earth, as the light of the world.
IV. CONSIDER THE PRACTICAL EFFECT OF THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION. It contains no excuse for indolence and no reason for despair, for God fits all of us for sonic service, the accomplishment of which depends on our own faithfulness.
1. It should lead us to inquire what is God‘s will, rather than to carve out a career for ourselves.
2. It should make us humble, submissive, obedient, and diligent in service, since there is a Divine idea of our life which God expects us to realize.
3. It should inspire courage in the midst of difficulties. Jeremiah was brave in the thought that he was fulfilling a Divine destiny. Such a thought inspires energy in face of enmity, contempt, isolation, and apparent failure.
Jer 1:6-9
Diffidence overcome.
I. DIFFIDENCE IS A DIFFICULTY TO BE OVERCOME.
1. Jeremiah shrank from his mission, not through the cowardice that fears danger, nor through the indolence that dislikes effort, nor through the selfishness that declines responsibility, but through the diffidence of youth, sensitiveness, and humility.
(1) Youth is naturally diffident. The world is all unknown; powers are not yet proved by experience.
(2) Sensitiveness inclines to diffidence. There is a confidence which depends simply on denseness and callousness. Acute feeling is a great hindrance to bold action. Jeremiah felt the miseries of his nation deeply, and it was peculiarly difficult for such a man to assume the position of a stern censor.
(3) Humility leads to diffidence. If we think little of ourselves we are not likely to be forward in accepting posts of responsibility.
2. Now, this diffidence is an evil thing. It may not be sinful in its origin, but perfectly innocent, and even a mark of amiable characteristics. But it is injurious in its effects, and becomes positively guilty if indulged in when God has provided us means for overcoming it. The most gifted are often the most diffident. Hence if they yielded to their reluctance to fulfill their vocation, the greatest and best work of the world would be left undone. There is also a danger lest diffidence should become an excuse for indolence, selfishness, and cowardice. If unrestrained it will lead to these vices. People are often greatly to blame for shrinking from posts of responsibility, although they may even imagine they are earning the honors of modesty and humility.
II. GOD PROVIDES MEANS FOR OVERCOMING DIFFIDENCE. God never calls a man to any work without securing to him the means for performing it. Thus having called Jeremiah to his service, God sends help for overcoming the young man’s diffidence.
1. The consciousness of a Divine mission. “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee.” It is well to feel that we are not doing our own work but God’s. If we fail, what does that matter to us so long as we are doing his will? The thought of duty is itself an inspiration. We are not simply to attempt what we imagine to be a good thing; we are called for a purpose, sent on a mission, and the thought that we are about our Father’s business should allay the hesitation of natural diffidence. The ambassador is armed with the authority of his master and backed by his master’s power. The prophet is sent by God with God’s authority. All who are working God’s will are similarly supported by God’s authority.
2. The realization of the presence of God. “I am with thee.” We may be diffident while we look to self; but when we look away to God we see the Source of strength and victory. Indeed, our very diffidence may be a means of securing our true strength by making us seek the help of God. Self-distrust may lead to trust in God. Thus when weak in ourselves we may become strong in him (2Co 12:10). If we go in God’s strength we have no more occasion to fear, since success no longer depends on our ability but on his assistance.
3. The direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. “Behold I have put my words in thy mouth.” God is not only present by our side to assist and deliver us, but he is within the soul, infusing light and power. The prophet fears he cannot speak the needed words. The words he is to speak are not his own but God’s. He is the messenger, God is the real speaker. If then he can but discern the voice of God within him, and interpret this to the people, all diffidence arising from his own incompetence should vanish. Every work which is done for God can only proceed from God, and when it does thus come from God we need not fear its failure. God can accomplish his own will in us as well as by his immediate actions in the world.
Jer 1:10
The power of prophecy.
I. THERE IS A POWER IN PROPHECY. Prophecy is not simply a light, a revelation of truth; it is also a voice of authority, a means of active influence, a power. The Divine word in the prophet is like the Divine word in nature-an energizing word. God speaks, and it is done. The New Testament references to prophecy are made in obedience to this thought. The fulfillment of prophecy is there quoted not so much, as in modern evidential literature, as a proof of supernatural foresight, but rather as the effect of a Divine power which has realized the purpose of the ancient Word of God. This or that is said to be done “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” God’s Word is always a power (Heb 4:12). The Bible is not simply a revelation; it is a means of influence. The preacher should see that he is clothed with power. His mission is to influence as well as to teach.
II. THE SOURCES OF THE POWER OF PROPHECY ARE SPIRITUAL. The authority conferred on Jeremiah is not that of the secular arm. He is to exert his influence by no material force. HIS power is different in kind from that of a political government. The claim of the papal authority founded on this verse is unwarranted, since this does not confer the power of the sword but direct spiritual influence. Neither is the power of prophecy in the least allied to magic or sorcery. It is not a miraculous material force.
1. It is the power of truth. Truth is strong; knowledge is power. The prophet sees the deep principles of God’s government, and in the discernment of them lies the force of his utterances.
2. It is the rower of right. The prophet takes his stand on the side of justice, purity, goodness. In the end the might must go with the right.
3. It is the power of God. The prophet is nothing in himself; he is God’s servant: the authority he wields is God s. So the power of the preacher is not to be sought in reason, in eloquence, nor in official authority, but in the truth of his message, in the righteousness of his cause, and in his fidelity to the will of God.
III. THE RANGE OF THE POWER OF PROPHECY IS WORLDWIDE. Jeremiah was a Jew.
Yet he was “set over the nations and over the kingdoms.”
1. God is the King of king and his authority concerns kingdoms as well as individuals. Political questions are amenable to the influence of Divine truth and righteousness.
2. God’s truth does not only concern the Church. It is for the worldif the world will obey, for its blessedness; if it will not heed, for a judgment upon it.
IV. THE EFFECTS OF THE POWER OF PROPHECY ARE REVOLUTIONARY. It is no wild and transient influence, but a great stirring energy. Translated into modern language, this means that truth, right, and the will of God are powerful factors in history, disarranging human schemes and bringing higher designs into effect.
1. This power is destructive. Jeremiah is to “root out,” etc. Evil is not a mere negationsimple darkness. It must be fought and east out. Christ sent “a sword” (Mat 10:34). The era of the Reformation was a destructive age. It is the duty of the preacher to protest against evil, to denounce it, to seek its overthrow, and not to shrink for fear of consequent disturbances. Warfare is better than guilty peace.
2. This power is ultimately constructive. Jeremiah is “to build and to plant.” The destructive agencies of God are simply intended to clear off obstructions, and make the way for a new and better order. The disintegrating power of criticism should be regarded as only preparatory to the creative influence of living truth. The gospel is chiefly a constructive power, making men new creatures, building up the kingdom of God in our midst, brining about a new heaven and a new earth.
Jer 1:11, Jer 1:12
The almond rod.
The early budding almond rod is symbolical of the wakeful attitude of God at a crisis in human events. God’s manner of acting at this period of Jewish history may be regarded as typical of what we may expect again under similar circumstances.
I. THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHEN GOD‘S WATCHFULNESS AND ENERGY ARE ESPECIALLY MANIFEST. God never sleeps (Psa 121:4). While we sleep he keeps watch. Though. we do not mark his presence nor even think of it, he is still looking upon us and never ceasing from his activity. Yet he is said to awake as though from sleep (Psa 44:23), because to us he appears to be more wakeful at one season than at another.
1. There are times when God watches unseen, and times when he makes his watchfulness manifest to us by his acts; then he is said to awake.
2. God generally acts in quiet ways unnoticed and not directly interfering with us; but now and again his ceaseless activity is more pronounced, and is specially felt by opposing our course; then God seems to have aroused himself. Such times are awful crises of existence. We should be prepared to expect them, and not presume on the present obscurity of the Divine actions. Some day it will be as though God awoke with the voice of a trumpet and the might of a host suddenly revealed.
II. GOD NEVER DELAYS HIS ACTION BEYOND ITS DUE TIME. When it is time for God to “awake,” he does “awake.” It seems as though he tarried; but he has a reason for waiting.
1. He does not come to deliverance at the moment we expect him
(1) because it is well we should be tried by distresses, or
(2) because high purposes beyond our own lives are to be attained through the things which are occasioning us trouble, or
(3) because we have not sought his aid with true faith and submission, or
(4) for causes beyond our comprehension.
2. He does not come to judgment
(1) because he waits for sin to ripen, or
(2) because he is long-suffering and gives time for repentance, or
(3) because larger issues than those which touch us are involved in the act of judgment. Still, in both cases he comes at the right time. He is not a slothful God. He is wakeful, and his actions may be typified by the almond branch.
III. GOD‘S JUDGMENTS SOMETIMES FALL SUDDENLY AND SWIFTLY. We may have but short warning of their approach. The execution of them may be rapid. The storm which has long been brewing may burst quickly. The harvest which has ripened slowly may be gathered in with haste. The impending judgment may not be discerned till it is too late for escape. When the rain began to fall it was too late for man to seek refuge in the ark. When the Jews saw the hosts of Nebuchadnezzar approaching there were no means for saving their country from ruin. It is foolish and wrong to neglect the salvation of God until we discern his judgment looming over us. “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Jer 1:13, Jer 1:14
The seething pot.
I. THE VISION OF THE SEETHING POT FORESHADOWS APPROACHING DOOM. God is about to “hold his session” upon Jerusalem and the cities of Judah.
1. They who are most favored by God must expect the severest judgment if they prove unfaithful to him. The Jews were a favored people. Their privileges were great; if they abused these their guilt and consequent punishment must be proportionately great. Therefore, instead of considering the past mercies of God as a ground for expecting to escape the penalties of our offences, we should see in them the measure of his future severities upon us if we sin in face of the special inducements to devotion afforded by those mercies.
2. The revelation of impending judgment is a great motive for faithful preaching. This vision of the seething pot is given to Jeremiah to rouse him to undertake his prophetic duties. A large part of his work consisted in gloomy predictions of coming doom. This was peculiar to the age. There are ages when similar preaching is especially appropriate. But as sin always makes for death the preacher is always called to raise a voice of warning.
II. THE VISION OF THE SEETHING POT ILLUSTRATES THE CHARACTER OF THE APPROACHING DOOM.
1. It is gradually prepared. The vessel is slowly heated to the boiling point. The guilt of sin accumulates and the evil consequences gather in force until they burst upon the victim with the energy of long pent-up wrath.
2. It breaks forth suddenly. Suddenly the vessel boils over. Judgment may be delayed and gradual in the preparation, and yet suddenly surprise us when at length it falls upon us.
3. It is violent and overwhelming, as the seething pot suggests fury, tumult, and, in its boiling over, a rushing forth of its scalding contents.
III. THE VISION OF THE SEETHING POT SUGGESTS THE SOURCE OF THE APPROACHING DOOM. The pot was turned towards the south and heated by fires in the north.
1. Punishment may come from the most unlikely quarter. The Jews had turned to Babylon for friendship, and from Babylon came their ruin. Our most trusted friends may become the instruments of our keenest suffering.
2. Lawless violence may be overruled by providence to work the ends of God’s righteous laws. The doom is not to come from within the range of the theocracy and through the influence of those who consciously executed the Divine decree, but from far-off regions, wholly beyond the light of Israel’s religion. Thus God makes the wrath of man to praise him. So storms and earthquakes, revolutions and invasions, tumults in nature and tumults in the human world, work ultimate good results in clearing and purifying the air, sweeping away pestilent corruption, and preparing for a new and wholesome order.
3. The more luxurious Southern races have frequently been visited by terrible invasions of hardier races from the North. The Scythians in the East, the Goths in the West, were scourges of God, and wholesome scourges, helping to reform the corrupt and indolent peoples who lived in dread of their invasions. We should see wise and good purposes of providence in these terrible events of general history, as we see them in the special history of Israel.
Jer 1:17-19
Encouragements to fidelity.
It was no easy matter for Jeremiah, young, modest, and sensitive, to come boldly forward and threaten the judgment of God against his country. But if God calls a man to any task, he will help him through with it, and Jeremiah receives encouragements proportionate to his duty.
I. THE DUTY. Consider what the duty of faithful service laid upon the prophet included.
1. Energy. He is to gird up his loins, and arise. God is not satisfied with passive submission to his will God cannot be faithfully served by the indolent. All our powers are required for his service, and they must be employed without distraction.
2. Obedience. Jeremiah is to speak just what God commands him. Fidelity is not simply devotion to God, it is devotion according to his willthe devotion of servants, not that of patrons.
3. Thoroughness. The prophet is to speak “all” that God commands him. It is treason for the ambassador to suppress those elements of his commission which are displeasing to himself. The servant of God must not select from the revelation of Divine truth the words which suit his purpose and neglect the rest. He is not to shun to declare “the whole counsel of God”threats as well as promises, difficult sayings and mysteries as well as plainly acceptable doctrines.
4. Fearlessness. “Be not dismayed.” Fear is not only painful; it is injurious by paralyzing effort. Cowardice is sin.
II. THE ENCOURAGEMENTS. It is our duty to be faithful, though fidelity should bring our ruin; but such a result will not follow it. Consider the various inducements Jeremiah receives to a faithful discharge of his difficult task.
1. A revelation of momentous truths. God says, “Thou therefore gird up thy loins,” etc. The word “therefore ‘ carries us back to the visions of the almond rod and the seething pot. The truths revealed in these visions themselves furnish a motive for the prophet to declare them. The seer should become a prophet. Truth is not the private property of the few; it is the rightful heritage of all. It is the duty of him who knows to enlighten the ignorant. More especially is this the case in regard to spiritual truths, practical truths, and truths which concern the highest welfare of mankind.
2. A warning of Divine displeasure. “Be not dismayed at them, lest I make thee indeed dismayed.” The fear of God is a safeguard against the fear of man. Cowardice provokes danger. The Christian has no armor provided for his back.
3. An assurance of Divine protection. This is given in a succession of strong images, that it may be felt in all its certainty and importance. For we need not only to know that God will protect us, but to realize this if we are to be brave and strong. Thus Jeremiah is made to feel that, in spite of his youth and sensitiveness, he will be strong as a fortress and firm as brazen walls, none are so independent before men as they who are wholly dependent on God.
4. A promise of victory over opposition. The young prophet is taught to expect opposition.
(1) It is foolish to ignore the approach of trouble. A surprise sometimes leads to a defeat from very inferior foes. Danger foreseen is danger half overcome. The Bible never makes light of the difficulties and hardships of life (Luk 10:3).
(2) No ground of confidence is more inspiring than the knowledge that the danger clearly, fully apprehended will yet be certainly overcome. This was the assurance given to Jeremiah. The same assurance is offered to every faithful servant of God (Isa 43:1).
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
On Jeremiah‘s ministry in general. “It is sufficient,” said our Savior, “that the disciple be as his Lord.” Now, of all his servants few answered more closely to this description than did the prophet Jeremiah. In a very deep and real sense his life was a type of our Lord’s. It is in the spiritual world as in the natural, a close resemblance exists between the separate parts and the entire organism to which they belong. The root, stem, bud, flower, fruit, and seed are each constructed on the same type as the tree itself. However widely diversified they may seem in form or function, their essential nature is the same. Hence every leaf is a miniature of the tree on which it grows; trunk, branches, foliage, are each patterned in it. And likewise every branch is but a reproduction on a smaller scale of the whole tree. (MacMillan) But this is only what we find constantly exemplified in the spiritual world. What miniature lives of Christ are those of men like Joseph, Moses, David, and many more! And amongst such as are illustrious in this respect stands Jeremiah. Like him, the consciousness of the Divine call was with him from childhood (cf. Luk 2:49 and Jer 1:6). He too was persecuted with murderous hate by his own townsmen. As Christ was driven from Nazareth, so was Jeremiah from his native Anathoth (Jer 12:6). His vehement denunciations of the corrupt priests and prophets of his day remind us of the reiterated woes pronounced by our Lord on the “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,” of his day. Like our Lord, Jeremiah also was the prophet who stood nearest to and told most plainly of the dread catastrophe which overwhelmed Jerusalem and her people. Jeremiah was the prophet of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar; our Lord of the like destruction by the Roman Titus. Both beheld the glories of the temple, and both told of the swiftly coming days when there should “not be left one stone upon another, which should not be thrown down.” The footsteps of him who, beyond all others, was “despised and rejected of men,” Jeremiah, in so far as it was possible to him, anticipated. The bitter tears shed by our Savior over impenitent Jerusalem are shadowed forth in the prophet’s prolonged and profound lament over his own idolatrous and disobedient countrymen. His well-known words, “Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by?” uttered concerning the sorrows of Jerusalem and her people, have come to be so universally appropriated to our Lord, that the prophet’s own deep distress which they tell of, and the occasion of that distress, are alike almost if not entirely forgotten. “His sufferings come nearest of those of the whole army of martyrs to those of the Teacher against whom princes, and priests, and elders, and people were gathered together.” To him, as to the great apostle, was it given to know “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, and to be made conformable unto his death.” And we may venture to prolong the parallel, and to apply to Jeremiah the august words which, in their supreme meaning, can belong to but One alone. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” In that high recompense Jeremiah, so far as any servant of God may, shares. For the honor in which his name came to be held was very great. As time rolled on he was regarded as the chief representative of the whole prophetic order. By some he was placed at the head of all the prophets. At the time of the Christian era his return was daily expected. He was emphatically thought to be “the Prophet”‘the Prophet like unto Moses,’ who should close the whole dispensation.” No wonder, then, that one devout student after another has been struck by the closeness of the resemblance here briefly pointed out, and has delighted to trace in the prophet’s history foreshadowings of the “Man of Sorrows,” who, more than any other, was acquainted with grief.C.
Jer 1:1-3
Introductory statements concerning Jeremiah’s parentage and period of his ministry.
I. HIS PARENTAGE. He was the son of Hilkiah, not that Hilkiah who was high priest during the reign of Josiah, but of some similarly named priest. Even amid the terrible corruptions of that period, there appear to have been a few faithful souls who held fast to the fear of the Lord. We have their names, Huldah, Shallum, Baruch, etc. From amidst these Jeremiah sprang. The Lord can call and convert and consecrate to his work whom he will; but his more common way is to come to the habitations of his people, when he would find some whom he destines for special and honored service. The homes of the godly are the hope of the Church. Amidst the children of the believing are to be found those whom God will generally employ to carry on his work. This is one way in which the promise is fulfilled, “Them that honor me I will honor.”
II. HIS PROFESSION. He belonged to the priesthood. Terrible are the charges which are brought against the priests and prophets of that day. They had reached the limit of utmost degradation. They are said to “deal falsely,” to be “profane;” and their conduct is described as “a wonderful and horrible thing.” Yet Jeremiah belonged to this deeply fallen class. How difficult must have been his position! how constant his resistance to the contagion of their example and influence! When from amongst those who are of the same order, who have common interests, common duties, and who are thrown together in so many and close relationships, one stands aloof and turns upon his companions in severe and solemn rebuke as Jeremiah did, such a one needs to be strong as “a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls” (verse 18) Jeremiah stands before us as a noble proof that the tide of evil, however strongly it may run, may yet be resisted; none are of necessity borne down by it but, by the same grace which was given to Jeremiah, they may stem the fierce current and defy its power. Ten thousand of the saints of God have done this; why should not we?
III. THE REASON OF ALL MEN COUNTING HIM AS A PROPHET. “The word of the Lord came unto him.” He did not say, “I am a prophet;” but all men felt he was. For his words had power; they were mighty to the pulling down of the strong holds of sin. It was not simply that he announced that there should be a “rooting out and pulling down” (cf. verse 10), but the words which he spoke so wrought in men’s minds that these results followed. Hence men, conscious of the power of his words, confessed that it was “the word of the Lord” which had come to him. This is the old prophetic word which, whenever spoken, constrains men to confess the presence of God (cf. 1Co 14:25). And St. Peter (2Pe 1:19) says concerning it, “We have, surer still, the prophetic word.” “More sure,” he meant, than even the wondrous voice and vision of “the holy mount,” for that was but a transient testimony given once and to the three favored apostles of the Lord alone; but the prophetic word, that which woke up the response in men’s hearts, and by which the secrets of each soul were disclosedthat was a more constant, more universal, more powerful, and therefore a more sure testimony than aught beside. And the occasions when this “word of the Lord” comes to any of his servants are well known. See how particular and definite the dates are here. “In the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim,” etc. The coming of the word of the Lord to any soul is a marked and memorable period. He through whom that word is spoken is conscious of an unusual power, he realizes the Divine presence in an altogether unusual manner. He is more passive than active. It is said of the holy men of old, that they “spake as they were moved [borne along] of the Holy Ghost,” and this, St. Peter declares (2Pe 1:21), is ever a characteristic of the prophetic word. And those who hear the word know that the Lord is speaking through his servant. Listlessness and unconcern give way to serious concern. Some can tell the very day and hour when they first heard the “word of the Lord.” They had listened to sermons and read the Scriptures again and again, but one day they felt that the Lord himself was speaking to them, and they could not but give heed. Like as the people of Judah and Jerusalem knew when the voice of God, though they despised it to their ruin, was speaking to them, so do men now. And if we have heard it for our salvation, the time, the place, the speaker, will often be vividly remembered in connection with it, like as those who heard Jeremiah knew the very year when the “word of the Lord came” to him. It is ill for both hearers and speakers alike if they be unable to point to periods when they were conscious that “the word of the Lord” came to them. For a preacher never to realize the sacred glow and the uplifting of soul which accompany the utterance of the prophetic word; or for a hearer to have so dulled his conscience, so destroyed his spiritual ear, that though the word of the Lord be spoken his heart never responds, his soul never realizes the presence of God;from the sin and sorrow of either may God mercifully save us.
IV. THE DATE AND DURATION OF JEREMIAH‘S MINISTRY. We are told when it began, and how long it lasted. It began when the evil days for Judah and Jerusalem were drawing very near. It was in vain that the devout King Josiah endeavored to turn back the hearts of the people to the Lord God of their fathers. But though the long-suffering of God had been so tried and was now almost ceasing, yet, ere they were given up to the punishment which was their due, God raises up his servant Jeremiah and the band of faithful men who stood by him (cf. 2Ch 36:15-21). For forty yearsfor that is the period covered by the reigns of the several kings spoken ofJeremiah exhorted, warned, entreated, threatened, prayed, wept; but all in vain. Therefore God’s wrath at length rose against them, and there was no remedy. “Behold the goodness and the severity of God!” How reluctantly will he abandon any to the results of their own ways! how slow is he to let come upon them that which they have long deserved! Yea, he is the long-suffering God. But whilst we fail not to remember and to rejoice in this, let us not fail either to remember and to dread the other equally sure fact, that “God is a consuming fire” to those who set at naught all his counsel, and will have none of his reproof (Pro 1:24-33). Those to whom Jeremiah prophesied found it so, and so will all who sin in like manner now.C.
Jer 1:4-19
The dread commission.
I. WHAT WAS IT? (Cf. Jer 1:10.) It was to denounce the judgments of God against his people. At the end of the commission there is mention made of “building and planting;” but the chief charge is of an altogether opposite character. Jeremiah was set over the nations “to root out, and to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down.” It was a terrible undertaking. He was to spare no class, no rank, no order. Kings, princes, priests, and people were all to be alike solemnly warned of the sure judgments that were coming upon them. And the like work has to be done now. How prone we all are to speak with bated breath of the retribution of God! how ready, to ourselves and to others, to explain away or to soften down the awful words of God against sin and the doers thereof! Preachers and teachers of God’s truth, beware lest the blood of those who perished because you warned them not be required at your hands (Eze 33:6)!
II. BUT IT IS A DREAD COMMISSION. The shrinking of Jeremiah from it is manifest all through this chapter. Before the heavy burden which he was to bear was fully disclosed to him, he exclaims (verse 6), “Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.” And the assurances, aids, and encouragements which are given him all show how much needed to be done ere his reluctance and trembling fear could be overcome. The whole chapter tells of God’s gracious preparation of his servant for the arduous work he had to do. And whosoever now undertakes like work, if he have no realization of its solemnity and burden, it is plain that God has not called him to speak in his Name. To hear a man tell of the awful doom of the impenitent in a manner that, if it be not flippant, yet seems to relish his task, and to hail it as an opportunity for rhetorical display, is horrible in the extreme, and will do more to harden men in sin than almost anything beside. The subject is so sad, so serious, so terrible, that he who believes in it at all will be sure to sympathize with the prophet’s sensitive shrinking from the work to which he was ordained. If when sentencing criminals who have broken the laws of man to their due punishment, humane judges often break down in tears, though their punishment touch not the soul,how can any contemplate the death that is eternal unmoved or without the most solemn compassion and tenderest pity? And to increase the fear and shrinking with which Jeremiah regarded the work before him, there was the seeming presumption of one so younglittle more than “a child” in years, experience, or knowledgeundertaking such a work. The hopelessness of it also. As well might a sparrow think to fly full in the face of a hurricane, as for the young prophet to think to stay the torrent of sin which was now flooding and raging over the whole life of his people. Sin and transgression of the grossest kind had become their habit, their settled custom, their ordinary way. All that he had to tell them they had heard again and again, and had despised and forgotten it. What hope of success was there, then, for him? And the fierceness of the opposition he would arouse would also deter him from the work. It was not alone that the faces (verse 17) of kings, princes, priests, and people would darken upon him, but they would (verse 19) “fight against” him, as we know they did. Well, therefore, might he say, “Ah, Lord! I cannot.” And today, how many are the plausible reasons which our reluctant hearts urge against that fidelity in such work as Jeremiah’s which God requires at our hands! But God will not allow them. See
III. HOW HE CONSTRAINED JEREMIAH TO UNDERTAKE THIS WORK.
1. Verse 5: he gave him certainty as to his being called to the prophetic work. To know that we are indeed called of God to any work is an unfailing source of strength therein.
2. Verse 7: he made him feel that necessity was laid upon him; thou shalt go; thou shalt speak. (Cf. Paul s Yea, woe is me, etc.) So Jeremiah himself afterwards says (Jer 20:9) God s word was like “a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” What a help to the preacher of God’s truth is such a conviction as this!
3. Verse 8: he promised his presence and delivering grace. Consciousness of security and safety in God will give a dauntless courage in the face of any and of all opposition.
4. He gave him special qualifications for his work. Words and power of speech (verse 9). Immovable and unflinching strength of will, a determination and resolve that would not waver (verse 18).
5. He showed him that the rooting up and the destruction were not ends in themselves, but to lead on to planting and to building afresh (verse 10). To know that we are working on to a good and blessed end is no small encouragement to us in working through all manner of difficulty to reach that end.
6. He made him vividly realize the nature and nearness of the judgments he foretold. This was the purpose of the visions of the rod of the almond tree and the seething pot (verses 11-15; for explanation, see exegesis). The first vision told of God’s judgment close at hand. The second, of the quarter whence these judgments come, and of the fierce; furious character of the foes who should come upon them. Jeremiah was enabled to “see well” the visions, that is, to realize very forcibly what they meant. Oh, if we could but mere vividly realize what the anger of God is against sin; if we could have a vision of the wrath of God; with how much more power and urgency should we plead with men to flee from the wrath to come!
7. Verse 16: he reminds Jeremiah of the sins that called for these judgments. A deep sense of sin is indispensable to those who would earnestly warn of the doom of sin.
8. And (verse 19) God again gives his servant the blessed assurance, “They shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to deliver thee.” Thus did God equip the prophet and prepare him for his work. His God supplied all his need. It was a stern warfare on which he was to go, but he went not at his own charges. If we be summoned to difficult duty, we shall be supplied with all-sufficient strength. Only let us be careful to avail ourselves of the help assured, lest (verse 17) we be dismayed and God confound us before our enemies. Dread, therefore, no commission that God entrusts thee with, for along with it will ever be found the grace, all the grace, needed for its successful discharge.C.
Jer 1:10
The ministry for a corrupt age.
I. MUST BE RAISED UP BY GOD. Such an age will have its ministers, but they will be prophets who will prophesy only smooth things. But a true ministry for such an age will not be produced by it, but be given to it from God. “See, I have set thee,” etc.
II. WILL BE ENDUED WITH DIVINE POWER. “I have set thee over the nations to root out,” etc. None who contemplate the marvelous effects of such a ministry and compare them with the natural powers of him who exercises it, but must see that the ascendancy he has gained and the spiritual power he wields are of God and not of man.
III. WILL MAKE NO COMPROMISE WITH SIN. See the number and force of the words used to indicate the ruthless antagonism which the prophet would manifest toward the wickedness of his day. Nothing less than its complete overthrow would fulfill the ministry entrusted to him.
IV. WILL DEMAND ON THE PART OF THE PROPHET, AND WILL GAIN FROM THE GRACE OF GOD, A FEARLESS AND AN UNCONQUERABLE COURAGE. (Jer 1:17,Jer 1:18.)
V. ITS END AND RESULT BLESSED. “To build and to plant” (Jer 1:10). The encumbered ground had first to be cleared and cleansed, but that done, the fabric of a true life should be up reared, and principles pure, holy, and blessed should have root in the hearts of all.C.
Jer 1:11-16
Jeremiah’s visions.
I. WHAT WERE THEY? (Cf. verses 12-14.)
II. WHEREFORE WERE THEY? In all probability, for the sake of vividly impressing the mind of the prophet with the message he was to deliver, and so ensuring that that message should be delivered with greater power. Hence the question, “What seest thou?” (verse 11) was designed to arouse and arrest his attention, and for the same reason, when that attention had been awakened, the Divine commendation, “Thou hast well seen,” is given. Cf. for similar questions and similar visions, verse 13; Jer 24:3; Amo 7:8; Amo 8:2; Zec 4:2; Zec 5:2, and in each case the motive seems to have been the same.
III. THEIR SUGGESTIONS FOR OURSELVES.
1. Concerning God‘s punishment of sin.
(1) Its not being apparent to us is no reason for denying it. Certainly the vision of the stem, or branch, of the almond tree would not to an ordinary observer have suggested it. Nor either the second vision, that of the seething pot, although that did undoubtedly present somewhat more of a troubled aspect. Yet both alike needed that their meaning and interpretation should be given. Their significance did not lie on the surface. Only a divinely illumined eye could see that the early-budding almond tree which, because of its outstripping other trees, being in advance of them all in yielding its fruit, was called the “wakeful” or watchful tree, meant that the Lord was watchful over his word to perform it.” Nor was the interpretation of the second vision much more evident than that of the first. And so continually, in connection with ungodly men, there are events occurring and signs of varied kind are given, which to those who are taught of God tell plainly how God is “watchful over his word to perform it;” but to others they tell nothing of the kind. They are like the prophet’s almond tree and seething pot, which had no meaning until that meaning was pointed out. The people of Judah and Jerusalem saw nothing in these circumstances, any more than in the prophet’s visions, to alarm them very much. And so, still, ungodly men are at ease in the presence of facts and indications which fill those who believe God’s Word with unspeakable alarm. How foolish, then, is it to take the unconcern, the powerlessness to understand God’s signs, which characterize ungodly men, as any evidence of the unreality of that which God has declared! “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be,” etc. Lot was as “one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.” The Jews crucified our Lord because he saw so clearly and declared so plainly the character of their trusted leaders and the destruction that was comingone even more terrible than that which Jeremiah foretold. But the Jews neither saw nor believed anything of the kind.
(2) Its being by means of natural laws does not make it the less God’s punishment of sin. The rapid growth and yield of the almond tree was a perfectly natural thing: there was no interference with the orderly course which such forms of plant life assume. And the war between the empires of Egypt and Babylon, in the vortex and whirlpool of which Jerusalem was dragged in and dragged down; all this which the prophet’s second vision told of, was it not the inevitable though sad misfortune of any diminutive power as was that of Judah and Jerusalem when placed in like circumstances? Her lot was east just in the place where the two raging seas of Egypt and Babylon met. What wonder if her poor little barque went to pieces beneath the violence of those waves? It was sad enough, but yet perfectly natural; indeed, one may say, inevitable. And so it would be quite possible to explain all God’s punishment away, and to regard it like the early blossoming of the almond tree, and like the seething troubles which must come upon little kingdoms placed as Judah was, when great empires on either side of her go to war, as only what was to be expected, what was in keeping with the natural order of things. Let any one read Gibbon, and from his account of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, you would gather no idea of a Divine righteousness arising to inflict merited punishment on an awfully corrupt and degraded people. Believers in God can and do see this, but the great historian has not felt himself bound to point out any such cause of the long series of disasters which he so eloquently relates. The inspired prophet and seer of Patmos has, however, done this; and in the Book of the Revelation, the woes coming upon that blood-stained empire are told of in symbolic but terrible form, and in connection with that God-defying wickedness which was the source and cause of them all. And so today, under cover of the fact that God works according to the natural order of things, men evade the teaching of the events that befall them. Because God punishes sin by the action of his natural laws, men deny that he punishes sin at all. His hand is not recognized in it, and therefore no repentance is awakened. They deem themselves unfortunate, and that is all. If we would be more faithful with ourselves, we should “hear the rod and who hath appointed it,” No calamities or disasters come without meaning and intent; they are sent for moral and spiritual purposes, however much they may appear to be but natural and necessary events. Each of them will own, if interrogated, “I have a message from God unto thee.”
(3) It will increase in severity if there be need. The first vision is simply that of the almond tree; an emblem of gentleness rather than of severity. But the second vision, that of the boiling caldron, suggested a far ether and more terrible visitation (cf. the plagues in Egypt, which increased in terribleness as they went on). And it is ever so even unto the “consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).
(4) It often comes from unexpected quarters. The “seething pet i, that the prophet saw had its face northward. Now, the reader of the history of the times of which our prophet tellsthe times of King Josiahwill know that it was from the south, from Egypt, they expected that troubles would arise. And in the next chapter (verse 16) mention is made of trouble that did arise from that quarter, though what particular event is referred to it is not easy to say. But the great trouble was to come from the north, from the last quarter from which they anticipated it. King Josiah lost his life in doing good service to that northern power, the great Assyrian kingdom, by fighting against Egypt. It was not, therefore, to be expected that thence calamity would come. But nevertheless it was thence that their great overthrow and destruction came. And little do the transgressors against God ever know or even dream whence his judgments against them will arise. It is not only “in such an hour,” but from such a quarter “as they think not, that the Divine displeasure breaks upon them. A transgressor against God is safe nowhere: nothing may be visible to his eye, everything may be going on in orderly course, and he may have full confidence that all is well. But notwithstanding this, events soon to happen may prove that he has wrongly read the whole of God’s providence, and that his security is least where he thought it was greatest and most certain. Happy, and happy alone, is he who hath made the Lord God his trust, and whose hope the Lord is.
2. Concerning the Divine love. We have seen wherefore these visions were given. They reveal to us that Divine love which would warn men from ways which bring upon them such sore judgments. The desire of God to save guilty men, to leave nothing undone by which they may be turned and kept back from evil, is manifest in all this. He would not have his message miss its mark by reason of any lack of deep impression and vivid realization of the truth on the part of the messenger.C.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Jer 1:4-9
Jehovah calls Jeremiah and gives him ample encouragements.
I. THE PURPOSE OF WHICH JEREMIAH WAS BROUGHT INTO EXISTENCE. This is stated in a very solemn and impressive way in verse 5. Jehovah presents himself to Jeremiah as he who formed him in the belly, and even before then recognized him as one who was to do a special work. So with regard to Moses, Isaac, Samuel. The circumstances of their birth direct our thoughts to the special ends to be worked out by their earthly life. To each of them the same words might have been spoken as to Jeremiah. Moreover, if true of them, this word is true of all. Jehovah is the Fashioner of all mankind, and since he does nothing without some purpose, it follows that for every one of us, equally with Jeremiah, there is a recognition, a consecrating, an ordaining. In a few instances there may be a special publication of the purpose, but the purpose itself is real in every instance. Therefore our business clearly is to find out what God would have us be, our eyes open to his presence, our ears to his voice. Then if we have discovered what God would have us be, if there is a deepening impression on our minds that we are in the right way, this very thought, that God saw the proper work of our life or ever we entered upon it, will assure us that the work cannot fail. We shall feel that requisite strength in the doing of it, and full success at the end of it, are made certain. The failings of life comeand it is easy to see that they must comefrom putting our own purposes athwart the settled purpose of God. We may rebel against the work which he calls upon us to undertake, but it is very certain that any work put in its place must end in disappointment and disaster. To Jonah as to Jeremiah, God might have said somewhat the same as is here recorded. It is an awful thought for sinners, in the collapse of their own plans, that they might have been successful and rejoicing, if only they had been from the heart obedient to the plans of God.
II. THE ANSWERING PLEA OF JEREMIAH. An opposing plea it can hardly be called, but it is the not astonishing statement of a difficulty that from the human point of view looks very great. When God makes his first approaches to men, asking them to do something special, what is more natural than that they should see huge difficulties in the way of obedience? How fertile was the self-distrusting Moses in suggesting difficulties when God came to him in Horeb (Exo 3:4)? Take special notice that the difficulties of such men as Moses and Jeremiah are not meant to be mere excuses, but are felt to be real reasons. Such is emphatically the position here. Jeremiah was but a lad; it is possible that he had net yet attained to what we should call a young man (Gen 41:12; 1Ki 3:7). At such an age one is valued for listening and learning rather than for talking. That the prophet made such an initial reply to Jehovah was a good sign rather than a bad one. Deep humility and a keen consciousness of natural weakness are welcome features in the man whom God would make his servant. It is tolerably certain that among the elders of Anathoth Jeremiah would have the reputation of being a quiet, unpretending lad. If a young man of another reputation had stood forward as a prophet, there would have been fair ground to charge him with presumption. But when one stands forward who ever looks doubtfully on his own abilities, is no self-asserter, and forms by preference a member in the background of every scene, such a standing forward at once suggests that there is some superhuman motive behind it. Jeremiah’s plea is therefore a recommendation. Unconsciously he gives a valid certificate of fitness for his work. At the same time, this plea suggests all the difference which there is between the youthful Jeremiah and the youthful Jesus. Jesus in the temple seems in his natural element, not too young even at twelve years of age to show an ardent interest in all that concerned Divine worship and service.
III. THE AMPLE ENCOURAGEMENT WHICH JEHOVAH GIVES TO JEREMIAH. In a few words, God puts before his servant all that is needed and all that can be supplied.
1. There will be clear commands from God, and from the prophet there must be corresponding obedience. Not with Jeremiah rests the deciding of whether he shall go here or there, or to what place first and to what last. He is always a sent man, and when he comes into the presence of his appointed audience, his message is a provided message. Thus it is ensured that he never finds himself in the wrong place or speaking at the wrong time. Well does God know how little we are able, of ourselves, to decide when to speak and when to be silent, what to say and what to leave unsaid.
2. One consequence of God’s message faithfully delivered will be hostility and menace from the hearers, and therefore there is an exhortation to courage, and an indication of the ground which makes that courage possible. When Jeremiah gets into a certain presence and speaks a certain word he will be threatened. The threatening must be expected; it shows that the arrow of God’s truth has found its home. All the powers of the human face will be called into malignant exercise against the prophet. The eye, the tongue, the muscles of the face will all be joined in strong combination to express the contempt and hatred filling the brain that lies behind. In no way can Jeremiah escape this experience; he must face the enemies, but in doing so he has the assurance that his Commander is near to deliver.
3. God makes now an actual communication to the prophet. The path is not yet taken, the audience is not yet in view, but by way of earnest inspiration the words of the Master are put into the servant’s mouth. This of course was an indescribable experience. What it is to have the words of God in one’s mouth can only be known by an actual enjoyment of the privilege. The only way in which we can discern how real and fruitful this experience was, is by observing its effect. There is no more hesitating, no turning from one answered plea to find another more cogent. Henceforth the prophet goes on steadily and faithfully in his mission, and his perfect service is best proved by this, that in due time he meets with the indicated opposition, and receives from God his promised protection.Y.
Jer 1:10
The vast compass of the prophet’s work.
I. THE WIDE EXTENT THE PROPHECIES COVER. Primarily they had to do with Jerusalem and Judah and all the families of the house of Israel. But this was only the beginning. They went on to affect in the most intimate way all the nations and the kingdoms. The principles of righteousness and truth and Divine authority concern all. They can no more be-kept within certain geographical bounds than can the clouds and rains of heaven. On this day, when the Great I AM came to the youthful Jeremiah, he set him over the nations and over the kingdoms, and here is the reason why these prophecies, with their grand ethical deliverances, have still such a firm hold upon Christendom, upon the Gentile just as much as the Jew. Wherever there still remains the worshipper of stocks and stones, wherever the oppressor is found, and the man who confides in the arm of flesh, and the man who is utterly indifferent to the glory of God,then in that same place there is occasion to insist most strenuously upon the continued application of Jeremiah’s words. The prophets were more than indignant patriots; they were and are still witnesses to an ideal of humanity, nowhere regarded as it ought to be, and only too often neglected, if not contemptuously denied. He who came forth to condemn his own people for lapsing into idolatry did thereby equally condemn other nations for not departing from it. The gospel for every creature is preceded by a body of prophecy, which is shown also to concern every creature, not by laborious inference, but by such explicit words as we find in this verse.
II. THE DEPTH OF THE WORK TO WHICH THESE PROPHECIES POINT. The work is not only wide; it is deep as it is wide. The ultimate aim is set forth in two figures:
1. Building.
2. Planting.
On these two figures Paul dwells very suggestively in writing to the Corinthians. The constructive work of God in the human soul needs more than one figure sufficiently to illustrate it. But all true building must be on a sufficient foundation; all Divine planting, if it is to come to anything, must be in a suitable soil. Hence there goes beforehand an unsparing work, to destroy things already in existence. Buildings already erected must be pulled down; plants already growing must be uprooted and put beyond the chance of further growth. We have done things which ought to have been left undone; and the word to Jeremiah is that they must be undone, in order that the things which ought to be clone may be fully done. The terms indicating destruction are multiplied to emphasize the need, and prevent escape into ruinous compromise. There must be no tacking on of a new building to certain humanly cherished parts of the old. Constructions after the will of God must not be liable to a description such as that of the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream; all must be strong, pure, and beautiful from basement to summit. In the garden of the Lord there can be no mixing of heavenly and earthly plants. A clean sweepsuch is necessitated for the glory of God and the blessedness of man. Thus at the very first is given a hint of the hostility which Jeremiah would provoke. Pulling down means the expulsion of self from its fortress, and its bereavement of all that it valued. Every brick detached, every plant uprooted, intensified the enmity one degree more. “Destroy,” “overthrow,” are the only words that can be spoken as long as anything remains in which human pride and selfishness take delight. But at the same time, the prophet goes forth to build and to plant. He takes nothing away but what he leaves something infinitely better behind. When God sends a messenger to us, his great first word is “thorough;” and even though he has to make his way through human pains, tears, murmurings, and semi-rebellions, he keeps to the word. Remember, then, that he who pulls down also builds; he who uproots also plants; and he builds and plants for eternity.Y.
Jer 1:11-14
The almond tree and the seething pot.
He who put his word into the prophet’s mouth also put a new power of vision into his eyes, and gave him to see signs such as tended to fix permanently in his mind deep convictions with regard to the power and purposes of God. Thus the prophet was assured of his ability to see more than others could see. Both through eye and ear he was fortified in the consciousness that his prophetic office was no empty boast.
I. THE ROD OF THE ALMOND TREE. Probably much such a rod as those which were laid up in the tabernacle overnight in order to certify beyond all question the divinely appointed office of Aaron (Num 17:1-13.). This narrative, we may be pretty sure, would be transmitted with special care from generation to generation of the priesthood, and to it the mind of Jeremiah may at once have turned. That rod which once helped the priest is now found helping the prophet. It was the sign of how much living and fructifying energy might break forth where there was only the appearance of death. The auditors of Jeremiah’s prophecies might say they saw no sign of impending calamities. In all self-confidence they might say, “Peace and prosperity will last out our time.” And so Jeremiah goes forth with the remembrance of the almond rod, well assured that by God’s power the most unexpected things may happen with the utmost suddenness. The words of prophecy may long lie dormant, and some may treat them as dead and obsolete; but none can toll at what moment the long quiescent may start into the most vigorous activity. Was it not all at once, after a long period of quietude, that Jesus came forth with a sudden outburst of miraculous energy and teaching wisdom? It is precisely those who have been long dead in trespasses and sins who sometimes startle the world by a sudden exuberance of the Divine life within them.
II. THE SEETHING POT. Here again is the exhibition of energy, and a sudden and irresistible change from quiet into furious and threatening movement. A pot boiling over with the vehemence of the fire under it, is an excellent emblem of how God can stir up his destroying wrath against the rebellious. What can be quieter than the water as it lies in the pot? what quieter than the fuel before it is kindled? and yet the light touch of a very small flame sends fuel and water into activity, and that activity soon rises into fury. The water that only a few minutes ago was still and cold is now turbulent and scalding. Just in the same way, God can take these “families of the kingdoms of the north,” and make them the instruments of his wrath and chastisement, little conscious as they are of all the use to which they are being put. Everywhere in close proximity to us there are latent forces of destruction, and these with startling rapidity may become patent. Consider how soon the beautiful and cheering heavens may be filled with the elements of deadly storm.Y.
Jer 1:17
The consequence of unreasonable fear.
God has already exhorted. Jeremiah courage, and given him the strongest assurances of his own unfading presence. But now he adds warning. Fear of the enemies of God will bring not only suffering but shame. The man who goes out to fight for his country, and turns in cowardice on the day of battle, only escapes the enemy to die a disgraceful death at the hands of his own people. To meet the threatenings of men, we must have in our hearts not only the strength of God but the fear of God. Those who turn from the weapons of God’s enemies, whom in God’s strength they should meet and conquer, find God himself in arms against them. He himself visibly and signally confounds the unfaithful, and thus even in the unfaithfulness of the messenger he who sends him is all the more honored. As yet, of course, Jeremiah had not been tried, and all through his prophecies there is no sign that personal fear ever entered his mind. He had a very sensitive nature; he was often, almost continually one may say, the subject of depressing emotion, but the fear of no man, however dignified and powerful that man might be, deterred him from a plain exposure of his misdoings. And yet, although the prophet did not fall into unfaithfulness, it was well to warn him beforehand. Warning never comes unsuitably to any servant of God. He who stands should never take it amiss if he be exhorted to take heed lest he fall. And all the securing words with which God follows up the warning here do not make that warning one whir less needful. The prophet was to become like a fortress, as far as God could surround him with protection; but all the protection would avail him nothing, if he became careless as to his own believing connection with God. When faith fails, the whole spiritual man becomes vulnerable, and to become vulnerable soon leads to being actually wounded.Y.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Jer 1:1-3
A protracted ministry.
The ministry of Jeremiah attracts attention because of its length, the varied scenes amidst which it was carried on, and the external aspect of failure worn by it from first to last. May there not be in these and other respects a moral attaching to it for those who in distant ages can regard it as a whole, and in connection with the subsequent Divine evolution of events of which it spoke? Contrast it with that of John the Baptist.
I. ITS BACKGROUND OF CIRCUMSTANCE. Five reigns: for the most part brief; two of them ridiculously or tragically so. Beginning in a fitful flush of religious enthusiasm, and ending in a long and shameful captivity. Foreign politics were unusually interesting. The Merle-Babylonian overthrow of Syria was about to take place when he began; in the twenty-third year of his ministry Nebuchadnezzar laid the foundation of Baby-Ionian empire in the victory of Carchemish, in which Israel was subdued, and universal rule passed into his hands; the invasion of Judaea followed in four years, and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah Jerusalem was taken. Personally his had been a checkered career. For twenty-two years comparatively obscure; for the most part probably at Anathoth. But towards the end of this period he came to Jerusalem. We find him in the temple (Jer 7:2); in the gates of the city (Jer 17:19); in prison (Jer 32:2); in the king s house (Jer 22:1; Jer 37:17); and then at times in Egypt. There are two traditions as to his deathone that he was stoned by the Jews in their settlement at Tahapanes, in Egypt; the other that Nebuchadnezzar, having in the twenty-seventh year of his reign conquered Egypt, took him and Baruch with him to Babylon. In any case, he probably lived to an extreme age.
II. ITS MESSAGE. To warn against idolatry, by exposing its real nature and declaring its consequences. Bat through all and beyond all, to declare the indestructibleness of the kingdom of God, the certain advent of “The Lord our Righteousness,” and the ultimate glory and happiness of a redeemed and purified people. Of scarce any other prophet can it be said that his predictions were so absolutely, and to present perception hopelessly future. Yet is his tone on this account none the less believing and confident.
III. ITS DIVINE SIGNIFICANCE The “burden” of Jeremiah is identical from reign to reign, although the illustrative and occasioning circumstances vary. May we not say that:
1. The personality of the prophet had a place in the Divine intention? Certain we are that its influence was second only to that of his words, if even to that. His astonishment, sorrow, hope, etc; are all instructive and remarkable.
2. The word of God has to deal with the continuity and development of error, and will outlast it. The best antidote to error is the healthful development of truth. There is no phase of depravity, transgression, or unbelief for which the Word of God has not, in its historic evolution, some doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness. Revealed through human lips and lives by the operation of the Holy Spirit, it is a living, manifold growth, intimately associated with the vicissitudes of that human life it has to correct and redeem. There can never be a time when the gospel will have no word for the inquiring, wondering, suffering, sinning, unbelieving spirit of man.
3. The ministry of the prophet was a visible sign of the Divine long-suffering. “But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Rom 10:21; Isa 65:2). “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” (Mat 17:17).M.
Jer 1:4-10
The call of the prophet.
As these are elements both ordinary and extraordinary in the prophetic office, so preparation, etc; for it must be of both kinds. Much that may be said of it will be applicable to all other service in God’s Church; and there will be some conditions and circumstances that must necessarily be peculiar and abnormal. The behavior, too, of one called to such a high office must ever be interesting to observers.
I. THE SPIRIT IN WHICH SUCH AN OFFICE SHOULD BE ASSUMED. Like Moses and others of whom we read, Jeremiah was of a backward and retiring disposition. It required insistence and remonstrance on the part of Jehovah to persuade him to undertake the task. His low thoughts of himself as contrasted with the mighty office to which he was called, held him back. There are some things that come most gracefully when they are spontaneous. The general duty, love, and service, owing by the creature to the Creator, etc; are of this kind. But for special work and appointment, requiring great qualifications and especial help of God, modesty and hesitation are a recommendation rather than otherwise. Our question, pointed first of all homewards, should be, “Who is sufficient for these things?” A feeling like this is helpful and preparative, as leading to the perception of the true strength and fitness that come from God, and to a constant dependence upon him. Many long idly for “some great thing to do,” others hesitate because the thing is too great.
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD PREPARES MEN FOR EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE IN HIS CHURCH. Where direction and impulse are needed revelation is made. The spirit of the prophet is not left in doubt. A hesitating, vacillating prophet were a worthless messenger to the faithless. Revelation is therefore made to him of:
1. His anticipative choice in the counsels of God. This predestinating grace of God is a frequent assertion of the Old Testament. It is a mystery we cannot fathom; but is consistent with the free choice of the subject addressed. It has its effect in the voluntary acceptance of the appointment through persuasion and appeal. A discovery of this nature can only -be for the few, who are called to especial responsibilities, etc; and has no reference to the general demands of duty, affection, zeal, which address themselves to all
2. Future Divine evidence, protection, and inspiration. God will be with him, and will fit him for all he has to do. So Christ to his disciples, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mat 28:20). This is to meet the exigencies of Divine service, and is not intended for personal aims and ends. Many a lowly worker in the Master’s service is thereby endued with irresistible power. It is a conviction for which we are encouraged to seek grounds and assurances.
3. Authority amongst the nations to destroy and to restore. This is a moral investment. Just as God enforces truth and righteousness with accompanying mysterious sanctions, so he clothes his messenger with an authority the consciences of men will recognize even when their perversity of will inclines them to disobey.
How much of this spirit of certitude and conviction is needed for the ordinary life of the Christian? Have we the measure of it we require? or are we inefficient and useless because of our lack of it? There can be no question that such a spirit is inculcated by Christianity, and that reasonable grounds are afforded us all upon which to be thoroughly persuaded in our own mind. Let us act upon our deepest convictions and most unalterable certainties. This is the only way to attain to a sound apprehension of Divine things, and an efficient condition of service.M.
Jer 1:11
What seest thou?
(cf. Amo 7:8; Amo 8:2; Zec 4:2; Zec 5:2). The seer is encouraged and impelled to the exercise of his gifts. His first duty is plain, viz. to test his own powers of vision; and next, to ponder the significance of what he sees. So the spiritually endowed are summoned to the performance of the special work to which they have been called; and the newly discovered gift lifts them into a new sphere of responsibility and action.
I. GOD–GIVEN GIFTS ARE A STEWARDSHIP TO BE EXERCISED WITH THE UTMOST CAREFULNESS AND ENDEAVOR.
II. WE CANNOT TELL HOW HIGHLY WE ARE ENDOWED UNTIL WE TRY OURSELVES TO THE UTMOST; AND THE BEST GIFTS MAY BE IMPROVED BY CULTIVATION.
III. THE WELFARE OF MULTITUDES MAY DEPEND UPON THE FAITHFULNESS OF ONE. Of many it might be asked, “Do they see at all?” Vision is a Divine gift to those who are to be leaders of men; and in lesser measure is given to all for their salvation if they will but open their eyes.M.
Jer 1:12-16
Hastening ills.
(For the first fig, cf. Mat 24:32.) The vision of the prophet is twofold, viz. a wakeful almond rod, and a boiling pot. They are symbols of quick accomplishment and violent invasion. As the almond rod is wakeful or ready to sprout when planted, and “first to wake from the sleep of winter,” so the evils prepared by God will be quickly brought to pass. The boiling pot would seem to be the Chaldeans, who invaded Israel from the north. As swiftly and violently as the pot boils over, so will God make the wrath of men to praise him. The ills are swiftly approaching, but they are self-produced by Israel. When we compare this statement with the forgiving character of God, we must feel how great the sin and the provocation that could so move him. Yet on the very edge of his destroying vengeance he remembers mercy, and will have his people repent. Notice
I. SINNERS MUST NOT CONCLUDE THAT THEY ARE SAFE BECAUSE OF PRESENT IMMUNITY. Jeremiah was as the eye of Israel just opened to the impending dangers. Many would even now reject his message; but the warning is given:
1. Through an intensely sensitive mind, that it may produce a vivid impression upon the imagination and heart of those who hear the prophet.
2. Seasonably, that although but a short time remains, there may be opportunity of repentance and reform.
II. GOD BEGINS THE CHASTISEMENT OF HIS PEOPLE GENTLY, BUT IF THEY REPENT NOT HE WILL INCREASE AND HASTEN HIS JUDGMENTS UNTIL THE EVIL IS WHOLLY AT AN END. The first emblem is one of rapid yet natural development; it is otherwise indefinite. The second is more suggestive of punishment and destruction. The first speaks only of such punishment as may be needed from time to time, and of the unceasing vigilance of the offended God; the second is sudden, overwhelming, and beyond all reckoning or measurement.
III. IDOLATRY IS THE SIN OF WHICH GOD IS MOST INTOLERANT. It is the transfer of affection and trust to an unworthy object, and an insult to God and degrading to themselves. They who indulge in it are warned that their punishment will be constant and rapidly successive; and that they are on the brink of signal, terrible manifestation of Divine wrath.M.
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE
Jer 1:4-10
The prophet’s call.
We see in the case of Jeremiah a striking instance of a man constrained by force of circumstance and by a Divine call to occupy a position and to do a kind of work for which he was not naturally either qualified or disposed. Of a highly sensitive and timid nature, a tender heart, a desponding spirit, he was inclined to mourn in secret over the abounding evils of the time rather than publicly to rebuke them. But as soon as the Divine summons comes to him, he “confers not with flesh and blood,” he forgets his fears and infirmities, and for forty long years patiently withstands the tide of iniquity and adversitya noble example of blended tenderness and strength. In this account of the prophet’s call, note
I. GOD‘S SOVEREIGNTY IN THE RAISING UP OF MEN TO DO HIS WORK. Jeremiah was “known” and “sanctified”dedicated by God to his sacred officebefore his birth. His “ordination,” appointment, now is but the fulfilling of an antecedent Divine purpose and choice. Most of the illustrious men of old bear some conspicuous mark of such Divine election upon them, e.g. Moses, Gideon, Samson, Cyrus. St. Paul devoutly recognized it in himself, in spite of all his blind hostility to the name of Christ in former years (Gal 1:15). We fail too often to take sufficient note of this mystery of God’s foreknowledge and predetermination underlying the progress of the kingdom of truth and righteousness in the world. And yet we understand its history, we get at the heart and core of its meaning, only so far as we look through all surface appearances and, holding fast to the equally sure principles of human freedom and responsibility, discern the will that works out steadily, through chosen instruments, its own eternal purpose.
II. THE SHRINKING OF A LOWLY SPIRIT FROM A POSITION OF EXTRAORDINARY DIFFICULTY AND DANGER. “Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.” This was the honest expression of conscious personal unfitness.
1. The feeling was very honorable to him. Who that knows himself would not tremble on being summoned to such a work? To take up a solemn responsibility with a light heart and easy self-confidence is the mark of a vain spirit that courts rebuke. He who has any true sense of the greatness of his mission from God will often
“Lie contemplating his own unworthiness.”
2. It was a sign of his real fitness for the work. Humility is the basis of all that is great and good in human character and deed. “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” The cry, “Who is sufficient for these things?” is a symptom of inherent nobleness and slumbering power. Jeremiah’s feeling that he was “but a child,” prepared him the better to become the representative of the Divine majesty and the vehicle of Divine strength.
III. THE SPIRITUAL CONSTRAINT OF WHICH ALL TRUE SERVANTS OF GOD ARE CONSCIOUS. The prophetic inspiration came upon him and compelled him to delay his message. “The word of the Lord was in his heart as a burning fire shut up in his bones, and he could not stay” (Jer 20:9). A Divine commission thus asserting itself in the inward consciousness of him who received it, might well be called the “burden of the Lord.” Great reformers, preachers, missionaries, martyrs, have ever been moved by some such Divine afflatus. So felt Peter and John before the Jewish Council: “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Act 4:20). So felt St. Paul: “Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (1Co 9:16). “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” He must “speak” who is thus commanded; he must “go” who is thus sent.
IV. THE COURAGE AND STRENGTH WITH WHICH GOD ENDOWS ALL WHO THUS OBEY HIS BIDDING. The ministry of Jeremiah is a signal example of the way in which the grace of God may clothe [the most timid spirit with dauntless energy and victorious power. He will never be “afraid of the faces of men,” who knows that the Lord is with him. The fear of God casts out all other fear. Many a “little child ‘ has thus become preternaturally brave; “out of weakness made strong.” The history of the kingdom of God among men abounds with illustrations of the way in which he “chooses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.” And every patient, heroic Christian life bears witness to the sufficiency of his grace. You can glory even in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, and distresses, if the “power of Christ” does but rest upon you (2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10).
V. THE MASTERY OF TRUTH OVER ALL THE HOSTILE POWERS OF THE WORLD. Jeremiah was “set over the nations and over the kingdoms,” not as a prince, but as a prophet; not as wielding any form of mere brute force, but as the instrument of that silent energy of truth that casts down the strongholds of Satan in every land. His word was “like a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces” (Jer 23:29). Divine truth is the mightiest of all forces alike to” root out and to pull down to build and to plant.” The sovereignty of the world is his of whom it is written, “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isa 11:4). The “many crowns” are on the head of him whose “Name is called The Word of God.”W.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Jer 1:1. The words of Jeremiah This chapter forms an entire section by itself. It contains the call of Jeremiah, and the commission given him by God; the purport of which is explained by two symbolical images. God encourages him to proceed in the execution of it by assuring him of protection and support.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1. THE INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah 1
1. The Superscription
Jer 1:1-3 1
1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, [one] of the priests that were [LXX., 2dwelt] in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, To whom the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came [was communicated]2 in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, 3king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jer 1:1. The words of Jeremiah Benjamin. We find a similar commencement in the prophetical book of Amos (Jer 1:1) and in the Song of Solomon (Jer 1:1). Etymologically might certainly be rendered historia Jeremi (De Wette), compare so frequent in the book of Kings (1Ki 11:41; 1Ki 14:19; 1Ki 14:29, etc.). Since, however, this book is not historic, but prophetic, since the prophets work consisted essentially in preaching, since the other prophetic books bear inscriptions denoting discourses ( , ) or visions (), and since finally the historical narratives contained in the book are also the words of Jeremiah (so Starke, ad h. l.), it is more correct to take in the sense of words, which it certainly has in Son 1:1. Concerning the name, origin and birthplace of the prophet, see the Introduction. Besides Jeremiah (and Nathan, 1Ki 4:5, VideTholuck, Die Proph. und ihre Weiss. S. 20, u. 32), the prophet Ezekiel (Jer 1:3; comp. Jos. Ant. X. 5, 1), and most probably Zechariah (Jer 1:1 comp. Khler, Socharja, S. 9), were of sacerdotal origin. No special traces of his priestly descent are found in the book of our prophet, unless we reckon as such his accurate knowledge of the Law, especially Deuteronomy, of which the exposition will furnish proofs in great number.
Jer 1:2-3. To whom. in the fifth month. The subject of came in Jer 1:3 is word of Jehovah, repeated from Jer 1:2. Chr. B. Michaelis falsely renders in the Hallesche Bibel: idemque etiam fuit propheta. As regards the chronological statements in Jer 1:2-3, it should first be noticed that the two kings Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim are passed over, without doubt because each of them reigned only three months. Since Jeremiah labored from the thirteenth year of Josiah, consequently eighteen years under Josiah, and eleven years each under Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, he ministered altogether, including the six months under the two kings omitted, forty years in the midst of the theocracy. How long afterwards he labored, cannot be ascertained with any certainty. Comp. Introduction and remarks on Jer 44:29. Since the book, as we have it, contains not only those words of Jehovah which were communicated to the prophet before the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, but others of later date (Jeremiah 40-44), this inscription does not comport with its present extent. According to Jer 36:32, in place of the writing destroyed by Zedekiah, Jeremiah prepared another, which was twice as large as the first. When he completed the second roll, we are not told. After the destruction of Jerusalem in the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, Jeremiah remained more than two months longer in the country (comp. Jer 41:1; Jer 42:7). During this time, or perhaps after his arrival in Egypt (comp. rems. on Jer 2:16; Jer 2:36), he may have continued his writing till the time mentioned, and provided it with the present inscription, Jer 1:1-3. Comp. Ewald, Die Propheten des A. B.II. S. 15. We have the contents of this writing in our present book, though not in the same order. On this point see the Introduction.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Origen, in his first homily on Jeremiah, regards the chronological statements of the inscription as a proof of the long-suffering of God. He says, 3, God had pronounced judgment against Jerusalem for its sins, and it was condemned to captivity. But as the time approaches, the compassionate God sends this prophet under the third king before the captivity. For the long-suffering God wished to grant them a respite, and Jeremiah was to prophesy, so to speak, the day before the captivity, as a preacher of repentance, in order that the cause of the captivity might be removed. [Dr. Lightfoot observes that as Moses was so long with the people as a teacher in the wilderness, till they entered into their own land, Jeremiah was so long to their own land a teacher before they went into the wilderness of the heathen. M. Henry.S. R. A.]
Footnotes:
[1][The text of the common English Version will be retained in the prose portions of the book, with occasional corrections, included in brackets; but a new rendering of the poetical portions will be given, founded on a comparison of the German and English Versions with the Hebrew.S. R. A.]
[2]Jer 1:2.[Henderson: was communicated.]
2. THE CALL OF THE PROPHET BY WORD AND VISION (Jer 1:4-19)
a. His choice, call and aggressive destination
Jer 1:4-10
4, 5Then the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came unto me,3 saying, Before I formed thee in the belly4 I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified [separated] thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6Then said I [But I said], Ah,5 Lord God! [Jehovah] behold, I cannot speak: for 7I am a child. But the Lord [Jehovah] said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to6 all that [wherever] I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command 8thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver 9thee, saith the Lord [Jehovah]. Then the Lord [Jehovah] put forth his hand 10and touched my mouth. And the Lord [Jehovah] said unto me, Behold, I have put my words into thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down [extirpate and exterminate] and to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jer 1:5. Before I formed thee. to the nations. Observe the progress of thought in the three clauses of this verse1. Before I formed thee, I knew thee: the Divine idea in eternity lies back of the creative act in time. Comp. Psa 139:15. 2. Before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee: the instrument prepared in accordance with the Divine idea is set apart for the sacred service. Comp. Isa 45:4; Isa 49:1; Act 9:15; Rom 1:1; Gal 1:15; Luk 1:15. 3. I ordained thee a prophet to the nations: it is expressly stated in what this sacred service consists: Jeremiah is to proclaim the word of the Lord as a prophet, not to one nation only, but to the nations generally.
Jer 1:6. Then said I I am a child. Jeremiah perceives directly the difficulty and danger of this Divine commission. He therefore pleads his inability to speak on account of his youth. By a similar plea Moses seeks to escape the Divine legation, Exo 3:11; Exo 4:10; Exo 4:13; but Jonah flees from before the Lord, Jer 1:3Many expositors suppose that Jeremiah was then twenty years of age, but no definite age is designated by . The Rabbins understand by the term a boy to his fourteenth year. See Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. Talm. sub voce. Maurer. more correctly concludes from the long continuance of the prophets ministry (Jer 1:2-3, coll. Jer 40:1; Jer 43:8), that he could not then have passed his twenty-fifth year.
Jer 1:7. But Jehovah said unto me, say not thou shalt speak. Jehovah rebuts the objection of Jeremiah at the outset, not by the promise of His assistance, but by a categorical declaration of His will. He is to go where he is sent, and speak what he is commanded. in itself might be taken in a personal sense (, LXX). But since the following is certainly to be regarded as neuter, and as the neutral signification, being the more general, includes the other, the former is to be preferred=wherever. We should also expect after the verb, and from its absence conclude that is intended for an adverb of place=whither (Zec 6:10).
Jer 1:8. Be not afraid saith Jehovah. Their faces refers to the persons indicated implicite in the word wherever, Jer 1:7. Here first the Lord removes Jeremiahs scruples by the promise of His protection and assistance. So with Moses, Exo 3:12; Exo 4:15; comp. Eze 2:6; Jos 1:5; Jos 7:9; Jdg 6:16; Mat 10:18-20; Mat 28:20; Luk 21:17; Act 18:9-10.
Jer 1:9. Then Jehovah put forth his hand. into thy mouth. The opposition of the prophet is now broken down. The Lord was too strong for him. Comp. Jer 20:7; 1Co 9:10.So the Lord now proceeds to the solemn act of inauguration. In this we distinguish two points: (a) the communication of the necessary ability, Jer 1:9; (b) the conferring of the commission and privileges of the office. Both indicate a vigorous offensive attitude of the prophet, which corresponds to an equally strong defensive position, Jer 1:18-19. The first consists in the symbolical act of touching the lips. We call this act symbolical in so far as the touching of the lips and the words spoken were the visible and audible manifestation of a still deeper spiritual transaction. The Lord cannot literally have put His words in the prophets mouth: He can only have given him the charism of which the words were the necessary result, Attactus oris signum est notans efficaciam spiritus sancti, quippe qui digitus Dei sit, aperiens labia ministrorum verbi, Psa 51:13-14; Psa 51:17; Luk 21:15 (Frster). The transaction is, however, to be regarded as an historical objective fact, though occurring outside the sphere of physical or bodily life, and therefore as , or a vision. Comp. Drechsler on Isa 6:7. We thus avoid a double error. First, that which apprehends the transaction as purely subjective: as the moment when the presentiment first flashed clearly through the soul of Jeremiah, that his prophetic calling was of Divine appointment (Ewald, Die Proph. des A. B. II. S. 26). Secondly, that according to which the transaction took place in the sphere of physical or corporeal existence. So Starke, who, actually says that the Son of God, in pre-intimation of His blessed incarnation, appeared to Jeremiah in a human form.This touching of the lips occurs several times, but always with a different meaning. In Isa 6:6 it is for the purpose of expiation, in Dan 10:16 for the purpose of strengthening. Here in Jeremiah it is the outward form of inspiratio (). For the expression I have put my word in thy mouth (comp. almost the same expression in Isa 51:16) is, on the one hand, an explanation of the act of touching the lips, on the other the designation of that operation on the human spirit by virtue of which holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2Pe 1:21). From the following verse moreover we perceive that the prophet was prepared not only for speaking, but for acting, or, that his words were to be at the same time deeds, real exhibitions of power.
Jer 1:10. See, I have this day to build and to plant. These words represent the second part of the act of inauguration, the conferring of authority and of the commission. Authority is at the same time power. The prophet is not only formally authorized, but rendered physically capable. He is first authorized and empowered to act vigorously in the offensive. I have set thee as a , i.e., overseer, administrator (, ), consequently as my officer over the nations and kingdoms, which are my dominion and property. In is also included the idea of official plenipotence, which forms the legal basis of the prophets ministry. The sphere in which this ministry is to be exercised is the nations and the kingdoms. These are not designated more exactly, but the definite article and the plural denote that not only the kingdom of Judah, but all the nations and kingdoms are meant which were then present on the arena of history. They are enumerated Jer 25:17-26. The commission which the prophet received with respect to them has two sidesa positive and a negative. First, he is to extirpate and exterminate (we may thus express the alliteration), to destroy and to throw down, but then also to build and to plant. The first he does by prophesying the Divine judgment, the second by the promise of Divine mercy and grace. corresponding to . is used of plants (Jer 12:14 sqq.; Jer 24:6; Jer 45:4) corresponding to , of buildings (Jer 39:8; Jer 52:14; Eze 26:9; Eze 26:12). It is noteworthy that the negative side is expressed by four verbs, the positive by only two. With this the contents of the book correspond, as owing to the moral condition of the times, it contains more threatenings and rebukes than promises of grace It is full of the former with respect to Israel. The latter are found with respect to the theocracy, besides in many scattered passages, especially in Jeremiah 30-33. With respect to the heathen nations both are found especially in Jeremiah 46-51. It is understood that the prophet was not actually to destroy and to build, but only by word, which as spoken by God involves the certainty of the accomplishment. Analogous modes of expression are found in Gen 49:6; Isa 6:10; Eze 32:18; Eze 43:3; Hos 6:5 Rev 11:5Comp. Jer 5:14; Jer 23:29.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. There is a vocatio immediate, which is however restricted to the bearers of the prophetic and apostolic office. We know of no prophet who was chosen and called by man to be a prophet. Aaron and Elisha are only apparent exceptions. Comp. Exo 4:14-16; Exo 4:27; 1Ki 19:16. The apostles also were all called immediately by our Lord: Mat 6:18-22; Mat 10:1; Joh 1:37; Acts I:9.; Gal 1:1; Gal 1:11 sqq. Since then this vocatio immediata or extraordinaria is for those servants and instruments, of which the Lord will make use ad fundandam ecclesiam, all those who wish to bear office in the church already founded must be called thereto rite, i.e. by the human organ authorized for this purpose. (Conf. August., Art. XIV.) Comp. Budde, Instit. theol. dogm. L. V., cap. IV., 4.Turretin. Inst.theol. elencht, Loc. XVIII., Qust. 23.
2. The free creative act of the personal God, who prepares and forms His instruments according to His idea even in the womb, contradicts both the mechanical idea, of development, and a one-sided traducianism.It is simply remarked, that Catholic theologians (see Corn a Lapide), in order to obtain analogies for the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, would conclude from Jer 1:5 that Jeremiah was conceived without originalsin. Neumann understands of a communication of the Holy Ghost to Jeremiah even before his birth. Comp. on the other hand Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, 1, S. 65. [ does not primarily signify to be pure or holy, but to be separated from a common to some special purpose. The idea of purity, whether physical, ceremonial or moral, was originated by that of such separation. When, therefore, Jehovah declares that He had sanctified the prophet before his birth, the meaning is not that He had cleansed him from the pollution of original sin, or that He had regenerated him by His Spirit, as some have imagined, but that He had separated him in His eternal counsel to the work in which he was to be engaged. Henderson. So Calvin.In this respect, as in many others, Jeremiah, who was sanctified from his mothers womb, and was known, i.e. loved, by God before he was conceived and was made a prophet to the Nations, was a figure of Christ, who was loved by the Father from the beginning …. and who was the Prophet of all Nations …. (see S. Jerome here and comp. S. Cyprian c. Judos, I. 21; S. Ambrose, in Psalms 43, and Origen Homil. 1, in Jer.). S. Jerome says: Certe nullum puto sanctiorem Jeremia, qui virgo propheta, sanctificatusque in utero, ipso nomine prfigurat Dominum Salvatorem., S. Jerome (who is regarded as a saint and as a great doctor of the church, by the Church of Rome) could not have written these words if he had known anything of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (i.e. of the original sinlessness) of the Blessed Virgin, which is now enforced by the Church of Rome as an article of faith necessary to everlasting salvation, Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
3. The divine call involves, 1. with respect to the called, (a) the duty, to discharge the commission received without shyness or fear of man, and without regard to his own weakness, (b) the privilege of the divine protection and assistance, and of certain success in his work; 2. with respect to those for whose sake the divine commission is given, (a) the duty of believing obedience, (b) the certain prospect of the realization of the threatenings or promises addressed to them.Zinzendorf (Jeremiah a preacher of righteousness, S. 5 of the Berlin Ed. of 1830) remarks on Jer 1:10 : A general promise which is addressed not to court preachers and general superintendents and such like only, in their extended dioceses, but city and village pastors may a majori ad minus, safely conclude that it will apply also to their rooting out and pulling down, building and planting. Only [be] faithful! only faithful!I note that some have sought to derive from Jer 1:9 a proof of verbal inspiration, hence Starke remarks: Those sin against the Holy Ghost Himself who attribute to Jeremiah a rude style and solecisms, as Abarbanel, Jerome, Cunus (De Rep. ebr. III., 7) have done,further that, Pope Innocent III., founded on Jer 1:10 his claim to the primacy over civil rulers. Comp. Decret. L. I. Tit. 33, cap. sollicite (Frster).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. This passage may be suitably employed on the tenth Sunday after Trinity. It is also especially adapted to Ordination and Installation sermons.
2. The Lord never allows His Church to lack the strength which time and place demand. He need not seek this or wait for it. He makes it. As the Lord elsewhere chose that which was foolish, weak and base in the sight of the world (1Co 1:19-29; Mat 11:25; Joh 7:48; Jam 2:5), so now he chooses one who to himself and others appears too young. It is not always the greybeard that is wanted (Frster). when God gives office He gives also understanding.It would be presumptuous to begin a great work in ones own strength. It is natural that in view of a great and difficult task one should at first be afraid. (Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum, 1,Jer 66: Moyses et Hieremias, electi a Domino, ut oracula Dei prdicarent populo, quod poterant per gratiam, excusabant per verecundiam.) But it would also be wrong if from pusillanimous despondency or love of ease, one should take no heed to an evident call of God.
Mark. O my soul, Gods word to thee,
And go at Christs command,
Whereer He draws thee hasten on,
When He detains thee, stand, etc.
The word and glory, Lord divine,
Not ours, O Christ, but all are Thine,
Grant then Thy gracious aid to those,
Who sweetly on Thy word repose.
(Nic. Selnekker, in the hymn, Abide with us, Lord Jesus Christ, etc., Jer 1:7).Since the cause is not ours, but the Lords, and we have not undertaken it in our own strength, but in obedience to His command, it devolves upon the Lord to protect His cause and His servant.Where one receives an office from the Lord and conducts it according to the Lords purpose and in His Spirit, there the Lord Himself is present with shield and spear, that is, with weapons of defence and offence.The word of the Lord even in the mouth of the humblest of His servants, is a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces, and no rock is too hard or too high for it.The work in the vineyard of the Lord. It must 1. be performed by men, whom the Lord prepares and sends. It Isaiah 2. a difficult and dangerous work. But 3. rich in success and reward.The office to which the Lord appoints Isaiah 1. for the purpose of accomplishing His will,needs, 2. the means which the Lord Himself provides.
3. Starke:He who is called by the Lord to the office of preacher becomes indeed a sacrifice and instrument of God, in that he regards only Gods will and command, and must without exception and without self-conceit do and proclaim that which the Lord commands him to do and preach.Since the anger of God against sin and the punishment which will certainly follow has to be declared to whole kingdoms, a preacher must set their sins and the anger of God awakened thereby, before governors as well as subjects, the high as well as the low.A teacher in view of gross corruption must not proceed softly; he must break down, root out, pull up and destroy.When a teacher has by the Law destroyed the kingdom of Satan in the hearts of men, he must seek to build up the kingdom of Christ therein by the Gospel.
[Propheta nascitur non fitA man is not educated unto a prophet, but originally formed for the office.Samuel declared a message from God to Eli when he was a little child. Note, God can, when He pleases, make children prophets and ordain strength out of the mouths of babes and sucklings.If God do not deliver His ministers from trouble, it is to the same effect if He support them under their trouble.Earthly princes are not wont to go along with their ambassadors, but God goes along with those whom He sends. Henry.You need not fear their facesthe thing that timid young men are most wont to fear. Think only that the Lord God is with you, and let His presence be your joy and strength. Cowles.Nothing can sustain the prophet in His outward and inward conflicts but the assurance of his divine calling.Maurice says: If Jeremiah had fancied that he was a prophet because there was in him a certain aptitude for uttering divine discourses and foreseeing calamities, who can tell the weariness and loathing which he would have felt for his task when it led to no seeming result, except the dislike of all against or for whom it was exercised,still more when the powers and graces which were supposed to be the qualifications for it, became consciously feeble.S. R. A.]
Footnotes:
[3]Jer 1:4.Cod. 1092, De Rossi, Cod. D. Mosc., LXX., Vatic., Theodoret in Cod. Monac., Origen, read , misled by the previous context.
[4]Jer 1:5.Since the 3d pers. masc. imperf. of a strong verb with the suffix requires the short o in the last root-syllable (Ewald, Ausf. Lehrb. 251, b), the Masoretes, deriving from , read with the marginal note . But the form comes from (with the meaning to form, Exo 32:11; 1Ki 7:15), and the Chethibh is therefore to be pronounced .
[5]Jer 1:6.LXX. ( ), which Spohn supposes to have arisen from by the fault of the transcriber; but from the peculiarity of this translation, which would presuppose a derivative from (Exo 3:14), we may judge it to have been the original.
[6]Jer 1:7.The preposition might not unfitly in this connection be rendered against (Maurer), yet elsewhere after differs little in meaning from , 1Sa 15:20; 1Sa 2:11; comp. Neh 6:17 and rems. on Jer 10:1.
b. The Visions, Rehearsal and Programme
Jer 1:11-16
11Moreover the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came unto me, saying, Jeremiah , 12 what seest thou? And I said, I see a [wakeful] rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord [Jehovah] unto me, Thou hast well [rightly] seen, for I will hasten 13[be wakeful (Germ., wacker) concerning] my word, to perform it. And the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came unto me the [a] second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething [boiling] pot, and the face thereof Isaiah 14 toward [from] the north. Then the Lord [Jehovah] said unto me, Out of the north an evil [calamity] shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15For lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord [Jehovah]; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne [seat] at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round 16about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them7 touching [for] all their wickedness, who8 [because they] have forsaken me, and have burned9 incense [sacrifice] unto other gods, and worshipped the works10 of their own hands.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
In general this section is the continuation of Jeremiahs induction into the prophetic office, commenced in the previous section. This continuation consists in this, that the Lord at once causes the prophet to make a little trial or exercise in prophetic vision, in which he shows him not only the manner, but the main purport of the prophetic vision and announcement, i.e. the programme in outline of his prophetic ministry. The two sections thus stand in the closest reciprocal relation. Whether we are to assume an interval of time between them, is not clear from the text, which however does not forbid the supposition of a very brief interim.
Jer 1:11. Moreover rod of an almond tree. The question, What seest thou? is found not only here, in Jer 1:13; Jer 24:3, but also in Amo 7:8; Amo 8:2; Zec 4:2; Zec 5:2. It is the object of the inquirer to assure himself that the person addressed has rightly seen, which thus presupposes a certain difficulty, as well as importance, in seeing correctly. Apart from the objective difficulty of always perceiving the object shown, which we meet with, ex. gr., in Amo 8:2; Zec 5:2; the subjective ability of beholding visions, the seeing power of the inner eye, as it were, had to be tested. is the almond (Gen 43:11; Num 17:8; Ecc 12:5). The word comes from , vigilavit. What the cock is among domestic animals the almond is among trees. It awakes first from the sleep of winter: floret omnium prima mense Januario, Martio vero poma maturat, says Pliny, Hist. Nat. L. XVI. c. 25.The LXX have , baculum nuceum. It is questionable whether by this they wished to designate a nut-tree-staff (with a hint at the sweet kernel in a bitter shell, as Theodoret and Ambrose suppose, the latter in Epist. ad Marcellinam sororem, the 41st in the Bened. Ed.). For, according to Heraclius Ephesius ( , etc.), Hesychius ( ) and others (see Drusiusad h. l. cfr.Passow:, every kind of nut), may also mean an almond-tree-staff, as the LXX also translate Gen 30:37, by ( is however the proper word in Hebrew and the dialects for almond-tree. See Arnold in Herzog, Real-Enc. Art. Mandelbaum), and in Gen 43:11, at least the Cod. Vatic has for , while the Cod. Alex. renders this word by .But although the language allows the meaning of almond for , it has not been universally admitted here. Bugenhagen, ex. gr. translates baculum alacrem or virgam vigilantem, and expressly excludes the idea of an almond tree. For in another reference he makes this remarkable declaration; Qui in hebraico nunc superstitiosius sua puncta (qu tamen sciunt olim non fuisse) sequuntur, faciunt hoc loco: baculum amygdalinum. Sed si hoc placet ipsis, cur non postea faciunt etiam sic: bene vidisti, quia ego amygdalabor ad verbum meum Most commentators admit the idea of almond-tree in , they differ only in this that some express this idea in the translation as that which is in reality the only one befitting the word, while the others for the sake of the similarity with the following prefer the radical signification (vigilare). The latter again are distinguished into those who take = in the substantive sense, watchman (so Calvin:baculus vigilis;colampad.: the watchman club), and those who retain the adjectival signification (vigilans, alacer).The endeavor to recommend the latter meaning by the explanation, virga viglians pro minaci, incumbente, instar destricti gladii vibrata (Zwingli) is wrecked on the difficulty of a rod alone, without an arm to raise it or an object over which it is held, being recognized as vigilans. If on the other hand the staff be recognized by the prophet as an almond-tree staff, not only is (his explicable but the subsequent explanation is connected easily and naturally with the idea of an almond-tree. Ewald has made the thought clear by the translation; A watch-staff of elder, for I will watch, etc.Theodoret says, long-suffering is a sleep (Psa 44:24; Psa 78:65); watchfulness for vengeance an awaking. That He will not sleepily delay, but will be fresh and watchful to own by speedy fulfilment the word spoken by the mouth of His prophet,this is what God says to the fearful, hesitating Jeremiah for his comfort and encouragement. But is a branch with twigs and leaves, or a stick stripped of leaves, such as is used for walking with or striking? Many, like Starke and Rosenmueller, favor the former view. They appeal to the circumstance that otherwise the staff would not be recognized as from an almond-tree. Others, as Kimchi, Vatable, Seb. Schmid, Venema, Gaab, decide for the latter, being only not agreed whether the staff is to be understood as being a pilgrims staff, a shepherds staff, or a stick for beating. I accept the latter view, and take the staff to be a threatening rod of castigation, for the following reasons: 1. Although Gesenius and Fuerst derive from the root which in Ethiopic, Arabic and Syriac has the meaning of to sprout, shoot forth, the word in Hebrew never has the signification of a fresh, green, leafy branch (not even in Jer 48:17, which passage-is adduced by Fuerst), but always that of a stick or staff, and therefore agrees at least in signification with baculus, . The Hebrew expressions for a fresh branch are (Eze 19:11 sqq.), , , ,. 2. The connection requires that an instrument of chastisement be meant. The expositors have pointed with justice to the climax: rodboiling pot. Qui noluerint percutiente virga emendari, mittentur in ollam neam atque succensam, says Jerome. But a leafy branch is not an instrument of punishment.The objection that the prophet would not then be in a condition to recognize the staff as from an almond-tree is unfounded. He might be able to do this even if we had reason to suppose that a dry almond tree was shown him. To distinguish between different kinds of dry wood is not difficult for a half-informed man. We must imagine a staff stripped indeed of leaves and adapted for striking, but yet fresh, unbarked and sappy. Since it is just in its being fresh and full of sap that the point lies, we may certainly presume that it was an almond rod in this stage that was shown to the prophet. Perhaps the recognition was facilitated by the circumstance that the vision occurred at a time when the sap had just commenced to flow in the almond tree.
Jer 1:12. Then said Jehovah to perform it.Venema remarks on this verse: Visum eo tendit, ut propheta experimentum su aptitudinis ad munus propheticum caperet.Bene vidisti: capax ergo es visionum propheticarum. There seems to be some truth in this. In the other passages where the formula, What seest thou? occurs it is without the Thou hast well seen of confirmation. When it is here said to Jeremiah after his first vision there is certainly something encouraging in the fact, and it may not incorrectly be referred to the apprehension of incapacity expressed by the prophet in Jer 1:6. At the same time it corroborates what has been remarked on . If it were a leafy twig, thou hast well seen appears to be superfluous, for there would have been no skill in distinguishing itI will be wakeful, etc. Comp. Jer 31:28, where the Lord refers expressly to this passage. The paronomasia is the same as between and (Amo 8:2).Observe that we have and not . The word which the prophet has to proclaim is that of God, who will not allow His own word to be dishonored. The prophet need not be anxious either about its impression on the hearts of men or about the verification of his threatenings and promises; both will verify themselves. Comp. Heb 2:1; Isa 55:11.
Jer 1:13. And the word from the north. This second vision is closely related to the first, both as to form and matter, we are therefore not to suppose a long pause between them. In form this vision is like the first, but in matter it forms a climax, since, as already remarked, the boiling pot in relation to the simple rod of castigation appears to be an emblem of an extreme fury of anger. There is also a progress here, in that the second vision, with the explanation attached, plainly expresses why, how and by whom the judgment should be inflicted upon Judah. Thus far Jer 1:13-16 present an outline of the whole prophecy of Jeremiah, for the whole book is no more than a development of the great thought here expressed: Judgment upon Judah by a people coming from the north; and the consolatory portions are but exceptions, like single rays of light in the prevailing darkness of the picture.A boiling pot, etc. Etymologically it is a pot blown upon, i.e., a pot brought to boiling by blowing the fire. Comp. Job 41:11. The idea of Brenz, that is here to be taken as =spina(spina, qu in die ir Domini ab igne hujus succenditur) is refuted by the singular. We should then expect . Comp. Isa 34:13; Hos 2:8; Nah 1:10; Ecc 7:6, in which place the word is used in both meanings. The seething pot is an emblem among the Arabs of warlike fury. Comp. Rosenmueller, ad. h. l. Most expositors understand by the pot here the theocracy. The Chaldeans are then the fire inflamed to a violent heat, which boils the Jews in the pot (comp. Eze 11:3; Eze 11:7; Eze 11:11; Eze 22:20), and that which foams over is the inhabitants driven out of the holy land. So, ex. gr., says colampadius: Hierusalem oll vel lebet comparatur (ussgesotten Haffen) in qua carnales homines per ignem coquantur, ut quasi spuma ebulliantur per fervorem. But they have been led by the general similarity of these passages in Ezekiel to overlook the difference. There the pot, with the flesh in it and that which is to come out of it, as well as the fire, are expressly distinguished from each other. In reference to our passage Venema has correctly remarked: Nihil hic de igne, nihil de folle et sufflatione aliunde orta; simpliciter memoratur olla sufflata, qu est olla in tumorem erecta et effervescens. And the prophet certainly sees nothing more than a pot, boiling and foaming from the north. So that this itself is presented as the instrument of the severer punishment, and therefore symbolizes the Chaldeans. So Bugenhagen (olla malum per Chaldos et Assyrios Judis paratum), Venema (olla representat regnum Chaldum sub Nebucadnezare et vasta molimina coquens, et summe sese efferens, simul iratum et ad omnia absorbenda paratum). With the opposite view of the pot is closely connected the incorrect interpretation of . If we understand by the pot the Jewish people, and imagine this placed over a burning fire, which, though not expressly mentioned, we assume to be the Chaldeans, then it is natural to view as the side of the pot turned towards the fire. But it is not the side turned towards the fire, but towards the prophet. For in the first place in the vision there is no fire, so that could denote only the front of the pot, supposing it had one. It would, secondly, be difficult to show that the pot (or kettle, as some translate) had a side which could be expressly marked as the front. Thirdly, if the opposite view were correct we should read not . For the prophet certainly sees the pot from his standpoint as in the north. If now we say that the pot was placed against a fire burning on its northern side, the prophet from his southern standpoint would certainly be unable to see the side towards the fire. I know that frequently in Hebrew the terminus a quo is put where we should use the terminus in quo or in quem (comp. Naegelsb.Heb. Gram., 2d Ed., S. 228), but this mode of expression is applicable only when the object in question presents itself from just that point, at which it is according to our conception of it or towards which it is moving. In the present case, however, the side turned away from the prophet and not visible to him would be designated as that which is presenting itself to him (from the north). We therefore take as the side turned towards and displayed to the prophet, whence according to a frequent idiom (comp. Num 8:2; Exo 28:25; Ex. 40:44) it is designated as the face of the pot, and on this account also no further emphasis is to be laid on it. It is merely the visible side as opposed to the invisible; and we therefore translate simply and it looks from the north. The He locale in , as in several cases after prepositions, does not serve to indicate the direction more definitely, Isa. 15:10, 21, and Jer 27:16, but here as in appears to have lost its significance as a particle and to be in transition to a mere phonetic substantive termination.
Jer 1:14. Than Jehovah said the inhabitants of the land.From the north is a general and indefinite expression, and it remains so to the prophet until a great historical event renders it sharply defined. Until the battle of Carchemish a people from the north only is spoken of (Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1; Jer 6:22; Jer 10:22), after the battle this people appears distinctly as the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 25:9, etc). This settles the question whether by this northern nation the Chaldeans or Scythians were meant. All the older expositors held the former view. After Eichhorns example (Heb. Proph. II. 9), Von Bohlen (Gen. S. 165), Dahler (Jrmie II. 81), Ewald (Proph. d. A. B. 1, S. 361, 373; II., S. 9; Gesch. Isr. III. 392), Bertheau (Gesch. d. Isr. S. 361), Hitzig and others in general, as Rsch says (Zeitschr. d. morg. Ges. XV., S. 536) pretty nearly all exegetical authorities, maintain the latter. Without wishing to oppose that which Adolph Strauss (Vatt. Zephanj, S. XV.), Tholuck (Die Proph. u. ihre Weiss., S. 94), and Graf (D. proph. Jer. erklrt, S. 16) have urged in favor of the older view, especially from the circumstance that the incursion of the Scythians was made at least five years before the public appearance of our prophet, I am still of opinion, that Jeremiah could have had neither the Scythians, nor the Chaldeans, nor any other people definitely in mind. He saw only this much, that a northern people would visit Judah as the rod of divine discipline. What people this would be, or rather what people all the families of the kingdoms of the earth would unite under their leadership, he knew not. He learned this first, as we have said, from the decisive turn. given by the battle of Carchemish. We shall see when we come to consider the respective passages that where he characterizes this unknown people more particularly (comp. Jer 4:11; Jer 5:15; Jer 6:22; Jer 10:22; Jer 13:20) his description suits the Chaldeans, and that afterwards when he names them (Jeremiah 25.) he is not conscious of correcting an error. Comp. Graf, S. 17, etc.We thus come to the question, how can Jeremiah call the Chaldeans a northern people, since Babylon lay to the east or southeast of Palestine? We are not to expect an exact localization here, since, as we have said, Jeremiah has no definite people in view. The origin of the Chaldeans in the Koordish mountains (J. D. Michaelis), the extension of the Babylonian kingdom to the north and the connection with it of the Medes and Assyrians (colampadius, Grotius, and others) are not to be urged as reasons for this expression of the prophet. He knows only that they will come against Jerusalem from the north over Dan and the mountains of Ephraim (Jer 4:15; Jer 8:16). At the same time it was determined that these enemies belonged to the dominion not of a southern, but of a (in relation to this) northern empire, for which reason, after he had recognized the Chaldeans, the prophet does not cease to designate them as coming from the north; Jer 25:9, coll. Eze 26:7.Shall break forth, etc. Jer 1:14-16 contain the interpretation of the second vision, Jer 1:14 giving its general import. is used only of the opening of a closed gate, but metaleptically of the dismission or exclusion of what was enclosed by it, whether in bonam partem, ex. gr. of prisoners (Isa 51:14; Job 12:14), or in malam partem of a calamity, as here. Zwingli remarks on this passage: hac metalepsi aperiri pro prodire non temere utuntur Latini, sed pro prodere frequentius. [Henderson: Though more to the east than to the north of Judea, the Hebrews always represent the Babylonians as living in, or coming from, the north, partly because they usually appropriated the term east to Arabia Deserta, stretching from Palestine to the Euphrates, and partly because that people, not being able to cross the desert, had to take a northern route when they came against the Hebrews, and always entered their country by the northern frontier.S. R. A.]
Jer 1:15. For lo the cities of Judah. In this verse the general idea is more exactly defined. The calamity will consist in this that the Lord will call all the kingdoms of the north against Judah. But all is not to be emphasized. It is only meant that the (in relation to Egypt) northern empire will come with its whole force upon Judah. The expression and they shall set every one his throne, etc., is very variously explained. Calvin understands it as the arrangement for a permanent residence (ut consideant tanquam domi su) which is entirely unsuited to the connection. Others understand by the throne the seat of the general, from which orders are issued as well as judgments. The latter have been referred either to the hostile soldiers (so, ex. gr., Seb. Schmid), or to Judah (Starke, J. D. Michaelis, describuntur ut assessores ejus judicii, quod v. seq. informatur). The reference to the hostile soldiery does not agree with the context, the reference to Judah is in so far unsuited that a throne for the purpose of judging a city, is set not before the gates, but within the conquered city. I therefore concur with Venema, Rosenmueller, Maurer and others in the view, that the seat here is only a seat for sitting upon, and that to sit down before a city is simply to besiege it, as in Latin obsidere, and as the French say mettre le sige devant une ville. The phrase expresses that Jerusalem will be surrounded by many such seats. They will be set especially before the gates of Jerusalem ( prepositive, as Gen 18:1; Gen 19:11, etc.) because it is the metropolis and because the siege is directed against the gates, as the approaches to it. From the principal stations before the gates of the capital the attack may be directed not only against the walls of Jerusalem, but against the other cities of the land.
Jer 1:16. And I will utter their own hands. These words designate the visitation threatened in the preceding verses as a divine judgment, and name also the guilt which has brought such a judgment upon Judah. The expression signifies to discuss rights with any one, i. e, to dispute (causam agere) between those who have equal rights (Jer 12:1), and partly as a judge with the accused (Jer 4:12; Jer 39:5). The expression here has the suffix of a definite person, which signifies that the case is not one of reciprocal rights, but entirely of the rights of the Lord, for the infraction of which the people are here called to account.
This discussion of the Lord with the people is not to take place in words, but by the judgment announced in the previous verses. [The idea conveyed by the LXX is somewhat different, and I believe that it is what the original words mean, I will speak to them with judgment. The original literally is, I will speak my judgments to them; that is, I will not speak words but judgments.The verse may be thus renderedAnd I will speak by my judgments unto them, etc. CalvinsComm. I., 58. Trs note.S. R. A.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. In form both of these visions are objective symbols, in distinction from verbal symbols (parables, tropes, etc.) and from types. The prophetic element is essential to the latter, but not to symbols. The almond-tree staff is only an objective expression of the truth that the Lord is early awake to verify His truth. The seething pot also is only an actual representation of the judgment which is threatening Judah. The circumstance that this is future is not essential. While the type represents a future fact the symbol is only the emblematic expression of a speech, and may refer to the present, the past or the future.It may be remarked that the older theologians used the expression theologia symbolica in a triple sense, (a) = theologia mystica, kabbalistica (comp. Budde, Inst. Dogm. p. 186), (b) = theology of the confessions or creeds, (c) as correlative to revelatio symbolica, i.e. revelation imparted by bodily signs, in opposition to revelatio simplex, which passes internally from spirit to spirit (comp. Budde S. 25, etc., and Starke, in loc).Concerning the Biblical symbols, comp. Zckler, Theologia naturalis, S. 200. [Fair-bairns Typology, passim. Here is a beautiful type of the Resurrection, especially the Resurrection of Christ. Virga Aaron qu putabatur emortus, in Resurrectione Domini floruit (S. Jerome). Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
2. It may be asked whether the alacritas, vigilantia, assiduitas, diligentia Dei does not claim to be regarded as a special quality in opposition to the somnolentia, inertia, pigritia of men. The answer must be in the negative. In the conception of the absolute Spirit, who is at the same time the absolute life, the material basis is given for this vigilantia or diligentia as truly as holiness, love, faithfulness, wisdom serve for the formal (ethical and intellectual) basis: He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. Psa 121:4.
3. The justice of God demands the satisfaction of His wounded honor (Isa 42:8). The divine wisdom in connection with omniscience selects the instruments and fixes the time and manner of the judgment.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. [On Jer 1:12. Prophets have need of good eyes; and those that see well shall be commended, and not those only that speak well. M. Henry.S. R. A.]
Gods justice Isaiah , 1. long-suffering: at first it uses only the rod (Rom 2:4); 2. recompensing zealously and severely: when the gentle chastisement is without result, it becomes a consuming fire (Exo 20:5; Psa 7:12; Heb 10:31). [Ambrose on Psalms 38, quoted by Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
2. [On Jer 1:16. Maurice:We perceive as much from the words of the prophet as from the history, that this idolatry has now become deep and radical.The state of mind which was latent in them and which they brought forth into full, conscious activity, is represented as an apostate state; not so much an adoption of false gods as a denial of the true. There is a great practical difference between the frivolous, heartless taste for foreign novelties, which was denounced by the earlier prophets, and the utter incapacity for acknowledging a God not appealing to the senses, which Jeremiah discovers in his contemporaries. He boldly sets up the faith of the heathen as a lesson to the Israelites, Jer 2:10-11.S. R. A.]
Footnotes:
[7]Jer 1:16.The form for is frequent in Jer 2:35; Jer 4:12; Jer 12:1. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. 55, 3, Anm.
[8]Jer 1:16. before refers to the suffix in and since it is to be regarded as explicative, introducing a more particular definition of , we may translate it by: that, that namely. Moreover here refers to the same expression in Jer 1:14.
[9]Jer 1:16.. This Piel is frequently synonymous with the Hiphil . (Comp. 1Ki 3:3; 1Ki 11:8 with 1Ki 22:44; 2Ki 22:17 with 2Ch 24:25 Chethibh) in the wider sense of offering in general. (Comp. Graf in loc.)That Jeremiah also uses the Piel in the wider sense seems to follow from the fact that he uses it almost exclusively,every where indeed with the exception of two places (Jer 33:18; Jer 48:35), where it was proper to use the official terminus technicus. But it is not clear whether the Piel in Jeremiah has the wider meaning, in consequence of a grammatical confusion of the Hiphil with the Piel, or of a rhetorical denominatio a potiore.
[10]Jer 1:16., the plural, is found again only Jer 44:8, the singular Jer 25:6-7; Jer 32:30; 2Ki 22:17; coll. 2Ch 34:25.
c. Repetition of the Commission and Promise as the basis of the impregnable defensive position of the Prophet
Jer 1:17-19
17Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise and speak unto them all that I [shall] command thee: be not dismayed [confounded] at their faces, lest I confound 18thee before them. For, behold, I have made [make] thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar and brazen walls11 against the whole land, against12 the kings of Judah, against2 the princes thereof, against2 the priests thereof and 19against2 the people of the land. And they shall [may] fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord [Jehovah], to deliver thee.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
In these concluding verses the general purport of section (a) is first repeated: Jer 1:17 from speak to faces, and the conclusion of ver 19, reproducing the conclusion of Jer 1:7-8. On the basis of this promise (comp. For I am with thee, Jer 1:19), however, the prophet is assured, in antithesis to the offensive position commanded in Jer 1:9-10, of an equally strong defensive position, and this is the new and characteristic element of this concluding section.
Jer 1:17. Thou therefore before them. A summons to set vigorously to work. The servant of God must be neither cowardly nor slothful. The expression, gird up the loins, is frequently used in a proper as well as in a figurative sense; 1Ki 18:46; 2Ki 4:29; 2Ki 9:1; Job 38:3; Eccles. 31:17; Luk 12:35; Eph 6:14; 1Pe 1:13.Be not dismayed forms a climax in relation to Be not afraid, Jer 1:8, as in Deu 1:21; Jos 10:25. and , and correspond. [This play upon words may be expressed in English thus: Be not dumbfounded before them, lest thou be confounded before them.S. R. A.] Many commentators have hesitated at rendering the Hiphil of in the primary sense of frangere, to break to pieces. They have thought the threatening would be too severe, erigendus erat animus persuasione incolumitatis non minis ac metu frangendus, says Schnurrer They therefore take either in a reduced and grammatically inadmissible sense (Bugenhagen: quasi te terream;Starke, I should terrify thee; Grotius: nec enim timere te faciam;Schnurrer supplies = putans concessurum me esse, ut tibi sit pereundem), or they understand the verb in the meaning which certainly pertains to the word, to make afraid. But what sense is therein this rendering: Be not afraid before them, lest I make thee afraid before them? (colamp., Maurer, Ewald). If the prophet was afraid before his enemies he did not need to be rendered still more so. I take , with most commentators, in the sense frangere, conterere, which it has in the radical signification of the Kal.to be broken in pieces, crushed (see Fuerst), and which it undoubtedly has in such passages as Isa 9:3. The threatening is not too severe. Comp. 1Co 9:16, For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel. From this we see that the inward pressure which a man of God feels in consequence of the divine operation is very strong. He who should resist this divine impulse, like Jonah, would be crushed by it. And it would be the just punishment of that faint-hearted disdain, which would reject such high honor from a miserable fear of man.
Jer 1:18. For behold the people of the land. I is emphatic in antithesis to thou, Jer 1:17. Thou gird up thy loins and do thy part, I will do mine, to protect thee. In the words a defenced city and an iron pillar and brazen wall, the prophet is assured that for the difficult offensive commission which is given him he will receive a sufficient defensive equipment. Offence and defence stand in exact relation to each other. Reference is afterwards made to this promise, in Jer 15:20-21. Comp. Psa 105:15.On the subject-matter comp. Mat 10:18-19.people of the land. This expression occurs frequently in the sense of the common people: Jer 34:19; Jer 37:2; Jer 44:21; Jer 52:6; Eze 7:27, &c. It is the basis of the later Rabbinical usage according to which it signifies the unlearned and ignorant (Act 4:13) comp. Buxtorf. Lex Rabb. s. v. .
Jer 1:19. And they shall fight to deliver thee. with in the sense of prvalere, Gen 32:26; 1Sa 17:9; Oba 1:7; Jer 38:22.For I am with thee, comp. Jer 1:8.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. It is fundamentally the same sin, to labor in the Lords vineyard without a calling, and not to be willing to labor when one has been called, for in both cases a man seeks his own, not that which is Gods.
2. He who fears nothing and hopes nothing may preach the truth. He who is unequal to either of these two will act more wisely for his own repose and more honorably for the truth, if he keep silence.Dr. Leidemit.
3. Behold I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Luk 10:3; Mat 10:16 sqq. Gods strength is made perfect in weakness. 2Co 12:9.
4. Fear not those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Mat 10:28. God is no respecter of persons. Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; 1Pe 1:17.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. Duty and privilege of the sevants of God. 1. Their duty: (a) always to have their loins girded, (b) to proclam without fear of man whatever the Lord commands. 2. Their privilege:through the power of God to be obliged to yield to no power on earth.
2. The Lords requirements and promise to His servants. 1. The requirement, (a) to be always ready for His service, (b) to accomplish that which is bidden without delay. 2. The promise: (a) that the Lord will be with them, (b) that no earthly power will conquer them. [M. Henry: He must be quickArise, and lose no time; he must be busyArise, and speak unto them, in season, out of season; he must be boldBe not dismayed at their faces.In a word he must be faithful; it is required of ambassadors that they be so. In two things he must be faithful. 1. He must speak all that he is charged with. He must forget nothingEvery word of God is weighty. He must conceal nothing for fear of offending. 2. He must speak to all that he is charged against. Two reasons why he should do this. 1. Because he had reason to fear the wrath of God, if he should be false. 2. Because he had no reason to fear the wrath of man, if he were faithful.S. R. A.]
Footnotes:
[11]Jer 1:18.[Henderson: Instead of the plural , walls, the singular , wall, is found in twelve of De Rossis MSS.; it has been originally in seven more, and is now in two by correction. It is likewise in five ancient editions, and occurs in the defective form without the Vau in a great number of MSS. and editions. The LXX., Targ., Syr. and Vulg. all read in the singular. This form further commends itself on the ground of its being the less usual, but at the same time more appropriate in application to a singular subject.S. R. A.]
[12]Jer 1:18. is a feebler continuation of . Comp. Jer 3:17; Ps. 33:28. Naegelsb. Gram. 112, 8.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The Chapter opens with the account of Jeremiah’s being called to the ministry. He is instructed by two visions. The Lord’s commands to him, and his promise to be with him.
Jer 1:1
The Prophet opens the Chapter with his name and family. Jeremiah’s name is not without signification, for it implies, being raised by the Lord: and he was eminently so, as the sequel of this chapter showeth. He mentions his family also and place: perhaps, by way of proof, that he was of the priesthood order. Anathoth was a small city or village, a little distance from Jerusalem.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Predestined
Jer 1:5
It is a great thing for a man to believe that he is where God means him to be; but it is a greater thing for him to believe that, in order to put him where he is, God has been shaping all his past, and that He was even thinking of him and planning for him before he was born. Such was the feeling with which Jeremiah entered upon his great career, and it is this that explains his lifelong fidelity to his mission, continually assailed as he was by warrings without and fears within. It was not only the sense that God was with him, but that, even before his birth, he had been in the mind of God.
I. We must remember that such a vision comes only to the man who is worthy of it, and, in a measure, prepared for it. Jeremiah, like Isaiah at his call, was a young man he cannot have been over twenty-five, if as much; but so thoughtful and tender-hearted a man must have often brooded over the sins and the follies of his people. To such a people somebody must speak for God; and there gathers within him half unconsciously the feeling that his is the voice that must be lifted up that he is the man; till, in one sublime moment, the whole wonderful meaning of his career his birth, his youth, his special and peculiar experiences is flashed upon him. He sees that God had been thinking of him, caring for him, preparing for him, before he was born. Clearly, if the past and present have any meaning at all, he is God’s marked man. No human life is hidden from God.
II. It is often the greatest who hesitate. To shrink is at least to show that we have measured the magnitude of the task and the slenderness of our own resources. But the man who has heard the voice must obey it, unless he is prepared to see his future filled with desolation and remorse. There is a humility which is perhaps even more disastrous than pride. The proud man injures himself; the man who, in mistaken humility, makes the great refusal, injures the world by depriving it of the service he is fitted to render. Think for a moment of the incomparable loss to the world had Jeremiah finally yielded to the voice that spoke within him. His sense of weakness was, after all, a high qualification; it gave him sympathy with men, and it threw him back upon God. In some important directions Jeremiah’s contribution to the religion of Israel is profounder than that of any other Hebrew, and there is no Old Testament character who is such a marvellous prototype of Jesus. And all this would have been lost to the world had he listened to the voice that pled so plausibly for keeping aloof from the public life of his time.
III. The whole career of Jeremiah is a proof that this Divine promise had been kept. In his own strength he could never have faced the fearful odds that were arrayed against him. Look at him as he calmly stands before a howling mob that demands his execution. At such a moment he is, indeed, in his own words, firm as a brazen wall against the whole land kings and priests and people. Why is he, the timid and the tender Prophet, so calm amid these cruel shouts? Is it not because his God is with him, as He promised to be? With Jeremiah, as with Paul, power was made perfect in weakness. Each of these great men had to contend with serious natural disadvantages: their intrepid careers are proof abundant that the power which they displayed was not their own, but that their work was done in the strength of Him whom they served. Of themselves they were weak; but the grace of Another was sufficient for them, and the power of Another rested upon them.
J. E. McFadyen, The City With Foundations, p. 117.
Jer 1:6
Lifting my eyes in the sunshine of yesterday to the flowering orchards above me, the ‘summer snow’ that stretches away southwards to the hills, and the very avalon of apple-trees that makes an ‘awful rose of dawn’ towards the east an impulse seized me to tempt you with a description of their beauty. But I threw down my pen, guiltless of a line or a word, helpless before this unapproachable world, and able only to cry out, with the prophet, in my heart ‘ah, Lord God, behold I cannot speak; for I am a child’.
Sydney Dobell to Charlotte Bront.
References. I. 6, 7. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. ii. p. 275. I. 6-9. J. B. Lightfoot, Ordination Addresses, p. 3. I. 8. “Plain Sermons” by contributors to the Tracts for the Times, vol. v. p. 248. I. 10. P. M ‘Adam Muir, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxvii. 1905, p. 339. I. 11, 12. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlvi. No. 2678. I. 30. J. Parker, Studies in Texts, vol. i. p. 172. II. 1-19. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. li. No. 2926. II. 2. Ibid. vol. xli. No. 2399; vol. li. No. 2926. Hugh Black, Christ’s Service of Love, p. 316. II. 9. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Isaiah and Jeremiah, p. 245. II. 11. Ibid. p. 246. II. 13. Ibid. p. 249. W. M. Punshon, Broken Cisterns, a Sermon, p. 601. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outline, p. 322. II. 18. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii. No. 356. II. 19, 20. Jesse Brett, The Soul’s Escape, p. 42. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Isaiah and Jeremiah, p. 252. II. 20-37. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. li. No. 2931. II. 26. Hugh Black, University Sermons, p. 153. II. 32. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii. No. 1634.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Introductory
Jer 1:1
In the first chapter of the book which bears his name Jeremiah gives an account of his divine call to the prophetical office Let us look at that account for the purpose of finding out, if we can, whether there was anything in the call of Jeremiah which corresponds with what we now find in the call of earnest men, and whether we can be as certain of our heavenly call as Jeremiah was of his. It is very remarkable that the ancient prophets always kept steadily before them the exact way by which they were led up to their office, and were always ready to vindicate themselves by a plain statement of facts. It is remarkable, too, that they could trace their heavenly election as clearly as their earthly parentage; so much so, that, as a rule, they put on record both pedigrees, so to speak, side by side; first, that which was natural; afterwards, that which was spiritual; and the one was as much a living and indisputable fact as the other. Thus Jeremiah said, “Hilkiah was my father, and the Word of the Lord came unto me,” two things separated by an infinite distance, yet both matters of positive and unquestionable certainty. Jeremiah would have treated with equal indifference or contempt the suggestion that Hilkiah was not his father and that the Lord had never spoken to him. Let us trace the history somewhat, and see what it teaches to aftertimes.
“Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” ( Jer 1:4 ).
The two great blessings of election and mediation are here distinctly taught. God did not speak to the nations directly, but mediatorially; he created a minister who should be his mouthpiece. Observation itself teaches us that men are called and chosen of God to do special work in all departments of life. The difficult lesson for some of us to learn is that we are called to obscurity, and yet this is. as clearly a divine appointment as is the choice of an Isaiah or a Jeremiah. If you look at life, you will see that the most of men are called to quietness, to honest industry, and to what is mistakenly called commonplace existence. What of it? Shall the plain murmur because it is not a mountain? Shall the green fields complain that Mont Blanc is higher than they? If they have not his majesty, neither have they his barrenness. To see our calling, to accept it, to honour it, that is the truly godly and noble life! To feel that we are where God meant us to be following the plough or directing a civilisation is to be strong and calm. Every man is born to realise some purpose. Find that purpose out, and fulfil it if you would lovingly serve God. We find no difficulty in persuading a man that he is a Jeremiah or a Daniel, at any rate that, under certain circumstances, he might easily have turned out a Hannibal or a Wellington. He was quite predisposed in that direction of thinking, and if he would not go so far as openly to avow it, he would yet intimate that he certainly does not feel that his present situation is big enough for him. The difficulty, on the contrary, is to persuade a man that the lowliest lot, as well as the highest, is the appointment of God; that door-keeping is a promotion in the divine gift; and that to light a lamp may be as surely a call of God as to found an empire or to rule a world.
“Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord” ( Jer 1:6-8 ).
It is thus that fear and confidence make up our best life. We are sure that God has called us, yet we dread to set down our feet on the way which he has marked out with the clearness of light. Moses said he was slow of speech; Jeremiah said he could not speak for he was a child; and we in our lesser way have set up our feeble excuses against the thunder of God. And yet, fear well becomes our mortality; for what is our strength? and as for our days, their number is small. We forget God, his almightiness and his eternity are put out of sight, and therefore our heart sinks in dismay. And a deadly error lurks here. We are apt to mistake our fear for religious modesty, and by so much we cast indirect reproach upon others. When we plead inability to do God’s work, we are in reality profanely distrusting God’s strength. Are not many of us standing back with a wicked excuse in our mouths? Are we not pleading illness, or weakness, or inability, or incapacity, that we may escape the burden and heat of the day? With what resentment should we encounter the suggestion of weakness were it to come from others! And yet we hold it up as a plea and a defence against the commands of heaven! Beautiful is modesty in its own place; a heavenly flower, sweet, tender, and precious; but never forget that there is something which closely imitates its loveliest features, and that its foul name is Hypocrisy.
“Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. Sec, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” ( Jer 1:9-10 ).
You made much of your own weakness, now what are you going to make of God’s strength? You may obstinately persist in looking at your own small arm, or you may piously turn to the almightiness of God, and draw your power from eternity; and upon your choice will depend your whole after life. (Jet into the irreligious habit of measuring everything by your own resources; of asking whether you are personally equal to this or that task; and in all probability you will cower in abject fear before the burden and servitude of life: but get into the contrary habit, the habit of setting God always at your right hand, and of being sure that Right must prevail, that the helping angels never tire, that though God’s mill grinds slow, it grinds exceeding small; fix these great facts in your heart, and then up the steepest road you will walk with a firm step, and the coldest night-wind will neither shorten nor trouble your song.
Observe the expression, “Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.” The minister of God is to speak the words of God. A Biblical ministry must of necessity be the best ministry. It has been sometimes complained that such and such a sermon was little more than a string of texts from beginning to end. If the texts were to the point, they would make a better statement of the truth and counsel of God than could be made by the polished sentences of the most eloquent Apollos. The deadly error into which we are apt to fall is that we must say something original, and the people are quite as much to blame as the ministers for this fatal mistake. They do not prize Scriptural teaching. They want to hear something fresh, racy, piquant, startling. They do not sit, Bible in hand, testing the speaker by the revelation; and what they ask for they get. They ask for chaff, and they get it; the great Biblical teacher is left with empty pews; his books sell slowly up to hundreds; whilst the vulgar declaimer, the savage bigot, or the frothy rhetorician, is king of the mob and the idol of book buyers. Let us honour the teacher who honours the Word of God. Hold him in reverence as one who thinks nothing of himself and everything of his Master. He may be unskilful in sentence-making, but his soul is aglow with the true fire, and if we make him our companion he will satisfy and gladden us with infinite riches.
The tenth verse is as remarkable as the ninth:
“I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” ( Jer 1:10 )
So terrific is the power with which man is clothed by the Almighty! Every age, every country, has its supreme man; its man who stands nearest God, and gets the first hint of the divine will. He may, indeed, be despised, and have his prophecies thrown back upon him in mocking tones, yet none the less is he the minister of God. Others may be preferred before him, yet there he stands, the interpreter of a will that must prevail, the echo of a voice that must fill the universe with a sense of its authority. This verse sets forth under a personal figure the majesty and omnipotence of truth. It is not the mere man Jeremiah who is thus mighty even to terribleness; he is but representative and ministerial, and if he tamper with his mission he will be dispossessed and humbled. God never puts his own authority out of his own power. He never parts permanently with a single key from his girdle. He can scatter our riches, he can break down our health, he can crumble away our boasted position; in a word, he can mightily and wholly reclaim every gift his hand has given. Yet how he loves to incarnate his will! How he loves to find a tabernacle for his infinitude, to dwell in a flaming bush, to abide in a broken heart I “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” He gave Moses a rod; he touched Isaiah’s lips; he caused Ezekiel to see visions; he moved Daniel by the spirit of interpretation; yet were they only his servants, mighty in him, but without him they were as other men, poor and weak.
“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot: and the face thereof is toward the north” ( Jer 1:11-13 ).
This power of spiritual vision is pre-eminently the gift of God. This power of parables, making them or reading them, is a deep mystery of the unseen kingdom. Is it not the gift of sight that distinguishes one man from another? Isaiah saw the Lord seated upon his throne, high and lifted up; Jeremiah saw a rod of an almond tree, and a seething pot whose face was towards the north; Ezekiel saw a whirlwind and a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and out of the midst of the fire as the colour of amber; Daniel had the knowledge and understanding and interpreting of dreams; Amos saw the Lord standing upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand; he saw also the grasshoppers in the latter growth after the king’s mowings, and through a basket of summer fruit he saw the nearness of the end of Israel; Zechariah saw a man riding upon a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees, having behind him three red horses, speckled and white; and Malachi saw from afar the messenger going swiftly forward to prepare the way cf the Lord. “The things that are not seen are eternal.” The prophet may truly say, “I hear a voice they cannot hear; I see a hand they cannot see.” How the earth and sky are rich with images which the poet’s eye alone can see! What a parable is spring, and what a vision from the Lord is summer, laden with all riches, gentle and hospitable beyond all parallel! O man, what seest thou? Launch out upon the sunny lake; with Pilatus in the rear and the Rigi in front, with a distant glimpse of the snowy Wetterhorn, with a thousand shadows playing upon the quiet waters what seest thou? With the mountains girdling thee round, as if to shut thee up in prison, and suddenly opening to let thee through into larger liberties what seest thou? I see beauty, order, strength, majesty, and infinite munificence of grace and loveliness.
Look at the moral world, and say what seest thou. Think of its sinfulness, its madness, its misery untold, its tumult and darkness and corruption, deep, manifold, and ever-increasing. Seest thou any hope? Is there any cure for disease so cruel, so deadly? What seest thou? I see a Cross, and one upon it like unto the Son of man, and in his weakness he is mighty, in his poverty he is rich, in his death is the infinite virtue of atonement. I see a Cross, and its head rises to heaven. I see a Cross, and on it is written, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.” I see a Cross stretching its arms outward from horizon to horizon, and from it there comes a voice saying, “Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? Believe in me, and live for ever.” The man who sees that Cross most clearly should proclaim its existence to others; and he who has most deeply felt its power should most loudly proclaim its excellence. Blind are they who do not see it. It fills all the widening circle of civilisation; its shadow is upon every cradle and upon every grave; it touches life at every point; it is the crook in every lot, yet it is the answer of every difficulty; yet it is the trouble of every soul that is corrupt, and the hope of every soul that yearns for pureness and liberty. Oh, blind are they who cannot read these signs of the times!
And far away in the distance, what seest thou? Across the seething sea of time, standing high above all earthly affairs, yet inseparably connected with them, what is that glistening and dazzling object? It is fairer than the sun when he shineth in the fulness of his strength, and marvellous is its fascination alike for the evil and the good: the evil look upon it until their knees tremble and their bones melt like wax, and the good look unto it, and praise the Lord in a song of thankfulness and hope. What is it? It is a great white throne whence the living Judge sends out his just and final decrees; it is the hope of all who are good, it is the infinite terror of the heart that is bad.
The man who sees all these things clearly will be in his day as Jeremiah was in his. He will be the servant of the Lord, and he will speak boldly of things unseen; he will utter God’s judgments touching wickedness, and he will be as a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land. And do you suppose that he will escape persecution and suffering? Will his word be quietly accepted, or devoutly received? Never; his life will be a battle, his bread will be begrudged, his familiar friends will become his enemies, and they who cannot strike him with a sword will annoy him with an anonymous pen. It is impossible for an honest prophet to escape persecution. “They hated me before they hated you; if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you,” are Christ’s own keen clear words. What then? Shall we live in a quietness for which we have to pay our convictions? Shall we fear those who lift up arms against us? God forbid. “They shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.”
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
III
THE BOOK: OF JEREMIAH INTRODUCTION
Jer 1:1-3
The book of Jeremiah is the longest in the Bible coming from the hand of a single writer, or author. The book of the Psalms is a larger book, but it is really a compilation of various writers, five great books in one. The book of Jeremiah contains his prophecies and the events of his life covering about forty-four years, one of the most stirring periods of Hebrew history.
The greater part of the book was no doubt written by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, or secretary, though some parts may have been written by Jeremiah himself. Of these facts we cannot be absolutely sure, though we do know that Baruch wrote most of it. In Jer 36 we have the story of how the author came to write his prophecy. He tells us that somewhere about the year 604 or 603 B.C. in the reign of King Jehoiakim, by the command of Jehovah, he dictated the substance of all his prophecies, covering eighteen or nineteen years previous, to his scribe, who wrote them in a book, or roll. Baruch wrote down these words, including the prophecy of how God would destroy Jerusalem because of the sins of the people. The roll was taken and read to the king and he was so enraged that he cut it in pieces and threw it in the fire. Thus the first edition was burned.
A short time after this he again dictated to his scribe these prophecies, and Baruch wrote them down. It was the same prophecy, but many like words were added unto them. That edition of Jeremiah’s prophecies was preserved, and we have it in the first seventeen chapters of the book. It is doubtless true that he gave here the substance of his prophecies covering the early period of his life. To these seventeen chapters the remainder of the book has been added. There is no doubt that all of the book except Jer 52 is from Jeremiah, although some modern critics say that about four-nineteenths of it is really Jeremiah’s and about four nineteenths Baruch’s and the rest belongs to many writers unknown. They have figured it down very fine, even down to the nineteenth part. These are vulgar fractions instead of inspired writings. Jer 52 was not from the hand of Jeremiah, but was taken from the book of 2 Kings and is a repetition of the 2Ki 24 almost word for word.
There are more difficulties in the study of the text than in the study of almost any other book of the Bible. In the third century B.C. a Greek translation was made in Egypt by many scholars from the original Jewish manuscripts that they might have the Scriptures in Greek. That translation was called the Septuagint. From this it appears that the book of Jeremiah has more corruptions in the text than any other book of the Bible; 2,700 words were left out of the Septuagint Version, or about one-eighth of the book. Most of these words, however, are words of lesser importance; for instance, such expressions as “Thus saith the Lord,” introductory words which do not take from the substance of the book, or from the heart of the prophecy, to any great extent. The critics differ as to which to follow, the Septuagint Version or our Massoretic Hebrew text. Many of them prefer the Septuagint. Ezra and those who follow him evidently preferred the Hebrew text, for it has been preserved in connection with the Old Testament Scriptures and is in our Hebrew Bible.
A convenient outline of the book of Jeremiah is as follows:
Introduction: Title, author, and date (Jer 1:1-3 ).
I. The prophet’s call (Jer 1:4-19
1. Personal (Jer 1:4-10 ).
2. Official (Jer 1:11-19 ).
II. The prophet’s commission (Jeremiah 2-13):
1. The impeachment, call, and Judgment (Jeremiah 2-6)
2. The sins of worship and backsliding (Jeremiah 7-9).
3. The sin of idolatry and the broken covenant (Jeremiah 10-13).
III. The prophecies before the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 14-39):
1. God’s decree to punish (Jeremiah 14-17).
2. Lessons from the potter (Jeremiah 18-20).
3. Message to Zedekiah (Jeremiah 21-27).
4. Jeremiah and the false prophets (Jeremiah 28-29).
5. The “Book of Consolation” (Jeremiah 30-33).
6. Prophecies of the siege and the Rechabites (Jeremiah 34-35).
7. The history of the roll (Jer 36 ).
8. History of the siege, (Jeremiah 37-39).
IV. The prophecies after the fall of Jerusalem (40-45):
1. Against going into Egypt (Jeremiah 40-42).
2. While in Egypt (Jeremiah 43-44).
3. The exhortation of Baruch (Jer 45 ).
V. The prophecies concerning the nations (Jeremiah 46-51):
1. Concerning Egypt (Jer 46 ).
2. Concerning Philistia (Jer 47 ).
3. Concerning Moab (Jer 48 ).
4. Concerning Ammon (Jer 49:1-6 ).
5. Concerning Edom (Jer 49:7-22 ).
6. Concerning Damascus (Jer 49:23-27 ).
7. Concerning Koedar and Hazor (Jer 49:28-33 ).
8. Concerning Elam (Jer 49:34-39 ).
9. Concerning Babylon (Jeremiah 50-51).
VI. Historical supplement (Jer 52Jer 52Jer 52 ):
(The following analysis, as a preview of the book, will be followed closely in the discussion.)
We have in Jer 1:1-3 the preface. Whether this was written by Jeremiah himself or by Baruch we cannot be absolutely sure, but it constitutes the introduction. In this passage we have stated the family of Jeremiah, his home, and when he began to prophesy. We see that his life and ministry cover the reigns of five kings. These were Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiakin, and Zedekiah. The reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin were very short. This preface was probably written by Baruch, the scribe, after the book had been compiled.
SECTION 1 .Jer 1:4-6:30
This is the early group of prophecies and gives the substance of his preaching during several years of the reign of Josiah. They belong somewhere between 626-621 B.C. It was written by Baruch in 604 B.C., but burned by Jehoiakim and rewritten in 603 B.C. As to the details, note:
1. The call and commission of Jeremiah (Jer 1:4-19 ). In the study of the life of Jeremiah we discover that emphasis is laid on his call, his consecration, and his commission.
2. His account of the nation’s history. It had been one long history of wickedness, and backsliding from God (Jer 2:1-4:4 ).
3. The inevitable result of such a history (Jer 4:5-6:30 ). The inevitable result was destruction, complete and overwhelming. This destruction was at hand. It came perhaps at the hand of the Scythians. We find that about this time there was a great invasion by these terrible people, who swept down, through Palestine, almost to Egypt but were driven back by Psammetichus, the Egyptian king. It was like the invasion of the Tartars, or Huns, of a later time. It may be that Jeremiah had this invasion in mind as the agent that God would use in destroying the people. But they did not come into the mountains of Judah. However that may be, we do know that Nebuchadnezzar completed the work that this Scythian horde left undone.
SECTION 2 . Jeremiah 7-10
This covers the reign of Josiah, and probably the reign of Jehoiakim, reaching from 618-607 B.C., written 604 B.C., burned about the same time, and rewritten 603 B.C. Note in detail:
1. The destruction of the Temple of Jehovah was here threatened. Jeremiah pointed to the fact that they had so sinned centuries before that God had destroyed Shiloh, and would destroy their present Temple (Jer 7:1-15 ).
2. The prophet goes on to warn them of the exile, because their wilfulness must be punished (Jer 7:16-9:2 ).
3. The people are grossly corrupt and destruction is inevitable. The nation will not repent (Jer 9:3-26 ).
4. Jeremiah describes the wicked condition of the idolatrous nation and warns against them (Jer 10:1-16 ). In this section we find many similarities to Isaiah 40-44. There are many expressions almost identical.
5. Jeremiah’s distress and his prayer that the people might be saved from their punishment (Jer 10:17-25 ). SECTION 3 . Jeremiah 11-17
This belongs to the early years of Jehoiakim’s reign. The subject of this section is the idolatry and sins of Judah and the result. The prophet illustrates this thought and repeats it over and over again, under different figures and from different viewpoints. As to details, note:
1. The preaching of the covenant which some hold belongs to a former period, immediately after the discovery of the book of the Law, but more probably after the breach of the covenant at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer 11:1-8 ).
2. Apostasy charged against Judah, and a plot to take Jeremiah and put him to death (Jer 11:9-23 ).
3. Jeremiah pleading with God and with the people. How pathetic and how tender is this pleading of Jeremiah (Jer 12:1-7 ).
4. The sign of the marred girdle and the water bottle, and their lessons (13). This tells how Jeremiah is told to go to the Euphrates River and hide his girdle in a rock. He goes and gets the rotten girdle and brings it to Jerusalem as a picture of the destruction which shall be the result of their sins and wickedness.
5. The drought and its lesson. Sometime in the early part of the reign of Jehoiakim a terrible drought falls upon the land and Jeremiah sees the meaning of it and preaches its lessons to the people. Some people cannot see how the hand of God is in a drought, but this prophet did (Jeremiah 14-15).
6. The domestic life of Jeremiah and its illustration of the sins of Judah. He was told that God would not permit him to marry. He could not have a home. He was not to go to the house of mourning. Neither was he to go to the house of feasting. He was to be a recluse and a man of solitude (Jer 16 ).
7. If he cannot enter into the social life of the people at all, he must turn to God alone. God was his only refuge. The people’s sins were too deep dyed to be cleansed (Jer 17:1-18 ).
8. Consecration of the sabbath (Jer 17:19-27 ). Here we find the same problem that Nehemiah had in his time. The great and ever living problem of the sabbath, then as now.
(NOTE. These are probably the chapters that Jeremiah dictated to Baruch. The remainder of the book consists of short histories. It is a compilation of pieces of writing and accounts of the life and teachings of the prophet. His lessons and prophecies against the nations and against Judah are placed together with no chronological order or regularity.)
SECTION 4 . Jeremiah 18-20
This belongs to the reign of Jehoiakim, sometime before 600 B.C., doubtless written and published later. The subject for this section is lessons from the potter and the results which the prophet experiences. He sees a potter working at his wheel. He sought to make a fine piece of pottery out of a lump of clay and it was marred in his hands. So he made it over into a cruder vessel. That is the way it would be with the people. God could not make out of them the fine vessel he would have made, because of their sins. In chapter 20 we have an account of Pashur, the chief officer of the house of the Lord, who struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks and kept him there over night. In all literature there is hardly anything to be found more pathetic than the passage (Jer 20:8-13 ).
SECTION 5 .Jer 21
This belongs to about 588 or 587 B.C. It was in the latter part of the reign of Zedekiah and was the prophecy of Jeremiah to Zedekiah. The king sent for the prophet and asked him to tell the results of the siege. He told him that it meant that the city should be given to the enemy.
SECTION 6 . Jeremiah 22-23
In these chapters the prophet describes the miserable reign of the kings of Judah, especially that of Jehoiakim. The priests are false prophets and likewise denounced.
SECTION 7 . Jer 24
We see here how these passages lack chronological order. This chapter speaks of the first year or two of the exiles now in Babylon. It compares them with the people in Jerusalem. He pictures those who had been taken away with Jehoiachin, and those who had remained in Judah, as good and bad figs. Those in Babylon are the better of the two. I doubt if those who remained in Judah felt very much complimented by his words.
SECTION 8 . Jer 25
This contains an oracle concerning Judah and the neighboring nations. We find in the latter part of the book distinct prophecies concerning those nations mentioned here. This oracle was delivered about 603 B.C., perhaps a little later.
SECTION 9 . Jer 26
This chapter gives the result of the discourse in Jer 7 , in which Jeremiah describes the destruction of the Temple. Enemies of the prophet rose up, consulted together and said that this prophet must be put to death. But Jeremiah escaped because he had friends among the princely families.
SECTION 10 . Jeremiah 27-29
Jeremiah contends with Hananiah, a false prophet. He advises the king to submit to the Babylonians. Jeremiah retires from the contest for a while, then utters a prophecy against Hananiah. In Jer 29 we have the letter which Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon, counseling them to remain there for seventy years. A certain prophet in Babylon wrote back to put Jeremiah to death, and Jeremiah wrote a prophecy against him in response.
SECTION 11 . Jeremiah 30-31
These contain what is called “The New Covenant.” It is Jeremiah’s “Book of Consolation” for Israel. It corresponds to the latter half of the book of Isaiah (40-66), called “The Old Testament Book of Comfort.” It contains Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the new covenant.
SECTION 12 .Jer 34
This describes an incident which occurred during the siege of Jerusalem. The king of Egypt came up to help Zedekiah. The city was relieved for a time. Then the people went back to their wicked lives again. This occurred in 587 B.C.
SECTION 13 .Jer 35
This goes back to about 597 B.C. Here the prophet gives a striking lesson from the example of the Rechabites.
SECTION 14 .Jer 36
We have here the story of the writing of the prophecy by Baruch.
SECTION 15 . Jeremiah 37-39
This treats of the siege and capture of Jerusalem, 586 B.C., the desolation of the inhabitants, the efforts to save themselves in the city and Jeremiah’s advice to submit. He is charged with treason. They seek to kill him. He is saved by friends. The city falls and is destroyed and Jeremiah is saved by the king.
SECTION 16 . Jeremiah 40-44
This is a history of Judah and Jerusalem after the fall of the Temple. Thousands are carried into exile, and thousands remain. Gedaliah is appointed governor, a community is formed at Mizpah. Ishmael, a traitor, murders the governor and escapes. Under Johanan the people go to Bethlehem, consult Jeremiah, and flee to Egypt contrary to his advice. They cling to idolatry while in Egypt.
SECTION 17 . Jer 45
He gives an exhortation to Baruch. Here is excellent advice to preachers: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.”
SECTION 18 . Jeremiah 46-51
This is the record of Jeremiah’s oracles concerning the nations. They were doubtless delivered sometime between 605 and 585 B.C., and are as follows:
1. An oracle concerning Egypt (Jer 46 ). See Isa 19 ; Ezekiel 29-33.
2. An oracle concerning the Philistines Jeremiah (47). It is interesting that both Isaiah and Ezekiel have messages concerning these nations. See Isa 14:18-32 ; Eze 25:15-17 .
3. Moab (Jer 48 ). Much like Isaiah 15-16.
4. Ammon (Jer 49:1-6 ; Eze 25:1-17 ).
5. Edmon (Jer 49:7-22 ; Isa 34 ; Eze 25 .)
6. Damascus (Jer 49:23-27 ; also Isa 17 ).
7. Kedar and the king of Hazor (Jer 49:28-33 ; Isa 21 ).
8. Elam (Jer 49:34-39 ).
(NOTE. These latter prophecies seem to have been written in the reign of Zedekiah, about 594 B.C., just a short time before the prophet’s death.)
9. Babylon (Jeremiah 50-51). Here we have a long prophecy against this nation.
SECTION 19 . Jer 52 This is a historical supplement containing records from the book of 2 Kings, of the story of the fall of Jerusalem and the captivity.
QUESTIONS
1. What can you say of the book of Jeremiah as compared with other books of the Bible, and what of its contents and the period which it covers?
2. Who wrote the book of Jeremiah? What is the history of its writings and what say the critics?
3. What of the difficulties of the text of Jeremiah, what version indicates these and what the critics’ position?
4. Give a convenient outline of the book of Jeremiah.
5. Give the items of information in the title of the book and a bird’s eye view of the book itself.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Jer 1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Ver. 1. The words a of Jeremiah. ] Piscator rendereth it Acta Ieremiae, The Acts of Jeremiah, as we say, “The Acts of the Apostles,” which book also, saith one, might have been called in some sense The Passions of the Apostles, who were for the testimony of Jesus “in deaths often.” And the same we may safely say of Jeremiah, who, although he were not omnis criminis per totam vitam expers – which yet great Athanasius b affirmeth of him – that is, free from all fault, for he had his outbursts, and himself relateth them, yet he was Iudaeorum integerrimus – as of Phocion it is said that he was Atheniensum integerrimus – a man of singular sanctimony and integrity; good of a little child, a young saint, and an old angel; an admirable preacher, as Keckerman c rightly calleth him, and propoundeth him for a pattern to all preachers of the gospel. Nevertheless, this incomparable prophet proved to be a man of many sorrows, , as Isidor Pelusiot, d a most calamitous person, as appeareth by this book, and one that had his share in sufferings from, and fellow sufferings with, his ungrateful countrymen, as much as might be. Nazianzen saith most truly of him, that he was the most compassionate of all the prophets; e witness that pathetical wish of his, Jer 9:1-3 , “Oh that my head were waters,” &c.; and that holy resolve, Jer 13:17 , “But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride, and mine eye shall weep sore and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.” It was this good man’s unhappiness to be a physician to a dying state –
“ Tunc etenim docta plus valet arte malum. ”
Long time he had laboured among this perverse people, but to very small purpose, as himself complaineth, Jer 27:13-14 after Isaiah, Isa 49:4 whom he succeeded in his office as a prophet, some scores of years between, f but with little good success. For as in a dying man his eyes wax dim, and all his senses decay, till at length they are utterly lost, so fareth it with commonwealths, quando suis fatis urgentur, when once they are ripe for ruin; the nearer they draw to destruction, the more they are overgrown with blindness, madness, security, obstinace, such as despiseth all remedies, and leaveth no place at all for wholesome advice and admonition. Lo, this was the case of those improbi et reprobi – “reprobate silver shall men call them” Jer 6:30 – with whom our prophet had to do. Moses had not more to do with the Israelites in the wilderness than Jeremiah had with these “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,” Act 7:51 as good at “resisting the Holy Ghost” as ever their fathers were. The times were not unlike those described by Tacitus, concerning which Casaubon saith, Quibus nulla unquam aut virtutum steriliora, aut virtutibus inimiciora, that no times were ever more barren of virtues, or greater enemies to virtues. And to say sooth, how could they be much better, when the book of the law was wanting for over sixty years, and the whole land overspread with the deeds of darkness? Josiah indeed, that good young king – by the advice of this prophet Jeremiah, who was younger than himself, but both full of zeal g – did what he could to reform both Church and state, but he, alas! could not do it; the Reformation in his days was forced by him, and their was foul work in secret, as appeareth by Zephaniah, who was our prophet’s contemporary; it met with much opposition both from princes, priests, and people, who all had been woefully habituated and hardened in their idolatry under Manasseh and Ammon. Unto which also, and other abominations not a few they soon relapsed when once Josiah was taken away, and his successors proved to be such as countenanced and complied with the people in all their impieties and excesses. This prophet therefore was stirred up by God to oppose the current of the times and the torrent of vices; to call them to repentance, and to threaten the seventy years’ captivity, which because they believed not, neither returned unto the Lord, came upon them accordingly, as is set forth in the end of this prophecy. Whence Procopius, Isidor and others, have gathered that, besides this prophecy and the Lamentations, Jeremiah wrote the first and second book of Kings. h But that is as uncertain as that he was stoned to death by the Jews in Egypt, or that the Egyptians afterwards built him an honourable sepulchre, and resorted much unto it for devotion sake; whenas R. Solomon thinketh, from Jer 44:28 , that Jeremiah together with Baruch, returned out of Egypt unto Judea, and there died.
The son of Hilkiah.
Of the priests that were at Anathoth.
In the land of Benjamin.
a Verba sive res.
b Serm. 4 contra Arianos.
c De Rhet. Eccles., cap. ult.
d Lib. i., Epist. 298.
e Prophetarum omnium ad commiserationem propensissimus. – Orat 17, ad cives.
f Vide Oecolamp.
g Iosias a zelo ignis divini nomen habet: Significat autem Ieremias altidudinem Dei, vel exaltatum a Deo.
h Isodor, Doroth., Epiphan.
i Ex praepositis templi. Innuitur in ipsum rectius potuisse competere propheticum munus, quam in multos alios vel ex aula, vel ex caula vocatos.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jeremiah Chapter 1
But few words will suffice for the opening chapter, especially if the general scope of the prophecy has been apprehended. We have seen the extent of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry. (Ver. 1-3.) His call is then described in verses 4-10. He was a prophet sanctified to the nations, the people of God being on the point of losing their sanctification as His people, and all merged in common ruin and obnoxiousness to divine judgment. Serious charge to one of Jeremiah’s tender feelings so strongly susceptible of grief and pity! But he must deliver it. “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Ver. 7-10.) Next, he is taught in symbols what was in store for him. (Ver. 11-16.) The almond rod set forth how God would hasten the performance of His word; the pot seething with its face northwards intimated the evil brewing thence for Jerusalem and Judah on account of their idolatries. “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest 1 confound thee before them. For, behold 1 have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee: but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.” (Ver. 17-19.) Out of weakness the prophet must be made strong to suffer, if not to do, in the testimony of God against his own people, the more painful because so loved and yet so guilty. His tender spirit must speak boldly against all, and so the Lord would deliver him: to shrink from it would ensure his confusion before them. What a deliverance from the fear of man is the fear of the Lord who deigns to be with His servant!
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 1:1-3
1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
Jer 1:1 The words This Hebrew word (BDB 182) has a wide semantical field and can mean deeds, matters, affairs, or sayings.
Jeremiah This is a very common Hebrew name, but its etymology is uncertain (see Intro. I., B); of all the prophetic books, this one mentions the author more than any other. The book reveals its author’s words, thoughts, feelings, and actions more than any other OT book.
the son of Hilkiah This name (BDB 324) means YHWH is my portion. Jeremiah was a Levite, but apparently he was not an active priest because Solomon had exiled his family to Anathoth (cf. 1Ki 2:26-27). There are two men in Jeremiah’s day by the same name. His father is not the high priest mentioned in 2Ki 22:4 or 2Ch 34:9. The high priest was apparently of the lineage of Zadok, while Jeremiah’s father was from the lineage of Abiathar, both descendants of Eli.
Anathoth This name (BDB 779) comes from the Amorite goddess, Anath, who is the sister or consort of Ba’al. She was the most active warrior goddess (i.e., Anath, Asherah, Astarte, and Astoreth) called the Queen of heaven in the Ras Shamra poetry texts (found in the city of Ugarit, north of Israel. A city by this name, Beth-anath, is mentioned in Jos 15:59; Jos 19:38; Jdg 1:33.
in the land of Benjamin This was the location of Abiathar’s excommunication (cf. 1Ki 2:26-27). It is about three miles from Jerusalem, but its exact location is uncertain.
Jer 1:2-3 The repeated phrase in the days of. . . is a way to date the prophetic messages. The opening verses serve to introduce the entire book.
1. from whom
2. to whom (cf. Jer 1:7)
3. when
4. why
Jer 1:2 the word of the LORD came The OT prophets repeatedly affirm that their message was from YHWH. This literary formula makes that very clear.
SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY
Jer 1:2-3 in the days of Josiah. . .in the days of Jehoiakim This forms the beginning and ending dates of Jeremiah’s ministry, which is about 627 B.C. to after 586 B.C. See Special Topic: Kings of the Divided Monarchy .
Josiah This means YHWH supports (BDB 78) or YHWH heals (BDB 382). He was a godly king who began reigning in 640 B.C. at eight years of age (640-609 B.C.). He started a spiritual reform and the remodeling of the Temple. This was when the Law of the Lord was found (621 B.C., cf. 2 Kings 22-23).
in the thirteenth year of the reign This would be five years after the Book of the Law was found in the Temple and when Josiah began his reform. It is unusual that there is no textual connection between Josiah and Jeremiah recorded in the Bible. Even when the Book of the Law was found, it was taken to the prophetess Huldah to interpret (cf. 2Ki 22:14-20).
Jer 1:3 Jehoiakim This was another son of Josiah (Eliakim, cf. 2Ki 23:34) who replaced Jehoahaz (i.e., Shallum, cf. Jer 22:11) as the ruler of Judah by Pharaoh Necho (cf. 2Ki 23:31-34; 2Ch 36:4).
Notice that there are two sons of Josiah who reigned briefly for three months who are not named in this passage.
1. Jehoahaz (Shallum) who was exiled to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho II (cf. 2 Kings 23)
2. Jehoiachin who was exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II (cf. 2 Kings 24; 2 Chronicles 36)
Zedekiah Zedekiah replaced Jehoiakim on the throne of Judah as a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar II (i.e., 609 B.C., cf. 2Ki 24:17; 2Ch 36:10-13).
the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month There were four deportations by Nebuchadnezzar II of the population of Judah to Babylon (i.e., 605, 597, 586, 582 B.C.). By far the most destructive was in 586 B.C., when Jerusalem itself fell and the Temple was completely destroyed (cf. 2 Kings 25; 2Ch 36:9-21; Jeremiah 39, 52).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jeremiah’s First prophecy (see Book comments for Jeremiah).
words: or, prophecies (verses: Jer 1:4, Jer 1:9, Jer 1:1, Jer 2:4, &c.) Compare Jer 36:1, Jer 36:2; but better “words”, as the historic portions are also Jehovah’s words. Compare Amo 1:1. Jeremiah. Hebrew. y’irm e yahu = whom Jehovah raises up, or launches forth.
Hilkiah. Not the high priest of that name, who was of the line of Eleazar (1Ch 6:4, 1Ch 6:13); whereas Anathoth belonged to that of Ithamar (1Ch 24:3, 1Ch 24:6). Compare 2Ch 34.
of the priests. Beside Jeremiah, Nathan (1Ki 4:6), Ezekiel (Jer 1:3), and probably Zechariah (Jer 1:1) were of priestly origin.
Anathoth. Now ‘Anata, three miles north-east of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was persecuted there before he prophesied in Jerusalem (Jer 11:21; Jer 12:6). This prepared him for later conflicts (Compare Jer 12:5, Jer 12:6).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
At this time shall we turn in our Bibles to the book of Jeremiah.
About sixty years after Isaiah died, God called Jeremiah to what I feel must have been the hardest task any minister has ever been called upon to perform for the Lord. Jeremiah had to oversee the death of the nation. He had to watch it as it was in its final death throws, as it went into convulsions and died and was carried away captive to Babylon. His ministry was destined from the beginning for failure. That is, the people were not going to hearken. The people were not going to change. They had set their course and their destiny was determined. And yet, because God is so faithful, God continued His witness to them until they were carried away captive to Babylon. And He didn’t really stop then. He had Daniel and Ezekiel there in Babylon continuing to witness to them even after their captivity. But Jeremiah’s ministry wasn’t to be successful as far as really bringing these people back to a spiritual relationship with God. They were on the way downhill. There was no recovery at this point and he had to sadly watch these people as they disregarded his warnings and as they went on into captivity.
So the book of Jeremiah begins with,
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin ( Jer 1:1 ):
Now you will find that there is another priest Hilkiah who was the high priest, that is not the father of Jeremiah. Though Jeremiah was a priest, the fact that he was from Anathoth indicates that he was of the Kohathites. And the Kohathites had been removed, that particular branch of the Levites had been removed from the high priesthood. And so this Hilkiah, the father of Jeremiah, was not synonymous with the Hilkiah the high priest.
To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign ( Jer 1:2 ).
Now Josiah was basically a good king. He was eight years old when he began to reign. So naturally being just a child, eight years old, he was just a puppet for the beginning of his reign upon the throne, as other men had good influences upon Josiah and he instituted spiritual reforms in beginning with the fifth year of his reign. And by the time the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the spiritual reforms of Josiah had been pretty effective in that they had gotten rid of most of the altars unto Baal and the groves and the high places where they had worshipped the false gods. Where the people of Israel had worshipped these false gods. And yet, it was still in their hearts. Though outwardly there was a spiritual reform, inwardly they had not turned with all of their hearts to God. So it was a time of outward spiritual revival because the king was a godly king. But as soon as Josiah died, the nation lapsed right back into its idolatry, which indicates that it wasn’t really a move towards God from their hearts, but only a surface thing in seeking to please the king. They went along with the spiritual reforms. So because it was only surface and not down in the heart of the nation, even during the reign of Josiah, Jeremiah cried out against the things that were going on.
During the reign of Josiah they re-instituted the worship in the temple. But God said, “Go down in the temple and cry to the people as they go in, ‘Trust not in lying vanities saying, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.” God said I’ve forsaken them.'” And so while Josiah was king, though, Jeremiah did not face, really, persecution, but once Josiah died and Jehoiakim came on to the throne, then Jehoiakim began to persecute Jeremiah. There were several endeavors to kill him. He was placed in the dungeon, and the same is true through the reign of Zedekiah. Jeremiah spent most of the time in prison. And so he lists these three kings.
It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah [who was the last of the kings] the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month ( Jer 1:3 ).
Now there were two other kings who reigned during this same period, but their reigns were both of them short-lived. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin both had a three-month reign during the same period that Jeremiah was prophesying. But because they reigned for such a short period, Jeremiah does not list them as the kings that were reigning. And it could be that the Lord didn’t speak to Jeremiah during those particular periods that Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin were reigning. So the three major kings. Actually, Josiah reigned for thirty-one years. And then Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years and Zedekiah reigned for eleven years until he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, his eyes were put out, and he was carried away to captivity in Babylon.
Now Jeremiah continued to live there. Nebuchadnezzar gave Jeremiah the choice of staying there or coming to Babylon. Because Jeremiah was actually accused of treason during a part of his prophesying because he was telling the people, “Look, surrender to the Babylonians. They’re going to take you. And so it’s better to surrender than to be devastated.” And so he was accused of treason and imprisoned as a result of it. They thought that he was in conspiracy with the Babylonians. But Nebuchadnezzar, in honoring Jeremiah because of his true prophecies, offered him to come and to have a place there in Babylon. But being the true patriot that he was, he chose to remain there in Jerusalem under the vassal reign of Gedaliah until he was put to death by those evil men. And then he was more or less kidnapped and taken to Egypt. He still wanted to stay, but the people were afraid that as a result of their rebellion against the vassal king that Nebuchadnezzar had set up Gedaliah, that Nebuchadnezzar was going to come and really destroy them. And so they fled to Egypt and they took Jeremiah with them. And at this point, there are legends and rumors and stories of what happened to Jeremiah.
One very common of the rumors is that Jeremiah took the ark of the covenant and hid it, and there are some references in some of the books in the apocrypha to the place where Jeremiah hid the ark of the covenant. Other stories are that he took one of the young princes and ferreted him off to Egypt. And then according to some of the legends that are especially promulgated by the people who are called British Israelites, those who seek to identify the Anglo-Saxon races with the tribes of Israel, they say that Jeremiah spirited the prince to England where he became the king and that the present Queen of England and Prince Charles are direct descendants of the Davidic line. So God has kept His promise that from the seed of David there would not lack being one on the throne. And so that is the only place where there’s still a monarchy and they are direct descendants and they go into a long rigamarole of trying to prove their point of this ethnic relationship between the Anglo-Saxon races and the British and Scottish and Danish and so forth.
They say Dane. You see, it’s Dan, Dan-ish. And the word ish in Hebrew is man. So it’s Dan’s man, the tribe of Dan. The Danish are the tribe of Dan. The Brit-ish, you see the ish on the end proves that they are the lost tribes of Israel. They seem to ignore foolish, but… There is surely not enough solid evidence to prove their claims. It has to be stated that the claims are based much more upon fantasy and hopefulness than on actual reality from historical record.
But those are just part of the stories that surround Jeremiah. It is thought that actually he was put to death finally there on one of the banks of the Nile. One of the tributaries to the Nile River. But the Bible is silent so we must be. It’s only guesswork after the Bible ceases its record.
Verse Jer 1:4 :
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before you came forth out of the womb I set thee apart, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations ( Jer 1:4-5 ).
Now there is a lot of question today as to when life begins, as we deal with this area of abortion. But I think that it is significant that God declares to Jeremiah, “Before the fetus was ever formed, I knew you; before you ever came forth out of the womb I had already set you apart.” God’s purposes for our lives were not established after we were born. God’s purposes for our lives had been established from the beginning. From the beginning of time. What God said to Jeremiah He could very well say to each one of you. “Before you were ever in a fetal state I knew you. Before you ever came forth out of the womb I had set you apart for the purpose and the plan that I have for your lives.” The thing is, for me to discover and to come into harmony with that plan that God has for me, that’s the important thing for me. My destiny has already been determined. The Bible says, “We are His workmanship, created together in Christ Jesus unto the good works, that God has before ordained that we should walk in them” ( Eph 2:10 ). God has already before ordained that which He has planned for your life. Now in the meantime, He is working in your life to prepare you for those works. Thus, we are His workmanship. God is working in us tonight.
Paul the apostle speaks about having been separated from his mother’s womb. God’s hand was on my life from the beginning. The recognition of that. And I’m certain that each of us can look back and we can see how God’s hand has been upon our life from the beginning. In the experiences and all that we’ve gone through as God is preparing us for His work. So God speaks to Jeremiah and speaks about his prenatal state.
Then said I ( Jer 1:6 ),
Jeremiah responded to God.
Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child ( Jer 1:6 ).
Now as you figure the years that Jeremiah prophesied, and the fact that he was still alive after the captivity and went to Egypt and all, Jeremiah was probably somewhere between seventeen and twenty-five years old when the call of God came to him. And that’s where the estimates usually range-between seventeen and twenty-five. Now can you imagine a seventeen-year-old boy and God saying, “I knew you before you were ever in a fetal state and I set you apart. You’re to go talk to President Reagan. And you’re to tell him, ‘Thus saith the Lord.'” I’m sure you’d have the same problem that Jeremiah, “Who am I, Lord? I’m just a young man.” And that’s what the Hebrew word is there. “I’m just a young man.” Usually indicated a teenager.
But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a young man: for you shall go to all that I send you, and whatsoever I command you you shall speak ( Jer 1:7 ).
So often it seems that when God called a person for a particular service, they were aware of their inabilities to fulfill that service for God. God called Moses. “O God, I can’t speak. I haven’t been able to speak and I can’t even speak now.” So many times people are trying to excuse themselves because of the recognition of their own inability. But in reality, God isn’t looking for talented, abled people. He’s just looking for willing people. That we would not go forth in our abilities, in our genius, but we would trust in the Lord and go forth in the power of the Spirit. So God said, “Don’t say. Now don’t say that. Don’t say you can’t do it. Don’t say you’re but a child.” Gideon said, “O Lord, you can’t mean me. My father is a nobody and I’m the least in my father’s family. You can’t mean me.” Saul, when Samuel said, “God has called you to be the king over Israel.” “Oh no, no. There’s a mistake here somewhere.” And many times when God lays upon our hearts the things that He has in mind, we say, “Lord, there’s a mistake here somewhere. The angels got the wrong address. He’s delivering the message to the wrong person, Lord, that’s not me.”
But the very consciousness of our ability is the very thing that qualifies us for that which God wants to do. Because God said, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord” ( Zec 4:6 ). So it isn’t my ability that God is really seeking for. It’s just a channel, an instrument through which He can do His work. And if I feel like I can’t do it then that makes me a more yielded vessel unto God. If I feel, “All right, Lord, You bet. Just been waiting for You. I’ll do it right away.” Then it takes a while before God beats me down to nothing. So then He can go ahead and do what He’s been wanting to do through me. In every service to which God calls us, there is that feeling of, “I’m ill-equipped. O Lord, who am I?”
Now God said,
Be not afraid of their faces ( Jer 1:8 ):
Here is a young fellow going out and saying these things that are going to get people mad, and they’re going to start glaring at him and gritting their teeth and scowling and making all kinds of fierce faces at him, because he’s saying things they don’t like. So God said, “Don’t be afraid of their faces.”
for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD ( Jer 1:8 ).
So God’s personal message of comfort to the prophet, “Now don’t be afraid the way they look at you because I’m with you to deliver you.”
Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee this day over the nations ( Jer 1:9-10 ),
Imagine God saying this to just a young fellow, seventeen, eighteen years old. “Today, now look, I’ve touched you and I’ve set you over the nations.” “Me?”
and over the kingdoms, [and this was his ministry] to root out, to pull down, and to destroy ( Jer 1:10 ),
Oh, what a ministry.
Years ago when I was just a child and started in the ministry, our second pastorate was in Tucson, Arizona. And I have not always been the most tactful person in the world, nor am I yet. I’m not quite as blunt as Romaine, but I’m still not always graceful and tactful. And I do have the capacity of just speaking what I feel to be the truth and I think that it’s important that the truth be spoken even though it does cut or hurt. I’ve always believed in the proverb, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” ( Pro 27:6 ). And so when we were pastoring in Tucson in the first part of our pastoring there, we did a very excellent job in sort of emptying the church. And I received my first, not the last, but my first anonymous letter. I get them all the time now, but I received my first anonymous letter. And I read the first; I don’t read them anymore. But it said, “When Jesus was a boy and was a carpenter in his father’s shop, we never read of him using a wrecking bar.” And they spelled it r-e-c-k-i-n-g. And I think that the intimation was that I was wrecking the church or something. But it was, it seems, that God called me as He did Jeremiah to root out, to pull down, and to destroy. You see, oftentimes the system becomes so corrupt that there’s nothing to build on. Now God’s purpose is always that of building, but He cannot always start out building. Many times He has to tear down what is there.
Now in a lot of this redevelopment, downtown stuff, they have to go in with bulldozers and just level the buildings. Tear them out and haul them away, and then they start the new building projects and the high-rises and so forth. Because the stuff is so old, it’s so decrepit, it’s so corrupt that you wouldn’t dare try to build on it. The nation Israel had come to the place where it was beyond recovery. It was necessary now that God just pull down, root out, tear out what was left in order that He might start His new work of planting and of building. So Jeremiah’s ministry was, first of all, to root out, pull down, destroy.
and to throw down, [and then] to build, and to plant ( Jer 1:10 ).
As God starts then His new work. God never tears down in our lives except to the end that He might begin His true work of building up and planting that new work in us. So you may be in that stage right now where God is still rooting out. You say, “Oh Lord, you know. You’re bringing me to nothing.” Yes, that’s what He wants to do in order that He might start His building and His planting in your life. So that ministry to which God called Jeremiah is a very common type calling as God must get rid of the present corrupt system in order that He might establish His new work. That is why I feel that very rarely do you ever see real revival come within the framework of a denomination. That God seems to always go outside and start a new work. He doesn’t try to bring recovery to the old systems. He doesn’t try to pour the new wine in the old skins. He doesn’t sew the new piece of cloth on the old garment. But He usually goes outside and starts a whole new building process.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And he said, I see a rod of an awakening tree ( Jer 1:11 ).
The almond tree in Hebrew is an awakening tree because the almond tree is the first tree that awakes in the spring. In fact, the almond trees begin to blossom in January. They’re the first trees to come out of the winter season there in the holy land. They start to blossom in January and by March they have their almonds and all on them. So it’s called an awakening tree because it’s the first tree to awaken in the… after the winter season.
Then said the LORD unto me, You have seen correctly: for I will [watch over or awake over] my word to perform it ( Jer 1:12 ).
“What do you see?” “I see an awakening tree.” “That’s right. You’ve seen good, because I’m going to be awake over My Word to perform it. I’m going to watch over My Word to perform it.”
And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot; and the face of it is towards the north. Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land ( Jer 1:13-14 ).
Now Babylon was actually east, but in order to attack they had to come to the north and come down from the north, rather than coming across the desert area there. And so it is a reference to Babylon and the coming invasion.
For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands ( Jer 1:15-16 ).
So God is going to bring judgment upon His people because of their wickedness, because they have forsaken God, and they have turned to other gods and are burning incense to these other gods and worshipping these little idols that they have made with their own hands.
Now some of the latest archaeological diggings in the city of Jerusalem are in the area of the old City of David, Ophel, that is down below the temple mount area. The City of David was actually down below that temple mount area. The temple was put up there on Mount Moriah by David’s son, Solomon, but that was sort of the outskirts of the city in a westerly direction. And the City of David is on that hill of Ophel coming up from the pool of Siloam and the Gihon springs. That mound that comes up was the original city of Jerusalem and the City of David. And they are now doing quite a bit of archaeological diggings on the side of the hill there and they are uncovering houses that date back to the time of Jeremiah. The little houses that they are uncovering were broken down by Nebuchadnezzar during the time that Jeremiah was alive. So the archaeologist’s spade is going right back to the time of Jeremiah. And as they are pulling the rubble and the rocks off of these dwelling places, for when they came back from the Babylonian captivity, rather than rebuilding the houses they just covered them over with dirt and build on top of them. And so they have dug down and they found these houses, but the interesting thing in the rubble of the houses there, they are discovering multitudes of little idols that the people had made and were worshipping. A confirmation to the Word of the Lord here to Jeremiah where He said they worshipped the works of their own hands. In each one of the houses multitudes of these little idols. They’re getting a collection of little idols like you can’t believe. So God says, “My judgment is coming.”
Therefore gird up thy loins ( Jer 1:17 ),
Now the guys wore these long skirts, and they’re all right for walking around, but if you’re going to go to work you’ve got to pull the things up and tie your sash so that your legs have free movement. If you’re going to run, you got to gird up your loins. You gird up the skirts, you pull them on up, tie your sash so that you can really get to work. You can’t work with that long robe down to the ground. So that term, “gird up your loins,” is always in reference to pulling up the long skirt that the men wore and tying the sash around to hold the thing up so that you can get to work. It’s sort of a phrase that says, “And now get to work. Get busy.”
and arise, and speak unto them all that I command you: be not dismayed at their faces ( Jer 1:17 ),
Now the second time Lord said that, because they’re going to be looking at you and some real angry looks.
lest I confound thee before them ( Jer 1:17 ).
Now it’s an interesting thing if… A lot of times, especially when you’ve got a message, you’ve got to not even look at the faces of the people if it’s a harsh message, because their faces might make you lose your thought and you get confounded because you’re reacting to the response of the people to the message. So He said, “Don’t look at their faces lest you get confounded. Just go out and speak the word that I put in your mouth. And it’s going to have a negative effect upon them, so just don’t look at their faces lest I confound you before them.”
For, behold, I have made thee this day a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and brass wall against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes, against the priests, and against the people ( Jer 1:18 ).
Man, you’re going to stand against them all, Jeremiah. You’re going to be standing against the kings, the priests, the princes and all the people. You’re going to be almost alone in this thing. But I’ve made you a defensed city. I’m going to defend you. I’m going to put a wall around you.
And they shall fight against thee; but they will not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver you ( Jer 1:19 ).
Now here is his commission. Here is his calling, and it is interesting to me that in his calling, God doesn’t lay out a nice, rosy picture. “Jeremiah, I’m going to call you now to a wonderful job and you’re going to minister for me. And because you’re a minister, I want you to drive a Cadillac and live on Lido Island and enjoy the best now. Because after all, you’re my child. You deserve the best.” No, God laid out the truth of what’s going to happen to you, Jeremiah. It’s not going to be easy. “You better not look at their faces; it will scare you. I’ve set you against the king, the princes, the priests, the people, the whole caboodle. You’re going to be there by yourself and they’re going to turn against you. But don’t worry, I’m going to be with you. I’m going to deliver you.”
When the Lord called Paul the apostle on the road to Damascus and brought that dramatic change in his life, as Paul was there and the Lord was saying to Paul, “Now Paul, I’m calling you to go to the Gentiles.” And the Lord laid out for Paul the whole ministry that He had for him. When Paul came to the city of Damascus still blind, and of course, I am certain in his mind total mental confusion. Here he was on the road to Damascus breathing out threats against this new sect of Christianity. Actually, the word is breathing out murders against them. He was so uptight against this sect that would dare to declare that Jesus was the Messiah and to go against the teaching of the Pharisees. And breathing out murders against them with papers to imprison those who call upon the name of the Lord there in Damascus. There on the road a life changing experience as he’s lying on the ground and someone is saying to him, “Why are you kicking against the pricks?” “Who are You, Lord, that I might serve You?” “I’m Jesus whom you persecute.” “What would you have me to do, Lord?” And the Lord told him what He had him to do.
For when Paul was in Damascus and still going over these things in his mind after three days, the Lord spoke to a man by the name of Ananias and He said, “Ananias, go over and lay your hands upon Paul or Saul that he might receive his sight.” And he said, “Oh Lord, You’re kidding, aren’t You? I’m on his hit list. I’ve heard about this guy. He’s been just wrecking havoc in the church in Jerusalem. This guy’s fierce.” The Lord said, “No, don’t worry, you go and do what I told you to do, for he is a chosen vessel unto Me and I have shown him all of the things that he’s going to have to suffer for My sake.” The Lord said, “Paul, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to go to the Gentiles, but it’s not going to be easy. You’re going to be stoned. They’re going to drag you out of the city thinking you’re dead. They’re going to whip you. They’re going to be beating you. But I want you to go for Me.” Paul said, “All right, let’s go for it.” I think that that’s very commendable on Paul’s part, that even having heard all the things he was going to suffer, he still made that commitment.
Now sometimes ministers like to lay out a rosy path for you. “Just receive Jesus and life is going to be so beautiful. You’ll have no more problems because it’s just a nice bed of roses. Just get on the air mattress and float into heaven.” No way! And Jesus didn’t say that. He said, “Look, if they didn’t receive Me, they’re not going to receive you. If they persecuted Me, they’re going to persecute you, because the servant is not greater than his Lord. Take up your cross and follow Me.” He didn’t paint a rosy picture. He told them the truth and I think it’s important that we tell people the truth. It isn’t easy to follow the Lord. It isn’t easy to serve the Lord. You’re going to be going against the tide. But as the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I will put a wall around you. I will be your defense.” And you will have experiences with God that will be invaluable as you see God’s hand upon you and God’s defense around you and the work of God. It’s beautiful.
“
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Jer 1:1-3. The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jeremiah was a young man when he was called to the prophetic office; and he was sent of God, as a young prophet, to help the young king, Josiah. His public life, therefore, opened somewhat happily. But, after the death of Josiah, wicked kings sat upon the throne, and it was the painful lot, and yet in some respects the choice privilege, of this weeping prophet to be sent upon his Masters errand, time after time, to a disobedient and gainsaying people, who wrought him only evil while he sought their good. The Holy Spirit, you see, is careful to note important dates in the history of Gods servants; and you and I also should keep a record of the times when God sets us to work, and when he gives us special grace for the service to which he has called us.
Jer 1:4-6. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
He was but young, and, when young men are called to be ambassadors for God, it behoves them to feel the weight of the responsibility that rests upon them, and to be conscious of their lack of experience, and of their want of fitness for the work. In that consciousness of unfitness, there often lies the evidence of their fitness for the task entrusted to them. Peradventure, out of weakness they shall be made strong; but if they do not feel their weakness, they are not likely to cry to God for help, or to receive it from him. Ah, Lord God! said young Jeremiah, behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Now, even a child can often speak anything that has been said to him; to repeat what he is told to say, is not beyond his capacity; and, after all, this is a Christian ministers principal work. Somebody says, We want thinkers. Yes, so we do; but we want men whose thoughts shall be subordinate to the thoughts of God, ministers who do not come to utter their own thoughts, but to deliver their Masters message, to tell to us what he has told to them. Is that sermon merely what you think, sir? Then, what do I care what you think? What is that to me, anymore than what I think may be to you. If, however, you can come to me, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I will give diligent heed to your message, and I am bound to receive it; but woe be to that minister whose word shall be other than this!
Jer 1:8. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
When a king sends an ambassador to a foreign court, he cannot usually go with him; but Gods ambassador always has his King with him. Oh, what courage he ought to have with such a Companion!
Jer 1:9. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.
For you young brethren who are to be preachers of the gospel, I cannot wish anything better than that the Lord may touch your mouth in this way. In the old times that some of us remember, godly men used to pray that the Holy Spirit would be mouth, matter, and wisdom to the preachers of the Word. It was not at all a bad prayer, for it was a petition that he would give to his servants the right subject, the right spirit, and the right utterance, that he would teach them how to speak, what to speak, and in what spirit to speak it.
Jer 1:9. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
That is a true picture of a Spirit-sent preacher of the gospel, a man who has Gods words in his mouth. I said before that the minister must not utter his own thoughts, but here we see that he must not even utter his own words. Gods thoughts are best delivered in Gods words; and the more of Scripture there is in our teaching, the more true, the more divine, and the more powerful, will it be.
Jer 1:10. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
What a mysterious power rested on this God-sent messenger! Poor Jeremiah was often in prison, frequently at deaths door, yet he was the master of nations and kingdoms, and the Lord gave him authority to root them up or to plant them, to throw them down or to build them up. What wondrous power God gives to those who faithfully preach his Word! Well might Mary Queen of Scots say that she was more afraid of John Knoxs preaching than of all the armies that came against her.
Jer 1:11-14. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
The Chaldeans and the Babylonians were like a great cauldron, boiling and seething, sending forth smoke and steam over the nations, and ready to scald Jerusalem to its destruction.
Jer 1:15-16. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set everyone his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
God tells Jeremiah that he was about to destroy Jerusalem because of the peoples sin. He was not merely to foretell their doom, but he was also to tell the reason of it, that it was the result of their sin, and especially of the sin of idolatry, to which mankind is ever exceedingly prone. It is most difficult to keep men to pure spiritual worship, the worship of the unseen God in spirit and in truth. They will get away, if they can, to some outward form or another. They will take the very bread of communion, and worship it; or the image of the bleeding Saviour, and make an idol of that. Somehow or other, they will have something visible, or tangible, as the object of their adoration. Men will fall into idolatry of one kind or another even to this day; and this is a God-provoking offense, from which may the Lord, in his mercy, graciously preserve all of us perfectly clear!
Jer 1:17. Thou therefore gird up thy loins,
Thou hast a hard task before thee, Jeremiah, a stern lifes work cut out for thee; therefore gird up thy loins,
Jer 1:17. And arise,
There must be no waiting, no idleness: Arise,
Jer 1:17. And speak unto them all that I command thee:
Do not trim it at all, or pare it down, or omit distasteful portions; but speak unto them all that I command thee.
Jer 1:17. Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
We ought to be so afraid of God that we are afraid of nobody else. Fear him, ye saints, and you will then have nothing else to fear. Send all your fears to heaven, and there let them stop.
Jer 1:18-19. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Jer 1:1-3
THE PART OF JEREMIAH IDENTIFIED WITH THE SCROLL
Jer 1:1 to Jer 20:18
THE CALL AND COMMISSION OF JEREMIAH
Chapter summary: the general title (Jer 1:1-3), Jeremiah’s call to the prophetic office (Jer 1:4-10), the two visions of the almond tree, and the boiling caldron (Jer 1:11-16), and the assurance to Jeremiah of Divine protection (Jer 1:17-19).
Jer 1:1-3
“The words of Jeremiah the Son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: to whom the word of Jehovah came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiachim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.”
There were five kings of Judah during the time period mentioned here; but the names of Jehoahaz and Jeconiah are omitted because each of these kings reigned only three months. If we calculate the length of Jeremiah’s ministry only from the data mentioned here, it was exactly forty years and six months (Under Josiah, 18 years; under Jehoahaz, three months; under Jehoiachim, 11 years; under Jeconiah, three months; and under Zedekiah, 11 years).Jeremiah 40-41 record events that happened several years after the destruction of Jerusalem, indicating that this summary occurs in Jeremiah before the book was completed, pertaining not to all of the book, to part of it. This supports the view of some scholars that Jeremiah’s ministry lasted perhaps as long as fifty years.
“Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah …” (Jer 1:1). The Hebrew form of this name is Ben-Hilkiah, which according to the Dean of Canterbury “made it improper grammatically to insert the further identification of Hilkiah as `the High Priest. This writer also answered other objections to understanding this Hilkiah as the High Priest who discovered the Book of the Law in the temple, pointing out that for ages this has been the understanding of the identity of Jeremiah’s father. “Clement of Alexandria, Jerome, Kimchi, and Abravanel, are among the ancient scholars cited.
Another objection based upon the supposition that the “High Priest” who discovered the Book of the Law `probably’ lived in Jerusalem is trivial. Jerusalem was only three miles from Anathoth! Besides, the record here was not speaking of the residence of Hilkiah, but of ancestral connection. Christ was born in Bethlehem, but he was nevertheless called “Jesus of Nazareth!”
“In the thirteenth year of his reign …” (Jer 1:2). This is generally agreed by scholars to have been the year 627-626 B,C. Ash, a dependable scholar, mentions a plausible theory that this was the birth of Jeremiah instead of his call, based upon the truth that God called him while in the womb. This theory is rejected here because of the plain words of the text.
“To whom the word of Jehovah came… It also came..” (Jer 1:2-3). These are, perhaps, the most important words in this paragraph:
“This word came to Jeremiah by means of inspiration, and is neither the product of a reflective musing as to what his calling was to be, nor the outcome of an irresistible impulse within him to come forward as a prophet. It was a supernatural divine revelation vouchsafed to him, which raised his spiritual life to a state of ecstasy, so that he both recognized the voice of God and felt his lips touched by the hand of God (Jer 1:9). Further, he saw in spirit, one after another, two visions, which God interpreted to him as confirmatory tokens of his divine commission.
The prophets of Israel were launched upon their prophetic career by a definite call. Amos, the herdsman from Tekoa, declared that God took him from following the flock and inducted him into the prophetic ministry (Amo 7:14-15). He felt a divine compulsion to preach (Amo 3:8). Isaiah, the aristocrat, saw a vision of divine glory and heard the voice of his God calling for a messenger. Isaiah knew that the call was meant for him and so he volunteered: Here am I! Send me! (Isaiah 6). Ezekiel saw the dazzling and mysterious throne-chariot of God and from this experience he came to realize that he was to preach the word of God (Eze 2:8 ff.). An essential mark of a true prophet and a primary element in the prophetic consciousness” was the assurance of a divine call. Logically and chronologically the prophets career begins with a call.” It is therefore most appropriate that the account of the call of Jeremiah stands first in the book.
A great deal of information is packed into the brief preface with which the Book of Jeremiah opens. Most of this information has been sifted and weighed in the preceding pages. It remains here to briefly take note of the literary, personal, geographical and chronological data contained in the first three verses.
The superscription opens with the formal title of the book: The Words of Jeremiah. Though the book contains a great deal of biographical narrative the emphasis throughout is on the preaching of Jeremiah. He was first and foremost a preacher of the word.
Concerning Jeremiah personally the superscription relates three facts: (1) That he was of the family of Hilkiah; (2) that he was a priest before he was a prophet; and (3) that he lived in the priestly town of Anathoth. As a priest-possibly the son of the high priest-the prospect before him was that of a quiet and probably uneventful life teaching the Torah of God in his home town and serving periodically at the Temple in Jerusalem. But God had other plans for this timid young priest. From the obscurity of priestly service Jeremiah was catapulted by the call of God into a position of national and even international responsibility.
The main function of the preface is to sound forth the note that Jeremiah had received divine revelation. The phrase to whom the word of the Lord came describes that mysterious process by which the prophet of God received divine revelation. This expression occurs some twenty times in the Book of Jeremiah. Many attempts have been made to explain how God spoke to the prophets. Did the revelation come to the prophet while in a state of mental unconsciousness and inactivity? Or did they receive their oracles while in complete possession of their rational consciousness? It is interesting to notice that the New Testament is silent as to the manner in which God spoke to the prophets. peter declared: Men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit (2Pe 1:21). To go beyond this simple statement is to become involved in useless speculation.
The superscription is full of valuable chronological information. Three kings are named: Josiah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin, both of whom reigned only a matter of months, are omitted. The year of Jeremiahs call is pin-pointed as the thirteenth year of king Josiah. This was one year after Josiah began to purge Jerusalem and Judah and five years before the discovery of the lost law book.
The superscription seems to imply that the ministry of Jeremiah terminated with the fall of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Zedekiah. The problem is that Jeremiah continued to perform his prophetic duties for some time (possibly years) after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 41-44). The solution to this problem probably lies in the fact that there was more than one edition of the Book of Jeremiah during and shortly after the lifetime of the prophet. See earlier discussion. It is of course possible that the superscription simply means that the active or official ministry of Jeremiah closed with the destruction of Jerusalem. A minister today who has officially retired and terminated his active ministry might still preach occasionally.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The first three verses constitute a title page naming the author and giving the dates of the period during which he exercised his ministry. The Book opens with the account of Jeremiah’s call, and at once reveals the clearness of that call and his shrinking from the great work. With great patience Jehovah bore with Jeremiahs fear, and encouraged him by words and signs. It is interesting to note how the “I” of Jehovah was set over against the “I” of Jeremiah.
Two signs were granted to him, the first, the almond tree, being life in the midst of death, or spring following winter. In a day when the word of the Lord seemed to be forgotten entirely, Jehovah declared, “I watch over My word to perform it.”
The second was a seething cauldron, the sign of coming destruction. After these signs the word of divine command was spoken to Jeremiah, and strength equal to the task awaiting him was promised.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Courage Promised to a Fearful Messenger
Jer 1:1-19
God has a distinct purpose for each life, and our one aim should be to discover and work out His plan. See Psa 139:16; Gal 1:15. The sanctification here referred to applies to office rather than to character, and means set apart. See Joh 17:19. Jeremiah was very young, and shrank from the responsibility of the great mission entrusted to him. Thus it has been with the noblest, Exo 4:10. But that is godly fear indeed which casts us back on God. He never gives a commission without assuming the responsibility of its execution in, and with, or through, us. Powers of utterance are specially His gift, Isa 6:7; Act 6:10; 1Co 1:5. The almond tree in Hebrew is the wakeful tree. It awakes from the winter sleep earlier than others, flowering in January and fruiting in March. It indicated the swiftness of Gods movement. The boiling pot is the symbol of war. The promises of Jer 1:18-19 are very precious to all who are called to stand in the breach and charge men with their sins.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
CHAPTER ONE
A VESSEL CHOSEN AND FITTED
(Jer 1:1-19)
The account of Jeremiah’s call to the prophetic office is very instructive and deeply interesting.
The thoughtful reader feels at once how intensely human was the man, how condescendingly gracious the Lord. On the part of the servant there is naught but backwardness and trembling when commissioned to be the bearer of the Lord’s message to His backslidden people. It would be at best but a thankless task; for people away from GOD, yet proudly ignorant of their condition, do not, as a rule, show much gratitude to the man who seeks to turn the light on and manifest things as they really are. It is, generally speaking, a far more pleasant and agreeable task to preach the gospel to poor lost sinners than to minister to the needs of wayward saints. None but a man who is himself very low before GOD can accomplish it successfully. If I would wash my brother’s feet, I must stoop to do it.
But in this, as in all true service, one’s reliance must be upon GOD, who never sends a messenger without putting in his mouth the word he is to speak; and never bids one undertake a service for which He does not qualify the servant.
So with Jeremiah. His confidence is to be in the GOD of resurrection, who had before made a dry stick to bud, and blossom, and bring forth almonds, and who delights to take up the foolish, the weak, the base, and the despised things, and use them to confound the wise, the mighty, and the noble, “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1Co 1:26-29).
This is the secret of His so acting.
Worship in His presence all can, and should, who have been brought to Himself through sovereign grace; praise and adore Him they freely may; but glory before Him they shall not. All must own that they are but vessels of mercy, who have nothing which they have not received, and He must ever be the Giver, for “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Act 20:35)
It is impossible that the saved sinner should have the more blessed part.
It is not, therefore, brilliant men whom He depends on, nor men of self-sufficiency and self-confidence, but it is ever His delight to fill the empty vessel and then use it to suit Himself. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2Co 4:7).
Looking, then, a little carefully into this preliminary chapter, we note that Jeremiah was evidently quite a young man (“a child,” * he says, Jer 1:6) when the word of the Lord came to him, in the days of the godly king Josiah – himself but a youth, as it was in the thirteenth year of his reign, and he was but eight years of age when he succeeded his wicked father Amon as King of Judah (2Ch 34:1).
* This is the same word that the angel applies to Zechariah – “Speak to this young man” (Zec 2:4).
The prophet’s ministry covered a period of over forty years under the kings; and when royalty had departed from Judah and her princes, and thousands of her people had gone into captivity, he is still found at his post standing for GOD among “the poor of the flock” (Zec 11:11) left in the land, looking forward to the destruction of the very power to which he had previously urged submission, and which had been permitted to desolate the Lord’s heritage.
Of his early years, before his divine call to publicly proclaim the word of the Lord, we have no authentic record. Scripture is silent regarding him, save for occasional references (II Chronicles 35, 36) to his later ministry, corroborating, if corroboration were needed, his own account in the books before us. His father’s name, Hilkiah; his service, that of a priest; his home, Anathoth of Benjamin – these he tells us in the first verse, but details there are none.
Men may be curious to know of the training and early life of those afterwards celebrated; but GOD makes no attempts merely to satisfy idle curiosity. In divine things all counts for nothing until the soul really begins with GOD.
That memorable time in the case of this young priest (that is, the time when he consciously had to do with Him) was evidently about the date above mentioned. Like John the Baptist, he was sanctified even before his birth, and ordained to be a prophet, not merely to fallen Judah, but to the nations. We do not know, however, that he was aware of his exalted mission until this time.
There had already been a measure of revival and blessing in the land; outwardly, at least.
Just a year previously, Josiah had commenced to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the remains of the idolatrous worship which Manasseh, though humbled and repentant, had not been able to remove, and which the infamous and unhumbled Amon had but furthered and endorsed.
The book of the law had not yet been recovered; nor was it until some seven years later (II Chronicles 34). That precious volume was still hidden (where, doubtless, some faithful one had only too safely stored it, in the dark days preceding) in the still unrepaired house of the Lord. In His own time, He who caused it to be written and who watched over it would see that it was brought forth. Till then, and even in connection with it later, He would speak through a prophet.
And right here it may be well to note Jeremiah’s place in connection with the other prophets whose writings we have.
It was probably about a century since Isaiah had, if tradition speaks truly, been sawn asunder (see Heb 11:37) by the fathers of those who now professed to worship the Lord at Jerusalem.
– Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, and Nahum, all of them for a time at least contemporary with Isaiah, had long since passed off the scene; leaving the nation apparently as hardened as ever.
– Zephaniah and Habakkuk were both still living, though we have no mention as to whether it was their privilege to “speak often one to another.”
– Ezekiel and Obadiah were also his contemporaries during his later years – Ezekiel only among the captives in Babylon.
– Daniel prophesied subsequently in the palace of the conquerors. He, it will be remembered, was a student of the writings of his great predecessor, and from this book learned of the appointed seventy years’ duration of the captivity.
– Jonah had been much earlier than any (2Ki 14:25), but we know little of the nature of his ministry beyond his mission to the great Gentile city of Nineveh.
– The remaining three minor prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, were the bearers of the Lord’s message to the remnant restored to their land.
Between Jeremiah and the last a period of about three hundred years is generally assigned.
We turn back now to our chapter. Just how the Lord spoke to Jeremiah we are not informed. Abruptly he is told: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer 1:5).
It is the divine sovereignty that is at once brought before him. He is given to understand from the first that it is the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent Lord with whom he has to do. The natural man may shrink from this, but how the soul of the saint delights to dwell upon it! “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” (Act 15:18)
Nothing ever takes GOD by surprise. Consequently, with Him, there can be no after-thought.
All was foreseen long, long before its actual occurrence; everything was provided for. Satan, sin, and their attendant evils, have in no wise interfered with His purpose, “who worketh all things according to the counsel of His own will.” (Eph 1:11)
Where had His grace found manifestation, had not sin been permitted? All the glory of the Cross must have had no place if the serpent’s entrance into the garden of delight had been denied. Evil, dreadful as it is, is but the dark background that throws into relief His wondrous purposes of love and grace.
It is well for the soul of the believer to grasp this and rest upon it. However much one’s spirit may be chafed and fretted and vexed by abounding iniquity, it is well to remember that there is One who abides in eternal peace – the peace of God.” (Col 3:15) Not that He is indifferent to the evil; but He sees, as we cannot, how blessedly all shall yet result to the glory of the Son of His love.
How different must have been our thoughts of Him had our guilt never given occasion for His emptying Himself of His dignities to become a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death! We should never have known Him as Man had not sin necessitated for us a Mediator. Had He sovereignly chosen to become such, though we needed Him not, we could only call Him Lord and not know Him as Saviour, whose precious blood had redeemed us to GOD: how little could we then have appreciated Him! It is our deep and bitter need which has revealed to us the heart of GOD. Very different must have been Adam’s thoughts of Him when forbidden the tree, and when clothed by His own hand in coats of skin.
Nor need anyone who has learned GOD in the person of CHRIST fear to dwell upon His electing love: it is but the assurance of his eternal safety. Others, who as yet cannot call Him “Father,” need not question whether they are shut out from a share in it; for His word to all is, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev 22:17) Drink, and you shall know that the draught was prepared for you, as though no other needed it.
The Lord’s word to Jeremiah brings before the mind a lovely passage in the 139th psalm. Space forbids quoting it in full, but we may cull from it what seem its choicest portions, commending it all to the reader’s quiet meditation when time and opportunity afford.
After the acknowledgment of the divine omniscience as to his present condition in Psa 139:1-5, and the divine omnipresence in Psa 139:7-12, the heart of the singer is absorbed in the contemplation of the thoughtfulness of the divine foreknowledge:
“For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee” (Psa 139:13-18).
With confidence may the trusting soul turn to such a GOD, and pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa 139:23-24).
Such might well have been the answer of Jeremiah to the word of the Lord assuring him of His interest and care, long, long before he could in any sense respond to it; but instead, he exclaims, “Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child” (Jer 1:6).
But what difference could that make to One who had known him thoroughly even ere He had formed him? He could make no mistake in His choice of a servant. Had not He Himself made man’s mouth? And would He now, who had all resources in Himself, cast His ambassador upon his own? Ah, that would be altogether unlike GOD.
Like Moses in Midian, Jeremiah had not yet learned Him aright, nor had he learned himself. The great lesson of no confidence in the flesh and of full confidence in GOD had to be put before him. The former, one might think he had in measure learned already; but had he truly done so, he would not have been disheartened when he reflected on his inability. It was simply natural backwardness: the flesh itself was not really denied. Otherwise he would neither have been troubled if he lacked ability, nor exalted if he possessed it. Without it, GOD was enough. With it, GOD must still be all, or it would avail nothing.
In the answer of the Lord, it is He who assumes all responsibility. The servant has but to obey. He will attend to the question of power; and, as we say in New Testament language, of “gift.” “Say not, I am a child” (Jer 1:7). In short, say nothing about self at all.
In spiritual things a giant has no more place than an infant. What he was or was not, was of no importance. How well had the apostle Paul learned this, to say in 1Co 3:7, “So then neither is he that planteth anything” (and it was himself who had done so in this case), “neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.”
“Thou shalt go to all that I send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.” (Jer 1:7-8) This settled everything. As of a later prophet, we read, “Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message, unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord” (Hag 1:13).
The remnant then were in the state Jeremiah was in before, weak and fearful; but immediately upon the proclamation of such a message, we read of a stirring of the spirits of the leaders and of all the people.
It has often been noticed, too, that the last that Mark records of the risen and ascended Lord is His working with those who went forth preaching; and He it was who confirmed the word with signs following. Thus, for service, if we enter into His thoughts, it ceases to be a question of our weak self or our strong self, and becomes one of Himself. The instrument may be feeble, but it is upheld and used by an all-powerful Hand.
In Jeremiah’s case, He who made man’s mouth put forth His hand and touched the lips of the fearful servant, thus putting His own words into the prophet’s mouth.
This in fact is what constitutes a man a prophet.
Isaiah’s touch is unlike this, perhaps, in some respects. In his case he had been learning his vileness and innate depravity. The seraphim flew with a live coal from off the brazen altar of judgment, where the burnt offering (the blessed answer to all that man is) was going up as a sweet savor to GOD. Wrath having been borne by Another, it removes sin and terror from the self-confessed and repentant sinner.
– That touch, to Isaiah, spoke of cleansing.
– This, to Jeremiah, tells of power.
He who cleanses also fits for service: this is the double lesson the two prophets bring before us. Not that Isaiah was not fitted to serve: he was, as the subsequent verses show (Isaiah 6); but that is not what is there emphasized.
Jeremiah is then set over the nations and the kingdoms. He is commissioned “to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jer 1:10). That is, he must tell of judgment and desolation, of overturning and destruction; but great and terrible though the Lord’s vengeance must be, it is not judgment without mercy, for of restoration and recovery, of blessing and renewal, he is also to speak.
He that scattereth Israel will regather it in His own appointed time; heavy though the hand of affliction must fall upon the nations, yet the time will surely come when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14).
All this is assured in the vision that follows.
The rod of the almond-tree is a symbol easily read in connection with Numbers 17.
It speaks of GOD’s CHRIST declared to be the Son of GOD with power by resurrection of the dead (Rom 1:4). It is as the GOD of resurrection, the One who intervenes when all the power of nature is at an end, that Jeremiah was to know the Lord. It is because He is such, that the building and planting is certain, though there be first the breaking down and uprooting. The almond, the Hebrews called “the hastening tree,” because of its early budding when the cold of winter had scarcely passed away. “I will hasten My word to perform it” is the divine comment on the vision (Jer 1:11-12).
The word to Habakkuk a few years later (though, as previously noted, he was contemporary with Jeremiah) is, “Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Hab 2:3).
This, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews quotes, but changes the pronoun, and by the Spirit’s direction a Person is brought before us, and it reads: “Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb 10:37).
It is the Lord JESUS Himself who will bring in the blessing, predicted by the prophets, for Israel and the earth. It is that same blessed Person for whom we now wait for our full blessing in heaven.
The Rod of the hastening-tree, when He came in grace, was to Israel but as a dry stick, and worthless. Hidden away from the eyes of men, He has “budded and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” (Num 17:8) He has been laid up in the sanctuary above. The rod in the ark tells of the resurrected Man on the throne. (See Numbers 17, throughout).
By and by (how soon none can tell) the once despised JESUS will appear in glory, and all nations will delight in His shadow and find strength in His fruit, while the eye will be gladdened with the beauty of His blossoms; “for how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!” (Zec 9:17). Till then, alas, there is the “seething-pot” (Jer 1:13), into which “His own,” who “received Him not,” (Joh 1:11) have been cast.
This is, doubtless, akin to the smoking furnace of Egypt (Genesis 15). Of old, Pharaoh had been their oppressor. Nebuchadnezzar was now to be their captor (Jer 1:14-16), though the full scope of the vision goes on evidently to the gathering of all the nations against Jerusalem. The seething pot * is pictured in all its horror in the last chapter of Zechariah.
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” (Zec 14:1-2)
* Note also Eze 24:2-14 in this connection.
But when the flames are fiercest, and the people seem about to be utterly consumed, the Almond-tree will stand again where He stood ere He was laid up in the sanctuary-upon the Mount of Olives. “The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee” (Zec 14:5).
Having beheld the visions of the Rod and the seething pot – simple, yet how expressive! – Jeremiah is further encouraged and warned. He is to gird his loins as for arduous service. Standing before the Lord, he is to “speak unto them all that I command thee” (Jer 1:17). He had but One to please, and he is not to be dismayed at the faces of the opposers: lowering they may be, but he is made as a defenced city, an iron pillar and a brazen wall against kings, princes, priests and people, as he stands in the strength of the Lord. If afraid, it will be evidence that he has not yet done with flesh and blood, and he will be confounded before them. If undismayed, they may fight against him, but prevail they cannot, for “I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.” (Jer 1:19) This was to be his strength. On it he could rely. The promise is twice repeated, for GOD designs to give him full witness-he need have no fear (Jer 1:18-19).
In the next chapter we find him in his public ministry. He has had to do with GOD in secret. He is now ready to face the people openly.
~ end of chapter 1 ~
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Jer 1:1-13
I.-(Jer 1:4). The two great blessings of election and mediation are here distinctly taught. God did not speak to the nations directly, but mediationally. He created a minister who should be His mouthpiece. Observation itself teaches us that men are called and chosen of God to do special work in all departments of life. The difficult lesson for some of us to learn is, that we are called to obscurity, and yet this is as clearly a Divine appointment as is the choice of an Isaiah or a Jeremiah.
II.-(Jer 1:6-8). It is thus that fear and confidence make up our best life. We are sure that God has called us, yet we dread to set down our feet on the way which He has marked out with all the clearness of light. Fear well becomes our mortality, for what is our strength? and as for our days, their number is small. Beautiful is modesty in its own place, but never forget that there is something which closely imitates its loveliest features, and that its foul name is hypocrisy.
III.-(Jer 1:9-10). You made much of your own weakness; now what are you going to make of God’s strength. You may obstinately persist in looking at your own small arm, or you may piously turn to the almightiness of God, and draw your power from eternity; and upon your choice will depend your whole after-life. (1) Observe the expression, “I will put My words in thy mouth.” The minister of God is to speak the words of God. (2) The tenth verse sets forth, under a personal figure, the majesty and omnipotence of truth. It is not the mere man Jeremiah who is thus mighty, even to terribleness; he is but representative and ministerial, and if he tamper with his mission he will be dispossessed and humbled.
IV.-(Jer 1:11-13). The power of spiritual vision is preeminently the gift of God. The power of parables, making them or reading them, is a deep mystery of the unseen Kingdom. It is the gift of sight which distinguishes one man from another.
Parker, The Ark of God, p. 170.
References: Jer 1:5.-C. J. Vaughan, Old Testament Outlines, p. 243. Jer 1:6.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 80.
Jer 1:6-9
It is not improbable that Jeremiah was almost a child when he spoke these words. Considering the time to which he lived, he must have been young in the thirteenth year of Josiah,-young enough to make the most literal sense of the expression in the text a reasonable one. Jeremiah has a kind of feminine tenderness and susceptibility; strength was to be educed out of a spirit which was inclined to be timid and shrinking. Think of such a vision as being presented to a mind cast in that mould: “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”
I. The discoveries and revelations to the minds of the prophets became deeper in proportion as they approached nearer to some great crisis in their country’s history. It was possible for the Israelite of an earlier time to think of the covenant which God had made with His people as an act of grace expressing, no doubt, the mind of a gracious Being, but still almost arbitrary. Isaiah was gradually educated to know that the covenant denoted a real and eternal relation between God and man in the person of a Mediator. If that truth is not brought out with the same force and distinctness in Jeremiah, if he is not in the same sense as the other the evangelical prophet, yet he had even a deeper conviction that a Divine Spirit was with him continually, a Spirit which was seeking to subdue his will-all wills-to Itself. That men should break loose from this gracious government, should choose to be independent of it, seemed to him the saddest and strangest thing in the world.
II. The greatest cause of dismay to Jeremiah was the falsehood of the priests and prophets. No doubt the official or personal self-conceit of the priests, which arose from their forgetfulness of their relation to the people at large, was one of their greatest offence’s in his eyes. But these sins arose from their not confessing that they were called by the Lord to be witnesses of His sympathy: whenever they were not witnesses for Him, they were necessarily proud and self-seeking. Jeremiah could only be qualified for his work by feeling in himself every one of the evil tendencies which he imputed to the priests generally. He had to feel all the peculiar temptations of his tribe and class to vanity, self-glorification, self-indulgence,-to feel how quickly they might fall into all the commonest, grossest habits of other men; while there is also a subtle, radical, internal wickedness that is nearer to them than to those whose offerings they present.
F. D. Maurice, Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament, p. 378.
Reference: Jer 1:7-10.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 195.
Jer 1:8
The prophets were ever ungratefully treated by the Israelites; they were resisted, their warnings neglected, their good services forgotten. But there was this difference between the earlier and the later prophets: the earlier lived and died in honour among their people,-in outward honour; though hated and thwarted by the wicked, they were exalted to high places, and ruled in the congregation. But in the later times, the prophets were not only feared and hated by the enemies of God, but cast out of the vineyard. As the time approached for the coming of the true Prophet of the Church, the Son of God, they resembled Him in their earthly fortunes more and more, and as He was to suffer, so did they. Moses was a ruler, Jeremiah was an outcast; Samuel was buried in peace, John the Baptist was beheaded.
I. Of all the persecuted prophets, Jeremiah is the most eminent, i.e. we know more of his history, of his imprisonments, his wanderings, and his afflictions. He comes next to David-I do not say in dignity and privilege, for it was Elijah who was taken up to heaven and appeared at the Transfiguration; nor to inspiration, for to Isaiah one should assign the higher evangelical gifts; but in typifying Him who came and wept over Jerusalem, and there was tortured and put to death by those He wept over.
II. Jeremiah’s ministry may be summed up in three words: good hope, labour, disappointment. No prophet commenced his labours with greater encouragement than Jeremiah. A king had ascended to the throne who was bringing back the times of the man after God’s own heart. Josiah, too, was young-at most twenty years of age-in the beginning of his reformation. What might not be effected in a course of years, however corrupt and degraded was the existing state of his people? So Jeremiah might think. Everyone begins with being sanguine; doubtless then, as now, many labourers in God’s husbandry entered on their office with more lively hopes than their after fortune warranted. Whether or not, however, such hope of success encouraged Jeremiah’s first exertions, very soon, in his case, this cheerful prospect was overcast, and he was left to labour in the dark. Huldah foretold a woe-an early removal of the good Josiah to his rest, as a mercy to him and to the nation, who were unworthy of him; a fierce destruction. This prophecy was delivered five years after Jeremiah entered into his office; he ministered in all forty years before the captivity; so early in his course were his hopes cut away.
III. All of us live in a world which promises well, but does not fulfil; all of us begin with hope and end with disappointment. Let us prepare for suffering and disappointment, which befit us as sinners, and are necessary for us as saints. Let us not turn away from trial when God brings it on us, or play the coward in the fight of faith. Take the prophets for an example of suffering affliction and of patience. “Behold, we count them happy who endure.” The prophets went through sufferings to which ours are mere trifles; violence and craft combined to turn them aside, but they kept right on, and are at rest.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. v., p. 248; see also J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. viii., p. 124.
Reference: Jer 2:2.-Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 352.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Analysis and Annotations
I. THE CALL TO REPENTANCE, THE IMPENITENCE OF THE PEOPLE, AND THE JUDGMENT ANNOUNCED
CHAPTER 1
The Call of the Prophet
1. The introduction (Jer 1:1-3)
2. The divine call (Jer 1:4-10)
3. The renewed call and the first visions (Jer 1:11-19)
Jer 1:1-3. The first three verses introduce us to the person of the prophet, to the time the Word of the Lord came unto him, and to the sphere of his ministry. Jeremiahs father, Hilkiah, was a priest of the line of Ithamar; his home was Anathoth of Benjamin. (See general introduction.)
Jer 1:4-10. Then the Word of the LORD came unto me (Jer 1:4). The prophet is the writer who tells us how he was called into the office of a prophet. A sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent Lord speaks to and informs the young Jeremiah that He knew him, that his call was prenatal. He had been chosen and set apart for the specific work which he now was to undertake. (See Isa 49:1; Gal 1:15-24). What comfort this assuring knowledge must have been to the prophet in his trying ministry, in the persecutions which were his portion and the suffering he passed through! The Lord had called him, the Lord knew all that would take place, and He had the power to sustain him. And he is the same Lord today, and Jeremiahs comfort is still the comfort of His trusting people.
Jeremiah expresses at once his fear. Like Moses Exo 4:10, he manifests self-distrust. He was but a child, not in the sense of a mere child, but a youth. The Septuagint translates it, I am too young. After that the Lord encouraged him by the promise of His presence, I am with thee to deliver thee. Then He touched his mouth and said, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. He was the mouthpiece of Jehovah, Who commissioned him to fulfill a ministry over nations and kingdoms, to announce the overthrow of them by the judgments of the Lord.
Jer 1:11-19. Some think that this renewed call came in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim. There is nothing in the text to indicate this. The first vision is that of the rod of the almond tree. The Hebrew word for almond is Shakad, which means to watch, to wake early. It is the first tree which shows the return of spring. It denotes the early fulfillment of the judgment purposes of the Lord. The vision of the seething pot toward the north denotes the coming invasion by the kingdom of the north, that is, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. Then follows the renewed commission with a threat in case of disobedience; if his fearfulness would lead him to abandon the commission. More than that, the Lord, knowing the fears of the servant He had called and separated, encouraged him and once more promised him, I am with thee saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
words: 2Ch 36:21, Isa 1:1, Isa 2:1, Amo 1:1, Amo 7:10
of the priests: Eze 1:3
in Anathoth: Jer 11:21, Jer 32:7-9, Jos 21:17, Jos 21:18, 1Ch 6:60
Reciprocal: 1Ki 2:26 – Anathoth Ezr 2:23 – Anathoth Neh 7:27 – Anathoth Neh 11:32 – Anathoth Isa 10:30 – Anathoth Jer 30:1 – General Jer 37:12 – the land
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
JEREMIAHS CALL
Jeremiah to whom the word of the Lord came.
Jer 1:1-2
I. The considerations employed by God to induce the prophet to undertake his office.It is obvious that the language is meant to assure him and to lead him to acquiesce in his appointment. Why should Gods acts in the present have less force than His designs in the past? Perhaps the real force of predestination is the corroboration which it brings to the present out of the past. It gives the idea of a prevailing and fixed direction of Gods gracious mind towards us. This cannot fail to bring strength to our life. Not now for the first time is God thinking of us or making use of us.
II. The mans instinctive shrinking from Gods proposal.The prophet is not to be blamed for his hesitation. It was a matter of mental constitution. Other prophets, such as Isaiah, do not shrink at all. Isaiah never feared the face of man. He confronted kings with fearlessness. He never analysed his own feelings and reflections; he was absorbed in his mission. Jeremiah lived long after Isaiah, and it is a mark of advanced religious thought that men become analytical, critics of themselves and of others. Jeremiahs is the more interesting temperament; Isaiahs the more healthful. The men of our time are like Jeremiah, but the men of a former (and let us hope of a future) day, like Isaiah. The mission of Jeremiah was mainly destructive. Religion in his day was moss-grown and rusty, eaten away with formalism. It was indeed an age of reform, but Jeremiah cherished no illusions about its reforms. They merely scratched the surface; he wished to pierce down to the rock. For the first time in prophecy it is the heart that comes into prominence; it is on the heart that all depends Jeremiah is the prophet, not of reform, but of revolution. He preached a new rgime, but the new rgime is the New Covenant.
III. The Old Testament is a book of idealsideals never realised at the time, but which those who proclaimed them knew well would be realised eventually. We also have to learn that God has sent every one of us, and that He puts the words in our mouths. This is difficult, for the course of history has been so prolonged, and the time when God walked with human feet on earth is so far distant, that we find it hard to realise His presence. The realisation is the very thing we need. If we had it, it would make men of us, instead of mere wavering shadows, that come and go in the wind and the sun. The old philosopher said, Give me a standing-place and with my lever I will move the world. Scriptures gives us a standing-place, and the standing-place is God.
Illustration
The character of Jeremiah is in many respects the exact opposite of that of Isaiah. Possessed of no great literary power, writing in a timid, hesitating style, yet often with a plaintive sweetness; borrowing constantly the thoughts and even the very words of others, as if glad to have their authority in his support; melancholy in temperament, brooding constantly on the difficulties in his path, till he even cursed the hour of his birth, he yet in his moral qualities rises to the very highest elevation, and is not unworthy of the place he held in the estimation of the Jews, who regarded him as the chief of all the prophets.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE MEANING OF INSPIRATION
There is no more interesting book as illustrating what is the meaning of inspiration than Jeremiah.
I. Upon the question of how the Scriptures came into being, this prophet throws immense light.The four greater prophets belong to a state of national transition: Isaiah foresaw the fall of the northern kingdom, and the destruction of Samaria; Jeremiah foresaw the destruction of the Jewish empire, and was, in fact, the prophet to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. With the exception of one short prophecy, all his utterances were delivered in Israel. Ezekiel prophesied in the land of captivity; Daniel lived to see the return. So these four great prophets carry us over from the time of the Jews to the time of the Gentiles. It may be remarked in passing that there is a considerable analogy in this respect between the group of four prophets and the four evangelists, the latter carrying us on to the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. Jeremiah stands at the parting of the ways.
II. His was an experience of constant opposition from his own countrymen, constantly delivering a most unpatriotic message, viz., that they should surrender to their enemies. His book seems tangled, yet it is a work most carefully edited. It was written by two prophets, for at the end of the fifty-first chapter we read, Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. The words following are not the words of Jeremiah. In the twenty-fourth chapter the good figs represent the captives taken away; the naughty figs, Zedekiah and those left.
The later prophet gives the history of the bad figs, and then comes back to the good ones; and, after thirty-seven years, Jeconiah is released.
Rev. Dr. C. H. Waller.
Illustration
One may divide the Book of Jeremiah into four periods, as follows:First, there are twenty chapters, ending with the passage in which Jeremiah curses the day that he was born. This is chiefly pure prophecy. Second, a mainly historical portion, extending from the twenty-first to the thirty-sixth chapter, ending with the story of the roll. This is the portion which gives to Jeremiah the idea of being tangled. It is mainly historical, but not in chronological order. It is the only portion that is not in historical order. The third portion, to the forty-fourth chapter, is straight history; and the fourth, from the forty-fifth chapter, chiefly concerns the prophets utterances against the Gentiles, Egypt and Babylon. The twenty-first to the thirty-sixth chapter is the portion which should be specially studied.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jeremiah, the Wailing Prophet
Jer 1:1-10
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The ten tribes of Israel had passed into captivity before God called Jeremiah. Judah was following hard in the path of her sister nation. Sin and iniquity were raging. Baal was being worshiped, and the abominations of the nations was Judah’s delight.
1. Jeremiah was a man called of God. God said unto him, “I formed thee * * I knew thee * * I sanctified thee * * I ordained thee a Prophet unto the nations.”
2. Jeremiah was called of God in a time of great need. The Lord spoke unto him in the days of Josiah. If ever a people needed warning from God, Judah needed it,
3. Jeremiah felt his own inability. He cried out, “Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”
4. Jeremiah was encouraged of God. The Lord said, “Say not, I am a child.” “Be not afraid * * I am with thee.”
5. Jeremiah was a man with God’s message. “The Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth.” “Behold, I have put My Words in thy mouth.”
6. Jeremiah was a man with Divine credentials. God said, “I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms.”
7. Jeremiah was sent to accomplish both a destructive and a constructive work. He was sent to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down. This much for his destructive work. He was sent to build, and to plant. This is descriptive of his constructive work.
The believer of today must pull down as well as build up. He must destroy as well as construct. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, but He also came to undo the works of the devil. We need to lift men up, and place their feet on the solid rock; we need to establish the faith, but this by no means completes our task. We are sent to meet every evil work in an aggressive way.
I. THE MESSAGE OF JEREMIAH (Jer 2:1-2)
The ministry of Jeremiah began with a twofold message.
1. A message concerning the past. The Lord said unto Jeremiah, “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.” Those were wonderful days-the days of Israel’s first love. Israel was holiness unto the Lord.
2. A message concerning Israel’s apostasy. The Lord said, “What iniquity have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me, and have walked after vanity?” It is also impossible to conceive that a people who had had such a marvelous fellowship with God, and who had known so much of His power and grace toward them could have gone so far from Him.
Israel even denied the Lord, saying, “Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt?” The nation had changed from her God unto the gods of the nations about them, which were, in fact, no gods. They had changed their glory for that which did not profit.
Jeremiah cried out, “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid.” We need today another Jeremiah to sound forth the warnings, because God’s people who bear His Name have forsaken Him, the Fountain of Living Waters, and are hewing out for themselves cisterns that hold no water. They are scattering their ways under every green tree. Oh, that the Church would return to her Lord!
II. THE PLAINTIVE CRY OF THE PROPHET (Jer 4:19-21),
1. A call to repent. As we open the fourth chapter of Jeremiah, we hear the Prophet’s call to the Children of Israel to repent. He says, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto Me.” Had Israel repented and put away her abominations, God would have established her in all her ways. She would have been unto the Lord for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory, unto the ends of the earth.
2. A warning of disaster. Jeremiah declared unto Jerusalem that if she did not repent and turn from her sins God would bring evil against her from the North and a great destruction. He described the coming of the Gentiles against His people, as a lion coming out of its thicket to make the land desolate, and to lay the cities waste.
Sin never pays. If a Christian imagines, because he is under Grace, he can, therefore, live as he list, he is sadly mistaken. Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.
3. Jeremiah’s heartaches. The Prophet cried, “I am pained at my heart * * I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.” In the destruction that was about to fall upon Israel, Jeremiah saw a people whom he dearly loved being spoiled. He knew that they were foolish and without understanding, and yet he wept for them.
We can never, as servants of God, be what we should be until the burden of the people is our burden, until their sufferings and chastisements cut us to the heart. God told an angel to mark every one who sighed and cried for the abominations done in Israel. Do we sigh and cry for the sins of the Church?
III. THE PROPHET’S GREAT AMEN (Jer 11:5)
1. The Jehovah covenant. The Lord spoke unto Jeremiah, saying, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant.” Here is the covenant: “Obey My voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be My people, and I will be your God: that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”
Salvation is always by grace, but covenant promises of plenty are based upon personal or national fidelity. God will do things for us if we will follow Him and obey His voice. The moment, however, that sin comes into the heart and we walk in wickedness, that very moment we make it impossible for God to smile upon us and bless us.
2. The Prophet’s amen. When the Lord spoke to Jeremiah of His covenant and oath, the Prophet answered and said, “So be it, O Lord.” Here was a loud amen. Every one of us should sound forth as hearty an “Amen” as did the Prophet. There are many promises which are yea and amen in Christ Jesus, and yet, they are made workable only as we walk in the Name of the Lord, and fulfill all His will.
IV. THE PROPHET DESPISED (Jer 11:18-19)
1. Perilous times had come. The opening words of chapter fourteen describe Judah’s dilemma. “Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.” The story is pitiful in the extreme.
Once more perilous times are upon us. Saints have had a form of godliness without the power thereof. They have given themselves over to lasciviousness and have become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. The land is being run over with violence; the covetous, the boasters, and the proud, the blasphemers, the unthankful and the unholy, are filling the earth.
2. The conspiracy. The Prophet Jeremiah stood in the days of Judah’s apostasy proclaiming the judgments of God. He sounded forth the sword and the famine that was about to consume them. Then it was that the people entered into a conspiracy against Jeremiah that they might destroy him.
Jeremiah’s words remind us of Isaiah’s prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion: “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” The difference lies in the fact that Jeremiah did not know that the enemy devised his destruction, but Christ did know.
It is still sadly true: the people will not accept the truth. They are still saying, “Prophesy unto us smooth things.” They want to hear, “Peace, when there is no peace.” They want men to prophesy lies unto them. When a prophet arises who proclaims the coming judgments of the Great Tribulation, they cry out, “Away with him!”
V. THE PROPHET’S PRAYER (Jer 14:7-8)
1. The Prophet made their sins his own. Jeremiah was pre-eminently a man of prayer. As he prayed, he said, “Though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy Name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against Thee.” Jeremiah did not hesitate to link himself in with the sins of his people. He was one of them, and he suffered with them.
We have before us a model in prayer. We do not ask God’s blessings upon us because of any good that there is within us. We plead for “His Name’s sake.” It is His righteousness which lies always upon our tongue. We see in ourselves nothing but filthy rags.
2. The Prophet saw in Christ the hope of Israel. He prayed, “O the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble.” The Lord Jehovah had always been Israel’s hope, and He is still her hope. If God had not preserved His people, and watched over them, they would long since have ceased to be a nation upon the earth.
The Lord was not alone Israel’s hope, but Israel’s Saviour. Why should Israel perish, when the Lord was near? Had she only cried aloud, she had been saved.
The Lord is likewise the Hope, and the only Hope, of every poor, lost sinner. He is the Saviour, who is able to take away our sin. Let the sinner, therefore call upon Him while He is near.
3. The Lord’s rebuke. The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Pray not for this people for their good.” He said that He would not hear their cry, nor would He receive from their hand an offering. God knew that the cup of their iniquity was full. He knew that their prayers would be insincere. If we expect mercy from God we must come with clean hands and a pure heart.
VI. JEREMIAH IN SHADOW AND SUNSHINE (Jer 20:9; Jer 20:13)
1. An impossible vow. Jeremiah became wearied as he pled with Judah, and as he saw his pleas trampled beneath their feet. He saw that the Word of the Lord was made a reproach and a derision. He cried, “I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.” Then it was that Jeremiah made a rash vow which he found he could not fulfill.
The Prophet said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His Name.” Jeremiah felt that he was casting his pearls before swine. When, however, the Prophet would have sealed his lips, he found that the Lord’s Word was in his heart as a burning fire shut up in his bones, and he was weary with his forebearing, and he could not stay.
2. Sighing turned to singing. While Jeremiah is commonly known as the wailing Prophet, yet, we see him now with his lips filled with praise. God has shown him the deliverance which He gives to the souls of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Did you ever see one, for the moment full of grief and sorrow, borne down by the darkness of despair? and then, suddenly, through the rift of the cloud the sun seemed to burst forth in its glory, and the heart that wept was filled with song? It is always so-in the midst of our distresses, God gives light; in the valley of Achor there is hope.
VII. JEREMIAH’S VISION OF COMING GLORY (Jer 33:14-16)
Shut up in the court of the prison, Jeremiah looked out and saw Israel’s marvelous future. God let him know that He would not utterly cast off His people. Therefore, chapter thirty-three carries a vision of wonderful anticipatory blessing.
1. A message of pardon. The Lord told the Prophet that He would cause the captivity, both of Judah and of Israel, to return; that He would build them as at the first; that He would cleanse them from their iniquity, and pardon them for their transgressions.
2. A message of praise. The Lord said that His people should be to Him for a name of joy, and for a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth. He said that in Jerusalem should be the voice of joy and of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, and the voice of them that praised the Lord.
3. A message of peace. Pardon and praise was to be followed by peace. The land that had been desolate was to be inhabited. The people who had been driven out were to be brought back home, and the cities of Judah were to be reestablished in peace.
4. A message of prosperity. In the days of Israel’s restoration, the fertility of the soil was to be restored, and the hills to be filled with flocks of sheep. Other Prophets proclaimed how the ploughman would overtake the reaper, and the sower of seed would follow him who gathered the grain.
5. A message of political glory. In the days of Judah’s glory, God promised that the Branch of Righteousness should grow up unto David, and He would execute judgment and righteousness in the land. This Branch of David is none other than the Lord Jesus, the Heir of David’s throne.
AN ILLUSTRATION
“‘As many times the sun shineth when the rain faileth, so there may be in the soul a mixture of spiritual rejoicing and holy mourning; a deep sense of God’s love, and yet a mourning because of the relics of corruption.’ All spiritual persons understand this. The inexperienced ask how a man can be ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.’ But this is no puzzle to a Christian. Our life is a paradox. Never in the world elsewhere is there such sunshine of delight as we enjoy, and never such rain as that which damps our joys. It seems at times as if Heaven and hell met in our experience. Ours is a joy unspeakable, and yet an agony unutterable. We rise to the Heavenlies in Christ, and sink to the abyss in ourselves. Those who have seen fire burning on the sea, trees living and flourishing upon a rock, feathers flying against the wind, and doves vanquishing eagles, have begun to see a list of marvels, all of which are to be found within the believer, and much more of equal or greater singularity.
“Lord, when my own experience puzzles me, let me be comforted by the thought that it does not puzzle Thee. What I know not now Thou hast promised to make me know hereafter; and there I leave it.”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
General remarks. Jeremiah lived and wrote about a hundred years after Isaiah. The captivity of the ten tribes under the Assyrians had taken place over a century before, and that of the two tribes by the Babylonians was soon to occur. About all of the prophetic hooks contain some history although the books as a whole are classed among the books of prophecy. It will be necessary for ua to be. careful not to confound the parts that are Intended as actual history with those that are predictions and yet may seem to be historical in their form of speech. Jeremiah Is often called the “weeping prophet because of his emotional and sympathetic interest in the misfortune of others. He was also a true patriot and had a deep love for his country. This accounts for his many sentimental passages, and his many repetitions of the same phrase with the apparent purpose of Impressing his readers with the seriousness of his grief. He belonged to the priestly line, but it is not clear whether he was directly descended from Abiathar or Zadok. The genuineness and authenticity of his writings is beyond question, for he was quoted with approval in Mat 2:17; Mat 27:9, there spelled Jeremy. This prophet wrote about the captivity, also he made predictions concerning the Gospel age of religion. In addition to writing prophecy and history, he, like Isaiah and the other prophets, wrote many severe passages of rebuke against the sinful nation, particularly its leaders. for which he was persecuted most shamefully by them. Many of the matters pertaining to Jeremiah will appear as the study of the book proceeds and will be commented upon in the order of their appearance.
Jer 1:1. Land, of Benjamin refers to the district that was allotted to that tribe when Joshua divided the land among the 12 tribes (Jos 18:11-28). Anathoth was a city in this district of Benjamin but was not far from Jerusalem. It was the site of the homes and landed estates of the priests of the common order.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THE PROPHETS GENEALOGY AND CALL
INTRODUCTION
As we approach the second prophet it is timely to remind the student that this work is not designed to comment on every chapter and verse of the Bible. To do so would call for a number of volumes defeating the purpose. Nor does the study of the Bible for the average Christian worker require this. Particularly is this true of the prophets, which, like the psalms, repeat themselves continually. Their principal contents were outlined in the lesson entitled, Introduction to the Prophets, and more clearly defined in the lessons on Isaiah. One who has thoughtfully pondered that Introduction and pursued those lessons, should be competent to interpret Jeremiah on his or her own.
There is this difference, however, between Isaiah and Jeremiah, in the latter, history is frequently blended with prophecy, particularly the history of the prophet himself. Moreover, the chapters are not arranged chronologically. For these reasons Jeremiah will be considered somewhat in detail, different lessons gathering round the leading events of his career.
It is assumed that before entering on the prophets at all, the reader has familiarized himself with the historical books of the Old Testament, which are as necessary to the understanding of the prophets as the foundation of a building is to its upper stories.
HIS GENEALOGY AND PERIOD (Jer 1:1-3)
The Hilkiah named is another than he who found the law-book (1Ki 22:8), but since he was a priest, Jeremiah must have belonged to the tribe of Levi. Look up Anathoth on the map. Read 2 Kings 22-25 to refresh recollection of the period named in Jer 1:2-3.
About fifty years had elapsed since the close of Isaiahs ministry, during which the kings were Manasseh and Amon, and the prophets Nahum, Zephaniah and Habakkuk.
HIS CALL (Jer 1:4-10)
It is interesting that this was prenatal (Jer 1:5). The prophets diffidence growing out of his youth and inexperience is overruled (Jer 1:6-7). He is assured of divine guardianship (Jer 1:8) and entrusted with a divine message (Jer 1:9). What a testimony to verbal inspiration is found in that verse! While distinctively a prophet to Judah, yet his ministry is wider (Jer 1:10). It is mainly destructive in character or result, for while under four expressions judgment is set forth, only under two is a constructive task referred to.
(3) HIS EARLIEST COMMISSION (Jer 1:11-16)
Here two symbols are employed, and through the book the same form of teaching is used both for himself and the people. An almond tree blossoms early: Gods purposes are maturing fast. A seething pot means trouble: trouble coming from the north.
(4) HIS ENDUEMENT FOR SERVICE (Jer 1:17-19)
Like Isaiah, the prophets commission is discouraging, at least in the foreview. Enemies will oppose him kings, princes, priests and people. And no wonder, because his speech will seem so unpatriotic, since he must proclaim the subjugation of Judah to Babylon, on account of her sins. But God will be with him. Note the figures of speech descriptive of his protection (Jer 1:18), as well as the assured promise (Jer 1:19). But the warning is equally significant (Jer 1:17). The prophets hope of success lies in his courage, and his courage depends on his faith.
QUESTIONS
1. What peculiarity do we find in the books of the prophets?
2. How is the book of Jeremiah distinguished from Isaiah?
3. On what plan will this book be studied?
4. Name the four points in the outline of chapter 1.
5. Have you discovered Anathoth?
6. Have you read the historical chapters in 2 Kings?
7. Name the prophets between Isaiah and Jeremiah.
8. Quote verse nine of this lesson.
9. What form of teaching is frequently found in Jeremiah?
10. What is to be the burden of his message?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Jer 1:1-2. The words of Jeremiah That is, the sermons or prophecies, the contents of which he received from God, that he might declare them unto the people, and which are comprised in this book under his name. See on Isa 2:1. The son of Hilkiah Some have supposed this to have been Hilkiah the high-priest, by whom the book of the law was found in the temple, in the reign of Josiah; but for this opinion there is no better ground than his being of the same name, which was not an uncommon one among the Jews; whereas, had he been in reality the high-priest, he would doubtless have been mentioned by that distinguishing title, and not put upon a level with the priests of an ordinary and inferior class. Besides this, Hilkiah dwelt at Anathoth, which was indeed one of the cities allotted to the priests, but not the place of residence of the high-priest, who always lived at Jerusalem. It may be observed here, that Jeremiah, being of the family of Aaron, would have been a teacher of the people even if he had not been called to the extraordinary office of prophesying. To whom the word of the Lord came Not only a charge and commission to prophesy, but also a revelation of the things themselves which he was to deliver; in the days of Josiah That young but good king, who, in the twelfth year of his reign, began a work of reformation, applying himself with all sincerity and diligence to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the groves, the images, and the high places, 2Ch 34:3. Now the very next year was this young prophet seasonably raised up to assist and encourage the young king in that good work. And it might have been expected that, by the joint efforts of such a prince and such a prophet, both young, and likely to continue long to be useful, such a complete reformation would have been effected, as would have prevented the ruin of the church and state. But, alas! it proved quite otherwise: and their united labours, with respect to the generality of their countrymen, only served to aggravate their guilt and accelerate their destruction.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 1:5. Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. In the creation God knew the nature and designations of every creature, whether of plants, or of living beings. He assigned laws and abodes to each, and food according to all his pleasure. The Creator is the disposer of all his creatures. Cyrus, John the baptist, and St. Paul were called from the womb, as was Jeremiah. And a confidence in Gods particular knowledge, foresight and care, should greatly encourage and comfort ministers in their work. On the other hand, we must never decipher the depths of providence so far in favour of ourselves as to hurt another: that would be to sap the whole foundation of moral obligation, and make God the author of crime. Let us be content to say, Oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.
I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Chiefly to Judah, but occasionally to the Egyptians, to the Philistines, to the Moabites, to the Ammonites, to the Idumeans, and to the Syrians of different names. Isaiah had the like commission, and those prophets caused their warning voice to be heard among all these nations as opportunities were afforded.
Jer 1:9. The Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. Jeremiah in vision saw the hand, and felt the touch. The juvenile prophet required those strong and paternal supports of a Father and a God.
Jer 1:11. A rod of an almond tree. In the early ages of the world the poverty of language and of ideas rendered it necessary that men should aid their discourse by actions or signs; hence the eastern phrase, the voice of the sign. The Hebrew prophets employed these signs, or significant actions, both to illustrate, and to impress the subject of their predictions on the mind. The Lord also, condescending to this primitive mode of instruction, frequently revealed not only the truth which was to be delivered, but the sign by which it was to be accompanied or illustrated. 1Ki 12:11. Ezekiel 4. Thus the rod of the almond tree and the seething pot were exhibited in vision to Jeremiah. The rod was an instrument of punishment; but in the almond tree which blossoms in January and bears fruit in March, when other trees do but begin to bud, there is an intimation that God would bring forward and hasten his word, as much as the almond tree is in advance of all other trees in its season: Jer 1:12. MOSES BEN MAIMON discovers a further illustration in the name of the tree presented in vision. The Hebrew name of the almond is shaked, from shakad, to hasten, to be in advance; the hastening tree, from its blossoming so early in the year. Hence in the vision there is a paronomasia, or play upon the word, which the versions cannot readily convey. Jeremiah, what seest thou? I see the rod of a hastening tree.Thou hast well seen; for I will hasten my word to perform it. The prophets, says this learned author, frequently employ equivocal and metaphorical expressions, with an intent, not to convey the obvious sense of the words, but that which may be collected from their etymology and derivation. Sometimes they see things which convey ideas different from what they see, and which are implied in another signification of that word which stands for the thing seen. Thus an almond tree [SHAKED] is presented before Jeremiah, and yet scarcely any respect is had to that tree, which was only an artificial memorial that God would hasten, [SHOKED] or watch over, the performance of his word, which is the other sense of the Hebrew word for an almond tree. Maim. Mor. Nev. 11:29.
Jer 1:13. A seething potwhose face is from the north. Hebrews The cauldron of war, Eze 24:3, was already boiling, and sending forth its steam towards Judea. The Chaldeans were preparing to overflow the land, and the fury of the invading army is justly compared to columns of vapour from a boiler of great magnitude.
REFLECTIONS.
How good and gracious is the Lord! He left not himself at any time without witness in his church. While the young and pious Jeremiah was serving his God, the Messiah in person called and commissioned him as the first of prophets in his age. And the excuses of this holy youth from wane of eloquence, and want of years, not only mask his modesty and consciousness of the glory of the work, but also that the prophetic mission was altogether divine. Judah was now blessed with a young king, and a young prophet. Oh that they had been worthy of shepherds so divine.
We have next the support and comfort which the Lord gave this diffident youth with regard to the reality of his call. Like some other extraordinary messengers, he was designated to the work from his birth. Accordingly, God had gathered, consecrated, or sanctified him to the high mission of his ministry. Consequently, we should give all diligence to make our calling and election sure, with regard both to exterior offices and eternal glory, always remembering that Eli forfeited his priesthood, and Saul his throne by disobedience; and that St. Paul says, I keep my body under, lest after I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
We have also the exterior comfort which God gave to the diffident prophet. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee. Every minister who receives encouraging promises from the Lord in the commencement of his ministry, should hold them fast to the end of life. And this promise was literally fulfilled to Jeremiah, when all the princes of Judah sought his life.
Next we have the high and extensive powers of the sacred ministry. I have set thee over nations and kingdoms, to root out and to plant, to pull down and to build up. So it happened to every man, to every city, and to every nation, according to Jeremiahs word, as we shall see in the history before us. Hence ministers, knowing whom they serve, must eradicate error, and pull down the strongholds of wickedness with a high voice. Commissioned from God, they hold the sentences of the wicked in their hand, who ought to tremble under the power of the word.
This mission of the prophet was accompanied with a double vision, an almond tree which blossoms among the first of trees, to mark the proximation of Gods judgments; and the seething pot or immense boiler with its face smoking from the north, importing that the northern kings, now tributary to Babylon, should assemble around Jerusalem, and that its criminal inhabitants should be as the meat designated for consumption. What an awful portrait of the judgments of God! May it teach us to tremble at sin as at the severest stroke of divine displeasure.
From the two last verses of this chapter we learn, that the exercise of the ministry among the unregenerate is a wrestling, a contest, and a warfare. Hence we should be careful not to give the wicked any advantage against us: and considering them as a people in full revolt against God, they must alternately be reduced to obedience by the arms of justice and of mercy. Seriousness and fidelity should distinguish the struggle, as it must assuredly terminate in crowns of glory, or in chains of darkness.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 1:1-3. Title, ascribing the prophecies which follow to Jeremiah, a man of priestly descent, belonging to Anathoth (see Introduction); his prophetic activity is said to have begun in 626 B.C. (the thirteenth year of Josiah), and to have continued under Jehoiakim (608597) and Zedekiah (597586). The present book, however, contains prophecies delivered after the carrying away of Jerusalem captive (586 B.C.; cf. 2Ki 25:8 ff.), viz. in Jeremiah 42-44. Probably 2 was originally the title of this chapter only, and 3 is a later editorial addition. Nothing is known of Jeremiahs father, Hilkiah (perhaps descended from Abiathar; see Introduction), who must not be identified with the Hilkiah named in 2Ki 22:4 ff.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
1:1 The {a} words of Jeremiah the son of {b} Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in {c} Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
(a) That is, the sermons and prophecies.
(b) Who is thought to be he that found the book of the law under king Josiah, 2Ki 22:8 .
(c) This was a city about three miles from Jerusalem and belonged to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Jos 21:18 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3
Most of the prophetical books begin with some indication of authorship and date to put them in their historical contexts, and this is true of the Book of Jeremiah.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The "words" (Heb. debarim, writings, prophecies, deeds, and events of his life) that follow are those of Jeremiah (meaning Yahweh founds, establishes, exalts, throws down, hurls, or loosens [the womb]). This was a common name in Israel. The Old Testament refers to many different individuals who bore it. His father was Hilkiah (also a common name), who may or may not have been the high priest who found the book of the Law in the temple during Josiah’s reforms (2Ki 22:3-13). Jeremiah’s father was a priest who lived in Anathoth, a village three miles northeast of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin where other priests also lived (cf. Jos 21:15-19). Thus Jeremiah was a priest by ancestry. The book never refers to him as serving as a priest, and he was often a severe critic of the Levitical priests. According to one writer, the words "to whom the word of the Lord came," and similar phrases, occur 157 times in Jeremiah out of a total of 349 times in the entire Old Testament. [Note: James G. S. S. Thomson, The Old Testament View of Revelation, pp. 60-61. This is about 45 percent of its occurrences.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
{e-Sword Note: In the printed edition, this material appeared near the end of 2 Kings.}
JEREMIAH AND HIS PROPHECIES
Jereremiah 1:1 – Jer 5:31
“Count me oer earths chosen heroes-they were souls that stood alone, While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone; Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine, By one mans plain truth to manhood and to Gods supreme design.”
– LOWELL
TRULY Jeremiah was a prophet of evil. The king might have addressed him in the words with which Agamemnon reproaches Kalchas.
“Augur accursed! denouncing mischief still:
Prophet of plagues, forever boding ill!
Still must that tongue some wounding message bring,
And still thy priestly pride provoke thy king.”
Never was there a sadder man. Like Phocion, he believed in the enemies of his country more than he believed in his own people. He saw “Too late” written upon everything. “He saw himself all but universally execrated as a coward, as a traitor, as one who weakened the nerves and damped the courage of those who were fighting against fearful odds for their wives and children, the ashes of their fathers, their altars, and their hearths. It had become his fixed conviction that any prophets-and there were a multitude of them-who prophesied peace were false prophets, and ipso facto proved themselves conspirators against the true well-being of the land Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11 Eze 13:10. In point of fact, Jeremiah lived to witness the death struggle of the idea of religion in its predominantly national character. {Jer 7:8-16; Jer 6:8} The continuity of the national faith refused to be bound up with the continuance of the nation. When the nation is dissolved into individual elements, the continuity and ultimate victory of the true faith depends on the relations of Jehovah to individual souls out of which the nation shall be bound up.”
And now a sad misfortune happened to Jeremiah. His home was not at Jerusalem, but at Anathoth, though he had long been driven from his native village by the murderous plots of his own kindred, and of those who had been infuriated by his incessant prophecies of doom. When the Chaldaeans retired from Jerusalem to encounter Pharaoh, he left the distressed city for the land of Benjamin, “to receive his portion from thence in the midst of the people”-apparently, for the sense is doubtful, to claim his dues of maintenance as a priest. But at the city gate he was arrested by Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the captain of the watch, who charged him with the intention of deserting to the Chaldaeans. Jeremiah pronounced the charge to be a lie; but Irijah took him before the princes, who hated him, and consigned him to dreary and dangerous imprisonment in the house of Jonathan the scribe. In the vaults of this house of the pit he continued many days. {Jer 37:11-15} The king sympathized with him: he would gladly have delivered him, if he could, from the rage of the princes; but he did not dare. Meanwhile, the siege went on, and the people never forgot the anguish of despair with which they waited the re-investiture of the city. Ever since that day it has been kept as a fast-the fast of Tebeth. Zedekiah, yearning for some advice, or comfort-if comfort were to be had-from the only man whom he really trusted, sent for Jeremiah to the palace, and asked him in despicable secrecy, “Is there any word from the Lord?” The answer was the old one: “Yes! Thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the King of Babylon.” Jeremiah gave it without quailing, but seized the opportunity to ask on what plea he was imprisoned. Was he not a prophet? Had he not prophesied the return of the Chaldaean host? Where now were all the prophets who had prophesied peace? Would not the king at least save him from the detestable prison in which he was dying by inches? The king heard his petition, and he was removed to a better prison in the court of the watch where he received his daily piece of bread out of the bakers street until all the bread in the city was spent. For now utter famine came upon the wretched Jews, to add to the horrors and accidents of the siege. If we would know what that famine was in its appalling intensity, we must turn to the Book of Lamentations. Those elegies, so unutterably plaintive, may not be by the prophet himself, but only by his school but they show us what was the frightful condition of the people of Jerusalem before and during the last six months of the siege. “The sword of the wilderness”-the roving and plundering Bedouin-made it impossible to get out of the city in any direction. Things were as dreadfully hopeless as they had been in Samaria when it was besieged by Benhadad. {Lam 5:4} Hunger and thirst reduce human nature to its most animal conditions. They obliterate the merest elements of morality. They make men like beasts, and reveal the ferocity which is never quite dead in any but the purest and loftiest souls. They arouse the least human instincts of the aboriginal animal. The day came when there was no more bread left in Jerusalem. {Jer 37:21; Jer 38:9; Jer 52:6} The fair and ruddyNazarites, who had been purer than snow, whiter than milk, more ruddy than corals, lovely as sapphires, became like withered boughs, {Lam 4:7-8} and even their friends did not recognize them in those ghastly and emaciated figures which crept about the streets. The daughters of Zion, more cruel in their hunger than the very jackals, lost the instincts of pity and motherhood. Mothers and fathers devoured their own little unweaned children. There was parricide as well as infanticide in the horrible houses. They seemed to plead that none could blame them, since the lives of many had become an intolerable anguish, and no man had bread for his little ones, and their tongues cleaved to the roof of their mouth. All that happened six centuries later, during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, happened now. Then Martha, the daughter of Nicodemus ben-Gorion, once a lady of enormous wealth, was seen picking the grains of corn from the offal of the streets; now the women who had fed delicately and been brought up in scarlet were seen sitting desolate on heaps of dung. And Jehovah did not raise His hand to save His guilty and dying people. It was too late!
And as is always the case in such extremities, there were men who stood defiant and selfish amid the universal misery. Murder, oppression, and luxury continued to prevail. The godless nobles did not intermit the building of their luxurious houses, asserting to themselves and others that, after all, the final catastrophe was not near at hand. The sudden death of one of them-Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah-while Ezekiel was prophesying, terrified the prophet so much that he flung himself on his face and cried with a loud voice, “Ah, Lord God! wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” But on the others this death by the visitation of God seems to have produced no effect; and the glory of God left the city, borne away upon its cherubim-chariot. {Eze 11:22}
Even under the stress of these dreadful circumstances the Jews held out with that desperate tenacity which has often been shown by nations fighting behind strong walls for their very existence, but by no nation more decidedly than by the Jews. And if the rebel-party, and the lying prophets who had brought the city to this pass, still entertained any hopes either of a diversion caused by Pharaoh Hophrah, or of some miraculous deliverance such as that which had saved the city from Sennacherib years earlier, it is not unnatural that they should have regarded Jeremiah with positive fury. For he still continued to prophesy the captivity. What specially angered them was his message to the people that all who remained in Jerusalem should die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, but that those who deserted to the Chaldaeans should live. It was on the ground of his having said this that they had imprisoned him as a deserter; and when Pashur and his son Gedaliah heard that he was still saying this, they and the other princes entreated Zedekiah to put him to death as a pernicious traitor, who weakened the hands of the patriot soldiers. Jeremiah was not guilty of the lack of patriotism with which they charged him. The day of independence had passed forever, and Babylon, not Egypt, was the appointed suzerain. The counseling of submission-as many a victorious chieftain has been forced at last to counsel it, from the days of Hannibal to those of Thiers-is often the true and the only possible patriotism in doomed and decadent nations. Zedekiah timidly abandoned the prophet to the rage of his enemies; but being afraid to murder him openly as Urijah had been murdered, they flung him into a well in the dungeon of Mal-chiah, the kings son. Into the mire of this pit he sank up to the arms, and there they purposely left him to starve and rot. But if no Israelite pitied him, his condition moved the compassion of Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, one of the kings eunuch-chamberlains. He hurried to the king in a storm of pity and indignation. He found him sitting, as a king should do, at the post of danger in the gate of Benjamin; for Zedekiah was not a physical, though he was a moral, coward. Ebed-Melech told the king that Jeremiah was dying of starvation, and Zedekiah bade him take three men with him and rescue the dying man. The faithful Ethiopian hurried to a cellar under the treasury, took with him some old, worn fragments of robes, and, letting them down by cords, called to Jeremiah to put them under his arm-pits. He did so, and they drew him up into the light of day, though he still remained in prison.
It seems to have been at this time that, in spite of his grim vaticination of immediate retribution, Jeremiah showed his serene confidence in the ultimate future by accepting the proposal of his cousin Hanameel to buy some of the paternal fields at Anathoth, though at that very moment they were in the hands of the Chaldaeans. Such an act, publicly performed, must have caused some consolation to the besieged, just as did the courage of the Roman senator who gave a good price for the estate outside the walls of Rome on which Hannibal was actually encamped.
Then Zedekiah once more secretly sent for him, and implored him to tell the unvarnished truth. “If I do, ” said the prophet, “will you not kill me? and will you in any case hearken to me?” Zedekiah swore not to betray him to his enemies; and Jeremiah told him that, even at that eleventh hour, if he would go out and make submission to the Babylonians, the city should not be burnt, and he should save the lives of himself and of his family. Zedekiah believed him, but pleaded that he was afraid of the mockery of the deserters to whom he might be delivered. Jeremiah assured him that he should not be so delivered, and, that, if he refused to obey, nothing remained for the city, and for him and his wives and children, but final ruin. The king was too weak to follow what he must now have felt to be the last chance which God had opened out for him. He could only “attain to half-believe.” He entrusted the result to chance, with miserable vacillation of purpose; and the door of hope was closed upon him. His one desire was to conceal the interview; and if it came to the ears of the princes-of whom he was shamefully afraid-he begged Jeremiah to say that he had only entreated the king not to send him back to die in Jonathans prison.
As he had suspected, it became known that Jeremiah had been summoned to an interview with the king. They questioned the prophet in prison. He told them the story which the king had suggested to him, and the truth remained undiscovered. For this deflection from exact truth it is tolerably certain that, in the state of mens consciences upon the subject of veracity in those days, the prophets moral sense did not for a moment reproach him. He remained in his prison, guarded probably by the faithful Ebed-Melech, until Jerusalem was taken.
Let us pity the dreadful plight of Zedekiah, aggravated as it was by his weak temperament. “He stands at the head of a people determined to defend itself, but is himself without either hope or courage.”