Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 1:19
And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I [am] with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
19. they shall not prevail against thee ] When we compare portions of the subsequent history of Jeremiah, we find that in point of fact the prophet was from time to time at the mercy of his foes. The sense therefore here is shall not finally prevail. Before the prophet’s death his cause should be vindicated, his predictions verified, and good seed sown. Cp. the nature of the fulfilment of our Saviour’s prayer in Luk 22:32.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jer 1:19
And they shall fight against thee.
Opposition
I. The vehemence of our foes.
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 the 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.
II. The certainty of our security. 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.
III. The source of our confidence.
1. The abiding presence of the Lord.
2. The constant manifestation of the power of the Lord. (R. A. Griffin.)
Persistence in spite of opposition
As the springs do not cease from giving forth their waters, or the rivers their streams, albeit no man come to take up any, or to sail upon them: so must not the minister cease from preaching, admonition, and reproving, albeit in manner, no man make profit of his doctrine and admonition. (J. Spencer.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. They shall not prevail against thee] Because I am determined to defend and support thee against all thy enemies. One of the ancients has said, , Thestius, apud Theophil. ad Autolyc. lib. ii. “God protecting thee, though thou wert at sea upon a twig, thou shouldst be safe.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They shall fight against thee; make united attempts upon thee. See Jdg 20:11.
They shall not prevail; they shall not be able, by all their devices, to shorten thy days, Jer 15:20; 20:10,11.
For I am with thee: here is the reason given of his safety, God will be his guard. See Jer 1:8; 2Ti 4:17,18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they shall fight against thee,…. The Targum adds,
“that they may hide the words of thy prophecy;”
hinder him from prophesying, stop his mouth, and even take away his life:
but they shall not prevail against thee; as to do either:
for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee; as he did; he hid him when they sought for him, and delivered him out of the dungeon and bonds into which he was cast by them; [See comments on Jer 1:8].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God in this verse briefly reminds his servant, that though he would be supplied with invincible power, yet he would have great trials, so that his office would not be, according to a common saying, a mere play. He then shews for what purpose he would be made like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a brazen wall, even that he might manfully fight, and not for the purpose of keeping away all dangers, and all fightings, and everything hard and grievous to the flesh. We, in short, see that the promise was given for this end, — that Jeremiah, relying on God’s aid, might not hesitate to set himself against all the Jews, and that whatever might be their fury, he might still be courageous.
Now a profitable doctrine may be hence gathered, even this — that whenever God promises his servants victory over their enemies, they ought not to make this the occasion of fostering their torpidity or idleness, but, on the contrary, of gathering courage, so that they may proceed boldly and unweariedly in the course of their vocation. In short, God promises to be their deliverer, but at the same time exhorts them to resist all the assaults of their enemies.
Hence he says, They shall fight with thee, but they shall not prevail, for I am with thee to deliver thee (26) From these words we see that Jeremiah was fully armed, that he might not fear on seeing dangers surrounding him; for God does not here declare that he would be like a wall to him to prevent him from being assaulted, but he says that he would deliver him; as though he had said, “Prepare thyself to suffer; for except I were thy deliverer, it would be all over with thee, and thou mightest perish a hundred times; but there is no reason for thee to fear any dangers amidst thousand deaths, since I am present with thee as thy deliverer.” Now follows —
(26) It ought to be, “For with thee will I be, to deliver thee;” for the verb to be, being understood, it must be put in the same tense with the other verbs in the passage: and such is the rendering of Blayney. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) I am with thee.That thought was in itself enough. The presence, and therefore the protection, of the All-wise and the Almighty was the one condition of safety. Even in its lower sense, Immanuel, God with us (Isa. 7:14), was the watchword of every true combatant in Gods great army.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us, as we enter upon the subject of Jeremiah’s ministry, and especially while we behold him thus divinely called, and divinely appointed; gather the several interesting instructions such an history furnisheth, for our own personal improvement, and mark, in what an endearing point this scripture speaks to us.
See Reader in the first place, the love of God over his people, in thus raising up a faithful servant, even in the worst of times, to speak of grace and mercy; when the rebellions of his people merited nothing but punishment. Behold! in the next point of view, the Lord’s predilection of Jeremiah and the blessedness of being thus, set apart as he was, for the service of the Lord from the womb. Mark, moreover, how the Lord that called him distinguished him with his favor, and what he set him apart to, he fitted him for. And lastly, fail not to observe, how the Lord undertook to carry him safely, from all his enemies, and to defend and preserve him in all his exercises.
And while we thus behold all these blessings in the case of the Prophet Jeremiah let us be on the lookout, that in every minute circumstance that concerns the Church of Jesus now, and the special interests of every individual believer, the Lord is still carrying on the same gracious purposes, and both ordaining and sanctifying the whole of events to his own glory and his Church’s welfare.
Jesus was the great Prophet to the nations, and to our nation surely, where we trust the Lord hath a Church. Oh! that all his sent servants, did but know and feel, as Jeremiah knew and felt, and in the service of their Lord became more anxious to win souls than to gain a kingdom. Reader! it will be your mercy and mine, if, before we close our meditation on this sweet Chapter, we can find the Lord’s purpose concerning ourselves, as fully confirmed in grace as his was, and under the teaching of God the Holy Ghost, we may discover, such evident proofs of our calling and election, in all that concerns our everlasting welfare, that we may enjoy the full sense of that blessed scripture, in which Jehovah saith, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 1:19 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. 19. They shall not prevail against me. ] They shall not take thy crown from thee, no, nor thy precious life; for thou shalt survive them. So Luther died in his bed, defying the malice of Rome and of hell.
For I am with thee.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And they: Jer 11:19, Jer 15:10-21, Jer 20:1-6, Jer 26:11-24, Jer 29:25-32, Jer 37:11-21, Jer 38:6-13, Psa 129:2
for I am: Jer 1:8, Jer 15:20, Jer 15:21, Jos 1:9
Reciprocal: Gen 28:15 – I am 2Ch 14:11 – man Psa 13:4 – I have Psa 83:2 – lo Ecc 9:1 – that the Jer 7:27 – hearken Jer 15:12 – Shall iron Jer 15:18 – as a Jer 20:2 – smote Jer 20:7 – deceived Jer 20:11 – the Lord Jer 26:24 – that Jer 30:11 – I am Jer 36:26 – but Jer 39:17 – I will Jer 42:11 – for I Jer 46:28 – for I am Luk 1:28 – the Lord Act 6:10 – able Act 18:10 – I am Rom 8:31 – If 2Ti 3:11 – but Rev 12:8 – prevailed not Rev 17:14 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 1:19. They refers to the kings and other persons mentioned in the preceding verse. The prophet was not only warned to prepare for opposition, but he is now plainly told that It will come from these sources. Again the assurance is given him that his enemies will not prevail. The reason for that assurance is also stated, that it is because the Lord is with him. (See Rom 8:31.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The people of Judah would fight him and try to destroy him, but the Lord promised again to be with Jeremiah and to protect his life (cf. Jer 1:8). The Lord would "rescue" him, as He had rescued the Israelites in the Exodus (cf. Exo 3:8; Exo 18:4; Exo 18:8-10; et al.).
". . . if you are a Christian looking for an easy ministry in a post-Christian culture where Christians are a minority, you are unrealistic in your outlook. It was not to be so in Jeremiah’s day, and it cannot be so in a day like our own." [Note: Schaeffer, p. 37.]
"For Jeremiah as for us, his [God’s] way in general is not to stop the fight but to stand by the fighter." [Note: Kidner, p. 28.]
"Prophets are almost extinct in the religious world today. The modern church is a ’non-prophet’ organization." [Note: Vance Havner, cited by Dennis J. Hester, compiler, in The Vance Havner Quotebook, p. 179.]
"The account of the vocation in Jeremiah 1 has set the stage for reading with understanding the chapters of the book that follow. But now that the stage has been set, the reader must be careful not to forget this account of vocation, for its memory will return to haunt the prophet in later years (and subsequent chapters). The memory will emerge openly in the ’Confessions’ that ensue from later trials, but still its shadow is felt in the last years of the prophet’s life as a refugee in Egypt, cut off from the land in which the call came." [Note: Craigie, p. 18.]
Jeremiah’s calling was not really that unusual. God has also chosen every Christian before the foundation of the world (Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:4). He has chosen us to follow Him faithfully (1Co 6:20). He has also called every Christian to announce His Word (Mat 28:19). He has called us to follow Him as He leads us through life by His Spirit (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:25). And He has promised to be with us, and to preserve us eternally, even though we live as aliens and strangers in a hostile world (Mat 28:19-20; Rom 8:31-39; 1Pe 1:1-2; 1Pe 2:11-12).