Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 15:19
Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
19. If thou return ] If thou wilt dismiss thy doubts and thy tone of reproach and distrust, which is virtually apostasy from Me.
mayest stand before me ] mayest be My minister. The phrase is a common one in this sense, e.g. 1Ki 18:15; 2Ki 3:14: cp. Pro 22:29. But see also on Jer 15:1.
if thou take forth the precious from the vile ] i.e. if that which comes forth from thy lips (cp. the expression in Jer 17:16) be choice, and wholly separate from the common. “Vile” is a misleading translation. It should be common, i.e. of no account.
my mouth ] My mouth-piece, spokesman. Cp. Exo 4:16.
they shall, etc.] Du. rejects this last part of the v., as an unsuitable play on the word “return” at the beginning of the v., as well as because the despisers of Jehovah’s words had no intention of returning to the prophet.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
19 21. See summary at commencement of section.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jeremiah had questioned Gods righteousness (see Jer 12:1 note); he is told, If thou return, if thou repent thee of thy doubts, and think only of thy duty, then will I bring thee again, then will I cause thee again to stand before Me. To stand before a person means to be his chief officer or vicegerent. It implies therefore the restoration of Jeremiah to the prophetic office.
If thou take forth the precious from the vile – i. e., if thou cause the precious metal to come forth from the dross. Jeremiah was to separate in himself what was divine and holy from the dross of human passion. Let him abandon this mistrust, this sensitiveness, this idea that God did not deal righteously with him, and then he shall be as Gods mouth, i. e., as the organ by which God speaks.
Let them return … – Rather, they shall return unto thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. A flattering prophet perishes with the people whom his soft speeches have confirmed in their sin: but the truthful speaking of Gods word saves both.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 15:19-20
If thou shalt take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth.
The personal factor in our thought of God and man
If Jeremiah at the time he wrote these words had been asked our modern question, Is life worth living? he would have returned a negative answer. For here you have the significant spectacle of a prophet of the Lord cursing the day of his birth. He finds that he is a man of strife and contention to the whole earth; everyone curses him, he says, though he has not given men cause to do so. And God is not keeping His word with him either. Why is my pain perpetual? he cries, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? Wilt Thou, he says to God, be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? The prophet cries out for revenge upon his persecutors. Let us admit at once that he was plunged deeply into disappointments. The sense of the Divine pressure in life had come to him early. When he first felt that he must do some great work for God he was very young, and he felt his youth as an objection to undertaking the work. The consciousness of duty and the consciousness of unfitness were there together as they have often been in men. Great geniuses have often begun to show themselves very early, but it is also true that in going on they have had much to unlearn and much to cancel, and they have had to bear the shattering of many dreams. A youth inspired from such heights must needs be bitterly disappointed on the planes of practical life. It was so with Jeremiah. What it was that brought him under the pressure of the higher things so early we do not know. It has been conjectured, and Professor Cornill favours the conjecture, that he had descended from Abiathar, the high priest of David, whom Solomon banished to Anathoth. Jeremiah was brought up there, we know, and his father was a priest. If the conjecture is right, the tale of banishment, the story of the hardship, would come down from sire to son, and the old family virtues and heroisms would be told the children of each generation. In young Jeremiah these found responsive soil, and his enthusiasm was kindled. The lad set out to be a reformer; he was going to put the world right! Now it is certain beforehand that he will meet with terrible disappointments, and not at all unlikely that they will sometimes be so severe that he will curse the day of his birth. That is what befell Jeremiah, as it has befallen others since. In these verses he is in the depths of misery. He notes the sins he has not been guilty of: he has not exacted usury, for example; he recalls how zealous he had been for God: he had found the Divine words and eaten them, assimilated them and made them his own, and had found joy in them. But all to no purpose; everybody was against him; everyone cursed him. But now, here is the significant thing: in the midst of all this, just when he was seeing all men and God in the worst possible light, another thought struck him–the thought that, after all, perhaps it was he himself who was most at fault. Thus saith the Lord: If thou becomest again Mine, thou shalt be My servant, and if thou wilt separate thy better self from the vile, thou shalt still be as My mouth. What had Jeremiah been doing in his pessimism? He had been allowing the personal factor too much room. Listen: Revenge me upon my persecutors; take me not away in Thy long-suffering–as if he said: Do not be so merciful and patient with them as to let them kill me; take care of me even if they be killed. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of throttling, he once said. This was not Jeremiahs character, not his better self; this was his mood when stung with disappointment. And this mood was bad; it was what my text calls the vile. The personal factor was so large that it cast men and God into deep shadow. Jeremiah saw so much of himself, his own virtue, his own failure, that he saw men worse than they were, and God almost as a gigantic untruth. But a great character conquers such moods, and Jeremiah conquered them. It was through his better self that the word of the Lord came to him, and Jeremiah saw that he, in thinking so much of himself, had ceased to be his true self, and had lapsed out of Gods service, and that if he wanted to speak again as the mouth of God, and to do Gods work, he must separate the precious from the vile, the better self from the baser self in his own nature. Now we are living in an age when pessimism is said to be very prevalent; men take gloomy views of things. I think it is true that when we are pessimistic about things in general the fault is mostly in ourselves. Unreasonable selfishness in some form or other is at the bottom of most pessimism; we allow the personal factor to make a larger claim than the universe is prepared to acknowledge, and we grow sullen at the refusal.
1. This may be the case, and often is in the nobler form of intellectual pursuits, and often in the greaser form of material pursuits. Through philosophy we see some men become pessimistic. They think, and think, they tell us, but the mystery increases, and they despair of thought altogether: the universe is a riddle, and no one can guess its meaning. Now, it is a fine thing to see a man in quest after truth, and it is very honourable in him to make the fullest and frankest inquiry into the nature of things. But, nevertheless, the pessimism, the despair, the wretchedness even here is due to an unreasonable claim on the part of the individual. Is it not rather irrational to suppose that you can uncover the final secret? If that privilege were granted to you, what interest would there be in the world to you or to anyone else? It is the glory of the Lord, said an old writer, to conceal a thing, and there was more philosophic insight in the saying than in any number of moderns who whimper and cower before the Great Unknown. Cut down your demands to something like what is reasonable, and then your inquiries will give you much-prized gains–things to rejoice and sing over, and not to break your heart about. There is a peace of mind to be got from knowing what is not possible to us, and accepting the fact like men. Ii man could fully understand God, he would be God. Let him know his own place and fill it like a man.
2. But it is through the material pursuits many grow pessimistic. Many peoples thought of God and their neighbours is gloomy simply because they claim too much room for themselves in the world. There are men who are very prosperous in money matters, and in getting position and power, and yet who are always dissatisfied, only because self is their God–the greatest tyrant in the world, never satisfied. It is astonishing how much adversity and disappointment men can bear when they are thinking of another, or others, and how little when thinking of themselves.
3. And out of this arises one other truth–namely, that you must take yourself in hand, and separate the precious from the vile, the better from the baser, in order to be again the servant of the living God, and the exponent of Divine truth. Whenever you see all the world in shadow, all men bad, and doubt even God, be sure it is you who need reforming. There is badness in the world, badness in men, and circumstances may be very trying, but if you are rightly minded, and rightly hearted, you can hope and conquer. It would be a good thing for each of us in melancholy or in bitter moods to stop speaking of the faults of others, and the wrongs of the world, and the problems of God, and ask, Whats wrong with me? Every mans biggest problem is himself. Not that the circumstances were not trying–they were very trying; not that others had no faults–they had, perhaps, great faults; but faith in God is possible in the worst of situations, so long as we are humble, and in manly relation to our sorrow. When unworthy feelings come in, separate the vile, release the better self, and you will yet be Gods servant, and speak for Him. A clean personal life will give you a strong hold on truth, even in the midst of trouble; a pure mind will give you access to Divine reality, though your circumstances might be terribly hard, and though all men reviled you. Mark: Jesus does not say that the circumstances will change; and all that God says to Jeremiah is that he shall be His servant again, and speak for Him. If you separate the better self from the vile, it does not follow that you will create outward success, but you shall go on with your work, and your work shall be a speech for God. I believe that God speaks to us in nature, but I grant that I do not always understand. The notes of the speech are discordant. In the world of man, too, there is much that staggers one. But there is one fact in which I always read the mind of God–this act of separating the precious from the vile in man. Whenever I make an effort to expel something bad, I know I am acting for God; whenever I seek to put down anything that is unworthy, to overcome any animosity or uncharitableness, to make my better nature supreme, I have no doubt of God then. There we find His mind, there we get the beatific vision, and there we equip for the worlds work. Will you remember that God says to each one of us, If thou wilt separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt again be My servant? Pure life is a clear vision of God for you, and a definite speech for God by you. Nothing speaks like it. A clean soul reflects God as a clear river reflects the sky. You will be yourself an exponent of the eternal in separating the good from the bad in your own life. They mingle strangely–the base with the noble, the false with the true; and their persistent separation speaks of the eternal purpose of redemption. And I am glad of another word in this text. It is the little word again–If thou becomest again Mine. We know what it is to lapse–to feel the relation to God gone; indifference holds us in its icy grasp, where all was once enthusiasm. Let me emphasise this little word–again. It opens a door; it marks a possibility; it is a Fathers voice coming out after you into the darkness. There is a restoring power at work; you may be reunited consciously to God; you may feel Him again to be the Greatest Reality in your life. (T. R. Williams.)
The essential distinction between saints and sinners
I. There is an essential distinction between saints and sinners.
1. The inspired writers divide all mankind into two, and but two classes, and distinguish them by very different and opposite appellations. They call the saints the precious, but sinners the vile. They call saints the godly, but sinners the ungodly. They call saints the children of God, but sinners the children of the wicked one. They call saints the elect, but sinners the reprobate. They call saints vessels of mercy, but sinners vessels of wrath.
2. God does that for saints which He does not do for sinners; He regenerates saints, but not sinners; gives a new heart to saints, but not to sinners; softens the hearts of saints, but hardens the hearts of sinners; and gives a spiritual discerning of spiritual things to saints, but not to sinners; so there must be an essential distinction between them.
3. God has made promises of good to saints, but none to sinners; which proves they are essentially different in their moral characters.
4. God has threatened that evil to sinners, which He has not threatened to saints.
II. Why ministers should, in their preaching, constantly exhibit and keep up this great moral and essential distinction between those who have, and those who have not the love of God in them.
1. This is necessary, in order to preach the Word of God intelligibly to their people.
2. It is necessary, in order to give pertinent and profitable instruction to their hearers.
3. Ministers must distinguish saints from sinners, in order to preach faithfully, as well as profitably.
Application–
1. It is utterly a fault in ministers, either designedly or undesignedly, to keep the essential distinction between saints and sinners out of sight.
2. In the view of this subject, we may see how easy it is for ministers to lead people insensibly into great and fatal errors. They may do so, by not mentioning or not explaining the essential distinction between saints and sinners; or by not mentioning or not explaining the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel which flow from this distinction; while, at the same time, they preach some valuable truths.
3. If there be an essential distinction between saints and sinners, then sinners are very liable to be fatally deceived and corrupted by those who lie in wait to deceive and destroy. Saints have an antidote against the poison of error, that sinners are entirely destitute of. Saints are lovers of God and of His Word; they desire the sincere milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The hearts of all good men are attached to Divine truth. But sinners are lovers of their own selves, and haters of God, and equally haters of His Word.
4. The best way the ministers of the Gospel can take to guard their people against every species of error and errorists, is to make and keep up the essential distinction between saints and sinners.
5. The people may easily discover the real sentiments of ministers by their preaching.
6. There may be a great deal of good preaching in the land, and at the same time, a great want of good preaching. How many ministers do not take forth the precious from the vile, nor cause their hearers to see and feel the difference!
7. This subject calls upon saints to walk worthy of their high and holy calling. They are called the precious, the holy, the godly, the excellent of the earth. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Unsullied character
The degree of impurity in any precious stone is just the measure of its depreciation. The initial act of their formation is separation. The dark drift of the inland river, or stagnant slime of inland pool and lake, divides or resolves itself, as it dries, into layers of its several elements: slowly purifying each by the patient withdrawal of it from the anarchy of the mass in which it was mingled. Thus begin both the crystallisation of the gem and the life of the Christian. Come out, and be separate! Take forth the precious from the vile, is the call of the Lord to His saints. For our call is to saintliness; and as the unseen foundations of the New Jerusalem are of as precious stones as the dazzling walls, so the part of our life and character which is hidden from the eyes of the world is to be as clear and unsullied as that which all see and admire. Keep thyself pure, thou child of God. (W. Y. Fullerton.)
Righteous zeal encouraged by Divine protection
I. Gods direction to the prophet, and in him to all eat do His work in such a season as this described. Let them return to thee, return not thou to them. Plausible compliances of men in authority, with those against whom they are employed, are treacherous contrivances against the God of heaven, by whom they are employed.
1. It cannot be done but by preferring the creature before the Creator, especially in those things which are the proximate causes of deviation. Two principal causes I have observed of this crooked walking.
(1) Fear.
(2) That desire of perishing things, which hath a mixture of covetousness and ambition.
II. The supportment and assistance promised. I will make thee to this people a brazen and a fenced wall. Now the Lord will do this–
1. Because of His own engagement.
2. For our encouragement.
III. The opposition which men cleaving to the Lord in all His ways shall find, with the issue and success of it. They shall fight against thee, but shall not prevail. The words may be considered either as a prediction depending on Gods prescience of what will be; or a commination from His just judgment, of what shall be. In the first sense the Lord tells the prophet, from the corruption, apostasy, stubbornness of that people, what would come to pass. In the second, what for their sins and provocations, by His just judgment, should come to pass. I shall take up the latter only, namely, That it is a commination of what shall be for the further misery of that wretched people; they shall judicially be given up to a fighting against Him. Now the Lord doth this–
1. To seal up a sinful peoples destruction. Elis sons hearkened not, because the Lord would slay them (1Sa 2:25).
2. To manifest His own power and sovereignty in maintaining a small handful, ofttimes a few single persons, a Moses, a Samuel, two witnesses against the opposing rage of a hardened multitude.
Use–
1. Let men, constant, sincere, upright in the ways of God, especially in difficult times, know what they are to expect from many, yea, the most of the generation, whose good they intend, and among whom they live; opposition and fighting is like to be their lot; and that not only it will be so because of mens lusts, corruptions, prejudices; but also it shall be so, from Gods righteous judgments against a stubborn people; they harden their hearts that it may be so, to compass their ends; and God hardens their hearts that it shall be so to bring about His aims; they will do it to execute their revenge upon others, they shall do it to execute Gods vengeance upon themselves.
2. Let men set upon opposition make a diligent inquiry, whether there be no hand in the business, but their own? whether their counsels be not leavened with the wrath of God, and their thoughts mixed with a spirit of giddiness, and themselves carried on to their own destruction? (J. Owen, D. D.)
The ministry of the Word
1. A ministry of Divine authority.
2. A ministry of Divine revelations.
3. A ministry of wise discrimination.
4. A ministry often opposed by those to whom it is sent.
5. A ministry requiring much courage.
6. A ministry which will be Divinely vindicated.
7. A ministry which lifts up Christ as the Saviour of men. (W. Whale.)
The power of rebuke
I. The Christian ministry includes an office of commination. If the messengers of heaven, when among the outcasts of mankind, who, in ignorance of God, have gone astray from virtue, speak more of virtue than of wrath; when they stand among those who, being well informed in matters of religion, use the grace of the Gospel to palliate their vices, the messages of wrath must be most on their lips.
II. The tendency of the Christian ministry is to move down from its remedial functions to become an office of delectation.
1. Furnishing intellectual entertainment; uttering, as matters of gorgeous eloquence, the appalling verities of eternal justice. Nature forbids such an incongruity, and the renovating Spirit refuses to yield the energy of His power to the sway of a mere minister of public recreation.
2. Affording spiritual entertainment; by exhibiting the conceits and ingenuities of mystic exposition; by painting in high colours the honours and privileges of the believer, and allowing professors of all sorts to appropriate the fulsome description; or by pealing out thunders of wrath against distant adversaries, rather than at the impure, unjust, rapacious and malicious around.
III. It behoves preachers to beware of the indurating effect of accustomed phrases and forms of words. Such conventional phrases conceal from the mind the ideas they should convey; hence preachers should continually endeavour to break up the mental incrustations which are always spreading themselves over the sensitive surface of the sails. This is especially necessary in reference to matters wherein the drowsy formalities of language tend directly to augment the stupefying influence that belongs to all vicious indulgences.
IV. It is a pressing duty of the minister of religion to maintain in vigour the spirit he needs as the reprover of sin and guardian of virtue. It is easy to teach the articles of belief, to illustrate the branches of Christian ethics, to proclaim the Divine mercy, to meet and assuage the fears of the feeble and sorrows of the afflicted. But to keep in full activity the power of rebuke, demands rare qualities. To speak efficaciously of the holiness and justice of God, and of its future consequences; to speak in modesty, tenderness, and power of the approaching doom of the impenitent, must be left to those whose spirits have had much communion with the dread Majesty on high.
V. Three indispensable qualifications for the vigorous exercise of the Christian minister for this power of rebuke.
1. Such a conviction of the truth of Christianity as shall render him proof against assaults from within and without. Fatal to his influence as a refuter of sin must be a lurking scepticism in the preachers breast. The infection of his own doubts will pass into the heart of the hearer, and will serve to harden each transgressor in his impenitence.
2. A resolute loyalty to the Divine administration. Such loyalty will break through the mazes of much sophistry, will support the servant of God when assailed by more fallacies than he can at the moment refute, and enable him to cleave under all obloquies and embarrassments to what he inwardly knows must in the end prove the better cause.
3. An unaffected and sensitive compassion towards his fellow men. The end of all reproof is mercy. If there were no redemption at hand, it were idle or cruel to talk of judgment. (Isaac Taylor, LL. D.)
Ministerial obligations
My text refers us to three distinct characters of the pastoral office–to be the servant of God; to be the mouth of God; and to be the guide whom the people shall follow. And these involve three several duties, in which the pastors own personal responsibility is closely linked with the solemn responsibilities of his office–that of preparing his own heart to seek the Lord; that of discriminating the precious from the vile in his instruction and conversation; and that of guarding himself and his flock against all declension after the ways of them who depart from God.
I. A Divine admonition as to personal religion. To stand before, implies the office of one who stands in the presence of his sovereign, ready to execute His commands. It is the highest order of dignity and of service to which a subject can be called. He enjoys the privilege of constant access to the presence of majesty, a knowledge of the high affairs of government, and a share in the splendours of courtly life. Such is the relation in which a minister of true religion stands to the court of Heaven, in order that he may bring near a people prepared for the Lord, to whom, when they have received his message, he may say, Ye are a chosen generation, etc. See, then, the unspeakable importance of personal religion in one who shall perform such a ministration. He that would cause the people to hear the words of God must habitually listen to the voice of God in his own conscience, as often as he turns aside–and who is not conscious of too frequently doing so?–saying, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me. And then with confidence–the confidence of one who comes from a nearer access to the throne on high–he may go forth to his charge, and say, having the words of God in his mouth, Turn ye, turn ye at My reproof.
II. A divine direction. If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth. The prophet may seem to have been charged with having, in some respect, mistaken his duty. In the view he took of his personal trials he had lost sight of the principal object of his ministry, namely, to cause the precious to come out from the vile. In times like the present, there may be an undue regard to the trials of the Church at large. From a just and pious jealousy of the dangers to which it is exposed, or by which it has been affected as a community, we may lose sight of the especial end of our ministry. In our reasonable remonstrance with unreasonable foes, and from just indignation at the treachery or declension of pretended friends, we may overlook the faithful use of the word for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. In our zeal to mark an open enemy, or to discriminate an unsound adherent, we may forget the true flock of Christ; or in our eager cooperation with mere defenders of our Church polity, we may put aside from our own view, and obscure from the view of others, the real distinction which must ever be admitted in the doctrine of visible Church communion between the precious and the vile.
III. A divine caution: Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. No object or consideration must induce the prophet to identify himself with their apostasy: he must take a decidedly contrary course. He must so order his life and conversation, his doctrines and his admonitions, that those who desire to return unto God may see in him the way and pattern. In this, as in every age of the Church, no inconsiderable portion of those who profess themselves its members are yet under the influence of that love of the world which is opposed to the love of God. To counteract the tendency of this spirit, rests greatly with the clergy. It is their duty more strictly to define the Christian character by precept and example, and more clearly to exhibit Christian truth, than to allow those who pursue so inconsistent a course to indulge in vain confidence as to their religious state. The clergy at least ought to define the boundary between the world and the people of God. If they are negligent in doing so, it cannot but be obscured. If they pass the boundary, they lead many across it who probably never return. The clergy are preeminently the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savour, woe to the Church, and woe to them by whom the offence cometh; Let them return unto Thee; but return not Thou unto them. (W. Wilson, D. D.)
A ministry of discrimination
I. What is supposed.
1. The vast importance and responsibility of the work assigned to ministers with a view to the welfare of their people. Ministers are to take the precious from the vile; to separate the wheat from the weeds; to distinguish the dross from the gold.
2. That there are some essential distinctions between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error.
3. That there is a standard of truth. As the office of a judge is not to make but declare the law, so that of a minister is not to burden the ears of people with his own doubtful disputations, but to declare the whole counsel of God.
4. That these characters are closely intermingled, and that there is a great disinclination in mankind to have the truth fully told them, and to be brought to the decisive test.
5. That it is of the utmost consequence to both parties that the separation should be made. Take forth the precious from the vile, and the most advantageous results will immediately accrue to each.
(1) Is it not desirable to the children of God to know that they are so–that they are heirs according to the promise–that they are precious in His sight and honourable?
(2) If the distinction be valuable to the precious, it would be scarcely less advantageous to the vile themselves. To be robbed of the cloak of a false profession would be no loss, for we know it does them no honour and brings them no peace.
II. What is demanded of ministers with a view to this solemn discrimination?
1. A plain and decisive exhibition of the truth as it is in Jesus. We are to contend earnestly for the faith–to vindicate it from the blasphemies of the infidel, the perversions of the worldling, the mistakes of the Pharisee, and the corruptions of the Antinomian.
2. A fearless application of Scripture truth.
(1) To the careless and thoughtless.
(2) To the apostate.
(3) To the young.
(4) To the aged.
(5) To the precious.
(6) To the vile.
3. To point ourselves and our hearers to the only Agent who can make the Word effectual.
III. What is promised? Thou shalt be as My mouth. The accredited and approved servant–to speak in accordance with His will–be the organ of His clemency–all His authenticated messages crowned with success. Mighty and blessed such a ministry. (S. Thodey.)
I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee.—
Divine assistance promised to Church governors
I. Gods qualification of Jeremy to be an overseer in His Church. I will make thee a brazen fenced wall.
1. A wall implies enclosure. God did not think fit to leave His Church without enclosure, open like a common, for every beast to feed upon and devour it. Commons are always bare, pilled, and shorn, as the sheep that feed upon them. And our experience has shown us, as soon as the enclosures of our Church were plucked up, what a herd of cattle of all sorts invaded it. It contained, as commons usually do, both multitude and mixture.
2. A wall imports fortification. No city can be secure without it. It is, as it were, a standing inanimate army; a continual defence without the help of defenders. Something must encircle the Church, that will both discriminate and protect it. And the altar must be railed in, not only for distinction, but defence. And such a thing is a church governor, a well-qualified bishop. Which title that he may make good and verify, there are required in him these three qualifications–
(1) Courage, which leads the way to all the rest. A wall, nay, a brazen wall, will not sometimes prove a defence if it is not well manned. Every churchman should have the spirit of a soldier.
(2) Innocence and integrity. A brazen wall admits of no cracks and flaws. The enemies of the Church may fear your power, but they dread your innocence. It is this that stops the open sepulchre, and beats back the accusation upon the teeth of the accuser.
(3) Authority; it is to be a fenced, as well as a brazen wall. The inward firmness of one must be corroborated by the exterior munitions of the other. Courage is like a giant with his hands tied, if it has not authority and jurisdiction to draw forth and actuate its resolution.
II. The opposition that the Church governor, thus qualified, will be sure to meet with in the administration of his office.
1. They will assault their governors with seditious preaching and praying. To preach Christ out of contention is condemned by the apostle; but to preach contention instead of Christ, certainly is most abominable.
2. Their second way of fighting against the officers of the Church will be by railing and libels.
3. They may oppose the governors and government of the Church by open force: and this is fighting indeed; but yet the genuine, natural consequent of the other: he that rails, having opportunity, would rebel; for it is the same malice in a various posture, in a different way of eruption; and as he that rebels shows what he can do, so he that rails does as really demonstrate what he would do.
III. That, as in all fights, we see the issue and success, which is exhibited to us in these words, But they shall not prevail against thee.
1. Moral causes will afford but a moral certainty but so far as the light of this shines, it gives us a good prospect into our future success. For which is most likely to prevail, a force marshalled into order, or disranked and scattered into confusion? A force united and compacted with the strength of agreement, or a force shrivelled into parties, and crumbled into infinite subdivisions?
2. But besides the arguments of reason, we have the surer ground of Divine revelation. God has engaged His assistance, made Himself a party, and obliged His omnipotence as a second in the cause. (R. South, D. D.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. If thou return] By repentance unto me, –
Then will I bring thee again] Restore thee to thy own country. But some think the words are spoken to the prophet in reference to his ministry. He had greatly repined because of the persecutions which he endured. The Lord reprehends him, and is about to take from him the prophetic gift; but exhorts him first to take the precious from the vile – not to attend to the deceitful words of the people, but boldly declare the message he had given him; not to return unto the people, but let the people return unto him. And then he should be as God’s mouth – his words should appear to be what they were, the genuine words of God; and the people should be obliged to acknowledge them as such.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: at the first reading of these words, one would take them to be a promise of God to restore this people to their former state, if they would reform; but upon a more wise and diligent consideration of what follows, both in this and in the following verse, they seem rather Gods words unto the prophet, rebuking his diffidence and distrust in God, and promising him, that if he did return from that his diffidence and distrust in Gods promise and providence, he would restore him to the former favour he had had with him, and he should be his prophet to reveal his mind to the people. And if he would separate the precious truths of God from the vile conceits of men, or rather preach so as to distinguish good and bad men one from another, then God would continue him as his prophet, to speak in his name unto the people.
Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them: he chargeth the prophet to keep his ground, and not to go over unto wicked men, but to use his endeavour to reduce them to that obedience which he yielded to him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. God’s reply to Jeremiah.
return . . . bring . . .againJeremiah, by his impatient language, had left his properposture towards God; God saith, “If thou wilt return (to thyformer patient discharge of thy prophetic function) I willbring thee back” to thy former position: in the Hebrewthere is a play of words, “return . . . turn again“(Jer 8:4; Jer 4:1).
stand before meministeracceptably to Me (Deu 10:8;1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:15).
take . . . precious from . .. vileimage from metals: “If thou wilt separate what isprecious in thee (the divine graces imparted) from what isvile (thy natural corruptions, impatience, and hasty words), thoushall be as My mouth”: my mouthpiece (Ex4:16).
return not thou unto themLetnot them lead you into their profane ways (as Jeremiah had spokenirreverently, Jer 15:18), butlead thou them to the ways of godliness (Jer 15:16;Jer 15:17). Eze22:26 accords with the other interpretation, which, however, doesnot so well suit the context, “If thou wilt separate from thepromiscuous mass the better ones, and lead them to conversion byfaithful warnings,” &c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore thus saith the Lord, if thou return,…. From thine unbelief, diffidence, and impenitence, and repent of them; expressed in the preceding verses:
then will I bring thee again; or, “restore thee s”; pardon his sin, and return him to his post and place, to his office and ministry in it, and confirm and establish him therein:
and thou shalt stand before me; not only as a petitioner for the people; see Jer 15:1, but as a servant of the Lord, attending to his word, and waiting his orders, and ready to execute them. It denotes his stability in his office:
and if thou wilt take forth the precious from the vile; take precious truths, comparable to gold, silver, and precious stones; truths more valuable and desirable than thousands of gold and silver, from those doctrines which are worthless and contemptible, comparable to wood, hay, and stubble, and everything that is mean and vile; these faithful ministers should separate one from the other, and not mix and blend them together: or precious souls, truly gracious ones, who are precious in the sight of God, are redeemed by Christ, by his precious blood, and are adorned with the graces of the Spirit; these are to be distinguished from the vile, from sinners impenitent and unbelieving, that live in sin, in defiance of the law, and in contempt of the Gospel; a difference is to be made between them; delivering out comfortable words to the one, and denouncing severe threatenings to the other; doing the reverse of the false prophets, Eze 13:22:
thou shalt be as my mouth; to the people; speak what I command thee, and whatsoever thou sayest shall be as if I had spoken it myself:
let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them; this is said of the people of the Jews, to whom the prophet was sent; and the sense is, that he should not at all comply with them, or conform to their humours, or flatter and sooth them in their sins, as the false prophets did; but if they returned to him, attended on his ministry, received his words and messages, and agreed and conformed to him, and followed his directions and example, it would be very well; but otherwise he was not in the least to give way to them, or go into any sinful compliance with them, either with respect to doctrine or practice,
s “restituam te”, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vs. 19-21: DIVINE REBUKE AND REASSURANCE
1. Verse 19 is nothing short of a rebuke of Jeremiah’s distrust and despair.
a. If he would know the blessedness, assurance and holy boldness that he once enjoyed, he must repent – turn from his wavering distrust, and cast himself wholly and confidently upon the Lord! (Jer 4:1).
b. If he is to be the Lord’s spokesman he must separate the pure and divine from that which is rooted only in earthly passion, (comp. Jer 6:29; Eze 22:26; Eze 44:15; Eze 44:23).
c. Then the people (his present enemies) will turn to him for counsel; only he must not attempt to vindicate them in their rebellion against the Lord.
d. Man is free to accept or reject God’s call; but, when it is accepted, he is expected to obey – even when the going gets rough, (Luk 9:62; Luk 14:26-35).
2. In verse 20 there is clearly a renewal of the prophetic commission.
a. God will make Jeremiah as a fortified wall of bronze, (comp. Jer 1:18-19; Eze 3:9).
b. Judah will, indeed, continue to fight against him, but his enemies will not prevail, for the Lord is with him as his Divine Protector, (Jer 1:8; comp. Psa 46:7; Isa 41:10).
3. Jehovah Himself will deliver Jeremiah from the hand of the wicked, (vs. 21; Jer 20:13; comp. Gen 48:16), and redeem him from the grip of tyrants; though Jeremiah was ultimately led into Egypt against his will (and by his own brethren), he was never under the power of the Chaldean army, (Jer 39:11-12).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
From this answer of God we may gather more clearly the design of the Prophet, for his purpose was, in order more fully to prove the people guilty, to set before their eyes as it were his own perverseness. Had he spoken only according to the heroic elevation of his own mind, so as not to appear touched by any human feeling, they might have derided him as hardhearted or a fanatic, for so we find that the proud of this world speak and think of the faithful servants of Christ. They call them melancholy, they consider them as unfeeling, and as they neither dread death, nor are drawn away by the allurements of this life, they think that all this proceeds from brutal savageness. Had then the Prophet only performed the duties of his office, the ungodly might have derided his insensibility, but he wished to set forth his own infirmity, his sorrows, his fears, and his anxieties, that he might thus lead the Jews to view things aright. This answer of God ought then to be connected with the complaint of the Prophet, and we may hence learn the meaning of the whole.
God gives this answer, If thou wilt be turned, I will turn thee, that thou mayest stand before me It is the same as though he had said, that he was reproved by the Lord because he fluctuated amidst the commotions of the people. A similar passage is found in the eighth chapter of Isaiah. The Lord there exhorts his Prophet to separate himself from the people, and not to connect himself with those who might have often easily disturbed him, because they continued not in his word; then he says,
“
Seal my law for my disciples, sign the testimony,” (Isa 8:12)
as though he had said, “Have now nothing to do with so perverse a people.” So also now the Lord speaks, If thou wilt be turned, that is, if thou wilt not be guided by the false judgments of the people, nor heed what they say of thee, but boldly despise them and persevere in thy separation from them, I will turn thee, that is, I will by my spirit so strengthen thee, that they may perceive at length that thou art my faithful servant. Then he adds, that thou mayest stand before me. We hence see more plainly what is the meaning of the word “turn” in the second clause, even that the Prophet would render his office approved of God, however clamorous the Jews might be; though they even rose up tumulmously against him, yet he says, thou shalt stand before me. There is implied here a contrast in the word “stand,” for though the Prophet should be most violently assailed by the false words of men, yet God would support and sustain him. The rest we defer until to-morrow.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
C. The Reply of the Lord Jer. 15:19-21
TRANSLATION
(19) Therefore thus says the LORD: If you return, then I will restore you; before Me you shall continue to stand. And if you cause the precious to come forth from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return unto You; but as for you, do not return unto them. (20) And I will make you to this people a fortified brazen wall. They shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you. For I am with you to deliver you and to save you (oracle of the LORD). And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the power of the ruthless.
COMMENTS
God does not bother to directly answer the blasphemous accusation of his prophet. Rather His reply consists of an invitation to re-enter the ministry, an exhortation to remain stedfast and a repetition of a wonderful promise. Jeremiah has gone too far. As far as God is concerned Jeremiahs accusation is tantamount to his resignation from the prophetic ministry. But God does not chide or rebuke His prophet, not directly at least. He simply suggests that Jeremiah needed to do two things: (1) return, i.e., go back to the original point of departure; and (2) separate the precious from the vile and worthless within his own heart. The refuse of doubt and mistrust had somehow gotten mingled with the precious gold of faith, love and trust within the heart of Jeremiah. Inward purification is now essential. If Jeremiah complies with these conditions God will take him back. It is interesting that God does not even ask whether or not Jeremiah wants to re-enter the ministry. That he does so is taken for granted.
The reinstatement in the prophetic ministry is described in three expressions in Jer. 15:19. (1) I will cause you to return. The reinstatement is not automatic. Only God can make a prophet. If Jeremiah returns to God, then the Lord can return him to a right relationship to Himself so that he might continue to be Gods minister. (2) Before Me you shall continue to stand. The figure here is of a servant standing in the presence of his master waiting for commands. Counselors and courtiers are said to stand before a king (1Ki. 12:6; Pro. 22:29). Angels are said to stand before God (Luk. 1:19). Elijah and Elisha used this expression to describe their relationship to God (1Ki. 17:1; 2Ki. 3:14). To be permitted to minister before the Great King would be the highest privilege accorded a man. (3) you shall be as my mouth. The prophet is not only the servant of God to carry out His commands, he is also the mouthpiece of God to proclaim His word. Jeremiah can occupy this high and holy office once again if he will only repent.
The invitation to repent is followed by the exhortation to remain stedfast. The last sentence of Jer. 15:19 is not a simple future as in the American Standard Version but a jussive as in the King James: Let them return unto you, but do not let yourself return unto them. He must not allow the skeptical inhabitants of Judah to drag him down to their level, but, on the contrary, he should by his continued preaching raise them up to a higher plane. In effect God is saying do not join them, let them join you! Jeremiah is weakening, he is giving in. His enemies are getting to him. He must remain stedfast. This exhortation implies that Jeremiah will in fact repent and be reinstated in his prophetic office.
Jeremiah had accused God of forsaking him. But that simply was not true. God had warned him at the time of his call that people would fight against him. But God had promised to make Jeremiah like a fortified brazen wall against which the assault of the persecutors would ultimately fail. God assured him at the time of the call that He would always be near him to deliver him from death at the hands of the enemy. God has not forgotten that promise and neither should Jeremiah. So God simply quotes the promise as originally given in Jer. 1:18 f. only He adds at the end the precious and powerful formula oracle of the Lord (Jer. 15:20). And then, as if it were not enough to cite the original promise, God rephrases that promise in more specific terms. The wicked and ruthless men who would attempt to suppress the message of God will not prevail over Jeremiah. God will deliver and redeem, i.e., save him from their power (Jer. 15:21). Though times may get difficult and no way of escape seems apparent God will bring His prophet through. God is no deceptive stream!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(19) Therefore thus saith the Lord . . .The Divine voice within makes answer to the passionate complaint. The prophet also needs, not less than the people, to return to his true mind, to repent of his murmurings and distrust. Upon that condition only can he again stand before the Lord in the full sense of that word, and minister to Him as a prophet-priest (comp. 1Ki. 17:1; 1Ki. 18:15; 2Ki. 3:14). He has to distinguish between the precious and the vile, between the gold and the dross, between a righteous zeal and the despondent bitterness which is its spurious counterfeit, not in the people only to whom he speaks but in himself. Above all he must beware of being tempted by his sense of failure, to return to the people in the temper of one who tunes his voice according to the time. Rather must they return to him and rise to his level, both returning to Jehovah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. If thou return That is, from thy doubtings and complaints. This is Jehovah’s answer to Jeremiah’s complaint.
Again The whole clause should read: Then will I cause thee again to stand before me: the first of the two verbs joined by and being adverbial, according to a very common Hebrew idiom. This language must have been a poignant reproof to the prophet’s sensitive spirit. While he is in the very act of recounting his faithfulness, God reproves him in language which implies unfaithfulness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 15:19. If thou return, &c. Houbigant reads, If thou wilt sit still, I will give thee a certain seat: yea, thou shalt stand before me. “Thou shalt not be of the number of those who shall be carried away captive.” But the passage seems better explained by the parallel one, Zec 3:7. It seems the intention of the Lord to strengthen and encourage Jeremiah in the difficult office wherein he was engaged.
REFLECTIONS.1st, When the measure of a nation’s iniquities is full, then vengeance to the uttermost will overtake them, and all intercession for them is vain.
1. The decree is gone forth; terrible, irreversible. The greatest favourites of heaven, the mightiest men in prayer, if they were again upon earth, could avail nothing. They are abandoned to their fate, and doomed to destruction: and if, when their ruin was told them, they should tauntingly say, Whither shall we go forth? the answer is ready. According to the divine decree, some should die by the sword, by pestilence, by famine, and their carcases, unburied, be food for dogs and the fowls of heaven, and the remnant go into a miserable captivity; not a friend shall remain to pity their deplorable case, or to testify the least concern for them. God’s patience is at an end; his hand stretched out to destroy them without sparing, and they shall be dispersed as chaff before the fan: a spoiler at noon-day, Nebuchadnezzar, with the Chaldean army, shall come upon them openly, suddenly consume their men of war, increase the number of their widows, and leave the mothers childless, robbed of those darlings which were as the light of their eyes; ashamed, confounded, and deprived of that support on which they trusted: part shall be slain with the famine, and the residue fall by the sword of the enemy, when Jerusalem shall be taken. Note; (1.) God’s Spirit will not always strive, nor his patience always wait for impenitent sinners: when their day of grace is trifled away, the day of recompence will overtake them. (2.) When the Lord begins, he will make an end. Let us fear to provoke his indignation, lest repentance should come too late.
2. The cause of these judgments is their sins, past and present: for God never smites without cause. Their former iniquities under Manasseh, son of Hezekiah; his idolatry, murders, and abominations, aggravated by the consideration how horridly he had degenerated from his pious father’s ways, cried for vengeance; and the measure of the sins of that generation was filled by the impenitence of the present. They forsook God, went backward, apostate from his commands and ways and worship; and, notwithstanding all the methods that he had used to reclaim them both by his ministers and his providences, they returned not from their ways. And when sinners persist in their wickedness, and refuse to hearken, they may be assured that eternal perdition will be the consequence.
2nd, Jeremiah, returned from his public ministry, in private pours out his complaints unto God.
1. He bewails his unhappy case; persecuted and reviled by his ungrateful countrymen; and this not without some appearance of impatience, as if angry with his mother for having borne him: so hard it is, under great provocations, to keep the heart quiet. He complains that he was a man of strife: not contentious in his own spirit; but abused for his faithfulness, and every occasion taken to quarrel with him, though he had not given them the least cause: he had neither lent on usury, nor borrowed; had not entangled himself with secular affairs, but given himself up wholly to the work of his ministry; was engaged in no transactions and trade which could give occasion to debate, or afford matter for litigious suits at law: yet they cursed him; treated him with contempt or with abhorrence, pouring out curses upon him for the fidelity that he shewed in delivering the messages which he received from God. Note; (1.) It is too commonly the lot of the faithful ministers of God to meet with the basest usage, and the most ungrateful return for their labours. (2.) The Gospel teaches us to follow peace with all men; yet, through the perverseness of the world, it too often happens, that when we speak to them of peace, they make them ready to battle. (3.) Desirable as it is to live in friendship and quiet with those around us, it must never be purchased by base compliances, or by flattering them in their sins. (4.) Ministers of God must not entangle themselves with the affairs of this world; the care of men’s souls ought wholly to engross their time and thoughts.
2. The Lord in mercy answers him with gracious assurances of his protection: Verily it shall be well with thy remnant. The words are in form of an oath, assuring him of God’s blessing during the residue of his days: whatever became of the people, he should be preserved. Those very enemies, who were the rod of God’s indignation to his countrymen, should shew him kindness and favour, as was fulfilled, chap. Jer 39:11-12. Note; (1.) They who are faithful to God, he will be careful of them. He has in his hands the hearts of all men, and can raise us up friends where we least expected them. (2.) The zealous ministers of God have often found protection from those who shew no concern about religion, when bitterly persecuted by the false professors of it.
3. God threatens his enemies with ruin. Shall iron break the northern iron? Either the Jews should not be able to hurt him who had been set as an iron pillar against them; or rather, all their efforts to resist the northern army of the Chaldeans should be useless; their substance and treasures should fall an easy prey; in shameful captivity they should be led to Babylon; and the heavy wrath of God pursue them; and this the just punishment of their sins, aggravated and universal in all their borders, the corruption of their manners being general, and spread from one end of the land to the other.
3rdly, We have,
1. The prophet’s earnest application to God, appealing to him who searcheth the heart for his integrity, and intreating the fulfilment of his promises.
[1.] He prays, O Lord, thou knowest my innocence, my sufferings, and the malice of my enemies; remember me for good, and visit me with thy salvation, and revenge me of my persecutors. Perhaps this was his infirmity; or he desired it for God’s glory, in whose name he had spoken: take me not away in thy long-suffering; give me my life for a prey, when they are cut off, or leave me not to their power and malice. He acknowledges that to the long-suffering of God he must owe it; the best, in the rigour of justice, being obnoxious to God’s wrath. Know, acknowledge and make it evident to my enemies, by thy interposition on my behalf, that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke, because of his fidelity in discharging his office: and when this is really the case, we may confidently expect that God will plead our quarrel, and vindicate our integrity from all the revilings of men.
[2.] He pleads the diligence that he used in executing his commission, the delight which he took in God’s word, and his carefulness to keep himself from every sinful compliance with them. Thy words were found and I did eat them, as a hungry man his food: his ears were attentive to drink in what God delivered to him; he carefully thought over and digested the words in his mind, and his heart feasted upon them: thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: either he hoped that the terrible threatenings which he brought would move the people to repentance; or the gracious assurance that God would support him encouraged him; or, above all, amid the dark judgments, the promises of the incarnation of the Messiah, and his great salvation, which mingled therewith, revived and comforted his soul. For I am called by thy name, O Lord God of Hosts, which he delighted in as his greatest honour, though others, perhaps, turned it to his reproach. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, partaking with them in their sins, or by silence conniving at their wickedness; or with them that make merry, levity being inconsistent with the seriousness of his character; and rejoiced not, not even partaking of any lawful recreation, which the dreadful evils that he beheld approaching would not suffer him to taste. I sat alone, meditating on his message, and mourning over the people, because of thy hand, which he saw lighting down upon the nation in vengeance; or because of the spirit of prophesy which he felt; for thou hast filled me with indignation; either the indignation of the people against him, or his displeasure against them for their impenitence, or a sense of the heavy wrath of God ready to overtake them. Note; (1.) The word of God is the sweetest repast to the believer’s soul, and thence he derives his most reviving draughts of consolation. (2.) When we have work to do for God, we must not only forsake what is in itself sinful, but forego what to others might be innocent. (3.) There is a holy indignation without sin, when ministers grieve over the hardness of men’s hearts.
[3.] He expostulates with God, it seems, with something of a murmuring spirit: why is my pain perpetual? which he suffered for the people’s sake in his own mind, or from their ill usage. Why is my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? there appearing no hopes of a change for the better, or any end of their reproaches. Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? leaving him in their hands, though he had promised to deliver him, chap. Jer 1:19 and giving his enemies occasion to reproach his confidence? No. God will not suffer him to be thus confounded, nor any that put their trust in him. Therefore,
2. God answers his prayer. He had expressed some distrust and impatience; therefore, says God, if thou wilt return, ashamed of this impatience, and humbly confessing it, then will I bring thee again to peace of conscience, and the exercise of the ministry with which God had entrusted him; and thou shalt stand before me, established in his office as a prophet: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, speaking comfort to God’s people, and terror to the impenitent, thou shalt be as my mouth, employed as God’s mouth to the people. Let them return unto thee, in penitence and obedience to thy word; but return not thou unto them, giving way in the least, keeping back a syllable of the threatenings to be denounced against them, or making any compliance with them: and then, if he approved himself thus faithful, God would fulfil to him his promise, chap. Jer 1:18 making him a brazen wall, against which all the efforts of the princes should be vain and impotent: God’s presence should comfort him, and his power support him, and save him from his foes, however many or mighty. Note; (1.) If we would return to the enjoyment of comfort, we must be restored to the right spirit from which we have departed. (2.) They who minister before God must carefully divide the word of truth, giving to the truly sincere their portion of comfort, and to the ungodly faithful warnings of their danger. (3.) When we approve ourselves faithful, we shall be supported against all opposition; God’s strength shall be made perfect in our weakness, and all our terrible foes shall be compelled to lick the dust.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 15:19 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
Ver. 19. Therefore, thus saith the Lord. ] Or, Notwithstanding, man’s perverseness breaketh not off the course of God’s goodness.
If thou return.
And if thou take forth the precious from the vile,
Thou shall be as my mouth.
Let them return to thee,
a Hic vides non praescribi gratiae Dei menses et annos.
b Probe vir, hae nihil ad te, dixit Zwinglius cum in vitia acriter inveheretur.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 15:19-21
19Therefore, thus says the LORD,
If you return, then I will restore you-
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20Then I will make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you, declares the LORD.
21So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.
Jer 15:19-21 YHWH answers Jeremiah’s complaints and requests. YHWH is apparently offended by Jeremiah’s characterization in 18-d. Jeremiah himself must repent (BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal IMPERFECT; see Special Topic: Repentance in the OT at Jer 2:22).
If Jeremiah turns back to YHWH, then YHWH will restore (same VERB) him. The covenant always has two parties.
The play on the word return (used four times in Jer 15:19) continues in Jer 15:19 f-g. Jeremiah, as YHWH’s spokesman, would hopefully have the Judeans come to him to hear God’s word, but he must be careful not to be influenced by their apparent response.
One wonders how much Jeremiah’s sense of rejection and prayer for protection and vengeance is meant to reflect the feelings of the godly remnant of Judah/Jerusalem. Often the prophet feels for YHWH. Is it possible he now feels for the repentant remnant?
Jer 15:19 And if you extract the precious from the worthless I like what UBS Handbook (p. 379) says about line 4, the precious is YHWH’s message (Jer 15:16) and the worthless is Jeremiah’s evaluation (cf. Jer 15:18, lines 3-4).
Jer 15:20 This alludes to Jer 1:18-19. Jeremiah must be strong to face the opposition that will surely come for speaking the true word of God.
save. . .deliver These are in a parallel relationship. They both refer to physical deliverance (BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT; BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT). The second VERB is repeated in Jer 15:21 (Hiphil PERFECT), parallel to ransom (BDB 804, KB 911, Qal PERFECT, see Special Topic below).
Jer 15:21 deliver. . .redeem These are also in a parallel relationship. For redeem (BDB 804, KB 911, Qal PERFECT) see Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
stand before Me: i.e. as My servant. Compare 1Ki 18:15. 2Ki 3:14.
take forth the precious, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 10:10).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 15:19-21
Jer 15:19-21
GOD’S ANSWER TO JEREMIAH
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, that thou mayest stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: they shall return unto thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fortified brazen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith Jehovah. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
God made it clear in these verses that he did not approve of Jeremiah’s conduct. If Jeremiah would win a place back in God’s favor, he was commanded to do the following: (1) he must repent of his distrust and selfishness; (2) he must rid his message of all that is unworthy.
If Jeremiah will do these two things, four results will follow. (1) He will again be God’s true messenger to the people; (2) He will not conform to the wishes of the people, but will cause the crowd to turn to him ultimately for the Word of God; (3) he will become what God promised him in his original call, “a fortified wall of bronze”; and (4) God will defend and deliver him from evil men.
Of course, Jeremiah only bared his innermost thoughts before the Lord; and there’s nothing wrong with that; “But, even so, one who has such thoughts as Jeremiah had must undergo a radical change if he would continue to be God’s mouthpiece.”
If thou wilt return…
(Jer 15:19). These words are invariably understood as God’s commandment for Jeremiah to repent. The great prophet had permitted himself to drift into a critical attitude toward God; and it had begun to be reflected in some of the things that entered into his messages to the people. Therefore, God commanded him to separate the precious from the vile. This instruction is invaluable for anyone who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ.
At any time, when human philosophy, or humanistic thoughts are permitted to share the emphasis along with the gospel of Christ, the precious has been mixed with the vile.
The Reply of the Lord Jer 15:19-21
God does not bother to directly answer the blasphemous accusation of his prophet. Rather His reply consists of an invitation to re-enter the ministry, an exhortation to remain stedfast and a repetition of a wonderful promise. Jeremiah has gone too far. As far as God is concerned Jeremiahs accusation is tantamount to his resignation from the prophetic ministry. But God does not chide or rebuke His prophet, not directly at least. He simply suggests that Jeremiah needed to do two things: (1) return, i.e., go back to the original point of departure; and (2) separate the precious from the vile and worthless within his own heart. The refuse of doubt and mistrust had somehow gotten mingled with the precious gold of faith, love and trust within the heart of Jeremiah. Inward purification is now essential. If Jeremiah complies with these conditions God will take him back. It is interesting that God does not even ask whether or not Jeremiah wants to re-enter the ministry. That he does so is taken for granted.
The reinstatement in the prophetic ministry is described in three expressions in Jer 15:19. (1) I will cause you to return. The reinstatement is not automatic. Only God can make a prophet. If Jeremiah returns to God, then the Lord can return him to a right relationship to Himself so that he might continue to be Gods minister. (2) Before Me you shall continue to stand. The figure here is of a servant standing in the presence of his master waiting for commands. Counselors and courtiers are said to stand before a king (1Ki 12:6; Pro 22:29). Angels are said to stand before God (Luk 1:19). Elijah and Elisha used this expression to describe their relationship to God (1Ki 17:1; 2Ki 3:14). To be permitted to minister before the Great King would be the highest privilege accorded a man. (3) you shall be as my mouth. The prophet is not only the servant of God to carry out His commands, he is also the mouthpiece of God to proclaim His word. Jeremiah can occupy this high and holy office once again if he will only repent.
The invitation to repent is followed by the exhortation to remain stedfast. The last sentence of Jer 15:19 is not a simple future as in the American Standard Version but a jussive as in the King James: Let them return unto you, but do not let yourself return unto them. He must not allow the skeptical inhabitants of Judah to drag him down to their level, but, on the contrary, he should by his continued preaching raise them up to a higher plane. In effect God is saying do not join them, let them join you! Jeremiah is weakening, he is giving in. His enemies are getting to him. He must remain stedfast. This exhortation implies that Jeremiah will in fact repent and be reinstated in his prophetic office.
Jeremiah had accused God of forsaking him. But that simply was not true. God had warned him at the time of his call that people would fight against him. But God had promised to make Jeremiah like a fortified brazen wall against which the assault of the persecutors would ultimately fail. God assured him at the time of the call that He would always be near him to deliver him from death at the hands of the enemy. God has not forgotten that promise and neither should Jeremiah. So God simply quotes the promise as originally given in Jer 1:18 f. only He adds at the end the precious and powerful formula oracle of the Lord (Jer 15:20). And then, as if it were not enough to cite the original promise, God rephrases that promise in more specific terms. The wicked and ruthless men who would attempt to suppress the message of God will not prevail over Jeremiah. God will deliver and redeem, i.e., save him from their power (Jer 15:21). Though times may get difficult and no way of escape seems apparent God will bring His prophet through. God is no deceptive stream!
Drought, Famine, Sword – Jer 14:1 to Jer 15:21
Open It
1. What is the biggest lie you have ever believed for a period of time?
2. When have you pleaded for mercy on behalf of someone else?
Explore It
3. What desperate situation did Jeremiah foresee for Jerusalem? (Jer 14:1-6)
4. On what basis did Jeremiah plead for Gods intervention? (Jer 14:7-9)
5. Why did God say He would not be dissuaded from punishing Israel? (Jer 14:10-12)
6. How did God reply when Jeremiah told Him that the prophets were giving the people the impression that they were safe? (Jer 14:13-16)
7. With what dismaying word did God send Jeremiah to the people of Israel? (Jer 14:17-18)
8. What great men of faith did God maintain could not convince Him to rescue Israel from judgment? (Jer 15:1-3)
9. What king of Judah was particularly responsible for leading the people so far astray? (Jer 15:4)
10. What attitude had set God firmly against the people of Israel? (Jer 15:5-9)
11. How was Jeremiah treated because of the message he brought from God? (Jer 15:10)
12. What promise did God make to His servant Jeremiah? (Jer 15:11)
13. How did God describe the ruthlessness of the enemy He sent against Israel? (Jer 15:12-14)
14. How did Jeremiah plead his own case with God? (Jer 15:15-18)
15. Of what did Jeremiah need to repent in order to continue as Gods spokesman? (Jer 15:19-21)
16. How did God predict that Jeremiah would continue to be received by the people? (Jer 15:20-21)
17. What promise did God make to Jeremiah even as He asked him to take an unpopular course? (Jer 15:20-21)
Get It
18. How did God handle the dilemma of His people in need of punishment and His own name in need of vindication?
19. Why was God so unresponsive to Jeremiahs pleading on behalf of the people?
20. Why do false prophets often receive more honor from their audience than faithful prophets?
21. Why did God not accept Jeremiahs repentant attitude on behalf of the people?
22. How is it fair or unfair that even Gods faithful servants will experience suffering?
23. When can, or cannot, an appeal to the honor of Gods name persuade Him to act?
24. When can the worthiness of Gods people cease to be a legitimate defense against Gods discipline?
Apply It
25. How can you prepare yourself to discern the lying words of people who falsely claim to represent the truth?
26. What steps could you take to prepare yourself to deliver or defend Gods Word, regardless of how it is received?
Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Fifteen
By Brent Kercheville
1 What is Gods powerful message in Jer 15:1-2? What do we learn about God from this?
2 Why will the nation be destroyed (Jer 15:3-4)? Why is this the basis of their destruction?
3 What is the sad message of Jer 15:5-9?
4 Explain Jeremiahs questioning and complaint (Jer 15:10-18). What do we learn from this?
5 What is Gods response (Jer 15:19-21)? What do we learn?
TRANSFORMATION:
How does this relationship change your relationship with God?
What did you learn about him? What will
you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
return: Jer 15:10-18, Jer 20:9, Exo 6:29, Exo 6:30, Jon 3:2
stand: Jer 15:1, 1Ki 17:1, Pro 22:29, Zec 3:7, Luk 1:19, Luk 21:36, Jud 1:24
take: Lev 10:10, Isa 32:5, Isa 32:6, Eze 22:26, Eze 44:23, Heb 5:14
as my: Exo 4:12, Exo 4:15, Exo 4:16, Luk 10:16, Luk 12:12, Luk 21:15
let them: Jer 38:20, Jer 38:21, Eze 2:7, Eze 3:10, Eze 3:11, Act 20:27, 2Co 5:16, Gal 1:10, Gal 2:5
Reciprocal: Exo 8:1 – Go Lev 14:57 – teach Deu 10:8 – to stand Ezr 8:17 – I told them Job 36:2 – I have yet to speak Isa 8:11 – instructed Isa 49:2 – made me Isa 58:1 – spare Jer 35:19 – stand Dan 1:5 – stand Dan 1:19 – therefore Mic 3:8 – I am Zec 3:1 – standing Mal 2:7 – the priest’s Mar 12:14 – carest Act 23:11 – the Lord 2Ti 2:21 – purge Rev 9:20 – and idols
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 15:19. The applications of this verse are somewhat complicated and we should study them carefully. Jeremiah has not been charged with any unfaithfulness, therefore the exhortation if thou return could not mean him personally. Yet the phrase is in the second person grammatically because the prophet not only had made earnest pleas for personal favors, but had spoken anxiously on behalf of his beloved countrymen. So we are logically required to interpret the passage in a way to include these truths; I would word it as follows: “If thou (as a representative of the nation) return (repent), then will I bring thee again and thou slialt stand before me (shall be reinstated in my favor).” The same view should be taken of the words immediately following through the word mouth. But this exhortation to reformation with promise of favor again reminds us of the apparent contradiction of which mention has been made a number of times. That subject is explained by the note offered at 2Ki 22:17 in Vol. 2 of this Commentary, The last clause of the verse changes the implications in its wording. Here the pronoun thee means Jeremiah personally because he was righteous and a true example of living for the people to imitate and a true teacher to heed.
Thus the Lord notifies him that them, the people, should return unto him in the sense of heeding his teaching. But he must not let his personal interest in and love for his people influence him to return unto them or fall in with them in their evil ways.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 15:19-21. Therefore thus saith the Lord In these verses we have Gods gracious answer to the preceding expostulation. Though the prophet betrayed much human frailty in his address, yet God vouchsafed to answer him with good and comfortable words, for he knows our frame. If thou return Namely, from thy diffidence and distrust in my providence and promises; then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me I will restore thee to the former favour thou hadst with me, and thou shalt be my prophet, to reveal my mind to the people. And if thou take the precious from the vile If thou separate the precious truths of God from the vile fancies of men; or rather, if thou preach so as to distinguish good and bad men from each other, encouraging the good, and reproving the wicked, then I will continue thee as my prophet, to speak in my name; and thou wilt answer the character of a true prophet, whose office it is to utter the words that God puts into his mouth, without adding thereto, or diminishing from them. Let them return unto thee, &c. He here charges the prophet to keep his ground, and not to go over to wicked men, but to use his endeavour to reduce them to that obedience which he yielded to God. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced wall Which the storm batters and beats violently upon, but cannot shake; and they shall fight against thee They will still continue their opposition; but they shall not prevail Namely, to drive thee from off thy work, or to cut thee off from the land of the living. For I am with thee to save thee And I have wisdom and power enough to deal with the most formidable enemy. I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked The wicked Jews; and out of the hand of the terrible The power of the terrible Chaldeans, into whose hands thou shalt come, but shalt be preserved from any harm by the workings of my providence in thy favour.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:19 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou shalt {s} return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand before me: and if thou shalt separate the {t} precious from the vile, thou shalt be {u} as my mouth: let them return {x} to thee; but return not thou to them.
(s) If you forget these carnal considerations and faithfully execute your charge.
(t) That is, seek to win the good from the bad.
(u) That is, as my mouth has pronounced, Jer 1:18 and as here follows in Jer 15:20 .
(x) Do not conform yourself to their wickedness, but let them follow your godly example.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord replied that if Jeremiah would turn to Him, he would find restoration and renewed strength to stand for his God. Jeremiah had been calling the people to repent, but he needed to repent of his self-pitying attitude (Jer 15:15-18). If he would purify himself inwardly (undergo a refining process), the Lord would continue to use him. Some of the people might turn to follow Jeremiah, but he must not turn to follow them. He must lift them up, and at the same time, not allow them to drag him down.
"Perhaps God was telling the prophet that he had been overconcerned about what people thought and said about him when his one concern should have been to heed God’s word and proclaim it." [Note: Thompson, p. 398.]