Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 17:26
And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
26. Cp. for this kind of enumeration Jer 32:44, Jer 33:13.
the land of Benjamin ] lying north of Judah.
the lowland ] the low hills and flat valley-land stretching down towards the Philistine plain on the W. and S.W. of Judah.
the mountains ] the loftier part S. of Jerusalem in the neighbourhood of Hebron.
the South ] See on Jer 13:19. The cities in these three districts are enumerated in Joshua , 15, viz. 33 44; 48 60; 21 32.
burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and oblations, and frankincense ] Three sorts of offerings are here mentioned, two bloody and one unbloody. The “oblations” (mg. “meal offerings”) consisted of flour and oil, and had (Lev 2:1) frankincense (see on Jer 6:20) strewn upon them.
sacrifices of thanksgiving ] thanksgiving. The word “sacrifices,” omitted here and in Jer 33:11, is supplied in the directions given in Lev 7:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sum of all these three verses is, that if they would sanctify the Lords sabbath, they should either continue in, or be restored unto, their ancient, civil, and ecclesiastical order, they should have kings and princes in their former order and splendour, and men should come from all parts of the country bringing their usual sacrifices and offerings to the temple, and those of all sorts. Some think this promise is to be understood synecdochically, one principal part of the law of God, and such a one as was in their power to obey, being put for the whole law of God. Those who desire to be satisfied in the niceties as to the terms and places here mentioned, may find satisfaction in the English Annotations upon this verse. The general sense is no more than that both their city and their temple, their civil and ecclesiastical state, should continue and flourish in that order wherein it was.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. plain mountains . . . south(Jos 15:1-4). Thesouthern border had extended to the river of Egypt, but was now muchcurtailed by Egyptian invasions (2Ch 35:20;2Ch 36:3; 2Ch 36:4).The Hebrew for “south” means dry; the ariddesert south of Judea is meant. The enumeration of all theparts of Judea, city, country, plain, hill, and desert, implies thatno longer shall there be aught wanting of the integrity of the Jewishland (Zec 7:7).
sacrificesAs in Jer17:22, one constituent of Judea’s prosperity is mentioned,namely, its kings on David’s throne, the pledge of God beingits guardian; so in this verse another constituent, namely, itspriests, a pledge of God being propitious to it (Ps107:22).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they shall come from the cities of Judah,…. That is, men shall come from all parts of the land of Judea to the city of Jerusalem, and to the temple; especially at the times of their solemn feasts, three times a year, as the law directed:
and from the places about Jerusalem; and from all the towns and villages adjacent to it, such as Bethany and Bethphage, and many others:
and from the land of Benjamin; which tribe continued with the tribe of Judah when the rest revolted, and was now with it, and still would continue with it, and join with it in religious worship, were they careful to observe what the Lord commanded them:
and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south; these respect the several parts of the land of Judah, which, the Jews i say, was divided into three parts, the mountain, plain or champaign country, and the valley: the “plain” was that part where Lydda and other cities were; the “mountain” is the same with the hill country of Judea, Lu 1:39; and the “south” the southern part of the land, that which is called the wilderness of Judea, of which see
Jos 15:20. The above Jewish writers say k, that from Bethhoron to Emmaus was the mountain or hill country; from Emmaus to Lydda the plain; and from Lydda to the sea the valley; now, from all these places should persons come to the temple:
bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, and meat offerings and incense; sacrifices and offerings of all sorts, according to the law; hereby signifying, that if the sabbath was observed, as it would go well with the kings and princes of Judah, they would keep a splendid court, and have a numerous retinue, so it would be well with the priests that served at the altar; sacrifices would be brought to them; of which they would have their part, as well as God have glory by an obedience to his laws; and, besides these, other sacrifices would also be brought, as follows:
and bringing sacrifices of praise unto the house of the Lord; thank offerings for mercies received and deliverances wrought, as well as sacrifices for sins committed; and this was one sort of the peace offerings, Le 7:11.
i Misna Sheviith, c 9. sect. 2. k Hieros. Sheviith, foI. 38. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here he mentions the second part of the blessing; for the whole people would be preserved safe in the possession of their kingdom and priesthood, as in both the favor of God appeared; for both the king and the priest were types of Christ. For as by the priesthood they knew that God was propitious to them, they being reconciled to him by sacrifices, and as by the kingdom they knew that God was the protector and guardian of their safety, so these two things constituted a real and complete happiness. Hence the Prophet, having mentioned one of these things, now proceeds to the other, —
They shall come from the cities of Judah ad from the whole circuit of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from other places, to offer sacrifices in the Temple. Sacrifices of themselves could not indeed serve the people; but Jeremiah assumed this principle, — that reconciliation was not in vain promised to the people by the sacrifices; for sins were really atoned, and Godas it were came forth to gather a people for himself. It was the same as though God said, that he would by all means be gracious to them, if only they observed the Sabbath, that is, if they with a pure heart devoted themselves to his service. The country, as I have said, was in a great measure laid waste; but the Prophet, after having spoken of the city, now adds, that all Judea would become inhabited, for from thence they would ascend to the Temple to offer sacrifices. After having mentioned the whole circuit, he names the land of Benjamin, the half tribe of whom, as it is well known, had continued in the faith, and had not separated from the family of David; indeed a part of the city was in the tribe of Benjamin.
He afterwards adds, the plain and the mountains, as though he had said, God’s worshippers would come from all the neighboring region to celebrate the feasts and to offer sacrifices as usual.
At last he mentions burnt-offering, sacrifice, and oblation, מנחה, meneche; the three principal offerings. But Jeremiah wished to shew briefiy that God would cause religion to flourish and prevail among them as before. But after having spoken of the external worship, he then refers to the end, They shall bring, he says, confession, or praise, תודה, tude, into the Temple. (190) Here by one word Jeremiah includes the chief thing in sacrifices, as we may learn from Psa 50:14; where it is said,
“
sacrifice praise unto God.”
God there rejects the sacrifices which were offered by the Jews without a right motive: he then shews what he required, commanding them to sacrifice praise. So now Jeremiah teaches us that the design of all sacrifices was to celebrate the name of God, that is, that the Jews might profess that they owed all things to him, that they received their life and their safcty freely from him. in short, they were thereby to testify their gratitude before God. So at this day this truth remains the same, though the types have been abolished: we do not offer calves or oxen or rams, but the sacrifice of praise, by confessing and proclaiming his benefits and blessings, according to what the Apostle says in Heb 13:15. But what ought to prevail among us apart from types, was formerly accompanied with types; and yet this truth was observed by the Jews in common with us, — that while they offered their sacrifices under the Law, they were to testify their gratitude by visible symbols. Let us proceed —
(190) It is more consistent with the rest of the passage to regard this word as meaning “sacrifice of praise,” or thanksgiving, or confession. There were sacrifices of this kind especially prescribed; see Lev 7:12, and the word is often taken in this sense, without the word “sacrifice” being connected with it. Offerings according to the Law are the things which are here mentioned: and the same verb “bring,” precedes תודה as in the previous instances, when “burnt-offering, sacrifice,” etc., are named.
The Septuagint, as in many other instances, give only a verbal translation, “praise;” “oblation,” is the Vulgate; “thanksgiving,” the Syriac; and “sacrifice of confession,” the Targum.
All the words are singular in Hebrew — burnt-offering — sacrifice — oblation, (or meat-offering) — incense — thanksgiving. It would be well to retain the singular in a version. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(26) They shall come . . .The verse has a special interest (1) as a topographical description of the country about Jerusalem, and (2) as a summary of the chief forms of sacrifice under the Mosaic Law. (1) The plain (Shephelah) is the lowland country of Philistia, stretching to the Mediterranean; the mountain the hill-country of Judah; the south (Negeb) the region lying to the south of Hebron, and including Beersheba (comp. Jos. 15:21; Jos. 15:28). Each name, though descriptive in meaning, was used in almost as definite a sense as that in which we speak of the Campagna of Rome or the Weald of Kent. (2) The list includes the burnt offerings, in which the flesh of the victim was consumed entirely on the altar; the sacrifices, in which the flesh of the victim was eaten partly by the priest and partly by the worshipper; the meat offerings, which were of meal and salt, not of flesh, and were always accompanied by incense (Lev. 2:1); and, lastly, praisethe word sacrifice not being found in the Hebrewthe utterance of prayer and psalm, which the Psalmist had named as more acceptable than the flesh of bulls and goats (Psa. 50:14).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. They shall come An answering description of religious grandeur and prosperity. The specifications are such as give completeness to the picture. As to offerings, the two great classes are mentioned, namely, bloody burnt offerings and sacrifices, and unbloody meat offerings and incense. As to localities, we have cities of Judah, places about Jerusalem, land of Benjamin, the plain, the mountains, and the south showing the universal participation of the people.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 17:26. And from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south These divisions of the country belonging to the tribe of Judah may be found, Jos 15:21; Jos 15:33; Jos 15:48 and these together with the tribe of Benjamin made up the whole kingdom of Judah, when taken separate from the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes. See the same enumeration, ch. Jer 32:44.
REFLECTIONS.1st, They seemed to wonder, chap. Jer 16:10 what they had done to deserve such heavy judgments. But surely there was cause abundant given.
1. The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond; deep, legible, and lasting are the characters; the love of their iniquities is graven upon their hearts; the horns of the altars of their idols, sprinkled with the blood of their sacrifices, proclaimed their guilt; and their very children, trained up in their idolatrous rites, were evidences against them; or, as they remember their children, so do they their altars, with the same fondness, and as strongly attached to their abominations. Note; The iniquity of sinners is written before God. If the blood of Jesus blot not out the deadly charge, woe unto them in the day when the judgment shall sit, and the books be opened.
2. The charge being proved, judgment is passed on them. The city and temple, called the mountain of the Lord’s house, Mic 4:1 are devoted to the spoil, with all their treasures, for the sin of the people throughout the land. The sin was universal, and so would be the desolation. And thou, even thyself, or in thee, those who dwell in the land, or through thyself, the ruin is of thine own seeking, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee, led captive into a strange land, and doomed to hard servitude under their tyrannical conquerors; and this through the fierce anger of the Lord kindled against them, and which would burn against the impenitent among them, not only all their days, but to eternity. Note; If sinners continue hardened under God’s present judgments, they will find there but the beginning of sorrows, and the sparks of those everlasting burnings which are kindling for them.
2nd, The Jews often thought by their alliances with the neighbouring nations to gain protection against their invading enemies. This was both their sin, and a chief cause of their ruin.
1. The prophet denounces the curse of God against such as trusted in man, and made flesh their arm, and whose heart departed from the Lord, withdrawing their confidence from him, to place it on worms; which was, to change a rock for a reed. Thus they trusted alternately on the Egyptians and Assyrians, see chap. Jer 2:36-37 to their sad disappointment; or they placed such confidence in their relation after the flesh to Abraham, that they promised themselves security, notwithstanding their faithless departures from Abraham’s God. But the consequences would be ruinous; like the heath in the desert, so desolate should they be made, and serve as fuel to the flames of God’s wrath, and see no good days, or behold and pine away at the mercies that others should receive, from which they would be excluded, and become as a land parched and uninhabited; their country a desert, and themselves destitute of every comfort. Note; (1.) God is the only worthy object of our faith and hope: human-confidences may fail us, but he never will fail those who perseveringly trust in him. (2.) When we depend on our own doings and duties to recommend us for acceptance with God, instead of trusting on the infinite merit and grace of Jesus, we shall by the issue be convinced of the vanity of our dependence.
2. As miserable as they are who depart from God, so blessed and happy are they, who, renouncing all other grounds of hope, constantly, faithfully, and perseveringly rest their souls on God in Christ alone. They shall be like the tree planted by the rivers, always flourishing and fruitful, firm-rooted, and in the most scorching season watered abundantly. Their profession shall be ornamental, their liability secured; in time of severest temptation they shall be kept from withering, and their fruits of holiness shall abound and abide, till grace ripens into glory.
3. The cause of all departures from God is here laid open. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Man’s nature is fallen; his heart is radically corrupt, all its faculties perverted, and his whole mind and conscience defiled; deceitful above all things; puts false glosses upon sin, which hide its malignity and danger; fancies delights in the ways of indulgence, that are never found; buoys up the vain confidence of the sinner with hopes of impunity and peace, when God hath said, There is no peace! and desperately wicked; not only evil in that mere state of nature, but evil continually and incurably, without the grace of God, desperately set upon sin, without power to abstain from it, or ability to get rid of the bondage of corruption; nay, rather hugging the chains: who can know it? The more we know of ourselves, far from having fathomed the abyss of evil, we discover but the more clearly, that the depths of corruption in man by nature are unfathomable; we can neither understand the number of our errors, nor promise ourselves for a moment, without divine aid, security from the deepest and foulest falls. There is a mystery of iniquity within us by nature, which none can know but God alone, and nothing can cure but his almighty grace; and therefore it were folly to depend on ourselves or others, in whose hearts such deceit and desperate wickedness are naturally so deeply rooted. But I the Lord search the heart; its most secret purposes are known to him: I try the reins, and see the rising thoughts afar off: from him nothing is hid, nothing is secret; and thus all-seeing ought he to be, who is the final Judge of all, and by whose decisions our eternal state must be determined, and every man receive judgment according to truth. Note; (1.) Nothing affords so humbling a consideration to us, as this striking view of our fallen nature; the pride of man must here for ever stand aghast and confounded. (2.) They who place confidence in their own hearts, in their resolutions and purposes, prove how ignorant they are of themselves, and predict only their own falls. (3.) Since at God’s awful judgment we must shortly stand to receive our doom, it becomes us daily to be proving ourselves, and begging of God to discover to us our own hearts, that we may now so judge ourselves, as not then to be condemned of the Lord.
4. A heavy charge is laid against them for their covetousness and injustice. They would be rich, and stop at no methods to succeed, right or wrong; but God will not suffer them to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. Though brooding over them, as a partridge on her nest, their riches, like her eggs addled or broken, should afford them no solid satisfaction; and in the midst of their days, when they thought their toils were over, and began to talk of enjoying themselves, they shall be cut off, and leave their wealth all behind, made monuments of the folly of trusting on uncertain riches more than in the living God; and these things are written for our admonition: may we hear and be wise!
3rdly, We have the prophet,
1. Acknowledging how well they deserved to be rejected, who were ungrateful to a God so great and gracious. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary; in the temple at Jerusalem God had erected his throne, there he manifested his presence, and thither, as to a sanctuary, the guilty might flee, even to the mercy-seat, and there find a hiding-place. O JEHOVAH, the hope of Israel, the never-failing refuge of the faithful, in whom none ever trusted and were confounded; all that forsake thee, basely withdraw their allegiance, turn aside unto idols, or place their dependence on an arm of flesh, they shall be ashamed; their confidences shall fail them, and their iniquities issue in their confusion. They that depart from me, and will not hear the warnings of God in the mouth of his prophet, shall be written in the earth; numbered with transgressors, and trampled upon with contempt; or rather consigned to the grave, cut off in their iniquities, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters, the source of all blessedness; and they who depart from him court their own misery.
2. He prays for himself. Heal me, O Lord; for, though a prophet, he found much infirmity cleaving to him, the effects of which would prove mortal without the powerful efficacy of divine grace: or he was broken-hearted for the sins of the people, and in the view of the evils coming upon them, cries out, Heal me, and I shall be healed: save me, and I shall be saved. God’s power was all-sufficient; on this he placed his dependence, and with humble prayer, in God’s appointed way, sought the blessing that he wanted: for thou art my praise, the object of it continually, who hitherto had given him abundant matter for his praises, and he trusted would continue to do so. Note; (1.) Every blessing that we need must be sought by the prayer of faith. (2.) Sin is the soul’s disease, and will be fatal unless healed by grace. The salvation of eternity must be begun on earth: they who would be saved in heaven, must now be saved below.
3. He complains of their hardened infidelity. He faithfully delivered the message that he received from God, and they treated it with contempt. Where is the word of the Lord? where are the threatened judgments? they saw no symptoms of their approach, and utterly disbelieved them; and therefore in defiance bade them come. Let it come now, as if they were above all fear, and dared the arm of Omnipotence. Note; When sinners are thus incorrigible, their damnation slumbereth not.
4. Their ill usage and insolent treatment had not discouraged him from the faithful and diligent discharge of his office. I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee; following God’s directions, notwithstanding every opposition: neither have I desired the woeful day, or wished to see the miseries that he foretold; but prayed and preached with all his might, that by a timely repentance they might prevent the threatened judgments. And for this he could appeal to the heart-searching God: thou knowest it: that which came out of my lips was right before thee: he spoke exactly according to God’s word, with uprightness and simplicity, and was conscious of God’s approbation of his conduct. Note; (1.) Whatever treatment we meet with, we must patiently and boldly persist in the work of our ministry. (2.) Many think that the preachers of God’s word delight in declaring the terrors of the Lord; but it is the most painful part of their office. (3.) They who have the heart-searching God to appeal to, need not regard the revilings of men.
5. He begs God’s protection and support, and that his enemies might be put to confusion. Be not a terror unto me; not only do not confound me before them, but comfort me under their opposition; for more seems to be implied than is expressed. Thou art my hope in the day of evil, I disclaim all other dependence. Let them be confounded; convinced and penitent, or silenced by the infliction of the threatened vengeance; but let me not be confounded by their wickedness, or in the event proved to have spoken falsely. Let them be dismayed, with the sense of their danger; but let me not be dismayed by their revilings or persecutions. Bring upon them the day of evil, at which they scoff: since they will not be reformed, it is but just they should suffer for their impenitence: and destroy them with double destruction; utterly, or beyond all their apprehensions; or by the Chaldeans first, and finally by the Romans: and this he prays, not out of revenge for a private injury done to him, but in zeal for God’s glory dishonoured by them. Note; (1.) When God is our hope, we need fear no evil. (2.) If we be faithful, God will never suffer us to be confounded.
4thly, We have in this chapter another and new discourse; the subject relates to the sanctification of the sabbath-day. We have,
1. The places where he must deliver it. In the gate of the king, that all the great men at the court might hear it, whose good example would be very influential, or their bad conduct productive of peculiar evil: and then in all the gates of Jerusalem, that all might hear, and none plead ignorance, from the least to the greatest, where the matter was of such universal concern.
2. The manner is prescribed in which the sabbath-day should be observed. Thus saith the Lord, whom all are bound to obey, and whose word whosoever transgresses doth it at his peril; Take heed to yourselves; where so much depended upon it, they had need be careful: or, take heed to your souls; for nothing is well done in God’s sight but what comes from the heart. They must bear no burden, be employed in no servile work of their ordinary calling, in husbandry, traffic, or merchandize; but hallow the sabbath-day, in the diligent and conscientious improvement of those sacred hours in every public and private means of grace, as I commanded your fathers. It was no new commandment, but enjoined from the day on which they were taken into covenant with God, on their deliverance from Egypt, though their fathers had rebelled and smarted for their disobedience to it, whose ill examples they must shun, and be admonished by their suffering, and not be, like them, untractable and disobedient.
3. The blessedness and benefit of observing the divine command would be very great to the nation, and to all who belonged thereunto. Their kings of the royal race of David should continue to reign in splendor, and they be happy under their mild government. Their city and country should prosper exceedingly, religion flourish through the land, God’s altar never want sacrifices, nor they the liberal offerings to bring, out of the abundance which God would bestow on them. Note; (1.) True religion is the greatest friend to national happiness. (2.) Nothing has so immediate a tendency to promote universal godliness, as the conscientious observation of the sabbath-day.
4. Disobedience to this injunction would certainly be attended with the most fatal consequences. In just indignation for his slighted sabbaths, the fire of God’s wrath would be kindled, nor ever be quenched, till the gates of Jerusalem are in flames by invading foes, the executioners of his vengeance, her palaces laid in smoky ruins, and utter desolations poured out upon all the cities of Judah. Let sabbath-breakers remember, and tremble at the fire of divine vengeance which they provoke.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 17:26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
Ver. 26. And they shall come. ] All the solemnity of the temple shall continue, with the exaltation of all the neighbourhood. When the high priests would so work that day like to beg the body, seal the sepulchre, and set the watch on the Sabbath – called, by an irony, the day that followed the day of the preparation Mat 27:62 – they forfeited all.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the plain. Called Shephelah = Philistia, between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea.
mountains = the central land.
the south = the Negeb. See notes on Gen 12:9; Gen 13:1. Deu 1:7. Psa 126:4.
bringing burnt offerings, &c. Reference to Pentateuch Lev 1:1, Lev 1:2, &c.
meat = meal. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 2:1). App-92.
incense = frankincense.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
from the cities: Jer 32:44, Jer 33:13, Jos 15:21-63
the plain: Zec 7:7
bringing burnt: Lev 1:1 – Lev 7:38, Ezr 3:3-6, Ezr 3:11
sacrifices of: Jer 33:11, Psa 107:22, Psa 116:17, Heb 13:15, 1Pe 2:5, 1Pe 2:9, 1Pe 2:10, Rev 1:5
Reciprocal: Jer 13:19 – cities Jer 33:12 – in all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 17:26. The political life of the nation would have been continued, also the religious activities that centered in Jerusalem would have been undisturbed as long as that religious age (or dispensation) continued to be in force. And even after the practice named ceased to be recognized by the Lord as of religious use (Rom 10:4), they could have continued as part of the national customs.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Judahites would then return to Jerusalem from all parts of the country. They would bring many different sacrifices to offer to the Lord at the temple.