Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 22:13
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that] useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
13. that buildeth his house by unrighteousness ] Jehoiakim, as though it were not enough to involve the land in a heavy tribute to the king of Egypt (2Ki 23:35), exacted forced labour from his own subjects that he might have a sumptuous palace built for himself.
chambers ] upper chambers, and so in Jer 22:14. They were on the flat roof of the house, had latticed windows (see 2Ki 1:2), and so enjoyed free circulation of air.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13 19. See introd. summary to section. It probably belongs to the early years of Jehoiakim, but see on Jer 22:18-19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Far worse is the second example. Shallum was no heartless tyrant like Jehoiakim, who lived in splendor amid the misery of the nation, and perished so little cared for that his body was cast aside without burial.
His chambers – Really, his upper chambers. From the absence of machinery the raising of materials for the upper stories was a difficult task, especially when massive stones were used.
His work – Giveth him not his wages.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. Wo unto him that buildeth his house] These evils, charged against Jehoiakim, are nowhere else circumstantially related. We learn from 2Kg 23:35-37, that he taxed his subjects heavily, to give to Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt: “He exacted the silver and gold of the people of the land, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.” The mode of taxation is here intimated; he took the wages of the hirelings, and caused the people to work without wages in his own buildings, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have not here any certain guidance to let us know whether the prophet intended Jehoahaz or Jehoiakim; both of them did evil in the sight of the Lord, as we read in their story. The sin here reflected upon is manifestly injustice and oppression, but possibly, in the former part of the verse, all unjust and oppressive acts by which either of these princes endeavoured to promote their grandeur may be understood; for we need not take building his house in a strict, literal sense, but signifying the promotion of his family, or establishing his state and dignity. In the latter part, a special oppression, withholding workmens wages, is the sin upon which the woe is denounced; a sin contrary to the law, Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14,15, and against which the judgment of God is also denounced under the New Testament, Jam 5:4. An evident demonstration of Gods love to mankind, securing by his law just dealings between man and man, and revenging acts of injustice, and particularly where men take advantage of their greatness above and superiority over others, to trample them under their feet, and to withhold their just rights from them: though such persons may be out of the reach of human justice, yet God hath denounced a woe against them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Not only did Jehoiakim taxthe people (2Ki 23:35) forPharaoh’s tribute, but also took their forced labor, without pay, forbuilding a splendid palace; in violation of Lev 19:13;Deu 24:14; Deu 24:15.Compare Mic 3:10; Hab 2:9;Jas 5:4. God will repay injustice those who will not in justice pay those whom they employ.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by righteousness, and his chambers by wrong,…. This respects Jehoiakim, the then reigning king; who, not content with the palace the kings of Judah before him had lived in, built another; or however enlarged that, and made great alterations in it; but this he did either with money ill gotten, or perverted to a wrong use, which ought to have been otherwise laid out; or by not paying for the materials of whom they were bought, or the workmen for their workmanship; and perhaps this may be the reason why so much notice is taken of the king’s house or palace in the former part of the chapter, and why it is threatened with desolation,
Jer 22:1;
[that] useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; or, “that serveth [himself] of his neighbour freely”; or, “makes him serve freely” g; “and giveth him not his work” h; makes him, work for nothing; gives him no wages for it, but keeps back the hire of the labourers; which is a crying sin in any person, and much more in a king; see Jas 5:4.
g “qui socium suum servire facit gratis”, Schmidt; “amici sui servitutem exigenti gratis”, Junius Tremellius. h “et opus ejus non dabit ei”, Montanus “mercedem operis”, Pagninus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The woe uttered upon Jehoiakim. – Jer 22:13. “Woe unto him that buildeth his house with unrighteousness and his upper chambers with wrong, that maketh his fellow labour for nought, and giveth him not his hire; Jer 22:14. That saith: I will build me a wide house and spacious upper chambers, and cutteth him out many windows, and covereth it with cedars, and painteth it with vermilion. Jer 22:15. Art thou a king of thou viest in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do right and justice? Then it went well with him. Jer 22:16. He did justice to the poor and wretched, then it was well. Is not this to know me? saith Jahveh. Jer 22:17. For on nothing are thine eyes and thy heart set but on gain and on the blood of the innocent, to shed it, and on oppression and violence, to do them. Jer 22:18. Therefore thus saith Jahveh concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah: They shall not mourn for him, saying: Alas, my brother! and alas, sister! they shall not mourn for him: Alas, lord! and alas for his glory! Jer 22:19. An ass’s burial shall his burial be, dragged and cast far away from the gates of Jerusalem.”
The prediction as to Jehoiakim begins with a woe upon the unjust oppression of the people. The oppression consisted in his building a magnificent palace with the sweat and blood of his subjects, whom he compelled to do forced labour without giving the labourers wages. The people must have felt this burden all the more severely that Jehoiakim, to obtain the throne, had bound himself to pay to Pharaoh a large tribute, the gold and silver for which he raised from the population according to Pharaoh’s own valuation, 2Ki 23:33. With “Woe to him that buildeth,” etc., cf. Hab 2:12; Mic 3:10. “That maketh his fellow labour,” lit., through his neighbour he works, i.e., he causes the work to be done by his neighbour (fellow-man) for nought, without giving him wages, forces him to unpaid statute-labour. as in Lev 25:39, Lev 25:46. , labour, work, gain, then wages, cf. Job 7:2. Jehoiakim sought to increase the splendour of his kingship by palace-building. To this the speech points, put in his mouth at Jer 22:14: I will build me , a house of extensions, i.e., a palace in the grand style, with spacious halls, vast chambers. from , to find vent, cheer up, 1Sa 16:23; not airy, but spacious, for quite a modest house might have airy chambers. is a continuation of the participle; literally: and he cuts himself out windows, makes huge openings in the walls for windows. This verb is used in Jer 4:30 of opening up the eyes with paint. presents some difficulty, seeing that the suffix of the first person makes no sense. It has therefore been held to be a contracted plural form (Gesen. Lehrgeb. S. 523) or for a dual (Ew. 177, a), but without any proof of the existence of such formations, since , Amo 7:1; Nah 3:17, is to be otherwise explained (see on Amo 7:1). Following on the back of J. D. Mich., Hitz., Graf, and Bttcher ( ausf. Gramm. 414) propose to connect the before with this word and to read : and tears open for himself his windows; in support of which it is alleged that one cod. so reads. But this one cod. can decide nothing, and the suffix his is superfluous, even unsuitable, seeing that there can be no thought of another person’s building; whereas the copula cannot well be omitted before . For the rule adduced for this, that the manner of the principal action is frequently explained by appending infinitives absoll. (Ew. 280, a), does not meet the present case; the covering with cedar, etc., does not refer to the windows, and so cannot be an explanation of the cutting out for himself. We therefore hold, with Bttcher ( Proben, S. 40), that is an adjective formation, with the force of: abundant in windows, since this formation is completely accredited by and (cf. Ew. 164, c); and the objection alleged against this by Graf, that then no object is specified for “cutteth out,” is not of much weight, it being easy to supply the object from the preceding “house:” and he cuts it out for himself abounding in windows. There needs be no change of into . For although the infin. absol. would be quite in place as continuation of the verb. fin. (cf. Ew. 351, c), yet it is not necessary. The word is attached in zeugma to or : and he covers with cedar, to: faces or overlays, for this verb does not mean to plank or floor, for which is the usual word, but hide, cover, and is used 1Ki 6:9; 1Ki 7:3, for roofing. The last statement is given in infin. absol.: :.los , and besmears it, paints it (the building) with , red ochre, a brilliant colour (lxx , i.e., acc. to Kimchi, red lead; see Gesen. thess s.v.).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 13-19: A DENUNCIATION OF JEHOIAKIM (608 – 597 B.C.)
1. Following Jehoahaz on the throne in Judah, Jehoiakim, his elder brother, was compelled to pay tribute to Necho (ruler of Egypt) while he was preparing to attack the Babylonians in northern Palestine.
a. His rule was characterized by selfish luxury and oppression; a petty tyrant, he was not FIT to rule!
b. His wickedness was like that of Manasseh; to oppose him was to court death, (Jer 26:20-23).
2. A scathing denunciation is pronounced against Jehoiakim because of his callous exploitation, and forced labor, of his workmen -concerned only for his own vanity and comfort, (vs. 13-14; comp. Jer 17:11; Mic 3:9-10; Hab 2:9).
3. Does he really think that such luxury and oppression are the true qualities of royalty? (vs. 15a).
4. If he would know the true hallmark of royalty, Jeremiah suggests a look at his father, Josiah, who was A REAL KING! (vs. 15b,16).
a. Though he lived like a king, he practiced justice and righteousness – caring for the poor and defenseless, (Psa 72:1-4; Psa 72:12-13).
b. In this he manifested the highest virtue – the knowledge of Jehovah, (Jer 9:23-24).
c. A right relationship with God is impossible apart from a right, loving and caring relationship with one’s brother, (1Jn 4:10; 1Jn 4:21).
d. Jeremiah saw the abandonment of Josiah’s ideal as a conspiracy against Jehovah – such a breach of His covenant as invited His wrath! (Jer 11:9-13).
5. The eye and heart of Jehoiakim were set on: dishonest gain, the shedding of innocent blood, oppression and violence, (vs. 17; comp. Jer 6:4; Jer 6:13; 2Ki 24:4; Luk 12:15-20).
6. No wonder Jehovah declares that his death will be unlamented; for him there will be no royal funeral; he will, rather, be buried like an ass – his carcass dumped, without ceremony, on the garbage heap outside the city! (vs. 18-19; comp. Jer 36:30).
7. It is not surprising that the relationship between Jeremiah and Jehoiakim was something less than cordial.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Prophet begins here to shew that it could not be otherwise but that the king’s palace as well as Jerusalem must be destroyed, for their wickedness had arrived to the highest pitch; but he now, as it will appear presently, reprehends the father of Jeconiah.
He then says that the city was full of robberies, and especially the palace of the king. Yet I do not think that the Prophet speaks only of the king, but also of the courtiers and chief men. We must also bear in mind what I said yesterday, that the common people were not absolved while the king was condemned. But as dignity and honor among the people belonged both to the king and the princes, the Prophet exposes them publicly, that, it might be made evident how deplorable the state of things was throughout the whole community. We must at the same time add, that the chief among them were first summoned to judgment, not only because every one had privately offended, but because they had by their bad examples corrupted the whole body of the people; and also, because they had taken more liberty, as they feared nothing. We indeed know that the rich exercise tyranny, because they deem themselves exempt from all laws. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet here denounces, in a special manner, a curse on the king and the chief men.
He says, that they built unjustly; his words are, with no justice and with no judgment, by which he designates cruelty, frauds, and robberies; he, in short, includes under these words all kinds of iniquity. The way in which these things were done is stated; they wronged their neighbors, by demanding and extorting labors without rewarding them. Here, indeed, the Prophet only refers to one kind of injustice; but it may hence be easily concluded, how unjustly and wickedly they ruled who were then in authority; for they employed their neighbors, as though they were slaves, in building houses and palaces, for they denied them their wages. But nothing can be more cruel than to deprive the poor of the fruit of their labor, who from their labor derive their daily support. It is, indeed, commanded in the Law, that the wages of the laborer should not sleep with us, (Lev 19:13) for that would be the same as to kill him. (47) There is also another indignity; when a robber kills a man, his object is the spoil; but he who extorts labor from a poor man, and sucks, so to speak, his blood, afterwards sends him away naked and needy; this is more atrocious than by violence to kill him. We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet. But as he continues the same subject, I shall defer any further remarks till to-morrow.
(47) This verse is not correctly rendered by Calvin nor by any of the early versions. The two last clauses are made by them all in a great measure tantological, while they are perfectly distinct in their meaning. I render the verse thus, —
Wo to him who builds his house by means of injustice, And his chambers by means of wrong judgment: Of his neighbor he makes a slave for no reason, And for his work he gives nothing to him.
The verb עבר when followed by ב, means to enslave, or to make a slave. See Jer 25:14. We hence see the force of the word, חנס gratuitously, for no reason, because the Jews might under certain circumstances be reduced to a state of slavery; but Jehoiakim did this when there was no cause. This was the “wrong judgment” And then he gave them no support, nothing for their work; this was the “injustice.” He reduced them to slavery, and did not maintain them. The real import of the passage is completely lost in the loose rendering of the Versions; but the Targ. rightly expresses the meaning of the third line, “To slavery he reduces for no cause his neighbor.” — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. The folly of Jehoiakim (Jer. 22:13-23)
TRANSLATION
(13) Woe to him that builds his house with unrighteousness and his upper chambers with injustice; who makes his neighbor serve for nothing and does not give his wages to him; (14) who says, I will build for myself a roomy house, with spacious upper rooms, and cuts windows for it, paneling it with cedar, and painting it red. (15) Shall you continue to reign because you are striving earnestly to excel in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and establish justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. (16) He judged the cause of the poor and needy. Then it was well. Is not this what it means to know Me (oracle of the LORD)? (17) But your eyes and your heart are fixed solely upon your ill-gotten gain, and upon shedding innocent blood and upon practicing oppression and violence. (18) Therefore, thus says the LORD to Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not lament for him: Ah my brother! or Ah sister! They shall not lament for him: As lord! or Ah his glory! (19) With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, dragged and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. (20) Go up to Lebanon and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan, cry out from Abarim! for all of your lovers are destroyed! (21) I spoke unto you in your prosperity. But you said, I will not harken. This has been your way from your youth, that you have not hearkened to My voice. (22) The wind shall shepherd all of your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity; surely then you will be ashamed and perplexed because of all of your evil. (23) O inhabitant of Lebanon, You who make your nest among the cedars, how you are to be pitied when pangs come on you, travail like a woman in childbirth.
COMMENTS
Jehoiakim was placed on the throne of Judah by Pharaoh Necho when Jehoahaz was deported to Egypt in 609 B.C. The stupidity of this monarch was only equaled by his pride, cruelty and covetousness. Jehoiakim was not satisfied to occupy the palace which his father Josiah had occupied before him. He wanted a bigger and more luxurious home like the rulers of Egypt or Babylon. With Solomon-like zeal this puny prince set about to build a magnificent palace. Contrary to the teaching of the law and the prophets he forced his countrymen to labor on this ill-conceived project without remuneration. The Hebrew prophets denounced this practice which was common in the ancient Near East. Not even a king could demand unpaid services from his subjects! Thus Jehoiakim was building his house with unrighteousness and injustice (Jer. 22:13). And what a house that was to bea roomy house with upper chambers and windows, the interior paneled with cedar and painted red (Jer. 22:14).
In Jer. 22:15 Jeremiah drives home the point that there is more to being a king than surrounding oneself with luxury. Jehoiakim need not think that he is entitled to reign merely because he can rival others in the building of cedar houses. By way of contrast to the pompous plans of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah points to the way that good king Josiah had conducted the affairs of the kingdom. Josiah ate and drank, i.e., he enjoyed the comforts of his regal status. But at the same time he established justice and righteousness in the land. He understood the responsibilities of kingship and performed those duties. He recognized the rights of other men and respected them. As a result Josiah prospered and was blessed of God because he put first things first (Jer. 22:15). He judged the cause of the poor and needy, i.e., he was cognizant of the rights and needs of the less fortunate. A man who really knows the Lord will see and seek to alleviate human suffering (Jer. 22:16).
Jehoiakim was the exact opposite of his godly father. He was determined to restore the glory of the throne and the splendor of the court. Any little people who stood in his way were ruthlessly eliminated. His covetous eye and wicked heart were fixed on ill-gotten gain. He would stop at nothing, even murder, to enlarge his holdings (Jer. 22:17).
Because of his flagrant wickedness Jehoiakim would meet with an exceedingly shameful end. It was customary in Judah as in all other countries of the ancient Near East for kings and nobles to be interred with regal pomp and to have special dirges recited over their graves. Because he was universally loved, the whole nation lamented the death of godly king Josiah (2Ch. 35:25). But no one will shed a tear when Jehoiakim passes from the scene. The word Ah is part of the vocabulary of lamentation and signifies extreme distress and sorrow. Ah my brother! or Ah sister! was no doubt a lament commonly uttered by relatives and friends of the deceased (1Ki. 13:30) while the cry Ah lord! or Ah his majesty! was presumably an expression of grief reserved for the death of a king (cf. Jer. 34:5). No mourners will assemble at the tomb of Jehoiakim to express sympathy for one another upon the loss of a great king. Still less would any lamentation be heard at his death that mentioned the lordship of Jehoiakim or his glory (Jer. 22:18). On the contrary Jehoiakim who loved to live in pomp and splendor would be buried with the burial of an ass, The burial of an ass would be no burial. The carcass of the animal would simply be left to rot in the open field. No specific passage states that this prophecy was fulfilled. But 2Ki. 24:6 does state Jehoiakim slept with his fathers[219] without mentioning the Place of his burial. In most cases the Book of Kings mentions where the kings of Judah were buried. The fact that in the case of Jehoiakim this detail was omitted suggests that he did not receive the customary burial. If this last indignity was heaped upon Jehoiakim after his death (and there is no good reason to think otherwise), then it was perpetrated by the people of Judah, not by the Chaldeans. Jehoiakim died just before the armies of Nebuchadnezzar arrived at the walls of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. Another, though less likely, possibility is that the Babylonians dug up the body of the recently buried Jehoiakim as a final act of vengeance against him for violating the terms of his vassal treaty with Nebuchadnezzar.
[219] The same terminology is used of Ahab who died a violent death at the hands of the Syrians (1Ki. 22:40).
Divine punishment awaits the nation as well as the king. Under the figure of a woman, Israel is called upon to ascend the heights and bewail the fate of the country. The places namedLebanon, Bashan, Abarimwere locations through which the Chaldeans would shortly pass on their sweep southward toward Judah. The Lebanon mountains were the northern entrance to Palestine. The Chaldeans would then pass through the hills of Bashan in the northeast. The Abarim is the mountain range southeast of the Dead Sea in which Mt. Nebo was one of the prominent peaks. Everywhere the cry of lamentation is taken Up as the enemy moves toward Jerusalem. No help arises from any quarter for all the lovers have been destroyed (Jer. 22:20). These lovers are nations which had foolishly banded together in some sort of political pact to withstand Nebuchadnezzar.
God had spoken to Israel in times of prosperity but the nation had stubbornly refused to hearken to His words. From the time when Israel became a nation she had refused to give heed to the word of God (Jer. 22:21). Judahs shepherds, her political and religious leaders, will be driven by the wind as they are swept away into exile. Normally shepherds drive the flock before them. But God will shepherd the shepherds of Israel by means of the wind of divine judgment. The political lovers, allied nations in whom Israel trusted, will also go into captivity. The men of Judah will be ashamed and perplexed as they come to realize the terrible evil which they have committed against their God (Jer. 22:22). Hitherto Jerusalem had enjoyed security like a bird nestled among the cedars in the high mountains of the Lebanon range. For this reason Jeremiah addresses the residents of Jerusalem as inhabitant of Lebanon. The use of the figure Lebanon for Jerusalem is also appropriate in view of the fact that so many of the palaces and official buildings of that city were built of cedar wood from the Lebanon mountains (1Ki. 7:2; 1 Kings 10-17, 21). Jeremiah has nothing but pity for the proud city as he contemplates the terrible agony which she must shortly endure, an agony comparable only to that suffered by a woman in travail (Jer. 22:23).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) Woe unto him that buildeth . . .The prophet now turns to Jehoiakim, and apparently reproduces what he had before uttered in denouncing the selfish bearing of that king. The feelings of the people, already suffering from the miseries of foreign invasion, were outraged by the revival of the forced labour of the days of Solomon, pressing in this instance not on the strangers of alien blood (1Ki. 5:13-15; 2Ch. 2:17-18), but on the Israelites themselves. We are reminded of the general characteristics of Eastern, and perhaps of all other, despotism. Like the modern rulers of Constantinople, Jehoiakim went on building palaces when his kingdom was on the verge of ruin, and his subjects were groaning under their burdens.
His chambers.Strictly speaking, the upper storeys of the house. This is dwelt on as aggravating the severity of the work.
Without wages.The labourers were treated as slaves, and, like the Israelites in their Egyptian bondage (Exo. 16:3), received their food, but nothing more.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Woe unto him, etc. Namely, Jehoiakim. This woe is pronounced because of the ruinous taxation of the people. This was for two objects the payment of the tribute exacted by Pharaoh-Necho, and the building of a magnificent palace for himself. “He lived in splendour in the midst of the people’s misery, and finally perished miserably at the age of thirty-six, so little cared for that his body was cast aside without burial.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Inadequacy of Jehoiakim ( Jer 22:13-19 ).
With Jehoahaz out of the way as a prospect hopes may have turned on Jehoiakim, whom Pharaoh had made king in place of his brother, having changed his name from Eliakim (thus demonstrating his authority over him). But Jeremiah makes quite clear that he is not YHWH’s chosen one. Indeed he is castigated for building great palaces for himself and draining the nations resources at time of great need, without properly paying his workers, and for neglecting the good of the realm. Thus he declares that his reign was so unjust that he would die unlamented and come to a fool’s end.
By his great building schemes Jehoiakim might well have been trying to ape Solomon or Pharaoh (or both). Inadequate men often bolster themselves up with grandiose schemes. But all that he in fact did was divide even more an already divided country, impoverish that country and make the common people bitter.
Jer 22:13-14
‘Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
And his chambers by injustice,
Who uses his neighbour’s service without wages,
And does not give him his hire,
Who says, I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers,
And cuts himself out windows,
And it is panelled with cedar,
And painted with vermilion.’
It appears that having become king Jehoiakim, totally ignoring the country’s needs, (they had just paid heavy tribute to Egypt), set about building himself a magnificent palace, calling on Israelite levies and treating them as slaves without paying them (he probably did not have the money). All that they would receive for their labours would be meagre rations. Indeed Jeremiah sees his actions as despicable in every way. The palace was extravagant and ostentatious, it was built of dishonestly obtained labour, and it would seem that he behaved despicably throughout. ‘Builds his house in unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice’ may signify that he also obtained the materials required for the project by confiscating them, although it may be the ‘penny-pinching’ on wages that may be in mind The whole affair was unworthy of a king, and at such a time was unforgivable.
Note the emphasis on its luxuriousness. It was a wider than usual palace (a wide house) with a large top storey (spacious chambers). That would be the part which would be most difficult to build and would demand the most work expended on it of a precarious nature. Furthermore it was built with excessively large windows which would be covered with lattice work, and one possible reason may have been so that he could display himself to the people. The word translated ‘cuts himself out’ actually indicates ‘dilating, expanding’. It is used of a woman dilating her eyes by the use of make-up (antimony), thus indicating eye-catching windows. It was then panelled with expensive cedar and painted with a red pigment, similar to that used on great houses in Egypt. Jehoiakim clearly thought only of himself and not of his kingdom.
Jer 22:15
“Will you reign,
Because you strive to excel in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him,
He judged the cause of the poor and needy,
Then it was well.
Was not this to know me? the word of YHWH.”
Jeremiah was so incensed that he sardonically asked him whether he really thought that he could rule a country simply because he was an ostentatious and self-satisfied builder. Let him consider the modesty of his father, Josiah. He lived a modest life, eating and drinking and ensuring justice and righteousness, the good life extolled by the writer of Ecc 2:24. And as a result it was well with him. Furthermore he was careful to give justice to the poor and the needy, something that added to his wellbeing under YHWH. And this was a king who lived in prosperous times, had no tribute to pay, at least in the second half of his life, and ruled over a country of large proportions having annexed part of what had been Northern Israel (he carried out reform at Bethel). But he had not sought to build himself a huge palace. Did not this prove that he truly knew YHWH and knew what would please Him?
Jer 22:17
“Because on nothing are your eyes and your heart set,
Except rather for your gain, and for shedding innocent blood,
And for oppression, and for violence (crushing),
To do it.”
What a contrast with Jehoiakim. His eyes were not set on ruling his country diligently, but only on building up profits and wealth, and on using violence to obtain his ends, and on oppressing the weak, and on generally crushing the people. And these were the very things that he had done. He was in complete contrast to his father. ‘Shedding innocent blood’ was a phrase probably intended to link him with Manasseh (see 2Ki 21:16; 2Ki 24:4).
Incidentally we might look at Jehoiakim and Zedekiah and ask how such a good father could have had such unworthy sons? And the answer must probably lie in the method of their upbringing. They would be brought up by their respective mothers with their servants and have very little contact with Josiah until they grew older, by which time it was too late to do anything about it. It was one of the problems with having a number of wives.
Jer 22:18-19
“Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“They will not lament for him,
‘Ah my brother! or, Ah sister!’
They will not lament for him,
‘Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!’
He will be buried with the burial of an ass,
Drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
YHWH thus passed His verdict on Jehoiakim. He would not be lamented on his death, not even by his siblings. There would be no feelings of friendliness towards him. They would not look at each other and say, ‘Ah, brother’, and ‘Ah, sister’. Nor would his courtier and advisers look at each other and say, ‘Ah, lord’, and ‘Ah, his glory.’ They would be glad to get rid of him and not consider that he had any glory. And in the end he would have an ignominious burial similar to that of an ass which would be dragged out beyond the gates of Jerusalem and cast out for the scavengers to finish off (the description is of the ignominious ass’s burial and may not specifically be intended to literally reflect what happened to Jehoiakim). Jer 36:30 does, however, confirm that ‘his dead body will be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night.’
We do not know where he died or how he was buried. Even the writer of Kings who usually gives burial details is silent on the subject. He merely says that ‘he rested with his fathers’ (2Ki 24:6) which was not the same thing as being buried with his fathers (compare 2Ki 15:38; 2Ki 16:20; 1Ki 16:28) and simply indicates that he died. Nor does it necessarily mean that he had a peaceful death, for the same phrase was used of Ahab who died in battle (1Ki 22:40). It is clear that it was at one stage Nebuchadrezzar’s intention to carry him off in chains to Babylon (2Ch 36:6), but it is never said that he did so. Having possibly handed himself over to Nebuchadrezzar so that his son could negotiate satisfactory peace terms, (if so possibly his only good act), that is the last that we know of him, in which case he may have been executed and his body tossed outside the city walls for the defenders to gaze at. Alternately he may have been killed battling with the troops that preceded Nebuchadrezzar and his body similarly dealt with, or murdered by his own people and his body tossed over the wall over so as to assuage Nebuchadrezzar’s anger. Whichever way it was he was certainly not God’s chosen one.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 22:13-14. Woe unto him that buildeth, &c. The prophet proceeds to denounce God’s judgments against Jehoiakim, who had built himself a stately palace in those calamitous times, and took no care to pay the wages of his workmen, but supported his own luxury by oppressing those who were to live by their labour. See Lev 19:13. We may observe, respecting these upper chambers, that there was generally but one hole or window which looked towards the temple. The meaning of this place, which was as spoken of a king, is, “If a man shall raise up to himself a vast and stately pile of building, and proportionably erect an upper room to my honour and service, and cut me out a window towards the place of my sanctuary, and ceil it with vermillion, yet if this be done by oppression and unrighteousness, woe be to that man and his magnificence!” See Gregory’s Works, p. 13. Mar 14:15 and Jdg 3:20. The author of the Observations remarks, that the chief and most ornamented apartments of the palace which Jehoiakim set himself to build, are represented as upper rooms. “I believe (says he) none of our authors would express themselves after this manner; the lower rooms would be the chief objects of their attention. It was perfectly natural, however, in Jeremiah, there is reason to think; for the chief rooms of the houses of Aleppo, at this day, are those above; the ground-floor there being principally made use of for their horses and chariots.” See Observations, p. 95 and Amo 9:6.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
C. PROPHECY, RESPECTING THE PERSON OF JEHOIAKIM
Jer 22:13-19
13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by injustice,
And his upper chambers by unrighteousness;
Who uses his neighbors service for nothing,
And payeth him not his wages!3
14Who saith: I will build me a wide house,4
And roomy upper chambers!5
And breaks out himself windows,6
Ceils it with cedar and paints it with vermillion.7
15Wilt thou be a king, because thou makest a show with cedars?
Thy father, did he not eat and drink,
And execute justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16He procured justice for the poor and the humble,
Then it was well with him.
Was not this8 the fruit of knowing me? saith Jehovah.
17For thine eyes and thy heart are directed only to thy advantage,
And to the blood of the innocent, to shed it,
And to oppression and violence,9 to practise them.
18Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim,
The son of Josiah, king of Judah.
They shall not mourn for him (saying),
Alas! my brother! Alas! sister!
They shall not mourn for him (saying),
Alas! Lord ! Alas! his majesty!
19With the burial of an ass shall he be buried;
Dragged and cast out far from the gates of Jerusalem.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The prophet cries, Woe to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, who unlike his father Josiah, ruled despotically and oppressed the people, especially in behalf of his fine architecture (Jer 22:13-14). Is the kingdom of heaven founded on cedar-beams? asks Jeremiah. Josiah knew a better foundation. He ate and drank indeed, but he practised justice and righteousness. Then it was well, and it was evident that to know the Lord was true prosperity (Jer 22:15-16). Jehoiakim, a genuine despot, had only his own advantage in view, and to this end practised violence and the shedding of innocent blood (Jer 22:17). Therefore he will perish miserably, unwept, dragged and cast out like an ass, his corpse will lie far from Jerusalem (Jer 22:18-19).This declaration must have been addressed to Jehoiakim as the reigning king, for he is not only called king (Jer 22:18), but Josiahs reign is referred to as past and the end of Jehoiakims as future. Thus this prophecy pertains to the reign of Jehoiakim, and since there is no mention of the Chaldeans, and Jehoiakim appears to be in full and undisturbed exercise of his despotism, to the beginning of it, i. e., before the crisis of the fourth year (chap. 25).
Jer 22:13-14. Woe unto him with vermillion. Comp. Hab 2:12; Mic 3:10.Who useth, etc. Comp. Jer 25:14; Jer 27:7; Jer 30:8, etc.And breaks out, etc. is to tear to pieces, to cut up of garments (Gen 37:29; Gen 37:34) of bodies (by wild beasts, Hos 13:8) of a book (Jer 36:23). In Jer 4:30 it is used of the paint which makes the eyes look as if they were torn open, i. e., larger. In the sense of tearing open, it seems to be used here, only that the tearing seems to be effected not by painting, but by breaking through.
Jer 22:15-16. Wilt thou be a king saith Jehovah. The prophet tells the king that not splendid buildings are the foundation of a kingdom, but righteousness, and proves this to him by the example of his father Josiah. Comp. Pro 14:34; Pro 16:12; Pro 20:28; Pro 25:5; Pro 29:14Makest a show, etc. ( . On the verbal form. Comp. Olsh., 255, a). The words have been strangely declared by many to be meaningless. But the meaning which the word has in Jer 12:5 (where alone it occurs), is equally appropriate here. There it is undoubtedly mulari, to vie, (to heat ones self, to be zealous, from to glow. Comp. Neh 3:20), and is connected with =with, for the designation of the relation to a rival. Here it is not said, with whom Jehoiakim vies. That is a matter of course: He vies with all those who have also built cedar palaces, whether they were prior, contemporaneous, or subsequent to him. It is however said, whereby he seeks to surpass them, in , cedar, being taken generally, as in Jer 22:14.Did he not eat, etc. Josiah enjoyed life also, he was no ascetic. But he did not sacrifice his duty and conscience to the pleasures of life, but practised the highest duty of a ruler, righteousness, in a manner pleasing to God. Thus he laid a secure foundation, and his rule was a prosperous one.Was not this the fruit refers not to procured justice, but to it was well with him. For that the knowledge of Jehovah (the True) includes the practice of righteousness, Jehoiakim did not probably deny. But he did deny, if not in thesi, yet in praxi, that the true living knowledge of Jehovah ensures the desired satisfaction to a prince. Accordingly , this, is predicate, , knowing, subject.
Jer 22:17-19. For thine eyes gates of Jerusalem.For refers to a thought to be supplied: Not so thou, for, etc.Blood of the innocent. Comp. Deu 19:13; 2Ki 24:4.Alas! my brother,etc. The prophet quotes the verba ipsissima of the usual wail for the dead. Hence the apparently unsuitable Alas! Sister! He distinguishes the wail of the relatives (comp. 1Ki 13:30), and that of the subjects (comp. Jer 34:5) of the highest royal majesty, comp. Psa 148:13; 1Ch 29:25.
Jer 22:19. Dragged. Comp. Jer 15:3.Far from, etc. as a collective idea, is the accusative governed by . The place of casting away is, according to a well-known idiom, designated as one presenting itself from far beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Comp. Exeg. rems. on Jer 20:17; Naegelsb. Gr., 112, 5 d.As to the fulfilment of the prophecy, it should first be remarked, that the latter is repeated in other words in Jer 36:30. The historical accounts touching the end of Jehoiakim are very scanty. In 2Ki 24:6 we read only, So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers. This expression indicates nothing concerning the burial, which is the more surprising, as the book of Kings elsewhere always designates the place particularly. We are not justified in casting doubt on the statement in 2Ch 36:6, that Nebuchadnezzar bound Jehoiakim with two chains to take him to Babylon. on the ground that the Chronicler transferred what from Jer 22:6 onwards relates to Jehoiachin to his predecessor (Graf). For this statement does not contradict that of the book of Kings. According to this also (Jer 24:1), Nebuchadnezzar went up against Jehoiakim. The book of Kings does not oxpressly say that at this time he carried away the vessels from the temple, but the case, as related in Chronicles, is in itself probable. It is here said that Nebuchadnezzar carried off simply the vessels of the house, etc., while in connection with Jehoiachin, he carried off the goodly vessels, etc. If then the account in Chronicles is not inauthentic, it affords sufficient data for the fulfilment of the prophecy in the text. Since Chronicles does not state that Jehoiakim was brought to Babylon, but only that Nebuchadnezzar bound him to take him thither, it is quite possible that he died on the way, and endured the sad fate prophesied in the text. We need not then assume either that Jehoiakim was taken from his grave, after the capture of the city under Jehoiachin, dragged through the gate and cast out, or that having died on the way, his body was delivered up by the Chaldeans for sepulture (Vaihinger in Herzog, R.-Enc. VI., S. 790).
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 21:2. King Zedekiah sends word to Jeremiah, that the Lord is to do according to all His miracles, that Nebuchadnezzar may withdraw. A demand rather cavalierly made in such evil circumstances. But the noble are so unfortunate! It is indeed as though it only depended on them to arrange matters with God; as if He were only waiting for them, as if it were a point of honor not to be over-hasty, but first to await a little extremity . It is a very necessary observance for a servant of the Lord, that he try his superiors, whether there is any trace remaining in them of having been once baptized, well brought up and instructed in the fear of the Lord. If he observe anything of this kind, he must insist upon it and especially not allow them to deal too familiarly with the Judge of all the earth, but plainly demonstrate to them their insufficiency and nothingness, if they measure themselves by Him. Though Zedekiah had spoken so superficially, Jeremiah answered him without hesitation, definitely and positively, and accustomed him to a different manner of dealing with the Lord. Zinzendorf. When the ungodly desire Gods help, they commonly appeal not to His saving power to heal them, but to His miraculous power to save them, while they persist in their impenitence. Starke.
2. On Jer 21:8. It is pure grace on the part of God, when He leaves to man the choice between the good and the evil; not that it is permitted him to choose the evil, but that he may choose freely the good, which he is under obligation to do, Deu 30:19. Starke. God lays before us the way of life and the way of death. The way of life is however always contrary to human reason, and that on which it sees merely death and shame. If thou wilt save thyself thou must leave the false Jerusalem, fallen under the judgment, and seek thy life where there seems to be only death. He who would save his life must lose it, and he who devotes it for the sake of the truth will save it. Diedrich.
3. On Jer 21:11-14. To be such a king is to be an abomination to the Lord, and severe judgment will follow. God appoints magistrates for His service and for the use of men; he who only seeks his own enjoyment in office, is lost. Jerusalem, situated on rocks in the midst of a plain, looks secure; but against God neither rocks avail nor aught else. The fire will break out even in them, and consume all around, together with the forest of cedar-houses in the city. The corruption is seated within, and therefore proceeds from within outwards, so that nothing of the former stock can remain. What shall a government do which no longer bears the sword of justice? What shall a church do which is no longer founded on Gods truth as its only power? Diedrich. Comp. moreover on the whole of Jeremiah 24. the extended moral reflections of Cyrillus Alex. . . Lib. I.
4. On Jer 22:1. Jeremiah is to deliver a sermon at court, in which he reminds the king of his office of magistrate, in which he is to administer justice to every man. Cramer.
It was no easy task for Jeremiah to go into the lions den and deliver such an uncourtly message to him. We are reminded of the prophet Jonah. But Jeremiah did not flee as he did.
5. On Jer 22:1-3. [But we ought the more carefully to notice this passage, that we may learn to strengthen ourselves against bad examples, lest the impiety of men should overturn our faith; when we see in Gods church things in such disorder, that those who glory in the name of God are become like robbers, we must beware lest we become on this account alienated from true religion. We must, indeed, desert such monsters, but we must take care lest Gods word, through mens wickedness, should lose its value in our esteem. We ought then to remember the admonition of Christ, to hear the Scribes and Pharisees who sat in Moses seat (Mat 23:2). Calvin.S. R. A.]
6. On Jer 22:10. [Dying saints may be justly envied, while living sinners are justly pitied. And so dismal perhaps the prospect of the times may be, that tears even for a Josiah, even for a Jesus, must be restrained, that they may be reserved for ourselves and our children (Luk 23:28). Henry.S. R. A.]
Nequaquam gentilis plangendus est atque Judus, qui in ecclesia non fuerunt et simul mortui sunt, de quibus Salvator dicit: dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos (Mat 8:22). Sed eos plange, qui per scelera atque peccata egrediuntur de ecclesia et nolunt ultra reverti ad earn damnatione vitiorum. Hieron. Epist. 46 ad Rusticam. Nolite flere mortuum, sed plorate raptorem avarum, pecuni sitientem et inexplebilem auri cupidinem. Cur mortuos inutiliter ploramus? Eos ploremus, qui in melius mutari possunt. Basilius Seleucensis. Comp. Basil, Magn. Homil. 4 de Gratiarum actione post dimid.Ghislerus.
7. On Jer 22:6-9. God does not spare even the authorities. For though He has said that they are gods, when they do not rightly administer their office they must die like men (Psa 82:6) No cedars are too high for God, no splendor too mighty; He can destroy all at once, and overturn, and overturn, and overturn. Eze 21:27, Cramer.
Another passage from which it is seen how perverse and unjustifiable is the illusion that Gods election is a surety against His anger, and a permit to any wilfulness. The individual representatives of the objects of divine election should never forget that God can march over their carcases, and the ruins of their glory, to the fulfilment of His promise, and that He can rebuild on a higher stage, what He has destroyed on a lower. Comp. remarks on Jer 22:24.
8. On Jer 22:13-19. It is blasphemy to imagine that God will be frre et compagnon to all princes as such, and that He has a predilection for them as of His own kind. Does He not say to his majesty the king of Judah, with whom, in respect of the eminence of his dynasty and throne no other prince of earth could compare, that he should be buried like an ass, dragged and cast out before the gates of Jerusalem? This Jehoiakim was however an aristocrat, a heartless, selfish tyrant, who for his own pleasure trampled divine and human rights under foot. If such things were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
He who builds his house with other peoples property, collects stones for his grave. Cramer.
9. On Jer 22:14. [It was a proof of luxury when men began to indulge in superfluities. In old times the windows were small; for use only was regarded by frugal men; but afterwards a sort of madness possessed the minds of many, so that they sought to be suspended as it were in the air. And hence they began to have wider windows. The thing in itself, as I have said, is not what God condemns; but we must ever remember, that men never go to excesses in external things, except when their hearts are infected with pride, so that they do not regard what is useful, what is becoming, but are carried away by fondness for excess. Calvin.S. R. A.]
10. On Jer 22:15. God may grant the great lords a preference in eating and drinking and the splendor of royal courts, but it is not His will that these be regarded as the main things, but that true religion, right and justice must have the precedence;this is the Lords work. But cursed is he who does the Lords work remissly. Jer 48:10. Cramer.
11. On Jer 22:17. Description of haughty, proud, magnificent, merciless and tyrannical lords and rulers, who are accomplices of thieves. Cramer.
12. On Jer 22:19. [God would have burial a proof to distinguish us from brute animals even after death, as we in life excel them, and as our condition is much nobler than that of the brute creation. Burial is also a pledge as it were of immortality; for when mans body is laid hid in the earth, it is as it were a mirror of a future life. Since then burial is an evidence of Gods grace and favor towards mankind, it is on the other hand a sign of a curse, when burial is denied. Calvin.S. R. A.]
13. On Jer 22:24. Great lords often imagine that they not only sit in the bosom of God, but that they are a pearl in His crown; or as the prophet says here, Gods signet-ring. Therefore, it is impossible that they should not succeed in their designs. But God looks not on the person of the princes, and knows the magnificent no more than the poor. Job 34:19. Cramer.
14. On Jer 22:28. [What is idolized will, first or last, be despised and broken, what is unjustly honored will be justly contemned, and rivals with God will be the scorn of man. Whatever we idolize we shall be disappointed in, and then shall despise. Henry.S. R. A.]
The compliment is a very poor one for a king, who thinks somewhat of himself, and to whom it in a certain measure pertains that he be honored.But here it is the word of the Lord, and in consideration of these words it is declared in 2Ch 36:12, to be evil on the part of Zedekiah, that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah. Teachers must be much on their guard against assuming such purely prophetic, that is, extraordinary acts. It cost the servants of the Lord many a death, who were obliged thus to employ themselves, and when it is easy for one to ape it without a divine calling he thus betrays his frivolity and incompetence, if not his pride and delusion. Zinzendorf.
15. On Jer 22:28-30. Irenus (Adv. Hr. 3:30) uses this passage to prove that the Lord could not have been Josephs natural son, for otherwise he would have fallen under the curse of this passage, and appear as one not entitled to dominion (qui eum dicunt ex Joseph generatum et in eo habere spem, abdicatos se faciunt a regno, sub maledictione et increpatione decidentes, qu erga Jechoniam et in semen ejus est). Basil the Great (Epist. ad Amphilochium) endeavors to show that this passage, with its declaration that none of Jeconiahs descendants should sit on Davids throne, is not in contradiction to the prophecy of Jacob (Gen 49:10), that a ruler should not be lacking from Judah, till He came for whom the nations were hoping. Basil distinguishes in this relation between dominion and royal dignity.The former continued, the latter ceased, and this period of, so to speak, latent royalty, was the bridge to the present, in which Christ rules in an invisible manner, but yet in real power and glory as royal priest, and at the same time represents Himself as the fulfilment of the hope of the nations. In like manner John of Damascus concludes that according to this passage there could be no prospect of the fulfilment of the promise in Gen 49:10, if Mary had not virgineo modo borne the scion of David, who however was not to occupy the visible throne of David. (Orat. II. in Nativ. B. Mari p. med.)Ambrose finally (Comment. in Ev. Luc. L. III. cap. ult.) raises the question how Jeremiah could say, that ex semine Jechoni neminem regnaturum esse, since Christ was of the seed of Jeconiah and reigned? He answers: Illic (Jer 22:30) futuros ex semine Jechoni posteros non negatur et ideo de semine ejus est Christus (comp. Mat 1:11), et quod regnavit Christus, non contra prophetiam est, non enim seculari honore regnavit, nee in Jechoni sedibus sedit, sed regnavit in sede David. Ghislerus.
16. On Jer 23:2. Nonnulli prsmles gregis quosdam pro peccato a communione ceiciunt, ut pniteant, sed quali sorte vivere debeant ad melius exhortando non visitant. Quibus congrue increpans sermo divinus comminatur: pastores, qui pascunt populum meum, vos dispersistis gregem meum, ejecistis et non visitastis eum. Isidor. Hisp. de summo bono she LL. sentt. Cap. 46. Ghislerus.
17. On Jer 23:5-6. Eusebius (Dem. Ev. VII. 9) remarks that Christ among all the descendants of David is the only one, who rules over the whole earth, and everywhere not only preaches justice and righteousness by His doctrine but is Himself also the author of the rising [of the Sun] of righteousness for all, according to Psa 72:7 : , (LXX.) Cyril of Alex. (Glaphyr. in Gen. I. p. 133) explains as justitia Dei, in so far as we are made righteous in Him, not for the sake of the works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His great mercy. Rom 3:24; Tit 3:5.
18. On Jer 23:6. [If we regard God in Himself, He is indeed righteous, but not our righteousness. If we desire to have God as our righteousness, we must seek Christ; for this cannot be found except in Him. Paul says that He has been given or made to us righteousness,for what end? that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. (1Co 1:30). Since, then, Christ is made our righteousness, and we are counted the righteousness of God in Him, we hence learn how properly and fitly it has been said that He would be Jehovah, not only that the power of His divinity might defend us, but also that we might become righteous in Him, for He is not only righteous for Himself, but He is our righteousness. Calvin. See also a long note in Wordsworth, to show that Jehovah our Righteousness refers to Christ;S. R. A.]
The character of a true church is when the Lytrum, the ransom-money of Jesus Christ, is known and valued by all, and when they have written this secret, foolish and absolutely inscrutable to reason, in the heart with the finger of the living God: that Jesus by His blood has taken away the sins of the world. O let it neer escape my thought, at what a price my soul was bought. This is the evening and morning prayer of every church, which is a true sister from above. Zinzendorf.
19. On Jer 23:5-8. The return under Ezra was also a fulfilment of this promise, but inferior and preliminary: not all came, and those who did come brought their sins back with them. They were still under the Law and had to wait for Righteousness; still in their return they had a pledge that the Messiah was yet to come and prepare the true city of peace. Now, however, all has been long fulfilled and we can enjoy it perfectly, if we have the mind for it. We have now a country of which no tyrant can rob us; our walk and citizenship is in heaven. We have been delivered from all our suffering, when we sit down at the feet of Jesus to hear His word. Then there is a power of resurrection within us, So that we can fly with our souls beyond the world and laugh at all our foes. For Christ has made us righteous by His daily forgiveness, so that we may also bring ourselves daily into heaven. Yea verily, the kingdom of heaven is come very nigh unto us! Jeremiah then longed to see and hear this more nearly, and now we can have it. Diedrich.
20. On Jer 23:9. Great love renders Gods servant so ardent, that he deals powerful blows on the seducers. He does not think that he has struck a wasps nest and embittered his life here forever, for he has a higher life and gives the lower one willingly for love. Yet all the world will hold him for an incorrigible and mad enthusiast, who spares no one. He says himself that he is as it were drunk with God and His word, when he on the other hand contemplates the country. Diedrich.
21. On Jer 23:11. They are rogues. They know how to find subterfuges, and I would like to see him who accuses a false and unfaithful teacher, and manages his own case so that he does not himself come into the dilemma. Zinzendorf.
22. On Jer 23:13-14. In the prophets of Samaria I see folly. This is the character which the Lord gives to error, false religion, heterodoxy. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I find abomination. This is the description of the or thodox, when they apply their doctrine, so that either the wicked are strengthened or no one is converted. Zinzendorf.
23. On Jer 23:15. From the prophets of Jerusalem hypocrisy goes forth into all the land. This is the natural consequence of the superiority, which the consistories, academies, ministers, etc., have and in due measure ought to have, that when they become corrupt they communicate their corruption to the whole region, and it is apparent in the whole land what sort of theologians sit at the helm. Zinzendorf.
24. On Jer 23:16. Listen not to the words of the prophets, they deceive you. Luther says (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 330): But a Christian has so much power that he may and ought to come forward even among Christians and teach, where he sees that the teacher himself is wanting, etc.; and The hearers altogether have the right to judge and decide concerning all doctrine. Therefore the priests and liveried Christians have snatched this office to themselves; because, if this office remained in the church, the aforesaid could retain nothing for their own. (Altenb. Tom. II. p. 508).The exercise of this right on the part of members of the church has its difficulties. May not misunderstanding, ignorance, even wickedness cause this to be a heavy and unjust pressure on the ministers of the word, and thus mediately tend to the injury of the church? Certainly. Still it is better for the church to exercise this right than not to do so. The former is a sign of spiritual life, the latter of spiritual death. It will be easier to find a corrective for some extravagances than to save a church become religiously indifferent from the fate of Laodicea (Rev 3:16).
25. On Jer 23:16. [But here a question may be raised, How can the common people understand that some speak from Gods mouth, and that others propound their own glosses? I answer, That the doctrine of the Law was then sufficient to guide the minds of the people, provided they closed not their eyes; and if the Law was sufficient at that time, God does now most surely give us a clearer light by His prophets, and especially by His Gospel. CalvinS. R. A.]
26. On Jer 23:17. The pastors, who are welcome and gladly seen at a rich mans table, wish him in fact long life, good health, and all prosperity. What they wish they prophesy. This is not unnatural; but he who is softened by it is ill-advised. Zinzendorf.
27. On Jer 23:21. [There is a twofold call; one is internal, the other belongs to order, and may therefore be called external or ecclesiastical. But the external call is never legitimate, except it be preceded by the internal; for it does not belong to us to create prophets, or apostles, or pastors, as this is the special work of the Holy Spirit. But it often happens that the call of God is sufficient, especially for a time. For when there is no church, there is no remedy for the evil, except God raise up extraordinary teachers. Calvin.S. R. A.]
28. On Jer 23:22. If I knew that my teacher was a most abominable miscreant, personally, and in heart the worst enemy of God in his parish; so long as, for any reason, he preaches, expounds, develops, inculcates the word of God; even though he should betray here and there in his expressions, that this word was not dwelling in him; if only he does not ex professo at one time throw down what at another time he teaches of good and true quasi aliud agendo: I assure you before the Lord that I should fear to censure his preaching. Zinzendorf.
29. On Jer 23:23. Gods essential attribute is Omnipresence. For He is higher than heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? Longer than the earth and broader than the sea (Job 4:8). And He is not far from every one of us (Act 17:27). Cramer.We often think God is quite far from us, when He is yet near to us, has us in His arms, presses us to His heart and kisses us. Luther. When we think the Sun of righteousness, Jesus, is not risen, and is still behind the mountain, and will not come to us, He is yet nearest to us. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. (Psa 34:19) Deus et omni et nullo loco Cuncta Deus replens molem se fundit in omnem. MS. notes to my copy of Cramers Bibel. Si vis peccare, O homo, qure tibi locum, ubi Deus non videat. Augustine.
30. On Jer 23:28. [When any one rejects the wheat because it is covered with chaff, and who will pity him who says that he has indeed wheat on his floor, but that it is mixed with chaff, and therefore not fit for food? If we be negligent, and think that it is a sufficient excuse for despising the Word of God, because Satan brings in his fallacies, we shall perish in our sloth like him who neglects to cleanse his wheat that he might turn it to bread. Calvin.S. R. A.]
He who cannot restrain his mouth or his ink let him expectorate. But let him say openly and honestly that they are his own dreams, which he preaches. The false prophets certainly know that mere falsehood is empty straw. They therefore always mingle some of the genuine word of God amongst it. An unavailing mixture! It is in this mingling that Satans highest art is displayed, so that he at the same time furthers his own work and testifies against himself. Comp. Genesis 3
31. On Jer 23:29. Gods word is the highest reality, life and power, while the dreams of the false prophets are pretence, death and weakness. Gods word is therefore compared to a fire which burns, warms, and enlightens, so that it burns up the hardest flint, melts the thickest ice, illuminates the deepest obscurities. It is compared further to a hammer which crushes the hardest rocks into sand.He who mingles Gods wheat among his straw, will find that the wheat will become fire and burn up the straw (1Co 3:12-15). He Who handles the word of the Lord purely, let him not despair if he sees before him hearts of adamant (Zec 7:12). He who seeks peace is not ashamed to bow beneath the hammer of the word. For the destructive power of the word applies to that in us which is opposed to God, while the God-related elements are loosed and set free by those very crushing blows.He, however, to whom the peace of God is an object of derision, may feed on the straw of this world. But how will it be when finally the day comes that God will come upon him with fire and hammer? What then remains to him as the result of his straw-diet, which is in a condition to withstand the blows of the hammer and the fire?
Help, Lord, against Thy scornful foes,
Who seek our souls to lead astray;
Whose mockeries at mortal woes
Will end in terrible dismay!
Grant that Thy holy word may root
Deep in our hearts, and richer fruit
May ever bear to endless day.
Gods word converts, all other doctrine befools. Luther.
32. On Jer 23:29. Gods word in general is like a fire: the more it is urged the more widely and brightly it extends. God has caused His word to be proclaimed to the world as a matter, which they can dispense with as little as fire. Fire often smoulders long in secret before it breaks out, thus the power of the divine word operates in its time. Gods word can make people as warm as if glowing coals lay upon them; it shines as brightly upon them, as if a lamp were held under their eyes; it tells every one the truth and purifies from all vices. He who deals evilly with Gods word burns himself by it, he who opposes it is consumed by it. But the word of God is as little to blame as a lamp or a fire when an unskilful person is burned by it. Yet it happens that often it will not be suffered in the world, then there is fire in all the streets. That is the unhappy fire of persecution, which is kindled incidentally in the world by the preaching of the Gospel. Jos. Conr. Schaller, Pastor at Cautendorf, Sermons on the Gospels, 1742.
33. On Jer 23:30. Teachers and preachers are not to steal their sermons from other books, but take them from the Bible, and testify that which they speak from their inward experience (Joh 3:11). False teachers steal Gods word, inventing a foreign meaning for it, and using this for the palliation of their errors. StarkeHinc illi at auctions, who can obtain this or that good book, this or that manuscript? Here they are thus declared to be plagiarios; and they are necessarily so because they are not taught of God. But I would rather they would steal from true men of God than from each other.Zinzendorf.
34. On Jer 23:33-40. When the word of God becomes intolerable to men, then men in their turn become intolerable to our Lord God; yea, they are no more than inutile pondus terr, which the land can no more bear, therefore they must be winnowed out, Jer 15:17. Cramer.
35. On Jer 24:5-7. He who willingly and readily resigns himself to the will of God even to the cross, may escape misfortune. But he who opposes himself to the hand of God cannot escape. Cramer.The captives are dearest to God. By the first greater affliction He prepares their souls for repentance and radical conversion, so that He has in them again His people and inheritance. O the gracious God, that He allows even those who on account of sin must be so deeply degraded and rendered slaves, even in such humiliation to be His people! The captives are forgiven their opposition to God; they are separated from the number of nations existing in the world, politically they are dead and banished to the interior. Now, God will show them what His love can do; they shall return, and in true nearness to God be His true Israel. Diedrich.
36. On Jer 24:7. [Since He affirms that He would give them a heart to understand, we hence learn that men are by nature blind, and also that when they are blinded by the devil they cannot return to the right way, and that they cannot be otherwise capable of light than by having God to illuminate them by His Spirit. This passage also shows, that we cannot really turn to God until we acknowledge Him to be the Judge; for until the sinner sets himself before Gods tribunal he will never be touched with the feeling of true repentance. Though God rules the whole world. He yet declares that He is the God of the Church; and the faithful whom He has adopted He favors with this high distinction, that they are His people; and He does this that they may be persuaded that there is safety in Him, according to what is said by Habakkuk, Thou art our God, we shall not die (Hab 1:12). And of this sentence Christ Himself is the best interpreter, when He says, that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luk 20:38). Calvin.S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 21:8. This text may be used on all occasions when an important decision is to be made or on the entrance on a new section of life, as, e. g., at synods, diets, New Years, beginning of the church-year, at confirmations, weddings, installations, etc. What the present day demands and promises: I. It demands from us an important choice. II. It promises us, according as we choose, life or death.
2. On Jer 22:2-9. In how far the divine election is conditional and unconditional. I. It is conditional with respect to individual elected men, places, things. For 1, these become partakers of the salvation promised by the election only by behaviour well-pleasing to God; 2, if they behave in a manner displeasing to God, the election does not protect them from destruction. II. The election is unconditional with respect to the eternal ideas lying at the foundation of the single appearances, and their absolute realizations.
3. On Jer 22:24. [Payson:The punishment of the impenitent inevitable and justifiable. I. To mention some awful instances in which God has verified this declaration: (a), the apostate angels; (b) our first parents; (c) destruction of mankind by the flood; (d) the children of Israel; (e) Moses, David, the disobedient prophet, Christ. II. Some of the reasons for such a declaration. Not a disposition to give pain or desire for revenge. It is the nature and tendency of sin to produce misery.S. R. A.]
4. On Jer 23:5-6. The Son of David. What the prophet declares of Him is fourfold: 1. He will Himself be righteous; 2. He will rule well as king and execute judgment and righteousness; 3. He will be our righteousness; 4. Under Him shall Judah be helped and Israel dwell safely.
5. On Jer 23:14. [Lathrop: The horrible guilt of those who strengthen the hands of the wicked. 1. All sin is horrible in its nature. 2. This is to oppose the government of the Almighty. 3. It directly tends to the misery of mankind. 4. It supports the cause of the Evil Spirit. 5. It is to become partakers of their sins. 6. It is horrible as directly contrary to the command of God, and marked with His peculiar abhorrence.S. R. A.]
6. On Jer 23:23-24. The Omnipresence of God. 1. What it means. God is everywhere present, (a). He fills heaven and earth; (b) there is no removal from Him in space; (c) nothing is hidden from Him. 2. There is in this for us (a) a glorious consolation, (b) an earnest admonition. [Charnock, Jortin, and Wesley have sermons on this text, all of very similar outline. The following are Jortins practical conclusions; This doctrine 1. Should lead us to seek to resemble Gods perfections 2. Should deter us from sin. 3. Should teach us humility. 4. Should encourage us to reliance and contentment, to faith and hope.S. R. A.]
7. On Jer 23:29-30. Gods Word and mans word. 1. The former is life and power (wheat, fire, hammer). The latter pretence and weakness (dream, straw). 2. The two are not to be mixed with each other. [Cecil: This shows 1. The vanity of all human imaginations in religion, (a). What do they afford to man? (b). How much do they hinder? 2. The energy of spiritual truth. Let us entreat God that our estimate may be practical.S. R. A.]
8. On Jer 24:1-10. The good and bad figs an emblem of humanity well-pleasing and displeasing to God. 1. The prisoners and broken-hearted are, like the good figs, well-pleasing to God. For (a) they know the Lord and turn to Him; (b) He is their God and they are His people. 2. Those who dwell proudly and securely are displeasing to God, like the bad figs. For (a) they live on in foolish blindness; (b) they challenge the judgment of God.
Footnotes:
[3]Jer 22:13.=, wages (Lev 19:13; Psa 109:20; Isa 40:10; Isa 49:4). Comp. Job 7:2.
[4]Jer 22:14. . Comp. (Num 13:2), or (Isa 45:14) [literally: a house of extensions].
[5]Jer 22:14.. This verbal form here only. The Kal of this verb. denomin., 1Sa 16:23; Job 32:20, is the sense of to be airy, light. Airy chambers=lofty, roomy.
[6]Jer 22:14.The form (Kamets on account of the pause) is not sufficiently accounted for either as plural (Gesen.), or as dual termination (Ew., 177, a; Ges., ed. Roediger, 88,1, Anm. l, coll. 87,1, c), or as an adjective form (comp. , Isa 32:5; Isa 32:7, Btticher). As a suffix form it does not give a satisfactory meaning. Olshausen, 111, c, Anm., is of opinion that is to be restored. But it is more natural, with J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Gaab, Meier, to connect the following with the word and to read .Instead of we must then read , corresponding to the following . Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 93, e. The manner of writing might arise the more easily, as in the six passages where the word occurs in the Old Testament five have the passive part in Kal. (Deu 33:21; 1Ki 7:3; 1Ki 7:7; Hag 1:4, and the text), and of these again there are two which contain the words (1Ki 7:3; 1Ki 7:7). As Jeremiah evidently alludes to the erections of Solomon, it was natural to seek also this literal agreement. The radical signification of [comp. and , Deu 33:19; , Jon 1:5, a ship with a deck in distinction from an open boat; , ceiling, 1Ki 6:15, in distinction from , floor; , ceiled houses, as opposed to , Hag 1:4] is certainly to cover; yet whether merely the roofing is meant, or also the clothing of the walls with cedar-wood (which is also a covering) appears to me doubtful.
[7]Jer 22:14. is found also in Eze 23:14. According to the Vulgate, sinopis, i.e. rubrica Sinopenais; LXX., =red, vermillion; Kimchi, cinnabaris, minium.
[8]Jer 22:16.On the neuter rendering of , which besides appears here to be attracted by , comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 60, 6, b.
[9]Jer 22:17., from =, crushing [comp. Olsh., S. 386], occurs in this sense here only. It is not to be confounded with , cursus, Jer 8:6; Jer 23:10; 2Sa 18:27.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
What a solemn woe, this short but pointed sermon begins with: and what an awful close is made of it, in the application to the king. Is it not astonishing, that any Preacher, and at such a time; should have manifested such faithfulness, as to tell the king, that his burial should be the burial of an Ass? And is it not equally astonishing that the Preacher should have been so suffered? How is it to be explained? Surely by no other but the over-ruling power or God. Look back to Jeremiah’s ordination and commission, this will explain it, Jer 1:17-19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 22:13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that] useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
Ver. 13. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness. ] This was Jehoiakim, cuius iniusta et insana aedificia hic accusantur; who would needs be building, but whether by fight or by wrong dealing, regarded not. This was to incur that curse. Isa 5:8 Hab 2:9 ; Hab 2:12 See Trapp on “ Isa 5:8 “ See Trapp on “ Hab 2:9 “ See Trapp on “ Hab 2:12 “ Such injurious and therefore accursed builders were the pyramid makers in Egypt, Tarquinius Priscus, Caligula, Nero, Phocas, a who is said to have heard this voice from heaven, Though thou shouldst erect thine edifice as high as heaven –
“ Aedificans aure, sedesque in sidera mittens, ”
yet sin, that lieth at the foundation, will soon overturn all. Bernard inveigheth against some in his time, who did, with great care and cost, erigere mutes, negligere mores, build high manors, but not amend their manners, which should have been their chief care.
That useth his neighbour’s service.] His “neighbour” he was, though his vassal and poor labourer.
And giveth him not for his work.
a Sueton.; Niceph.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 22:13-17
13Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness
And his upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And does not give him his wages,
14Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house
With spacious upper rooms,
And cut out its windows,
Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’
15Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
Is not that what it means to know Me?
Declares the LORD.
17But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain,
And on shedding innocent blood
And on practicing oppression and extortion.
Jer 22:13-23 This long strophe is addressed to King Jehoiakim and is related to the Davidic promises of 2 Samuel 7.
Notice the woe (BDB 222) of Jer 22:13 and alas (DB 222, four times) of Jer 22:18.
Jehoiakim is condemned because
1. he builds his house without righteousness (i.e., 2Ki 23:34-35)
a. palace
b. royal family
2. so opposite of Josiah (cf. Jer 22:15-16) who knew (BDB 395) YHWH. To know YHWH is to live in covenant obedience and compassion. David’s reign is described by these terms in 2Sa 8:15.
a. Josiah did justice
b. Josiah did righteousness
c. Josiah pled the cause of
(1) the afflicted
(2) the needy
d. it was well with him (Jer 22:15 d, 16b)
3. Jehoiakim (Jer 22:17)
a. intent on dishonest gain
b. shed innocent blood
c. practiced oppression
d. practiced extortion (note Jer 5:20-29, like King, like people)
4. results
a. no lament for him in his death (Jer 22:18)
b. had a donkey’s burial (Jer 22:19)
c. no one to lament (Jer 22:20) because all political alliances (i.e., lovers) have been crushed
5. YHWH spoke to him (Jer 22:21) or a way of referring to Jerusalem
a. in your prosperity
b. in your youth
c. but he would not (same VERB)
(1) listen
(2) obey
Jer 22:16
NASB, NJBIs not that what it means to know Me?
NKJVWas not this knowing Me?
NRSVIs not this to know me?
TEVThat is what it means to know the Lord
JPSOAThat is truly heeding Me
JPSOA
(footnote)That is the reward for heeding Me
LXXIs not this so, because you do not know me?
REBDid not this show he knew me?
The MT has not this to know me? Knowing YHWH involves several aspects.
1. personal faith relationship (i.e., prayer and worship)
2. cognitive belief (i.e., Scripture truly reveals God)
3. volition (i.e., acting on the truth you know; lifestyle faith)
All are crucial! All reflect biblical faith (cf. Deu 10:12-13; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:8).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
chambers = upper chambers.
by wrong = in injustice.
useth his neighbour’s service, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 19:13).
work. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the wages earned by his labour = giveth him not [wages] for his work.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 22:13-23
Jer 22:13-17
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire; that saith, I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah. But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
There is little need to catalogue the sins of Jehoiachim. He contrived the dethroning of his own brother, resulting in his captivity and probable death. In addition to the great tribute which he promised Egypt, and which he extorted annually from the people, he initiated a very luxurious and extravagant building program for himself, using forced labor, conscripting his neighbors to work for him without any pay whatever. He was a typical Near-Eastern despot, doing all kinds of violence against any or all hapless victims of his displeasure and murdering many innocent people, including, among countless others the prophet Uriah, who was extradited from Egypt and put to death (Jer 26:20-23). Not only murder, but the type of slavery mentioned in these verses, were offenses against covenant law (Lev 19:13). In this man and his hapless son Coniah, the house of David came to its miserable end.
That useth his neighbor for services without wages…
(Jer 22:13). Here is a democratic idea, ‘The king and the carpenter or neighbors.’
Did not thy father eat and drink…
(Jer 22:15)? This means that, He lived well enough; he was not an ascetic.
The same words were used of Jesus by himself in a comparison with John the Baptist (Mat 11:18-19),
Shalt thou reign because thou strivest to excel in cedar…
(Jer 22:15)? Keil’s comment here was, Kingship does not consist in the erection of splendid palaces, but in the administration of righteousness and justice,
Thine eyes and thine heart are not, but for thy covetousness, etc…
(Jer 22:17). This is a terrible indictment of Jehoiachim, meaning that his heart and eyes did not even exist except for the purpose of helping this evil ruler in the pursuit of wickedness. Everything that fell under his eyesight was only looked at with a view of using what he saw in some way to his advantage; and nothing ever entered his mind but some evil plan or device by which he could defraud or exploit his subjects! Satan must have been well pleased with such a son!
Was not this to know me, saith Jehovah…
(Jer 22:16)? Knowing God, whether in the times of Jeremiah, or at the present time, does not consist merely of having heard of him, or having read his word, or having been associated with God-fearing people. It is the kind of knowledge that is exhibited in a pious and godly life, and in the strict obedience of his holy commandments.
Jer 22:18-19
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: they shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! They shall not lament for him, [saying] Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
We wonder at so many writers expressing concern that “We have no confirmation of this prophecy.” None is needed. God said it would happen, and it did. There’s not a line to the contrary anywhere in the Bible; and we can see no purpose in noting that when the death of Jehoiachim was mentioned in 2Ki 24:6 there was no reference to what happened. The passage merely states that, “Jehoiachim slept with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his stead.” Nevertheless, the passage bears witness to the fulfillment of this prophecy, because, “The complete formula for describing the death of a king of Judah was: ‘He slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David.’ ” There is no doubt whatever that the omission of the usual line, ‘He was buried with his fathers,’ means, absolutely, that he was not so buried.
This prophecy is repeated in Jer 36:30; but of its fulfillment we know nothing. However, the prophet would not have inserted it in Zedekiah’s roll, unless the circumstances of Jehoiachim’s death had been such as to give full weight to this warning.
It is believed that the fulfillment of this prophecy came as the Babylonian invaders approached Jerusalem. “The pro-Babylonian party within the city organized an assassination of Jehoiachin in a palace revolt.” Under pressure of the siege, the assassins merely dragged the body of Jehoiachim, as they would have dragged a dead animal out of the city and disposed of it “beyond the gates.”
Jer 22:20-23
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim; for all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. The wind shall feed all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
Both Bashan and Abarim were beyond the strict borders of Palestine, Abarim is the chain of mountains east of Jordan in which is located Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised land. The thought seems to be that the whole land of Palestine, along with its surrounding areas, should moan, and weep and bewail the devastation coming upon Judah.
All thy lovers are destroyed…
(Jer 22:20). These were Judah’s political allies.
The wind shall feed all thy shepherds…
(Jer 22:22). This means, ‘the wind shall round them up and drive them away.’
How greatly to be pitied shalt thou be…
(Jer 22:23). The prophet loved his native land and his sinful people; and his heart was filled with pity as he delivered the tragic message regarding Judah’s destruction.
2. The folly of Jehoiakim (Jer 22:13-23)
Jehoiakim was placed on the throne of Judah by Pharaoh Necho when Jehoahaz was deported to Egypt in 609 B.C. The stupidity of this monarch was only equaled by his pride, cruelty and covetousness. Jehoiakim was not satisfied to occupy the palace which his father Josiah had occupied before him. He wanted a bigger and more luxurious home like the rulers of Egypt or Babylon. With Solomon-like zeal this puny prince set about to build a magnificent palace. Contrary to the teaching of the law and the prophets he forced his countrymen to labor on this ill-conceived project without remuneration. The Hebrew prophets denounced this practice which was common in the ancient Near East. Not even a king could demand unpaid services from his subjects! Thus Jehoiakim was building his house with unrighteousness and injustice (Jer 22:13). And what a house that was to be-a roomy house with upper chambers and windows, the interior paneled with cedar and painted red (Jer 22:14).
In Jer 22:15 Jeremiah drives home the point that there is more to being a king than surrounding oneself with luxury. Jehoiakim need not think that he is entitled to reign merely because he can rival others in the building of cedar houses. By way of contrast to the pompous plans of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah points to the way that good king Josiah had conducted the affairs of the kingdom. Josiah ate and drank, i.e., he enjoyed the comforts of his regal status. But at the same time he established justice and righteousness in the land. He understood the responsibilities of kingship and performed those duties. He recognized the rights of other men and respected them. As a result Josiah prospered and was blessed of God because he put first things first (Jer 22:15). He judged the cause of the poor and needy, i.e., he was cognizant of the rights and needs of the less fortunate. A man who really knows the Lord will see and seek to alleviate human suffering (Jer 22:16).
Jehoiakim was the exact opposite of his godly father. He was determined to restore the glory of the throne and the splendor of the court. Any little people who stood in his way were ruthlessly eliminated. His covetous eye and wicked heart were fixed on ill-gotten gain. He would stop at nothing, even murder, to enlarge his holdings (Jer 22:17).
Because of his flagrant wickedness Jehoiakim would meet with an exceedingly shameful end. It was customary in Judah as in all other countries of the ancient Near East for kings and nobles to be interred with regal pomp and to have special dirges recited over their graves. Because he was universally loved, the whole nation lamented the death of godly king Josiah (2Ch 35:25). But no one will shed a tear when Jehoiakim passes from the scene. The word Ah is part of the vocabulary of lamentation and signifies extreme distress and sorrow. Ah my brother! or Ah sister! was no doubt a lament commonly uttered by relatives and friends of the deceased (1Ki 13:30) while the cry Ah lord! or Ah his majesty! was presumably an expression of grief reserved for the death of a king (cf. Jer 34:5). No mourners will assemble at the tomb of Jehoiakim to express sympathy for one another upon the loss of a great king. Still less would any lamentation be heard at his death that mentioned the lordship of Jehoiakim or his glory (Jer 22:18). On the contrary Jehoiakim who loved to live in pomp and splendor would be buried with the burial of an ass, The burial of an ass would be no burial. The carcass of the animal would simply be left to rot in the open field. No specific passage states that this prophecy was fulfilled. But 2Ki 24:6 does state Jehoiakim slept with his fathers” without mentioning the Place of his burial. The same terminology is used of Ahab who died a violent death at the hands of the Syrians (1Ki 22:40) In most cases the Book of Kings mentions where the kings of Judah were buried. The fact that in the case of Jehoiakim this detail was omitted suggests that he did not receive the customary burial. If this last indignity was heaped upon Jehoiakim after his death (and there is no good reason to think otherwise), then it was perpetrated by the people of Judah, not by the Chaldeans. Jehoiakim died just before the armies of Nebuchadnezzar arrived at the walls of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. Another, though less likely, possibility is that the Babylonians dug up the body of the recently buried Jehoiakim as a final act of vengeance against him for violating the terms of his vassal treaty with Nebuchadnezzar.
Divine punishment awaits the nation as well as the king. Under the figure of a woman, Israel is called upon to ascend the heights and bewail the fate of the country. The places named-Lebanon, Bashan, Abarim-were locations through which the Chaldeans would shortly pass on their sweep southward toward Judah. The Lebanon mountains were the northern entrance to Palestine. The Chaldeans would then pass through the hills of Bashan in the northeast. The Abarim is the mountain range southeast of the Dead Sea in which Mt. Nebo was one of the prominent peaks. Everywhere the cry of lamentation is taken Up as the enemy moves toward Jerusalem. No help arises from any quarter for all the lovers have been destroyed (Jer 22:20). These lovers are nations which had foolishly banded together in some sort of political pact to withstand Nebuchadnezzar.
God had spoken to Israel in times of prosperity but the nation had stubbornly refused to hearken to His words. From the time when Israel became a nation she had refused to give heed to the word of God (Jer 22:21). Judahs shepherds, her political and religious leaders, will be driven by the wind as they are swept away into exile. Normally shepherds drive the flock before them. But God will shepherd the shepherds of Israel by means of the wind of divine judgment. The political lovers, allied nations in whom Israel trusted, will also go into captivity. The men of Judah will be ashamed and perplexed as they come to realize the terrible evil which they have committed against their God (Jer 22:22). Hitherto Jerusalem had enjoyed security like a bird nestled among the cedars in the high mountains of the Lebanon range. For this reason Jeremiah addresses the residents of Jerusalem as inhabitant of Lebanon. The use of the figure Lebanon for Jerusalem is also appropriate in view of the fact that so many of the palaces and official buildings of that city were built of cedar wood from the Lebanon mountains (1Ki 7:2; 1 Kings 10-17, 21). Jeremiah has nothing but pity for the proud city as he contemplates the terrible agony which she must shortly endure, an agony comparable only to that suffered by a woman in travail (Jer 22:23).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
unto: Jer 22:18, 2Ki 23:35-37, 2Ch 36:4
buildeth: Lev 19:13, Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15, Job 24:10, Job 24:11, Mic 3:10, Hab 2:9-11, Mal 3:5, Jam 5:4
Reciprocal: Deu 15:13 – General 2Sa 7:2 – I dwell 2Ki 23:37 – he did 2Ki 24:5 – the rest 1Ch 14:1 – to build him 2Ch 36:5 – Jehoiakim Job 18:15 – because Job 20:18 – and he shall Pro 17:19 – he that Pro 29:4 – he that receiveth gifts Isa 5:8 – them Isa 10:1 – Woe Jer 17:11 – he that Jer 35:1 – in the Eze 19:6 – he went Eze 34:4 – but with Hab 2:12 – him
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A BAD FOUNDATION
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice.
Jer 22:13 (R.V.)
I. This denunciation was probably against the king himself.But it has a much fuller reference. He was the godless son of a godly father, whose character is sketched in three particulars. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; it was well with him; it was to know God. But the son had reversed all this. He built his palace of unrighteousness, his chambers of covetousness; but its width of space could not obliterate the memory of the forced and unpaid labour by which it had been reared. And God would plead and avenge the cause of those oppressed labourers.
When we see the splendid piles of business buildings reared by monopolists who thrive by making existence impossible to smaller but industrious tradesmen; when we hear of the vast fortunes made out of strong drink; or the manipulation of the market by millionaires, that make honest business impossible; we recur to these terrible words. God still arises to avenge the cause of the poor and needy. There is a God who judges in the earth.
II. In our vast cities it is not easy to trace the incidence of the Divine displeasure on a family of wrongdoers.Those who reside in our villages and country towns, and have long memories, could tell of many corroborations in their own knowledge. Gods children can afford to be generous and open-handed to their employs, because their Master is rich. Let us build up our lives by righteous and loving deeds, which shall constitute a habitation in which our souls may live. This is the noblest kind of palace; and when our mortal life is closed we shall not go forth unwept. Build into the structure of your daily life unselfishness, forgivingness, mercy, strength consecrated to the cause of the weak, and wisdom given to the cause of the ignorant; and when ye fail they will welcome you into the everlasting habitations.
If, on the other hand, you persist in high-handed wrong, if you take from men more than you give to them, if your motto is to get on rather than to get up, and to get on by trampling down the weak, be sure that you are flinging yourself against the Divine order, and will inevitably come to nought.
Illustration
In the midst of the anguish of his times the young king, Jehoiakim, set about building a new palace for himself by forced labour. It was a wide house, with spacious chambers, ceiled with beams of cedar, and painted with vermilion; but he used his neighbours service without wages, and gave him not his hire. In contrast with this, his father had judged the cause of the poor and needy, and proved himself the defender of the oppressed. The contrast came out in their deaths. When Josiah died the whole land mourned; each citizen felt personally bereaved. The air resounded with the words, Ah, Lord! Ah, the glory of Israel! But his son was buried with the burial of an ass, cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jer 22:13. This has reference to the leaders who had enriched their own possessions at the expense of the common and poor people. They used their positLon unfairly because of their official standing and forced the others to serve them without wages.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 22:13-16. Wo unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, &c. The prophet proceeds to denounce Gods judgments against Jehoiakim, (see Jer 22:18,) who, it seems, built himself a stately palace in those calamitous times, and took no care to pay the wages of the workmen; but maintained his own luxury by the oppression of those who were to live by their labour: a crying sin, and too common among the great men of the world, severely prohibited both in the Old and New Testament. Lowth. See Deu 24:14-15; Jas 5:4. That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers Hebrew, , chambers to the wind; that is, exposed, or open, to wind on every side. They used to enjoy the cool air in these chambers; the windows being so placed that they might receive the wind from whatever quarter it came. Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself in cedar? Will a house, finely adorned and furnished, be a fortress and defence to thee against thy enemies, that come to deprive thee of thy kingdom? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice, &c. Did not Josiah live, and enjoy comfort in life as well as thou dost, though he did not indulge himself in such delicacies, and had not such magnificent apartments? Did he not live in sufficient plenty, and in a state suitable to his character, and yet strictly observed justice, both in his private and public capacity, and not betake himself to such sordid methods of injustice and oppression for the support of his grandeur? He did no wrong to any of his subjects, never oppressed them, or put any hardship upon them, but was careful to preserve to all their just rights and properties. Nay, he not only did not abuse his power for the support of wrong, but used it for the maintaining of right; he judged the cause of the poor and needy Was ready to hear the cause of the meanest of his subjects, and do them justice; and then it was well with him The blessing of God was upon him as the reward of his justice and integrity. He was comfortable in himself, and was useful to and respected by his subjects, and prospered in all that he put his hand to. Was not this to know me, saith the Lord? Did he not hereby make it appear, that he rightly knew, worshipped, and served me, and consequently was known and owned by me? Observe, reader, the right knowledge of God implies the doing our duty to our fellow-creatures, as well as to God, particularly that duty which our place and station in the world require us to perform.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22:13 Woe to him that buildeth his house by {i} unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that] useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
(i) By bribes and extortion.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
A prophecy about King Jehoiakim 22:13-19
"Jehoiakim was condemned by Jeremiah more severely than any other king. He seems to have been a typical Oriental despot who rejected Josiah’s reforms." [Note: Thompson, p. 478.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Jeremiah called down woe on the person who advanced his own interests, and built his own royal house (palace, and by implication, dynasty), by abusing the rights of others (cf. Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14; Mal 3:5).
"This man, who gave his mind to trivialities at a time of crisis, and who saw his subjects only as exploitable, was a vulture at law and a peacock at home." [Note: Kidner, p. 87.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER VI
THE JUDGMENT ON JEHOIAKIM
Jer 22:13-19; Jer 36:30-31
“Jehoiakim slew him (Uriah) with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.”- Jer 26:23
“Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim, He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”- Jer 22:18-19
“Jehoiakim did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.”- 2Ki 23:36-37
OUR last four chapters have been occupied with the history of Jeremiah during the reign of Jehoiakim, and therefore necessarily with the relations of the prophet to the king and his government. Before we pass on to the reigns of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, we must consider certain utterances which deal with the personal character and career of Jehoiakim. We are helped to appreciate these passages by what we here read, and by the brief paragraph concerning this reign in the Second Book of Kings. In Jeremiah the kings policy and conduct are especially illustrated by two incidents, the murder of the prophet Uriah and the destruction of the roll. The historian states his judgment of the reign, but his brief record {2Ki 23:34-37; 2Ki 24:1-7} adds little to our knowledge of the sovereign.
Jehoiakim was placed upon the throne as the nominee and tributary of Pharaoh Necho; but he had the address or good fortune to retain his authority under Nebuchadnezzar, by transferring his allegiance to the new suzerain of Western Asia. When a suitable opportunity offered, the unwilling and discontented vassal naturally “turned and rebelled against” his lord. Even then his good fortune did not forsake him; although in his latter days Judah was harried by predatory bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites. and Ammonites, yet Jehoiakim “slept with his fathers” before Nebuchadnezzar had set to work in earnest to chastise his refractory subject. He was not reserved, like Zedekiah, to endure agonies of mental and physical torture, and to rot in a Babylonian dungeon.
Jeremiahs judgment upon Jehoiakim and his doings is contained in the two passages which form the subject of this chapter. The utterance in Jer 36:30-31, was evoked by the destruction of the roll, and we may fairly assume that Jer 22:13-19 was also delivered after that incident. The immediate context of the latter paragraph throws no light on the date of its origin. Chapter 22 is a series of judgments on the successors of Josiah, and was certainly composed after the deposition of Jehoiachin, Probably during the reign of Zedekiah; but the section on Jehoiakim must have been uttered at an earlier period. Renan indeed imagines (3:274) that Jeremiah delivered this discourse at the gate of the royal palace at the very beginning of the new reign. The nominee of Egypt was scarcely seated on the throne, his “new name” Jehoiakim-“He whom Jehovah establisheth” – still sounded strange in his ears, when the prophet of Jehovah publicly menaced the king with condign punishment. Renan is naturally surprised that Jehoiakim tolerated Jeremiah even for a moment. But, here as often elsewhere, the French critics dramatic instinct has warped his estimate of evidence. We need not accept the somewhat unkind saying that picturesque anecdotes are never true, but, at the same time, we have always to guard against the temptation to accept the most dramatic interpretation of history as the most accurate. The contents of this passage, the references to robbery, oppression, and violence, clearly imply that Jehoiakim had reigned long enough for his government to reveal itself as hopelessly corrupt. The final breach between the king and the prophet was marked by the destruction of the roll, and Jer 22:13-19, like Jer 36:30-31, may be considered a consequence of this breach.
Let us now consider these utterances: In Jer 36:30 we read, “Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David.” Later on, {Jer 22:30} a like judgment was pronounced upon Jehoiakims son and successor Jehoiachin. The absence of this threat from Jer 22:13-19 is doubtless due to the fact that the chapter was compiled when the letter of the prediction seemed to have been proved to be false by the accession of Jehoiachin. Its spirit and substance were amply satisfied by the latters deposition and captivity after a brief reign of a hundred days.
The next clause in the sentence on Jehoiakim runs: “His dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.” The same doom is repeated in the later prophecy:-
“They shall not lament for him, Alas my brother! Alas my brother! They shall not lament for him, Alas lord! Alas lord! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, Dragged forth and cast away without the gates of Jerusalem.”
Jeremiah did not need to draw upon his imagination for this vision of judgment. When the words were uttered, his memory called up the murder of Uriah ben Shemaiah and the dishonour done to his corpse. Uriahs only guilt had been his zeal for the truth that Jeremiah had proclaimed. Though Jehoiakim and his party had not dared to touch Jeremiah or had not been able to reach him, they had struck his influence by killing Uriah. But for their hatred of the master, the disciple might have been spared. And Jeremiah had neither been able to protect him, nor allowed to share his fate. Any generous spirit will understand how Jeremiahs whole nature was possessed and agitated by a tempest of righteous indignation, how utterly humiliated he felt to be compelled to stand by in helpless impotence. And now, when the tyrant had filled up the measure of his iniquity, when the imperious impulse of the Divine Spirit bade the prophet speak the doom of his king, there breaks forth at last the long pent up cry for vengeance: “Avenge, O Lord, Thy slaughtered saint”-let the persecutor suffer the agony and shame which he inflicted on Gods martyr, fling out the murderers corpse unburied, let it lie and rot upon the dishonoured grave of his victim.
Can we say, Amen? Not perhaps without some hesitation. Yet surely, if our veins run blood and not water, our feelings, had we been in Jeremiahs place, would have been as bitter and our words as fierce. Jehoiakim was more guilty than our Queen Mary, but the memory of the grimmest of the Tudors still stinks in English nostrils. In our own days, we have not had time to forget how men received the news of Hanningtons murder at Uganda, and we can imagine what European Christians would say and feel if their missionaries were massacred in China.
And yet, when we read such a treatise as Lactantius wrote “Concerning the Deaths of Persecutors,” we cannot but recoil. We are shocked at the stern satisfaction he evinces in the miserable ends of Maximin and Galerius, and other enemies of the true faith. Discreet historians have made large use of this work, without thinking it desirable to give an explicit account of its character and spirit. Biographers of Lactantius feel constrained to offer a half-hearted apology for the “De Morte Persecutorum.” Similarly we find ourselves of one mind with Gibbon, (chapter 13) in refusing to derive edification from a sermon in which Constantine the Great, or the bishop who composed it for him, affected to relate the miserable end of all the persecutors of the Church. Nor can we share the exultation of the Covenanters in the Divine judgment which they saw in the death of Claverhouse; and we are not moved to any hearty sympathy with more recent writers, who have tried to illustrate from history the danger of touching the rights and privileges of the Church. Doubtless God will avenge His own elect; nevertheless Nemo me impune lacessit is no seemly motto for the Kingdom of God. Even Greek mythologists taught that it was perilous for men to wield the thunderbolts of Zeus. Still less is the Divine wrath a weapon for men to grasp in their differences and dissensions, even about the things of God. Michael the Archangel, even when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, “durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” {Jud 1:9}
How far Jeremiah would have shared such modern sentiment, it is hard to say. At any rate his personal feeling is kept in the background; it is postponed to the more patient and deliberate judgment of the Divine Spirit, and subordinated to broad considerations of public morality. We have no right to contrast Jeremiah with our Lord and His proto-martyr Stephen, because we have no prayer of the ancient prophet to rank with, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” or again with, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Christ and His disciple forgave wrongs done to themselves: they did not condone the murder of their brethren. In the Apocalypse, which concludes the English Bible, and was long regarded as Gods final revelation, His last word to man, the souls of the martyrs cry out from beneath the altar: “How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Doubtless God will avenge His own elect, and the appeal for justice may be neither ignoble nor vindictive. But such prayers, beyond all others, must be offered in humble submission to the Judge of all. When our righteous indignation claims to pass its own sentence, we do well to remember that our halting intellect and our purblind conscience are ill qualified to sit as assessors of the Eternal Justice.
When Saul set out for Damascus, “breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,” the survivors of his victims cried out for a swift punishment of the persecutor, and believed that their prayers were echoed by martyred souls in the heavenly Temple. If that ninth chapter of the Acts had recorded how Saul of Tarsus was struck dead by the lightnings of the wrath of God, preachers down all the Christian centuries would have moralised on the righteous Divine judgment. Saul would have found his place in the homiletic Chamber of Horrors with Ananias and Sapphira, Herod and Pilate, Nero and Diocletian. Yet the Captain of our salvation, choosing His lieutenants, passes over many a man with blameless record, and allots the highest post to this bloodstained persecutor. No wonder that Paul, if only in utter self-contempt, emphasised the doctrine of Divine election. Verily Gods ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Still, however, we easily see that Paul and Jehoiakim belong to two different classes. The persecutor who attempts in honest but misguided zeal to make others endorse his own prejudices, and turn a deaf ear with him to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, must not be ranked with politicians who sacrifice to their own private interests the Revelation and the Prophets of God.
This prediction which we have been discussing of Jehoiakims shameful end is followed in the passage in chapter 36, by a general announcement of universal judgment, couched in Jeremiahs usual comprehensive style:-
“I will visit their sin upon him and upon his children and upon his servants, and I will bring upon them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the evil which I spake unto them and they did not hearken.”
In chapter 22 the sentence upon Jehoiakim is prefaced by a statement of the crimes for which he was punished. His eyes and his heart were wholly possessed by avarice and cruelty; as an administrator he was active in oppression and violence. But Jeremiah does not confine himself to these general charges; he specifies and emphasises one particular form of Jehoiakims wrong-doing, the tyrannous exaction of forced labour for his buildings. To the sovereigns of petty Syrian states, old Memphis and Babylon were then what London and Paris are to modern Ameers, Khedives, and Sultans. Circumstances, indeed, did not permit a Syrian prince to visit the Egyptian or Chaldean capital with perfect comfort and unrestrained enjoyment. Ancient Eastern potentates, like mediaeval suzerains, did not always distinguish between a guest and a hostage. But the Jewish kings would not be debarred from importing the luxuries and imitating the vices of their conquerors.
Renan says of this period:
“LEgypte etait, cette epoque, le pays ou les industries de luxe etaient le plus developpees. Tout le monde raffolaient, en particulier, de sa carrosserie et de ses meubles ouvrages. Joiaquin et la noblesse de Jerusalem ne songeaient qua se procurer ces beaux objets, qui realisaient ce quon avait vu de plus exquis en fait de gout jusque-la.”
The supreme luxury of vulgar minds is the use of wealth as a means of display, and monarchs have always delighted in the erection of vast and ostentatious buildings. At this time Egypt and Babylon vied with one another in pretentious architecture. In addition to much useful engineering work, Psammetichus I made large additions to the temples and public edifices at Memphis, Thebes, Sais, and elsewhere, so that “the entire valley of the Nile became little more than one huge workshop, where stone cutters and masons, bricklayers and carpenters, laboured incessantly.” This activity in building continued even after the disaster to the Egyptian arms at Carchemish.
Nebuchadnezzar had an absolute mania for architecture. His numerous inscriptions are mere catalogues of his achievements in building. His home administration and even his extensive conquests are scarcely noticed; he held them of little account compared with his temples and palaces-“this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty.” {Dan 4:30} Nebuchadnezzar created most of the magnificence that excited the wonder and admiration of Herodotus a century later.
Jehoiakim had been moved to follow the notable example of Chaldea and Egypt. By a strange irony of fortune, Egypt, once the cynosure of nations, has become in our own time the humble imitator of Western civilisation, and now boulevards have rendered the suburbs of Cairo “a shabby reproduction of modern Paris.” Possibly in the eyes of Egyptians and Chaldeans Jehoiakims efforts only resulted in a “shabby reproduction” of Memphis or Babylon. Nevertheless these foreign luxuries are always expensive; and minor states had not then learnt the art of trading on the resources of their powerful neighbours by means of foreign loans. Moreover Judah had to pay tribute first to Pharaoh Necho, and then to Nebuchadnezzar. The times were bad, and additional taxes for building purposes must have been felt as an intolerable oppression. Naturally the king did not pay for his labour; like Solomon and all other great Eastern despots, he had recourse to the corvee, and for this in particular Jeremiah denounced him.
“Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness
And his chambers by injustice;
That maketh his neighbour toil without wages,
And giveth him no hire;
That saith, I will build me a wide house
And spacious chambers,
And openeth out broad windows, with woodwork of cedar
And vermilion painting.”
Then the denunciation passes into biting sarcasm:-
“Art thou indeed a king,
Because thou strivest to excel in cedar?”
Poor imitations of Nebuchadnezzars magnificent structures could not conceal the impotence and dependence of the Jewish king. The pretentiousness of Jehoiakims buildings challenged a comparison which only reminded men that he was a mere puppet, with its strings pulled now by Egypt and now by Babylon. At best he was only reigning on sufferance.
Jeremiah contrasts Jehoiakims government both as to justice and dignity with that of Josiah:-
“Did not thy father eat and drink?”
(He was no ascetic, but, like the Son of Man, lived a full, natural, human life.)
“And do judgment and justice?
Then did he prosper.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy,
Then was there prosperity.
Is not this to know Me?
Jehovah hath spoken it.”
Probably Jehoiakim claimed by some external observance, or through some subservient priest or prophet, to “know Jehovah”; and Jeremiah repudiates the claim.
Josiah had reigned in the period when the decay of Assyria left Judah dominant in Palestine, until Egypt or Chaldea could find time to gather up the outlying fragments of the shattered empire. The wisdom and justice of the Jewish king had used this breathing space for the advantage and happiness of his people; and during part of his reign Josiahs power seems to have been as extensive as that of any of his predecessors on the throne of Judah. And yet, according to current theology, Jeremiahs appeal to the prosperity of Josiah as a proof of Gods approbation was a startling anomaly. Josiah had been defeated and slain at Megiddo in the prime of his manhood, at the age of thirty-nine. None but the most independent and enlightened spirits could believe that the Reformers premature death, at the moment when his policy had resulted in national disaster, was not an emphatic declaration of Divine displeasure. Jeremiahs contrary belief might be explained and justified. Some such justification is suggested by the prophets utterance concerning Jehoahaz: “Weep not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away.” Josiah had reigned with real authority, he died when independence was no longer possible; and therein he was happier and more honourable than his successors, who held a vassal throne by the uncertain tenure of timeserving duplicity, and were for the most part carried into captivity. “The righteous was taken away from the evil to come.” {Isa 57:1-21, English Versions.}
The warlike spirit of classical antiquity and of Teutonic chivalry welcomed a glorious death upon the field of battle:-
“And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods?”
No one spoke of Leonidas as a victim of Divine wrath. Later Judaism caught something of the same temper. Judas Maccabaeus, when in extreme danger, said, “It is better for us to die in battle, than to look upon the evils of our people and our sanctuary”; and later on, when he refused to flee from inevitable death, he claimed that he would leave behind him no stain upon his honour. Islam also is prodigal in its promises of future bliss to those soldiers who fall fighting for its sake.
But the dim and dreary Sheol of the ancient Hebrews was no glorious Valhalla or houri-peopled Paradise. The renown of the battlefield was poor compensation for the warm, full-blooded life of the upper air. When David sang his dirge for Saul and Jonathan, he found no comfort in the thought that they had died fighting for Israel. Moreover the warriors self-sacrifice for his country seems futile and inglorious, when it neither secures victory nor postpones defeat. And at Megiddo Josiah and his army perished in a vain attempt to come
“Between the pass and fell incensed points
Of mighty opposites.”
We can hardly justify to ourselves Jeremiahs use of Josiahs reign as an example of prosperity as the reward of righteousness; his contemporaries must have been still more difficult to convince. We cannot understand how the words of this prophecy were left without any attempt at justification, or why Jeremiah did not meet by anticipation the obvious and apparently crushing rejoinder that the reign terminated in disgrace and disaster.
Nevertheless these difficulties do not affect the terms of the sentence upon Jehoiakim, or the ground upon which he was condemned. We shall be better able to appreciate Jeremiahs attitude and to discover its lessons if we venture to reconsider his decisions. We cannot forget that there was, as Cheyne puts it, a duel between Jeremiah and Jehoiakim; and we should hesitate to accept the verdict of Hildebrand upon Henry IV of Germany, or of Thomas a Becket on Henry II of England. Moreover the data upon which we have to base our judgment, including the unfavourable estimate in the Book of Kings, come to us from Jeremiah or his disciples. Our ideas about Queen Elizabeth would be more striking than accurate if our only authorities for her reign were Jesuit historians of England. But Jeremiah is absorbed in lofty moral and spiritual issues; his testimony is not tainted with that sectarian and sacerdotal casuistry which is always so ready to subordinate truth to the interests of “the Church.” He speaks of facts with a simple directness which leaves us in no doubt as to their reality; his picture of Jehoiakim may be one sided, but it owes nothing to an inventive imagination.
Even Renan, who, in Ophite fashion, holds brief for the bad characters of the Old Testament, does not seriously challenge Jeremiahs statements of fact. But the judgment of the modern critic seems at first sight more lenient than that of the Hebrew prophet: the former sees in Jehoiakim “un prince liberal et modere,” (3:269) but when this favourable estimate is coupled with an apparent comparison with Louis Philippe, we must leave students of modern history to decide whether Renan is really less severe than Jeremiah. Cheyne, on the other hand, holds that “we have no reason to question Jeremiahs verdict upon Jehoiakim, who, alike from a religious and a political point of view, appears to have been unequal to the crisis in the fortunes of Israel.” No doubt this is true; and yet perhaps Renan is so far right that Jehoiakims failure was rather his misfortune than his fault. We may doubt whether any king of Israel or Judah would have been equal to the supreme crisis which Jehoiakim had to face. Our scanty information seems to indicate a man of strong will, determined character, and able statesmanship. Though the nominee of Pharaoh Necho, he retained his sceptre under Nebuchadnezzar, and held his own against Jeremiah and the powerful party by which the prophet was supported. Under more favourable conditions he might have rivalled Uzziah or Jeroboam II. In the time of Jehoiakim, a supreme political and military genius would have been as helpless on the throne of Judah as were the Palaeologi in the last days of the Empire at Constantinople. Something may be said to extenuate his religious attitude. In opposing Jeremiah he was not defying clear and acknowledged truth. Like the Pharisees in their conflict with Christ, the persecuting king had popular religious sentiment on to his side. According that current theology which had been endorsed in some measure even by Isaiah and Jeremiah, the defeat at Megiddo proved that Jehovah repudiated the religious policy of Josiah and his advisers. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit enabled Jeremiah to resist this shallow conclusion, and to maintain through every crisis his unshaken faith in the profounder truth. Jehoiakim was too conservative to surrender at the prophets bidding the long accepted and fundamental doctrine of retribution, and to follow the forward leading of Revelation. He “stood by the old truth” as did Charles V at the Reformation. “Let him that is without sin” in this matter “first cast a stone at” him.
Though we extenuate Jehoiakims conduct, we are still bound to condemn it; not, however, because he was exceptionally wicked, but because he failed to rise above a low spiritual average: yet in this judgment we also condemn ourselves for our own intolerance, and for the prejudice and self-will which have often blinded our eyes to the teachings of our Lord and Master.
But Jeremiah emphasises one special charge against the king-his exaction of forced and unpaid labour. This form of taxation was in itself so universal that the censure can scarcely be directed against its ordinary and moderate exercise. If Jeremiah had intended to inaugurate a new departure, he would have approached the subject in a more formal and less casual fashion. It was a time of national danger and distress, when all moral and material resources were needed to avert the ruin of the state, or at any rate to mitigate the sufferings of the people; and at such a time Jehoiakim exhausted and embittered his subjects-that he might dwell in spacious halls with woodwork of cedar. The Temple and palaces of Solomon had been built at the expense of a popular resentment, which survived for centuries, and with which, as their silence seems to show, the prophets fully sympathised. If even Solomons exactions were culpable, Jehoiakim was altogether without excuse.
His sin was that common to all governments, the use of the authority of the state for private ends. This sin is possible not only to sovereigns and secretaries of state, but to every town councillor and every one who has a friend on a town council, nay, to every clerk in a public office and to every workman in a government dockyard. A king squandering public revenues on private pleasures, and an artisan pilfering nails and iron with an easy conscience because they only belong to the state, are guilty of crimes essentially the same. On the one hand, Jehoiakim as the head of the state was oppressing individuals; and although modern states have grown comparatively tender as to the rights of the individual, yet even now their action is often cruelly oppressive to insignificant minorities. But, on the other hand, the right of exacting labour was only vested in the king. as a public trust; its abuse was as much an injury to the community as to individuals. If Jeremiah had to deal with modern civilisation, we might, perchance, be startled by his passing lightly over our religious and political controversies to denounce the squandering of public resources in the interests of individuals and classes, sects and parties.