Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 7:13
And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Rising up early and speaking – A proverbial expression for speaking zealously and earnestly. It is used only by Jeremiah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 7:13
I spake unto you, rising up early.
Gods call to sinners
I. A gracious call. We are utterly undeserving of it. Though we are transgressors, guilty, corrupt, depraved,–yet God calls upon us–to escape–to live–to be saved–to turn unto Him, and be forever blest and happy.
II. An affectionate call. The call of a merciful Creator who hath no pleasure in the death and destruction of His fallen creatures: and would rather they should repent and live; the call of a tender Father, who looks with compassion upon the prodigal wanderer, invites and urges him to abandon his wretchedness and want, and come back to his home of plenty, and his Fathers bosom again, and assures him of a joyous welcome if he will; the call of a Friend–that Friend that sticketh closer than a brother–even of Jesus our best friend, our elder brother.
III. A varied call. From every part of the outspread volume of creation, there issues a voice calling upon us, to know, fear, adore, worship, the great Creator. And as well as by His works, we are called upon by His ways–by His dealings with the children of men. The misfortunes and calamities that occur to others; and the bereavements, afflictions, and trials that happen to ourselves–the constant experience we have of the uncertainty of our present existence, and of the instability of all earthly good, by these and many similar things we are addressed and admonished to seek a more enduring substance, a more incorruptible and unfading inheritance. From every page, also, of the book of God there proceedeth a call, exhorting us to depart from iniquity, and follow after holiness,–to supplicate for pardoning mercy and for assisting grace.
IV. An oft-repeated–a reiterated call. We are not appealed to once or twice, and then abandoned to our folly. Forbearance is exercised towards us from year to year; line is given upon line, and precept upon precept,–here a little and there a little; so that we may have the last possible opportunity of being saved, and may not be left in despair until the last moment of the day of grace hath expired, and our souls be beyond the region of impression and awakening.
V. An earnest call. Men may be light and trifling. God is always serious–always in earnest. He is in earnest in what He does, and in what He speaks. All the appeals and persuasions by which the Almighty follows you, as children hastening madly on to destruction, are embodied in the very terms, and wear the very air of the utmost earnestness; yea, so serious and earnest are they, that, when it is considered from whom they come, and to what they relate, the wonder is, that men are not at once startled by them, and arrested in their downward course, and constrained to hasten to the only safe Refuge from the gathering and impending storm.
VI. An urgent call. Its reference is to the present: it demands immediate attention and instant compliance. (C. Cook.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
These works; either the same, or as bad, or worse than they did at Shiloh; or particularly those mentioned Jer 7:9.
Rising up early; a metaphor taken from persons that are diligent in their business, they use to rise up early: q.d. I did not only speak by my prophets, but they in my name used all diligence to reclaim you, Jer 11:7,8; 25:3,4, calling earnestly unto you; by which he means his exhortations and menaces, which ought to have had some efficacy upon them; but you slighted, and disregarded, and would not come at my call, Pro 1:24. See Poole “2Ch 36:15“, See Poole “2Ch 36:16“, and See Poole “Isa 1:2“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. rising . . . earlyimplyingunwearied earnestness in soliciting them (Jer 7:25;Jer 11:17; 2Ch 36:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord,…. Meaning evil works, such as theft, murder, adultery, perjury, and idolatry, mentioned Jer 7:8 or the same which were done by the people of Israel, on account of which the tabernacle at Shiloh was left:
and I spake unto you, rising up early; that is, by his servants the prophets, whom he sent unto them, and by whom he spoke, as the Targum paraphrases it, and as it is in Jer 7:25, which shows the Lord’s great concern for this people, his early care of them, in sending his servants betimes to warn, rebuke, and reclaim them:
and speaking, but ye heard not; would not listen to the words of the prophets, and of the Lord by them; but turned a deaf ear to them, which aggravates their stubbornness, obstinacy, and wickedness, that so much respect should be shown them, so much pains should be taken with them, and that so early, and yet to no purpose:
and I called you, but ye answered not; this call was by the external ministry of the prophets, and was with great vehemence in them, but not with divine energy; however, it was sufficient to leave the Jews without excuse; and their inattention to it exposes their hardness and wilful obstinacy; see Pr 1:24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet confirms by an example what he said yesterday, — that the Jews deceived themselves in thinking that they were covered by the shadow of the Temple, while yet they disclosed themselves, and when the whole world were witness of their impious rebellion. He therefore mentions what had before happened. The Ark of the Covenant, as it is well known, had long rested in Shiloh. Now the Temple did not excel in dignity on its own account, but on account of the Ark of the Covenant and the altar. It was indeed splendidly adorned; but the holiness of the Temple was derived from the Ark of the Covenant, the altar, and the sacrifices. This Ark had been in Shiloh. (196) Hence Jeremiah shews how foolish were the Jews in being proud, because they had among them the Ark of the Covenant and the altar, for the first place, where sacrifices had been offered to God, was not preserved in safety. This is the import of the whole.
But he did not in vain say, Even go to Shiloh The כי, ki, here, though commonly a causal particle, seems to be taken as explanatory. If yet it be viewed only as an affirmative, I do not object, “Well, go to Shiloh.” But the language in this case is ironical, “Ye glory in the Temple; forsooth! go to Shiloh.” And God calls it his place — my place, in order that the Jews might understand that it had nothing superior in itself. The Ark of the Covenant had indeed been removed into Mount Sion, and there God had chosen a perpetual habitation for himself; but the other place was superior as to antiquity. This is the reason why he calls it “my place, “and adds, Where I made my name to dwell, that is, where I designed the Ark to be: for the Ark of the Covenant and the altar, with all their furniture, were properly the name of God; nor was it by chance that all the tribes had placed the Ark in Shiloh; but it was God’s will to be there worshipped for a time. Hence he says, that the place was sacred before Jerusalem; and therefore he says at the first, בראשונה, berashune; that is, the Shilomites are not only equal with you, but antiquity brings them a greater honor: if then a comparison is made, they excel you as to what is ancient.
See, he says, what I did to that place for the iniquity of my people Israel. He calls here Israel his people, not for honor’s sake, but that he might again remind the Jews that they were only equal to the Israelites; and yet that it profited all the tribes nothing, that they were wont to assemble there to worship God. (197) For when we reason from example, we must always see that there be no material difference. Jeremiah then shews that the Israelites were equal to the Jews, and that if the Jews claimed a superiority, the claim was neither just nor right, for Israel were also the people of God, inasmuch as it was God’s will to fix there the Ark of the Covenant, that sacrifices might be there offered to him; and then antiquity was in its favor, for it was a holy place before it was known that God had chosen Mount Sion as a situation for his Temple.
Hence he draws this conclusion, Now, then, as ye have done all these works, that is, as ye have become like the Israelites, therefore, etc. But he first amplifies their crime, — that they had not only imitated the wickedness of the twelve tribes, but had also perversely despised all warnings, I spake to you, he says, and rose up early By this metaphor he intimates, that he was as solicitous for preserving the kingdom of Judah, as parents are wont to be for the safety of their children: for as a father rises early to see what is necessary for his family, so also God says, that he rose early, inasmuch as he had been assiduous in exhorting them. He appropriates to his own person what properly belonged to his prophets: but as he had roused them by his Spirit and employed them in their work, he justly claims to himself whatever he had done by them as his instruments: and it was an exaggeration of their guilt, that they were slothful, nay, stupid, when God sedulously labored for their safety.
He adds, I spoke, and ye heard not; I cried to you, and ye did not answer, he inveighs more at large against their hardness; for had he only once warned them, some pretense might have been made; but as God, by rising early every day, labored to restore them to himself, and as he had not only employed instruction, but also crying, (for by crying he doubtless means exhortations and threatenings, which ought to have produced greater effect upon them,) there appeared in this contumacy the highest degree of mad audacity. The meaning is, — that God had tried all means to restore the Jews to a sound mind, but that they were wholly irreclaimable; for he had called them not only once, but often; and he had also endued his prophets with power to labor strenuously in the discharge of their office: he had not only shewed by them what was useful and necessary, but he had cried, that is, had employed greater vehemence, in order to correct their tardiness. Since then God, in using all these means, could effect nothing, what remained for them was miserably to perish, as they willfully sought their own destruction.
(196) This was in the tribe of Ephraim, between Bethel and Shechem, Jud 21:19, about twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem. The Ark had been there more than 300 years. It did not return there after it was brought forth in the war against the Philistines. The place afterwards declined, and its ruinous state became a proverb. See Jos 18:1; Psa 78:60; Jer 26:6. — Ed.
(197) Blayney thinks that the reference is not to the ruinous condition of Shiloh, immediately subsequent to the time when the Ark was removed thence, but to the devastation occasioned by the captivity of the ten tribes, which was a recent occurrence, this reason is, because they were then directed to go and see the place. But if the place had ever continued in a ruinous state, and was so at that time, there was every propriety in saying, “Go now and see it.” Besides, the argument is not so complete, as when its dilapidated state, occasioned by the sins of the people, when the Ark was thence removed, is referred to. “It is probable,“ says Henry, “that the ruins of that once flourishing city were yet remaining: however, they might read the history of it, which ought to affect them as if they saw the place.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Rising up early and speaking.A characteristic phrase of Jeremiahs, and used by him only (Jer. 13:25, Jer. 25:4; Jer. 26:5; Jer. 29:19). In its bold anthropomorphism it takes the highest form of human activity, waking from sleep and beginning at the dawn of day, to represent the like activity in God.
I called you, but ye answered not.An echo of earlier complaints from prophets and wise men (Pro. 1:24; Isa. 65:12; Isa. 66:4), destined itself to be used again by One greater than the prophets (Mat. 23:37).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Rising up early Showing deep and tender interest, in that he speaks from early morning onward.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 7:13. Rising up early, &c. See 2Ch 36:15. The phrase means, “making all possible haste, and using every endeavour, continually and carefully preventing you with my remonstrances: I employed, with all possible attention, severity, and softness, promises and threats; but all to no purpose.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Ver. 13. And now, because ye have done. ] Worthily are they made examples to others, that will not take example by others; that will not aliena frui insania, make benefit of other men’s miseries.
Rising early.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rising up early and speaking. This phrase is almost peculiar to Jeremiah, where it occurs eleven times (Jer 7:13, Jer 7:25; Jer 11:7; Jer 25:3, Jer 25:4; Jer 26:5; Jer 29:19; Jer 32:33; Jer 35:14, Jer 35:15; Jer 44:4). Occurs elsewhere only in 2Ch 36:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
and I spake: Jer 7:25, Jer 11:7, Jer 25:3, Jer 35:15, Jer 44:4, 2Ch 36:15, 2Ch 36:16, Neh 9:29, Neh 9:30
and I called: Pro 1:24, Isa 50:2, Isa 65:12, Isa 66:4, Hos 11:2, Hos 11:7, Zec 7:13, Mat 23:37
Reciprocal: Jos 3:1 – rose early 1Sa 8:19 – refused to obey Isa 30:9 – will not Jer 22:5 – that Jer 26:5 – my Jer 29:19 – General Jer 32:33 – rising Jer 35:14 – rising Jer 35:17 – because Dan 9:6 – have we
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 7:13, This verse accuses the generation in the days of Jeremiah with being guilty of the same sins as was that in the days of Shiloh. And all of it was in spite of the many admonitions from the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 7:13-15. And now, because ye have done all these works Either the same, or as bad, or worse than Israel did when the tabernacle was at Shiloh; and particularly those mentioned Jer 7:9. And I spake unto you, rising up early, &c. A metaphor taken from persons who, being diligent in their business, are wont to rise up early; as if he had said, I not only spoke to you by my prophets, but they, in my name, made all possible haste, and used all possible diligence to reclaim you, continually and carefully preventing you with remonstrances; employing with all possible attention severity and softness, promises and threats; but all to no purpose. Therefore, &c. Because you have added this, your obstinate rejecting of all admonitions and warnings, to the rest of your provocations, will I do unto this house, which is called by my name This sumptuous temple, of which you boast, and in which you trust for protection and preservation; the place which I gave to you and to your fathers Upon condition of your obedience, Psa 105:44-45, and therefore may justly, upon the breach of the condition, take from you again; as I have done to Shiloh See Jer 7:12. And I will cast you out of my sight You shall have my presence with you and watchful eye over you no more; but I will send you into captivity to Babylon, as I did your brethren into Assyria. See on 2Ki 17:6-18. He terms the Israelites their brethren here, to remind them that they both proceeded from the same stock, and therefore had no reason to expect but they should both fare alike, seeing their sins were alike: even the whole seed of Ephraim The ten tribes, called often by this name, because the tribe of Ephraim was the most numerous and potent of them all, and Jeroboam, their first king, was of that tribe.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spoke to you, {e} rising early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but {f} ye answered not;
(e) That is, I never ceased to warn you, as in Isa 65:2, Pro 1:23 .
(f) He shows the only remedy to redress our faults: to allow God to lead us in the way, and to obey his calling, Isa 66:4 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The people had been sinning in the ways just enumerated for a long time. The Lord had sent them prophets and leaders who had warned them from the earliest days of their departure from Him, but they had refused to respond. The phrase "rising up early and speaking" was a favorite of Jeremiah’s (cf. Jer 7:25; Jer 11:7; Jer 25:3-4; Jer 26:5; Jer 29:19; Jer 32:33; Jer 35:14-15; Jer 44:4). It occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament.