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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XXI.
It is plain that the prophecies of this book are not placed here in the
same order in which they were preached; for there are chapters after
this which concern Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah, who all reigned
before Zedekiah, in whose reign the prophecy of this chapter bears
date. Here is,
I. The message which Zedekiah sent to the prophet, to desire him to
enquire of the Lord for them,
II. The answer which Jeremiah, in God’s name, sent to that message, in
which,
1. He foretels the certain and inevitable ruin of the city, and the
fruitlessness of their attempts for its preservation,
2. He advises the people to make the best of bad, by going over to the
king of Babylon,
3. He advises the king and his family to repent and reform
(ver. 11, 12),
and not to trust to the strength of their city and grow secure,
| Zedekiah’s Message to Jeremiah. | B. C. 590. |
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1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king
Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah
the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD
will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he
may go up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back
the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight
against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which
besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the
midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand
and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great
wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and
beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king
of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left
in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the
famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into
the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek
their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword;
he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
Here is,
I. A very humble decent message which king Zedekiah, when he was in
distress, sent to Jeremiah the prophet. It is indeed charged upon this
Zedekiah that he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet,
speaking from the mouth of the Lord
he did not always humble himself as he did sometimes; he never humbled
himself till necessity forced him to it; he humbled himself so far as
to desire the prophet’s assistance, but not so far as to take his
advice, or to be ruled by him. Observe,
1. The distress which king Zedekiah was now in: Nebuchadrezzar made
war upon him, not only invaded the land, but besieged the city, and
had now actually invested it. Note, Those that put the evil day far
from them will be the more terrified when it comes upon them; and those
who before slighted God’s ministers may then perhaps be glad to court
an acquaintance with them.
2. The messengers he sent–Pashur and Zephaniah, one belonging to
the fifth course of the priests, the other to the twenty-fourth,
It was well that he sent, and that he sent persons of rank; but it
would have been better if he had desired a personal conference with the
prophet, which no doubt he might easily have had if he would so far
have humbled himself. Perhaps these priests were no better than the
rest, and yet, when they were commanded by the king, they must carry a
respectful message to the prophet, which was both a mortification to
them and an honour to Jeremiah. He had rashly said
(ch. xx. 18),
My days are consumed with shame; and yet here we find that he
lived to see better days than those were when he made that complaint;
now he appears in reputation. Note, It is folly to say, when things are
bad with us, “They will always be so.” It is possible that those who
are despised may come to be respected; and it is promised that those
who honour God he will honour, and that those who have
afflicted his people shall bow to them,
Isa. lx. 14.
3. The message itself: Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us,
v. 2.
Now that the Chaldean army had got into their borders, into their
bowels, they were at length convinced that Jeremiah was a true prophet,
though loth to own it and brought too late to it. Under this conviction
they desire him to stand their friend with God, believing him to have
that interest in heaven which none of their other prophets had, who had
flattered them with hopes of peace. They now employ Jeremiah,
(1.) To consult the mind of God for them: “Enquire of the Lord for
us; ask him what course we shall take in our present strait, for
the measures we have hitherto taken are all broken.” Note, Those that
will not take the direction of God’s grace how to get clear of their
sins would yet be glad of the directions of his providence how to get
clear of their troubles.
(2.) To seek the favour of God for them (so some read it): “Entreat
the Lord for us; be an intercessor for us with God.” Note, Those
that slight the prayers of God’s people and ministers when they are in
prosperity may perhaps be glad of an interest in them when they come to
be in distress. Give us of your oil. The benefit they promise
themselves is, It may be the Lord will deal with us now
according to the wondrous works he wrought for our fathers, that
the enemy may raise the siege and go up from us. Observe,
[1.] All their care is to get rid of their trouble, not to make their
peace with God and be reconciled to him–“That our enemy may go up
from us,” not, “That our God may return to us.” Thus Pharaoh
(Exod. x. 17):
Entreat the Lord that he may take away this death.
[2.] All their hope is that God had done wondrous works formerly in the
deliverance of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it, at the prayer of
Isaiah (so we are told,
and who can tell but he may destroy these besiegers (as he did those)
at the prayer of Jeremiah? But they did not consider how different the
character of Zedekiah and his people was from that of Hezekiah and his
people: those were days of general reformation and piety, these of
general corruption and apostasy. Jerusalem is now the reverse of what
it was then. Note, It is folly to think that God should do for us while
we hold fast our iniquity as he did for those that held fast their
integrity.
II. A very startling cutting reply which God, by the prophet, sent to
that message. If Jeremiah had been to have answered the message of
himself we have reason to think that he would have returned a
comfortable answer, in hope that their sending such a message was an
indication of some good purposes in them, which he would be glad to
make the best of, for he did not desire the woeful day. But God knows
their hearts better than Jeremiah does, and sends them an answer which
has scarcely one word of comfort in it. He sends it to them in the name
of the Lord God of Israel
(v. 3),
to intimate to them that though God allowed himself to be called the
God of Israel, and had done great things for Israel formerly,
and had still great things in store for Israel, pursuant to his
covenants with them, yet this should stand the present generation in no
stead, who were Israelites in name only, and not in deed, any more than
God’s dealings with them should cut off his relation to Israel as their
God. It is here foretold,
1. That God will render all their endeavours for their own security
fruitless and ineffectual
(v. 4):
“I will be so far from teaching your hands to war, and putting an edge
upon your swords, that I will turn back the weapons of war that are
in your hand, when you sally out upon the besiegers to beat them
off, so that they shall not give the stroke you design; nay, they shall
recoil into your own faces, and be turned upon yourselves.” Nothing can
make for those who have God against them.
2. That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of
Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: I will assemble
those in the midst of this city who are now surrounding it.
Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made
a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous
of destroyers.
3. That God himself will be their enemy; and then I know not who can
befriend them, no, not Jeremiah himself
(v. 5):
“I will be so far from protecting you, as I have done formerly in a
like case, that I myself will fight against you.” Note, Those
who rebel against God may justly expect that he will make war upon
them, and that,
(1.) With the power of a God who is irresistibly victorious: I will
fight against you with an outstretched hand, which will reach far,
and with a strong arm, which will strike home and wound deeply.
(2.) With the displeasure of a God who is indisputably righteous. It is
not a correction in love, but an execution in anger, in fury, and in
great wrath; it is upon a sentence sworn in wrath, against which
there will lie no exception, and it will soon be found what a fearful
thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
4. That those who, for their own safety, decline sallying out upon the
besiegers, and so avoid their sword, shall yet not escape the sword of
God’s justice
(v. 6):
I will smite those that abide in the city (so it may be read),
both man and beast, both the beasts that are for food and those
that are for service in war, foot and horse; they shall, die of a
great pestilence, which shall rage within the walls, while the
enemies are encamped about them. Though Jerusalem’s gates and walls may
for a time keep out the Chaldeans, they cannot keep out God’s
judgments. His arrows of pestilence can reach those that think
themselves safe from other arrows.
5. That the king himself, and people that escape the sword,
famine, and pestilence, shall fall into the hands of
the Chaldeans, who shall cut them off in cold blood
(v. 7):
They shall not spare them, nor have pity on them. Let not
those expect to find mercy with men who have forfeited God’s
compassions, and shut themselves out from his mercy. Thus had the
decree gone forth; and then to what purpose was it for Jeremiah to
enquire of the Lord for them?
| Answer to Zedekiah’s Message; Advice to the King and the People. | B. C. 590. |
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8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by
the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and
falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his
life shall be unto him for a prey.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not
for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye
the word of the LORD;
12 O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in
the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of
the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none
can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley,
and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall
come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,
saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof,
and it shall devour all things round about it.
By the civil message which the king sent to Jeremiah it appeared that
both he and the people began to have a respect for him, which it would
have been Jeremiah’s policy to make some advantage of for himself; but
the reply which God obliges him to make is enough to crush the little
respect they begin to have for him, and to exasperate them against him
more than ever. Not only the predictions in the
but the prescriptions in these, were provoking; for here,
I. He advises the people to surrender and desert to the Chaldeans, as
the only means left them to save their lives,
This counsel was very displeasing to those who were flattered by their
false prophets into a desperate resolution to hold out to the last
extremity, trusting to the strength of their walls and the courage of
their soldiery to keep out the enemy, or to their foreign aids to raise
the siege. The prophet assures them, “The city shall be given into
the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall not only plunder it,
but burn it with fire, for God himself hath set his face
against this city for evil and not for good, to lay it waste and
not to protect it, for evil which shall have no good mixed with
it, no mitigation or merciful allay; and therefore, if you would make
the best of bad, you must beg quarter of the Chaldeans, and surrender
prisoners of war.” In vain did Rabshakeh persuade the Jews to do this
while they had God for them
but it was the best course they could take now that God was against
them. Both the law and the prophets had often set before them life and
death in another sense–life if they obey the voice of God, death if
they persist in disobedience,
But they had slighted that life which would have made them truly happy,
to upbraid them with which the prophet here uses the same expression
(v. 8):
Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death,
which denotes not, as that, a fair proposal, but a melancholy dilemma,
advising them of two evils to choose the less; and that less evil, a
shameful and wretched captivity, is all the life now left for them to
propose to themselves. He that abides in the city, and trusts to
that to secure him, shall certainly die either by the sword
without the walls or famine or pestilence within. But he
that can so far bring down his spirit, and quit his vain hopes, as to
go out, and fall to the Chaldeans, his life shall be given him for a
prey; he shall save his life, but with much difficulty and hazard,
as a prey is taken from the mighty. It is an expression like that,
He shall be saved, yet so as by fire. He shall escape but very
narrowly, or he shall have such surprising joy and satisfaction in
escaping with his life from such a universal destruction as shall equal
theirs that divide the spoil. They thought to make a prey of the camp
of the Chaldeans, as their ancestors did that of the Assyrians
but they will be sadly disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they
can but save their lives, that is all the prey they must promise
themselves. Now one would think this advice from a prophet, in God’s
name, should have gained some credit with them and been universally
followed; but, for aught that appears, there were few or none that took
it; so wretchedly were their hearts hardened, to their destruction.
II. He advises the king and princes to reform, and make conscience of
the duty of their place. Because it was the king that sent the message
to him, in the reply there shall be a particular word for the house
of the king, not to compliment or court them (that was no part of
the prophet’s business, no, not when they did him the honour to send to
him), but to give them wholesome counsel
(v. 11, 12):
“Execute judgment in the morning; do it carefully and
diligently. Those magistrates that would fill up their place with duty
had need rise betimes. Do it quickly, and do not delay to do justice
upon appeals made to you, and tire out poor petitioners as you have
done. Do not lie in your beds in a morning to sleep away the debauch of
the night before, nor spend the morning in pampering the body (as those
princes,
but spend it in the despatch of business. You would be delivered out of
the hand of those that distress you, and expect that therein God should
do you justice; see then that you do justice to those that apply to
you, and deliver them out of the hand of their oppressors, lest my
fury go out like fire against you in a particular manner, and you
fare worst who think to escape best, because of the evil of your
doings.” Now,
1. This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty that
brought all this desolation upon the people. It was the evil of
their doings that kindled the fire of God’s wrath. Thus plainly
does he deal even with the house of the king; for those that
would have the benefit of a prophet’s prayers must thankfully take a
prophet’s reproofs.
2. This directs them to take the right method for a national
reformation. The princes must begin, and set a good example, and then
the people will be invited to reform. They must use their power for the
punishment of wrong, and then the people will be obliged to reform. He
reminds them that they are the house of David, and therefore
should tread in his steps, who executed judgment and justice to his
people.
3. This gives them some encouragement to hope that there may yet be a
lengthening of their tranquillity,
If any thing will recover their state from the brink of ruin, this
will.
III. He shows them the vanity of all their hopes so long as they
continued unreformed,
Jerusalem is an inhabitant of the valley, guarded with mountains
on all sides, which were their natural fortifications, making it
difficult for an army to approach them. It is a rock of the
plain, which made it difficult for an enemy to undermine them.
These advantages of their situation they trusted to more than to the
power and promise of God; and, thinking their city by these means to be
impregnable, they set the judgments of God at defiance, saying, “Who
shall come down against us? None of our neighbours dare make a
descent upon us, or, if they do, who shall enter into our
habitations?” They had some colour for this confidence; for it
appears to have been the sense of all their neighbours that no enemy
could force his way into Jerusalem,
But those are least safe that are most secure. God soon shows the
vanity of that challenge, Who shall come down against us? when
he says
(v. 13),
Behold, I am against thee. They had indeed by the wickedness
driven God out of their city when he would have tarried with them as a
friend; but they could not by their bulwarks keep them out of their
city when he came against them as an enemy. If God be for us, who can
be against us? But, if he be against us, who can be for us, to stand
us in any stead? Nay, he comes against them not as an enemy that may
lawfully and with some hope of success be resisted, but as a judge that
cannot be resisted; for he says
(v. 14),
I will punish you, by due course of law, according to the
fruit of your doings, that is, according to the merit of them and
the direct tendency of them. That shall be brought upon you which is
the natural product of sin. Nay, he will not only come with the anger
of an enemy and the justice of a judge, but with the force of a
consuming fire, which has no compassion, as a judge sometimes has, nor
spares any thing combustible that comes in its way. Jerusalem has
become a forest, in which God will kindle a fire that shall
consume all before it; for our God is himself a consuming fire;
and who is able to stand in his sight when once he is angry?
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