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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XXIX.
The contest between Jeremiah and the false prophets was carried on
before by preaching, here by writing; there we had sermon against
sermon, here we have letter against letter, for some of the false
prophets are now carried away into captivity in Babylon, while Jeremiah
remains in his own country. Now here is,
I. A letter which Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon, against
their prophets that they had there
(ver. 1-3),
in which letter,
1. He endeavours to reconcile them to their captivity, to be easy under
it and to make the best of it,
2. He cautions them not to give any credit to their false prophets, who
fed them with hopes of a speedy release,
3. He assures them that God would restore them in mercy to their own
land again, at the end of 70 years,
4. He foretels the destruction of those who yet continued, and that
they should be persecuted with one judgment after another, and sent at
last into captivity,
5. He prophesies the destruction of two of their false prophets that
they had in Babylon, that both soothed them up in their sins and set
them bad examples
(ver. 20-23),
and this is the purport of Jeremiah’s letter.
II. Here is a letter which Shemaiah, a false prophet in Babylon, wrote
to the priests at Jerusalem, to stir them up to persecute Jeremiah
(ver. 24-29),
and a denunciation of God’s wrath against him for writing such a letter,
Such struggles as these have there always been between the seed of the
woman and the seed of the serpent.
| Advice to the Captives in Babylon. | B. C. 596. |
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1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the
prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which
were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the
prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried
away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the
eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters,
and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)
3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the
son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all
that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried
away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and
eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives
for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may
bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not
diminished.
7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to
be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in
the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
We are here told,
I. That Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon, in the name of the
Lord. Jeconiah had surrendered himself a prisoner, with the queen his
mother, the chamberlains of his household, called here the
eunuchs, and many of the princes of Judah and Jerusalem,
who were at that time the most active men; the carpenters and
smiths likewise, being demanded, were yielded up, that those who
remained might not have any proper hands to fortify their city or
furnish themselves with weapons of war. By this tame submission it was
hoped that Nebuchadnezzar would be pacified. Satis est prostrasse
leoni–It suffices the lion to have laid his antagonist prostrate;
but the imperious conqueror grows upon their concessions, like Benhadad
upon Ahab’s,
And, not content with this, when these had departed from
Jerusalem he comes again, and fetches away many more of the
elders, the priests, the prophets, and the people
(v. 1),
such as he thought fit, or such as his soldiers could lay hands on, and
carries them to Babylon. The case of these captives was very
melancholy, the rather because they, being thus distinguished from the
rest of their brethren who continued in their own land, looked as if
they were greater sinners than all men who dwelt at Jerusalem. Jeremiah
therefore writes a letter to them, to comfort them, assuring them that
they had no reason either to despair of succour themselves or to envy
their brethren that were left behind. Note,
1. The word of God written is as truly given by inspiration of
God as his word spoken was; and this was the proper way of
spreading the knowledge of God’s will among his children scattered
abroad.
2. We may serve God and do good by writing to our friends at a distance
pious letters of seasonable comforts and wholesome counsels. Those whom
we cannot speak to we may write to; that which is written remains. This
letter of Jeremiah’s was sent to the captives in Babylon by the hands
of the ambassadors whom king Zedekiah sent to Nebuchadnezzar, probably
to pay him his tribute and renew his submission to him, or to treat of
peace with him, in which treaty the captives might perhaps hope that
they should be included,
v. 3.
By such messengers Jeremiah chose to send this message, to put an
honour upon it, because it was a message from God, or perhaps because
there was no settled way of sending letters to Babylon, but as such an
occasion as this offered, and then it made the condition of the
captives there the more melancholy, that they could rarely hear from
their friends and relations they had left behind, which is some
reviving and satisfaction to those that are separated from one
another.
II. We are here told what he wrote. A copy of the letter at large
follows here to
In these verses,
1. He assures them that he wrote in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, who indited the letter; Jeremiah was but the
scribe or amanuensis. It would be comfortable to them, in their
captivity, to hear that God is the Lord of hosts, of all hosts,
and is therefore able to help and deliver them; and that he is the
God of Israel still, a God in covenant with his people, though
he contend with them, and their enemies for the present are too hard
for them. This would likewise be an admonition to them to stand upon
their guard against all temptations to the idolatry of Babylon, because
the God of Israel, the God whom they served, is Lord of
hosts. God’s sending to them in this letter might be an
encouragement to them in their captivity, as it was an evidence that he
had not cast them off, had not abandoned them and disinherited them,
though he was displeased with them and corrected them; for, if the Lord
had been pleased to kill them, he would not have written to them.
2. God by him owns the hand he had in their captivity: I have caused
you to be carried away,
v. 4
and again,
v. 7.
All the force of the king of Babylon could not have done it if God had
not ordered it; nor could he have any power against them but what was
given him from above. If God caused them to be carried captives, they
might be sure that he neither did them any wrong nor meant them any
hurt. Note, It will help very much to reconcile us to our troubles, and
to make us patient under them, to consider that they are what God has
appointed us to. I opened not my mouth, because thou didst
it.
3. He bids them think of nothing but settling there; and therefore let
them resolve to make the best of it
(v. 5, 6):
Build yourselves houses and dwell in them, &c. By all this it is
intimated to them,
(1.) That they must not feed themselves with hopes of a speedy return
out of their captivity, for that would keep them still unsettled and
consequently uneasy; they would apply themselves to no business, take
no comfort, but be always tiring themselves and provoking their
conquerors with the expectations of relief; and their disappointment at
last would sink them into despair and make their condition much more
miserable than otherwise it would be. Let them therefore reckon upon a
continuance there, and accommodate themselves to it as well as they
can. Let them build, and plant, and marry, and
dispose of their children there as if they were at home in their own
land. Let them take a pleasure in seeing their families built up and
multiplied; for, though they must expect themselves to die in
captivity, yet their children may live to see better days. If they live
in the fear of God, what should hinder them but they may live
comfortably in Babylon? They cannot but weep sometimes when
they remember Zion. But let not weeping hinder sowing; let them not
sorrow as those that have no hope, no joy; for they have both.
Note, In all conditions of life it is our wisdom and duty to make the
best of that which is, and not to throw away the comfort of what we may
have because we have not all we would have. We have a natural affection
for our native country; it strangely draws our minds; but it is with a
nescio qua dulcedine–we can give no good account of the sweet
attraction; and therefore, if providence remove us to some other
country, we must resolve to live easy there, to bring our mind to our
condition when our condition is not in every thing to our mind. If the
earth be the Lord’s, then, wherever a child of God goes, he does
not go off his Father’s ground. Patria est ubicunque bene est–That
place is our country in which we are well off. If things be not as
they have been, instead of fretting at that, we must live in hopes that
they will be better than they are. Non si male nunc, et olim sic
erit–Though we suffer now we shall not always.
(2.) That they must not disquiet themselves with fears of intolerable
hardships in their captivity. They might be ready to suggest (as
persons in trouble are always apt to make the worst of things) that it
would be in vain to build houses, for their lords and masters would not
suffer them to dwell in them when they had built them, nor to eat the
fruit of the vineyards they planted. “Never fear,” says God; “if you
live peaceably with them, you shall find them civil to you.” Meek and
quiet people, that work and mind their own business, have often found
much better treatment, even with strangers and enemies, than they
expected; and God has made his people to be pitied of those that
carry them captives
(Ps. cvi. 46),
and a pity it is but that those who have built houses should dwell in
them. Nay,
4. He directs them to seek the good of the country where they were
captives
(v. 7),
to pray for it, to endeavour to promote it. This forbids them to
attempt any thing against the public peace while they were subjects to
the king of Babylon. Though he was a heathen, an idolater, an
oppressor, and an enemy to God and his church, yet, while he gave them
protection, they must pay him allegiance, and live quiet and
peaceable lives under him, in all godliness and honesty, not
plotting to shake off his yoke, but patiently leaving it to God in due
time to work deliverance for them. Nay, they must pray to God for the
peace of the places where they were, that they might oblige them to
continue their kindness to them and disprove the character that had
been given their nation, that they were hurtful to kings and
provinces, and moved sedition,
Ezra iv. 15.
Both the wisdom of the serpent and the innocency of the dove required
them to be true to the government they lived under: For in the peace
thereof you shall have peace; should the country be embroiled in
war, they would have the greatest share in the calamitous effects of
it. Thus the primitive Christians, according to the temper of their
holy religion, prayed for the powers that were, though they were
persecuting powers. And, if they were to pray for and seek the peace of
the land of their captivity, much more reason have we to pray for the
welfare of the land of our nativity, where we are a free people under a
good government, that in the peace thereof we and ours may
have peace. Every passenger is concerned in the safety of the
ship.
| Advice to the Captives in Babylon. | B. C. 596. |
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8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not
your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you,
deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be
dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not
sent them, saith the LORD.
10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be
accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good
word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto
me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search
for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn
away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations,
and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the
LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused
you to be carried away captive.
To make the people quiet and easy in their captivity,
I. God takes them off from building upon the false foundation which
their pretended prophets laid,
They told them that their captivity should be short, and therefore that
they must not think of taking root in Babylon, but be upon the wing to
go back: “Now herein they deceive you,” says God; “they
prophesy a lie to you, though they prophesy in my name.
But let them not deceive you, suffer not yourselves to be
deluded by them.” As long as we have the word of truth to try the
spirits by it is our own fault if we be deceived; for by it we may be
undeceived. Hearken not to your dreams, which you cause to be
dreamed. He means either the dreams or fancies which the people
pleased themselves with, and with which they filled their own heads (by
thinking and speaking of nothing else but a speedy enlargement when
they were awake they caused themselves to dream of it when they were
asleep, and then took that for a good omen, and with it strengthened
themselves in their vain expectations), or the dreams which the
prophets dreamed and grounded their prophecies upon. God tells the
people, They are your dreams, because they pleased them, were
the dreams that they desired and wished for. They caused them to be
dreamed; for they hearkened to them, and encouraged the prophets to
put such deceits upon them, desiring them to prophesy nothing but
smooth things,
Isa. xxx. 10.
They were dreams of their own bespeaking. False prophets would not
flatter people in their sins, but that they love to be flattered, and
speak smoothly to their prophets that their prophets may speak smoothly
to them.
II. He gives them a good foundation to build their hopes upon. We would
not persuade people to pull down the house they have built upon the
sand, but that there is a rock ready for them to rebuild upon. God here
promises them that, though they should not return quickly, they should
return at length, after seventy years be accomplished. By this
it appears that the seventy years of the captivity are not to be
reckoned from the last captivity, but the first. Note, Though the
deliverance of the church do not come in our time, it is sufficient
that it will come in God’s time, and we are sure that that is the best
time. The promise is that God will visit them in mercy; though he had
long seemed to be strange to them, he will come among them, and appear
for them, and put honour upon them, as great men do upon their
inferiors by coming to visit them. He will put an end to their
captivity, and turn away all the calamities of it. Though
they are dispersed, some in one country and some in another, he will
gather them from all the places whither they are driven, will
set up a standard for them all to resort to, and incorporate them again
in one body. And though they are at a great distance they shall be
brought again to their own land, to the place whence they were
carried captive,
v. 14.
Now,
1. This shall be the performance of God’s promise to them
(v. 10):
I will perform my good word towards you. Let not the failing of
those predictions which are delivered as from God lessen the reputation
of those that really are from him. That which is indeed God’s word is
a good word, and therefore it will be made good, and not one
iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground. Hath he said, and
shall he not do it? This will make their return out of captivity
very comfortable, that it will be the performance of God’s good word to
them, the product of a gracious promise.
2. This shall be in pursuance of God’s purposes concerning them
(v. 11):
I know the thoughts that I think towards you. Known unto God are
all his works, for known unto him are all his thoughts
and his works agree exactly with his thoughts; he does all according
to the counsel of his will. We often do not know our own thoughts,
nor know our own mind, but God is never at any uncertainty within
himself. We are sometimes ready to fear that God’s designs concerning
us are all against us; but he knows the contrary concerning his own
people, that they are thoughts of good and not of evil; even
that which seems evil is designed for good. His thoughts are all
working towards the expected end, which he will give in due time. The
end they expect will come, though perhaps not when they expect it. Let
them have patience till the fruit is ripe, and then they shall have it.
He will give them an end, and expectation, so it is in the
original.
(1.) He will give them to see the end (the comfortable
termination) of their trouble; though it last long, it shall not last
always. The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, will
come. When things are at the worst they will begin to mend; and he
will give them to see the glorious perfection of their deliverance;
for, as for God, his work is perfect. He that in the beginning finished
the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of both,
will finish all the blessings of both to his people. When he begins in
ways of mercy he will make an end. God does nothing by halves.
(2.) He will give them to see the expectation, that end
which they desire and hope for, and have been long waiting for. He will
give them, not the expectations of their fears, nor the expectations of
their fancies, but the expectations of their faith, the end which he
has promised and which will turn for the best to them.
3. This shall be in answer to their prayers and supplications to God,
(1.) God will stir them up to pray: Then shall you call upon me,
and you shall go, and pray unto me. Note, When God is about to
give his people the expected good he pours out a spirit of prayer, and
it is a good sign that he is coming towards them in mercy. Then, when
you see the expected end approaching, then you shall call
upon me. Note, Promises are given, not to supersede, but to quicken
and encourage prayer: and when deliverance is coming we must by prayer
go forth to meet it. When Daniel understood that the 70 years were near
expiring, then he set his face with more fervency than ever
to seek the Lord,
Dan. ix. 2, 3.
(2.) He will then stir up himself to come and save them
(Ps. lxxx. 2):
I will hearken unto you, and I will be found of you. God
has said it, and we may depend upon it, Seek and you shall find.
We have a general rule laid down
(v. 13):
You shall find me when you shall search for me with all your
heart. In seeking God we must search for him, accomplish a diligent
search, search for directions in seeking him and encouragements to our
faith and hope. We must continue seeking, and take pains in seeking, as
those that search; and this we must do with our heart (that is, in
sincerity and uprightness), and with our whole heart (that is, with
vigour and fervency, putting forth all that is within us in
prayer), and those who thus seek God shall find him, and
shall find him their bountiful rewarder,
He never said to such, Seek you me in vain.
| The Doom of the False Prophets. | B. C. 596. |
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15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in
Babylon;
16 Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth
upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in
this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with
you into captivity;
17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them
the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them
like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine,
and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to
all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an
astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the
nations whither I have driven them:
19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD,
which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up
early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the
captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the
son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which
prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them
into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall
slay them before your eyes;
22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity
of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like
Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the
fire;
23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have
committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken
lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I
know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah, having given great encouragement to those among the captives
whom he knew to be serious and well-affected, assuring them that God
had very kind and favourable intentions concerning them, here turns to
those among them who slighted the counsels and comforts that Jeremiah
ministered to them and depended upon what the false prophets flattered
them with. When this letter came from Jeremiah they would be ready to
say, “Why should he make himself so busy, and take upon him to advise
us? The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon,
v. 15.
We are satisfied with those prophets, and can depend upon them, and
have no occasion to hear from any prophets in Jerusalem.” See the
impudent wickedness of this people; as the prophets, when they
prophesied lies, said that they had them from God, so the people, when
they invited those prophets thus to flatter them, fathered it upon God,
and said that it was the Lord that raised them up those prophets.
Whereas we may be sure that those who harden people in their sins, and
deceive them with false and groundless hopes of God’s mercy, are no
prophets of God’s raising up. These prophets of their own told them
that no more should be carried captive, but that those who were in
captivity should shortly return. Now, in answer to this,
1. The prophet here foretells the utter destruction of those who
remained still at Jerusalem, notwithstanding what those false prophets
said to the contrary: “As for the king and people that
dwell in the city, who, you think, will be ready to bid you
welcome when you return, you are deceived; they shall be followed with
one judgment after another, sword, famine, and
pestilence, which shall cut off multitudes; and the poor and
miserable remains shall be removed into all kingdoms of the
earth,”
And thus God will make them, or rather deal with them
accordingly, as the salt that has lost its savour, which, being
good for nothing, is cast to the dunghill, and so are rotten figs. This
refers to the vision and the prophecy upon it which we had
And the reason given for these proceedings against them is the same
that has often been given and will justify God in the eternal ruin of
impenitent sinners
(v. 19):
Because they have not hearkened to my words. I called, but they
refused.
2. He foretells the judgment of God upon the false prophets in Babylon,
who deceived the people of God there. He calls upon all the children of
the captivity, who boasted of them as prophets of God’s raising up
(v. 20):
“Stand still, and hear the doom of the prophets you are so fond of.”
The two prophets are named here, Ahab and Zedekiah,
v. 21.
Observe,
(1.) The crimes charged upon them–impiety and immorality: They
prophesied lies in God’s name
(v. 21),
and again
(v. 23),
They have spoken lying words in my name. Lying was bad, lying to
the people of God to delude them into a false hope was worse, but
fathering their lies upon the God of truth was worst of all. And no
marvel if those that had the face to do that could allow themselves in
the gratification of those vile affections to which God, in a way of
righteous judgment, gave them up. They have done villainy in
Israel, for they have committed adultery with their neighbours’
wives. Adultery is villainy in Israel, and in such as pretend to be
prophets, who by such wickednesses manifestly disprove their own
pretensions. God never sent such profligate wretches on his errands. He
is the Lord God of the holy prophets, not of such impure ones.
Here it appears why they flattered others in their sins–because they
could not reprove them without condemning themselves. These lewd
practices of theirs they knew how to conceal from the eye of the world,
that they might preserve their credit; but I know it and am a
witness, saith the Lord. The most secret sins are known to God; he
can see the villainy that is covered with the thickest cloak of
hypocrisy, and there is a day coming when he will bring to light all
these hidden works of darkness and every man will appear in his own
colours.
(2.) The judgments threatened against them: The king of Babylon
shall slay them before your eyes; nay, he shall put them to a
miserable death, roast them in the fire,
v. 22.
We may suppose that it was not for their impiety and immorality that
Nebuchadnezzar punished them thus severely, but for sedition, and some
attempts of their turbulent spirits upon the public peace, and stirring
up the people to revolt and rebel. So much of their wickedness shall
then be detected, and in such a wretched manner they shall end their
days, that their names shall be a curse among the captives in Babylon,
When men would imprecate the greatest evil upon one they hated they
would think they could not load them with a heavier curse, in fewer
words, than to say, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like
Ahab. Thus were they made ashamed of the prophets they had been
proud of, and convinced at last of their folly in hearkening to them.
God’s faithful prophets were sometimes charged with being the troublers
of the land, and as such were tortured and slain; but their names were
a blessing when they were gone and their memory sweet, not as these
false prophets. As malefactors are attended with infamy and disgrace,
so martyrs with glory and honour.
| The Malice of Shemaiah; The Doom of Shemaiah. | B. C. 596. |
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24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,
saying,
25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,
Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people
that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the
priest, and to all the priests, saying,
26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the
priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for
every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou
shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of
Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This
captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and
plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of
Jeremiah the prophet.
30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the
LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah
hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you
to trust in a lie:
32 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish
Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to
dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I
will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught
rebellion against the LORD.
We have perused the contents of Jeremiah’s letter to the captives in
Babylon, who had reason, with a great deal of thanks to God and him, to
acknowledge the receipt of it, and lay it up among their treasures. But
we cannot wonder if the false prophets they had among them were enraged
at it; for it gave them their true character. Now here we are told
concerning one of them,
I. How he manifested his malice against Jeremiah. This busy fellow is
called Shemaiah the Nehelamite, the dreamer (so the
margin reads it), because all his prophecies he pretended to have
received from God in a dream. He had got a copy of Jeremiah’s letter to
the captives, or had heard it read, or information was given to him
concerning it, and it nettled him exceedingly; and he will take pen in
hand, and answer it, yea, that he will. But how? He does not write to
Jeremiah in justification of his own mission, nor offer any rational
arguments for the support of his prophecies concerning the speedy
return of the captives; but he writes to the priests, those faithful
patrons of the false prophets, and instigates them to persecute
Jeremiah. He writes in his own name, not so much as pretending to have
the people’s consent to it; but, as if he must be dictator to all
mankind, he sends a circular letter (as it should seem) among the
priests at Jerusalem and the rest of the people, probably by the same
messengers that brought the letter from Jeremiah. But it is chiefly
directed to Zephaniah, who was either the immediate son of Maaseiah, or
of the 24th course of the priests, of which Maaseiah was the father and
head. He was not the high priest, but sagan or suffragan to the high
priest, or in some other considerable post of command in the temple, as
Pashur,
Perhaps he was chairman of that committee of priests that was appointed
in a particular manner to take cognizance of those that pretended to be
prophets, of which there were very many at this time, and to give
judgment concerning them. Now,
1. He puts him and the other priests in mind of the duty of their place
(v. 26):
The Lord hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest.
Some think that he refers to the famous Jehoiada, that great reformer
in the days of Joash; and (says Mr. Gataker) he would insinuate that
this Zephaniah is for spirit and zeal such another as he, and raised
up, as he was, for the glory of God and the good of the church; and
therefore it was expected from him that he should proceed against
Jeremiah. Thus (says he) there is no act so injurious or impious, but
that wicked wretches and false prophets will not only attempt it, but
colour it also with some specious pretence of piety and zeal for God’s
glory,
Or, rather, it was some other Jehoiada, his immediate predecessor in
this office, who perhaps was carried to Babylon among the priests,
v. 1.
Zephaniah is advanced, sooner than he expected, to this place of trust
and power, and Shemaiah would have him think that Providence had
preferred him that he might persecute God’s prophets, that he had come
to this government for such a time as this, and that he was unjust and
ungrateful if he did not thus improve his power, or, rather, abuse it.
Their hearts are wretchedly hardened who can justify the doing of
mischief by their having a power to do it. These priests’ business was
to examine every man that is mad and makes himself a prophet.
God’s faithful prophets are here represented as prophets of their own
making, usurpers of the office, and lay-intruders, as men that were
mad, actuated by some demon, and not divinely inspired, or as
distracted men and men in a frenzy. Thus the characters of the false
prophets are thrown upon the true ones; and, if this had been indeed
their character, they would have deserved to be bound as madmen and
punished as pretenders, and therefore he concludes that Jeremiah must
be so treated. He does not bid them examine whether Jeremiah could
produce any proofs of his mission and could make it to appear that he
was not mad. No; that is taken for granted, and, when once he has had a
bad name given him, he must be run down of course.
2. He informs them of the letter which Jeremiah had written to the
captives
(v. 28):
He sent unto us in Babylon, with the authority of a prophet,
saying, This captivity is long, and therefore resolve to make
the best of it. And what harm was there in this, that it should be
objected to him as a crime? The false prophets had formerly said that
the captivity would never come,
Jeremiah had said that it would come, and the event had already proved
him in the right, which obliged them to give credit to him who now said
that it would be long, rather than to those who said that it would be
short, but had once before been found liars.
3. He demands judgment against him, taking it for granted that he is
mad, and makes himself a prophet. He expects that they
will order him to be put in prison and in the stocks
(v. 26),
that they will thus punish him, and by putting him to disgrace possess
the people with prejudices against him, ruin his reputation, and so
prevent the giving of any credit to his prophecies at Jerusalem, hoping
that, if they could gain that point, the captives in Babylon would not
be influenced by him. Nay, he takes upon him to chide Zephaniah for his
neglect
(v. 27):
Why hast thou not rebuked and restrained Jeremiah of Anathoth?
See how insolent and imperious these false prophets had grown, that,
though they were in captivity, they would give law to the priests who
were not only at liberty, but in power. It is common for those that
pretend to more knowledge than their neighbours to be thus assuming.
Now here is a remarkable instance of the hardness of the hearts of
sinners, and it is enough to make us all fear lest our hearts be at
any time hardened. For here we find,
(1.) That these sinners would not be convinced by the clearest
evidence. God had confirmed his word in the mouth of Jeremiah; it had
taken hold of them
(Zech. i. 6);
and yet, because he does not prophesy to them the smooth things they
desired, they are resolved to look upon him as not duly called to the
office of a prophet. None so blind as those that will not see.
(2.) That they would not be reclaimed and reformed by the most severe
chastisement. They were now sent into a miserable thraldom for
mocking the messengers of the Lord and misusing his
prophets. This was the sin for which God now contended with them;
and yet in their distress they trespass yet more against the
Lord,
2 Chron. xxviii. 22.
This very sin they are notoriously guilty of in their captivity, which
shows that afflictions will not of themselves cure men of their sins,
unless the grace of God work with them, but will rather exasperate the
corruptions they are intended to mortify; so true is that of Solomon
Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar, yet will not his
foolishness depart from him.
II. How Jeremiah came to the knowledge of this
(v. 29):
Zephaniah read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah. He did not
design to do as Shemaiah would have him, but, as it should seem, had a
respect for Jeremiah (for we find him employed in messages to him as a
prophet,
ch. xxi. 1, xxxvii. 3),
and therefore protected him. He that continued in his dignity and power
stood more in awe of God and his judgments than he that was now a
captive. Nay, he made Jeremiah acquainted with the contents of the
letter, that he might see what enemies he had even among the captives.
Note, It is kindness to our friends to let them know their foes.
III. What was the sentence passed upon Shemaiah for writing this
letter. God sent him an answer, for to him Jeremiah committed his
cause: it was ordered to be sent not to him, but to those of the
captivity, who encouraged and countenanced him as if he had been a
prophet of God’s raising up,
Let them know,
1. That Shemaiah had made fools of them. He promised them peace in
God’s name, but God did not send him; he forged a commission, and
counterfeited the broad seal of Heaven to it, and made the people to
trust in a lie, and by preaching false comfort to them deprived
them of true comfort. Nay, he had not only made fools of them, but,
which was worse, he had made traitors of them; he had taught
rebellion against the Lord, as Hananiah had done,
And, if vengeance shall be taken on those that rebel, much more on
those that teach rebellion by their doctrine and example.
2. That at his end he shall also be a fool (as the expression
is,
his name and family shall be extinct and shall be buried in oblivion;
he shall leave no issue behind him to bear up his name; his pedigree
shall end in him: He shall not have a man to dwell among this
people; and neither he nor any that come from him shall behold
the good that I will do for my people. Note, Those are unworthy to
share in God’s favours to his church that are not willing to stay his
time for them. Shemaiah was angry at Jeremiah’s advice to the captives
to see to the building up of their families in Babylon, that they might
be increased and not diminished, and therefore justly is he written
childless there. Those that slight the blessings of God’s word deserve
to lose the benefit of them. See
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