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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XL.
We have attended Jerusalem’s funeral pile, and have taken our leave of
the captives that were carried to Babylon, not expecting to hear any
more of them in this book: perhaps we may in Ezekiel; and we must in
this and the four following chapters observe the story of those few
Jews that were left to remain in the land after their brethren were
carried away, and it is a very melancholy story; for, though at first
there were some hopeful prospects of their well-doing, they soon
appeared as obstinate in sin as ever, unhumbled and unreformed, till,
all the rest of the judgments threatened in
being brought upon them, that which in the
of that dreadful chapter completes the threatenings was accomplished,
“The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again.” In this chapter we have,
I. A more particular account of Jeremiah’s discharge and his settlement
with Gedaliah,
II. The great resort of the Jews that remained scattered in the
neighbouring countries to Gedaliah, who was made their governor under
the king of Babylon; and the good posture they were in for a while
under him,
III. A treacherous design formed against Gedaliah, by Ishmael, which we
shall find executed in the next chapter,
| The Preservation of Jeremiah; Jeremiah’s Adherence to Gedaliah. | B. C. 588. |
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1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that
Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah,
when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were
carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried
away captive unto Babylon.
2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto
him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
3 Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath
said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not
obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.
4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which
were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me
into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it
seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold,
all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and
convenient for thee to go, thither go.
5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also
to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king
of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell
with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth
convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him
victuals and a reward, and let him go.
6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah;
and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
The title of this part of the book, which begins the chapter, seems
misapplied (The word which came to Jeremiah), for here is
nothing of prophecy in this chapter, but it is to be referred to
where we have a message that God sent by Jeremiah to the captains and
the people that remained. The story between is only to introduce that
prophecy and show the occasion of it, that it may be the better
understood, and Jeremiah, being himself concerned in the story, was the
better able to give an account of it.
In these verses we have Jeremiah’s adhering, by the advice of
Nebuzar-adan, to Gedaliah. It should seem that Jeremiah was very
honourably fetched out of the court of the prison by the king of
Babylon’s princes
but afterwards, being found among the people in the city, when orders
were given to the inferior officers to bind all they found that were of
any fashion, in order to their being carried captives to Babylon, he,
through ignorance and mistake, was bound among the rest and hurried
away. Poor man! he seems to have been born to hardship and
abuse–man of sorrows indeed! But when the captives were brought
manacled to Ramah, not far off, where a council of war, or
court-martial, was held for giving orders concerning them, Jeremiah was
soon distinguished from the rest, and, by special order of the court,
was discharged.
1. The captain of the guard solemnly owns him to be a true prophet
(v. 2, 3):
“The Lord thy God, whose messenger thou has been and in whose
name thou hast spoken, has by thee pronounced this evil upon
this place; they had fair warning given them of it, but they would
not take the warning, and now the Lord hath brought it, and, as
by thy mouth he said it, so by my hand he hath done what he
said.” He seems thus to justify what he had done, and to glory in
it, that he had been God’s instrument to fulfil that which Jeremiah had
been his messenger to foretell; and upon that account it was indeed the
most glorious action he had ever done. He tells all the people that
were now in chains before him It is because you have sinned against
the Lord that this thing has come upon you. The princes of Israel
would never be brought to acknowledge this, though it was as evident as
if it had been written with a sun-beam; but this heathen prince plainly
sees it, that a people that had been so favoured as they had been by
the divine goodness would never have been abandoned thus had they not
been very provoking. The people of Israel had been often told this from
the pulpit by their prophets, and they would not regard it; now they
are told it from the bench by the conqueror, whom they dare not
contradict and who will make them regard it. Note, Sooner or later men
shall be made sensible that their sin is the cause of all their
miseries.
2. He gives him free leave to dispose of himself as he thought fit. He
loosed him from his chains a second time
(v. 4),
invited him to come along with him to Babylon, not as a captive, but as
a friend, as a companion; and I will set my eye upon thee (so
the word is), not only, “I will look well to thee,” but “I will
show thee respect, will countenance thee, and will see that thou be
safe and well provided for.” If he was not disposed to go to Babylon,
he might dwell where he pleased in his own country, for it was all now
at the disposal of the conquerors. He may go to Anathoth if he please,
and enjoy the field he has purchased there. A great change with this
good man! He that but lately was tossed from one prison to another may
now walk at liberty from one possession to another.
3. He advised him to go to Gedaliah and settle with him. This
Gedaliah, made governor of the land under the king of
Babylon, was an honest Jew, who (it is probably) betimes went over
with his friends to the Chaldeans, and approved himself so well that he
had this great trust put into his hands,
v. 5.
While Jeremiah had not yet gone back, but stood
considering what he should do, Nebuzar-adan, perceiving him neither
inclined to go to Babylon nor determined whither to go, turned the
scale for him, and bade him by all means go to Gedaliah. Sudden
thoughts sometimes prove wise ones. But when he gave this counsel he
did not design to bind him by it, nor will he take ill if he do not
follow it: Go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee. It is
friendly in such cases to give advice, but unfriendly to prescribe and
to be angry if our advice be not take. Let Jeremiah steer what course
he pleases, Nebuzar-adan will agree to it, and believe he does for the
best. Nor does he only give him his liberty, and an approbation of the
measures he shall take, but provides for his support: He gave him
victuals and a present, either in clothes or money, and so
let him go. See how considerate the captain of the guard
was in his kindness to Jeremiah. He set him at liberty, but it was in a
country that was laid waste, and in which, as the posture of it now
was, he might have perished, though it was his own country, if he had
not been thus kindly furnished with necessaries. Jeremiah not only
accepted his kindness, but took his advice, and went to Gedaliah, to
Mizpah, and dwelt with him,
v. 6.
Whether we may herein commend his prudence I know not; the event does
not commend it, for it did not prove at all to his comfort. However,
we may commend his pious affection to the land of Israel, that unless
he were forced out of it, as Ezekiel, and Daniel, and other good men
were, he would not forsake it, but chose rather to dwell with the poor
in the holy land than with princes in an unholy one.
| Gedaliah’s Address to the People. | B. C. 588. |
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7 Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the
fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon
had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had
committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor
of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to
Babylon;
8 Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and
Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the
Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and
their men.
9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto
them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans:
dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be
well with you.
10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the
Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and
summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell
in your cities that ye have taken.
11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among
the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries,
heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and
that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan;
12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they
were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto
Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
14 And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the
king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to
slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah
secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael
the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore
should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto
thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?
16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of
Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely
of Ishmael.
We have in these verses,
I. A bright sky opening upon the remnant of the Jews that were left in
their own land, and a comfortable prospect given them of some peace and
quietness after the many years of trouble and terror with which they
had been afflicted. Jeremiah indeed had never in his prophecies spoken
of any such good days reserved for the Jews immediately after the
captivity; but Providence seemed to raise and encourage such an
expectation, and it would be to that miserable people as life from the
dead. Observe the particulars.
1. Gedaliah, one of themselves, is made governor in the land, by
the king of Babylon,
v. 7.
To show that he designed to make and keep them easy he did not give
this commission to one of the princes of Babylon, but to one of their
brethren, who, they might be sure, would seek their peace. He was
the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, one of the princes. We
read of his father
that he took Jeremiah’s part against the people. He seems to have been
a man of great wisdom and a mild temper, and under whose government the
few that were left might have been very happy. The king of Babylon had
a good opinion of him and reposed a confidence in him, for to him he
committed all that were left behind.
2. There is great resort to him from all parts, and all those that were
now the Jews of the dispersion came and put themselves under his
government and protection.
(1.) The great men that had escaped the Chaldeans by force came and
quietly submitted to Gedaliah, for their own safety and common
preservation. Several are here named,
v. 8.
They came with their men, their servants, their soldiers,
and so strengthened one another; and the king of Babylon had such a
good opinion of Gedaliah his delegate that he was not at all jealous of
the increase of their numbers, but rather pleased with it.
(2.) The poor men that had escaped by flight into the neighbouring
countries of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, were induced by the love they bore
to their own land to return to it again as soon as they heard that
Gedaliah was in authority there,
Canaan itself would be an unsafe unpleasant country if there were no
government nor governors there, and those that loved it dearly would
not come back to it till they heard there were. It would be a great
reviving to those that were dispersed to come together again, to those
that were dispersed into foreign countries to come together in their
own country, to those that were under strange kings to be under a
governor of their own nation. See here in wrath God remembered mercy,
and yet admitted some of them upon a further trial of their
obedience.
3. The model of this new government is drawn up and settled by an
original contract, which Gedaliah confirmed with an oath, a solemn oath
(v. 9):
He swore to them and to their men, it is probably according to
the warrant and instructions he had received from the king of Babylon,
who empowered him to give them these assurances.
(1.) They must own the property of their lands to be in the Chaldeans.
“Come” (says Gedaliah), “fear not to serve the Chaldeans. Fear
not the sin of it.” Though the divine law had forbidden them to make
leagues with the heathen, yet the divine sentence had obliged them to
yield to the king of Babylon. “Fear not the reproach of it, and the
disparagement it will be to your nation; it is what God has brought you
to, has bound you to, and it is no disgrace to any to comply with him.
Fear not the consequences of it, as if it would certainly make you and
yours miserable; no, you will find the king of Babylon not so hard a
landlord as you apprehend him to be; if you will but live peaceably,
peaceably you shall live; disturb not the government, and it will not
disturb you. Serve the king of Babylon and it shall be well with
you.” If they should make any difficulty of doing personal homage,
or should be apprehensive of danger when the Chaldeans should come
among them, Gedaliah, probably by instruction from the king of Babylon,
undertakes upon all occasions to act for them, and make their
application acceptable to the king
(v. 10):
“As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the
Chaldeans, to do homage to them in the name of the whole body if
there be occasion, to receive orders, and to pay them their tribute
when the come to us.” All that passes between them and the
Chaldeans shall pass through his hand; and, if the Chaldeans put such a
confidence in him, surely his own countrymen may venture to do it.
Gedaliah is willing thus to give them the assurance of an oath that he
will do his part in protecting them, but, being apt to err (as many
good men are) on the charitable side, he did not require an oath from
them that they would be faithful to him, else the following mischief
might have been prevented. However, protection draws allegiance though
it be not sworn, and by joining in with Gedaliah they did, in effect,
consent to the terms of government, that they should serve the king
of Babylon. But,
(2.) Though they own the property of their lands to be in the
Chaldeans, yet, upon that condition, they shall have the free enjoyment
of them and all the profits of them
(v. 10):
“Gather you wine and summer fruits, and take them for your own
use; put them in your vessels, to be laid up for winter-store,
as those do that live in a land of peace and hope to eat the labour
of your hand, nay, the labour of other people’s hands, for you reap
what they sowed.” Or perhaps they were the spontaneous products of that
fertile soil, for which none had laboured. And accordingly we find
(v. 12)
that they gathered wine and summer fruits very much, such as
were at present upon the ground, for their corn-harvest was over some
time before Jerusalem was taken. While Gedaliah was in care for the
public safety he left them to enjoy the advantages of the public
plenty, and, for aught that appears, demanded no tribute from them; for
he sought not his own profit, but the profit of many.
II. Here is a dark cloud gathering over this infant state, and
threatening a dreadful storm. How soon is this hopeful prospect
blasted! For when God begins in judgment he will make an end. It is
here intimated to us,
1. That Baalis the king of the Ammonites had a particular spite
at Gedaliah, and was contriving to take him off, either out of malice
to the nation of the Jews, whose welfare he hated the thought of, or a
personal pique against Gedaliah,
Some make Baalis to signify the queen-mother of the king of the
Ammonites, or queen-dowager, as if she were the first mover of the
bloody and treacherous design. One would have thought this little
remnant might be safe when the great king of Babylon protected it; and
ye it is ruined by the artifices of this petty prince or princess.
happy are those that have the King of kings of their side, who can take
the wise in their own craftiness; for the greatest earthly king
cannot with all his power secure us against fraud and treachery.
2. That he employed Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, as the
instrument of his malice, instigated him to murder Gedaliah, and, that
he might have a fair opportunity to do it, directed him to go and enrol
himself among his subjects and promise him fealty. Nothing could be
more barbarous than the design itself, nor more base than the method of
compassing it. How wretchedly is human nature corrupted and degenerated
(even in those that pretend to the best blood) when it is capable of
admitting the thought of such abominable wickedness! Ishmael was of the
seed royal, and would therefore be easily tempted to envy and hate one
that set up for a governor in Judah, who was not, as he was, of David’s
line, though he had ever so much of David’s spirit.
3. That Johanan, a brisk and active man, having got scent of this plot,
informed Gedaliah of it, yet taking it for granted he could not but
know of it before, the proofs of the matter being so very plain:
Dost thou certainly know? surely thou dost,
He gave him private intelligence of it
(v. 15),
hoping he would then take the more notice of it. He proffered his
service to prevent it, by taking off Ishmael, whose very name was
ominous to all the seed of Isaac: I will slay him. Wherefore
should he slay thee? Herein he showed more courage and zeal than
sense of justice; for, if it be lawful to kill for prevention, who then
can be safe, since malice always suspects the worst?
4. That Gedaliah, being a man of sincerity himself, would by no means
give credit to the information given him of Ishmael’s treachery. He
said, Thou speakest falsely of Ishmael. Herein he discovered
more good humour than discretion, more of the innocency of the dove
than the wisdom of the serpent. Princes become uneasy to themselves and
all about them when they are jealous. Queen Elizabeth said that she
would believe no more evil of her people than a mother would believe of
her own children; yet many have been ruined by being over-confident of
the fidelity of those about them.
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