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Matthew Henry |
J E R E M I A H.
CHAP. XXXIV.
In this chapter we have two messages which God sent by Jeremiah.
I. One to foretel the fate of Zedekiah king of Judah, that he should
fall into the hands of the king of Babylon, that he should live a
captive, but should at last die in peace in his captivity,
II. Another to read the doom both of prince and people for their
treacherous dealings with God, in bringing back into bondage their
servants whom they had released according to the law, and so playing
fast and loose with God. They had walked at all adventures with God
(ver. 8-11),
and therefore God would walk at all adventures with them, in bringing
the Chaldean army upon them again when they began to hope that they had
got clear of them,
| Captivity of Zedekiah Foretold; The Babylonish Captivity Predicted. | B. C. 589. |
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1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the
kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought
against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to
Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely
be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall
behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with
thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus
saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:
5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy
fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they
burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah
lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah
king of Judah in Jerusalem,
7 When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and
against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish,
and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the
cities of Judah.
This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was delivered to Jeremiah, and by him
to the parties concerned, before he was shut up in the prison, for we
find this prediction here made the ground of his commitment, as appears
by the recital of some passages out of it,
Observe,
I. The time when this message was sent to Zedekiah; it was when the
king of Babylon, with all his forces, some out of all the
kingdoms of the earth that were within his jurisdiction, fought
against Jerusalem and the cities thereof
(v. 1),
designing to destroy them, having often plundered them. The cities that
now remained, and yet held out, are named
(v. 7),
Lachish and Azekah. This intimates that things were now brought
to the last extremity, and yet Zedekiah obstinately stood it out, his
heart being hardened to his destruction.
II. The message itself that was sent to him.
1. Here is a threatening of wrath. He is told that again which he had
been often told before, that the city shall be taken by the Chaldeans
and burnt with fire
(v. 2),
that he shall himself fall into the enemy’s hands, shall be made a
prisoner, shall be brought before that furious prince Nebuchadnezzar,
and be carried away captive into Babylon
(v. 3);
yet Ezekiel prophesied that he should not see Babylon; nor did
he, for his eyes were put out,
This Zedekiah brought upon himself from God by his other sins and from
Nebuchadnezzar by breaking his faith with him.
2. Here is a mixture of mercy. He shall die a captive, but he shall
not die by the sword he shall die a natural death
(v. 4);
he shall end his days with some comfort, shall die in peace,
v. 5.
He never had been one of the worst of the kings, but we are willing to
hope that what evil he had done in the sight of the Lord he
repented of in his captivity, as Manasseh had done, and it was forgiven
to him; and, God being reconciled to him, he might truly be said to
die in peace, Note, A man may die in a prison and yet die in
peace. Nay, he shall end his days with some reputation, more than
one would expect, all things considered. He shall be buried with the
burnings of his fathers, that is, with the respect usually shown to
their kings, especially those that had done good in Israel. It seems,
in his captivity he had conducted himself so well towards his own
people that they were willing to do him this honour, and towards
Nebuchadnezzar that he suffered it to be done. If Zedekiah had
continued in his prosperity, perhaps he would have grown worse and
would have departed at last without being desired; but
his afflictions wrought such a change in him that his death was looked
upon as a great loss. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison
than to live and die impenitent in a palace. They will lament thee,
saying, Ah lord! an honour which his brother Jehoiakim had not,
The Jews say that they lamented thus over him, Alas! Zedekiah is
dead, who drank the dregs of all the ages that went before him,
that is, who suffered for the sins of his ancestors, the measure of
iniquity being filled up in his days. They shall thus lament him,
saith the Lord, for I have pronounced the word; and what God
hath spoken shall without fail be made good.
III. Jeremiah’s faithfulness in delivering this message. Though he knew
it would be ungrateful to the king, and might prove, as indeed it did,
dangerous to himself (for he was imprisoned for it), yet he spoke
all these words to Zedekiah,
v. 6.
It is a mercy to great men to have those about them that will deal
faithfully with them, and tell them the evil consequences of their evil
courses, that they may reform and live.
| Transient Reformation; The Servants Re-enslaved. | B. C. 589. |
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8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD,
after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the
people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his
maidservant, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that
none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his
brother.
10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had
entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his
manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none
should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and
let them go.
11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the
handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them
into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the
LORD, saying,
13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant
with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,
14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an
Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served
thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your
fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in
proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a
covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his
servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty
at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection,
to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto
me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every
man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith
the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and
I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant,
which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had
made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed
between the parts thereof,
19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the
eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which
passed between the parts of the calf;
20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and
into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies
shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts
of the earth.
21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into
the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek
their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army,
which are gone up from you.
22 Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to
return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take
it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a
desolation without an inhabitant.
We have here another prophecy upon a particular occasion, the history
of which we must take notice of, as necessary to give light to the
prophecy.
I. When Jerusalem was closely besieged by the Chaldean army the princes
and people agreed upon a reformation in one instance, and that was
concerning their servants.
1. The law of God was very express, that those of their own nation
should not be held in servitude above seven years, but, after they had
served one apprenticeship, they should be discharged and have their
liberty; yea, though they had sold themselves into servitude for the
payment of their debts, or though they were sold by the judges
for the punishment of their crimes. This difference was put between
their brethren and strangers, that those of other nations taken in war,
or bought with money, might be held in perpetual slavery, they and
theirs; but their brethren must serve but for seven years at the
longest. This God calls the covenant that he had made with them when he
brought them out of the land of Egypt,
v. 13, 14.
This was the first of the judicial laws which God gave them
(Exod. xxi. 2),
and there was good reason for this law.
(1.) God had put honour upon that nation, and he would have them thus
to preserve the honour of it themselves and to put a difference between
it and other nations.
(2.) God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, and he would have
them thus to express their grateful sense of that favour, by letting
those go to whom their houses were houses of bondage, as Egypt
had been to their forefathers. That deliverance is therefore mentioned
here
(v. 13)
as the ground of that law. Note, God’s compassions towards us should
engage our compassions towards our brethren; we must release as we are
released, forgive as we are forgiven, and relieve as we are relieved.
And this is called a covenant; for our performance of the duty
required is the condition of the continuance of the favours God has
bestowed.
2. This law they and their fathers had broken. Their worldly profit
swayed more with them than God’s command or covenant. When their
servants had lived seven years with them they understood their
business, and how to apply themselves to it, better than they did when
they first came to them, and therefore they would then by no means part
with them, though God himself by his law had made them free: Your
fathers hearkened not to me in this matter
(v. 14),
so that from the days of their fathers they had been in this trespass;
and they thought they might do it because their fathers did it, and
their servants had by disuse lost the benefit of the provision God made
for them; whereas against an express law, especially against an express
law of God, no custom, usage, nor prescription, is to be admitted in
plea. For this sin of theirs, and their fathers, God now brought them
into servitude, and justly.
3. When they were besieged, and closely shut in, by the army of the
Chaldeans, they, being told of their fault in this matter, immediately
reformed, and let go all their servants that were entitled to their
freedom by the law of God, as Pharaoh, who, when the plague was upon
him, consented to let the people go, and bound themselves in a
covenant to do so.
(1.) The prophets faithfully admonished them concerning their sin. From
them they heard that they should let their Hebrew servants go
free,
v. 10.
They might have read it themselves in the book of the law, but did not,
or did not heed it, therefore the prophets told them what the law was.
See what need there is of the preaching of the word; people must hear
the word preached because they will not make the use they ought to make
of the word written.
(2.) All orders and degrees of men concurred in this reformation. The
king, and the princes, and all the people, agreed
to let go their servants, whatever loss or damage they might
sustain by so doing. When the king and princes led in this good work
the people could not for shame but follow. The example and influence of
great men would go very far towards extirpating the most inveterate
corruptions.
(3.) They bound themselves by a solemn oath and covenant that they
would do this, whereby they engaged themselves to God and one another.
Note, What God has bound us to by his precept, it is good for us to
bind ourselves to by our promise. This covenant was very solemn: it
was made in a sacred place, made before me, in the house which is
called by my name
(v. 15),
in the special presence of God, the tokens of which, in the temple,
ought to strike an awe upon them and make them very sincere in their
appeals to him. It was ratified by a significant sign; they cut a
calf in two, and passed between the parts thereof
with this dreadful imprecation, “Let us be in like manner cut asunder
if we do not perform what we now promise.” This calf was probably
offered up in sacrifice to God, who was thereby made a party to the
covenant. When God covenanted with Abraham, for the ratification of it,
a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the
pieces of the sacrifice, in allusion to this federal rite,
Note, In order that we may effectually oblige ourselves to our duty, it
is good to alarm ourselves with the apprehensions of the terror of the
wrath and curse to which we expose ourselves if we live in the contempt
of it, that wrath which will cut sinners asunder
and sensible signs may be of use to make the impressions of it deep and
durable, as here.
(4.) They conformed themselves herein to the command of God and their
covenant with him; they did let their servants go, though at
this time, when the city was besieged, they could very ill spare them.
Thus they did right in God’s sight,
v. 15.
Though it was their trouble that drove them to it, yet he was well
pleased with it; and if they had persevered in this act of mercy to
the poor, to their poor servants, it might have been a lengthening
of their tranquillity,
II. When there was some hope that the siege was raised and the danger
over they repented of their repentance, undid the good they had done,
and forced the servants they had released into their respective
services again.
1. The king of Babylon’s army had now gone up from them,
v. 21.
Pharaoh was bringing an army of Egyptians to oppose the progress of the
king of Babylon’s victories, upon the tidings of which the Chaldeans
raised the siege for a time, as we find,
They departed from Jerusalem. See how ready God was to put a
stop to his judgments, upon the first instance of reformation, so slow
is he to anger and so swift to show mercy. As soon as ever they let
their servants go free God let them go free.
2. When they began to think themselves safe from the besiegers they
made their servants come back into subjection to them,
and again
This was a great abuse to their servants, to whom servitude would be
more irksome, after they had had some taste of the pleasures of
liberty. It was a great shame to themselves that they could not keep in
a good mind when they were in it. But it was especially an affront to
God; in doing this they polluted his name,
v. 16.
It was a contempt of the command he had given them, as if that were of
no force at all, but they might either keep it or break it as they
thought fit. It was a contempt of the covenant they had made with him,
and of that wrath which they had imprecated upon themselves in case
they should break that covenant. It was jesting with God almighty, as
if he could be imposed upon by fallacious promises, which, when they
had gained their point, they would look upon themselves no longer
obliged by. it was lying to God with their mouths and
flattering him with their tongues. It was likewise a contempt of
the judgments of God and setting them at defiance; as if, when once the
course of them was stopped a little and interrupted, they would never
proceed again and the judgment would never be revived; whereas
reprieves are so far from being pardons that if they be abused thus,
and sinners take encouragement from them to return to sin, they are but
preparatives for heavier strokes of divine vengeance.
III. For this treacherous dealing with God they are here severely
threatened. Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Those that think
to put a cheat upon God by a dissembled repentance, a fallacious
covenant, and a partial temporary reformation, will prove in the end to
have put the greatest cheat upon their own souls; for the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. it is here threatened,
with an observable air of displeasure against them,
1. That, since they had not given liberty to their servants to go where
they pleased, God would give all his judgments liberty to take their
course against them without control
(v. 17):
You have not proclaimed liberty to your servants. Though they
had done it
(v. 10),
yet they might truly be said not to have done it, because they did not
stand to it, but undid it again; and factum non dicitur quod non
perseverat–that is not said to be done which does not last. The
righteousness that is forsaken and turned away from shall be forgotten,
and not mentioned any more than if it had never been,
“Therefore I will proclaim a liberty for you; I will discharge
you from my service, and put you out of my protection, which those
forfeit that withdraw from their allegiance. You shall have liberty to
choose which of these judgments you will be cut off by, sword,
famine, or pestilence;” such a liberty as was offered to David,
which put him into a great strait,
2 Sam. xxiv. 14.
Note, Those that will not be in subjection to the law of God put
themselves into subjection to the wrath and curse of God. But this
shows what liberty to sin really–it is but a liberty to the
sorest judgments.
2. That, since they had brought their servants back into confinement
in their houses, God would make them to be removed into all the
kingdoms of the earth, where they should live in servitude, and,
being strangers, could not expect the privileges of free-born subjects.
3. That, since they had broken the covenant which they ratified by a
solemn imprecation, God would bring on them the evil which they
imprecated upon themselves in case they should break it. Out of their
own mouth will he judge them, and so shall their doom be; the penalty
of their bond shall be recovered, because they have not performed the
condition; for so some read
“I will make the men which have transgressed my covenant as the calf
which they cut in twain; I will divide them asunder as they divided
it asunder.”
4. That, since they would not let go their servants out of the hands,
God would deliver them into the hands of those that hated them, even
the princes and nobles both of Judah and Jerusalem (of
the country and of the city), the eunuchs (chamberlains, or
great officers of the court), the priests, and all the people,
v. 19.
They had all dealt treacherously with God, and therefore shall all be
involved in the common ruin without exception. They shall all be
given unto the hand of their enemies, that seek, not their
wealth only, or their service, but their life, and they shall
have what they seek; but neither shall that content them: when they
have their lives they shall leave their dead bodies unburied, a
loathsome spectacle to all mankind and an easy prey to the fowls and
beasts, a lasting mark of ignominy being hereby fastened on them,
5. That, since they had emboldened themselves in returning to their
sin, contrary to their covenant, by the retreat of the Chaldean army
from them, God would therefore bring it upon them again: “They have now
gone up from you, and your fright is over for the present, but I
will command them to face about as they were; they shall
return to this city, and take it and burn it,”
Note,
(1.) As confidence in God is a hopeful presage of approaching
deliverance, so security in sin is a sad omen of approaching
destruction.
(2.) When judgments are removed from a people before they have done
their work, leave them, but leave them unhumbled and unreformed, it is
cum animo revertendi—with a design to return; they do
but retreat to come on again with so much the greater force; for when
God judges he will overcome.
(3.) It is just with God to disappoint those expectations of mercy
which his providence had given cause for when we disappoint those
expectations of duty which our professions, pretensions, and fair
promises, had given cause for. If we repent of the good we had
purposed, God will repent of the good he had purposed. With the
froward thou will show thyself froward.
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