Section V A Forecast of the End
Jeremiah 21:1—29:32
It is obvious that a new section of the book begins here. The transition of thought is abrupt and without explanation. The material is not in chronological order and covers a wide range of subject matter. Included in these chapters are historical incidents, pronouncements, matters dealing with the political and religious affairs of Judah, and events from the international scene, all interwoven.
The one dominant note is the end of Judah and the Davidic dynasty. The kings of Judah are dealt with first. After this the religious leaders come in for a goodly share of the prophet's invective. Then the Gentile nations are brought to the bar of justice; “The Lord hath a controversy with the nations” (25: 31). Jeremiah sees all nations being brought into servitude to the king of Babylon, but only according to divine decree. The captives who are already in Babylon are instructed to prepare themselves for the fall of Judah and for an extended exile. The whole section serves as a forecast of the end of Hebrew national life.
A. BEGINNING OF THE FINAL SIEGE, 21:1-10
Without announcement, the reader is suddenly carried to the beginning of the final siege of Jerusalem (probably 588 B.C., cf. 37:3—38:28). The Babylonians have appeared outside the walls of the city. The situation is becoming grave. In distress, Zedekiah (see Chart A) sends his trusted servants1 to Jeremiah to obtain some word from God, Enquire … of the Lord for us (2). Zedekiah's reference to all of God's wondrous works indicates that the fearful king was hoping for a miracle similar to that Hezekiah had experienced through the intercession of Isaiah a hundred years before (II Kings 19:1-7; Isa. 37:1-7). But, alas, the outcome is to be far different! Jeremiah's reply is immediate and unequivocal: Thus saith the Lord … Behold, I will turn back the weapons … in your hands, wherewith ye fight … I myself will fight against you (4-5). This is the beginning of the end. There is to be no reprieve for the nation this time; I will deliver Zedekiah … his servants, and the people … into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (7).
To go up from us (2) would be to withdraw from the siege. The great pestilence (6) may refer to the siege of the city with all of its horrors or more narrowly to actual pestilence that would follow famine and water shortage. His life … for a prey (9) means “as a prize of war” (RSV).
Jeremiah knew that the end of the nation was already determined and there was nothing he could do about it. He does, however, have a word for the people. He offers them “two courses of action: the way of life and the way of death. To desert to the enemy meant life; to resist meant death because the doom of the city was certain.”2 This does not mean that the prophet was a traitor to his country, but it does mean that he saw the way God was moving, and moved along with Him.
The passage shows that Jeremiah's status had changed considerably from c. 20. He was now the highly revered elder statesman whose advice was earnestly sought in a time of crisis.3 The passage also teaches that Jeremiah's “two ways” are symbolic of the choices men are constantly required to make. There are always two courses of action open to every individual. One way is an expression of faith and dependence on an eternal God and it leads to life. The other is an expression of trust in man's wisdom and ability to direct his own life, and leads to death. The way of life demands faith to believe that God's word is true even when it is contrary to human reason and desire—you “bet your life” on God. The way of death stakes everything on what is humanly reasonable and appropriate—you “bet your life” on man.
B. THE FORTUNES OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID, 21:11—23:8
This section does not logically follow 1-10, and must therefore come from another period in the life of Jeremiah. The messages are addressed to the house of David in general, and especially to the several kings who reigned during Jeremiah's lifetime.
1. A Message to the Royal House (21:11—22:9)
Jeremiah addresses the whole house of David (12) concerning the task and duties of all good kings. He insists that judgment is to be executed in the morning, i.e., daily, and not spasmodically or at the whim of an official. The king is also held responsible for the acts of his officers. The weak and the helpless are to be delivered from the hand of the oppressor by the king. God warns the royal house that His fury will be visited upon them if they fail to rule with equity and with justice.
Verses 13-14 are obscure. The word inhabitant is feminine, and may therefore refer to Jerusalem. However the language is figurative, and since it is found here in the middle of a passage that deals with the kings of Judah, it is probably meant to refer to the royal family. Moffatt has Jeremiah address Jerusalem:
O dweller in the glen
no the rocks of the tableland.
Whether Jerusalem or the kings of Judah are referred to, someone is guilty of saying boastfully, Who shall come down against us? (13) It is the language of self-sufficiency and pride. God counters this immediately by saying that all such arrogance will be punished. Kindle a fire in the forest (14) may very well mean to burn the palaces of the kings, which were constructed of “choice cedars” (22:7).
Again, Jeremiah is commanded to go down to the house of the king of Judah (22:1) and speak to the royal court. He reiterates what was said in 12 above, but is more detailed in this sermon. He speaks at length concerning the rewards that come to the royal family that rules justly! If ye do this … then shall (4). The prophet then changes his tone and cries, But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself … that this house (palace) shall become a desolation (5). Although the royal family and the city of Jerusalem are as fair as the balsam heights of Gilead, or the wooded crest of Lebanon, yet the Lord declares, I will make thee a wilderness, and cities … not inhabited (6). Later when foreign people pass by (8) and ask why the Lord permitted such destruction to come to His own city, the answer will be, They have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods (9).
2. The Fate of Shallum (22:10-12)
This is the first of a series of oracles against specific kings. It is directed against Shallum or Jehoahaz (see Chart A), the son of Josiah (11). When Josiah was slain in the battle of Megiddo by Pharaoh-necho, the people of Jerusalem took Shallum, his third oldest son, and made him king. After about three months Pharaoh-necho took Shallum off the throne and put his brother Eliakim (Jehoiakim; see Chart A) in his place. Shallum (Jehoahaz) was carried away to Egypt and died there (II Kings 23:30-34). Apparently the people of Judah wept long for Josiah, but Jeremiah rebuked them. He cried, Weep ye not for the dead (10), i.e., Josiah, but weep sore for him that goeth away (Shallum): for he shall return no more. Jeremiah was saying that Shallum's going away into captivity, and his death there, foreshadowed the end of Judah itself. Thus in the fate of Shallum was a portent of the end of the royal house.
3. The Oracle Against Jehoiakim (22:13-23)
Jeremiah's bitterest denunciations are reserved for Jehoiakim (18). He was the most ruthless and wicked of all the kings who reigned during the prophet's lifetime. The king was callously indifferent to the misery of his subjects. In a time of great need, he squandered money on a palace of cedar, which he built merely to gratify his own pride. To gain his objective he forced his own people to work without wages (13), “and caused the innocent to be condemned in judgment that he might grasp their goods to himself … he also put to death the prophets who rebuked his unrighteousness, 26:23, and used every kind of lawless violence.”4
Jeremiah demands of him, “Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?” (15, RSV) The prophet then compares him to his father, Josiah. He was certainly no ascetic, but did eat and drink (15). At the same time he gave earnest attention to his duties as king: he judged the cause of the poor and needy (16). Jehoiakim, on the other hand, neglected his kingly duties and attended only to his own pleasure. He did not hesitate to stoop to oppression and to shed innocent blood (17) to gain his ends.
The Lord now assesses condemnation. Jehoiakim's life shall end in shame and disgrace. They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! (18) He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn (dragged) and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem (19). Although the Old Testament does not give us the details of Jehoiakim's death, there is no reason to doubt that dishonor and shame attended his end.5
In 20-23 it seems that Judah and/or Jerusalem was urged to lament because of the wickedness and lack of integrity on the part of such pastors (22; rulers) as Jehoiakim. Go up to Lebanon and cry … in Bashan … all thy lovers are destroyed (20).6 The passages has been translated “Abarim.” It is literally “the parts across,” and refers to a range of mountains east of the Dead Sea. The meaning is, Go north, east, and south to the allies you have depended on. The human agencies in which the king and the nation had placed their trust were gone. Jeremiah reminded Judah and her king that God spake unto thee in thy prosperity (in a day of peace when no calamity threatened); but thou saidst, I will not hear (21). Now the game is up! Shame, consternation, and captivity are to be the portion of Judah and the peoples who consorted with her.
In the Old Testament, Lebanon is sometimes used to refer to Jerusalem. In 23, O inhabitant of Lebanon seems to refer to that city and to Jehoiakim, her king. Thy nest in the cedars refers to the palaces of the king, since they were constructed of cedar from Lebanon. These buildings were the pride and joy of the people of Jerusalem. But Jeremiah shatters their sense of ease and complacency with a dire prediction, “How you will groan” (lit.) when pangs come upon thee! Again, a forecast of the end.
4. Oracles Against Jehoiachin (22:24-30)
There are two short oracles here concerning Jehoiachin (called Coniah; 24, 28). The first was given before he was carried away into captivity; the other, after that sad event had taken place.
At the age of eighteen years Coniah (Jehoiachin, see Chart A) had succeeded his father, Jehoiakim, to the throne of Judah. Apparently he was as wicked as his father, for in the first oracle God is highly displeased with him: Though Coniah (probably a personal name; he was also known as Jeconiah, 28:4) … were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence (24). Jeremiah then predicts the king's captivity and death in a foreign land (25-27). Jehoiachin reigned three months in 597 B.C. and then surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, who was beseiging the city. He and his mother, Nehushta, his wives, and 10,000 of his people were carried to Babylon as captives.
In the second oracle the people of Jerusalem seem to question why Jehoiachin received such a fate, Wherefore are they cast … into a land which they know not? (28) It would appear that many “Judeans continued to consider him the legitimate king, even in exile, rather than Zedekiah, his uncle (28:1-4; Ezek. 17:22).”7 This also appears true of the Jewish exiles (29:1-14). Weary and exasperated with the people because they do not seem to grasp the meaning for the nation of Jehoiachin's fate, Jeremiah cries out in bitterness of soul, “O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!” (29, RSV) He then eliminates the captive king from ever being a factor in the ongoing purposes of God for the nation: Write ye this man childless (30), i.e., without a descendant on the throne of Judah. Jehoiachin had failed to be a useful instrument for the divine purpose. His demise from national life foreshadowed the demise of the nation itself.
5. The Messianic King (23:1-8)
This section (21:11—23:8) on the fortunes of the house of David began with a general statement; it now closes with another. In this passage Jeremiah gathers up all that he had said of the kings of Judah in a concluding statement that exposes them as evil pastors (“shepherds,” ASV, RSV) who have scattered the sheep (1). He apparently includes Zedekiah along with the others, though that king is not mentioned specifically by name. The term “shepherd” in the Old Testament often refers to the king, but sometimes it is expanded to mean the king's court, or “ruling officials in general.”8 It may be thought of in that fashion here.
Jeremiah's denunciation of the evil shepherds is also a forecast of the end of the nation, for the rulers are the ones who have led Judah to this place of ruin. But in his pronouncements concerning the end of the nation the prophet also gives us a glimpse “beyond judgment.” He seems to take for granted that God's redemptive purpose in judgment will be accomplished and that a better day is coming.
The accomplishment of God's purpose will comprise at least three things, none of which are new to Old Testament prophecy. The first deals with the return of the remnant (3). Isaiah had made much of this idea, and the other prophets had caught something of it also. I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries … and will bring them again to their folds. With Jeremiah's emphasis here, and that found elsewhere in the OT, the idea of the remnant's return became a firm expectation on the part of the covenant people. The third thing is so closely allied with the first that it should be treated with it. This is the idea that when the return takes place it will be thought of as a “New Exodus.” So glorious will be this deliverance that people will no longer say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought … the seed … of Israel out of the north country (7-8; cf. 16:14-15).
Another important point (the second of the above series) is the coming of an ideal King: I will raise unto David a righteous Branch (tsemach tsaddiq) (5) … he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Yahweh tsidhqenu); “our salvation, or deliverance” (6). Judah's kings had been her undoing. Now a King is to come who will execute judgment and justice in the earth, and under His rule Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. The term Branch (tsemach) is better translated “shoot” or “sprout.” “The figure suggested is that of the stump of a tree … suddenly showing fresh life …”9 The tree of David, cut to the ground by the fall of the monarchy, will sprout again and send forth a “Shoot.” This new King of David's Une represents all the unfulfilled longings of men for an ideal ruler. The Church has always seen in this passage the figure of Christ, the Messianic King (cf. also 30:9; Isa. 11:1; 53:2; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24; Zech. 3:8; 6:12).
C. ORACLES AGAINST FALSE PROPHETS, 23:9-40
Having dealt with the political leaders in the previous section, Jeremiah now turns his attention to the religious leaders of his nation. No group had been so troublesome to Jeremiah as the professional prophets and certain of the priests. The time is the same as that of the previous section, probably in the reign of Zedekiah.
1. The Pain of Jeremiah (23:9-10)
Jeremiah felt crushed over what he perceived going on among the religious leaders of his day: Mine heart … is broken … my bones shake; I am like a drunken man (9). Despite the curse10 of a drouth with its attendant calamities, the people were flagrantly immoral. The land is full of adulterers (10), their course of living is incorrigibly evil, “and their might is not right” (RSV). When the prophet saw these conditions in the light of the character of God and His holy word, he was overcome with grief.
2. The Profaneness of the Prophets (23:11-15)
Jeremiah wastes no time getting to the real cause of this situation: both prophet and priest are profane (11). These men who were supposed to reverence God and all holy things were guilty of sacrilege; in my house have I found their wickedness. They handled sacred things irreverently. The year of their visitation (12) would be their time of judgment. The Northern Kingdom had been openly apostate. In Samaria the prophets had blatantly prophesied by Baal (13), and had thus been the basic cause of Israel going into exile. But Judah had far outstripped Israel in wickedness. The prophets in Jerusalem were guilty of the vilest kind of sins—they commit adultery, and walk in lies (14)—yet proclaim the word of the Lord with great bravado. An horrible thing (“filthiness,” KJV, marg.) may very well refer to the sin of sodomy, since Jerusalem is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. The capital city of Judah was a “sinkhole” of moral perversity. Worst of all, these religious leaders seemed permanently settled in their evil ways, for none doth return from his wickedness.
Profaneness, however, has within itself the seeds of decay and death: “their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness” (12, RSV). Furthermore, saith the Lord … I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink … gall (15). This is the biblical way of saying that their end will be filled with calamity and sorrow.
3. The Proclamation of Error (23:16-22)
Jeremiah now upbraids these false prophets for prophesying error. His reasons for denunciation are not hard to find: (a) They gain their ideas from the wrong source, from their own heart (16). (b) They proclaim what they know the people want to hear, Ye shall have peace … No evil shall come upon you (17). (c) They have not stood in the counsel (sodh) of the Lord (18), else they would have known what the word of God was for this hour: A whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury … The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed … the thoughts of his heart (19-20). (d) They have gone forth and spoken without a commission or without a message: I have not sent … I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied (21). (e) If they had been willing to listen to the counsel (22) of the Lord, they could have known the true word, and saved both themselves and the nation.
4. The Provocation of God (23:23-32)
God is provoked at the stupidity of these false prophets. The meaning of 23 is, Do they think I am a limited God? Am I a God at hand … Can any hide himself in secret? … Do not I fill heaven and earth? (23-24) They act as though their sins are hidden from God, but He was aware all along of the “lying pretensions of these men.”11 They also used dreams to propagate their lies (25). Dreams had been a legitimate medium of revelation for centuries, but these false prophets had used dreams to their own ends, and thus distorted the character of God (27).
Jeremiah insists that “the dream and the word of God must be sharply distinguished, for straw has nothing to do with wheat, the worthless stubble with the Bread of life; they must not be blended together.”12 A genuine word from God is known by the divine energy that accompanies its proclamation. Is not my word like as a fire? … and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? (29) No one need be in doubt about God's word; it authenticates itself. It is evident that these false prophets did not know how to obtain the divine word. God accuses them of stealing His word … every one from his neighbour (30), and then going out with glib tongues and saying, He saith (31). God repeats that He is against people who “give second hand messages and tell lying dreams as though they were God's truth.”13
5. The Perversion of a Divine Word (23:33-40)
The false prophets are sternly reprimanded for their perversion of a term the burden of the Lord (33), that, up to then, had had a sacred meaning. Burden (massa) is derived from a verb root (nasa) that means “to lift up.” A message from God was something the prophet took up and cried forth to (or was laid upon) the people. Also it was often thought of as something that lay heavily on the heart of God and the consciences of men. Thus massa came to mean the burden of the Lord, or an “utterance” or “oracle.” Jeremiah's messages from God were particularly heavy with doom for the nation. In time they became hard for the people to bear. His messages were especially burdensome to the false prophets, for in their gay way they saw him as out of step with the times. So deeply did they resent him that they ruined a perfectly good prophetic term by asking him mockingly, What is the burden of the Lord? (33) They apparently taunted him so constantly with this question that the word was no longer usable. Any message given this title appeared ridiculous. Instead of helping God's cause, it hindered it. God therefore commanded that the term be eliminated. The burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more (36); in its place you shall say, What hath the Lord … spoken? (35)
On the surface the matter seems trivial. However the problem reveals in a glaring way the moral perversity of the false prophets, indeed of the whole nation, for all the people were caught up in this downgrading of a divine message. The Septuagint and the Vulgate answer the question, What is the burden of the Lord? by saying, “You are the burden, and I will cast you off, says the Lord.” God turns the jest on their own heads.
D. THE PARABLE OF THE FIGS, 24:1-10
Sometime after Jehoiachin and 10,000 of the choice families of Judah had been deported to Babylon in the debacle of 597 B.C. (cf. II Kings 24:8-16), the Lord spoke to the prophet. Jeremiah was aware of the situation faced by the exiles in Babylon, and he was also keenly conscious of the situation in Jerusalem. He saw that there was a message of deep spiritual significance in this incident for both groups. (Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in c. 29 should be read in conjunction with this chapter in order to get the full picture.)
The Lord called Jeremiah's attention to two baskets of figs sitting before the temple (1). One basket contained very excellent figs … the other basket contained the poorest kind of figs, totally unfit to eat (2). After gaining Jeremiah's attention, the Lord made this commonplace incident a moment of deep spiritual insight for the prophet, and a forecast of the end of Judah.
The Lord explained that the good figs (3) represented the exiles in Babylon; the naughty (very evil) figs represented the people then living in Jerusalem. God further explained that the difference between the two groups lay in the response they were making to Him and His actions in history. The response of the group in Babylon is summed up in the words: They shall return unto me with their whole heart (7). The group in Jerusalem responded, “We will walk after our own devices” (18:12).
The exiles in Babylon, although deprived of the Temple and the customary aids to religious living, were going to discover through the discipline of suffering and hardship that God is not bound to institutions and forms. He can be found anywhere when men search for Him with all their hearts (29:10, 13). On the other hand the people of Jerusalem, despite the presence of the book of the law, the Temple, and the faithful prophets, had no time for anything but their own carnal desires. For explanation of Zedekiah and them that dwell in the land of Egypt (8), cf. II Kings 25:1-26 and Chart A.
There are several truths that we may learn from the parable of the figs. (1) God's ways are not our ways. “It was natural that the Jews who were left behind in Palestine should attribute their escape from captivity to their superior excellence. This complacent estimate is contradicted in this chapter.”14 What appears often as something good can really be very bad. The Exile of itself was not necessarily a bad thing. God was working out His purpose. These people were cured forever of idolatry. At the same time the people of Jerusalem were living under a doomed system and were too blind to see it. (2) The devastating power of a closed mind: The men of Jerusalem were unwilling to learn. They refused to listen to anything that ran counter to their own desires. They were unable to hear the newer word from God. For them anything new could not be true. (3) God's view of the good: For God the highest good was not in civil and political well-being, as the men of Jerusalem thought (though it is not to be despised), but in constant spiritual renewal gained by listening to the voice of God. (4) God's view of what is bad: God counts men as evil (a) when they are blind to eternal verities, (b) when they see only the present as important and are intensely concerned with creature comforts, and (c) when they rely on human wisdom rather than the word of God.
E. A PREVIEW OF THE END, 25:1-38
In this chapter the reader is suddenly shifted backward from the reign of Zedekiah to the fourth year of Jehoiakim (from cir. 588 B.C. back to 605-604 B.C.; see Chart A). In this year the whole of the Near East was in a process of great change. The battle of Carchemish had been fought shortly before (606 B.C.), and this engagement was one of the most decisive events in the history of the ancient world. The last remnant of the Assyrian army had joined forces with the Egyptian hosts under Pharaohnecho to fight Nebuchadnezzar, the crown prince and general of the armies of Babylon. When the battle was over, Nebuchadnezzar was victorious; Assyria was no more, and Egypt had lost its bid to dominate the politics of the Fertile Crescent. Babylon stood supreme. Among the smaller nations there was a mad scramble for realignment.
After the battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar apparently pursued the armies of Pharaoh-necho to the gates of Egypt. While in that area he seems to have taken the city of Jerusalem,15 or at least took hostages, and compelled Jehoiakim to change his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon (II Kings 24:1; Dan. 1:1). Judah was now to be a vassal of Babylon (cf. Isa. 39:5-7) until the end of Babylonian domination of the Near East (539 B.C.).
Jeremiah had keen insight into international events. He had been commissioned a prophet to the nations (1:10) and he was fully aware of what was going on around the Fertile Crescent. Nor was it difficult to know the current news, for the international highway from Egypt to Babylon ran along the coastline of Palestine. Hopper quotes A. B. Davidson as saying, “Like a lightning flash, Carchemish lighted up to (Jeremiah) the whole line of God's purposes with his people right on to the end.”16 The battle of Carchemish with its results brought many things into focus for Jeremiah. The identity of the foe from the north was now clear. God's plan to use the Chaldeans as the instrument of His wrath had become apparent. The fate of Judah was discernible in the light of these happenings. These events were to influence Jeremiah's prophetic activities for the rest of his life.
After a brief summary of his prophetic career, Jeremiah gives a preview of the end of Judah, the breakup of the Babylonian Empire, and the final judgment of all nations.
1. Recollection (25:1-7)
No preview of the future is really adequate without a glance at the past. Standing at this crucial point in history, Jeremiah addressed all the people of Judah (1). He reminded the people that he himself had served as God's spokesman for twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah (see Chart A) … I have spoken unto you (3). Also that for centuries God had, rising early (“persistently,” RSV), sent to them his servants the prophets (4). Jeremiah then repeats the central message of all the prophets, including the theme of his own ministry: Turn ye again now every one from his evil way (5) … go not after other gods (6). He also reminds the people what their response had been, “You have not given ear to me … so that you have made me angry” (Basic Bible).
Standing here at the middle point of his career, Jeremiah emphasizes (a) hearing, (b) turning, and (c) dwelling. Although they had heard, they had not heard well, for they did not turn from the worship of false gods (6). Consequently they will no longer be permitted to dwell in their own land (5). The sin of idol worship had been their ruin. They had not been content to live by faith; they insisted on living by sight—by what was humanly reasonable. So, says the prophet, instead of the living God, you have worshiped the works of your own hands (7). Their sin and disobedience has found them out.
2. Resolution (25:8-14)
From his recollection of the past, Jeremiah now turns to a preview of the future. The key to that future hes in what has happened in the past, Because ye have not heard my words (8). God's plans for the future were conditioned upon their response in the past. He now communicated to Jeremiah what He had resolved to do in regard to Judah and Babylon.
(1) In His eternal wisdom God had decreed that the nation of Judah must come to an end. He indicated how this was to come about, I will … take all the families of the north … and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon … and … bring them against this land (9). My servant means only that God was using Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument to punish Judah. There were to be eighteen more years of national life, but God's decision was final: I will take from them the voice of mirth … of gladness … of the bridegroom … of the bride … this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment (a ruin and a waste; 10-11). The sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle were familiar signs of village life.
(2) God had also determined the length of Judah's period of exile: This whole land … and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years (11). This is understood to be a round figure, but Judah's period of servitude to Babylon came very close to this figure. The battle of Carchemish was fought in 606 B.C. and it gave Babylon control of all the area of the Near East from Egypt to the mouth of the Euphrates River (II Kings 24:7). This would include Judah, and there is some indication that Jewish captives were taken to Babylon in 606-605 (see fn. 16). Babylon herself fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C., and the first group of Jews returned to Jerusalem in 536 B.C. From the first deportation of captives to Babylon in 606-605 to the first return of Jews to Jerusalem in 536, there is an approximate period of seventy years. Some scholars prefer to count from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. to the dedication of the second Temple in 516 B.C. This also gives a period of seventy years.
(3) God further resolved that Babylon would not go unpunished, I will punish the king of Babylon … And I will bring upon that land all … which I have pronounced against it (12-13). Although Babylon will be the instrument in the hand of God for punishing the Jews, yet that great nation will have to answer to God for her own sins. Many nations and great kings will “make them slaves” (14; Berk.). Jeremiah sees that God not only controls the destinies of the Jews, but the great empire of Babylon as well.
3. Retribution (25:15-29)
Jeremiah here sees still further into the events of the future. He moves beyond the punishment of Judah and envisions the day when all the nations (15) will be brought to judgment. God commands Jeremiah to take the wine cup of His fury … and cause all the nations … to drink it. He then describes what takes place: Beginning at Jerusalem (18), nation after nation is compelled to drink of the wine of God's wrath, and last of all Sheshach (26; Babylon). All of them shall become “a desolation, a horror, a derision, and a curse” (18; Moffatt). The mingled people (20, 24) are mixed foreign populations.
All the nations to whom the oracles are addressed in cc. 46—51 are mentioned here (see maps 1, 2, and 3) except Damascus. Several nations, however, have been added that do not appear in 46—51. Arabia (24) mentioned here is the same as Kedar in 49:28-33. Elam (25) and Media are here mentioned together, where only Elam is named in 49:34-39. “In addition [there are] Uz (closely connected with Edom); Tyre and Sidon; Dedan and Tema (north Arabian tribes); Buz and all who cut the corners of their hair; Zimri [is] (unknown).”17 All the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth (26) shall drink, and in drinking they shall become “drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more” (27, RSV). The retributive justice of God shall begin its mighty work. If any refuse … to drink (28), the prophet is instructed to say, “You must drink!” (RSV) For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? The answer is, Ye shall not be unpunished (29).
4. Retribution Reenforced (25:30-38)
The prophet changes from prose to poetry in this section (cf. Smith-Goodspeed or RSV). The figures change. The judgment scenes pictured above are drawn out and deepened to provide a preview of the end of the age and of the final judgment. The Lord is pictured as a lion, coming forth from his covert (38), roaring with great ferocity. He shall also shout, like they that tread the grapes (30; cf. Isa. 63:1-3). The whole passage is a judgment scene. The Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh (31, a universal judgment), and the wicked will be punished with great destruction. There will be a great whirlwind (32, tempest) in which nation after nation will be involved. On that day the slain of the Lord shall be … from one end of the earth even unto the other, and the number of the dead will be so vast that they will not be lamented … gathered, nor buried (33).
The final verses of this section are addressed to the shepherds (rulers) and the principal (“lords,” RSV) of the flock (34). Howl, ye shepherds, and cry … wallow yourselves in the ashes. There shall be no way to flee or to escape … the Lord hath spoiled their pasture (35-36)—i.e., their source of help is cut off. Ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel (34) means to be slaughtered like choice, fattened lambs. They are left with no place to hide. The final day has come, and who will be able to stand? God holds the whole world in His hand; all nations, tribes, and people must be judged by Him.
The theme of this entire chapter is “God's Judgment of Men.” (1) Judgment begins at the house of God, 29; (2) Judgment is necessary because of the wickedness of men, 5-7, 10, 12, 14; (3) There will be no place to hide from the wrath of God, 33, 35; (4) All nations and peoples will be involved in the judgment of this great day, 32-33.
F. OPPOSITION TO PREDICTIONS OF DOOM, 26:1—29:32
These chapters form a collection of incidents and oracles that come from different periods of Jeremiah's life. They are brought together here under one theme because they reveal the reactions of various individuals and groups to the prophet's preaching. He insisted that Judah and the neighboring nations must submit, at least for a period of time, to the rulership of the king of Babylon. The king and the people of Judah naturally resented this kind of prophesying, but Jeremiah's bitterest foes were the religious leaders of the nation. The professional prophets and the priests opposed him with great vehemence. He likewise saved his most blistering invective for these men who were most responsible for leading the nation astray. From the human standpoint the odds were against Jeremiah, for the false prophets were cunning and capable men. But this section proves again that one man and God are a majority.
1. The Sermon in the Temple Court (26:1-6)
As this chapter opens the reader finds himself in the first year of the reign of Jehoiakim (1; see Chart A); the events of c. 25 took place in the fourth year. At this time (608 B.C.) the whole of the Near East was agog with excitement. The empire of Assyria was breaking to pieces; Egypt was seeking a voice in the politics of Asia; Babylon, determined to deal a deathblow to Assyria, was moving in for the kill. The armies of all these nations were maneuvering for the showdown which was soon to come at Carchemish in 606 B.C.18 At the moment everything was in a state of flux, and no one knew what the outcome would be.
Judah herself was going through a painful period of adjustment, still mourning the death of Josiah. Jehoahaz (Shallum), his successor, had been removed by the victorious Egyptians. Jehoiakim, ruling at the pleasure of Pharaoh-necho, was inexperienced, unscrupulous, and filled with grandiose ideas. The religious situation had worsened since the passing of Josiah. Jeremiah saw the nation standing at the crossroads, and knew that the only hope was in a return to God. He was also aware that if a blow were to be struck for true religion it must be done soon. Under the compulsion of God, and disregarding the danger to himself, Jeremiah makes a last desperate appeal to the nation and its young king to throw themselves on the mercy of God. The prophet steps into the “public light as a statesman of intrepid courage and political insight.”19
God commands Jeremiah to take his stand in the Temple court and to speak all the words that I command thee … diminish (omit) not a word (2). The occasion seems to have been a national festival to which people from all the cities of Judah came. An important message could be delivered here that would affect the whole land. He is to tell the people of God's offer to pardon and to make it plain. “It may be they will listen, and every one turn” (RSV), that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them (3). But he is also instructed to say, If ye will not hearken (4), then will I make this house like Shiloh (6; destroyed by the Philistines and never rebuilt, cf. I Samuel 4). The expression rising up early (5) means “whom I have been sending to you early and late” (Smith-Goodspeed).
Many scholars think that this is the same sermon and the same occasion as is found in c. 7 (cf. comments on 7:1-14). There the sermon is given in greater detail, but here is seen the reaction of the people to the sermon. The present writer would concur with this point of view. The unwelcome point in the sermon is Jeremiah's prediction of the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. The inviolability of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem was the most popular religious dogma of the day.20 The professional prophets and the priests had made much of this idea by telling the people that they were secure, since God would never let His dwelling place be destroyed. With one stroke Jeremiah undercut their most cherished dogma. Thus the priests and the prophets could not let Jeremiah's sermon go by unchallenged.
2. Jeremiah's Arrest and Acquittal (26: 7-19)
Jeremiah's sermon brought an immediate reaction from the religious leaders of the nation. They flew into a rage. Claiming that Jeremiah was guilty of prophesying falsely in the name of the Lord, they condemned him on the spot: Thou shalt surely die (8). The people in town for the feast were swept along by their religious leaders, and Jeremiah was in danger of being stoned to death. His “guilt” lay in the fact that his sermon had contradicted what the professional prophets had been telling the people.
The news of the mob action in the Temple court spread rapidly. The princes, i.e., the officials of the king's court who were charged with keeping the peace, hurried to the judgment seat, which was set at the entrance of the new gate (east gate) of the Lord's house (10). Apparently this was the place where religious problems affecting the populace were discussed.
The religious leaders lost no time in accusing Jeremiah before the princes and the people, claiming, This man is worthy to die (11). However, the princes seemed to be fair-minded men, and would not be hurried. Despite the pressure of the religious leaders, they gave the prophet an opportunity to speak for himself.
Jeremiah defended his position in admirable fashion. He was forthright, resolute, and he spoke with power: The Lord sent me to prophesy (12). Therefore now amend your ways … and the Lord will repent him (13). As for me … I am in your hand (14). The prophet was prepared for any eventuality.
Then said the princes and all the people (16)—note where the people stand now—This man is not worthy to die. Immediately some of the elders of the land (17; probably from the smaller towns of Judah, present for the festival) stepped forth and reminded the princes and the people of the words of the prophet Micah. A hundred years before Micah had prophesied that Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps (18; cf. Mic. 3:12). Did Hezekiah … put him at all to death? (19) The answer was, No. By this time the tide had turned; the prophets and the priests had lost their bid to destroy Jeremiah; he was acquitted. In the prophet's favor had been his confident manner, the ring of authenticity in his words, and the help of influential friends. Ahikam the son of Shaphan, from one of the best families in the land (II Kings 22:12; 25:22; Jer. 39:14), became a political friend of great value (24).
3. The Arrest and Execution of Urijah (26:20-24)
This incident of itself has no connection with Jeremiah's trial and acquittal. It is introduced at this point to show what grave danger Jeremiah faced, and how easily his life could have been snuffed out. It shows the deep-seated hostility of the religious leaders of the nation and the king to the true prophets of God. Urijah had prophesied against Judah and Jerusalem according to all the words of Jeremiah (20). He was ruthlessly murdered and his body cast into a public burial place (23). This account also reveals that influential friends in strategic places can be of great value to the cause of God. Most of all it reveals that God was keeping His word to Jeremiah acording to 1:17-19, and that his acquittal was no mere happenstance.
4. The Yoke of Babylon Remains (27:1—28:17)
Jeremiah's predictions that Babylon would rule the nations of the Near East for seventy years aroused the anger of the political and religious rulers of Judah. All would concede that Babylon ruled then (593 B.C.), but there was strong expectation this this would shortly be changed. The religious leaders were angry with Jeremiah because their own predictions were being contradicted; the political leaders, because their nationalistic aspirations were in danger of being thwarted by such preaching. The professional prophets were the most openly antagonistic at this time. Despite their malicious hostility, Jeremiah held firmly to the position that his pronouncements were of God, and that Babylon would continue to be the overlord of Judah and the nations.
a. Foreign kings (27:1-11). It is conceded by practically all scholars that Jehoiakim in 27:1 is a copyist's error, and is probably taken from 26:1. Verses 3, 12, and 20 make it clear that Zedekiah is meant (see Chart A).
In the beginning of the reign (1) should be understood as “in the beginning years of the reign of Zedekiah”; for 28:1 indicates that the events there happened in the same year, and states that it was in the fourth year of Zedekiah.
Verse 3 tells of the appearance in Jerusalem of envoys from five of Judah's neighbor nations, seeking a conference with Zedekiah. It can be ascertained from Jeremiah's message to the kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, Tyrus (Tyre), and Zidon (Sidon; see map 2) that they were seeking to enlist Zedekiah's help in a revolt against Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. While the messengers were conferring with Zedekiah and his princes, the Lord gave Jeremiah a message for the kings of these nations.
The prophet was instructed to dramatize his message by the use of bonds and yokes (2; yoke-bars). Apparently Jeremiah made seven pairs of yoke-bars, one for each of the kings, including Zedekiah, and one for his own use. He seems to have appeared in the streets of Jerusalem for several days with a yoke-bar around his neck, proclaiming the message God had given him. The envoys of the five kings were commanded to give God's message to their masters (4).
The substance of Jeremiah's message to the kings is found in seven points. (a) The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel (4) is the Creator of the earth, man, and the beasts (5). He controls the destinies of all nations, and gives the sovereignty of them to whomever He sees fit. (b) For the time being, He has given control of these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon (6) and there is no appeal from this decision. On my servant, see comment on 25:9. (c) Anyone who prophesies differently, whether by dreams, divination, enchantments, or sorcery, is lying and does not have the best interests of his own people at heart (9-10). (d) Those who refuse to accept the yoke of the king of Babylon (8) will be severely punished and will be removed from their own land, to perish in captivity (10). (e) Those who accept the yoke will be able to remain still in their own land (11); their lives and homes will be saved. (f) On God's timetable Babylon herself is scheduled to answer to God for her own sins. In that day many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him (Nebuchadnezzar; 7, cf. comment on 25:12-14). (g) The great lesson to be learned is, despite the conniving of kings and nations, God's word through Jeremiah stands firm. The yoke of Babylon remains!
b. Zedekiah the king of Judah (27:12-15). I spake also to Zedekiah (12) indicates that Jeremiah made a personal effort to make clear to his king that God's message applied to him also. The prophet was aware that Zedekiah was “a weak, vacillating king who was willing to listen to counsels of revolt.”21 He also knew that the king was under pressure from the professional prophets to join the rebellion; they were loudly proclaiming, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon (14).
Something was needed to bring the king to his senses, and Jeremiah posed the startling question, Why will ye die? (13) Zedekiah was in a dilemma. The kings and the false prophets represented the natural reactions of human nature apart from God. Jeremiah presented the spiritual side of life—the wisdom of God. The king must choose between them. In this case submission to Nebuchadnezzar was, in reality, submitting to God, for He had decreed that the yoke of Babylon should remain upon Judah. It was a matter of seeing behind events, and recognizing the hand of God shaping the affairs of men. It was a choice between faith and sight.
c. Priests and people (27:16-22). Jeremiah next turned his personal attention to the priests and to all this people (16). The professional prophets had been prophesying that the vessels which had been taken from the Temple (597 B.C.) and carried to Babylon would shortly be returned. But Jeremiah warned the priests, They prophesy a lie unto you. He urged them to readjust their thinking, for the yoke of Babylon was not to be lifted for many years. Therefore they should submit to the king of Babylon, and live (17).
To enforce his message, Jeremiah challenged the false prophets to a test. If they be prophets … if the word of the Lord be with them, let them pray to the Lord that the vessels which yet remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king … go not to Babylon (18). There is no uncertainty here on the part of Jeremiah. His challenge rings loud and clear as he flings down the gauntlet, Thus saith the Lord … They shall be carried to Babylon (19, 22). He does not deny that the vessels from the house of the Lord will eventually be returned to Jerusalem, but he affirms that it will be at the time when God decrees it (22). History has proved that Jeremiah was right and the priests were wrong. For a description of the items in 19 see comments on I Kings 7:15-50. On the events of 20, see II Kings 24:8-16.
The underlying note in all these episodes was that Jerusalem was doomed, and the end of the nation was near.
d. False prophets (28:1-17). In this chapter Hananiah represents the entire guild of professional prophets. The incident has been included here to bring out in bold relief the error of these men, and to show that what they were doing was in the worst interest of the nation. They may have been sincere, but they were grievously wrong.
In the same year (1), i.e., in the year in which the events of c. 27 occurred. In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah means “in the beginning years of his reign,” for he says that it was in the fourth year. The events in cc. 27 and 28 apparently took place close to the same time; in fact, 28 may have preceded 27:16-22.
Jeremiah seems to have been prophesying in the streets of Jerusalem for several days, dramatizing his message by wearing yoke-bars. He was suddenly confronted in the house of the Lord by one of the professional prophets. Hananiah … of Gibeon (see Gibeah, map 2), with a great show of religious fervor, contradicted Jeremiah's preaching before a large gathering of the priests and the people. He cried, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts … I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again … all the vessels … that Nebuchadnezzar … carried … to Babylon … and … Jeconiah [Jehoiachin; see Chart A] … with all the captives of Judah (2-4).
Jeremiah's reply was a fervent Amen (6). He devoutly wished that what Hananiah was saying could be true, for he loved his nation and his people. Nevertheless (7) said Jeremiah, these words are not in accordance with the prophets who prophesied before me and before thee (8). In the past the true prophet of God had not prophesied smooth things without emphasizing the responsibility of the people. This Hananiah and his friends were failing to do. The true prophet spoke of ethical conduct and eternal verities. He knew that God dealt with people on a moral basis, not on what appeared merely desirable in human eyes. And because men's hearts were “desperately wicked” (17:9), the old prophets spoke of war, and of evil, and of pestilence (8). The word of the true prophet must carry a mixture of the negative and the positive, for only then is the word of the Lord given forth in proper balance. Consequently, a man who spoke only smooth things was suspect until his words came true.
Without warning, Hananiah tore the yoke from … Jeremiah's neck, and brake it (10). He repeated even more firmly his previous prophecy, declaring that the yoke of … Babylon will be broken from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years (11). With this, Jeremiah turned and walked away. His silence was more eloquent than anything he could have said. He could have argued, but with the mood of the mob, and the excited state of Hananiah, further words were useless.
The last word, however, had not been spoken. Sometime later God gave Jeremiah a message for this false prophet, “You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron” (13, lit.). Verse 14 explains what is meant, Thus saith the Lord … I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar … and they shall serve him. The last phrase emphasizes just how wrong Hananiah had been, and how final is the decision of God.
The Lord also had a personal word for Hananiah, Thou makest this people to trust in a lie … The Lord hath not sent thee (15). This year thou shalt die (16). So Hananiah … died … in the seventh month (17). Kuist has observed, “‘Two years … two months …’ Grim end!”22
Hananiah's crime was that he “with a light heart made promises in Jehovah's name inconsistent with the moral condition of the people, and [which] therefore could not be realized.”23 He was a fanatic—he expected results without laying the proper foundation for bringing about those results. “With great assurance he puts a two year limit on his prophecy: fanatics are always in a hurry.”24
5. Letters to People in Exile (29:1-32)
Two letters are mentioned in this chapter. The first has to do with the general welfare of the people in exile, and contains a warning against false prophets. The second is addressed to the entire community, but deals with one false prophet in particular.
Jeremiah was not only troubled by false prophets in Judah, but the same type of men were creating difficulty among the exiles in Babylon. These exiles were, no doubt, a homesick, unhappy lot. They were thus an easy prey for the pseudo-prophets who were predicting a speedy end to the Captivity and an early return to their native land. News of their activity reached Jerusalem, and Jeremiah felt constrained to oppose them just as he had opposed Hananiah, and others of his stripe, in Judah. This chapter has a very definite connection with cc. 24—28, and c. 24 especially should be read along with c. 29.
a. A general letter (29:1-23). (1) Background (29:1-3). Taking advantage of emissaries going to Babylon for Zedekiah, Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles by the hand of two trustworthy officials. One was Elasah the son of Shaphan (3) and brother of Ahikam who had already proved a great friend to Jeremiah (26:24). The second was Gemariah, son of Hilkiah (3; probably the Hilkiah who was high priest when the law book was found in the Temple—II Kings 22:4, 8, 14). The historical record of the events of v. 2 are to be found in II Kings 24:8-16.
(2) Basic instruction (29:4-19). The contents of this letter can be summarized under six headings. (a) The exiles were instructed to prepare themselves for a long sojourn in captivity. They were to build … plant … eat … take ye wives … bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished (5-6). (b) They were to seek the peace and pray for the welfare of their adopted city (first admonition to pray for one's enemies in the OT), for they would prosper as the land prospered (7). (c) They were not to be deceived by prophets and diviners (“Do not listen to their dreams,” 8, Berk.)—I have not sent them, saith the Lord (8-9). (d) They must understand that God will visit them in Babylon … after seventy years, and that He will not fail to keep His word to them (10-14). (e) They must realize that God has a plan and purpose for them, but that He is more concerned with their moral advancement than with their political aspirations. For an expected end (11) read “a future and a hope” (Berk.). God has their welfare at heart, and His worship is not bound to any particular time or building (the Temple)—Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart (13). (f) They were more fortunate than their brothers in Jerusalem whom they envied. In God's sight, the people at Jerusalem had become like vile figs, unfit to be eaten (17; cf. 24:1-10). Consequently the Davidic monarchy, the city of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people will be swept away. They will become a curse … an hissing (18), because they have not hearkened to my words (19). For rising up early, read “early and late” (Smith-Goodspeed).
In 4-11 we see “God's Word to His People in a Wicked World.” (1) Take adequate care for your physical needs, 5; (2) Plan for a next generation of God-fearing people, 6; (3) Be as good citizens as possible where you live, 7; (4) Don't be easily swayed by rumors and rebellions, 8-9; (5) You are still under God's providence and He has plans for your lives, 4, 10-11 (A. F. Harper).
(3) Warning against lying prophets (29:20-23). Jeremiah lays bare the falseness and the fate of the two most popular prophets among the captives in Babylon, Ahab and Zedekiah (20). In blunt language he indicts them for prophesying a lie in the Lord's name (21), and for having committed adultery with their neighbours' wives (23). Their fate will be so terrible that it will henceforth be used in pronouncing a curse, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire (22).
b. Letter concerning Shemaiah (29:24-32). This letter seems to have been a result of a previous one. Jeremiah's words about an extended exile aroused the antagonism of a prophet in Babylon, Shemaiah the Nehelamite (24).25 In his anger Shemaiah wrote a fiery letter to Zephaniah (and to others also), a priestly officer in Jerusalem whose duty it was to keep order in the house of the Lord (26). He demanded that Zephaniah imprison and punish a mad … prophet by the name of Jeremiah of Anathoth (27) for writing a letter to the exiles, saying that the captivity would be of long duration (28).
Zephaniah was evidently a believer in the integrity of Jeremiah, for he read Shemaiah's letter to the prophet (29). Jeremiah replied sternly, addressing another letter to all the captives in Babylon concerning this false prophet. Thus saith the Lord … Because … I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: therefore … he shall not have a man to dwell among this people (31-32) i.e., “He shall have no descendant among you who lives to see the happiness I am about to bring to my people” (Moffatt).
It is clear from cc. 21—29 that Jeremiah's forecast of the end of Judah brought him into open conflict with the national authorities, and especially with the religious leaders. A bearer of evil tidings is never popular, and this was one of Jeremiah's greatest crosses. However, because of the opposition and intense suffering through which he was called to pass, he developed into a mighty warrior for God whose exploits will never die.