All Interpretation of the English Bible
THE PROPHETS
OF THE
CHALDEAN
PERIOD
by B. H. CARROLL
Late President of Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas
Compiled and edited by
T. W. Crowder
Grand Rapids, Michigan
New and complete edition
Copyright 1948, Broadman Press
Reprinted by Baker Book
House
with permission of
Broadman Press
ISBN: 0-8010-2344-0
First Printing, September
1973
Second Printing, September
1976
PHOTOLITHOPRINTED BY GUSHING
- MALLOY, INC.
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
1976
I The Book
of Zephaniah
II The Book
of Habakkuk
III The
Book of Jeremiah – Introduction
IV The Life
and Character of Jeremiah
V The
Impeachment, Call, and Judgment
VI Sermons on
the Temple Worship
VII The
Broken Covenant of Judah and God's Decree to Punish
VIII The Life
of Jeremiah During the Latter Half of the Reign of Jehoiakim
IX The
Prophecies of Jeremiah in the Reign of Zedekiah
X The
Prophecy of Jeremiah on the Restoration
XI The
Prophecies of Jeremiah Concerning the Nations
XII The
Closing Scenes in the Life of Jeremiah
XIII Jeremiah's
Lamentations
XIV The Book
of Ezekiel – Introduction, and the Prophet's Vision and Call
XV Prophecies
on the Destruction of Jerusalem
XVI Prophecies
on the Destruction of Jerusalem (Continued)
XVII Prophecies
Against the Foreign Nations
XVIII Prophecies
of the Restoration
XIX The Final
Condition of the Redeemed
THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH
INTRODUCTION AND INTERPRETATION
The prophet, Zephaniah, is the author, and he says that he was the great-great-grandson
of a man named Hezekiah. He traces his genealogy back to the fourth generation,
an unusual thing, for it was customary to give only the father's name, but
sometimes they gave the grandfather's name. Here he styles himself, "The son
of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah,"
and it is altogether probable that he means King Hezekiah who reigned during
the time Isaiah prophesied. Thus Zephaniah belonged to the royal family of
Israel; a great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah. Such being the case,
Zephaniah's home was in Jerusalem among the nobility and the princes of the
city. He was therefore familiar with the life of the princes, their habits,
their religion, all of their idolatrous customs, and the fact that he himself
was a prince and thus knew the life of the princes royal of Jerusalem, accounts
for some expressions which we find in his book.
The date of this book was somewhere between 630 and 622 B.C. during the reign
of "Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Judah." It was probably before
the discovery of the book of the law in the Temple, its promulgation and
enforcement by the hand of the king, and the great reformations instituted by
Josiah as a result of finding the book of the law. In this book we find that
there were a great many idolatrous customs in Jerusalem among the people, which
would hardly be probable after the reformation, which took place in the reign
of Josiah. Thus we place it sometime after 630 B.C. and before 621 B.C.
Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah who began his prophecies about 628
B.C., in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah, and prophesied until
about 525 B.C., covering altogether a period of about forty years. Zephaniah
was only a young contemporary of Jeremiah, and engaged in preaching and
instituting the great moral reforms under Josiah. But Zephaniah makes no
reference to Jeremiah.
The occasion of his prophecy was that which gave rise to the prophecies of
Jeremiah also, viz: The sins of the people of Jerusalem, their idolatry, their
oppression, their commercial greed, and generally, their social and their
religious iniquities. It is to rebuke them, to warn the people of the
punishment, and to predict the day of Jehovah and the fall of the city and
nation that Zephaniah gives his word of prophecy. This punishment comes in the
Scythian invasion, that horde of people from the far north which in innumerable
multitudes poured down through Central Western Asia, devastating everything
they touched – Assyria, Babylonia, Syria, and the kingdoms north thereof,
Northern Israel to some extent, and the Philistine plain to the borders of
Egypt, where they were bought off by the king of Egypt. That fearful scourge
broke over the country in the time of Zephaniah.
The style of Zephaniah is good, and in some parts excellent. It is not equal to
that of Nahum and much inferior to that of Isaiah. It resembles Isaiah in many
respects, probably more than any other of the prophets, but he was not the
equal of that superb, poetic, and literary genius. There are some words in the
book of Zephaniah, say the Hebrew scholars, that are seldom used elsewhere, and
some that are used nowhere else, which renders the interpretation difficult.
Like Jeremiah, Zephaniah himself seems to put little confidence in the reforms
instituted by King Josiah, knowing that those reforms were mainly external,
imposed by the royal authority, and that the people's hearts were not changed.
Zephaniah seems to have thought that the reforms that had already been
instituted by Josiah were ineffective. They did not touch the heart of the
nation. Therefore, he made no mention whatever of them.
In the book of Zephaniah we have the fullest description, up to this time, of
the day of Jehovah, that day which the people in Amos' time were looking for
and wished for, but which Amos said was the very opposite of all they expected.
It was a day of doom for the nation. Zephaniah gives us a fuller description of
it, and we have in his prophecy the merging of prophecy and apocalypse, for there
are some passages in Zephaniah descriptive of the day of Jehovah that are
almost apocalyptic, as Daniel and Zechariah in the Old Testament, and
Revelation in the New Testament.
The following is an analysis of the book:
Introduction: Author and date (1:1).
I. The punishment of Judah and Jerusalem
(l:2to2:3).
1. The destruction universal (1:2-6).
2. Jehovah's sacrifice (1:7-13).
3. The "day of Jehovah" described (1:14-18).
4. Warning and admonition (2:1-3).
II. The punishment of the nations (2:4-15).
1. Philistia doomed (2:4-7).
2. Moab and Ammon doomed (2:8-11).
3. Ethiopia and Assyria doomed (2:12-15).
III. The restoration of the remnant
(2:1-20).
1. The incorrigible city (2:1-7).
2. Wrath against the nations (3:8).
3. Salvation of the remnant (3:9-13).
4. Joys of the restoration (3:14-20).
Zephaniah had a wide vision; he seemed to see all the world, and picture the
doom that was to come upon all animate creation: "I will utterly consume
all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah. I will consume man
and beast," thus coming down to more details, according to the custom of
Bible writers, – first, a general statement, then a detailed statement, "I
will consume the fowls of heaven and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks
with the wicked. And I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith
Jehovah." This is a statement of judgment that is to come and affect all
nature and mankind.
Now he comes down to further particulars: "I will stretch out mine hand upon
Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem." They shall be involved
in this general universal catastrophe that is to come in the day of Jehovah.
Then further particulars: "I will cut off the remnant of Baal," that
is, Baal worship shall be exterminated and even the remnants of it shall be
destroyed, "and the name of the Chemarim with the priests." The
Chemarim were a class of priests, who served in a form of idolatry with certain
gods. It is supposed by some, with some probability, that the word refers to
the black robes which the priests wore in that service. The word
"chemarim" comes from a word which means darkness. Our word
"chimera" has a similar root.
Then he goes on in verse 5: "And them that worship the host of heaven upon
the housetops," a form of star worship or sun worship, imported from
Babylonia or Assyria, and was practiced by the people upon their housetops
right in the city of Jerusalem. "Them that worship, that swear to the Lord
and that swear by Malcam," or, by their king, who, like the people that
were imported into Samaria after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom,
served Jehovah and served their own gods also. They had a sort of mixed
worship, combining the worship of Jehovah with the worship of other gods, and
there seems to have been that class in Jerusalem at this time who swore by
Jehovah and by their king, or Malcam, or their Molech; we cannot be sure of the
exact reference. 'Then he comes down to another class: "And them that are
turned back from following Jehovah," the backsliders. And the last class
he mentions is those that had not sought Jehovah nor inquired after him, the
indifferent, the irreligious, godless ones. Thus he describes all the classes
of sinners – the indifferent. the irreligious, the backsliders, the worldly
members that arc saved, yet trying to follow God and follow the world, the
idolaters, and then the priests that in their black robes served the various
gods.
Jehovah commands them to hold their peace at the appearance of Jehovah God,
"for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice,
he hath consecrated his guests." He means that the destruction of
Jerusalem and of Judah will be Jehovah's sacrifice in the day of Jehovah. And
he goes on in verse 8, thus: "In that day of the Lord's sacrifice I will
punish the princes (for they were the chief sinners in Jerusalem) and the
king's sons," not particularly the king's sons nor the king. Josiah is on
the throne, the best king Israel ever had. He is only a young man, and Zephaniah
had no word against him; he was irreproachable and unblameable. But the king's
sons, the members of the royal family, not Josiah's sons, (he was too young to
have any sons grown up) but the immediate members of the royal family; the
king's sons are among the first to receive the punishment that comes when the
day of Jehovah appears.
"And he will punish all such as are clothed with foreign apparel."
The young nobles of the city who sent for their robes to foreign countries,
perhaps to Babylon, where they made the finest garments in all the world, as
the society ladies today send to Paris for their best hats and dresses. The
princes and the nobles of Jerusalem sent to foreign lands for their garments;
Zephaniah condemns that thing.
In verse 9, he has a striking reference: "In that day I will punish all
those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master's house with
violence and deceit." "Leap over the threshold" is an obscure
expression. There are two interpretations. One is that it refers to a superstitious
custom of people who would not step upon the threshold of the house, but who
would leap over the threshold into the house without stepping thereon, on
account of a superstitious custom that arose because Dagon, the god of the
Philistines, fell over the doorstep of the house, when the ark was taken in the
days of Samuel.
The other, and I think the better interpretation, is that it refers to these
young and rapacious princes who did not scruple to break the laws and customs,
and even the sanctity of the threshold; who leaped over into houses and robbed
them either by stealth or in a legal fashion, for there is such a thing as
legal robbery. Unscrupulous men, who cared nothing for the sacredness of the
threshold, but leaped over. trampling under foot all the sacred rights of the
house and home and hospitality in their greed for gold. They "filled their
master's houses with violence and deceit" as a result of leaping over the
threshold in their rapacity.
Now he goes on to describe the calamity that shall befall Israel, and the
outcry: "a noise from the fish gate," which was probably in the
northeastern corner of Jerusalem, the most convenient gate to the Jordan Valley
and to the Sea of Galilee from which they brought their fish to Jerusalem; "and
a howling from the second quarter," or a howling from the Mishneh,
probably from "the new city," the second part of the city, the new
part where Hulda, the prophetess, lived, as we find in the book of Kings in
connection with the discovery of the law. "And a great crashing from the
hills," that surround Jerusalem and upon which it is situated. Then he
said, "Howl, ye inhabitants of Makesh" (or the mortar), and it
probably refers to the valley that runs through the center of Jerusalem, called
the Tyrolean Valley, between Zion, on one side, and Moriah on the other.
"For all the people of Canaan are undone," or perhaps, "the
merchant people" are undone, for the word "merchant" comes from
the same root as the word "Canaan." A Canaanite was a merchantman, a
trafficker. "All they that bear silver are cut off."
The next two verses give a description of how the calamity comes upon the city:
"It shall come to pass," he says, "that I will search Jerusalem
with candles," or lamps, to find out just what the people are doing, to search
out every individual, "and I will punish the men that are settled on their
lees." This is a figure taken from their custom of making wine. The wine
when fresh and new was placed in vessels, and very soon there would gather in
the bottom a thick sediment, and after that gathered for a little time, they
would pour off the wine into another vessel and thus keep it fresh. If they
allowed it to remain in the first vessel, it would soon become putrid and
muddy, thick and unfit for use.
In this figure he describes the people as at ease and with plenty. It had been
some fifteen or twenty years since the reign of Manasseh when they had the hard
time, when Jerusalem was red with blood. Since then they had become somewhat
wealthy; they had settled down and were taking it easy; they had wealth and
prosperity and somewhat of luxury. Zephaniah says, the people thus settled down
like wine, upon their lees, and had become thick and muddy, and their brain had
become clouded and sluggish and their religious life dull and heavy; they were
troubled with inertia. That frequently happens today with well-to-do people, in
comfortable circumstances, who have this world's goods, and have to some extent
settled down on their lees and are taking it easy; churches that have fine houses,
a fine preacher, and a fine choir, all their debts paid, sometimes settle down
on their lees. The result is that church gets thick, muddy, inert, sluggish,
stupid, and becomes putrescent and unfit for use. If we become respectable and
comfortably situated, we settle down in self-satisfaction, congratulating
ourselves on the fact that we are a very good people. People in this way become
thick, and sluggish, and dull. That is the tendency the world over with mere
respectability. That is the crying sin and shame of our church life throughout
the world today. As soon as a church settles down and takes it easy it becomes
dull, sluggish, disgusting. They have to be kept at work or they will soon
become thick and unsavory. As Brother Truett says, you have to keep them on the
run all the time, or they won't go at all. "The Lord will not do
good," they say, "neither will he do evil." We have our prayer
meeting and revival services and some good deacon will say, "It won't do
any harm."
He now goes on to speak of their punishment: "Their wealth shall become a
spoil, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but none shall
inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards but none shall drink the wine
thereof." That is the sacrifice of Jehovah on that day when he comes in
destruction and judgment.
The day of Jehovah is described in verses 14-18: "The great day of Jehovah
is near, it is near . . . the voice of the day of Jehovah." Its
characteristic, its striking feature is this: "The mighty man," the
hero, the warrior, "crieth bitterly." Then comes the full description
of it: "A day of wrath, and trouble, and distress; a day of wasteness,
desolation, and darkness, and gloominess; a day of clouds and thick darkness; a
day of trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high
battlements."
In verses 17-18 he describes the distress that shall come upon men, how their
blood will be poured out as dust and their flesh as the dung; silver and gold
will not deliver them; whose land shall be devoured and shall make a terrible
end of all that dwell in the land.
Then follows the warning to the wicked and the admonition to the righteous in
2:1-3. The warning to the wicked is this: "Gather yourselves together,
yea, gather together, O nation that hath no shame; before the decree bring
forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah
come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you." Then he
addresses the meek, the godly: "Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth,
that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye
will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." And they were hid in the day
of Jehovah's anger, for when the Scythians overran all that part of Syria, they
passed down the Philistine coast and left Judah and Jerusalem untouched, and
the godly remnant was hid in the day of Jehovah, for that was one of the days
of Jehovah, as there have been many since, and will be yet more before the last
day comes.
Philistia (2:4-7) is doomed and her land shall belong to Israel: "Gaza
shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at
the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea
coast, the nation of the Cherethites." We meet with this word "Cherithites"
and also "Pelethites" in connection with the bodyguard of David and
Solomon; they are constantly referred to during the period of the Divided
Kingdom, also after the Exile. The people of this strip of territory who were
called Cherethites, were evidently of Philistine blood, and by David and
Solomon were made special bodyguards. We do not know for what reason, except
that they must have been peculiarly fitted for tins duty. For centuries the
Pope of Rome has had Swiss bodyguards; he will not trust Italians.
"The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the
Philistines; I will destroy thee; . . . the sea coast shall be pastures, with
cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the
remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks there and shall
dwell in the houses of Ashkelon for Jehovah their God shall visit them and
bring back their captivity." Zephaniah presupposes a certain captivity of
Judah and when they return they shall inhabit not only all Judah, but the coast
and the Philistine plain and dwell in the cities of the Philistines.
Ammon was doomed (2:8-11) because they bad reproached God's people and had
magnified themselves against their border; they were doomed to be destroyed.
This is the same complaint which Amos, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel lodged against
these people. "Moab shall be doomed to destruction because of her
pride," and verse 9 says, "Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children
of Ammon shall be as Gomorrah, the breeding place of nettles and salt pits, and
a perpetual desolation."
The doom of Ethiopia is given in one sentence (2:12) : "Ye Ethiopians
also, ye shall be slain by my sword." The doom of Assyria is given in
verses 13-15. This is the same subject which engrosses the attention of Nahum.
Notice what Zephaniah says, verse 14, "And flocks shall lie down in the
midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine
shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice sing in the windows;
desolation shall be in the thresholds for he hath laid bare the cedar
work." And he describes the doom of Nineveh in the same terms that are
afterward used to describe the pride of Babylon, and later on by John, to
describe the pride of Rome, the last and greatest Babylon. "This is the
rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there
is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie
down in! everyone that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand." This
idolizing of self is a very common characteristic of large and wealthy cities.
Every great city has a peculiar form of pride. This was the spirit of Nineveh.
And what the result? "How is she become desolate, a place for beasts to
lie down in!"
Jerusalem is described as a city, incorrigible in its wickedness (3:1-8). In
verses 1-2, he hurls his denunciation against her: "Woe to her that is
rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!" Here is the charge:
"She obeyed not the voice, she received not correction, she trusted not in
Jehovah, she drew not near to her God." Verse 3 gives the description of
her rulers, princes, prophets, and priests: "The princes within her are
roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; the prophets are light and
treacherous; the priests have profaned the sanctuary, and done violence to the
law." In spite of all that, "Jehovah in the midst of her is
righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his justice to
light, he faileth not," a beautiful passage, "but the. unjust knoweth
no shame." Then he describes the desolation that is to come in verses 6-7,
but verse 7, particularly, brings to us the idea of how incorrigible they were:
"I said, Only fear thou me; receive instruction; so her dwelling should
not be cut off, however I punished her, but they rose up early, and corrupted
all their doings." They would not receive correction; they were beyond
that, utterly incorrigible. This is in essence the same things Jeremiah said at
this time also.
Verse 8 brings before their minds the thought that the day of Jehovah is
coming, "Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I
rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may
assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce
anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy."
The particulars of the salvation of the remnant are set forth in verses 9-13.
Verses 9-10 tell of the people that shall come up to Judah and Jerusalem:
"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all
call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." That is
what I am going to bring about in the future, and more than that: "From
beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my supplicants, even the daughter of my dispersed
shall bring mine offering." There is going to be a gathering from the far
nations and my people shall come back. Then in verse II he describes how the
proud are to be cut off: "For then I will take away out of the midst of
thee them that rejoice in thy pride; and thou shalt no more be haughty because
of mine holy mountain." Verse 12 describes the remnant that shall be left:
"I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they
shall trust in the name of Jehovah." A remnant shall be saved, even in the
day of Jehovah, in the midst of this universal destruction. In verse 13 the
remnant is described: "They shall do no iniquity, nor speak lies; neither
shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie
down, and none shall make them afraid." These are practically the same
words that were used by the other prophets, Micah and Amos, particularly Micah.
Radical critics with scarcely an exception, say that Zephaniah did not write
section 3:14-20; that it was written during the exile or immediately after, by
some writer who wanted to supplement Zephaniah's prophecy and offset the
picture which he had drawn. That is their theory, and as we have stated
repeatedly, the thing that inspires that view is that they do not believe in
real inspiration, an inspiration which enabled a man to see the future. A real
revelation they virtually deny, and that is the reason they deny certain parts
of these prophecies to these ancient writers.
The joys of the restoration are described in verses 14-20. This is a beautiful
picture of the restoration, the blessed messianic age, very much like the
pictures found in Isaiah 40-66. He says, "In that day," which shows
that the prophet is looking forward to a time which he sees in the future and
describes it. Verse 14 begins: "Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel;
be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Jehovah hath
taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the king of Israel,
even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more. In
that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Fear thou not, O Zion, let not
thine hands be slack. Jehovah, thy God, is in the midst of thee; a mighty one
who will save."
There are some good gospel texts here. "He will rejoice over thee with
joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing." Why?
Because his love will now be reciprocated; his love will now be satisfied; it
has its response; it has won its object, and he will rest and be at peace in
his love; no more turmoil, no more anxiety; God has found his people and his
people have found him; he will rejoice over them with singing.
Then he goes on with his description as to how they are to be gathered: "I
will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom
the burden upon her was a reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all
them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that
which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame
hath been in all the earth." And the last verses give another statement as
to how this restoration shall take place: "At that time will I bring you
in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise
among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before
your eyes, saith Jehovah."
This vision of Zephaniah compares favorably with the visions of other prophets.
He had a broad vision, almost as broad as Isaiah's, or Micah's, in which they
picture the mountain of the Lord's house as exalted above all the hills, and
all the nations flowing into it to receive the law. He says here that they
shall have a name and a place among all the peoples of the earth, the
restoration period, when Jehovah dwells within them in all his holiness and
righteousness and truth. Such is Zephaniah's picture of the day of judgment and
such is his picture of the age to come. In prophetic vision he sees through an
appalling cloud of darkness and destruction of that day, into the future when
God shall save his people and his tabernacle shall be with them and he shall be
their God and they shall be his people. While Zephaniah's picture is not quite
equal to that of Isaiah's or Micah's, and in many respects far beyond
Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's and vastly inferior to the magnificent visions of John
that he saw on Patmos, in essence they are all the same.
QUESTIONS
1. Who the author of
Zephaniah, what his lineal descent? and what the bearing of this fact on his
fitness for his work?
2. What the date of this
book and what the reason for assigning this date to it?
3. With what great prophet
was Zephaniah contemporary?
4. What the occasion and
purpose of his prophecy?
5. What can you say of the
style and contents of the book?
6. Give an outline of the
book.
7. What Zephaniah's vision
of judgment, generally and particularly
8. Describe the sacrifice of
Jehovah and explain the terms contained therein (7-13), and show the
application to modern conditions.
9. Describe the "day of
Jehovah" as given by Zephaniah.
10. What the warning to the
wicked and the admonition to the righteous in 2:1-3?
11. Describe the doom of
Philistia (2:4-7).
12. Describe the doom of
Moab and Ammon (2:8-11).
13. Describe the doom of
Ethiopia and Assyria (2:12-15).
14. Describe the
incorrigible city (3:1-8).
15. What the exhortation of
3:8 and what determination therein expressed?
16. What the particulars of
the salvation of the remnant (3:9-13)?
17. What say the radical
critics of the paragraph, 3:14-20, and what the basis of their theory?
18. Describe the joys of the
restoration (14-20).
19. How does this vision of
Zephaniah compare with the visions of other prophets?
THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK INTRODUCTION AND
INTERPRETATION
The theme of this chapter is the prophecy of Habakkuk. As regards the author,
nothing more is known of him, no reference is made to him in any other portion
of the Scriptures besides what is given in Habakkuk 1:1. The name is a little
peculiar. It means to embrace, or to be embraced. It found its application to
the prophet in that he kept very close to God. Apparently he was well known,
for he styles himself "the prophet," which may or may not imply that
he was prominent in prophetic circles. But it does imply that he was well
known. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, although they make no reference
whatever to each other. Thus while Jeremiah was preaching his great sermons and
seeking to lead Israel back to God, Habakkuk was also grappling with another
great problem.
The date of this book is almost certainly in the reign of Jehoiakim between 609
and 605 B.C. We put it subsequent to 609 B.C., because the conditions which the
prophet describes could hardly have existed during the reign of Josiah. We put
it before 605 B.C., for it seems altogether likely that he wrote before
Nebuchadnezzar inflicted that terrible defeat on Pharaoh-Necho at Carchemish
and became the supreme ruler in western Asia. In the book of Habakkuk, Chaldea,
or Babylonia, was the rising power, but had not yet come to its highest
pinnacle of greatness. The evil conditions of the time fit the earlier half of
the reign of Jehoiakim.
The prophecies in the book of Jeremiah seem to imply that exactly the same
evils existed then as were depicted by Habakkuk. We also find that he makes no
reference to Assyria or Nineveh, its capital, which shows that Nineveh was
destroyed at this time, and the power of Assyria was forever crushed. He does
refer to the Chaldeans, and it was shortly before and after the destruction of
Nineveh that the Chaldean power was rising to its place of supremacy. Putting
things together then, it seems most likely that it was written between the
years 609 and 605 B.C. in the reign of Jehoiakim.
The style of the book is almost classical. Habakkuk is one of the most original
of the Hebrew writers. He is a sublime poet. Though we have only one of his
poems preserved to us, it is one of the finest poems in Hebrew literature. He
is a literary genius of the highest type, almost equal to that of Isaiah. There
are many textual difficulties in his prophecy; the text has in some places
suffered corruption, as we shall see as we proceed with the study of it.
It is well for us to note at this point that there were four great prophets
prophesying or preaching in this period. There was Jeremiah, one of the
greatest of the prophets; there was Zephaniah, whom we studied in our last
chapter; there was Habakkuk, who perhaps did comparatively little preaching,
but who lived during that period; and then in Jeremiah 26 there is reference to
a certain prophet named Uriah, who prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem,
fled into Egypt to escape the wrath of Jehoiakim, was brought back to Jerusalem
and slain. These four prophets were contemporaries. Jeremiah was saved because
he had a friend among the princes; Zephaniah was a prince himself and therefore
he escaped; Habakkuk, we know nothing about; he probably was in obscurity, as
he seems to be more of a writer than a preacher. Uriah suffered martyrdom at
the hands of the wicked and unscrupulous king.
Jeremiah's problem was to warn Israel of her sins, predict the coming
destruction, prophesy of the preservation of the remnant and the restoration to
their own land again after the exile, and – thus be the means of preserving
religion among the exiles, securing their return and preparing the way for the
glorious age that should follow. The prophecy of Zephaniah was very similar to
that, but the prophecy of Habakkuk is different. Habakkuk is not a preacher in
the same sense in which Zephaniah and Jeremiah were. It is no part of his talk
to warn the people of their sins, to warn them against the impending
destruction at the hands of Babylon, to seek to induce, if possible, repentance
on their part and to promise a future return and restoration. That is not his
problem.
In Habakkuk we see what is called speculation in Israel. I am not sure that we
have the beginning of speculation here, but we certainly have speculation, or
we have an instance of the mind of a prophetic man, dealing with one of the
most perplexing problems that could ever occupy the attention and thought of a
mortal being. It is not how Israel shall escape the punishment of her sins, but
it is this problem: Why does God allow this evil to exist? How is it that God
can allow Israel to go on in this state? How is it that God permits this moral
evil? And then when he projected that problem, he received his answer from
Jehovah, and the answer is this: Israel is allowed to go on in her iniquity,
but God is going to raise up the Chaldean power to punish her for her sins, and
she must suffer destruction because of those sins at the hands of that power.
Then another question comes upon the horizon. The Chaldeans were terrible and
ruthless warriors, worse than the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, and how can a
holy God who has pure eyes – too pure to look upon evil – how could he permit
such a nation as Chaldea to swallow up a nation vastly better than themselves?
In answer to this question he takes his stand upon what he calls his
watchtower, the watchtower of history, to observe God's providences and see
what God is going to do. God gives him a vision and tells him to write it on a
tablet. What did it mean? It is the settlement of the great problem troubling
the mind of Habakkuk. Habakkuk gets his answer, and the answer is that the
nation of the Chaldeans carried within themselves the principle of death, and
must perish through their iniquity as truly as Judah must perish because of her
iniquities. The triumph of the Babylonian power is but temporary.
God in the future will work out his principle of righteousness, providence will
vindicate itself, and in chapter 3 we have the prophet's vision of God marching
through history, and he pictures him as few poets have ever pictured God in his
providential management of the world and its affairs. The question is then, How
can God, holy and pure and righteous as he is, permit this evil in Judah and in
Babylonia? It will be observed at once that it is a profound question, one of
the most perplexing questions that ever troubled the human mind. Habakkuk is
not the only one who has asked that question. How is it that God permits the
colossal evils that have been going on for millenniums in this world? What is
the meaning of it all? Such questions have troubled many minds.
The following is a convenient analysis of the book of Habakkuk:
Introduction: The title, (1:1).
I. The prophet's problems (1:2 to 2:4).
1. The prophet's cry (1:2-4).
2. Jehovah's answer (1:5-11).
3. A new problem (1:12-17).
4. The prophet's attitude (2:1).
5. Jehovah's explanation (2:2-5).
II. The prophet's proclamations (2:6 to
3:19).
1. The vision of destruction in five woes (2:6-20).
2. The prophet's prayer and psalm (3:1-19).
The prophet cries against injustice and oppression (1:2-4). Abominable
iniquities were prevailing in Judah and Jerusalem under the reign of that
wicked king. The prophet was unable to restrain himself, and he broke forth,
"0, Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear?" This cry
is not necessarily the cry of prayer; it is the cry of distress, the cry that
arises from a heart which feels that something is wrong, feels it deeply, and
cries out to God because of it. It may include prayer, but it is not primarily
prayer. He has been crying to God because of this iniquity and God doesn't seem
to be listening: "Thou wilt not save! How long must I continue?"
"I cry out unto thee of violence," and that word "violence"
is the word they used when any great crime was being committed, as murder or
robbery. It is one of the strongest words in the language. Instead of crying,
"Murder," he would say, "Violence." It means that the worst
of evils prevailed in the city and in the land. "And thou wilt not save
I" How long is God going to stand this condition of affairs and not save
us from it?
Then he raises another question: "Why dost thou show and cause me to see
iniquity, crookedness, perverseness? for destruction and violence are before
us; and there is sin and contention." That was the condition of affairs in
the reign of Jehoiakim. The law found in the Temple not long before this and
which was promulgated under good King Josiah and accepted by the nation, with
the king at its head, "is slackened, and justice doth never go forth; for
the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth
perverted." It will be observed that the sins mentioned here are those
that Amos charged against Northern Israel, that Jeremiah and Micah especially
charged against Southern Israel, the same conditions, and the same iniquities
prevailing. Such is the prophet's cry.
There is a great difference of opinion among interpreters regarding this
oppression, violence, and perversion of justice, as to how it arose. Some
maintain that it was because of the oppression of the Chaldeans; and others
that it was the oppression of Egypt, for during this time Judah and Jerusalem
were swaying between these powers; at one time Assyria, then Babylonia, and
then Egypt. But this explanation does not fit the case. It was not a case of
foreign oppression. Foreign oppression did not cause the law to be slack and
justice and judgment to be perverted. Foreign oppression would not necessarily
affect the social, commercial, and religious life of the people. The prophet
had in mind evidently the actual condition of Israel during the reign of
Jehoiakim when wickedness prevailed among the people, especially in Jerusalem
itself.
Jehovah's answer to the cry of the prophet (1:5-11) is that he is going to
raise up the nation of the Chaldeans and they are going to be the means of
punishing Israel for her sins. God calls attention first of all to the great
wonder he is going to perform: "Behold, ye among the nations, and look and
wonder marvelously, for I am working a work in your days," which shows
that the Chaldeans now rising up on the horizon had not yet attained their
greatest height. "Behold, I am working a work in your days, which ye will
not believe, though it be told you."
Assyria and Nineveh had been crushed and it was almost inconceivable to them
that another nation would be raised up, almost as cruel and as rapacious as was
Nineveh herself. He has done that many times in history and since the days of
Habakkuk. What a wonder that people have not believed, although it has been
told them. In verse 6 this is explained: "I raise up the Chaldeans."
Let us note particularly the description of this nation: "that bitter and
hasty nation," swift in their movements, could strike blows where they
were least expected, "that march through the breadth of the earth to
possess dwelling places that are not theirs." That was the purpose of all
their conquests, to seize upon possessions not theirs, the same as was the
purpose of Assyria and Nineveh. "They are terrible and dreadful; their
judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves," not from any higher
source. "Their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce
than the evening wolves; their horsemen shall spread themselves, and shall come
from afar; they shall fly as the eagles that hasteth to devour." A very
vivid description of the swiftness with which the Babylonian army marched.
They shall come for what? Verse 9, "They come all of them for violence;
the set of their faces is forward; and they gather captives as the sand. Yea,
he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every
stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it." They will gather the
people together like heaps of dust, no matter whether kings, princes, or
strongholds, the Chaldeans will gather them together as they would gather dust
in their hands. "Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall pass over,
and be guilty," or commit sin, "even he whose might," whose
strength, whose prowess, "is his god." There is such a thing as a
deifying of force, the worship of strength, or a man making his strength his
god, or a man making money his god. Why? Because money is power. The Babylonian
made his might his god; he worshiped his strength, and Babylonia is not the
only nation that has done that same thing.
Habakkuk (1:12-17) expresses a very beautiful faith in God and a very high and
holy conception of him: "Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God,
my Holy One? we shall not die." He voices the consciences of the very best
people of Israel, God's people. "We shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast
ordained him [the Chaldeans] for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established
him for correction." That is why the Chaldeans have been raised up. Then
he goes on: "Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that
canst not look on perverseness," and this is what gives rise to his
problem, "Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and
boldest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous
than he; and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that
have no ruler over them?" He goes on with his description: "He taketh
up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and he gathereth
them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad."
Here is a nation that treats every other nation and people as if they were mere
fish of the sea; he casts his great conquering net in and brings it up full, as
mere fish to be devoured or thrown away. How can God look upon such things as
that, such a nation treating God's own people in this way? That is his problem.
Then he goes on with the description, verse 16: "Therefore he sacrificeth
unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is
fat, and his food plenteous." Then the question arises, "Shall he
therefore empty his net, and spare not to slay the nations continually?"
Is God going to let such a rapacious and insatiable monster go like that, devouring
the people forever?
The prophet's attitude toward this question (2:1) was a waiting attitude, or
the attitude of faith and honesty. The prophet in receiving an answer to this
great question as to what providence means by permitting such, says, "I
will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and look forth to see what
he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint." I
will take my stand upon my tower where I can observe what God is going to do
and what God will answer to my complaint; how he will answer my question.
Jehovah's explanation of the new problem is that the Chaldean principle is the
principle of death, but the righteous have within them the principle of life:
"Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon
tablets, that he may run that readeth it." Let the people see what is
coming; write your vision plainly so that when a man sees it and reads it, he
will run. And when the vision was written and they saw it, they felt like
running. The vision, he says, is for the appointed time, this is a vision of
coming destruction, the coming judgment, the overwhelming power of the
Chaldeans: "The vision is for the appointed time, it hasteth toward the
end, and shall not lie." It is true, though it tarry, wait for it: it will
surely come, it will not delay. Now he repeats the statement, making it
emphatic, to impress upon them the fact that that vision which Habakkuk saw of
the coming destruction of judgment must certainly come.
I think you will find in verse 4, the greatest text in Habakkuk and one of the
greatest texts of the Bible: "Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not
upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith." Behold, the
soul of the Chaldean is puffed up, elated with mirth, with self-sufficiency;
"but the righteous one shall live by his faithfulness." This is the
text upon which Paul bases his theology and his interpretation of Christianity,
and he uses it more than once. Let us try to find the interpretation of it:
"The righteous shall live in his faithfulness." The word here is
"faithfulness," not merely faith. The root of it is the word which
means faith, and from which we get our word "amen". It means
faithfulness, integrity, perseverance, and especially, steadfastness. Applied
to business life it means integrity and steadfastness; to family life,
faithfulness of father and mother, husband and wife, and child. Applied in
every other respect we can interpret it by the word "faithfulness".
Paul says, "The just shall live by faith," that is, the soul shall
find forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ through the exercise of faith in
his gospel. It implies there also the doctrine of perseverance and
steadfastness. The just man, the righteous man shall live by his faithfulness,
not merely by believing once in Jesus Christ, or believing once in God, but lie
shall go on living by that faith in steadfastness and perseverance in his
belief.
This is the great characteristic of Job, that he was proved to be steadfast, and
the finest commentary, explanation of the doctrine of perseverance, or the
preservation of the saints, is the book of Job. That is the principle of life,
the principle by which the righteous shall live, by which Judah and Israel
shall live, but the principle that animates the soul of the Chaldeans is pride,
self-sufficiency, which unbalances all his powers and is the principle of
death. It is suicide. That is the vision upon the tablet, great and eternal
principles: that sin is suicide; that faithfulness is life. This is Habakkuk's
great contribution to the Old Testament theology.
Jehovah illustrates his answer in 2:5. The proud, treacherous, insatiable
Chaldean shall become a proverb to the nations: "Yea, moreover, wine is
treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home," means this: As wine
will make a man drunk, it also makes him treacherous, with a tendency to wander
away; so the Chaldean, drunk with his conquests, proud, self-sufficient,
wandering everywhere wherever he can find anything to satisfy his lusts for
conquest. As wine creates an appetite never satisfied, so the drunkenness that
comes from conquests enlargeth his desire as Sheol, the underworld, with its
insatiable maw that is never satisfied, "but gathereth unto him all nations
and heapeth unto him all peoples." It is conquest, the lust for dominion
and power, that is as insatiable as death and Sheol.
Verse 6 says that the nations would take up a parable against him, a taunting
proverb. Here he pictures the downfall of Babylon, who because of her greed,
oppression, and plunder should have nations rise up against her and taunt her.
Five songs, or five woes, follow:
1. The plunderer shall in turn be plundered, 2:6-8: "Woe to him that
increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with
pledges!" That is, making himself a debtor to all these nations by taking
their possessions; and by continually treating the nations this way, he made
all the nations his creditors, and he himself was debtor to them all. "Shall
they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall .vex thee,
and thou shalt be for booty unto them? Because thou hast plundered many
nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men's
blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that
dwell therein."
2. A house built by evil gain shall witness against its owner, 2:9-11:
"Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his
nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!" That is a
picture of many businessmen and other men of the present age, who set up a nest
for themselves on high to be reserved for a rainy day. "Thou hast devised
shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy
soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber
shall answer it," a figurative expression, that the house built thus will
witness against its owner.
3. The capital built by blood shall be as fuel to the fire, 2:12-14: "Woe
to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by
iniquity!" just as Nineveh and Babylon were established by iniquity.
"Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the
fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?" That is the case
because Jehovah hath decreed it. "For the earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea," a fine
text, which goes to show that the city being built by blood shall be burned,
shall be destroyed, but Jehovah's cause will triumph.
4. The producer of drunkenness and shame shall in turn be put to shame,
2:15-17: "Woe to him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest
thy venom and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!"
What is the meaning? Not simply giving one drink and compelling him to drink,
but it means that he oppressed the people, brought them down to degradation,
weakness, and shame, in order that he might gloat over their wretched, shameful
condition, the figure being drawn from Noah when he got drunk and 1a,v in his
tent in a shameful condition.
Now Chaldea was to make all nations drunk, bring them down to shame and
degradation and gloat over their condition. Then the woe follows: "Thou
art filled with shame, and not glory; drink thou also, and be as one
uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah's right hand shall come round unto thee, and
foul shame shall be upon thy glory. .For the violence done to Lebanon shall
cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because
of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all
that dwell therein."
5. The gross idolatry of Babylon disappoints the idol maker, 2:18-20:
"What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it;
the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form
trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?" Then he says in verse 19, "Woe
unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this
teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at
all in the midst of it." Compare that with Isaiah 44 for a description of
idolatry. Then he goes on: "But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the
earth keep silence before him." A splendid contrast that is, one of the
finest in all the world's literature, between the idols of Babylon and Jehovah,
the living God.
Chapter 3 is in the form of a poem, picturing the theophany, the appearance of
God as he is executing his vengeance in the world and saving his people: the
picture of God appearing on the horizon of history, combining the elements that
we find portrayed in the deliverance from Egypt, the bringing of Israel into
Canaan, and some of the great historical deliverances that followed. A company
of Savants in France gathered together and each one was to bring one of the
finest quotations of poetry that he could discover, and Benjamin Franklin
appeared with them on invitation and contributed his part to the program by
reading this poem of Habakkuk. They were enraptured, wanted to have it
published, wanted to know whence it came, who wrote it, where it was found, and
thought it the finest thing they had ever heard. Franklin simply referred them
to this book in the Bible.
In this proclamation concerning righteousness the viewpoint is that of the
majesty of Jehovah, and the consequent triumph of his people. In the first
movement the prophet declares his recognition of the divine interference, his
consequent fear, and breathes a prayer for the revival of Jehovah's work (3:2).
He then proceeds to celebrate the greatness of Jehovah as manifested in his
dealings with his ancient people. This k a review of God's work in the history
of Israel, in an exalted strain of poetry, 3:3-15: At Sinai (3-4); the plagues
in the desert (5) ; the terror of the nations at Israel's coming (6-7);
crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan (8-10); Joshua at Bethhoron (II) ; conquest
of the land (12-15). In the last section of the poem the prophet expresses fear
and faith concerning the judgment. The contemplation of the judgment on the
"puffed up" had filled him with fear, yet he triumphed in God.
Describing the circumstances of utter desolation, he declares his determination
in the midst of them to rejoice (3: 16-19). This view of the mountaintop faith
of the prophet here furnishes a fitting conclusion of our study of this
prophet. May his faith and spirit possess us!
QUESTIONS
1. What the biblical
information concerning the author of Habakkuk?
2. What the date of this
book and the circumstances fixing it?
3. What of the style and
literature of this book?
4. What four great prophets
of this period were contemporary and what the problem of each?
5. What other question
arises in this connection?
6. Give an outline of this
book.
7. What the cry of the
prophet, what its nature and cause, what the prevailing condition, what the
theories respecting this oppression and what the real state of affairs?
8. What Jehovah's answer to
the cry of the prophet, what the destructive work of the Chaldeans and the
characteristics of their army (1:5-11)?
9. What of Habakkuk's faith
in Jehovah and what new problem arises here (1:12-17)?
10. What the prophet's
attitude toward this question (2:1)?
11. What Jehovah's
explanation of the new problem, what specific charge to the prophet and why
this special commission?
12. What was the writing on
the tablet and what Paul's use of it?
13. How does Jehovah
illustrate his answer (2:5)?
14. What was to be the
attitude of the nations toward this devouring monster?
15. What the first woe
(2:&-8)?
16. What the second woe
(2:9-11)?
17. What the third woe
(2:12-14)?
18. What the fourth woe
(2:15-17)?
19. What the fifth woe
(2:18-20)?
20. What the literary form
of chapter 3, what the contents Hi general, and what historic incident of the
use of this poem?
21. Give more specifically
the contents of this poem?
THE BOOK: OF JEREMIAH INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah 1:1-3
The book of Jeremiah is the longest in the Bible coming from the hand of a
single writer, or author. The book of the Psalms is a larger book, but it is
really a compilation of various writers, five great books in one. The book of
Jeremiah contains his prophecies and the events of his life covering about
forty-four years, one of the most stirring periods of Hebrew history.
The greater part of the book was no doubt written by Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe,
or secretary, though some parts may have been written by Jeremiah himself. Of
these facts we cannot be absolutely sure, though we do know that Baruch wrote
most of it. In Jeremiah 36 we have the story of how the author came to write
his prophecy. He tells us that somewhere about the year 604 or 603 B.C. in the
reign of King Jehoiakim, by the command of Jehovah, he dictated the substance
of all his prophecies, covering eighteen or nineteen years previous, to his
scribe, who wrote them in a book, or roll. Baruch wrote down these words,
including the prophecy of how God would destroy Jerusalem because of the sins
of the people. The roll was taken and read to the king and he was so enraged
that he cut it in pieces and threw it in the fire. Thus the first edition was
burned.
A short time after this he again dictated to his scribe these prophecies, and
Baruch wrote them down. It was the same prophecy, but many like words were
added unto them. That edition of Jeremiah's prophecies was preserved, and we
have it in the first seventeen chapters of the book. It is doubtless true that
he gave here the substance of his prophecies covering the early period of his
life. To these seventeen chapters the remainder of the book has been added.
There is no doubt that all of the book except chapter 52 is from Jeremiah,
although some modern critics say that about four-nineteenths of it is really Jeremiah's
and about four nineteenths Baruch's and the rest belongs to many writers
unknown. They have figured it down very fine, even down to the nineteenth part.
These are vulgar fractions instead of inspired writings. Jeremiah 52 was not
from the hand of Jeremiah, but was taken from the book of 2 Kings and is a
repetition of the 2 Kings 24 almost word for word.
There are more difficulties in the study of the text than in the study of
almost any other book of the Bible. In the third century B.C. a Greek translation
was made in Egypt by many scholars from the original Jewish manuscripts that
they might have the Scriptures in Greek. That translation was called the
Septuagint. From this it appears that the book of Jeremiah has more corruptions
in the text than any other book of the Bible; 2,700 words were left out of the
Septuagint Version, or about one-eighth of the book. Most of these words,
however, are words of lesser importance; for instance, such expressions as
"Thus saith the Lord," introductory words which do not take from the
substance of the book, or from the heart of the prophecy, to any great extent.
The critics differ as to which to follow, the Septuagint Version or our
Massoretic Hebrew text. Many of them prefer the Septuagint. Ezra and those who
follow him evidently preferred the Hebrew text, for it has been preserved in
connection with the Old Testament Scriptures and is in our Hebrew Bible.
A convenient outline of the book of Jeremiah is as follows:
Introduction: Title, author, and date (1:1-3).
I. The prophet's call (1:4-19):
1. Personal (1:4-10).
2. Official (1:11-19).
II. The prophet's commission (2-13):
1. The impeachment, call, and Judgment (2-6)
2. The sins of worship and backsliding (7-9).
3. The sin of idolatry and the broken covenant (10-13).
III. The prophecies before the fall of
Jerusalem (14-39):
1. God's decree to punish (14-17).
2. Lessons from the potter (18-20).
3. Message to Zedekiah (21-27).
4. Jeremiah and the false prophets (28-29).
5. The "Book of Consolation" (30-33).
6. Prophecies of the siege and the Rechabites (34-35).
7. The history of the roll (36).
8. History of the siege, (37-39).
IV. The prophecies after the fall of
Jerusalem (40-45):
1. Against going into Egypt (40-42).
2. While in Egypt (43-44).
3. The exhortation of Baruch (45).
V. The prophecies concerning the nations
(46-51):
1. Concerning Egypt (46).
2. Concerning Philistia (47).
3. Concerning Moab (48).
4. Concerning Ammon (49:1-6).
5. Concerning Edom (49:7-22).
6. Concerning Damascus (49:23-27).
7. Concerning Koedar and Hazor (49:28-33).
8. Concerning Elam (49:34-39).
9. Concerning Babylon (50-51).
VI. Historical supplement (52):
(The following analysis, as a preview of the book, will be followed closely in the
discussion.)
We have in verses 1-3 the preface. Whether this was written by Jeremiah himself
or by Baruch we cannot be absolutely sure, but it constitutes the introduction.
In this passage we have stated the family of Jeremiah, his home, and when he began
to prophesy. We see that his life and ministry cover the reigns of five kings.
These were Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiakin, and Zedekiah. The reigns of
Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin were very short. This preface was probably written by
Baruch, the scribe, after the book had been compiled.
SECTION 1. Jeremiah 1:4 to 6:30 This is the early group of prophecies and gives
the substance of his preaching during several years of the reign of Josiah.
They belong somewhere between 626-621 B.C. It was written by Baruch in 604
B.C., but burned by Jehoiakim and rewritten in 603 B.C. As to the details,
note:
1. The call and commission of Jeremiah (1:4-19). In the study of the life of
Jeremiah we discover that emphasis is laid on his call, his consecration, and
his commission.
2. His account of the nation's history. It had been one long history of
wickedness, and backsliding from God (2:1 to 4:4).
3. The inevitable result of such a history (4:5 to 6:30). The inevitable result
was destruction, complete and overwhelming. This destruction was at hand. It
came perhaps at the hand of the Scythians. We find that about this time there
was a great invasion by these terrible people, who swept down. through
Palestine, almost to Egypt but were driven back by Psammetichus, the Egyptian
king. It was like the invasion of the Tartars, or Huns, of a later time. It may
be that Jeremiah had this invasion in mind as the agent that God would use in
destroying the people. But they did not come into the mountains of Judah.
However that may be, we do know that Nebuchadnezzar completed the work that
this Scythian horde left undone.
SECTION 2. Jeremiah 7-10 This covers the reign of Josiah, and probably the
reign of Jehoiakim, reaching from 618-607 B.C., written 604 B.C., burned about
the same time, and rewritten 603 B.C. Note in detail:
1. The destruction of the Temple of Jehovah was here threatened. Jeremiah
pointed to the fact that they had so sinned centuries before that God had
destroyed Shiloh, and would destroy their present Temple (7:1-15).
2. The prophet goes on to warn them of the exile, because their wilfulness must
be punished (7:16to9:2).
3. The people are grossly corrupt and destruction is inevitable. The nation
will not repent (9:3-26).
4. Jeremiah describes the wicked condition of the idolatrous nation and warns
against them (10:1-16). In this section we find many similarities to Isaiah
40-44. There are many expressions almost identical.
5. Jeremiah's distress and his prayer that the people might be saved from their
punishment (10:17-25).
SECTION 3. Jeremiah 11-17 This belongs to the early years of Jehoiakim's reign.
The subject of this section is the idolatry and sins of Judah and the result.
The prophet illustrates this thought and repeats it over and over again, under
different figures and from different viewpoints. As to details, note:
1. The preaching of the covenant which some hold belongs to a former period,
immediately after the discovery of the book of the Law, but more probably after
the breach of the covenant at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (11:1-8).
2. Apostasy charged against Judah, and a plot to take Jeremiah and put him to
death (11:9-23).
3. Jeremiah pleading with God and with the people. How pathetic and how tender is
this pleading of Jeremiah (12:1-7).
4. The sign of the marred girdle and the water bottle, and their lessons (13).
This tells how Jeremiah is told to go to the Euphrates River and hide his
girdle in a rock. He goes and gets the rotten girdle and brings it to Jerusalem
as a picture of the destruction which shall be the result of their sins and
wickedness.
5. The drought and its lesson. Sometime in the early part of the reign of
Jehoiakim a terrible drought falls upon the land and Jeremiah sees the meaning
of it and preaches its lessons to the people. Some people cannot see how the
hand of God is in a drought, but this prophet did (14-15).
6. The domestic life of Jeremiah and its illustration of the sins of Judah. He
was told that God would not permit him to marry. He could not have a home. He
was not to go to the house of mourning. Neither was he to go to the house of
feasting. He was to be a recluse and a man of solitude (16).
7. If he cannot enter into the social life of the people at all, he must turn
to God alone. God was his only refuge. The people's sins were too deep dyed to
be cleansed (17:1-18).
8. Consecration of the sabbath (17:19-27). Here we find the same problem that
Nehemiah had in his time. The great and ever living problem of the sabbath,
then as now.
(NOTE. – These are probably the chapters that Jeremiah dictated to Baruch. The
remainder of the book consists of short histories. It is a compilation of
pieces of writing and accounts of the life and teachings of the prophet. His
lessons and prophecies against the nations and against Judah are placed
together with no chronological order or regularity.)
SECTION 4. Jeremiah 18-20 This belongs to the reign of Jehoiakim, sometime
before 600 B.C., doubtless written and published later. The subject for this section
is lessons from the potter and the results which the prophet experiences. He
sees a potter working at his wheel. He sought to make a fine piece of pottery
out of a lump of clay and it was marred in his hands. So he made it over into a
cruder vessel. That is the way it would be with the people. God could not make
out of them the fine vessel he would have made, because of their sins. In
chapter 20 we have an account of Pashur, the chief officer of the house of the
Lord, who struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks and kept him there over
night. In all literature there is hardly anything to be found more pathetic
than the passage (20:8-13).
SECTION 5. Jeremiah 21 This belongs to about 588 or 587 B.C. It was in the
latter part of the reign of Zedekiah and was the prophecy of Jeremiah to
Zedekiah. The king sent for the prophet and asked him to tell the results of
the siege. He told him that it meant that the city should be given to the
enemy.
SECTION 6. Jeremiah 22-23 In these chapters the prophet describes the miserable
reign of the kings of Judah, especially that of Jehoiakim. The priests are
false prophets and likewise denounced.
SECTION 7. Jeremiah 24 We see here how these passages lack chronological order.
This chapter speaks of the first year or two of the exiles now in Babylon. It
compares them with the people in Jerusalem. He pictures those who had been
taken away with Jehoiachin, and those who had remained in Judah, as good and
bad figs. Those in Babylon are the better of the two. I doubt if those who
remained in Judah felt very much complimented by his words.
SECTION 8. Jeremiah 25 This contains an oracle concerning Judah and the
neighboring nations. We find in the latter part of the book distinct prophecies
concerning those nations mentioned here. This oracle was delivered about 603
B.C., perhaps a little later.
SECTION 9. Jeremiah 26 This chapter gives the result of the discourse in
chapter 7, in which Jeremiah describes the destruction of the Temple. Enemies
of the prophet rose up, consulted together and said that this prophet must be
put to death. But Jeremiah escaped because he had friends among the princely
families.
SECTION 10. Jeremiah 27-29 Jeremiah contends with Hananiah, a false prophet. He
advises the king to submit to the Babylonians. Jeremiah retires from the
contest for a while, then utters a prophecy against Hananiah. In chapter 29 we
have the letter which Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon, counseling them
to remain there for seventy years. A certain prophet in Babylon wrote back to
put Jeremiah to death, and Jeremiah wrote a prophecy against him in response.
SECTION 11. Jeremiah 30-31 These contain what is called "The New
Covenant." It is Jeremiah's "Book of Consolation" for Israel. It
corresponds to the latter half of the book of Isaiah (40-66), called "The
Old Testament Book of Comfort." It contains Jeremiah's prophecy concerning
the new covenant.
SECTION 12. Jeremiah 34 This describes an incident which occurred during the
siege of Jerusalem. The king of Egypt came up to help Zedekiah. The city was
relieved for a time. Then the people went back to their wicked lives again.
This occurred in 587 B.C.
SECTION 13. Jeremiah 35 This goes back to about 597 B.C. Here the prophet gives
a striking lesson from the example of the Rechabites.
SECTION 14. Jeremiah 36 We have here the story of the writing of the prophecy
by Baruch.
SECTION 15. Jeremiah 37-39 This treats of the siege and capture of Jerusalem,
586 B.C., the desolation of the inhabitants, the efforts to save themselves in
the city and Jeremiah's advice to submit. He is charged with treason. They seek
to kill him. He is saved by friends. The city falls and is destroyed and
Jeremiah is saved by the king.
SECTION 16. Jeremiah 40-44 This is a history of Judah and Jerusalem after the
fall of the Temple. Thousands are carried into exile, and thousands remain.
Gedaliah is appointed governor, a community is formed at Mizpah. Ishmael, a
traitor, murders the governor and escapes. Under Johanan the people go to
Bethlehem, consult Jeremiah, and flee to Egypt contrary to his advice. They
cling to idolatry while in Egypt.
SECTION 17. Jeremiah 45 He gives an exhortation to Baruch. Here is excellent
advice to preachers: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them
not."
SECTION 18. Jeremiah 46-51 This is the record of Jeremiah's oracles concerning
the nations. They were doubtless delivered sometime between 605 and 585 B.C.,
and are as follows:
1. An oracle concerning Egypt (46). See Isaiah 19; Ezekiel 29-33.
2. An oracle concerning the Philistines (47). It is interesting that both
Isaiah and Ezekiel have messages concerning these nations. See Isaiah 14:18-33;
Ezekiel 25:15-17.
3. Moab (48). Much like Isaiah 15-16.
4. Ammon (49:1-6; Ezek. 25:1-17).
5. Edmon (49:7-22; Isaiah 34; Ezekiel 25.)
6. Damascus (49:23-27; also Isa. 17).
7. Kedar and the king of Hazor (49:28-33; Isa. 21).
8. Elam (49:34-39).
(NOTE. – These latter prophecies seem to have been written in the reign of
Zedekiah, about 594 B.C., just a short time before the prophet's death.)
9. Babylon (50-51). Here we have a long prophecy against this nation.
SECTION 19. Jeremiah 52 This is a historical supplement containing records from
the book of 2 Kings, of the story of the fall of Jerusalem and the captivity.
QUESTIONS
1. What can you say of the
book of Jeremiah as compared with other books of the Bible, and what of its
contents and the period which it covers?
2. Who wrote the book of
Jeremiah? What is the history of its writings and what say the critics?
3. What of the difficulties
of the text of Jeremiah, what version indicates these and what the critics'
position?
4. Give a convenient outline
of the book of Jeremiah.
5. Give the items of
information in the title of the book and a bird’s eye view of the book itself.
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 1:4-19
Our study in this chapter is the life and character of Jeremiah. In our last
chapter we gave a bird's-eye view of the book, which purports to be the
substance of his prophecy, and the main events of his life. In this chapter we
shall study something about the prophet himself. I want, as far as possible, to
lead you into his inner life and soul and see, as best we can, the relationship
of his life to his book.
Jeremiah's call and commission are found in 1:4-19. He was predestined to be a
prophet. He learned this when he became of age, and at the time of his call. He
puts it thus: "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before the time
thou wast born, I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the
nations." We see there also a great truth which has been exemplified many
times since, that when God calls a man to be his prophet, or preacher, he
sometimes begins with him before his birth. Sometimes he begins two or three
generations before he is born.
Dr. Carter Helm Jones was being prepared to preach for at least two
generations. J. Hudson Taylor was consecrated by his mother to God to be a
missionary before his birth. Many another man received the divine impress to be
God's preacher before he was born. It takes a great deal to make a fine type of
preacher. He needs all the forces of a good heredity to his makeup and on his
side. We never will have great preachers till we have first, great mothers and
even great grandmothers.
Jeremiah received his call and consecration when he was a young man. That was
no little thing in relation to his future greatness as a prophet. We have some very
interesting facts about that call which we find recorded in 1:6-10. Jeremiah
felt his weakness and inability. He says, "Ah, Lord Jehovah! why hast thou
called me to be a prophet? I do not know how to speak. I am but a child. I am
only a boy. How can I be a preacher to the nations? I am too young for
that." How many preachers feel like that when God lays his hand on them?
God have mercy on the preacher who does not feel himself weak! When he realizes
that God has called him, that is the way he ought to feel. Now look at God's
answer to all the prophet's belittling of himself: God said, "Say not I am
a child." It does not matter if you are but a boy. I am going to tell you
what to say. You can talk if I tell you how; being a boy does not have anything
to do with it. I know what I am doing in calling you. "To whomsoever I
shall send thee thou shalt go and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt
speak. Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee, saith the Lord." That
seems to have convinced Jeremiah. He appears to have been satisfied and begins
his work.
Then the Lord gave unto him two visions, to assure and encourage him, 1:11-16.
"The word of the Lord spake unto me saying, What seest thou? And I said, I
see an almond-tree." The almond tree was the first to put forth its
blooms. It blooms about January. The blossoms are beautiful and fragrant. This
tree is called the watcher, "the opener" of spring. By that God
showed this man that he was a watcher. This gave Jeremiah assurance that God
was watching over him and would keep his word. With that vision in his heart he
was prepared to give God's message to the world. That kind of thing establishes
a man so that he can never be shaken. The second vision gave the prophet some
idea of his message. The Lord said, "Tell me what thou seest. And I said I
see a boiling, seething caldron and its face is from the north," – ready
to pour out its contents toward the south. Now that was clearly an indication
that the enemies of the Lord were coming from the north. The horde of warriors
like a seething caldron were to come and fulfil the prophecies of Jeremiah. So
then, it appears from this latter vision that Jeremiah's mission was to warn
the people of the impending invasion.
Then he received a specific commission (1:17-19). That commission is,
"Gird up thy loins, rise and speak unto them all that I command thee. Be
not dismayed at them lest I dismay thee before them." Do not be afraid of
them: don't run, for I will be with thee. Don't be afraid of them or I will make
you to be afraid before them. Don't be afraid of God's message. The cowardly
preacher is the most contemptible of all men. Now look at the strong promises
here. "I have made thee a fenced city, an iron pillar and brazen walls. I
have made thee as brazen walls against the priests and princes." This
assured him that God was with him, and that he was to go not in his own name,
but in the fear and strength of God. Such in brief is the commission of
Jeremiah to the great work of being a prophet to the nations.
We have seen that as soon as the call came to him he felt his weakness and
inability. He said, "I am only a boy." He had a deep consciousness of
his inability. As we come to study the inner suffering of this man we find in
him one of the most pathetic figures in history. Jeremiah was a patriot. He
loved his city, his country, and his people as few men ever loved them. He was
also God's prophet and was commanded as such to speak God's message, and that
message was the doom of the nation, ruin to the people that he loved. To be
faithful to his people he felt that he must stay with them. Thus he was between
two fires. He was driven from pillar to post and wavered between desire and
duty, till he was forced to take refuge in God alone and let his people perish,
for they would not heed his message.
Now let us look at his suffering in view of the impending doom as he sees how
surely his nation is to be destroyed (4:19-22). Hear him as he breaks forth in
bitter wailing, “O my vitals, my vitals, my heart is disquieted within
me." He beholds the doom of the people and it breaks his heart because he
loves the people, and he loves God and therefore must denounce the people for
their sins. Destruction is coming (8:18-19). After describing the inevitable
doom of the people he breaks forth thus: "Oh that I could comfort myself
against sorrow I my heart is faint within me. . . . 13 not the Lord King in
Zion?"
The question is, If the Lord be in the city then how can it be destroyed? But
he says, "The Lord is far from Zion." Then he breaks forth in that
very familiar passage, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we
are not saved." He identifies himself with the people. He feels most
deeply their doom. He then turns his thoughts to the causes of their sickness and
bursts forth, "Is there no balm in Gilead," is there no medicine for
this disease? Is there no help for this awful state of the people? "Is
there no physician there?" Why then is there no health? "Why is not
the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" Then we have another
touching expression of his grief, 9:1-2: "Oh that my head were waters, and
mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for my
people." Such an expression is to be found nowhere else in literature. For
a man to wish that his eyes were a fountain of tears, that he might shed enough
tears to wash away the sins of the people; that he might thus suffer to help
his people! Where is there a parallel to this passage? We don't know much about
suffering for people and with people, when we place ourselves in the light of
this passage. We have never gone down into the depths of anguish like that. It
is like Jesus Christ. In this passage we are reminded of Jesus as he weeps over
Jerusalem. He breaks forth again: "Oh that I had a hiding-place, that I
might hide myself from their sight." He wanted to go away that he might
get away from their wickedness. But if he had, he would have come back to weep
for the people and warn them against their sins.
His inner or spiritual conflict is described in 12:1-6. No sufferer ever
endured the mental and spiritual agony of this prophet, save Jesus himself. He
discovered that a plot had been made against him by the men of Anathoth, his
native city. They had decided to stop his preaching because he was discouraging
the people and talking like a traitor. Jeremiah heard about it. We see how the
problem arose. Here was God's prophet delivering God's message, and he was
suffering agony of heart and sore trial, while those enemies of his were living
in plenty and comfort. Why did not God punish them? Why did he have to suffer
instead of these wicked men? It is the old, old problem. It is the same problem
in the book of Job, and in Psalm 73. This problem has troubled many people
since. Why is it that the wicked suffer not and the righteous are so often
troubled, and the rich who are so wicked prosper and are happy?
Then Jehovah said, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have
wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of
peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the
swelling of the Jordan?" If you are discouraged now, if you run now, what
will you do when the real test comes? That was like a flash of common sense to
help this man out of the difficulty. He saw that his contest with these men of
Anathoth was a little thing; that it was but an introduction to what was in
store for him. The time was coming when he would have to contend with men worse
than these men of Anathoth. If you are going to get discouraged in this land of
plenty, what will you do when the swelling of the Jordan comes? The swelling of
the Jordan, or the pride of Jordan, is taken by some to refer to the rich
verdure and brush which grows upon its banks; by others, the animals which
infest these woods; by others, the floods of spring which drive out the animals
to the hills to commit their depredations. Such shall be the onslaught of the
enemy, as wild beasts ravaging the land. How will you stand that, Jeremiah?
What will you do when the real test comes, if you are ready to give up now?
That is a fine lesson for us to learn today. If we cannot stand little
difficulties what will we do when great difficulties come?
He makes another complaint, 15:10-11: "Woe is me, my mother, that thou
hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention." Then God gives him
encouragement in that he will be with him: "Cheer up, Jeremiah, for I am
going to make you triumph over all." He comes to another difficulty,
15:15, 18-19: “O Lord, remember me and avenge my sufferings. . . . Why is my
pain perpetual and my wounds refuse to be healed? . . . If thou return, then
will I bring thee again." Jeremiah, come back to your early life and then
I will help you before men. If thou wilt take forth the precious from the vile,
thou shalt be as my mouth." Now here is a great text. What a great thing
it is to learn to separate the precious from the vile. If he will come close to
God, God will stand by him. "Quit talking about yourself, and then you will
not have such difficulties."
Now we come to another great conflict in the prophet's mind (20:7-18). Take
first 20:14-18. He was cast down. He was in terrible agony, 20:14: "Cursed
be the day in which I was born." That is like Job 3. God has commanded me
to preach this awful message and then he lets these men persecute me. Oh that I
had never been born! O God, what dost thou mean by getting me into this
trouble? Thus he complains. He had thought to quit preaching. He was
discouraged: "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any
more in his name." But then he said, I cannot quit; I must preach. Now
that is a true prophet. He makes up his mind that he will not preach, but he
cannot help it. He is God's man. And as God's man he must preach. "Then
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I
cannot contain." He rises to higher ground, 20:11: “O Lord, thou art a
mighty one and my persecutors shall not prevail."
There are certain steps by which this prophet rises to the high plane which God
wants him to attain. He blames God for bringing him into the opposition of
these wicked men. Then God assures him that he will save him from his
persecutors and leads him to see that the persecution was a blessing to him. He
ends with words of praise (v. 13).
We have something of his domestic and social life in 16:1-9. The substance of
this is that he is forbidden to marry and to have a family, because of the evil
times coming upon the land. He is forbidden to build a house, to go to the
house of mourning or to the house of mirth. He is forbidden to go to the house
of pleasure, because he is a man whose mission is to warn of punishment. He is
to be himself a message of warning to the people. He is to warn by his very
life that the nation is about to be destroyed. He is not to go to the house of
pleasure because destruction is coming on the people.
Jeremiah's conflict with the false prophets is described in 23:9-40. Their
character is evil. Jeremiah speaks as if some of those prophets in Jerusalem
were living private lives of corruption. He is deeply shocked at it. "My
heart is like a drunken man. In my house I have found wickedness." These
prophets were living corrupt lives. They were hypocrites. They pretended to be
pious like the Pharisees in Jesus' time, but inwardly they were as dead men's
bones. Jeremiah was grieved. A corrupt life indicates at once a false prophet.
Jeremiah charged that their message was their own and not God's (23:16):
"They teach you vanity, they speak a vision of their own heart and not out
of the mouth of the Lord." They also preach for popularity. That is
another characteristic of the false prophet. He preaches for money. He is a man
who preaches to please the people. He speaks out of his own heart and not of
the Lord. Here is a fine lesson for us. The true preacher preaches the vision
which the Lord gives and not his own visions and dreams.
His charge respecting their attitude toward sin was that these false prophets
made light of sin and its consequences (vv. 17-18). No wonder they lived
corrupt lives themselves, for their conception of sin was low. They made sin a
little matter. They said that it would not bring such terrible consequences;
that it was really necessary to the development of character; that it was a stage
in the progress upward.
His charge concerning the counsel of God was that they stood not in God's
counsel (23:21-24): "If they had stood in my counsel they had not caused
my people to err." This statement implies that these prophets had made no
honest effort to look at the question from God's standpoint; they were not on
God's side; they had no real knowledge of God; had no experience of his power.
Such men have no true insight into the word of God.
His charge concerning their dreams and visions was that they had dreamed their
own dreams (23:25-29): "They tell their dreams for the word of the
Lord." "What is the chaff to the wheat?" asks the prophet. They
feed the people chaff. It is a fine accomplishment to be able to distinguish between
wheat and chaff in religious matters.
His charge respecting their sermons was that they stole their sermons
(23:30-32, especially, v. 30). There were true prophets in Jerusalem and the
false prophets stole their prophecies and palmed them off for their own. This
is a characteristic of a false prophet. It may be better for the people if a
preacher steals another preacher's thunder, than to feed the people chaff, but
it is not better for the preacher himself. Thus we observe that one of
Jeremiah's bitterest conflicts was with the false prophets. They were a thorn
in his side, a continual source of annoyance, and a powerful factor in the
downfall of the nation.
He charges that they were users of cant-phrases (23: 33-40). An experience
common to the prophet was, "The burden of the Lord." The false
prophets made use of this phrase to give authority to their utterances, to such
an extent that it became a mere "cant-phrase," meaningless and empty.
The prophet declared that this phrase should be no longer used 23:36:
"Every man's own word shall be his burden." People shall no longer
ask, "What is the burden of the Lord," but, "What hath Jehovah
answered thee?" Or, "What hath Jehovah spoken?" Those that use
this phrase, "The burden of the Lord," shall be cast off, and an
everlasting reproach and perpetual shame shall be brought upon them (23:40).
QUESTIONS
1. What the theme of this
study, and what, in general, does it embrace?
2. What of Jeremiah's call
and commission (1:4-19) and what the application, to modern preachers?
3. How did Jeremiah receive
this call and commission, and how did the Lord deal with him?
4. How did the Lord assure
him and what the visions and their interpretation?
5. What his specific
commission and what assurance did the Lord give him here?
6. What, in general, his
inner sufferings and what the cause?
7. How does the prophet
express his inner sufferings for his people?
8. What the spiritual
conflict in Jeremiah and what the problem arising in connection with it?
9. What his further
complaint and what the Lord's reply?
10. What the depressing
effect of the inner conflict upon the prophet and what his final conclusion?
11. Show the process by
which the prophet attained the right attitude.
12. Describe his domestic
and social life (16:1-9).
13. In his conflict with the
false prophets what his charge as to their character (23:9-40)?
14. What his charge
respecting their message?
15. What his charge
respecting their attitude toward sin?
16. What his charge
concerning the counsel of God and what does it imply?
17. What his charge
concerning their dreams and visions?
18. What his charge
respecting their sermons?
19. What the charge
respecting cant-phrases?
THE IMPEACHMENT, CALL, AND JUDGMENT
Jeremiah 2-6
This chapter is a discussion of the prophecies of Jeremiah during the reign of
Josiah, chapters 2-6. They are abstracts from Jeremiah's sermons, preached
sometime between 626 B.C. and 608 B.C., eighteen years of his public ministry.
Here we have the essential points of his discourses for that time, the best
parts of the prophecies which he had uttered during that long period. Josiah
was one of the best kings that Israel ever had. There are no sins recorded
against him. The most complete reformation ever enacted in the nation was wrought
under his direction. But it was an external reformation. It is true that he
destroyed all the idols, all the high places and stopped the idolatrous worship
throughout the entire realm, but he did not change the hearts of the people.
"The serpent of idolatry was scorched but not killed." The renovation
was not deep enough; it was a reformation only.
We cannot enforce religion by statutory law, legal authority, or royal mandate.
It is a matter of the heart. During those years and following, the prophet
Jeremiah was at work. His keen prophetic and penetrating mind was able to see
deeper than Josiah. He perceived that the reformation and the revolution were
external. He knew that many of the people, in fact, most of them, had never
really repented. He knew that the nation was still inclined to idolatry, and
ready to lapse into heathen worship; yea, he knew that as soon as the pressure
was removed, the nation would fall back into the old life of wickedness and
idol worship.
Now, the subject matter of these five chapters is this: Israel's history one
long apostasy which would bring on her inevitable destruction. For eighteen
years Jeremiah sought to drill that into the people's minds and hearts and
produce the needed reformation which alone could save. Let us see how he went
to work; how he brought this truth before them; how he appealed to them; what
arguments he used; what threats he uttered against them, if possible to turn
them from idolatry and bring them back to the true worship of Jehovah.
The subject of chapter 2 is this: Israel's history a continual defection to
idolatry. He is dealing with all Israel. He makes no distinction between
Northern and Southern Israel. He is talking here to the whole race. He reviews
their history, that is, their religious history and their present condition.
He has a very beautiful statement here in Jeremiah 2:1-3, picturing the former
fulness of Israel. He says, "The word of Jehovah came unto me saying, Go,
and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for
thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest
after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness
unto Jehovah." Thus he introduces his arraignment with this reference to
their former fidelity. Israel started out faithful and true. Hosea pictures her
as a faithful bride. She was faithful and true at first. Israel was true to
God, and God was true to Israel. Now that is the same picture here and it may
be that he got it from Hosea. The relation between the nation and God was
fidelity and love. It was the "honeymoon" of the nation's life. That
is how she started.
Since then Israel's history has been one of repeated acts of unfaithfulness to
her God. The prophet seeks to drive it home to their very hearts by a series of
questions. We have this question in 2:4-8: "What unrighteousness have your
fathers found in me, that they have gone from me?" Was it because they had
found unrighteousness in God? Had they found Jehovah untrue? Had they discovered
unfaithfulness in him? We might ask the backslider today, "Is it because
there is something wrong with God that you turn from him?" There is a
great sermon in that. He shows next that the leaders turned from him: "I
brought you up into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof." I was
kind to you; I gave you no occasion to turn from me; I never forsook you and
left you in need; I cared for you. Still you and your leaders turned from me.
"I brought you up into a land of plenty, to eat the fruit thereof; but
when ye entered ye defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. . . .
They that handle the law knew me not; the rulers also transgressed against me,
and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not
profit."
A serious question is raised in 2:9-13: Has any other nation changed gods but
you? "Pass over to the isles of Kittim and see; send unto Kedar, and
consider diligently; and see if there hath been found such a thing."
Kittim here refers to the island of Cyprus and the isles of Greece. Go there
and see if they have ever changed their gods. Has it ever been done in the
world except as you have done it? Hath a nation changed its gods? "But my
people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit." Do you
know of any nation in history that has ever done such a thing? These Hebrews
had changed their God? Why had they done so? What reason could they give?
Jeremiah says, You Israelites have changed to other gods, and in that you are
an exception to the nations of the earth. The strange thing about it, too, is
that you have changed from your true God to those that are not gods. "My
people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no
water." Here we have for the first time in the history of religion, a
statement that the idols of the nations are not gods. Verse 13 is one of the
most beautiful passages in all the Bible. God is a fountain of living waters.
That sounds like the words of Jesus to the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well.
Idolatry is pictured as cisterns that are broken; that cannot hold water. He
means to say that every other form of religion but the worship of Jehovah is a
false religion; there is no saving truth in it; it is dry; it will not hold
water; it is man made. That is a true description of all false religions. Some
scientists and men who study religions deny this; they say that there is a
certain amount of truth in other religions as well as in Christianity. Well, so
there is some truth in every one, but not saving truth. All other religions are
man-made cisterns that will not hold water. This is one of the most suggestive
texts in all the Bible, as to the comparative value of the religion of Jehovah
and other religions; as to the value of Christianity as compared with heathen
religions.
He says, in 2:14-17: "Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave?"
Is he such that he must become a prey? "The young lions have roared upon
him, and yelled." Now it is only the slave in the household that is
whipped to make him do his duty. Is that the case with Israel? Must he be
whipped like a slave to compel him to do his duty? to obey Jehovah? Other
nations have whipped him, they have chastised him, "They have broken the
crown of his head." Was Israel but a slave to be thus whipped and beaten?
Is there no manhood in the nation? What a powerful appeal to national pride and
honor is this? He raises another question in verses 18-19: "Now what hast
thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what hast
thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?" What
business have you turning from Jehovah to make alliances and seek help from
Egypt? What business have you to be turning to Assyria for aid? We have seen
that one of the causes of the destruction of both the Northern and the Southern
Kingdoms was that they made alliances with Egypt rather than trust in Jehovah.
It was an evil thing that they should turn from Jehovah to seek aid from human
strength.
Other questions are raised in 2:20-25. He says, 2:21-22: "I planted thee a
noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate
branches of a foreign vine?" That reminds one of Isaiah 5. Here he is
saying that they were bad to the heart: "Though thou wash thee with soap,
with lye, yet is thine iniquity marked," or ingrained, "before
me." In verses 23-25 we see Israel trying to condone her sin. She has
tried to make out that she has not done wickedly. Now can you say you have not
been faithless? You are like the wild ass in the wilderness, snuffing up the
wind in her desire – who can turn her away? They, like an animal, were running
hither and thither, wild with passion, raving with desire for other gods,
crazed with eagerness for idolatry. It is not a very elegant figure, but a
highly suggestive one.
Then the question of 2:26-28 is, Why don't you go to your idols in the time of
trouble? As a thief is ashamed when found out, so is the house of Israel;
priests, princes, and king, that say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a
stone, Thou art my mother. Now why do you come to me in trouble? Why don't you
let your gods help you? This passage tingles with sarcasm. It is a very
striking arraignment, showing the helplessness of heathenism.
In 2:22 he presents the impossibility of improving the internal nature by
external applications. This is true because:
1. Of the nature of the operation. Wash and paint are applied only to the
external.
2. They do not affect the diseased will.
3. They do not free one from fascinating and enslaving pleasure.
4. They do not affect a morbid appetite which increases with indulgence.
5. They have no power to break habit.
6. They cannot remove the blindness of the understanding.
7. They cannot purify a drugged conscience.
If this be true then why should we preach? Because:
1. There is a law that condemns and a gospel that liberates from the bondage of
the law;
2. The only hope of a change lies in driving one from the conviction that he
can change himself.
The following poem contains the whole story: O Endless Misery I labor still, but still in
vain; The stains of sin I see Are woaded all, or dyed in grain, There's not a
blot will stir a jot, For all that I can do; There is no hope in fuller's soap
Though I add nitre, too. I many ways have tried; Have often soaked it in cold
fears; And when a time I spied, Poured upon it scalding tears; Have rinsed and
rubbed and scraped and scrubbed And turned it up and down; Yet can I not wash out
one spot; It's rather fouler grown. Can there no help be had? Lord, thou art
holy, thou art pure: Mine heart is not so bad, So foul, but thou canst cleanse
it sure; Speak, blessed Lord; wilt thou afford Me means to make it clean? I
know thou wilt; thy blood was spilt; Should it run still in vain?
A sinner released from hell would repeat his sins.
There are yet other questions propounded in 2:29-37: Why do you plead with me
when all the while you transgress against me? I have smitten you; I have smitten
your children but they are incorrigible; they will not be corrected. You have
killed the prophets that were sent unto you. Why then will you still plead with
me? Why do you have anything to do with me? Go after those gods that you have
made for yourselves.
Verse 31: “O generation . . . have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land
of thick darkness?" Now that is a question full of suggestion. You have
turned away from me. Is it because my religion and my services have been like
living in a wilderness where there is no light, no love, no joy, no food? Have
I never been a blessing? Is that the reason you have left me? How suggestive!
Many people think the services of God are like a wilderness. O Backslider, have
God and his services been as a wilderness to you, that you have strayed away?
You have not been a faithful bride. "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or
a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. How
trimmest thou thy way to seek love!" Just like a married woman fixing up
to make love to a man that is not her husband. See her as she adorns herself to
look attractive that she may win favor of strange men. Now that is the picture
here. "Why gaddest thou about?" This is the only place in the Bible
where that word, "gad," occurs.
Jehovah shows his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (3:1-5).
Though Judah has been faithless, there is a prospect of a better future for
her: If a man put away his wife, can she return to him? No, "Yet return
again to me, saith Jehovah." I will take you back in spite of all. See
what you have been doing; you have been like a watcher in the wilderness,
watching for false gods and religions to come along – that you might adopt
them. They have betrayed you. "Wilt thou not now cry unto me, My father,
thou art the guide of my youth?"
A special lesson by Jehovah is given to Judah (3:6-18). This is a contrast,
unfavorable to Judah (6-10). Judah had taken no warning from the downfall of
the Northern Kingdom. Notice especially 3:10: "And yet for all this her
treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but
feignedly, saith Jehovah." Now that gives us some idea of the opinion of
Jeremiah in relation to Josiah, the great king, in his work of reform. Josiah had
touched only the outside of the matter. Judah was no better than Northern
Israel, but rather worse. Her improvement was only feigned.
Note the comparison in verses 11-13. The promise was to Northern Israel first.
In that promise was blessing on condition of return. Verse 12: "Go, and
proclaim these words toward the north. . . . I will not look in anger upon you;
for I am merciful, saith Jehovah." These blessings are going to come when
Judah repents, 3:18: "In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the
house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to
the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers." Observe that
the blessing is to come when Judah and Israel walk together; when they are
united again. By that statement he shows that Northern Israel was not more
steeped in iniquity than Southern Israel. The Messiah's advent is coming and
Judah will come in with Israel.
Jehovah holds out hope of Judah in 3:19-22: "But I said, How I will put
thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land. . . . Ye shall call me
My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. Surely as a wife
treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with
me, saith the Lord. . . . Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your
backslidings."
The prophet bases his hope for Israel on the fact that the perverted nation
shall confess its sin verses 23-25, especially verse 24: "The shameful
thing [the thing ye have been worshiping, Baal] hath devoured the labor of our
fathers. . . . for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our
fathers." Now that is a great confession. The prophet presumes to speak
for the people by way of prediction that they will do this someday. He still
has hope for Israel.
Jehovah makes a proposition to Israel in 4:1-4, that he will bless them if they
will return: "If thou wilt return to me, and if thou wilt put away thine
abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed." But the
change must be thorough (3-4) a very suggestive passage: "Thus saith
Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground."
Finney, in his great book on revivals, has several sermons on this text. He
says that every revival of religion ought to begin with preaching on this text.
The fallow ground must be broken up. "Fallow ground" stands for two
things: First, undeveloped possibilities; and, second, unused powers. The
ground must be both broken up and sown with right kind of seed. "Sow not
among thorns." Every revival of religion has that object in view. Put the
weeds and briers out and put the unused talents and powers to work. Sow the
seed of righteousness and benevolence where the weeds of sin and waywardness
have been. If we are going to be Christians, let us be wholehearted ones. Break
up the fallow ground by putting sin out and service in. All this means that the
change must be complete.
The following is a digest of the coming judgment of 4:5 to 6:30. In this
description of the coming judgment he pictures it as advancing from the North.
He had in mind the coming Babylonian invasion. Note these items:
1. They are told to get themselves to the fortified cities, 4:5-10: "Blow
ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us
go into the fortified cities. . . . flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring
evil from the north."
2. It is coming even to Jerusalem herself (vv. 11-18). Jeremiah now speaks of
the invasion as a hot, withering blast from the desert. He sees the foe coming
as a swift cloud; the watchers are at hand; he hears the snorting of their
horses; he sees them enclose the cities.
3. The anguish of the prophet. Here we have the suffering of this magnificent
patriot, verse 19: "My vitals, my vitals!"
4. The devastation is pictured verses 23-26: "The earth was waste and
void." The same expression is used in Genesis (1:2). The heavens had no
light. The mountains trembled, the cities were broken down. The whole land was
devastated. All this is a vision of the destruction to come.
5. The destruction is almost complete (vv. 27-31). Notice verse 27: "I
will not make a full end." There is a remnant to be left, the root, the
stock, not the entire people. It is not to be utter destruction.
6. This is merited, for all are corrupt (5:1-9). Here is a striking statement:
"Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if you can find
a man, if there be any that doeth justly." He means to say, You cannot
find a true man in the whole city. There was not one manly man in Jerusalem.
This reminds us of Diogenes, going through the streets of Athens with a lantern
looking for a man. In Sodom there were not to be found ten righteous men, only
one, and he was a poor specimen. So it is here in Jerusalem. All are corrupt.
Verse 5: "I will get me unto the great men," the leaders. But he
finds that they were corrupt, too.
7. Verses 10-19 is a picture of the disaster. They are not to make a full end,
but disaster is to come, 5:16-17: "Their quiver is an open sepulchre, . .
. they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy
daughters should eat; . . . they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they
shall beat down thy city." But remember they shall not make a full end. There
shall be a remnant. The cause of all this is the corruption of the people (vv. 20-29).
Both people and prophets are evil. He repeats these warnings and messages over
and over again. He describes the moral condition of the people. A wonderful and
horrible thing is come to pass in the land, 5:30-31: "The prophets
prophesy falsely." The preachers are deceiving the people. And the worst
thing about it is that the people like to have it so.
8. The foe is still nearer. The capital is invested and must be prepared, for
the enemy plans to storm it; another vivid picture, 6:1-8: "Flee for
safety, ye men of Jerusalem." Flee to Tekoa, flee to the wilderness, for
evil is coming from the north. A great destruction is coming. Thus he goes on
with his awful picture of the destruction hastening upon the city. The enemy
says, We will take it by storm, at full noon; no, it is past noon; the shadows
begin to decline; let us go up at night; let us take it by a night attack.
9. The doom is certain and fixed (vv. 9-21). Note verse 14: "They have
slightly healed the hurt of my people, saying, Peace, peace; where there is no
peace." We are indebted to Jeremiah for that oft-quoted sentence. It is
classic. Spurgeon preached a great sermon on that passage. His theme was a
blast against false peace. Verse 16: "Stand ye in the way and see, and ask
for the old paths." There has been many a sermon preached from that text,
on the subject, "The Old Paths."
10. In 22-26 is a full description of the enemy. Note the minuteness of it,
verse 23: "They have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; they ride
upon horses; they are against the daughter of Zion."
11. There is another picture of the nation. In 6:28-30: "They are as
grievous revolters." "Going about with slanders, they are brass and
iron. . . . They are refuse silver, fit only to be thrown out in the street. As
silver amalgamates with other metals and loses its value, so these people by
amalgamated religion become refuse to be tossed aside into the dump pile of
rubbish. This is a magnificent passage. It sums up what Jeremiah preached and
taught for eighteen years.
QUESTIONS
1. When were these
prophecies uttered and what the conditions under which they were spoken?
2. What the subject matter
of these chapters and what the general content?
3. What the subject of
chapter 2 and to whom addressed?
4. What the picture of
Jeremiah 2:1-3?
5. What, in general,
Israel's history after the first love, what question raised in 2:4-8, and what
the charge here brought against the leaders?
6. What question is raised
in 2:9-13, what two sins charged against Israel and how illustrated?
7. What the questions of
2:14-19 and what their application?
8. What the other questions
raised in 2:20-25, and what the application of each, respectively?
9. What the question of
2:26-28 and what its application?
10. What the import of 2:22?
11. If this be true, then
why should we preach?
12. Can you recite from.
memory the poem based on Jeremiah 2:22?
13. What the questions
propounded in 2:29-37 and what their application?
14. How does Jehovah show
his love and faithfulness to Israel in spite of her sins (3:1-5)?
15. What special lesson by
Jehovah is given to Judah and what the result?
16. What hope does Jehovah
hold out to Judah in 3:19-22?
17. On what does the prophet
base his hope for Israel and how is it signified?
18. What proposition does
Jehovah make to Israel in 4:1-4 and of what homiletic value is this section?
19. Give a digest of the
coming judgment of 4:5 to 6:30.
SERMONS ON THE TEMPLE WORSHIP
Jeremiah 7-10; 26
These events occurred in the earliest half of the reign of Jehoiakim, about 607
or 606 B.C. Though the nation was going back to idolatry, the Temple ceremonies
and sacrifices were carried on with great zeal and elaborateness. The people
seemed to put their trust in the Temple rather than in God who dwelt therein.
They believed that the sacrifices themselves availed much, and that their
salvation was secure, if they performed these services. The relation of their
conduct to their worship did not seem to trouble them. Jeremiah heard God's
call to preach to them in the very Temple itself, to preach to the multitude of
worshipers that thronged these courts. He seized upon the occasion of a great
feast, when the multitude was the greatest and addressed the throng on the
necessity of a better life with their worship. Jeremiah was in the Temple that
is called the house of Jehovah. There was unquestionably a large concourse of
people gathered together. Some suggest that the purpose of that assembly may
have been to consider means of defense in the face of impending disaster upon
the nation. It may have occurred sometime when Jehoiakim had been compelled to
pay tribute to a foreign king.
Jeremiah speaks to the people a message of warning: "Amend your ways and
your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place." Then he gives
them some very suggestive advice, some very earnest words of warning:
"Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of
Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah." That is very suggestive. It is a warning
to people who are trusting in the external, the ceremonial and the ritual; that
these avail nothing where the spirit and the heart are lacking. They believed,
because they had the Temple of Jehovah and kept up its ceremonies, that it
would stand for ever and that God would protect them for the Temple's sake.
Jeremiah prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed. Less than twenty years
afterward these words of the prophet were fulfilled. The Temple was destroyed.
But these people said, "It is impossible that this temple should be
destroyed, for it is the temple of Jehovah." They were saying, "The
temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah!" This is
a blow against all heathen religions, and also the Roman Catholic religion. The
people were trusting in the ceremonies and externals: "The temple of
Jehovah! The temple of Jehovah! The temple of Jehovah!" The prophet
demanded that they change their life; that they turn from their wickedness,
else the Temple would be no good to them.
The prophet here charged them with all kinds of sin: with falsehood, with
lying, with deceit, with murder, and with idolatry of various kinds. They were
like the Negro woman who was accused of a certain sin and when asked, "How
can you do that?" she replied: "Well, I never lets that interfere
with my religion." These people divorced morals and religion. They never
let their religion interfere with their conduct. Furthermore, the prophet
charged them with making their beautiful Temple, in which they were trusting, a
"den of robbers." That is the same condition that Jesus found about
600 years later. He said, "Ye have made my Father's house a den of
thieves." The people were saying, "It is impossible for the Temple to
be destroyed; God will defend his house." But the prophet reminds them
that God did destroy his house: Remember the days of Eli and his sons, and
Samuel yonder at Shiloh; that God destroyed Shiloh where the tabernacle was
then. This is the only direct reference we have to the destruction of Shiloh.
The ark of the covenant was captured, and the tabernacle is heard of later as
stationed at Gibeon and later on was stored in the Temple. God destroyed their
dwelling place at Shiloh and he can destroy it in Jerusalem. That is the lesson
here.
The result of that sermon is recorded in Jeremiah 26. In that chapter Jeremiah
or Baruch writes down what the prophet had said, not the same words exactly but
the substance of it. The priests and the prophets and all the people heard
Jeremiah speak these words in the house of Jehovah. Then they, the
ecclesiastical leaders, began a persecution. They were the parties that were
directly concerned, because they administered the Temple worship and services,
and if the Temple were to be destroyed, they would be out of work, and thus
they took offense at the words of Jeremiah. They did not enjoy his going around
and threatening the destruction of their church house and thus put them out of
business.
Now, it was the same in the days of Christ. It was the ecclesiastical leaders
who began the persecution against him. It was the chief priests, the scribes
and the rabbis that were aroused because he rebuked them for burying the law
under their traditions. So it was here. These priests and prophets (false
prophets) were enraged at this kind of preaching and they laid hold of Jeremiah
and said, "Thou shalt surely die." The persecution of Stephen is a
parallel case. They attempted to prove against Stephen the charge that he had
spoken against the Temple; that he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses
and against "This holy place." The Sanhedrin asked him, "Are
these things so?" He admitted the statement and that was sufficient charge
in their minds. But he went on to prove to them that God might be worshiped
without a Temple; that he had been worshiped in many places besides Jerusalem.
That was adding crime to crime, and so they killed him.
Jeremiah was in the hands of the priests and prophets, and was in imminent danger.
They were about to kill him, but there was another class of men, not there at
the time, but they heard of it. These were the princes of Judah who heard the
confusion, hurried from the king's house to the house of Jehovah, and heard
these priests and prophets about their charges against Jeremiah, saying that he
was worthy of death. Jeremiah made his defense (v. 12). His defense was that
Jehovah sent him to prophesy. He says that God commanded him to say to them
that they must amend their ways. Then he went on to say that he had told them
the truth and that he was in their hands; that they could do with him as they
would, "Only know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, ye will
bring innocent blood upon this city and upon yourselves and the inhabitants of
the land, for God hath sent me to say these things to you." Jeremiah did
not take back a word.
There is no doubt that if it had not been for the princes and the people who
were on his side he would have immediately been put to death. Certain elders of
the land rose up and spake to the people. They said, "No, don't be rash.
You remember that Micah, the prophet, prophesied that Zion should be destroyed,
and although he prophesied thus, Hezekiah, the king, and the people did not put
him to death." These men remind us of Gamaliel. Then they tell the story
of another occasion. He did not fare so well as Micah. There was a different
king upon the throne. Jehoiakim was now at the helm. He it was who with wicked
hands took the prophecy of Jeremiah, God's holy message, and cut it to pieces
and burned it. He did not stop till he put the prophet, Uriah, to death. He
fled to Egypt but the king brought him back and executed him.
The outcome of this was that Jeremiah was saved. He eacaped these enraged
priests and prophets through the influence of the princes. They were men of
influence and power, and they took his part in the face of his enemies. He had
a particular among the princes, Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, who was chiefly
instrumental in rescuing him. Intercession for this people is now useless,
7:16: "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor
prayer for them, neither make intercession to me." Jeremiah could not save
Judah and Jerusalem. No man could do it. Not even Jesus Christ could save the
wicked land and city in his day. Savonarola could not save Florence. So the day
of opportunity had passed for Jerusalem.
Their idolatry is described in 7:17-20: "Seest thou not what they do in
the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?" This was in the
reign of Jehoiakim. It could not have occurred in the reign of Josiah.
"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women
knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven," probably Ashtoreth.
They made cakes doubtless in the shape of that queen, as we, in our childhood,
made cakes in the shape of men. So they made their cakes in honor of their
heathen goddess. Verses 19-20 show the result of such conduct.
The import of 7:21-26 is that the basis of the law is obedience, not ceremony.
In verse 21 is a touch of sarcasm: "Add your burnt offerings." This
is like Isaiah and Amos, who exhort the people to increase their religious
efforts that were but dead forms. Amos says, "Come to Gilgal and transgress."
Verse 22 says, "I spake not unto your fathers, when I brought them out of
Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices: this is the thing that I
commanded them saying, Hearken unto my voice." Now, the critics take that
as one of their strong points. They maintain that it plainly says that
ceremonial legislation of the Pentateuch was not given by Moses but that it was
written later. They refer to this with great boldness saying, "Does not
Jeremiah, the prophet, plainly say that God did not speak unto Moses or the
fathers concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices down in Egypt or in the
wilderness?" When Israel came out of Egypt, the nature of the covenant
made between God and Israel was as follows: "If ye will obey my voice and
keep my covenant, then indeed ye shall be mine own possession from among the
peoples, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation"
(Ex. 19:5-6). And we are told in verse 8 that the people promised, saying,
"All the words of Jehovah we will do." Now, the basis of that covenant
on the part of Israel was obedience. The basis on God's part was grace.
"If ye will obey my voice," is an expression of grace, an overture
that is not deserved. It is free and voluntary on God's part. "If ye will
do what I tell you, I will be to you all that is needed." The people said,
"We will obey the covenant."
So it was made, and Jeremiah was right when he said, "I spake not to your
fathers in the wilderness concerning sacrifices and burnt offerings, but this I
said, Obey my voice." The Ten Commandments were given as a standard of
obedience and faith. They showed the people wherein they might obey God's
voice. The condition is there laid down and their acceptance implies faith and
love on their part. That is the foundation principle of Christianity itself. In
this passage it is clear that Jeremiah makes a great contrast between ceremony
and obedience.
Jeremiah (7:27-28) goes on to describe the unbroken disobedience of the people.
They had continued in disobedience ever since they had been in the land of
Canaan. Next we have the lament of Jeremiah over the destruction, 29-34:
"Cut off thy hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a
lamentation. The people have set their abominations in the house that is called
by my name. They have burned their sons and their daughters in the fire,
therefore behold the days shall come that it shall no more be called the valley
of Topheth, nor the valley of Himom, but the valley of slaughter. The dead
bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the
beasts of the earth. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah and
from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and gladness, the bridegroom
and the bride, for the land shall become a waste."
In 8:1-3 Jeremiah shows that these barbarians who were coming, were going to be
so ruthless that they would not stop with the killing of the living, but they
would break open the graves of the kings of Judah, the princes, the mighty men
and the prophets and would tear their bodies out of their graves and desecrate
them. Now, that was the highest indignity on an Oriental, for the grave of his
dead is sacred. Yet these barbarians would go even to that extremity.
In 8:4-9 the prophet again exposes the wickedness of the people and points to
the exile that is not to be averted. Many similar passages we have already
examined. There are repetitions in Jeremiah. They would not repent and obey the
word of the Lord, therefore this punishment is coming. "How do ye say, We
are wise, and the Law of Jehovah is with us?" "Our scribes have been
reading the Law until they have mastered it." That is just what they did
in the days of Jesus. They had covered up the commandments of the Law by their
traditions. They had added many things, too. In verse 12 he asks, "Were
they ashamed when they had committed abominations? Nay, they were not
ashamed." Then Jeremiah described the enemy approaching: "The
snorting of the horses is at the gate," and so he goes on with his
description of the foe coming upon the land. In 18:22 we have that lament which
we have already studied before: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved." "Oh, that my head were a fountain of water
that I might weep rivers of tears!"
We have a graphic picture in 9:3-9: "They bend their tongues as a bow is
bent." A bow is made to bend. That is the purpose for which it is made.
The idea is that they use their tongues as if they were made for lying. They
speak falsehood as if that was the main use of the tongue. The people are so corrupt
that they lie as if that were the normal way of speaking.
The picture of 9:10-16 is a picture of the impending devastation. Note the
language of the prophet in 9:11, 13, 16: "And I will make Jerusalem heaps,
and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an
inhabitant . . . And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I
set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; . . . I
will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers
have known; and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed
them." The call of 9:17-22 is a call for the female mourners. They are
called upon to mourn and lament because of the destruction: "Call for the
mourning women that they may come, and for the skillful women. Let them take up
a wailing for us." There was soon an occasion for it.
The contrast of 9:23-24 is a contrast between true and false glorying. Here is
a marvelous text and a great subject: "Let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man
glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath
understanding, and knoweth me." What is he to glory in? Not in human power
and worth but in the knowledge of Jehovah who is powerful and loving. That is
like the apostle Paul who said, "God forbid that I should glory save in
the cross of Christ." There was no cross of Christ in Jeremiah's time, but
the idea is much the same. The knowledge of God, such a God as Jehovah, is the
summum bonum of life, the highest object of human glorying.
The prophecy of 9:25-26 is a prophecy of the punishment of the nations. Some of
the heathen nations were to be punished with Judah, and the prophecy of 10:1-16
is a prophecy concerning idols, a distinct prophecy. It is a description of the
idols of the heathen nations, a magnificent portrayal of the vanity of heathen
worship, in contrast with the glorious worship of Jehovah. The critics claim
that this passage was not written by Jeremiah, but long after him. It is very
much like Isaiah 40-44, and they claim that it was not written till after those
chapters were written, between 400 and 200 B.C. Now, that is a mere guess.
Isaiah wrote chapters 40-44 and Jeremiah wrote this later. He was probably
writing to the exiles. Though God's people were in Babylon, Jeremiah addressed
this passage to them to exhort them to remain faithful to Jehovah in the midst
of heathen worship.
Now, it is significant that verse 11 is in Aramaic, not Hebrew. There are many
explanations by critics and scholars of this phenomenon. Some say that it is a
corruption of the text. Others that it is a marginal note crept into the text.
Others say that it is an instruction given to the exiles in Babylon, which is
highly probable. They spoke Aramaic and not Hebrew. So this passage would
enable them to have a ready argument to meet the advocates of idol worship. In
the Aramaic the people would understand it, and could readily use it in
argument for their own worship.
We have a prophetic picture in 10:17-25. In this section he pictures the coming
exiles. The people are bidden to gather together their wares and belongings,
and prepare to go into exile. There was a time when their punishment might have
been averted but it is too late now. The hour has come, the shepherds are
worthless, the foe approaches from the North. Their heathen neighbors who have
done great evil against the nation of Israel shall be punished. The prophet
asks Jehovah to pour out his wrath upon them.
QUESTIONS
1. What the date and
occasion of these prophecies?
2. What warning did Jeremiah
here announce, and what remedy did he prescribe?
3. What charge did the
prophet prefer against them, what example in their history did he cite and what
it-s lesson?
4. What the result of this
sermon as recorded in Jeremiah 26 and what the final outcome? Discuss fully.
5. How is the doom of
Jerusalem indicated in 7:16 and what other similar cases?
6. How is their idolatry
described in 7:17-20 and what the result?
7. What the import of
7:21-26, what the critics' contention with respect to it, and what the reply?
8. How is their disobedience
described in 7:27-28, what the lamentation of Jeremiah and what the prophecy
here of their doom?
9. What great indignity here
prophesied against the people of Judah and Jerusalem?
10. What the prophet's
message, warning and lamentation in 8:4 to 9:2?
11. What the picture of
9:3-9?
12. What the picture of
9:10-16?
13. What the call of
9:17-22?
14. What the contrast of
9:23-24?
15. What the prophecy of
9:25-26?
16. What the prophecy of
10:1-16, what say the entice of this passage and what the reply?
17. What the prophetic
picture in 10:17-25?
THE BROKEN COVENANT OF JUDAH AND GOD'S
DECREE TO PUNISH
Jeremiah 11-17
These prophecies were doubtless uttered during the reign of Jehoiakim, sometime
between 608 and 603 B.C. They were written first by Baruch, as dictated by
Jeremiah in 604 B.C., but cut to pieces and burned by Jehoiakim and then
rewritten 603 B.C. They are also a report of Jeremiah's preaching during the
reign of this king, Jehoiakim.
The first two chapters (11-12) deal with the broken covenant; chapter 13, with
the rotten girdle and the lessons drawn from it; the chapters 14-15 set forth
the prophecies relating to the drought that came upon the country at that time;
chapter 16 gives the story of Jeremiah's personal life and the lessons to be
derived from it; chapter 17 deals with the impending evils that are threatened
upon Jerusalem and exhorts them to keep the sabbath. This is the general
outline of these chapters.
The occasion for the utterance of the prophecies of chapters 11-12 was a lapse
of the people from the reformation under Josiah into the sins under Jehoiakim.
Under that wicked king they broke the covenant that they made with good King
Josiah, and lapsed into idolatry again. In the opening words of chapter II the
prophet pleads with them to remember their covenant and to suffer no
backsliding. That was the real occasion. There had been a great reformation
under Josiah; they had broken their covenant in going back into idolatry and
the prophet pleads with them to remember their covenant so recently made. We
know that Jeremiah helped Josiah and we also know that he preached during the
reign of Jehoiakim.
He says, "The word of Jehovah came unto me saying, Hear ye the words of
this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; and say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel:
Cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant, which I
commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of
Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according
to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your
God."
We find almost these identical words in Deuteronomy 27:16-26.
Jeremiah receives those words from the Lord and, like a true Israelite, he
replies, 11:5, "Amen, O Jehovah." That expression reminds us of the
scene that was enacted soon after Israel entered Palestine when the nation was
gathered together and the law was read, the blessings and curses, and the
people all answered each time, "Amen." Over and over again this is
repeated. Here he hears the words of the covenant as uttered to him by Jehovah,
and he answers, "Amen." He answered for the people of Judah and
Jerusalem, that is, he answered, "Amen," and he wanted them to answer
likewise. But they did not.
The charge against the people in verses 6-8 is that of a violation of the
covenant. He says, 11:6: "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah,
and the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant and do
them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought
them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and
protesting, saying, Obey my voice." In these three mighty words Jeremiah
sums up the substance of the great covenant made at Sinai: "Obey my
voice." "Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every
one in the stubbornness of their evil heart: therefore I brought upon them all
the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them
not."
The people are charged with a conspiracy against the Lord, 11:9-13: "And
the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers." This statement shows the occasion of this prophecy. The
people had had an understanding about this, and had agreed among themselves
that they would not do as Josiah had commanded them to do; they would not
worship Jehovah. Jeremiah calls that a conspiracy against God. They forsook
Jehovah and made a covenant with other gods. The breaking of one covenant means
the entering into another covenant with other gods.
The doom of the nation is indicated in the fact that Jeremiah is forbidden to
pray for them 11:14: "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither
lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they
cry unto me because of their trouble." The nation is doomed. We have here
a full description of the doom that is to come upon this nation, the details of
which we need to study very carefully. Verse 15 presents a great difficulty for
the textual critics. There are three ways it may be rendered: "What hath
my beloved to do in my house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness?" The
Septuagint renders this as in the margin: "Why hath my beloved wrought
abominations in my house? Shall vows and holy flesh take away from thee thy
wickedness, or shalt thou escape by these?" Ball, in the "Expositor's
Bible" renders it, "What hast my beloved to do in mine house? Shall
her many altars and holy flesh take away her sin from her?" The text, as
we have it, is obscure. We will pass it with the reminder that the general
subject of the section is that the nation is doomed and woes are pronounced
against her; that Judah cannot be saved by her formal religion.
The result was a plot against Jeremiah, who was commanded to stop prophesying
or lose his life. This was the first crisis in Jeremiah's life. He returned
from Jerusalem to Anathoth and found that there was a conspiracy, a plot
against him among his own friends. He must stop preaching or lose his life.
This is how he puts it, 11:18-20: "And Jehovah gave me knowledge of it,
and I knew it: then thou showedst me their doings. But I was like a gentle lamb
that is led to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices
against me." That expression reminds us of Jesus' words when he was
plotted against and killed. He means to say, "I was Just doing my duty; I
knew not that they were plotting against me; I knew not that they devised
devices against me." This is what they devised, saying, "Let us destroy
the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the
living, that his name may be no more remembered." After that discovery the
prophet commits his case to Jehovah for vengeance. This shows that he had risen
to a high plane of abiding faith. Jeremiah says, "I shall see thy
vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause." The next three
verses (vv. 21-23) contain the record of what Jehovah said regarding the manner
in which these wicked conspirators should be punished: that their sons and
daughters should perish.
The prophet raises a question in 12:1-4 and Jehovah answers it in 12:5-6. We
studied this passage in the chapter on "The Personal Life of
Jeremiah." I will not go into details here. The occasion of this marvelous
passage was the plot against Jeremiah. He saw that these men who plotted to
destroy him were living in plenty and prospered while he suffered. So he raised
the great question as to why it is possible for the wicked to prosper and the
righteous to suffer. Then he received his answer: "If thou hast run with
the footmen, and they wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with
horses?" That means, If you are going to give up before this little
opposition that is but a trifle, what will you do when the great test and the
real crisis comes?
The captivity is described. Here the prophet pictures these evils as having
already taken place, 12:7-13: "I have forsaken my house, I have cast off
my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her
enemies. My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; . . . Is my
heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? . . . Then go and assemble all the
beasts of the field and come upon her to devour her." Then he accuses the
shepherds of destroying the vineyard: "They have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness. . . They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns."
They must perish. In this we have a bare outline of the judgment to come. This
is doubtless the substance of the sermons he preached.
Judah's evil neighbors are referred to in 12:14-17. This doubtless means Edom,
Ammon, and the enemies on the south. They harassed Judah in the time of
Jehoiakim. What about these evil neighbors? Well, he says, "I will pluck
them up from off their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah; and after
I pluck them up I will return and have compassion on them as I will have on
Judah." That reminds us of the magnificent prophecy of Isaiah: "All
the nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship; all the peoples shall flow
to Mount Zion, for the word of Jehovah shall go forth from Zion."
In 13:1-7 the prophet employs a symbolic action, and the interpretation of it
is found in 13:8-11. By a command of Jehovah he buys a beautiful girdle, a
common element of clothing in the East, and wears it for a time. Then the Lord
commands him to take it and go to the river Euphrates and hide it in the cleft
of a rock. He does so, and after many days the Lord said to him, "Go thou
to the river Euphrates and take the girdle which I commanded thee to hide
there. And I did so and went and digged up the girdle and behold it was marred
and good for nothing." Now, that was an object lesson to the people. Thus
he says, 13:11: "For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so have
I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of
Judah that they might be unto me for a people, but they would not hear."
That is a remarkable figure. The Lord chose the people of Judah and Israel as a
man chooses a girdle and wears it about him. Judah had been a girdle for
Jehovah, and he desired that they remain as a beautiful girdle forever, but
they would not.
The prophet uses another symbol, that of a bottle, 13:1214: "Every bottle
shall be filled with wine: . . . Do not we know that every bottle shall be
filled with wine? Behold I will fill all the inhabitants of this land with
drunkenness." That bottle is a symbol of drunkenness, the drunkenness that
is come upon the people. The symbol means that they shall be destroyed, as
drunken men are destroyed.
There is an exhortation in 13:15-17, a command to the queen mother in 13:18-19,
a curse announced in 13:20-27, and a great text in 13:23. In verse 13:16:
"Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before
your feet stumble upon the dark mountains," is one of the most beautiful
figures in all the Scriptures. That is like Jesus' parable of the lost sheep.
In verse 18, he speaks thus: "Say thus to the king and queen mother."
He probably refers to the wife of Josiah, whose son, Jehoiachim, sat upon the
throne. He said to the queen mother and the king, "Humble
yourselves." Then he addresses the shepherds and the princes: "Where
is the flock that I gave you, the beautiful flock?" Where is it, thou
king, and queen mother, and ye princes and prophets? Where is my beautiful
flock that I gave you to care for? Then comes that classic passage: "Can
the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do
good, that are accustomed to do evil." Thus Jeremiah reaches the
conclusion that man has to be changed before he can obey the word of God, and
he cannot change himself.
A drought is pictured in 14:1-6. A drought in that land was terrible: "Judah
mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground;
and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles send their little ones to
the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with
their vessels empty." That is a pathetic picture. We can almost see those
children in their thirst and distress.
We have the prophet's plea for the people in 14:7-9 and Jehovah's reply in
14:10-12. Here we have Jeremiah's first intercession and its answer, verses
7-17. See how he pleads in verse 7: "Work thou for thy name's sake, O
Jehovah; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee, O thou
hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be
as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside for a
night? Why shouldest thou be as a man affrighted, as a mighty man that cannot
save? Yet thou, O Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy
name; leave us not." Sinners treat God as if he were a stranger, a sojourner,
a man who is helpless to save. In verse 11: "Plead not for this
people." That is the answer to his prayer. "Pray not for this people
for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry. . . I will consume
them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." So it is
possible for people to go so far that God himself must give them up.
Jeremiah assails the priests and the prophets (14:13-22). He says (v. 13),
"The prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, nor the
famine." Then the Lord said unto him, "These prophets are) liars.
They shall perish. These people that believe them shall perish, too. There is
no hope for them." But he will not give up. He begs God to spare the city
and the people. Verse 19: "Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? . . . Why
hast thou smitten us, and is there no healing for us?" Thus he speaks for
the people out of his heart: "We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness .
. . we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy names sake; do not
disgrace the throne of thy glory." It is said of Joseph Parker, the great
preacher of London, that upon one occasion he prayed, “O Lord, do not disgrace
the throne of thy glory." Some of his stiff-backed hearers received a
distinct shock when they heard it. One Presbyterian brother said,
"Blasphemy!" but Dr. Parker was simply quoting Jeremiah. That shows
that some preachers do not know everything in the Bible. "Do not disgrace
the throne of thy glory," that is, "do not disgrace Judah and Zion,"
but he did; they were destroyed.
The impending danger is described in 15:1-9. We cannot go into detail here. It
is not necessary. Read the passage. One point, verse 9: "Her sun is gone
down while it was yet day." That is another classical expression. Note
also, verse 1: "Though Moses and Samuel plead for these people I could not
save them." Moses pleaded for the people when they broke the covenant at
Sinai. He begged God to blot him out of the book rather than destroy the
people. God did hear him and saved them. Samuel was a man of much prayer.
Samuel saved Israel by his prayers in the time of Eli. "Though these
mighty men of prayer, Moses and Samuel, were to pray to me I would not save
these people." How far can people wander away? There is a limit to God's
grace and mercy.
There are several thoughts in the paragraphs of 15:10-21. The prophet complains
again and receives a reply. We had this in the chapter on "The Life and
Character of Jeremiah," and will not go into details here. It is
sufficient to say that God answered him and maintained that the doom of the
people was inevitable. Now we have the prophet's last pleadings with God (vv.
15-21). We also studied this in the same chapter. Study carefully the text.
Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah (16:1-9). We discussed that in a
former chapter. Sufficient to say that he is commanded not to marry, not to
have a family, not to mingle with merrymakers, not to have the joys or
pleasures of social and family life. He is to be separated, a living example of
warning to the people, for destruction is coming. No Jew would refuse to marry
or have a family if there were not sufficient reasons for it.
Some questions are raised by the people in 16:10-13, viz: "Why are these
calamities to come? What are the iniquities that we have done?" The answer
is that they have forsaken Jehovah and walked after other gods.
There is a comparison in 16:14-21. The punishment of the captivity shall be
most severe and terrible, therefore their return to their own land shall be
even more wonderful than the deliverance from Egypt: "The day shall come
that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought the children of
Israel up out of the land of Egypt." That fact would sink into
insignificance in the face of the evils that were to be when Israel was
scattered, and when God would gather them again from among the nations; that
would be more wonderful than bringing them up out of the land of Egypt. The
deliverance would be great because the punishment would be so terrible.
The nature of Judah's sin and punishment is indicated in 17:1-4. Their sins are
deep and indelible and therefore their punishment is severe: "The sin of
Judah is written with a pen of iron, graven on their hearts and on the horns of
their altars." Spurgeon, in a sermon on this text, discussed how sin can
be graven into the human heart and cannot be erased by human power. It is
written with a pen of iron, written in the very soul and nature. No stronger
figure could be used to show the permanent effects of sin. As a result, punishment
is certain.
A striking contrast is found in 17:5-11. Faith in man leads to destruction;
faith in God leads to security. Verse 5: "Cursed is the man that trusteth
in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah."
In verses 7-8, we have the substance of Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man that
trusteth in Jehovah . . . he shall be as a tree planted by the waters; he shall
not fear when the heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; he shall not be
careful in the year of drought, but his tree shall continue yielding
fruit." Verse 9 is one of the profoundest descriptions of the human heart
to be found in the Scriptures. It came to Jeremiah out of his experience.
The import of 17:12-18 is that Jehovah is a sure source of strength. Few
remarks are needed on this passage. Jeremiah's faith in God shines very
brightly here. Some expressions are very rich and suggestive, such as verses
12, 13, 14, 17.
The prophecy of 17:19-27 is a prophecy concerning the keeping of the sabbath.
This was the great problem of Nehemiah. He had to meet it, and here it is in
Jeremiah's day also: "Go, stand in the gate and say unto the people, Ye
shall bear no burdens on the sabbath day." Verse 25: "Then shall
there enter into this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David,
riding in chariots and on horses, . . . The men of Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem shall remain forever," this is, if they keep the sabbath day.
Then the text shows how the nations will come upon them if they do not keep the
sabbath day: "If you will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day
and not to bear burdens and enter into the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath
day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof and it shall devour the
palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." This is one of the
most significant passages on the sabbath question in all the Bible. This
paragraph furnishes the basis for God's chastisement in the Babylonian
captivity. It is specifically stated that this captivity was the penalty for the
disregard of the sabbath law.
QUESTIONS
1. What the date of this
group of prophecies?
2. Give a general outline of
the group of chapters.
3. What the occasion of the
prophecies of Jeremiah 11-12?
4. What the reply of the
prophet to the words of Jehovah in 11:1-5 and what the application?
5. What the charge against
the people in 11 :6-8?
6. What the charge against
the people in 11:8-13 and what the
result?
7. How is the doom of the
nation indicated (11:14-17) and what the difficulties of the text?
8. What the result as it
pertained to the prophet, how did he meet it and what Jehovah's responses?
(11:18-23.)
9. What question does the
prophet raise in 12:1-4 and what Jehovah's reply in 12:5-6?
10. How is the captivity
described in 12:7-13?
11. Who Judah's "evil
neighbors" referred to in 12:14-17, what the threat against them and what
hope held out to them?
12. What the symbolic action
of 13:1-7, and what its interpretation (13:8-11)?
13. What other symbol used
by the prophet here (13:12-14) and what its interpretation?
14. What the exhortation in
13:15-17, what command to the queen mother in 13:18-19, what curse announced in
13:20-27, and what great text in 13:23?
15. Describe the drought as
pictured in 14:1-6.
16. What the prophet's plea
for the people in 14:7-9 and what Jehovah's reply in 14:10-12?
17. What Jeremiah's
complaint and Jehovah's reply in 14:13-22?
18. Describe the impending
danger (15:1-9).
19. What the thoughts in the
paragraphs of 15:10-21?
20. What the word of Jehovah
to Jeremiah in 16:1-9, and what its lesson?
21. What questions are
raised by the people in 16:10-13, and what the reply?
22. What the comparison in
16:14-21 and what great hope is therein expressed?
23. How is the nature of
Judah's sin and punishment indicated in 17:1-4?
24. What contrast in 17:5-11
and in what other scripture do we find the same thought?
25. What the import of
17:12-18, and what suggestive passages in this paragraph?
26. What the prophecy of
17:19-27 and what can you Bay of its importance?
THE LIFE OF JEREMIAH DURING THE LATTER
HALF OF THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM
Jeremiah 18-20; 22-23, 25; 35-36; 45
We have already described some of the events that occurred during the reign of
Jehoiakim and this period, but we group them together in this chapter and
discuss them more in detail. These prophecies may have been written by Baruch
at the time they were uttered or at Jeremiah's dictation. Some of them may have
been written later and one of them was doubtless written by Jeremiah himself.
They comprise the chapters given at the head of this chapter. We shall take
them up in the order there given. It is quite probable that some of these
prophecies and events occurred a little subsequent to 604 B.C., or after the
roll was written and then burned by the king. We cannot fix with any certainty
the events of Jeremiah's life in chronological order. The chapters of this book
are grouped with no regard to the order of events in the life of the prophet.
In fact, the book makes no claim whatever to be a biography.
We have here in these chapters some lessons from the potter, the prophet's
message to the kings, the princes, the priests, and the shepherds of Israel, as
well as the prophets of Judah; prophecies against the neighboring nations; the
incident of the writing and the reading of the roll of prophecy; and
admonitions to Baruch, his scribe.
We have the story of the potter in 18:1-4. Jeremiah had been preaching about
twenty years and had used, as we have seen, a great many illustrations, a great
many figures to make forceful his teachings and illustrate them, so that they
would show the workings of divine providence in Israel. One day when he was
sitting in the city meditating as to what he should say to the people, what he
should use as an illustration so that they would feel the weight of their doom
and rejection, suddenly an inspiration comes to him to go down into the lower
part of the city from where he was sitting, down into the valley, the valley
between Zion and Mount Moriah, called the Tyroean valley, or it may have been
the valley of Hinnom. So he goes down and notices a potter sitting at his work.
While he watches him, there leaps into his mind and heart a great idea, and he
draws an illustration from the potter and his works. In this he is like Jesus
who drew many of his illustrations from the common things of life and the
affairs of men about him.
Jeremiah watched the potter. He saw him place a lump of clay on his wheel and
with his deft fingers begin to mold and fashion it into a piece of pottery, and
while he is attempting to fashion it into a beautiful piece, it crumbles and
goes to pieces. It would not respond to his treatment. It was too crude for the
fine purpose he had in mind, and so it crumbled and fell. It would not adjust
itself to the ideal of the potter, and so he could not make the vase he had
intended. He did not throw it away but picked it up again and began to mold it
into another pattern not so beautiful or fine. He made this one but it was a
poorer grade, a more common piece of pottery. We find this recorded in verses
1-4.
In the application (18:5-12) Jeremiah brings before our minds one of the most
beautiful lessons, illustrating divine sovereignty and human freedom, to be
found in the Bible. The application shows the relation of the human will to the
movement of divine power. He says, verse 6, “O house of Israel, cannot I do
with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's
hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel." That is a weighty
expression; that nations are clay in God's hand, as individuals are; the world
is but a lump of clay in God's hands to be fashioned as he wills. "As the
clay is in the potter's hands, so are ye in my hand." He goes on to
explain the import of that truth: "At what instant I shall speak
concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down
and to destroy it [that was the mission of Jeremiah to the nation of Israel and
to the surrounding nations] ; if that nation, concerning which I have spoken,
turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto
them."
This brings us face to face with a great truth in human life; a great fact that
must be considered in order to understand the mysteries of divine providence.
We can apply the truth to ourselves and ought to do so. It is a statement that
in the event that a nation changes its conduct, or repents, God changes his
attitude, not that he changes his will, but that he wills to change. Repentance
in the main is a change of the will, that is, repentance in man is a change of
the mind, or will, but repentance in God is the will to change. So God changes
his attitude toward men when they repent. That is the way it is with the
potter; he wills to fashion the clay according to his plan, but when it will
not adjust itself to his ideal, then he changes his plan and fashions it as
best he may. The idea is this, if the potter cannot make the best kind of a
vessel out of the clay, he will do the next best thing. How mightily this truth
applies to individuals. He uses the materials we give him. He does the best he
can to train us as we submit to his leading. Thus, this principle, as
illustrated by the potter and his clay, applies to us in our daily lives. It is
only as we are pliable that God can work with us and through us.
In verse 10 he says, "If they do that which is evil in my sight then I
will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." Now, that
is the same idea as set forth in repenting and not doing evil. If we change, he
will, in harmony with his changelessness, change, too. He will do with us as we
do with him. Jonah said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be
destroyed." That was God's prophecy concerning that wicked city. After all
that threatening, God did not do it because they repented, and Jonah was angry
and disappointed. He wanted the city to be destroyed. The city repented, and
then God repented, too, and thus the change was in the city and in God. Here in
verse 11 he says, "Behold I frame evil against you; return every one from
his evil ways."
Then in verse 14 he draws lessons from nature. He shows how constant nature is.
He says, "Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? or
shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?" He fixes his
eyes on the snow-capped Lebanons or Hermon, and he sees that the snows are
there perpetual according to the laws of nature. That snow as it melts is the
source of the rivers of Damascus and the winding Jordan and they never dry up.
Their source is stable; it faileth not. These streams run perpetually. He says
in verse 15: "My people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to
false gods; they have been made to stumble in their ways." They are
unstable but nature is not, and God is not, and thus he describes their
defection from him.
As a result of this preaching the people begin to devise plans for taking
Jeremiah (18:18). They decide that his preaching must stop. They must get rid
of him. They concocted a scheme against him once before and he was saved from their
trap. Now they concoct another scheme. They said, "Come, and let us devise
devices against Jeremiah; for [even though he be dead] the law shall not perish
from the priests, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.
Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of
his words." Now what is the use of listening to this preacher of calamity?
We have the law. We will not lose the book of wisdom. We will always have these
with us. Then Jeremiah begins to pray to the Lord to punish these plotters,
verses 19-20: "Give heed to me, O Lord, . . . Shall evil be recompensed
for good? Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them," and
now they plan to kill me.
He had been standing there and preaching the truth to these men and now he
fears the Lord is going to let them kill him. He says, "I have tried to
help them. I would give my life to save them. And now this is what they are
doing." He prays that God will punish them; that he will give them over to
the sword and destroy their children. "Let their women become
childless." Now, was that an expression of mere bitterness? No! It was not
mere human anger; it was a deep sense of outraged justice. Verse 23:
"Jehovah, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; forgive
not their iniquities, neither blot out their sin from thy sight." That
reminds us of Psalm 109. It seems contrary to the spirit of Christ, yet it
reminds one of the spirit of Jesus when he says to the Pharisees and the
Sadducees, "How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
We have here another lesson from the potter (19:1-13). Jeremiah is told to go
and buy an earthen bottle made also by a potter. He bought it. We do not know
what sort; it may have been a good one. Then the Lord said, "Take of the
elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests; and go forth into the
valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate of Harsith, and
proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee." That place was just
outside the walls of the city, the place where the rubbish was thrown, perhaps
where the potters and their factories were. Now, go down there, Jeremiah, with
that vessel.
This is what he was to say: "Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O kings of
Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; . . . Behold, 1 will bring evil upon this
place." Then he goes on to give the reasons. They had worshiped idols
continually. They had done evil repeatedly. "This place," as a
result, "shall no longer be called the valley of the son of Hinnom, but
the place of slaughter." Verse 8: "I will make this city an
astonishment, and a hissing." Destruction shall come. "Every one that
passeth by shall be astonished and hiss and they shall eat the flesh of their
children." Then he took the elders and the priests and in their presence
he broke the bottle to pieces. Then he said, "As I have broken this
bottle, so will Jehovah break in pieces this city, so that it cannot be put
together again." The lesson is seen in verse II: "It cannot be made
whole again." As that bottle is destroyed forever, so will I destroy this
nation and I will destroy it forever, as far as human power is concerned.
Immediately after this incident Jeremiah comes back to the Temple and repeats
the warning he had given, to the elders and the priests: "I stood in the
courts of the Lord's house and said to all the people, I will bring upon this
city and this people all the evils that I have pronounced against them, because
they have made their necks stiff that they hear not my words." There are
no people on earth so sure of doom as those who have simply made up their minds
that they will not hear. These are they who are deaf by choice. These people
had gone so far that they would not even listen. Of course, then, they could
not hear. Even now sometimes people simply make up their minds that they will
not hear and there is no hope for them.
Pashhur was the chief officer in the Temple. He was himself a prophet but a
false one. He heard the words of Jeremiah and noted that threat. It enraged
him. He set upon Jeremiah and struck him and put him in the stocks, till the
following day. His smiting probably refers to whipping on the soles of his feet
with the bastinado. He then put him in the stocks. His hands and feet put
through openings in planks, he is forced into a stooping position. His head
perhaps was put through a wooden stock or pillory. This is the first physical
violence that Jeremiah had suffered.
"Then said Jeremiah unto him, the Lord hath not called thee Pashur, but
Magor-missabib." "Pashur" means a man in quietness or peace, and
"Magor-missabib" means terror all around. Mr. Pashur, your name must
be changed. You are going to be a terror to yourself. That is your fate. Thy
friends shall fall by the sword and thine eyes shall behold it. "For thus
saith Jehovah, I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon and
he shall carry them captive to Babylon and shall slay them with the sword. I
will give them the treasures of the Temple and this city. This shall happen to
you and your friends who prophesy falsely." And so they did. Very soon Mr.
Pashur was taken captive to Babylon and died, surrounded by terrors. The rest
of this chapter contains Jeremiah's lamentation. We studied this in the chapter
on "The Life and Character of Jeremiah." I called attention to that
section where Jeremiah cursed the day in which he was born. He accused God of
alluring him into prophesying and then deserting him. Then God led him step by
step out of his despondency and up to the plane of praise and joy.
About this time, when Jeremiah was at liberty, a great many enemies had overrun
the land of Palestine and the people had flocked to Jerusalem for protection.
Among this host came the Rechabites. When Jehu was carrying on his revolution
he met Jonadab who had founded this order, or sect, of the Rechabites and
invited him into his chariot. They were noted for three things: They vowed not
to live in houses; to have no vineyards; and to drink no wine forever. This
class of people took refuge in Jerusalem; Jeremiah goes to these Rechabites,
takes their leaders into the Temple and sets bottles of wine before them.
Note 35:3 (Jeremiah writes, this himself): "Then I took Jaazaniah the son
of Jeremiah, . . . and I brought them into the house of Jehovah." He goes
on: "And I set before the sons of the Rechabites bowls of wine, and I said
unto them, Drink ye wine. "But they said, We will drink no wine; for
Jonadab the son of Rechab our father, commands us." They were faithful to
the commands of their ancestor. Jeremiah seized upon this occasion as a basis
for addressing the people. He goes on to say that Jonadab had commanded this
people so and so. "They kept that command, but ye would not obey God who
commanded you to serve him." He outlines the punishment that will come upon
the people, but makes a promise unto the sons of Jonadab, verse 19:
"Therefore saith the Lord of hosts, . . . Jonadab the son of Rechab shall
not want a man to stand before me for ever."
He inculcates the principle of righteousness and justice in 22:1-9. The king is
to be the instrument of righteousness and justice. There is no doubt that
Jehoiakim, the vassal of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, sat on the throne.
Jeremiah appeals to him to do right and be just. In verse 4 he says, "If
you do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house
kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he,
and his servants and his people. But if ye will not do these things, I swear by
myself, that this house shall come to desolation." And thus he goes on
with his message of destruction. He repeats it over and over again.
The fate of Shallam, or Jehoahaz, is described in 22:10-22: "Weep for him
that goeth away; for he shall return to his native land no more." Then a
charge against Jehoiakim is found in 22:13-23. This king was a heartless
tyrant. He had a passion for building. He had a magnificent palace. He built by
using the people unjustly. He was without conscience or principle: "Woe
unto him that buildeth a house with unrighteousness." The son of this king
succeeded him and the prophet goes on to describe the ruin coming upon this
house (vv. 20-23).
Then follows judgment on Jehoiachin (vv. 22:24-30). This was doubtless written
after the death of Jehoiakim. Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon, and it may have
been written immediately preceding that event. We cannot be sure as to the
exact time this section was penned. Verse 24: "As I live, saith Jehovah,
though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim were a signet upon my right hand, yet would
I pluck thee thence." He then goes on to describe the fate of the house;
how Jehoiachin with his mother should be cast out and die in a foreign land,
never to return to Judah. The king was to have no heir to sit upon his throne.
The message of 23:1-8 is one regarding the princes, or shepherds. These princes
of Judah and Jerusalem are spoken of as the shepherds of the people. They were
the political and civil shepherds. God called them the shepherds of his
pasture. He charged them with neglect of duty: "Therefore saith Jehovah,
the God of Israel, Ye have scattered my flock." They had not provided them
spiritual pasture. But a time is coming when they shall come together again and
shall have good shepherds. Verse 5 is a messianic prophecy: "I will raise
unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, . .
. Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely."
The prophet's own title of 23:9-40 is, "Concerning the Prophets." We
discussed this in a former chapter. We showed Jeremiah's charge against these
false prophets. They were caterers and time-servers. They preached what the
people wanted them to preach. They felt the pulse of the people and then shaped
their messages accordingly.
The prophecy of chapter 25 is a prophecy concerning Judah and the surrounding
nations. This was in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, 604 B.C., after
Jeremiah had been preaching twenty-three years. Note some details here:
1. In 1-14 Jeremiah predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would take Palestine, Judah,
and Jerusalem; that he would lead them captive to Babylon; that there should be
desolation; that this nation should serve the king of Babylon seventy years;
that when the seventy years was accomplished, then Jehovah would punish the
king of Babylon, and that nation for their iniquity and their land should be a
desolation forever.
2. Verses 15-26 show that the cup of the wrath of Jehovah must be drunk by all
the nations surrounding Judah. He said that they should drink the cup of the
wine of his fury. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, shall drink it; the land of Uz,
the Philistines, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, those of the Grecian
Archipelago, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, Zimri, Elam, the Medes, and Sheshack
shall drink of it.
3. Verses 27-29 show that the nations must drink it. This is the substance of
that passage. The doom is inevitable. The last part of the chapter, verses
30-38, gives a description of the conquest of the Babylonians, and the terrible
destruction which should come upon the nations.
An account of the writing, reading, burning, and rewriting of the roll is given
in 36:1-32. This is an interesting incident. In the fourth year of the reign of
Jehoiakim, 604 B.C., the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and told him to
write his prophecy. Doubtless the persecution was so intense that he had to
stop preaching. Jeremiah was a faithful prophet, but be could not preach any
more in the open, and so the Lord told him to write his prophecies in a book,
or roll. That was a wonderfully wise suggestion. If Paul had not been
imprisoned two years at Caesarea, it is possible Luke would not have written
his Gospel. If the same great apostle had not suffered his Roman imprisonment,
we would doubtless never have had his matchless epistles to the Philippians,
Colossians, Ephesians, and Hebrews. If Bunyan had not gone to jail, doubtless
Pilgrim's Progress would never have been written. And so it is here, if
Jeremiah had not been persecuted, we would in all probability never have had
his written prophecy. He ordered Baruch to write it down as he dictated it to
him. It was the substance of his twenty-three years of ministry. How long he
was in writing it, we do not know, doubtless some months. After he had written
it the next thing was to read it to the people. We cannot go into details. Here
is the story in substance: Baruch took the roll and went to the Temple where
the people passed, stood in the door with the princes and the friends of
Jeremiah at his back and read the prophecy. It made a deep impression on the
princes and the people. It had a different effect on others. They resented it
and hated Jeremiah the more. Some of them went and told the king about it. In
brief, he had it brought to him. Jehudi read it and the king cut it to pieces
and soon every shred of it was a heap of ashes. Then he ordered the arrest of
Jeremiah, but he had securely hidden himself. Then Jeremiah and Baruch wrote
the prophecies again.
We have certain admonitions of Jeremiah to Baruch in chapter 45. After all his
heroism this man Baruch grew despondent. This faithful scribe who had stood by
Jeremiah through all his troubles now becomes troubled. We are told about it in
chapter 45: "Thus didst thou say, Woe is me, for Jehovah hath added sorrow
to my pain." Jeremiah tells him that the Lord breaks down that which he
has planted: "Behold, I will pluck up this whole land." Baruch, have
you thought that there were great things coming to you? Did you expect better
things? "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not." I am
going to bring evil upon this whole land. You are not going to be a great man
but your life is going to stand. What fine advice that was to this faithful
secretary and scribe. Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.
Your life will be spared, that is enough.
QUESTIONS
1. What the subject of this
chapter of this INTERPRETATION? And what the dates of these several chapters of
Jeremiah?
2. What, in general, the
contents of these chapters?
3. What the story of the
potter in 18:1-4?
4. What the prophet's application
of the incident of the potter to Israel and what, in particular, the meaning of
God's repentance here toward Israel for good or evil? (18:5-12.)
5. What the lesson here
drawn from nature by the prophet? (18:13-17.)
6. What the result of the
prophet's preaching (18:18) and what his response? (18:19-23.)
7. What the second incident
of the potter's vessel and what its application? (19:1-13.)
8. What the prophet's
message in the Temple immediately following the second lesson from the potter's
vessel?
9. Give an account of
Pashhur's persecution.
10. Who were the Rechabites,
what their characteristics and what the lesson enforced by Jeremiah based upon
their history?
11. Who addressed in 22:1-9
and what the message to him?
12. Who is spoken of in
22:10-12 and what is there said of him?
13. What the charge against
Jehoiakim and what the result (22:13-23)?
14. What the contents of
22:24-30?
15. What the message of
23:1-8 and how are the shepherds here characterized?
16. What the prophet's own
title of 23:9-40 and what the charge of Jeremiah here against these false
prophets?
17. What the prophecy of
chapter 25 and what the essential points noted?
18. Give an account of the
writing, reading, burning, and rewriting of the roll (36:1-32).
19. What admonitions of
Jeremiah to Baruch in chapter 45 and what their lesson?
THE PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH IN THE REIGN OF
ZEDEKIAH
Jeremiah 21; 24, 27-29; 34; 37-39
We have here the prophecies of Jeremiah, during the reign of Zedekiah, the last
king of the Jewish people. These prophecies are to be found as indicated at the
head of this chapter. They are not all the prophecies that Jeremiah uttered or
that were written during this reign, but they are the prophecies that he uttered
relative to that period and bearing upon the events of that reign. During
Zedekiah's reign he also wrote the messianic prophecy that we shall discuss in
the next chapter.
When Jehoiakim burned the roll of his prophecies, he commanded his officers to
go and take Jeremiah and Baruch. The Lord hid them or they would have lost
their lives as Uriah had. Jeremiah and Baruch remained in hiding during the
remainder of Jehoiakim's wicked reign, four or five years. The latter part of
this reign, as given in our books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, was
a troublous time. Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. That king stirred
up bands of the Moabites and the Edomites to come and trouble his kingdom. His
cities were besieged and he himself was slain and his body cast forth as refuse
outside the walls of the city. His son, Jehoiachin, succeeded him to the
throne. Jehoiachin was quite young, some authorities say eight years, other
authorities, eighteen years of age. His mother reigned with him, and was probably
the power behind the throne. Jehoiachin continued the rebellion against
Nebuchadnezzar, and the result was that in a little over three months, that
great king buried his hosts against Jerusalem and besieged the holy city.
Jehoiachin, acting on good and wise advice, surrendered the city, and so he
himself with his queen mother and the royal family were deported.
Nebuchadnezzar, convinced that he was not a safe man to have upon the throne,
had him and his royal family taken to Babylon and confined there. On the
succession of "Evil Merodac" to the throne he was given a certain
amount of liberty.
About 597 B.C. something over 7,000 of the best blood of Jerusalem, including
the princes, the nobles, and the elders, with their wives, their slaves, and
the most valuable and choice vessels of the Temple were carried away to
Babylon. Ezekiel was carried away with them and began his prophecy in the fifth
year of this captivity.
We can readily see that the removal of 7,000 of the best people from Jerusalem,
such a thinning of the people, would give an opportunity to the many that were
left. These nobles, princes, and elders, who were left in Jerusalem, were
congratulating themselves that they were much better than those unfortunates
who were carried off into exile. Such a conclusion would be perfectly natural.
They were saying, "Those who had to go away and suffer such hardships are
bad and so are suffering for their sins. We are left here in peace and so the
Lord is with us." That resulted in pride, and was a very foolish state of
mind for this people. Jeremiah knows that destruction is awaiting them, if they
continue in their ways of wickedness.
The theme of Jeremiah 24 is Jeremiah's comparison between those in exile and
those left behind. Note the following points:
1. The vision (vv. 1-3). Jeremiah is shown in a vision two baskets of figs, set
before the Temple of the Lord. He goes on to explain the occasion and the time
when this occurred. The description is found in verse 2: "One basket of
very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had
very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad." Verse 3
continues the description, as given to Jehovah by the prophet.
2. The fate of the good figs (vv. 4-7). "Like these good figs so will I
regard the captives of Judah." Those in exile are the ones referred to,
and so he says he will take care of them: "I will bring them again into
this land: I will set mine eyes upon them for good."
3. The fate of the bad figs (vv. 8-10). These bad figs were the people living
in Jerusalem, those who were puffed up, regarding themselves better than others
because they were so fortunate as to escape deportation. "These bad figs
are so bad that they cannot be eaten. So will I give up Zedekiah and the kings
of Judah, and his princes and the residue of Jerusalem and those that remain in
this land and them that dwell in the land of Egypt. I will even give them up to
be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a
reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all the places whither I shall
drive them."
Naturally the effect of that kind of preaching upon the people of Jerusalem was
not very gratifying. Jeremiah did not make friends very fast by that kind of
comparison and application. But he was a true prophet. He preached God'8 truth,
whether welcome or not.
The theme of chapters 27-29 is Jeremiah's exhortation to submit to the yoke of
Babylon. This prophecy occurred during the first or second year of the reign of
Zedekiah, who had been put upon the throne by Nebuchadnezzar as his vassal. The
date is about 596 B.C., certainly within two years after the exile under
Jehoiachin. There was a movement among the various small nations surrounding
Judah, a sort of revival of their political interests. The kings and the
princes of these sections had conceived the idea that they could league
together and revolt against Babylon. The kings of these various nations had
sent their ambassadors to Zedekiah at Jerusalem to form a league, or a
conspiracy, by which they could throw off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah
was but a weakling, a mere tool in the hands of his chief princes. He had a
certain reverence for Jeremiah and therefore he consulted him about it. But he
feared the princes. He wanted to do right, but being a weak king, he was led to
ruin and destruction by bad advice. He was afraid of Jeremiah, afraid of
Nebuchadnezzar, afraid of his princes, and afraid of the prophets. To such a
man all these nations came for consultation. They held their convention in
Jerusalem, and to such a conference Jeremiah came as adviser. He advised that
they all submit to Babylon.
Now, in Jeremiah 27:1 there is an interpretation. It says, "In the reign
of Jehoiachin," and it should be, "The reign of Zedekiah." Compare
verse 12. Somehow that mistake has crept into the text. Jeremiah is commanded
to make a yoke. He sets the yoke upon the heads of these ambassadors as a
symbol. It is something like his symbolic action with the girdle. He puts the
yoke on the heads of these envoys of Moab, Tyre, and the rest; also Zedekiah,
the king of Judah, and gives his message. It is in verse 6: "And now have
I given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. The
beasts of the field I have given him also." Verse 7: "And all the
nations shall serve him and his sons' sons till the time of his own land
come." Then destruction shall come upon him: Verse 8: "And it shall
come to pass that the nation and the kingdom that shall not serve the same
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the
yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the
sword and with famine and with pestilence till I have consumed them by his
hand." Then he throws out this warning: Don't listen to the preaching of
your prophets for they are false. They have not the word of God. Listen to me
and submit. No better advice was ever given to a king. Jeremiah was a man who
had divine wisdom and gave advice that would have saved the people. He was called
to be the savior of his country, and to be the prophet of the nations, the
nations mentioned here. He would have saved them all, if they had listened to
him.
We have some specific advice of the prophet to Zedekiah, the king, in 27:12-15.
Notice what he says: "And I spake to Zedekiah, the king of Judah,
according to all these words, saying, bring your necks under the yoke of the
king of Babylon and serve him and his people and live." But this advice to
Zedekiah was to a weakling. He was respectful to the prophet, but afraid of his
princes.
In verse 16 he says, "I spake to the priests and the people, saying, Thus
[He warns them against these false prophets, which had doubtless been inciting
this revolt among the nations by prophesying that they could succeed.] . . .
Serve the king of Babylon and live." These prophets are prophesying a lie
unto you. Why should this land become a desolation? These prophets had been
preaching to the people that this exile would soon be over; that they would
soon bring back the beautiful vessels of the Temple. This was fine talk to the
people, for they wanted those vessels back. That suited the people fine, and
the prophets knew it, so they just preached what the people wanted. These
vessels will not come back. Just wait a little while and see if their
prophecies come true. Thus saith the Lord concerning you: You shall be carried
to Babylon and you shall be there until the day that I visit that land. Not
only are these vessels not coming back, but you are going into exile also. Now,
that was not a popular kind of talk, but it was divine wisdom.
A conflict with Hananiah, the false prophet, is described in chapter 28. Here
was a strange incident. We have a conflict between two men, able men,
influential men, men of high position and rank; one a false prophet, the other
a true prophet. Externally both are good men. Hananiah was the son of a
prophet, of the priestly line. Doubtless this Hananiah had been hired by the
enemies of Jeremiah to counteract his influence with the people. They hired
this man to make the people believe that these vessels would come back. So
Hananiah comes forward. He stands in the gate of the Temple and thus addresses
the people: "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I have broken
the yoke of the king of Babylon; within two full years I will bring into this
place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, took away from this place. I will bring back Jehoiachin and the royal
family within two years and everything will be restored within that two
years."
Now, that was delightful preaching. That was just what the people wanted. But
there was Jeremiah and he had to be reckoned with. Hananiah had all the marks
of truth in him. Jeremiah seems to have wavered. He treats this man with all
the courtesy of a gentleman. He stands there and listens to his message. He
stood with the people that stood in the house of the Lord. When Hananiah had
finished he said: "Amen: the Lord do so; may it be as you have said."
Jeremiah would have been glad if it had been true. He was patriotic and loyal.
Nothing would have rejoiced him more than for this to have happened. "Oh,
that it might be so!"
But in verses 7-8 he says, "Nevertheless hear thou this that I speak unto
thee. The prophets that spake in the olden time prophesied against many
countries and against many kingdoms." What did he mean by that? That the
prophets who were true prophets prophesied destruction; that the punishment was
coming. He means to say that the criterion by which one could determine a true
prophet was that he prophesied evil. Now this man Hananiah was a false
optimist. The true prophet sees the evil as well as the good. So by that
process of reasoning he proved that Hananiah was a false prophet. He prophesied
only good, hence he could not be a true prophet. I have prophesied evil and
therefore I am in line with the tried and true prophets. How did the people
like that?
We may well suppose that the majority of them did not like it. When Hananiah
saw that the tide was coming his way, that the people were with him, he seized
the yoke that Jeremiah was wearing before the people and smashed it to pieces.
This is what he says: "Even so will I break the yoke of the king of
Babylon before two full years end." That was a bold stroke. Jeremiah was
silenced for the time. But he did not give it up entirely; he went his way and
talked to Jehovah about it. God gave him his answer. In verse 13 we have it:
"Go, tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast broken the bars of
wood; but thou hast made in their stead bars of iron." This kingdom shall
be suddenly destroyed. as for Hananiah the Lord said, "Thou makest this
people to trust in a lie. . . Behold, I will send thee away from off the face
of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebellion
against Jehovah." And Hananiah died the same year in the seventh month,
two months after this incident.
An account of a letter of Jeremiah to the exiles is found in Jeremiah 29.
Zedekiah was the vassal of Nebuchadnezzar and in order to assure him that he
was true he sent two messengers to him. Their names are given in verse 3. These
two messengers took letters from Zedekiah to the king in Babylon. Jeremiah took
occasion to send a letter by these messengers to the exiles in Babylon. False
prophets were over there, too.
They had been predicting that they would soon return to their own land. So
Jeremiah sent them a letter, the substance of which is to be found from verse 4
on to the end of the chapter. This we will discuss briefly. He advised the
people to settle down, to marry, to be true to the king of Babylon and after
seventy years, that is, about two generations, God's will concerning the king
of Babylon would be accomplished, and then they should return to their own
place. In verse 13 we have a beautiful statement: "Ye shall seek me, and
find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." In verses 21-22
we have this statement regarding two false prophets in Babylon, Ahab and
Zedekiah, who were prophesying the destruction of Babylon and the immediate
return. Word of this comes to the ears of Nebuchadnezzar. That king was not a
man to be trifled with. Here were two exiles stirring up an insurrection in his
realm. Jeremiah says, "He roasted them in the fire." He tried to do
the same thing with the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
It was not an uncommon thing for a man to burn people to death then. That was
the fate of these two false prophets.
But we come to another incident in verse 24. There was one Shemaiah who sent
letters from Babylon to the princes and guardians of the Temple about Jeremiah,
and said that this man, this Jeremiah ought not to be at large. Verse 26:
"Every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest
put him in the stocks. . . Now therefore, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of
Anathoth, who maketh himself a prophet to you, for as much as he hath sent unto
us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long," and thus and so. Then the
men of the Temple read the letter to Jeremiah, and he responds, verse 32:
"Behold, I will punish Shemaiah and his seed; he shall not have a man to
dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto
my people, saith Jehovah, because he hath spoken rebellion against
Jehovah."
Jeremiah's advice to Zedekiah during the siege is given in chapter 21. This
chapter is very much out of chronological order. This weak king is still in the
hands of his princes, who are trying to throw off the yoke of Babylon. They
have been all this time expecting help from Egypt. PharaohNecho who had slain
Josiah, king of Judah, had been succeeded by Pharaoh-Hophra. He had overthrown
his adversaries at home and was now ready for Asia. There was an Egyptian party
in Jerusalem and they soon had their plans ready for Zedekiah. They proposed to
form an alliance with this Pharaoh against Nebuchadnezzar. This they did
against the advice of Jeremiah. The outcome of the matter was that Nebuchadnezzar
swept down upon Judah and Jerusalem to subdue them.
Zedekiah sent an anxious message to Jeremiah inquiring if there was any message
from the Lord. His answer was brief. He simply told him that the Lord would not
save the city as he did when Isaiah was the prophet. But he says in verse 5:
"I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a
strong arm even in anger and in wrath and in great indignation, and I will
smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beasts and they shall die of
great pestilence." This siege was to end in the downfall of the city. In
verse 8 he says, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of
death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword and by famine and by
the pestilence, but he that goeth out and falleth away to the Chaldeans that
besiege you, he shall live and his life shall be unto him for a prey."
The incidents of the siege are described in chapter 34. Under the preaching of
Jeremiah and the stress and strain of the siege, the people's consciences were
awakened and they gave heed to the law of Moses and made a covenant that they
would liberate all the slaves according to the law of Moses, which said that
when a Hebrew became a slave to another that he should be such only six years.
That is recorded in the law as found in Exodus 21:2 and Deuteronomy 15:12. That
law was given by Moses. They usually neglected it, but they did it now while
there was pressure on them, but as soon as the pressure was removed they went
back to their old ways again, verse II: "But afterward, they turned and
caused the servants and handmaidens, whom they had caused to go free to return
and brought them into subjection for servants and handmaidens." This
occurred while Pharaoh-Hophra was coming up to Jerusalem to relieve the city.
Nebuchadnezzar defeated him and drove him back. When the pressure was removed
their conscience grew calloused again. Jeremiah broke out in great bitterness
against this, 34:17: "You granted liberty, then you took it back. I proclaim
to you a liberty to the sword and to famine. I will make you to be a curse
among the nations of the earth." In spite of all the solemnity with which
you made the covenant you broke it. I will cause the Chaldeans to return to the
city and make it without inhabitants.
The effect of Jeremiah's preaching is recorded in chapters 37-39. Jeremiah's
forty years and more of preaching had verily been in vain. The people would not
heed. There seemed to be a fixedness in their perverseness. They evidently hardened
their hearts to go after idols. There is a saying, "Whom the gods would
destroy they first make mad." It was so with these people. They were mad
after idolatry. The siege had now been on more than a year. It lasted eighteen
months altogether, accompanied with all the horrors of a siege. These events
are recorded in chapters 37-39. We take them up in order:
Jeremiah 37:2: "Neither he, nor the people of the land, hearkened unto the
words of the Lord." This general statement is followed by the details:
Zedekiah was a weakling. He wanted to do what Jeremiah said, and if he had been
stronger he would have done so. So he sent for him and asked his advice. He
says, 37:3: "Pray now unto the Lord our God for us." Jeremiah
answered him, 37:7: "Behold, Pharaoh's army that is come forth to help you
shall return into their own land; the Chaldeans shall come again and fight
against this city. They shall take it and burn it with fire."
At the time the siege was raised and the Chaldeans went to meet the Egyptians,
many people broke out of the city. Jeremiah was one of them. He started to go
to his home at Anathoth to take charge of a certain piece of property he had
bought, verse 12: "Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem at the gate of
Benjamin." He came in collision with the captain of the ward whose name
was Irijah and he said to Jeremiah, "Thou goeth to the Chaldeans; thou art
falling away to the Chaldeans." Many others were doing the same thing and
nothing was said about it, but these people now had a chance to get in a blow
at Jeremiah, because he had been stoutly counseling the people to surrender to
the Chaldeans. Jeremiah said, "I do not fall away to the Chaldeans."
Irijah did not believe him, but seized him and brought him before the princes,
"and the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in
prison in the house of Jonathan, the scribe." This is the second time
Jeremiah had been arrested, but the first time he was imprisoned.
The king called for Jeremiah and asked him, "Is there any word from the
Lord?" "No," said Jeremiah, "The only word is this: Thou
shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon." Then he pleads
for himself: "Cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan, the scribe,
lest I perish there." Zedekiah, the king, was kindly disposed toward him.
He gave him some liberty. He remained in the court of the guard six months or
more, guarded by the king.
Then the princes put him in the dungeon. These princes were the real cause of
the fall of Jerusalem. They hated Jeremiah. They had been treating with Egypt,
and he had advised against them; his counsel had weakened many of the people in
their loyalty to the plans of the princes; so they hated him, and now that they
had him in their hands they wreaked their vengeance on him. Verse 4: "Then
the princes said to the king, Let this man we pray thee be put to death,
forasmuch as he hath weakened the hands of the men of war that remain in this
city, and the hands of all the people."
That the king was a weakling is shown in verse 5: "Then Zedekiah, the
king, said, Behold he is in your hands; do as you will, for the king is one
that can do nothing against you." There was a certain Justification for
these princes who saw only the military aspect of it. If any man had done as
did Jeremiah, in connection with the siege of Richmond or Vicksburg, he would
have been promptly dealt with as a traitor. So they took Jeremiah and threw him
into a deep cistern, or pit. It had no water in it, but it was deep with mud
and he sank down into that, and they left him thinking that would be the last
of him. At last, they thought, his tongue was silenced. But he was rescued by a
slave, an Ethiopian, named Ebedmelech. He felt kindly toward Jeremiah, so he
went to the king and the king gave him liberty to rescue him (38:7-13).
Another audience with the king is allowed Jeremiah (14-28). This is Jeremiah's
last audience with Zedekiah. Verse 17: "If thou go forth to the king of
Babylon thou shalt live, and the people." He could yet save the city. Then
the king told him not to tell anybody about the interview. If there had been a
man on the throne, he would have saved the city. Then follows an account of the
capture of the city and its destruction (39:1-10). A careful reading of this
passage will be sufficient.
Jeremiah was saved by the command of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He
had heard about Jeremiah and his services, how he had counseled the people to
surrender, and spared his life; told them to take good care of him and let him
do as he would.
The prophecy in 39:15-18 is concerning Ebed-melech, the slave who had saved
Jeremiah's life. It is beautiful to see how Jeremiah remembered this man. He
writes down in the word of God what should be his reward, thus: "I will
surely save thee, saith Jehovah."
Jerusalem is now a smoking ruin, and the people are scattered far and wide. The
nobles and the princes are slain before the king, and his own sons are
slaughtered before his own eyes. Zedekiah's eyes are put out and he is carried
captive to Babylon. If he had only followed the advice of Jeremiah, all would
have been well. The position of a prophet in the state is supreme; it is the
highest honor that can be bestowed upon any man.
QUESTIONS
1. What the theme of this
chapter of this INTERPRETATION and what the historical setting?
2. What the theme of
Jeremiah 24 and how is it presented? Explain fully.
3. What the theme of
chapters 27-29 and what the general condition in Judah and the surrounding
nations at this time?
4. How do you explain the
name "Jehoiachim" in 27:1, what the symbolic action of the prophet
here and what its meaning? (27:1-11.)
5. What the specific advice
of the prophet to Zedekiah, the king, in 27:12-15?
6. What his advice to the
priests and the people and how does he meet the prophecies of the false
prophets?
7. Give an. account of the
conflict between Hananiah and Jeremiah (28).
8. Give an account of the
letter of Jeremiah to the exiles (29).
9. What Jeremiah's advice to
Zedekiah during the siege? (21.)
10. What the incidents of
the siege? (34.)
11. What the effect of
Jeremiah's preaching and how are the people characterized? (37-39.)
12. What the general
statement of this in 37:1-2?
13. Give an account of the
king's request of Jeremiah and his response (37:3-10).
14. Give an account of
Jeremiah's second arrest and first imprisonment (37:11-15).
15. Give an account of his
deliverance from the prison (37:16-21).
16. What was next done with
him and what the particulars (38:4-6)?
17. How did he escape and
what the particulars?
18. Give an account of
Jeremiah's last audience with the king (38:14-28).
19. Give an account of the
capture of the city and its destruction (39:1-10).
20. How was Jeremiah saved
and what the particulars? (39:11-14.)
21. What the prophecy in
39:15-18?
THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH ON THE
RESTORATION
Jeremiah 30-33
This prophecy may be called Jeremiah's messianic prophecy, or the prophecy of
the blessed age, the messianic age, that glorious age that was to come. Most of
the teaching of Jeremiah up to this point is permeated with the note of sadness
and of doom, the theme of which is destruction. From this Jeremiah might be
called a thorough-going pessimist, but here we shall see that he was anything
but a pessimist. He was one of the greatest optimists. When his nation seemed
so determined to go on in sin and rebellion against God and hence to
destruction, Jeremiah could be nothing but a pessimist, so far as the immediate
future of his country was concerned. There is such a thing as a sane and
sensible pessimism. The man who is a pessimist when he sees that sin is
unbridled in its sway over the people, is the only man who takes a sane view of
the situation. But in this passage we will see that Jeremiah was one of the
greatest optimists that the world ever saw.
Blessed is the man who can mediate between the pessimist and the optimist. All
the prophecies concerning the messianic age, and the restoration from the exile
to Palestine were optimistic. Amos was a pre-exilic prophet, and he prophesied
a return of the Jews and a glorious age; so did Hosea, Isaiah, Joel, Micah, and
Zephaniah. All of these pictured the return to Jerusalem and the worship in
Mount Zion. Isaiah puts it in the form of a reign of David's son over a true
and righteous Israel, at the time of the restoration from the Exile in Babylon.
Joel pictures the messianic age and we are told in Acts 2 when it was
fulfilled. Peter there declares that Joel's prophecy was fulfilled in what was
enacted at that time. Ezekiel pictures it also as a restored nation and a
restored theocracy in chapters 40-48.
Now, let us consider what Jeremiah has to say concerning the Jews and their
glorious restoration. In these four chapters (30-33) we have three great
subjects:
1. The triumphal hymn of Israel's salvation (30-31)
2. The story of the purchase of a field by Jeremiah during his imprisonment,
and the explanation (32)
3. The promise of the restoration with the renewed glory of the house of David
and the Levitical priesthood (33)
Observe that this prophecy is not dated. It merely says, "The word of the
Lord came to Jeremiah." It is altogether likely that it came in the latter
part of the reign of Zedekiah, possibly during the imprisonment in the court of
the guard, or it may have occurred a little earlier than that.
In the introduction the prophet is commanded to write these things (30:1-3).
The fact that God commanded Jeremiah to write this messianic prophecy shows
that he put considerable value upon it and that he intended it to be preserved
for his people, Israel. He said, "The days will come, saith Jehovah, that
I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah; and I will cause
them to return to the land that I gave their fathers, and they shall possess
it." This is the essence of the prophecy contained in chapters 30-31.
The prophecy relative to Judah in 30:4-11 is that there shall be an end of
Judah's troubles, for the foreign domination shall cease. Judah is pictured
here as sorely troubled. Notice verse 5: "We have heard a voice of
trembling, of fear, and not of peace." Then he pictures the nation in that
figure, which is so many times used in the Scriptures, as in the pain of
travail. Verse 7: "For that day is great, so that none is like unto it: it
is even the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Then he adds, "But he shall be saved
out of it." In verse 8: he describes how the foreign domination of Babylon
shall be broken off. Verse 9: "They shall serve Jehovah their God, and
David their king, whom I will raise up unto them."
Of course, this is not David himself, in a literal sense, that shall be raised
up. It means that one of David's royal posterity shall reign over Israel.
Israel shall have her kingdom restored and on the throne a king of the old
royal line. In a large measure that promise was fulfilled in David's greater
son, Jesus Christ. In verse 10 he calls Israel by the name of
"Servant," the word used so often in Isaiah 40-66, and promises
return and rest. Verse II: "I will make a full end of all the nations whither
I have scattered thee, but I will not make a full end of thee; but I will
correct thee in judgment, and will in no wise leave thee unpunished."
Judah is pictured in 30:12-17 as incurably wounded. The hurt of the cities of
Judah is incurably deep but she shall be restored to health. Verse 12:
"Thy hurt is incurable, and thy wound grievous," therefore punishment
must come to Judah. Then he pictures her as being despised among the nations,
forgotten by her lovers, i.e., all those nations whom she followed after
strange gods. He adds that their chastisement was a cruel one, but that it was
because of the greatness of their iniquity; because their sins were so
increased. Verse 15 adds: "Why criest thou for thy hurt?" There is no
use crying. Why do you cry unto me? "Thy pain is incurable." It was
all because of the greatness of their iniquity. Verse 16: "They that
devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them,
shall go into captivity." Verse 17: "I will restore health unto thee,
and I will heal thee of thy wounds."
There is a promise respecting Jerusalem and other cities of Judah in 30:18-22.
The city shall be rebuilt and shall be prosperous. Verse 18: "And the city
shall be builded upon its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited after its
own manner." Now, that was particularly fulfilled under Ezra and Nehemiah,
in their later history. Verse 19 describes the happiness and merriment of the
people. Verse 20 says, "Their children also shall be as aforetime, and
their congregation shall be established before me." Verse 21: "Their
princes shall be of themselves and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of
them." He shall be of the royal line; shall be of themselves. Their rulers
shall proceed from their own blood. They shall be relieved from the domination
of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon.
The prophecy of 30:23-24 is that there shall be a sweeping tempest upon her
enemies: "Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, even his wrath, is gone forth, a
sweeping tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked." This
undoubtedly refers to the nations that have harassed Judah so long.
The picture found in 31:1-6 is that Israel shall be restored to the worship of
their own God, Jehovah. Verse I: "I will be the God of all the families of
Israel, and they shall be my people." This was true when God brought them
forth from Chaldea and from Egypt after the exile. The great motive expressed
is that God might be their God and they his people. In the glory of the
restoration he says, "I will be the God of all the families of
Israel." In verse 3 we come to a great and glorious passage, "I have
loved thee with an everlasting love." That is a great text. We have here a
vision of the fidelity and love of Jehovah for his people. He loves forever.
"With lovingkindness have I drawn thee." That was true in Egypt. He
drew them to himself. It will be true again when he shall draw them from among
the nations. Jehovah loves the people of Israel now with the same jealous love
as of old, and he is drawing them. The time is coming when he will draw them
together to him with this everlasting love. This same truth applies to all
Christians of the world, both Jew and Gentile.
Samaria shall be resettled and repeopled: "Again shalt thou plant
vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria. . . . For there shall be a day that
the watchman upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to
Zion unto Jehovah our God." Which means that there will be watchmen who
will watch for the rising of the new moon and the time of the feasts, and then
the word will go from mouth to mouth and the people will all observe the feasts
together. Now, that prophecy has never been literally fulfilled.
Samaria was peopled by aliens from Babylon and Assyria mixed with Jews and when
the Jews returned from the exile, these people wanted to help them in the work
of rebuilding, but they were spurned. This made the Samaritans the bitter
enemies of the Jews and of their leaders. In Jesus' time "the Jews had no
dealings with the Samaritans," but many of them were converted in Christ's
ministry and through the apostles after Pentecost. The future will determine
the glories of this prophecy.
There is a great promise in 31:7-9. A great company shall return from the
north. Verse 8: "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and
gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and
the lame, and the woman with child." Verse 9: "I will cause them to
walk by rivers of water, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for
I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born."
The announcement in 31:10-14 is that this return shall be proclaimed to the
nations. This passage reminds us very much of Isaiah 40. The expressions are
almost identical. Note the clause in verse 10 which is almost the same in both
books, "As a shepherd doth his flock." Then in verse 12: "They
shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of
Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of
the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden."
That is a beautiful picture; the people coming shall be like that of a flowing
stream hurrying on to an experience of the goodness of Jehovah. All the nations
shall see it.
And mourning Ephraim shall be comforted and restored (31:15-20). Rachel is
heard weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted. Rachel was the
mother of Joseph and he was the father of Ephraim, the leading tribe of the
Northern Kingdom, which finally absorbed all the rest of the tribes of that
division of the kingdom west of the Jordan. Hosea calls Israel Ephraim. Rachel
weeping over her children is a pathetic picture of the destruction of the
Northern Kingdom, but there is hope for it. She shall not weep forever. Verse
16: "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy
work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah: and they shall come again from the land
of the enemy." Then he goes on to describe the repentance of Ephraim. Verse
20 sounds much like Hosea in his great prophecy. Here Jeremiah says, "Is
Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child?"
In the exhortation in 31:21-22 the wanderer is asked to return. Speaking to
Israel, he says, "Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy
heart toward the highway, even the way thou wentest." Verse 22 is a
remarkable prophecy: "How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou
backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: A
woman shall encompass a man." In Jeremiah's time the man must encompass
the woman. But this prophecy predicts that there is going to be a new state of
things: "A woman shall encompass a man," shall surround him, that is,
she shall win him and also be his protector and safeguard. The Spiritual application
of that seems to be that the time will come when Israel, this backsliding and
wandering woman, shall be changed; shall be different; she shall have a new
disposition. Instead of God having to go after her and surround her and induce
her to keep herself true to him, she will .take the initiative; she will
surround the Lord and shall be true to him; shall go after him, and meet him
more than half way. That was true to some extent when they came back from the
exile. They were true to God and protected his cause, but the larger fulfilment
is doubtless yet to come.
The prophecy as to the life of Israel after the restoration (31:23-26) shows
that the life of restored Israel shall be happy and blessed. Note verse 23:
"Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of
holiness." What a magnificent description of the city is that. That
prophecy was fulfilled only to a very slight degree after the return from
exile. Its true fulfilment is spiritual. Jeremiah was much pleased with the vision.
There shall be great material prosperity for the renewed people and there shall
be individual responsibility. Great prosperity is shown in the verse 27:
"I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of
man and with the seed of beast." The idea there is that it is going to be
so thickly populated that it will be literally sown with men and with beasts,
like a field. Then in verse 29, "In those days they shall say no more, The
fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge."
That was a proverb based upon the fact that because of the father's sins the
children suffered. They kept saying that in the exile, because a multitude of
those who were in exile never sinned as their fathers did, and had to suffer for
the wickedness and sins of their fathers. Hence they kept saying, "The
fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge."
They were suffering for the iniquities of their fathers, not their own. There
was a note of bitterness and complaint in it. They regarded the law as unjust.
The great law of individual responsibility is here asserted. That doctrine is
worked out with great clearness in Ezekiel 18.
In the blessings of the new covenant (vv. 31:31-34) we have the climax, the
greatest of all Jeremiah's prophecies. This is indeed the high-water mark of
all the Old Testament prophecy. Jeremiah had come to the conclusion that the
heart of the man was deceitful and above all things desperately wicked and that
he could no more change it of himself than the leopard can change his spots, or
the Ethiopian his skin; that the people who are accustomed to do evil, cannot
do good. They must be changed. There must be a new order of things, a new
covenant. What is this new covenant? Verse 33 lays down a new condition:
"I will put my law in their inward parts." Moses wrote it on tablets
of stone but the law to be effective must be written in the inward parts. It
must be written on the tablets of the heart. On that condition "I will be
their God, and they shall be my people," saith Jehovah.
Then the prophet asserted the doctrine of individual, or personal experience of
the knowledge of God, verse 34: "And they shall teach no more every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall
all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more." He
does not mean by that that there shall be no more teaching but he does mean
that each individual shall have a personal experience for himself. His parents
cannot give it to him; each individual shall have a personal knowledge of God
for himself. As regards their sins God provides a sacrifice so that he will
remember their sins no more forever, consequently there shall be no more need
for the sacrifices of atonement.
Now, that wonderful prophecy was not fulfilled in that restoration. When
Nehemiah had completed the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra brought forth the book of
the Law and read it before them and they made another covenant to keep the Law.
That was 150 years after Jehovah had said, "I will make a new
covenant." Ezra brought forth this same old covenant and the people
adopted it again. That was not a new covenant, and in no sense a fulfilment of
the prophecy here. The people asked Ezra to read it, which showed that it was
in no sense in their hearts. This covenant is fulfilled in Christianity. Jesus
preached the new birth and the principle of personal knowledge of God. It is
the fundamental element of the gospel, that God's law must be in the heart, not
in mere ceremony.
It is said of the new people in 31:35-37 that they shall be perpetual. They
shall abide forever. This is expressed by a comparison of the material universe
with God's eternal purpose concerning his people. The prophecy concerning
Jerusalem in 31:38-40 is that the holy city shall be rebuilt. Jerusalem shall
be holy unto Jehovah. Now, that was to some extent fulfilled in the restoration
under Nehemiah and Ezra, but for 1900 years it has been trodden under foot. For
the larger fulfilment we look to Christianity in the millennium.
The prophecy of chapter 32 occurred in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah,
during the siege, when Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the guard. In that
condition, when the city was thus surrounded and seemed doomed to pass into the
hands of the enemy and be destroyed, Jeremiah utters this prophecy. The
following are the main points of it:
1. The announcement of the Oracle of Jeremiah (32:15). This section simply
contains the record of the fact that the oracle came from God to Jeremiah at
this time and the fate of the city is announced.
2. The purchase of an ancestral field (32:6-15). Jeremiah received word from
Jehovah that a certain man was coming to ask him to buy a field at Anathoth
which belonged to Jeremiah's family and was within his right. God told him to
buy it. He tells us that he did so, and paid seventeen shekels for it.
Doubtless property was cheap at that particular time, for all the land was
overrun by the Chaldeans. The deed was signed and two copies made; then they
were subscribed to before witnesses. They were then deposited in an earthen
vessel to be kept, because seventy years or more was to pass before they could
be used. Such is the story. It reminds us of the incident that occurred in the
wars of Hannibal. When he was encamped before the gates of Rome, the very
ground upon which he was encamped was bought by men in the city, for they
believed in the future of Rome. They paid for it and believed that they would
make use of it. So it was with Jeremiah; he believed in the future of Jerusalem
and. Judah more truly than those men believed in the future of Rome.
3. His misgiving, with his retrospection of Jehovah's' power, justice, and lovingkindness,
manifested in Israel's history (32:16-25). He closes that retrospection by
summing up the situation. We find it in verses 24-25. The city is in a state of
siege, and is going to be destroyed very soon.
4. Jehovah's reply to Jeremiah's misgivings (vv. 26-35). The reply is this:
"Because of the people's sins Jerusalem shall be destroyed by the
Chaldeans."
5. Jehovah gives an emphatic promise of future favor (vv. 36-44). Again and
again Jehovah says, "I will gather them out of all countries; I will give
them one heart and one way; I will make an everlasting covenant with
them." Men shall buy fields, shall subscribe deeds, seal them and call
witnesses, etc.
Jeremiah gives the date of its deliverance, about the year 586 B.C., while the
Chaldeans were besieging the city and Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the
guard. The items of this chapter are as follows:
1. The call for a larger faith (vv. 2-3). Jehovah will show them difficult
things.
2. The city shall be reinhabited and shall be joyful (4-9). [I am simply giving
the substance of these portions. They are largely repetitions and details are
not necessary.]
3. The land of Judah shall be repopulated (vv. 10-13). Verse 12 says, "Yet
again there shall be in this place, which is waste, without man and without
beast, and in all the cities thereof, a habitation of shepherds causing their
flocks to lie down." In the cities of the lowland, the hill country, the
South, Benjamin, and Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of the
shepherd.
4. David shall have a righteous successor upon the throne (14-18). Verse 15
contains the substance, a glorious messianic picture, like Isaiah 11:1-2.
5. The royal line of David and of the Levitical priesthood shall certainly be
perpetuated, 19-22.
6. The Davidic Dynasty shall certainly be re-established (23-26). The seed of
David shall sit upon the throne.
The fulfilment of this prophecy occurred partly in the restoration, partly in Christianity,
and shall be completely fulfilled in the glorious reign of Christ when
Christianity shall be triumphant throughout the world. In this we have a
remarkable perspective of prophecy, a prophecy with several fulfilments
stretching over a long period of time.
QUESTIONS
1. What the nature of this
section of Jeremiah?
2. How does it compare with
his former prophecies?
3. How does it compare with
the prophets before him?
4. What the outline of these
four chapters?
5. What the date of this
prophecy?
6. What the nature of
30:1-3?
7. How is the importance of
this section here indicated and what the reason assigned?
8. What the prophecy
relative to Judah in 30:4-11?
9. How is Judah pictured in
30:12-17 and yet what hope is held out to Judah?
10. What the promise
respecting Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah in 30:18-22?
11. What the prophecy of
30:23-24 and what the fulfilment?
12. What the picture found
in 31:1-6 and when realized?
13. What the great promise
in 31:7-9?
14. What the announcement in
31:10-14 and other Old Testament passage similar to it?
15. What prophecy here
concerning Ephraim (31:15-20)?
16. What the exhortation in
31:21-22 and what the meaning of the "new thing" here?
17. What the prophecy as to
the life of Israel after the restoration (31:23-26) and how did this prospect
affect Jeremiah?
18. What the material
blessings for the renewed people and how is their individual responsibility set
forth? (31:27-30.)
19. What the blessings of
the new covenant? (31:31-34.)
20. What is said of the new
people in 31:35-37 and how is it expressed?
21. What the prophecy
concerning Jerusalem in 31:38-40 and when fulfilled?
22. What the date of the
prophecy of chapter 32?
23. What the main points of
this prophecy?
24. What the date and contents
of chapter 33?
THE PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH CONCERNING THE
NATIONS
Jeremiah 46-51
We now take up the prophecies of Jeremiah to the foreign nations, recorded in
Jeremiah 46-51. We note first, by way of introduction, that when Jeremiah was
called to be a prophet, it was said, 1:5: "I have appointed thee a prophet
unto the nations." Note again in 1:10: "I have this day set thee over
the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy
and to overthrow." Thus Jeremiah's work was not to be confined to Israel,
but to comprise the known world, at least all that part of it which had any
relation to or connection with Israel. So, in Jeremiah 25, we see him
exercising this function of prophet to the nations. Jehovah speaks to him and
says) 25:15: "Take this cup of wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the
nations to whom I send thee to drink it."
We are not told that Jeremiah visited other nations. By this passage it seems
that he did either visit them and deliver the prophecy, or that he wrote it and
sent it to them by a messenger. Certain it is that he sent this message of
destruction to all the nations that troubled Israel. He goes on, 25:17:
"Then took I the cup at Jehovah's hand and caused all nations to drink it
unto whom Jehovah sent me." In the next several verses we have all these
nations named. There are twenty-one, altogether. And those nations which he
names in Jeremiah 25 constitute some of the very people to whom he is writing
the messages in this section. Again in chapter 27 we have Jeremiah exercising
the prophetic function to the nations. In verses 2, 4 he makes a yoke to be
sent to the kings of the nations and addresses the ambassadors that have been
assembled at Jerusalem to arrange a plan for rebellion against Babylon and
devise methods by which they may throw off the Babylonian yoke. Jeremiah meets
them and Zedekiah and says, as recorded in the latter part of 27:12:
"Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him arid
live." He gave them this advice because he had said, "All the nations
shall serve the king of Babylon, and all those that do not serve him shall
perish, or go into captivity, at the hands of the great Nebuchadnezzar. It is
interesting to note that in the Septuagint Version, made in the third century
before Christ, the prophecies found in chapters 46-51 are found immediately
following 25:13, where their names are mentioned. That looks as if these were
written and sent to the nations about the same time that Jeremiah gives his
counsel to the messengers of the nations and to Zedekiah.
The dates of these chapters range from 604 B.C. to about 594 B.C. The critics
put some of them much later. But there is ample evidence to lead to the
conclusion that they occurred in that period in which Pharaoh-Necho suffered
defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, unto the fourth year of the reign of
Zedekiah. Notice that these various prophecies to the nations are grouped
together as Isaiah and Ezekiel grouped them. See Isaiah 12-23 and Ezekiel
25-32.
The date of the prophecy concerning Egypt is about 604 B.C. Probably the latter
portion of the chapter was written a little later, but certainly the first
twelve verses were written about 604 B.C. Compare with this Isaiah 19 and
Ezekiel 29-32 which deal with the same subject, the downfall and punishment of
Egypt. Jeremiah 46:1 is a general introduction to all these various prophecies.
We have an account of Egypt's defeat at Carohemish (46:2-12). The second verse
gives the date and the occasion of the prophecy. They occurred somewhere about
tour years after the disastrous defeat and death of the good King Josiah at
Megiddo. Pharaoh-Necho had pressed as far north and east as the fords of the
Euphrates, seeking to swell his coffers and enlarge his territory. He was met
there by the invincible Nebuchadnezzar. There was fought the great battle which
was to decide the fate of one or the other of these two kings. Carchemish was a
large city on the banks of the Euphrates, commanding the fords of that great
river, which was the dividing line between the empires. Pharaoh-Necho was
overwhelmed and driven back to Egypt. Jeremiah in the spirit of sarcasm
addresses the great army of Pharaoh-Necho: "Prepare ye the buckler and
shield, and draw near to battle. Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen,
and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, put on the coats of
mail."
Note the tone of verse 5: "Wherefore have I seen it? they are dismayed and
are turned backward; and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace,
and look not back: terror is on every side." Then again with a note of
sarcasm he raises this question, verse 7: "Who is this that riseth up like
the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?" That is Egypt.
Again, with a note of stinging sarcasm he continues in verse 9: "Go up, ye
horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Gush and Put,
that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow." In
verse 10 he pictures the defeat: "For that day is a day of the Lord,
Jehovah of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he many avenge him of his
adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its
fill of their blood; for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, hath a sacrifice in the
north country by the river Euphrates." This magnificent picture is the
description of the hand of God punishing Egypt. It is a sacrifice of Jehovah's
righteousness.
In verse 13 he gives the occasion and the substance of the prophecy.
Nebuchadnezzar would come and smite the land of Egypt. Then in verse 14 he
speaks of the cities of Egypt. He tells them to be ready and prepared. With a
note of sarcasm he continues in verse 15 by asking a question, "Why are
thy strong ones [thy gods] swept away?" Then the answer follows in the
same verse: "Because Jehovah did drive them." That is the reason. In
verse 17 we have a striking prophecy: "Pharaoh) the king of Egypt, is but
a noise." He has no power; he is only a noise; all boast and brag and not
to be feared.
In verse 25 he prophesies that Pharaoh's city, the city of Thebes, called
"Noamon," or "Amon of No," shall perish. Of late years
Egyptologists have discovered that city, and it is today just as Jeremiah
described it in this prophecy. It is utterly destroyed. In the latter part of
verse 26 he makes a remarkable promise regarding the kingdom of Egypt. There
shall not be made a full end of it; "afterward it shall be inhabited, as
in the days of old"; Egypt shall not be utterly destroyed. It shall live.
But Egypt was never the same after her defeat and subjugation by
Nebuchadnezzar. Profane history tells us that in the year 560 B.C. or
thereabout, Nebuchadnezzar defeated and overthrew Egypt. Jeremiah is vindicated
in his prophecy here, since what he wrote took place beyond any doubt.
There are words of reassurance and encouragement to Israel in 46:27-28:
"Fear not thou, O Jacob my servant, saith Jehovah; for I am with thee: for
I will make a full end of all nations whither I have driven thee; but I will
not make a full end of thee, but I will correct thee in measure, and will in no
wise leave thee unpunished." That sounds much like the second part of
Isaiah. In that prophecy this same promise is worked out in the great doctrine
of the servant of God. The Philistines were the old, hereditary enemies of
Israel. From the days of Samuel and the Judges, David and Solomon this nation
had existed and was, all the time, an enemy and troubler of Israel and Judah.
The date of the prophecy (47:1-7) is a little uncertain. The latter part of the
first verse says that this prophecy came before Pharaoh smote Gaza. Now that
was the Pharaoh-Necho who defeated Josiah, some time previous to 604 B.C. He
had laid siege to Gaza, the chief city of Philistia, and had utterly
overwhelmed it. Previous to that Jeremiah uttered this prophecy against
Philistia. He says in verse 2, "Behold, waters rise up out of the north,
and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and all
that is therein." Thus he pictures the invading hosts of Nebuchadnezzar
coming from the north like an overflowing river, down the plains of Tyre to
this Philistine city. In verse 4 he says that they shall all be overthrown.
Now, we have a remarkable question on this part of Jeremiah, verse 6. He sees
this fearful shedding of blood, and raises the question, “O thou sword of
Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy
scabbard; rest, and be still." Evidently this implies that God ordered
this bloodshed and that the nation was doing his will in thus punishing the
wickedness of the Philistines.
What the relation of Moab to Israel and what the main points of the prophecy
against her (48:1-47)? It is interesting here to compare this passage with Isaiah
15-16, and also Ezekiel 25:9-11. Israel had come into very intimate relations
with Moab. They passed through that land, and the tribe of Reuben had the
territory which joined Moab. Between these two (Reuben and Moab) there were
constant feuds with intermittent friendship. Finally Moab succeeded in throwing
off the yoke of Israel and absorbing the tribe of Reuben. Moab was famous for
her pride, her self-sufficiency. She was one of the proudest nations of the
world. It was against this pride and self-sufficiency that this prophecy was
directed. It contains a great many expressions that are identical with what we
find in Isaiah 15-16. In this chapter the prophet gives us much of the
geography of Moab. He mentions, altogether, about twenty-six cities. The
principal thoughts are these:
1. Moab's threatened destruction and exile by Babylon (48:1-10).
2. Moab's disappointed hope, and the imminence of her calamity (48:11-25).
3. The humiliation of Moab, and her fate described (48: 26-46).
4. A promise of return: "Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in
the latter days, saith Jehovah" (48:47).
I call attention to two or three striking passages in this prophecy against
Moab. In verse 10 Jeremiah is speaking of the terrible work which
Nebuchadnezzar will do to Moab and he wants that work thoroughly done, and
says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently." Now
that is a fine text. He continues, "Cursed be he that keepeth back his
sword from blood." The idea in it all is that Jehovah wants these
Babylonians to do their work thoroughly. Also in verse II we have a striking
passage: "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on
his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone
into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not
changed." The figure here is that of fresh wine left to stand. When it is
left thus, sediment gathers in the bottom. It becomes thick and stagnant and
the quality is injured. Something like that had happened in Moab. She had grown
stagnant; had been quiet for years. It was not good for her to remain in this
condition. Self-satisfaction is not a good thing.
We have the prophecy against Ammon (49:1-6). The country of Ammon bordered on
the land of Moab and the territory of the tribe of Reuben. There was constant
strife between Ammon and Reuben. When Tiglath-Pileser invaded the land and
deported the inhabitants, Ammon came up and seized the country that belonged to
Reuben. Because of that incident Jeremiah uttered these oracles: "Hath
Israel no sons? hath he no heir? Why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his
people dwell in the cities thereof?" He had seized the property that
belonged to Israel, and that is what Jeremiah is denouncing. They shall all go
into exile. He then closes this prophecy with a promise of restoration:
"But I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon."
Compare with the prophecy against Edom the prophecy of Obadiah, which is almost
identical. Jeremiah must have been familiar with the prophecy of Obadiah.
Compare also Isaiah 34. Edom was a kinsman of the house of Jacob. Edom dwelt in
his mountain fastnesses and impregnable heights, and was something of a
military power. He never lost the bitterness of Esau against Jacob because the
latter got his birthright and blessing. They first dwelt in tents and were
Bedouin, but at this time most of them dwelt in cities or towns. Edom watched
from his fastnesses the career of Jacob and, as Obadiah says, looked on her
destruction without pity. When she had opportunity she took some of the
inhabitants of Israel, made them slaves and rejoiced over the downfall of
Jerusalem. For such unbrotherly conduct Judah never forgave Edom. Sufficient is
it to say that we have here the pronouncement of doom upon her and there is no
promise of restoration. For several centuries Edom flourished to some extent,
and in the time of the restoration she occupied considerable territory of
Judah. In the time of Christ an Edomite sat upon the throne of Judah, but since
then Edom has gone down and today nothing remains of her but a great wilderness
of mountains and deserts.
In connection with the prophecy against Damascus (49: 23-27) we have prophecies
concerning two little countries, namely, Hamath and Arpad. Damascus is to have
troubles, she is to be sad in her fate and she is to wax very feeble. Her city
is to be, not utterly destroyed, but greatly humbled. There is no promise of
restoration.
Kedar is the name of the wandering and marauding, warlike tribes that live in
the deserts east of Palestine, between eastern Palestine and the river
Euphrates. They are called the "Children of the East." They have
lived there from time immemorial. They were there before the days of Abraham
and are there yet. The men of Kedar are to be overwhelmed by the Babylonian
power. The city of Hazor is referred to as belonging to this people. The larger
portion of these Arabians lived in tents and were Bedouin, but some of them
lived in cities or villages. So the prophet addresses both classes, Kedar and
Hazor, pronouncing destruction upon them.
We have the prophecy against Elam (49:34-39). In Abraham's time there was a
king of Elam, who was the overlord of Babylon, and the over-lord of the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah. He came to the plains of Palestine and collected tribute
from them. Elam was one of the principal forces that Abraham attacked and
destroyed. A great many of the inhabitants were transported to northern
Palestine when Samaria was destroyed by Sargon, so that Jeremiah is brought
into touch with these Elamites because they lived in the northern part of the
country. The fate of Elam is bound 'up with the fate of Babylon and that of
Israel. Elam is threatened with destruction, but in verse 39 there is a promise
of restoration. It is interesting to note that in the fulfilment of that
promise of restoration, there were Elamites in the city of Jerusalem when Peter
preached his great sermon at Pentecost. Doubtless there were Elamites converted
at that time and brought into the fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The prophecy against Babylon (50-51) is the. longest of any of the prophecies
concerning the foreign nations. Compare this with Isaiah 13-14; 40-48. The date
of this prophecy is set forth in 51:59. It was in the fourth year of the reign
of Zedekiah, about 494 B.C. Jeremiah penned this long prophecy and sent it by a
messenger to the king of Babylon, to be read by the exiles, and he says in
verse 63, "When thou hast made an end of reading this book, thou shall
bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates: and thou shall
say, Thus shalt Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that
I will bring upon her." A copy of the prophecy was kept by the prophet.
This action was symbolical. We cannot go into detail in the study of this
prophecy. The situation is the same as that set forth in Isaiah 40-66. It
presents many of the same ideas and the same problems. There are scores of
similar expressions. The principal ideas are as follows:
1. The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon and the city of Jerusalem had
been destroyed: 50:6-7, 17, 28, 33; 51:11,34,51.
2. Babylon was the instrument of Jehovah in punishing Israel and the nations,
four times stated: 50:7, 17; 51:7, 20-23.
3. Jehovah remains the deliverer of his people. This is stated by the prophet
four times: 50:34; 51:5, 15-19, 36.
4. Jehovah will execute his wrath upon Babylon and her gods and they shall be
destroyed. Fully two-thirds of this entire prophecy is given to the discussion
of this thought: 50:2-3, 10-16, 18, 21-27; 51:1-4, 8-9, 11-19.
5. The Modes and their allies are to break the Babylonian yoke. This is stated
eight times altogether: 50:3, 9, 41-42, 44; 51:11,27-28.
6. Promise of release from Babylon and command to leave the city. Eleven times
the prophet makes statements to that effect: 50:4-5, 8, 19-20, 28; and others.
7. Spiritual renewal of Israel shall follow the return from Babylon. This is
stated by the prophet five times: 50:4-5; 51:10,50-51.
In these seven divisions we have the substance of these chapters. Isaiah 40-48
contains the same thoughts, sometimes even in the same words.
Almost all the critics maintain that Jeremiah did not write these chanters.
Even a Baptist professor produced a commentary that was published by a Baptist
publishing house, in which it is plainly affirmed that Jeremiah did not write
them. The arguments used against the Jeremiah-authorship are in substance, as
follows:
1. The historical situation had not yet arrived. These chapters picture Israel in
exile, the Temple destroyed and Jerusalem in ruins. If Jeremiah wrote these
chapters in 594 B.C. (and it is plainly stated that he did) Jerusalem was still
standing, the Temple intact, and the end of Babylon was yet seventy years more
in the future. Therefore, the critics conclude that since the historical
situation was not in harmony with these chapters, Jeremiah did not write them.
That conclusion is undeniably based upon the assumption that Jeremiah could not
see the future.
2. There is not the same point of view on the part of the prophet. The point of
view of the prophet about this time was that Zedekiah and his people must
submit to Babylon, and if they would submit, they would be saved. But now in
these chapters the point of view of the prophet seems to be that these nations
are to be destroyed and Judah triumph. Therefore, Jeremiah must have a
different point of view. Did he? As in the other contention, it is based upon
the assumption that Jeremiah could not see the future.
3. The temper which permeates these chapters was not that of Jeremiah. In other
words, Jeremiah, during the reign of Zedekiah, had been friendly to Babylon in
that he continually counseled submission to Babylon. He seems to be a friend to
Babylon. Now, these two chapters were written by a man whose soul seemed to be
on fire with denunciation of Babylon because of her ruthless and unrelenting
cruelty to Israel. The critics cannot account for the change in the temper of
Jeremiah, if it is conceded that he wrote these two chapters in question.
In reply, it may be asked, Does it follow that because he advised submission to
a foreign power he loved that power and was not loyal to his own people?
Jeremiah counseled submission to Babylon, not because he loved Babylon, but
because he could see, in fact it was revealed to him, that Babylon was destined
to prevail and that if his people would quietly submit, it would be better than
to resist. By no means does it follow that he loved Babylon. He did not love
Babylon; he was a patriotic Israelite and could not but have hated that savage
nation that overwhelmed his own beloved kinsmen. It is easy to see how he
could, with perfect consistency, thus write the doom that was coming upon this
savage nation for its wickedness. Though it was a wicked heathen nation, God
could overrule its cruelty to be the just punishment for Israel's sins and
wickedness.
4. It is full of repetitions and lacks logical development. And so it does. But
is it not in that very fact, like the work of Jeremiah? Our critical friends
have worked out a system of logical development and they make heaven and earth
fit into the mold of their theory. I fear that in trying to get all heaven into
their logical system, they have failed to get any of it into their hearts.
Here are five reasons for accepting the Jeremiah authorship of chapters 50-51:
1. It is expressly stated that Jeremiah did write it (51: 59-64). That ought to
settle the question.
2. The style is like that of Jeremiah, full of repetitions. We have called
attention to that very thing over and over again in our studies of the book.
3. The prophecy is altogether appropriate. Jeremiah was a patriotic Israelite,
and his feelings toward Babylon could not have been that of friendship. He must
have been permeated with the spirit of denunciation.
4. Denial of his authorship is based upon a mechanical theory of prophecy and
inspiration. That is, after all, the real source of these denials.
5. Granting inspiration, Jeremiah was thoroughly competent to write every word
of these two chapters. We could not expect that Jeremiah, a prophet to the
nations, would live and die without having something to say about Babylon.
QUESTIONS
1. What the theme of
Jeremiah 46-51 and what the evidence elsewhere of Jeremiah's call to this special
function as a prophet?
2. What the dates of these
several prophecies?
3. What the date of the
prophecy concerning Egypt, what parallel prophecies in the other prophets and
what the nature of 46:1?
4. Give an account of
Egypt's defeat at Carchemish (46:2-12).
5. Give an account of the
overthrow of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar (46:13-26).
6. What the words of
reassurance and encouragement to Israel in 46:27-28?
7. Who were the Philistines,
what the date of this prophecy (47:1-6) against them and what the prophecy
itself, especially verse 6?
8. What the relation of Moab
to Israel and what the main points of the prophecy against her? (48:1-47.)
9. What things worthy of
special note in this prophecy against Moab?
10. What the occasion of the
prophecy against Ammon in 49:1-6 and what the points of the prophecy?
11. What the relation of
Edom to Israel and what the prophecy here (49:7-22) against her?
12. What the prophecy
against Damascus? (49:23-27.)
13. Who was Kedar and what
the prophecy here against Kedar? (49:28-33.)
14. Who were the Elamites
and what the prophecy against Elam in 49:34-39?
15. How does the prophecy
against Babylon compare with the other prophecies here given, what the date and
what the symbolical action in this connection, the meaning of it, and what the
principal ideas?
16. What the arguments of
the critics against the authenticity of this section and upon what is each
based?
17. Give five reasons for
accepting the Jeremiah authorship of chapters 50-51.
THE CLOSING SCENES IN THE LIFE OF JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 40-44
These closing scenes in the life of the prophet took place subsequent to the
year 586 B.C. and probably before 580 B.C. They occupied a space of about four
or five years, possibly a few more.
We commence this discussion by looking at the fate of Jerusalem, and the fate
of Jeremiah immediately following that event. In 40:6 we have an account of the
fall of the city and its destruction by the men of the Babylonian army.
Zedekiah and the chief captain, through a breach in the wall sought to make
their escape into the valley of the Jordan and the plains of Moab beyond. The
king and the remnant of his army were overtaken and captured by the Chaldeans
and taken to Riblah, the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar. Many of them doubtless
escaped. Some of these found refuge in Moab, and some in the mountains of
Judah. Thus there was a considerable number of the inhabitants that made their
escape by fleeing in every direction.
When the forces of Nebuchadnezzar broke through the walls of the city and took
it, the ruthless soldiers of the Chaldeans doubtless wreaked their vengeance
upon the inhabitants. Judging from the picture in the book of Lamentations,
many were slaughtered and many of the nobles were butchered, but they did not
really sack the city. They took many captives. Their main object was to take
the inhabitants alive, as there was value in them as slaves, and this was their
aim more than mere butchery of the people. Of course, they sought to take the
king's family and all of his household; also the nobles and all the chief
families.
When they were destroying the city and taking the royal families, they found
Jeremiah, the prophet, for he was imprisoned in the court of the guard. He was
bound and taken out as far as Ramah, 40:2-4: "The captain of the guard
took Jeremiah, and said unto him, Jehovah thy God pronounced this evil upon
this place; and Jehovah hath brought it, and done accordingly as he spake. . .
. And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which are upon thy
hand." According to the account in the previous chapter he had received
direct orders from the king to set Jeremiah free.
This heathen speaks as if he were a very pious man; as if he thoroughly
believed in Jeremiah's doctrine: "The Lord hath brought this evil upon
this place and done as he spoke because ye have sinned against Jehovah."
Those are almost Jeremiah's very words. He speaks to Jeremiah and tells him to
go back to Gedaliah, the governor, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over
the land. This man that had been appointed governor was a member of the royal
family and a great man, one of the princes of Jerusalem. Thus he returned and
found that Gedaliah had called the people, and held a rally at Mizpah, about
four or five miles from Jerusalem.
We have an account of the colony which was established at Mizpah (40:7-12). It
is said that the people, when they heard that the king of Babylon had made
Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, governor in the land, committed unto him the men
and women and children. Verse 8 gives the names of the princes and chief men.
Gedaliah called the people together and made appointments as he had authority
to do. It says in verse 9, "And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam . . . [and this
man, Ahikam, had saved the life of Jeremiah.] Fear not to serve the Chaldeans:
dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with
you." Now, that was exactly what Jeremiah had been preaching for years.
Here was one man who was with Jeremiah. It was doubtless because of this fact
that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed him to this position. He says in verse 10:
"As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans
that shall come unto us." They could not live in Jerusalem. The city was
in ruins. He planned to live at Mizpah, to meet the Chaldeans that would come
to him.
In the latter half of verse 10, it says, "But ye, gather ye the wine and
the summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your
cities that ye have taken." In verse 11 he says, "The Jews that were
in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and that were in all the
countries, when they heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of
Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah, they returned to their native
land." In the latter part of verse 12 it says, "And gathered wine and
summer fruits very much," which seems to indicate that the people simply
helped themselves to the fields and vineyards that had been left.
The king of Ammon, having heard of this new colony established at Mizpah, with
Gedaliah as governor, set to work to induce a certain fanatical Jew by the name
of Ishmael, to murder him. We do not know just why he desired the murder of the
governor. It may be that he thought that it would mean increase of territory to
him and that the people would rally to him and that would mean more power.
Again, it may be that this man Ishmael was a fanatical Israelite who hated the
Chaldeans and any one of his own people who was friendly to them. So he
connived with the king of Ammon to do the deed. When Johanan found out this
plot he warned Gedaliah, his friend) that Ishmael was about to take his life.
But Gedaliah did not believe it. He felt that no one would dare to take his
life, the life of the governor whom the great king of Babylon had appointed,
for Nebuchadnezzar would not fail to punish a crime like that. But this man
Johanan knew and so he says in verse 15, "Let me go, and I will slay
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it." He knew that if
Ishmael should slay the royal governor, Nebuchadnezzar would take vengeance on
the people, and all must suffer.
An account of the murder of Gedaliah and his friends is given in 41:1-3.
Ishmael was a fanatical patriot. He came to see Gedaliah, and the chiefs of the
king's officers were with him. They came to Mizpah. So they ate bread together
and among Orientals that is a sacred thing. But this man, Ishmael, did not
scruple to violate this custom of his fellows. Verse 2 says, "Then arose
Ishmael . . . and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him."
The murder of Gedaliah was concealed, verse 4: "And it came to pass the
second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, that there came men
from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even four score men, having their
beards shaven and their clothes rent." They had frankincense and meal in
their hands to bring them to the house of Jehovah. They were coming to worship.
Note now the treachery of Ishmael. It is said in verse 6 that he went forth to
meet them, weeping all along as he went. He pretended to be in sorrow. He said
to them when he met them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam," and
when they came in to the midst of the city Ishmael slew them and then cast them
into the midst of the pit. But ten of them told this villain that they had
stores of wealth, and begged him to spare them; so he saved them for the sake
of their wealth. That gives us some idea of the character of this man, Ishmael.
Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people and departed to go
over to the children of Ammon (v. 10).
Ishmael gathered together what people he had and started, but Johanan was not
idle. He gathered others and pursued and when he came near, all the people who
had been carried away captive by Ishmael came over to Johanan but Ishmael
managed to escape.
Then the colony went to Bethlehem under the leadership of Johanan. We readily
see the plight in which Johanan now found himself. Word would come to
Nebuchadnezzar that his faithful governor had been slain. Johanan knew what
that would mean, and so did the people. They knew that the great king would
send his army, and then there would be no mercy shown. They were afraid of the
Chaldeans because Ishmael had slain the governor, Gedaliah (v. 18).
An account of the colony at Bethlehem and Jeremiah's relation to it is found in
42:1 to 43:7. We are following the nucleus of the nation, that part of the
nation which constituted the organized body of Israel. There were thousands of
the Jews in other nations at that time, but we are following here the nucleus.
This nucleus constituted the organized germ of the nation. The prophet had been
forced to go with them. See verse 2: "Let, we pray thee, our supplication
be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God." Again, in
verse 3: "That Jehovah thy God may show us the thing we should do and
wherein we should walk." It looks now as if they were actually turning to
the prophet; that they were on his side; that they were coming to his terms.
Has he at last succeeded in winning the nation? Not at all, as we shall see.
The prophet said, Well, I will inquire of Jehovah for you. I will do this if
you will promise me that you will do what he says. Ten days passed, and the
prophet doubtless spent them in prayer, while the people spent them in
consultation. At the end of the ten days Jeremiah received his message, and
they had likewise made up their minds as to what they were going to do. We have
that message in 42:10-11: "If ye will still abide in this land, then will
I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up;
for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the
king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah:
for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hands." Note
also 42:13: "But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so that ye
obey not the voice of your God, but say, We will go into the land of Egypt,
where we shall see no more war, . . . So shall it be with all the men that set
their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by
the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from
the evil that I will bring upon them."
The prophet is able to see through their motive. Notice particularly verse 20:
"For ye have dealt deceitfully against your souls; . . . saying unto me,
Pray for us unto Jehovah our God." In other words, he says, While begging
me to inquire of God you have already made up your minds what you are going to
do. Verse 21: "And I have this day declared it unto you; but ye have not
obeyed the voice of God." Now, that is like many people in modern life.
They may want to know what God is going to do, what his will is, and yet at the
same time have made up their minds already as to what they are going to do.
They refused to remain in Judah. "Then they spake to Jeremiah and said
unto him, Ye have spoken falsely, for Jehovah your God hath not sent you unto
us to say, Ye shall not dwell in the land of Egypt, to sojourn there."
Now, that was a very strange saying. Jeremiah had prophesied during forty years
that the city would be destroyed, and his prophecy had been fulfilled to the
letter, and other things that he had foretold had come to pass, and here he is
giving another prophecy, and they listen to him; then tell him that he
prophesies falsely; that he is a lying prophet. Notice in 43:3: "But Baruch
setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans to
carry us away." So they went into Egypt.
Jeremiah's symbolic action in Egypt is described in 43: 8-13. As soon as they
arrived Jeremiah performed another of his symbolic actions, verse 9: "Take
great stones in thy hand and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at
the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of
Judah." Professor Petrie, perhaps the greatest of all Egyptologists, found
a few years ago in the mortar of the brickwork of the ruins of that very city,
great stones hidden in mortar. We do not know that these were the very stones
that Jeremiah put there, but certainly it is very suggestive. It looks as if
Jeremiah's prophecy was verified. That city is in ruins. Verse 12: "I will
kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and
carry them away captive."
Now let us look at Jeremiah's message to the Jews in Egypt (44:1-14). There was
a great assembly at Tahpanhes. Jeremiah seizes this opportunity to deliver his
message to them about idolatry. Their sins brought punishment upon them. He
urges them to repent and turn from idolatry. Verse 4: "Oh, do not this
abominable thing." But the people were determined to remain in idolatry
(44:15-23). The men had gathered together and their idolatrous wives were
gathered with them. Verse 16: "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto
us, we will not hearken unto thee." In verse 17 he says, "But we will
certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn
incense unto the queen of heaven." Now, we come to a remarkable passage.
These people argue that because they stopped worshiping the queen of heaven,
their calamities had come upon them. Jeremiah said that it was because they
turned from Jehovah; they said that it was because they learned from the queen
of heaven. That was the issue. They said that when Josiah made them stop
worshiping the queen of heaven, then their troubles began. Then the women began
to make their excuse. They said that their husbands allowed them to worship the
queen of heaven. They did that, maybe, to keep peace in the family, and now
they were being charged with the trouble. The meaning of it all was that these
people had simply made up their minds that they would be idolaters, and no
power in the universe could turn them from it. Jeremiah had been preaching
against it for forty years, and they would not hearken. Now, they tell him that
they will not listen, they will not obey. Then Jeremiah presented his argument
in answer to their excuses and reasons: You have sinned and this is the reason
for your calamity.
This is Jeremiah's last sermon, that is, it is the last one that we have any
record of. He speaks to the people another word: "Hearken to this word: I
have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named
by any man of Judah in Egypt. . . . And they that escape the sword shall return
out of the land of Egypt few in number." He continues as to Egypt: "Behold,
I will give Pharaoh Hophra into the hands of his enemies, as I gave Zedekiah,
the king of Judah, into the hands of his enemies." Indeed, it was only a
few years till Nebuchadnezzar did invade Egypt and took it. There were Jews in
Egypt until the time of Christ, but unquestionably very few of these Jews in
Jeremiah's time escaped the perilous times that followed. According to the last
trustworthy account we have of Jeremiah he was in Egypt. Tradition says that he
died at the hands of his own people.
QUESTIONS
1. What the date of this
section?
2. Give an account of the
capture of Zedekiah and the chief captain, and those who escaped.
3. What disposition did the
Chaldeans make of the inhabitants of Jerusalem ?
4. Give an account of Jeremiah's
capture and release.
5. Give an account of the
colony which was established at Mizpah (40:7-12).
6. Give an account of the
plot against Gedaliah and the work of Johanan.
7. Give an account of the
murder of Gedaliah and his friends (41 :l-8).
8. Give an account of the
murder of the seventy pilgrims (41:4-10).
9. Describe the
counter-attack of Johanan and Ishmael's escape (41:11-15).
10. What the result of this
murder to Johanan and the people?
11. Give an account of the
colony at Bethlehem and Jeremiah's relation to it (42:1 to 43:7).
12. What was Jeremiah's
symbolic action in Egypt? (43:8-13.)
13. What was Jeremiah's
message to the Jews in Egypt? (44:1-14.)
14. How did they receive his
message and what reason did they assign? (44:15-23.) Give details.
15. What the last words of
Jeremiah, where did he die, and what tradition respecting his death?
JEREMIAH'S LAMENTATIONS
Lamentations 1-6
We will now take up a brief survey of the book of Lamentations. This book
belongs to the third division of the Old Testament, known as the Writings, the
Greek Hagiographa. The book of Lamentations is grouped with four other small
books and these five are known by the Jews as the Meghilloth. These five books
are Songs of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. They are read
at special seasons of the year by the Jews, and the book of Lamentations was
read, and is still read, on the anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem, which
occurred on the ninth day of the fourth month of their year, corresponding to
about our August 9. For 2,200 or 2,300 years this book has been read in their
assemblies at this time. Not only has it been read, but it has also been quoted
by thousands and tens of thousands of Jews who tarry at the Jewish wailing
place in Jerusalem. It has voiced the sorrow of the Jewish people over the
destruction of their city and its Temple for more than 2,000 years. It will
continue to do so until the Jews are brought to Christ and realize that there
is no need for the Temple and the ritual; that these were done away by Jesus
Christ.
Tradition says that shortly after the fall of Jerusalem, when Jeremiah was
partly free, he sat down in a quarry, a few miles north of Jerusalem near the
road to Damascus, and there composed these lamentations. The authorship of
Jeremiah has been questioned by the critical school, but this tradition goes
back as early as the third century before Christ, and the Septuagint Version
says at the beginning of this book that Jeremiah wrote these words. The book
itself is an elegy on the fall of the city of Jerusalem. Its theme is the
destruction of the city and it voices the dismay and sorrow that fell upon the
nation at that awful event.
A fine example of an elegy in modern literature is Gray's Elegy Written in a
Country Church Yard. Lamentations is also an elegy but composed by a prophet,
and as such it has been rather unpopular, is seldom read, seldom used, and
seldom preached from.
The form of the book which is not brought out in the translation, is that of an
acrostic poem, except the last chapter. The first letter of the first Hebrew
word in each verse begins with a corresponding letter in the Hebrew alphabet.
There are twenty-two verses each in chapters I and 2. In chapter 3, sixty-six
verses, a multiple of twenty-two. In the fourth, twenty-two. In the fifth,
twenty-two.
Now, in 1:1, the first word begins with the first Hebrew letter of the
alphabet. In 1:2 the first letter of the first word is the second Hebrew
letter, and so on through the alphabet. Chapter 2 is the same. In chapter 3,
the three first lines begin with the first letter, and the second group of
three lines begins with the second letter, and so on to the end of that
chapter.
The writer chose the word which contained the right letter at the beginning of
that word. In many cases it was doubtless a difficult task. Some can hardly
imagine Jeremiah taking the time to do that, and yet it is the tradition that
he did. It seems to them that his state of mind would hardly lend itself to
such a mechanical arrangement of his verse and his thought, but the book is
before us, and the tradition is that Jeremiah wrote it, and we must take it as
it is. Chapter 5 is not written in the acrostic form. The first four chapters
only are thus arranged.
Now, the style, or form of the verse, is peculiar. The Hebrews had a form of
verse, or stanza, which they used to express sorrow and which is called
"the lament," or "the dirge." The form of the stanza is
this: The first line is of average length, the second line a little shorter;
also the next verse, or stanza, has the first line longer than the second, and
so on all through the poem, which gives a peculiar funeral dirge effect to
their song with a pathetic and melancholy cadence as they repeat it.
I call attention here to a few of these. Notice in chapter I: How doth the city
sit solitary, that was full of people I She is become as a widow, that was
great among the nations) She that was a princess among the provinces is become
tributary!
Thus, a large part of the poem has that peculiar, pathetic, melancholy, dirge like
cadence which expresses, perhaps more accurately than any other form of poetry
could express, the feeling that animated the hearts of those people.
The following is an outline of the contents:
I. The desolation and misery of Jerusalem
(1).
1. The poem bewails the solitude and desertion of the city; her people are in
exile, the enemy has seized her treasures, her glory is departed (vv. 1-11).
Almost every point of view from which one can look at it is given; almost every
possible expression of feeling and emotion are brought out here.
2. The city herself declares the severity of the affliction (vv. 12-16). Verse
12 is regarded as a messianic expression in Handel's Messiah, and may be
likened unto the suffering of Jesus Christ. It is the voice of the city
expressing itself through the prophet, calling attention to the unparalleled
sorrow through which it has passed.
3. She acknowledges Jehovah's righteousness and prays for retribution upon her foes
(vv. 17-22).
II. Jehovah's anger with his people (2).
1. The stress is laid on the causes of the suffering. Jehovah is her enemy; he
has cast off his people, his land, and his sanctuary. That is brought out in
verse 3 and others. As in other verses of the poem, he turns the kaleidoscope
of his imagination upon the awful event and presents it in almost every phase (vv.
2:1-9).
2. The agony of the people in the capital, the contempt of the passers-by, and
the malicious triumph of her foes (vv. 10-17). Here is doubtless one of the
most terrible pictures of a siege to be found in all literature. He speaks
about the virgins of Jerusalem; then he speaks about his own sorrow, then about
the young children, the babes starving and crying to their mothers for bread
and wine.
3. The nations are invited by the prophet to entreat Jehovah on behalf of its
dying children. It responds in the prayer of verses 18-22.
III. The nation's complaint and its ground
of consolation (3).
1. They bewail their calamities (vv. 1-20). Here he seems to call up every
phase of it, and uses almost very figure to describe suffering. This section is
paralleled in almost every line with some statement of Job where he describes
his sufferings. I call attention to verse 19: "Remember mine affliction
and my misery, the wormwood and the gall." This is the origin of that
expression, Sinners whose love can ne'er forget, The wormwood and the gall.
2. They console themselves by the thought of God's compassion and the grace he
may have in the visitation (vv. 21-39). Here we have some jewels in this poem.
Verse 22 is one: "It is of Jehovah's loving-kindnesses that we are not
consumed, because his compassions fail not." That means that they are not
totally consumed because of the mercy of Jehovah. Jeremiah had said that he
would not make a full end, because "his compassions fail not. They are new
every morning: great is thy faithfulness." A man who could write that
after going through the horrors through which Jeremiah passed, while he was
looking upon the deserted city, his own loved capital, has achieved one of the
greatest victories of faith that man can possibly achieve.
Everything had been taken away from Jeremiah except his life and God. He had
nothing. Then he said, "The Lord is my portion," i.e., "He is
enough for me." Another beautiful expression is verse 27: "It is good
for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." This is a fine saying and
contains a fine philosophy.
3. The people are invited to confess their guilt and turn to God in penitence (vv.
40-54). Here we seem to be reading out of Jeremiah's own experience. This
passage expresses how Jeremiah felt when he was put down into that dungeon, but
they did not cut off his life.
4. He becomes more hopeful (vv. 55-57).
5. A confidential appeal for vengeance on the nation's foes (vv. 58-66). That
is Jeremiah still. Almost every time he is under persecution and affliction he
calls for vengeance.
IV. Zion's past and present contrasted
(4).
1. The former splendor, and present humiliation of Zion and its inhabitants (vv.
1-11). He contrasts first, the gold that has become dim, the pure gold that is
changed. Then the precious sons of Zion are mentioned. Their condition at
present is contrasted with their condition in the past. "The daughter of
my people" is also mentioned and her condition in the past contrasted with
the present. "Become cruel like an ostrich in the wilderness." The
infant, the nursing child, is different now. "Its tongue cleaveth to the
roof of its mouth for thirst." They that have been reared up in scarlet,
now embrace the dunghills, searching for some morsel to appease the pangs of
hunger. Her mothers are also contrasted with their past condition.
2. Priests and prophets are so stained by guilt that they find no resting place
even among the heathen (vv. 12-16). Verse 13: "Because of the sins of her
prophets and iniquities of her priests that have shed the blood of the just in
the midst of her." As a result of that they wander as blind men in the
streets; they are polluted with blood. Men cannot touch their garments; they
say, "Depart ye, unclean, depart! depart! touch not." When they fled
away and wandered, men said among the nations, "They shall no more sojourn
here." They were so vile that even the heathen nations spurned them.
3. The people cannot escape their pursuers. Egypt has disappointed them, and
Zedekiah, the anointed of Jehovah, has failed (vv. 17-20). Zedekiah, the
anointed of the Lord, was captured by the Chaldeans and treated as if he were
little more than an animal.
4. Though Edom may triumph for awhile, Israel's punishment will be completed
and the cup will be passed to the foes (21-22). There is sarcasm here:
"The cup shall pass through unto thee also; thou shall be drunken, and
shalt make thyself naked."
V. The nation's appeal for Jehovah's
Compassionate Regard (5).
(As we said, this chapter of the poem is not acrostic; is a little different
from the other chapters; and may have been written later, a few years after the
people had been in exile.)
1. He calls upon Jehovah to consider the affliction of the people, indicating
the nature and severity of that affliction (vv. 1-18). Here, again, over and
over in a great many different ways and fashions and forms and figures he
reiterates the same sad truths and presents the same great sorrows. In verse 7
he voices the sentiments of the people that are suffering, both those in the
city and those in exile. The complaint was heard by Ezekiel away off in
Babylonia! Our fathers sinned, and are not; And we have borne their iniquities.
That cry and complaint both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had to meet and answer. It was
the cry that the people had to suffer for the sins of their fathers, and of
which they were innocent. See Ezekiel 18.
2. Zion's desolation brings to his mind, by way of contrast, the thought of
Jehovah's abiding power, and on the ground of this he repeats his appeal for
help (vv. 19-22).
This is the greatest elegy ever written, though it begins in the greatest
heights of confidence at the end.
Jeremiah was an ardent patriot, one of the greatest patriots of history. The
Hungarian patriot, Kossuth, was worldfamed, but no Kossuth loved his country
and suffered more for it than Jeremiah, no Garibaldi ever fought and bled for
his nation with truer heart than did this prophet, and no George Washington
ever fought and prayed and worked and toiled more than did Jeremiah for his
land. But even Jeremiah could not stay the inevitable; he could not save
Jerusalem. Savonarola could not save Florence, nor could Kossuth save his
country.
Jeremiah was a statesman-prophet, a prophet to the other nations as well as to
Israel. He did not confine himself to the narrow realm of his own little nation
and country; he saw what was going on throughout all the world and saw God's
hand in history. He was bigger than his people. He took in all the known world
in his horizon. He foresaw what was coming and he gave advice to all the
nations.
His nature was deeply emotional. No man had greater tenderness of heart than
Jeremiah; no man could sympathize more with his people. No man could be more
overpowered with sorrow over their sins and their destruction. He even prayed
that his eyes might be a fountain of tears, pouring forth their grief and
sorrow and if possible wash away the sins of the people. Some of the greatest
depths to be found in all human experiences are to be found in Jeremiah. He was
the most human and most outspoken of all the prophets. He was not afraid to lay
bare his heart. He allows us to see down into its very depths. He laments, he
complains, he even complains to Jehovah, and writes his complaints in the
inspired Word. He calls for vengeance upon his foes. He feels like accusing God
for having called him into the prophetic work. When in the depths of
despondence, he curses the day he was born, and actually censures his mother
for having brought him forth. He even considers the question of quitting the
ministry altogether. He was like a weaned child that has its struggle and
cries, but by and by it rests upon its mother's bosom. So in the latter part of
Jeremiah's life he is at rest, calm and patient. He has had his fight and is
quiet. How human he was!
His nature was one of surpassing strength. It is generally considered that one of
the fundamental things in Jeremiah's character was weakness. The fact that when
he was called to the ministry he said, "I cannot speak, I am a boy, I am
only a youth," does not mean that he was fundamentally weak. It is not a
sign of weakness, that a man has a sense of weakness when called to such a
work. The keener our sense of weakness, the stronger we are, because it makes
us feel our dependence upon God, and we go to him for strength and he is with
us and helps us by his Spirit.
Jeremiah was a strong man, one of the strongest the world has ever known from
the moral point of view. He never shrank from his duty, even when it brought
him face to face with death. There was a fire. within him which burned, and
when it burned Jeremiah spoke forth, no matter what it cost. The word of God
was the very essence of his being. He even tried to prevent the inevitable, and
fought for forty years against it – the inevitable, that Judah should perish.
He has been described as "a figure cast in brass, dissolved in tears,"
which expresses better, perhaps, than any other statement, his character.
Though all the world was against him he never flinched, he never shrank, he
maintained a consistent attitude all that period of nearly fifty years, and
never failed.
His prophetic insight was of the profoundest kind. No man saw deeper into
humanity than Jeremiah. He was the first man to say, "The heart is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?" He
got a vision of the higher moral truths of the new dispensation of Jesus
Christ, and in his prophecy of the new covenant he reaches greater heights than
any other prophet. He saw true religion as no other man had seen it. His grasp
of truth was so deep that he became absolutely dependent upon God, and was satisfied
to lean on him alone because his people were against him. He was a sublime
optimist. His prophecy of the restoration is sufficient comment upon that. He
saw the better age clearer than any other prophet; he pictured a better
covenant, a new dispensation.
His emotional nature is shown in his literary style, which is free from many
adornments, has a great many common figures in it and does not compare with the
beauty of Isaiah, nor with the finished and literary elegance of Ezekiel. It
expresses his emotional nature. He repeats, he has many favorite phrases. At
times he is poetic and there are in the book of Jeremiah a great many passages
that are classic and immortal. His style resembles that of the book of
Deuteronomy, the highest type of hortatory eloquence, for Jeremiah was
influenced mightily by the Book which was discovered in the early part of his
career.
From being the most despised of all the prophets, he came to be considered the
greatest of all. In the book of 2 Maccabees where Judah is in doubt and
difficulty, there appeared to him in vision a man, resplendent in beauty,
magnificent in physique, with excellent glory beaming from his countenance. He
gives to Judah a golden sword with which to smite his foes. It was Jeremiah.
This is only a legend, but it shows the estimation in which he was held. When
Jesus Christ came preaching and teaching, the people knew not who he was; some
said he was John the Baptist, some said he was Elijah, some said he was
Jeremiah. They never mistook him for Ezekiel, Isaiah, or Daniel.
He, in several respects, resembled Jesus Christ:
1. Both appeared at a similar crisis in the history of Israel – forty years
before the end of the nation and the Temple.
2. Both were persecuted for predicting the fall of the ceremonial institutions
and the ritual.
3. Both were at variance with the accepted orthodoxy of the time, and were
regarded as heretical and dangerous.
4. Both showed that there could be a religion without a Temple and ritual, and
thus saved religion in the downfall of these institutions.
5. Both made the way open for a positive statement of new doctrine.
6. Both suffered most at the hands of the religious leaders of the time.
7. Both lived lives of seeming failure, and died at the hands of their
countrymen.
8. Both might have the words of Isaiah applied to them (Isa 53:3): “A man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he
was despised; and we esteemed him not." Also to both may be applied
Lamentations 1:2: "Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow, which is brought upon me."
QUESTIONS
1. To what division of the
Old Testament does this book of Lamentations belong, how is it grouped, and
what its special uses by the Jews?
2. What the testimony of
tradition and the Septuagint concerning its authorship, what its theme, what
its character as literature, and what its artistic features?
3. What can you say of its
style, or form of verse? Illustrate.
4. Give the outline of the
book.
5. What can you say of Jeremiah
as a patriot?
6. What of him as a
statesman?
7. What of his emotional
nature?
8. What of him as human?
9. What of his strength of
nature?
10. What of his prophetic
insight?
11. What of his optimism?
12. What of his style?
13. What of his rank among
the prophets? Illustrate.
14. What of his resemblances
to Christ?
THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL INTRODUCTION AND
THE PROPHET'S VISION AND CALL
Ezekiel 1-3
Ezekiel belonged to one of the best and noblest families in Jerusalem, and was
apparently a descendant of the family of Zadok, which could trace its descent
directly to Aaron. Born in a priestly family he was a priest in his early
years. With that privilege, there was familiarity with the law, and with the
ritual. He was well educated, a man of the highest culture which Jerusalem
afforded at that age.
It was in the year 597 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar came and. besieged Jerusalem,
and Jehoiachin surrendered the city to him, that 7,000 of the very best people
of Jerusalem, including members of the priestly families, the nobility, the
artisans, the smiths, and others of the leading citizens of Jerusalem, were
taken away captive to Babylon. Ezekiel was taken with them, and during all the
period of his prophecy he is among the exiles in that foreign land.
He was evidently a man of some wealth, as well as culture, and doubtless took a
considerable portion of his wealth with him. He had a home, a wife, and
possibly a family. He lived in comparative ease and comfort on the banks of the
river Chebar, near a place called Tel-abib, not many miles from the city of
Babylon.
There was a community of Jewish exiles in that place, and they seemed to be let
alone, and were allowed to carry on a little government of their own, for we
find that repeatedly the elders of this Jewish community came to Ezekiel to
consult him regarding the fate of Jerusalem. It is difficult for us to
understand their exact condition. They were apparently in comfortable
circumstances.
They heard from home frequently no doubt, for there was a great deal of traffic,
traveling, and letter writing in those days. They were, doubtless, envious of
the people who had been left in Jerusalem, and were exceedingly anxious as to
the fate of Jerusalem itself, as their property to a large extent was still
there. They naturally supposed that their property would be confiscated by
those who remained in Jerusalem and Judah, and it comes out incidentally in the
prophecy of Ezekiel that there was a deep and bitter grudge in their minds
because the people who remained in Jerusalem had taken over the property of
those who had been carried into exile. There was this reason also, as we find
in Jeremiah 24, that the people who remained in Jerusalem considered themselves
to be very good; they thought that they were the favorites of Jehovah since
they had been left at home. Those that were taken away captive were therefore
the greater sinners. Jeremiah tried to meet that in his parable of the two
baskets of figs. The basket of good figs were those Jews in Babylon; and the
basket of bad figs, those left in Jerusalem.
It has been said that Jeremiah was the spiritual father of Ezekiel. No doubt
there is a large element of truth in that statement. A great man like Jeremiah
doubtless had sons in the ranks of prophecy, as Paul had sons in the Christian
ministry. Jeremiah must have had a vast influence over Ezekiel, for he had been
a prophet thirty years in Jerusalem when Ezekiel was carried away into
captivity. That thirty years of ministry stamped upon Ezekiel's mind and heart,
his theology, his religious life, and his view of the great religious questions
of his age. He had, no doubt, read Jeremiah's writings, for they were published
in 603 B.C., six or seven years before Ezekiel was taken away. He must have
been familiar with a great part of the writings of Jeremiah, for his own book
gives in many places almost the exact thoughts and words of his great
predecessor and contemporary. They were contemporaries for about fifteen years.
There are many similarities between Ezekiel's writings and those of Jeremiah.
Their themes are nearly the same. Their ideas are often identical. Their
problems are very similar. The strange thing is that, although they lived as
contemporaries for fifteen years, neither one makes the slightest reference to
or mention of the other. Jeremiah knows Ezekiel is prophesying in Babylon, yet
he sends a letter all the way from Jerusalem to Babylon with admonition to the
exiles, and though Ezekiel must be aware of Jeremiah's prophesying in
Jerusalem, he makes no reference whatever to the fact.
In contrast to Jeremiah, Ezekiel presents some striking peculiarities. His
private life was very different, for he had his home and his wife, but Jeremiah
was forbidden these. Like Jeremiah he absents himself from all the social enjoyments
and pleasures of the people among whom he dwells, refraining from entering into
their mournings or their feastings. In contrast with Jeremiah he records no
inner struggle such as that prophet passed through, no such complaints, no such
murmurings, no such agony, no such mournings and tears, no such doubts of God,
no such attempts to give up the work of prophesying. Ezekiel gives no hint that
he passed through those temptations which tortured the soul of Jeremiah in the
early half of the latter's ministry. Ezekiel is more calm and judicial; he lays
emphasis upon the divine sovereignty more than upon human freedom. He
emphasizes the necessity and value of the human institutions, such as the
Temple, the ceremonial, the ritual, the priesthood, and sacrifices, which
Jeremiah does not. Jeremiah was willing to do without all these, if he could
only have the heart religion which kept the people in fellowship with God and
in obedience to him.
Ezekiel combines both the institutional and the spiritual. He combines the
ritual and ceremonial with the new heart, the heart of flesh, the cleansed and
pure spirit. He is in substantial agreement with Jeremiah on several points.
His conception of the prophetic office is almost identical with that of his
spiritual father. He conceives of himself as the one who is to warn, who is to
pronounce judgment and threaten doom. His conception of the character of the
people is exactly like Jeremiah's. His pictures are even more lurid and
terrible. His conception of the history of Israel is almost the same as
Jeremiah's. Jeremiah pictures her, from the time of her entrance into Canaan,
as going astray after false gods, and her history as one long story of
defection and idolatry. Ezekiel pictures her, as from the very beginning prone
to idolatry and her history, as a long story of spiritual harlotry.
Ezekiel's conception of the sin of idolatry is exactly the same as that of
Jeremiah's. He characterizes it in scores of passages by that one striking name
which stigmatizes all defection from the worship of Jehovah. His picture of
society is much the same as that of Jeremiah's. He pictures it as having gone
to the lowest depths, and as we go on in the study of his prophecy, we shall
get some glimpses into those awful scenes which Ezekiel portrays. Like Jeremiah
he prophesies the downfall of the state, the devastation of the country, the
desolation of the city, the destruction of the Temple and the obliteration of
the ritual.
Unlike that of Jeremiah, this book doubtless came from Ezekiel's own hand,
written and completed by himself. It is in many respects the most orderly, the
most logical, the most chronological, of all the books of the Bible. Almost
every distinct prophecy is dated, so that we can give the exact date, the month
and the year, in which these prophecies were given to Ezekiel, or were uttered
by him.
The following is an analysis of Ezekiel:
I. The vision of the glory of God and the
call to the prophetic office (1-3).
II. Symbolic prophecies of the overthrow
of the city and the state (4 to 24).
By means of symbols, symbolic actions, allegories, and
metaphors, Ezekiel brings before the minds of the exiles the inevitable fate of
their beloved city and state in Palestine.
III. Prophecies concerning foreign nations
(25-32).
IV. Prophecies of the restoration of the people of Israel and the reconstruction of God's people (33-39), which are in perfect order.
Having done with the prophecies concerning the foreign
nations, he calls the attention of the people to their own glorious future.
V. A vision of the restored Temple and theocracy with the final glory and peace of the redeemed people of God (40-48).
Under this we have three sections:
1. An account of the restored Temple (40-43).
2. An account of the ordinances of the Temple as restored (44-48).
3. The boundaries of the Holy Land and the new distribution of the tribes
within it (47-48), closing with the significant statement that in all this
land, this territory, this Temple, the one great fact is that Jehovah is there.
The date of the prophet's vision and call is the year 592 B.C., the fourth
month and the fifth day of the month (about August 5). It was in the fifth year
of King Jehoiachin's captivity. That captivity occurred in 597 B.C. The place
was by the river Chebar. The river Chebar was not a river proper, but one of
the large irrigating canals which coursed through the plains of Babylon from
the Tigris to the Euphrates, irrigating that rich and fertile country in which,
some say, the garden of Eden itself originally was located. The irrigated plain
of Babylon was probably the richest portion of land in all the world. It
produced from two to three hundredfold.
In verse I, we have the expression, "the thirtieth year." Thirty
years from what? Most probably thirty years of his own life, for he was
certainly a mature man at this time. If he means the thirtieth year of his own
age, then he is the only prophet that gives us any hint as to how old he was
when he began to prophesy. The most plausible explanation is that it is the
thirtieth year of his age, but this question has never been settled positively.
In Ezekiel I, we have the vision of the glory of God. He says that as he was by
the river Chebar, the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God. Isaiah had
his vision in the Temple, Jeremiah had his visions, and Ezekiel has a most
wonderful vision. He describes it thus: "I looked, and behold, a stormy
wind came out of the north."
Ezekiel saw it as a cloud coming, and he describes it as "a fire infolding
itself," but perhaps a better translation would be "flashing
continually," and as he looked at that great stormcloud moving up before
him and the lightning illuminating it, there gradually appeared before him, as
it were, the color of amber, a brightness round about it like amber, which was
like an amalgam .of gold and silver, a very brilliant metal.
He continued to look and he saw emerging from that cloud of flashing fire four
living creatures who took on form. These were the four cherubim. Isaiah saw the
seraphim, but Ezekiel calls them the cherubim. What are they like? The figure
of a man. An angel in the form of a man, with a face fronting east, the face of
a man. To the right is another face, the face of a lion; to the left is another
face, that of an ox; behind is another face, the face of an eagle. There were
four faces to this one figure. A great wing in front, a wing behind, a wing at
each side, and a hand in connection with each wing – four wings and four hands,
straight limbs, the foot round like that of a calk. One of these faces looking
east, another facing west, a third one facing south, and a fourth one facing
north.
So, looking at it from another direction, we see the face of a man; from
another direction, the face of an ox; from another direction the face of an
eagle; and another, the face of a lion. The wings in front and behind cover the
body excepting the limbs and the feet. The wings at the side were lifted up
when they flew and touched one another overhead so that one cherub touched
another. When they were still, the wings were lowered to the side.
In the center of this four-square of cherubim was a fire, representing the
glory of almighty God, flashing forth. How did they move? They were all one,
all made to move by one spirit. When one moved, all moved. They were not
independent beings, but had to move together and all actuated and impelled and
driven by the Spirit, that one Spirit that was in them.
This represented the four great cherubim which formed the chariot of almighty
God, that we find in Revelation 4-5, where John makes use of these four living
creatures, but in a little different sense. They are the highest of all the
principalities and authorities in the heavenly places. They constitute a
chariot upon which almighty God rides forth to do service in the uni-verse.
They constitute his executive force. The man represents the highest form of
created intelligence. The lion represents the highest form of courage, the ox
steadfastness and strength, the eagle the highest form of vision and flight,
the most majestic of all birds.
Thus, there are sixteen faces, sixteen wings, sixteen hands, altogether. Their
limbs are straight; they are not jointed; they don't have to bend them when
they walk, as they are not subject to the laws of locomotion as we are. How do
they move? They have wheels, each one has a wheel, a wheel within a wheel. So
that when the cherubim went forward each one was on a wheel. The same wheel
which goes forward goes backward. The same wheel which goes to the left, goes
to the right. He says these wheels were high and dreadful; that the rims and
the felloes of the wheels were full of eyes. Two eyes fixed upon us is enough,
but these great wheels full of eyes and all of them apparently looking straight
forward form a terrible picture. When the four cherubim go in any direction,
they have wheels upon which they glide like lightning; they need not turn, they
never go corner-wise. They always go straight.
These cherubim with their great wheels full of eyes flash across the horizon
like lightning. What a picture of the movements of almighty God! The eyes in
the wheels represent the perfect omniscience of God; the cherubim represent his
omnipotence; the wheels, with the lightning like rapidity with which they move,
represent his omnipresence. The spirit that animates the four cherubim also
animates the wheels, moves all at the same time. As all the cherubim move the
wheels move, with one instinct, with one life, with one power, with one motion,
in one direction.
Above the chariot of four cherubim was a firmament representing the platform
upon which rested the feet of the Almighty himself. When Moses and the elders
of Israel saw God they saw him upon a pavement of sapphire; they saw the God of
Israel, and did eat and drink. When John saw God it was on a sea of glass. When
Ezekiel saw him it was upon a firmament above the cherubim. He says it was
crystal, very much the same as John's vision of the sea of glass. This
firmament was supported by these wings stretched out, the four corners joining
together.
The noise of the movement of all these wheels (v. 24) was the noise of great
waters like the noise of the Almighty, the noise of a tumult, like the noise of
a host.
Then follows his description of God himself: "A voice above the firmament
that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne as the appearance of
sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness of the
appearance of a man." He was of the color of amber. John said he was like
jasper and sardius with a rainbow about his head. Ezekiel says, he is like
amber and has a rainbow about his head; the whole appearance from his loins
downward was the appearance of fire and there was brightness round about him. Ezekiel
said, "It is an appearance of the likeness of the glory of God, and I fell
upon my face."
The call and commission of the prophet is stated (2:1-7). In verse I Jehovah
calls him: "And he said unto me, son of man." That does not have the
messianic meaning which "Son of man" has in the Gospels. It means
child of man, mortal man, you mortal being, in contrast with God: "Stand
upon thy feet and I will speak with thee." It is a good thing for a man to
know how to stand upon his feet. Sermons have been preached from this text,
entitled "Self-respect." "The Spirit entered into me when he
spake with me, and set me upon my feet." Then he receives his commission.
He was to speak to the children of Israel who were rebellious, who had transgressed
against him, who were impudent, who were stiffhearted, who were to be unto the
prophet like briers and thorns and scorpions. He was to speak to them whether
they would hear or whether they would forbear. He had a terrible congregation
to preach to: briers, thorns and thistles.
In 2:8 to 3:3 we have an account of that strange symbolic action, which we find
in Revelation 10, where John performs almost the same action. Here is a roll, a
scroll, it was written with mourning, lamentation, and woe. It was the message
which Ezekiel was to give to those, his fellow kinsmen and exiles. And God says
to Ezekiel, You are to eat this roll and go and speak unto the house of Israel.
When you have taken it into your soul and are filled with it you can go and
speak as a prophet. So he did and he found it very sweet. When John ate the
roll he found it sweet in his mouth but exceedingly bitter afterward. Ezekiel
found it sweet in his mouth but it did not become bitter afterward. What is the
meaning of it? It is this: When God gives us a message, and we take that into
our souls, it is one of the sweetest and highest pleasures possible to come to
a human soul. Ezekiel found it sweet. It was God's message, though it was
lamentation and woe.
The prophet is sent to Israel, a hardened people (3:4-11): "Thou art not
sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house
of Israel." In verse 9 he says, "As an adamant harder than flint have
I made thy forehead." He needed a hard head to contend with those people.
Then the prophet was ordered to proceed to Tel-abib, not far from the river
Chebar, where was a colony of Jews. He says, "The Spirit lifted me up and
I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of
the Lord from this place." And the Spirit lifted him up and carried him
away and he was set down by them of the captivity of Tel-abib that were by the
river Chebar, and he sat among them astounded seven days.
The charge to Ezekiel is set forth in 3:16-21. Ezekiel was a watchman to warn
the wicked and the righteous. This paragraph shows the tremendous
responsibility of the prophet and minister of God.
In 3:22-27 we have an account of the prophet as he was led away to the plain
where he saw another vision and had revealed to him the persecutions that were
coming to him. Verse 25 says, "They shall lay hands upon thee, and shall
bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them; and I will make thy
tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb." The
prophet was shut up to his message which he received from Jehovah. He was not
allowed to speak except as the Lord spoke to him.
QUESTIONS
1. Who was Ezekiel, what of
his family, what advantages did he have, what of the colony of Jews in
Babylonia, and what of their feeling toward the Jews left at Jerusalem?
2. What the relation of
Ezekiel to Jeremiah?
3. What the similarities in
the writings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, what strange thing about their ministries
and what the contrasts in their work?
4. What can you say of the
order, logic, and chronology of this book?
5. Give an analysis of
Ezekiel.
6. What the date and place
of the prophet's vision and call?
7. Describe the chariot of
God as seen by Ezekiel and give the meaning of its several parts (1:1-28).
8. How was God represented
in. this vision?
9. Describe the call and
commission of the prophet as stated in 2:1-7.
10. Explain the symbolic
action: of 2:8 to 3:3.
11. What the condition of
the people to whom Ezekiel was sent and what his preparation to meet their
condition? (3:4-11.)
12. Where did the Spirit
lead him and what message did the Spirit bring to him in this connection?
(3:12-15.)
13. How is the charge to
Ezekiel set forth in 3:16-21 and what th& warning here for God's ministers
in all ages?
14. Where did the Lord lead
the prophet next and how was his solemn charge impressed upon him there?
PROPHECIES ON THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
Ezekiel 4-14
Jeremiah was preaching in Jerusalem while Ezekiel was preaching in a similar
strain to the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah found that the people thought that
Jerusalem, the center of Jehovah worship, could not and would not be destroyed.
Ezekiel found the same conditions in Babylon. In the time of Isaiah, when the
Assyrians were close at hand, God protected them and swept away 185,000 of
their army and saved Jerusalem with the Temple. Their confidence in the
perpetuity of their city seemed to be fixed. So they did not believe their
city, their Temple, and their country would be destroyed. "It is God's
nation, God's people, and God's Temple," they said. Moreover, they had
false prophets in Jerusalem, prophets who were preaching the safety of the
city, also false prophets in Babylon among the exiles, preaching the same thing.
They preached that the exiles should speedily return; that the power of Babylon
would be destroyed. There was one lone man in Judah, and one lone man in
Babylon, preaching the destruction of the nation. This gives us some idea of
Ezekiel's task, the tremendous task that he had, to make those people believe
that their nation, their city and their Temple were going to be destroyed. In
order to get them to believe that, he made use of all these symbols, metaphors,
and other figures which we have in this great section. He made use of these
symbols, or symbolic actions, to make his preaching more vivid and more
impressive, and he began this series of symbolic actions about four and a half
years before the city was surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar, about six years before
it fell, for the siege lasted one and a half years.
The symbol of the siege of Jerusalem and its interpretation are found in 4:1-3.
The great truth he wanted to impress upon them was that Jerusalem would be
besieged and would be taken and destroyed; so he was commanded by Jehovah to
take a tile, or a brick, a tablet in a plastic condition, and to draw thereon a
picture of a city, representing mounds cast up against the city on every side,
from which the enemy could shoot their arrows down into the city and at the
defenders on the walls. He was also told to set a camp round about it
representing the soldiers encamped; he was to place battering rams there. These
were huge beams of wood with iron heads which were pushed with great force by a
large number of men, and thus driven against the walls and would soon make
great holes in them. Then he was told to take an iron pan and put that between
himself and this miniature city to represent the force that was surrounding it,
and as that iron pan was impenetrable, so this besieging force was
impenetrable. hard, and relentless, and would inevitably take and destroy the
city without mercy.
Then he was told to lie upon his left side as if a burden was upon him. He was
to do this according to the number of the years of the iniquity of Israel. He
was to be bound while lying thus on his left side and he was to remain in that
position 390 days. Then he was to lie upon his right side and bear the iniquity
of the house of Judah forty days, representing the forty years of their iniquity;
these, of course, are symbolic numbers in both cases. The commentators have
been greatly baffled to figure out these periods which apply to Israel and
Judah. The best explanation seems to be that of Hengstenberg who makes the 390
years refer to Israel's sin of idolatry beginning with Jeroboam and going down
to the final captivity; likewise, the forty years, to Judah's iniquity
beginning forty years prior to the same captivity. According to this reckoning
Israel's period of iniquity was much longer than that of Judah and this accords
with the facts of their history.
The scarcity and pollution of their food during the siege and after is
symbolized in 4:9-17. Ezekiel was to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils,
millet, and spelt, various kinds of cheap grains that the very poorest of the
people ate, mix them together and cook them on a fire made with the most
disgusting and loathsome kind of fuel possible, and eat about twenty shekels
per day and drink a little more than a pint of water. Twenty shekels would be
probably about a pound of our bread, one pound of this cheap, coarse bread, and
a little over a pint of water a day. His soul revolted at such loathsome fuel
and he was promised a better kind of fuel used by very poor people at that
time. This again is a literary symbolism, the idea being to bring before those
people the fact that terrible scarcity was before them, great depredation, and
almost starvation, and when they were carried into the various nations their
food would be unclean and polluted and they would be compelled to eat this
unclean food.
The fate of the population by the siege and their dispersion is symbolized in
5:1-4. Ezekiel was told to take a sword, make it as sharp as a barber's razor,
cut off the hair upon his head, take balances and divide it into three equal
portions. Evidently Ezekiel must have resembled Elijah more than he did Elisha.
A third part of it was to be put in the fire in the midst of the city; a third
part, to be smitten with the sword round about, evidently hacking it to pieces;
and a third part, to be scattered to the winds, and the sword was to go after
it and hack it to pieces.
What is the meaning? One-third of the inhabitants of their beloved city should
perish with famine and pestilence; one-third should be slain in the siege; the
other third should be scattered among all the nations of the earth, and even
this third the sword should pursue and nearly all of them should be cut off.
These arc striking symbols, full of meaning. They must have had some effect
upon the hearers.
The interpretation of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in 5:5-17,
is that this is Jerusalem. Verse 5 says: "I have set her in the midst of
the nations, and countries are round about her." The remainder of this
section goes on to show how Judah had sinned, how she had revolted, how she had
forsaken God, and verse 8 says, "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst
of thee in the sight of the nations." Verse 10: "Therefore the father
shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers;
and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I
scatter unto all the winds . . . and will draw out a sword after them."
Verse 13: "Thus shall mine anger be accomplished . . . and I shall satisfy
my fury upon them."
The prophecies of 6:1-7, 11-14 are prophecies against the mountains of Israel,
that is, the seats of idolatry. All the kings that sought to create a
reformation among the people had to deal with the high places. Hezekiah removed
many of them, and at last Josiah removed all of them. They were renewed in the
reign of Jehoiachim and doubtless in the reign of Zedekiah. It was against
these high places that the prophets had been uttering their denunciations for
centuries. Ezekiel, from the plains of Babylon, looks across the vast distance
and sees the mountaintops and the hills with their shrines and altars and idols
and he utters his prophecies against them. In the latter part of verse 3 he
says, "I will destroy her high places," and in verse 5 he gives a
terrible picture: "I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel
before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around about your
altars," and then he pictures the destruction of the idolatrous symbols of
worship.
But hope is held out to Israel. In 6:8 is the gleam of hope through this awful
picture of destruction: "Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have
some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered
through the countries." And then he says that many of those scattered
through the countries shall remember God and regent, verse 9: "And those
of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be
carried captive," and the last part of verse 9 says, "And they shall
loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in
all their abominations." There was hope for the people throughout the
countries that some of them would survive. There was scarcely a ray of hope for
the city that any should escape. So Ezekiel preaches the doctrine of the
remnant as does Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets of
this period.
Chapter 7 is a lament, or dirge, over the downfall of the kingdom of Judah, and
it is divided into four parts, thus:
1. The end is come upon the four corners of the land (vv. 1-4)
2. The end is come upon the inhabitants of the land (vv.5-9)
3. The ruin is come unto all classes and is universal (vv. 10-13)
4. The picture of the dissolution of the state (vv. 14-27) The theme of chapter
8 is, Israel's many idolatries, which have profaned the Lord's house and have
caused him to withdraw from it. The date of this prophecy is fourteen months
after the previous sections we have studied, in the sixth month, 591 B.C.,
which corresponds to our October.
Then the prophet sees what he calls the image of jealousy in the Temple
(8:1-6). He sees a new vision of the Lord, and the one who sat above that firmament
whose appearance was like unto fire, appears to Ezekiel again and, strange to
say (we have to interpret this as a vision in symbol), took him by a lock of
the hair of his head and carried him all the way from Babylon to Jerusalem. The
Spirit took him thus and set him down at the door of the gate of the inner
court and there he saw what he calls an "image of jealousy." It was
not jealousy pictured, but an image of some of their deities, some form of Baal
set up in the very Temple of Jehovah, which provoked him to jealousy. Thus, he
pictures the idolatry of the people as existing in the very Temple and its
sacred precincts made place for their idols.
The prophet now sees another vision, the secret idolatry of the elders in the
chambers of the gateway (8:7-13). The images there were worshiped by the people
at large. Now the elders, the leaders, are engaged in it, and he says in verse
10, "So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and
abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the
wall round about." Verse II: "And there stood before them seventy men
of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah
the son of Shaphan, every man with his censor in his hand; and the odor of the
cloud of incense went up." All this is used to represent the elders, the
leaders of the people of Jerusalem, who were idolaters in secret, if not
openly.
The women were lamenting and weeping for Tammuz, or Adonis, a heathen solar
mythical being, nature personified and represented in winter as perishing or
languishing, and in spring, reviving. Some writers think it represents the hot
season of the year, as nature is all dead and withered, and is revived later
on. Here the women are described, the ladies, the society ladies of Jerusalem,
weeping as the heathen women did, because the force of nature, represented in
this physical being, was apparently dead. It was a strange sort of worship
indeed. It is not known as to just what the nature of this worship was, but it
was something like that.
Then Ezekiel was shown the sun worship (8: 10-18). The latter part of verse 16
says: "about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of
Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshiping the sun
toward the east." This gives us some idea as to the depths to which the
people had gone in their idolatrous worship, even in Jerusalem and the Temple.
The first act of divine judgment, the slaughter of the inhabitants, is
presented in chapter 9. Jehovah is represented as crying out and calling seven
men, supernatural beings, six of them armed with a sword, and the seventh one
armed with an inkhorn. These come forth into the Temple area and from there
into the streets of the city. The man with the inkhorn set his mark upon all
that should not be slain. Thus they entered the Temple; Ezekiel sat still in
the vision and in a short while six supernatural men cut down a vast number.
When they cut down all the Temple force they went out into the city and the
slaughter went on. Verse 8 says, "And it came to pass, while they were
smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord
Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy
wrath upon Jerusalem?" Ezekiel saw that if these six angelic beings went
through the city, not many would be left. He cried out but it was of no avail.
The second act of divine judgment is symbolized in chapter 10. Here Ezekiel
sees the same glorious vision of God that he saw at first, and the voice came
from him above the firmament saying to a man clothed in linen, "Take some
fire" – from that central place among the cherubim – "take some of
that divine fire and scatter it over the city." Then we have the
description of how one of the cherubim, with one of those arms, took some of
the fire and handed it out to this other being and he went abroad and scattered
that fire over the inhabitants of the city. That is a symbol also. The latter
part of chapter 10 is simply an extended description of the same vision
recorded in chapter 1. We have a threat of destruction and a promise of
restoration in chapter II. The occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem was
virtually the revolt on the part of the princes against Nebuchadnezzar. It was
the princes of Judah that led Zedekiah into revolt, the princes that were so
obnoxious to Jeremiah, the princes of Judah that caused the downfall of the
city and tried to put Jeremiah out of the way. Ezekiel, in vision, sees those
princes and he sees them counseling and planning to make a league with Egypt
and revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. He denounced them. Verse 2 says, "And
he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity and that
give wicked counsel in this city; that say, The time is not near to build
houses." If we are going to fight, this city will be a caldron and we will
be the flesh, and it is better to be in the frying pan than in the fire. This
city, the capital, may be destroyed; the time of war has come; let us fight and
stay inside." They did so, and in the remainder of the chapter we have the
denunciation of Ezekiel. He says, "I will bring you forth out of the midst
thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers." And that actually
happened, for Nebuchadnezzar captured all these princes with Zedekiah; they
were brought before him at Riblah and every one slain with the sword.
The latter part of the chapter states that there will be some left; a remnant
will be saved among the exiles. There shall be a few found faithful, and in
verses 17-19 is a marvelous promise: "I will gather you out of all the
countries where you have been scattered," and in verse 19, he anticipates
Christianity, saying, "I will give them a new heart, and put a new spirit
within them, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a
heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and
do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." The hope
of the nation was in the exiles, not in the people that were left in Jerusalem.
Immediately following that, the cherubim that had appeared near the house of
Jehovah, were removed east on the Mount of Olives and departed thus from the
city, signifying that Jehovah had abandoned Jerusalem.
There are two symbolic actions described in chapter 12. Ezekiel is told to
gather up such things as be would require to take with him if he were going
into exile, just as one would pack his trunk or grip to go to another place. So
Ezekiel packs up his goods in the sight of the people in the daytime, and has
them all ready. That night he goes to the wall of the city and digs a hole
through, and with his goods upon his shoulder makes his way through that hole
of the wall to go out. It was a symbolic action, performed to impress the
people. He interprets his action thus: The people of Jerusalem shall take their
belongings and go into exile, and Zedekiah, the prince of Jerusalem, will dig a
hole through the wall of the city and with his goods upon his shoulders will
try to escape. He actually tried to do that, but was taken. Verse 11 says,
"Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them;
they shall go into captivity." Verse 12: "And the prince that is
among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark and shall go forth: they
shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face,
because he shall not see the land with his eyes." This is a mild way of
expressing the truth that Zedekiah tramped all the way to Babylon with his eyes
having been bored out by Chaldean spears.
Another symbolic action is recorded in verses 18-19, as to the eating of bread
and drinking of water, and then Ezekiel quotes a proverb, "The days are
prolonged, and every vision faileth." They were saying that the visions
and prophecies did not come true. He answers, "Thus saith the Lord God: I
will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in
Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every
vision."
The false prophets and prophetesses are characterized in chapter 13. Jeremiah
had to contend with the false prophets, but Ezekiel had to contend with the
false prophets and prophetesses. They are described thus:
1. The false prophets are described as jackals burrowing in the ground, and
making things worse instead of better (vv. 1-7).
2. They whitewash the tottering walls that the people built and they daub them
with untempered mortar (vv. 8-16). The people built up walls of defense by
their foolish plans and the false prophets agreed with them. They tried to
smooth the danger over, saying, "Peace for her."
3. The denunciation of the false prophetesses (vv. 17-23). These women deceived
the people. Verse 18: "Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the women that sew
pillows upon all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every
stature to hunt souls!" These pillows were little cushions fastened on the
joints of their hands and arms to act as charms. The custom exists today in the
East. Ezekiel denounces them in verse 20: "Wherefore, thus saith the Lord
God: Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to
make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls
go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly." These were the
spiritualists of that day. They are with us yet, only their methods are
different.
The answer of Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him is found in chapter 14:
1. The answer is this, Put away your idols or look out for the judgment of God.
There is no use in coming to inquire of Jehovah through me if you are idolaters
in heart (14:1-11).
2. The principle of divine judgment is found in verses 12-23. It is this:
Righteous men shall not save sinners, only their own souls. Notice verse 14:
"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they should
deliver but their own souls by their righteousness." Verse 16:
"Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they
should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but
the land should be desolate." So no matter how many righteous men there
may be, and how righteous they may be, only they themselves shall be saved in
the terrible sack of the city. Thus, the righteous could not save Jerusalem,
any more than Lot could save Sodom.
QUESTIONS
1. What the problem of
Ezekiel in Babylon and what prophet with
2. What encouragement did
the people have both in Jerusalem and in Babylon to believe in the safety of
their holy city and nation, and what Ezekiel's method of impressing upon the
exiles the fallacy of such an argument?
3. What the symbol of the
siege of Jerusalem and what its interpretation? (4:1-3.)
4. How are the people
bearing their sins here symbolized and what the interpretation? (4:4-8.)
5. How is the scarcity and
pollution of their food, during the siege and after, symbolized in 4:9-17?
6. How is the fate of the
population by the siege and their dispersion symbolized? (5:1-4.)
7. What the interpretation
of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in 5:5-17?
8. What the prophecies of
6:1-7, 11-14 and what the history of these high places?
9. What hope is held out to
Israel amid this awful picture?
10. What the theme of
chapter 7 and what its parts?
11. What the theme and date
of chapter 8?
12. What was the "Image
of Jealousy" seen by Ezekiel (8:1-6), and what the particulars of this
vision?
13. What the prophet's
vision of the elders and what its interpretation (8:7-13)?
14. What was the abomination
of Tammuz? (8:14-15.)
15. What of the sun worship?
(8:16-18.)
16. How is the first act of
divine judgment and slaughter of the inhabitants represented? (9.)
17. How was the second act
of divine judgment symbolized? (10.)
18. Explain the threat of
destruction and the promise of restoration. in chapter 11.
19. What two symbolic
actions described in chapter 12, and what their interpretation?
20. How are the false
prophets and prophetesses characterized in chapter 13?
21. What the answer of
Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him and what the divine principle of
judgment? (14.)
PROPHECIES ON THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
(CONTINUED)
Ezekiel 15-24
We may ask ourselves at the outset, What purpose did Jeremiah serve in
preaching forty years the downfall of the city, warning the people of their
sins, though he knew that downfall was absolutely certain, yet all the time
seeking to save the city? Why should God require a man to give forty years of
his life to guard the people against the inevitable? Why should he require of a
man like Ezekiel so many years of preaching to those already in exile
concerning the fall of the city of Jerusalem? Why should he exert himself in
the manner in which he did, to warn those in Babylon of the fall of Jerusalem?
Jeremiah's preaching had this effect: It prepared the people in a measure for
the downfall of their Temple and their capital and thus helped them to keep
faith in God. Whereas, the fall of their capital and city without such a
warning would have inevitably shattered their faith in God. Jeremiah's prophecies
of the restoration and the glorious future also helped the earnest heart to
prepare for that future and for that restoration. Ezekiel's preaching to the
exiles in Babylon also prepared them for the fall of Jerusalem and also
preserved their faith in God. It furnished them with truth to keep alive their
faith during the period when their Temple was gone; it also served as a stay
during the period of the exile and prepared them for the return. Though it
seems that Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's long ministries were temporarily fruitless,
yet they were the means of preparing the people for a possible future and their
work abides.
Why did Ezekiel use all these symbols, figures and metaphors to those people
who were already in exile in Babylon? It was to prepare their faith, so that
when the shock came they might withstand it and be ready to return when God
called them. As a result of Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's preaching, nearly 50,000
people were prepared to return as soon as the decree of Cyrus was sent forth.
One may see no immediate result of his preaching, yet when he is preaching what
God wants him to preach, the fruits may be all the greater because they are
delayed.
In chapter 15 we have the parable of the vine tree and its interpretation. This
is a parable in which Israel is likened to a vine tree among the trees of the
forest. The vine tree is a very lowly tree. It is of comparatively little use.
The wood thereof is not taken for fire, nor do people make pins or pegs from
it. It is simply cast forth to be burned as rubbish. It is not profitable for
anything. Then what does he mean? The Kingdom of Judah was among the great
kingdoms of the world as the lowly vine tree was among the trees of the forest.
It was of little use; it would not do for wood to burn; it would not do to make
furniture or anything useful. It was simply cast off. All this we readily see
would have its effect upon the people. It is a blow at their national pride. It
goes to show that a mere vine of the forest that is cast away and burned as
rubbish may be destroyed, while the lordly trees of the forest are still
preserved. Judah is a lowly, contemptible kingdom beside the other kingdoms,
and it is no great thing if she does perish. Notice, he makes no mention of the
fruit of the vine. There was no fruit to this vine. In the case of the grape
the vine is useless when there is no fruit; the vine is utterly valueless and
fit only to be cast off. Thus he prophesied that Jerusalem should be burned
with fire and its inhabitants destroyed.
In chapter 16 we have an allegory of the foundling child and its
interpretation. This whole chapter is an allegory. Judah is described as a
wretched outcast infant on the very day of its birth, thrown out into the
field, a thing all too frequently done among Semitic and other Oriental
peoples. There the infant lay, ready to perish. Jehovah comes along and sees
the child thus in its neglected, wretched, forsaken condition; takes pity upon
it; cares for it in the best way possible; rears it up until the child, a female
child, becomes a young woman. She becomes of marriageable age, and then she is
espoused to her husband, Jehovah. He adorns her with all the beauties with
which a bride can possibly be adorned, and crowns her with a beautiful crown,
and as verse 14 says, "Thy renown went forth among the nations for thy
beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee."
All went well for a time, but the foundling child which had the disposition of
the Amorite and of the Hittite, very soon became the faithless bride and then
rapidly degenerated into a shameless and abandoned prostitute. She prostituted
herself with Egypt, with Assyria, and with Babylonia and their gods; then went
into the very extreme of wickedness and sank to the very lowest depths of
shame.
As a result of this absolute abandonment to wickedness, this prostitution of
herself to idol worship, the nation is doomed to destruction at the hands of
the very people after whom she had gone, and whose gods she had sought and
worshiped. They were to gather around her from every side and were to destroy
and lay waste the very bride of Jehovah. This passage is doubtless the analogue
of that famous passage in Revelation 17, where the apostate church is compared
to the harlot sitting upon the beast. He goes on and compares Jerusalem with
Samaria and with Sodom. Notice verse 46: "Thine elder sister is Samaria,
she and her daughters, that dwelleth at thy left hand; and thy younger sister
that dwelleth at. thy right hand. is Sodom and her daughters."
In verse 48 he says that Jerusalem is worse and more shameless than even Sodom:
"As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor
her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters." In verse 49 he
gives the sin of Sodom: "Pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous
ease," the besetting sins of the society women of every city of the land.
Verse 51 says, "Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou
hast multiplied thine abominations," and verse 53 says, "I will turn again
their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of
Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of
them."
What does he mean by saying that Sodom shall return from her captivity? No
Sodomite was preserved; everyone perished. I think it means that in a future
age all the land shall be reclaimed and even the place of Sodom shall be
repeopled and, when restored and repeopled, will be like unto the inhabitants
of Samaria and Jerusalem; that they will be loyal and true with new hearts and
right spirits. It cannot be taken literally, for it is impossible that a
Sodomite could return from captivity. It is necessary to read carefully all
this allegory at one sitting to get its effect, to see and feel its force. It
is powerful. Israel was not the descendant of an Amorite nor a Hittite. She had
the blood of Chaldea and of Aram, but what he means is that there was in Israel
from the very first the seeds of idolatry that existed in those Amorites among
whom she lived. Thus Ezekiel prophesies the return of Samaria, the return and
restoration of Jerusalem as well as Sodom, the last no doubt in a figurative
sense.
We have had symbols, symbolic actions, and parables; now we have a riddle. The
riddle is this, 17:3f: "A great eagle with great wings and long pinions,
full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top
of the cedar; he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and
carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants." And
in verse 5 it says, "He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it
in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow
tree." Verse 6: "And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low
stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under
him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth
sprigs." Then it began to send its roots in another direction as we see
from verse 7: "There was also another great eagle with great wings and
many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot
forth its branches toward him, that he might water it."
What is the meaning of it? The first great eagle was Nebuchadnezzar who came
from Babylon and lopped off the top of the cedar, Jehoiachin, the son of
Josiah, and carried him away to Babylon with seven thousand of the best people.
He then set Zedekiah upon the throne and made him a feeble, weak vassal, with
the hope that Zedekiah would depend upon him, pay him tribute, seek strength
and power from Babylon, i.e., send out his roots to Babylon. But instead of
that, Zedekiah begins to plot with Pharaoh-Necho of Egypt and instead of
sending roots toward Babylon, he sent them toward Egypt. This is the riddle and
the explanation. The riddle found in verses 1-10 and the explanation in verses
11-21.
In verses 22-23 we have the promise of a universal kingdom. He uses the same
figure, that of the lofty top of the cedar, the symbol of the lawful
descendant, the legitimate heir to the throne of Israel. After the return, God
is going to take the lofty top of the cedar and crop off a twig from the
topmost limb and plant it in the top of a high mountain in Israel. The latter
part of verse 23 says, "And under it shall dwell all birds of every wing;
in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell." Here he means that
from the royal family of David, a twig, the topmost twig, shall be taken by
Almighty God, and shall be set upon a high and lofty throne and his kingdom shall
become so large, so wide. so broad, that its dominion will be universal, and
all the peoples of the world will come to lodge under its branches and enjoy
its protection. This, of course, is the messianic kingdom.
In chapter 18 we have Ezekiel's discussion on the moral freedom and
responsibility of the individual before God. This is the most important
theological contribution which Ezekiel made to the thought of his age. In this
chapter he meets one of the most perplexing problems that ever troubled men. It
was the great religious problem of his age. When Jeremiah prophesied the
restoration of the people to their land, he said that the time would come when
they would no longer say, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge," but each one should bear and suffer for
his own sins and sustain an individual, personal relationship to God.
Individualism, liberty in religion, was a messianic principle with Jeremiah,
but Ezekiel is already living in the new order of things, and he takes up the
problem that confronted Jeremiah: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and
the children's teeth are on edge."
What does he mean? It was a proverbial saying and there is implied in it a
reproach against divine providence; a suggestion that God is unjust in his
administration of the laws of the world; that the children are suffering
wrongfully for sins they never committed, but which their fathers committed.
All that is implied in it, but the real significance of the proverb is this:
"The sins of which you accuse us were born in us; we can't help them; we
must sin; our fathers sinned and the evil has been transmitted to us; we can't
help ourselves."
The proverb rose out of the fact that God dealt with nations as units, and the
individual shared the effects of that dealing. That was the case with Israel
all down through the ages until this period. But now when the greatest crisis
in the history of the nation had come, the nation destroyed, the city burned, the
Temple gone, the ceremonial and ritual at an end, the national religious life
collapsed, what would be the effect? The only way in which religion could be
preserved was for them to realize that each individual soul had an individual
and personal relationship to God. This was something new in the history of
religion, this idea of individual responsibility to and relationship with God.
Ezekiel meets this great problem and deals with it fairly and squarely. There
are two principles brought out in this chapter, which are these:
1. "All souls [individual personalities] are mine, saith the Lord."
2. "I have no pleasure in the death of any one of these persons. I do not
wish any one of them to perish. It grieves me that they do. I have no pleasure
in it."
And then, arising from these two principles are two conclusions:
1. Each soul's destiny depends upon its relation to God.
2. It is their privilege to repent and turn from sin.
The following is an analysis of the chapter:
1. The individual man is not involved in the sins and fate of his people or his
forefathers (1-20). He says in verse 5, "If a man be just, and do that
which is lawful and right," and the latter part of verse 9, "he is
just, he shall surely live." Verse 10: "And if he beget a son that is
a robber, a shedder of blood he [the robber] shall surely die." Verse 13:
"But hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase shall he then
live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely
die; his blood shall be upon him." In the latter part of verse 17, he
says, "The righteous man shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he
shall surely live." In other words, no man shall die because of his
father's sins, but because of his own, and no man shall be responsible for his
son's sins, but for his own. Each individual shall bear his own personal
relationship to God and that alone.
2. The individual soul does not lie under the ban of its own past (21-23).
Ezekiel means to say this: “If any man going on in sin, should turn from his
sin and should repent and get right with God, he shall live. He is no slave to
his moral environment, no victim of the sins of his ancestors, he is not
compelled to go on in sin. He means to say also that if a man going on and
doing right should fall into sin and do unrighteousness, then he shall die in
his iniquity; he shall suffer its consequences; he shall not have attributed to
him anything of his past righteousness; that would be completely nullified. He
shall not have an average made of his righteousness and wickedness, but
according to the condition of his heart at that time he shall either live or
die. Now, that does not abrogate the law of heredity; it does not say that we
do not inherit evil tendencies; it does not say that the result of our past
lives will not continue with us, but it does say that everything depends upon
the man's personal and individual relationship to his sins and to his God; that
the trend of his mind, the bent of his character, is that which fixes his
destiny.
In other words, it is the doctrine of moral freedom which implies individual
responsibility, with a possibility of repentance, a possibility of sin, a
possibility of individual relationship to God, a possibility of life or death.
This chapter is worthy of long and careful study.
There is a lamentation in chapter 19, set forth in two parables. Here Ezekiel
represents Jerusalem as a lioness. She brought up one of her cubs, or whelps,
and he became a young lion; the nations came, caught him, bound him, and he was
carried away to Egypt. That was Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah. When he was gone,
the lioness brought up another one of her whelps and he grew up to be a young
lion. The nations came against him and he was caught and carried away to
Babylon that his voice should be no more heard on the mountains of Judah. That
was Jehoiachin. He makes no mention of Jehoiakim for he was only a vassal set
upon the throne by Pharaoh, not the chosen heir to the throne. He makes no
mention of Zedekiah for he also was a vassal placed upon the throne by
Nebuchadnezzar, not by the choice of the people, and he was not one of the
lioness's whelps.
Then, verses 10-14, he describes the mother as a vine, and shows how the vine
is to be plucked up, burned, and destroyed, signifying the end of the reign of
Zedekiah with the destruction of his capital.
The prophet reviews the past history of Israel in chapter 20 and emphasizes the
principle that has saved Israel, viz: Jehovah's regard for his own name. The
elders came to inquire of Ezekiel about the law, or about the fate of the city.
Ezekiel said that God would not be inquired of by them. He then goes on to
review the history of Israel, and shows them the principle which actuated
Jehovah in the saving of that nation. It is this: In verse 9 he says, "I
wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the
nations, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in
bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt." And in verse 14 he refers
to their salvation in the wilderness: "I wrought for my name's sake, that
it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations" and in verse 22,
referring to his dealing with them while in the wilderness, he says,
"Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it
should not be profaned in the sight of the nations." And from verses 30 to
44 Ezekiel, in prophetic vision, sees that the return from captivity, the
restoration from Babylon, the setting up of the glorious messianic kingdom in
Jerusalem and Judah, will be done on this very same principle, viz: Jehovah's
regard for his own name.
The following is a summary of the contents of 20:45 to 21:32:
1. The fire in the forest of the South (20:35-49). The South refers to Judah
and Jerusalem. Ezekiel sees from his situation in Babylon a fire raging in the
South and burning the nation. It is a fire that shall not be quenched.
2. The sword of Jehovah shall be on Jerusalem (21:1-27). In substance, it is
this: The sword of Jehovah is the sword of Nebuchadnezzar. It is coming against
the city. When it is drawn it shall be sheathed no more. From verses 8 to 17 we
have Ezekiel's "Song of the Sword," a peculiar dirge picturing the
sharpness of the sword and the anguish of the people. From verses 18 to 27 the
prophet represents the king of Babylon as undecided whether he should attack
Ammon or Jerusalem first. He stands at the parting of the ways, and uses
divination; he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he
looked in the liver. He drew forth the arrow marked, "Jerusalem."
Hence he marches there first.
3. Threatening prophecy against Ammon (21:28-32). This contains very little
that is different from the prophecy against Jerusalem and from what shall
follow. The prophet repeats in chapter 22, in new form, the same charge he has
been making over and over again; the same that Jeremiah had made so repeatedly:
the sins of Jerusalem are idolatry, bloodshed, open licentiousness, incest, and
almost every other conceivable form of evil. Because of all this her
destruction was certain and necessary, and all nations were involved in it.
We have the symbolism of two harlot women in chapter 23. This is a history of
two harlot women, Samaria and Jerusalem, under the names of Aholah and
Aholibah. This is largely a repetition of chapter 16. The chief thoughts are as
follows:
1. The infidelities of Samaria with Assyria and Egypt (vv. 1-10).
2. The infidelities of Jerusalem with Assyria, Babylon and Egypt (vv. 11-21).
3. Therefore, her fate shall be like that of Samaria (vv. 22-35).
4. A new description of their immoralities and another that of punishment (vv.
36-49).
The date of the prophecy in chapter 24 is the very day upon which
Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, August 10, 588 B.C. The prophet here
performs a symbolic action just as the siege begins. He takes a caldron, a
great iron pot. The Lord tells him to pour water into it, to gather pieces of
flesh, good pieces, the thigh and shoulder and choice bones; to take from the
choicest of the flock, and to pile the wood up under it and to make it boil
well. "Let the bones thereof be boiled in the midst of it." Thus the
symbolic action is carried on by Ezekiel.
What does it mean? At the moment Nebuchadnezzar began to surround Jerusalem the
prophet performs this action. Jerusalem was the caldron; the inhabitants were
the flesh therein, Jehovah was kindling the fire; he was piling up the wood and
setting it ablaze, so that the unfortunate city would be seething and boiling
and roasting as the flesh in a caldron. It was made so hot that the very rust
of the iron was purged out and left it clean. In other words, Jerusalem should
be so cleansed by the captivity and destruction of its city, that there would
be left only the pure and clean (1-14). (See the author's sermon on this
paragraph in The River of Life.)
Another symbolic action occurs on the death of Ezekiel's wife (24:15-27). The
prophet mourns not. There is a very remarkable statement in the verse 16. God
says to Ezekiel, "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of
thine eyes with a stroke: yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall
thy tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind
thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover thy lips,
and eat not the bread of men." Then he says, "So I spake unto the
people in the morning; at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was
commanded." This symbolic action actually happened.
He says in verse 18, "I spake unto the people in the morn under the
overwhelming grief that had fallen upon him so suddenly, he showed no signs of
grief, he shed no tears, and heaved not an audible sigh. The people were unable
to understand his actions, verse 19: "And the people said unto me, Wilt
thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?" He
tells them: "And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips,
.nor eat the bread of men." He means that very soon, as by a single
stroke, a swift and inevitable stroke of justice, their fair and beloved city,
Jerusalem, shall be destroyed, and they will be so stunned, so bewildered, so
dumbfounded, so paralyzed that they will be unable to eat bread or even to
sigh. In that stunned and dazed condition they shall bear their almost
unbearable burden. It was a striking symbol, very touching, and it must have
bad great effect.
QUESTIONS
1. To what end were the
ministries of Jeremiah and Ezekiel?
2. What the parable of the
vine tree and its interpretation? (15.)
3. Give the allegory of the
foundling child and its interpretation (16).
4. What the riddle of
chapter 17, what is its explanation, and what is the great promise in the
latter part of this chapter? 5, What is Ezekiel's discussion on the moral freedom
and responsibility of the individual before God? (18.)
6. What the lamentation in
chapter 19, and bow is it act forth in two parables? Give their interpretation.
7. What the principle upon
which Jehovah acted toward Israel discussed in chapter 20, and what the details
of the discussion?
8. Give a summary of the
contents of 20:45 to 21:32.
9. What the renewed charge
against Jerusalem? (22.)
10. Who the two harlot women
of chapter 23 and what the chief thoughts of this chapter?
11. What the meaning and
application of the boiling pot and the blood on a rock? (24:1-14.)
12. Explain the prophet's
action at the death, of his wife.
PROPHECIES AGAINST THE FOREIGN NATIONS
Ezekiel 25-32
Ezekiel has grouped his prophecies in regard to the foreign nations that came
in contact with Israel, as Jeremiah also groups his prophecies in chapters
46-51. Isaiah also groups his, in reference to the foreign nations, in chapters
13-23. These three greatest of the prophets had oracles on the nations with
whom Israel came in contact during that period of their history. Amos also
devotes the earlier part of his prophecies to utterances regarding these same
nations. Nahum devotes his prophecy to predicting the downfall of Nineveh and
the Assyrian Kingdom. Obadiah's entire prophecy relates to the downfall of
Edom.
Some may ask the question, Why these prophecies against the foreign nations?
Let us endeavor to find some reasons why Ezekiel should give these oracles
against the foreign powers. They were written during the siege of Jerusalem, at
a time when Ezekiel was perfectly sure that the city would fall, as he had been
preaching for many years that doctrine to the exiles. Jeremiah had been
preaching the same thing to the people in Jerusalem and Judah. The fall of Jerusalem
at the hands of foreign and heathen powers would seem to establish the triumph
of heathenism. The nations would conclude from this fact that because Jehovah's
kingdom, city, and Temple had fallen and the great heathen powers had
triumphed, therefore Jehovah was inferior to the heathen gods.
On this point the prophets of Jehovah had something to say, and such was
apparently the occasion for these prophecies. They would serve to confirm the
sentence of God upon Israel in showing that God dealt with the foreign nations
as he did with Israel; that he punishes sin as surely and as severely among the
heathen as he does in Israel, and although the heathen nations seem to survive
for awhile, they are no exception to the rule of righteousness with Jehovah. Again,
the downfall of these nations at the hand of Jehovah and the prophecies
regarding them, would have their influence upon Israel for the future. With the
heathen nations out of the way, Israel would be free to return to her land and
set up the everlasting kingdom that Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezekiel had
prophesied. The enemies, the old hereditary enemies of Israel, shall be
destroyed utterly and absolutely, therefore the kingdom of God shall have free
course to be glorified.
Ezekiel speaks of seven nations; five of them are small, but two of them are
large nations. He says nothing of Babylon except by way of inference. He is
living in Babylon and doubtless that was sufficient reason for refraining from
speaking against that great empire.
The prophecy against Ammon is found in 25:1-7. Ammon bordered on the tribe of
Reuben, and when that tribe was deported by Tiglath-pileser, Ammon seized the
territory of Reuben contrary to what was right. Ammon had suffered at the hands
of Jephthah, and also David through his general, Joab. Ammon bore hatred
against Israel, but along with Judah he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, out of
no friendship to Judah, but with the possible hope of freedom for himself. When
Judah was destroyed, Ammon rejoiced and because of that Ezekiel hurls his
denunciation against him: "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thou
saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land
of Israel, when it was made desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they
went into captivity; therefore, behold, I will deliver thee into captivity;
thou shalt be utterly destroyed and thy capital, Rabbah, shall be a stable for
camels and thy territory shall be possessed by the roving Bedouin Arabs of the
desert." He holds out no hope for the future whatever. Jeremiah did.
prophesy a future for Ammon, but Ezekiel does not.
Ezekiel's prophecy against Moab is recorded in 25:8-11. Isaiah and Jeremiah
also have oracles against Moab. Moab had, like Ammon, seized a part of the
territory of Reuben and was famous for her pride, an inordinate, selfish pride.
When Jerusalem fell Moab also scorned her and rejoiced over her fall and said,
"Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the nations." Because
Moab said that Jehovah's people, with their king, was just like other nations,
"therefore," says Ezekiel, "Moab shall be overwhelmed and
destroyed forevermore." No hope for the future is held out for Moab by
Ezekiel. Jeremiah did give some hope to Moab, but none is given by Ezekiel.
Then follows the prophecy against Edom (25:12-14). The country of Edom lies
south of the Dead Sea and north of the Gulf of Akabah. Edom had borne hatred
against Israel since the days of Esau. It was born in her, and she was
nourished in animosity toward her neighbor. David almost exterminated the
Edomites, and they were brought into subjection time and time again. They never
forgave Israel, and when Judah and Jerusalem were overwhelmed, Edom also
rejoiced and took captive all the fleeing Israelites she could and sold them
into slavery. Because of that Ezekiel pronounces an irretrievable doom:
"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand upon Edom,
and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman;
even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword."
The prophecy against Philistia (25:15-17): These were likewise the old,
hereditary foes of Israel. They were very much like the Edomites in their
feelings against her. They were revengeful, filled with an everlasting enmity,
and rejoiced when Jerusalem went up in smoke. Because of that Ezekiel hurls his
denunciations against the Philistines: they were to be crushed by the yoke
Nebuchadnezzar. They had already been almost wiped out by the Assyrians. They
were destroyed as a nation by the Babylonians, and at the time of the Maccabees
they were completely exterminated as a nation.
Tyre was one of the greatest commercial nations of the old world, corresponding
to the English nation in the modern world. The date of this prophecy is 586
B.C., the first day of the first month of the siege of Jerusalem. The prophet
devotes three chapters to his oracles against Tyre. That city had achieved
great commercial importance. She traded with every known nation in the world;
she had lent her influence to every nation; she was the envy of almost every
nation. She was the most active, the most aggressive, had the greatest
commercial power, in some respects the greatest wisdom and the greatest skill,
as well as the greatest colonizing power, of any nation at that period. From
the thirteenth century Tyre was the commercial center. She had been friendly to
Judah and Jerusalem under David and Solomon and some later kings, but for a
century or two her relations to Judah had been changed; she had grown jealous
of Judah's commercial advantages, and was now exhibiting the same hatred and
jealousy toward Judah that all the other nations were manifesting. She rejoiced
over the fall of Jerusalem the same as the other nations. Her business rival
was now destroyed; her own chances were enhanced and, with the true spirit of
commercial greed, she was glad that her sister nation had perished.
The destruction of the city of Tyre is described in chapter 26. In verse 2 the
prophet gives his reason for hurling this denunciation and prophecy of
destruction against Tyre: "Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against
Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gate of the people; she is turned
unto me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste." Therefore,
he denounced her and predicted her fate.
It was by Nebuchadnezzar, and in predicting her fall and end, verse 5 says,
"She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea;
for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God; and she shall become a spoil to the
nations." He would scrape the great rock, the island upon which Tyre was
built, so that the very dust itself would be taken off and there would be
nothing there but a bare rock for spreading and drying the nets of the
fishermen. That is almost literally true today and has been for centuries.
From that verse on, he predicts the siege of the city by Nebuchadnezzar. Tyre
was built upon an island rock a short distance from the shore and was one of
the strongest forts of the world. Nebuchadnezzar had to build a causeway from
the mainland to reach the city. Ezekiel describes his mode of attacking the
city in verse 9: "And he shall set his battering engines against thy
walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers," and he continues
with a full description of the rushing of the chariots over the streets and the
indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants, with a sack of the great city.
From verses 15-19 we have the consternation of the various nations over the
fall of this great commercial center. If New York, that center of commercial
life, were to be destroyed, it would not send a greater thrill of consternation
throughout the civilized world and would not more seriously affect the
industrial life of America than did the fall of Tyre shock every nation and
affect the commerce of every people of the world. They are represented as being
in a state of consternation and it says in verse 17, "They shall take up a
lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast
inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, that was strong in the sea, she
and her inhabitants, that caused their terror to be on all that dwelt
there." In the last two verses of that chapter he describes the
inhabitants of Tyre as sinking down into Sheol, the pit, or abyss, the abode of
the dead, and there abiding in darkness forever.
We have a magnificent description of Tyre by Ezekiel under the figure of a
great ship in chapter 27. In this chapter we have one of the finest passages in
the Old Testament and one of the best opportunities for the study of ancient
commerce to be found anywhere. Tyre is pictured as a gallant ship, a splendid
big ship, one of the great merchantmen of that age: "They have made all
thy planks of fir trees from Senir [Hermon]; they have taken a cedar from
Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine
oars; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the isles of
Kittim [Cyprus."] Her sail was made of fine linen from Egypt, and it was
an ensign. Ships did not carry flags in that age, but they had colored sails
and figures marked upon them which served the purpose of a flag. Thus the
purple of Egypt served as an ensign, or flag. Blue and purple linen of Elishah
[which refers to Peloponnesus] furnished the awning for the ship.
The men of Sidon, a town about twenty miles north, and the men of Arvad, a town
still farther north on the Mediterranean coast, were its mariners, or rowers.
Ships in that age had one or two sets of rowers. The ship in which Paul sailed
had rowers, and the mariners in Jonah's ship rowed hard. The men of Tyre, the
wisest of the world, as they thought, and the best seamen and navigators of the
world, were their pilots. The elders of Gebal, the best carpenters, were their
calkers, literally, the leak-stoppers. Look at the army on board to guard this
magnificent ship: They were men of Arvad; "Persia and Lud, and Phut were
in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they
set forth thy comeliness . . . and valorous men were in thy towers."
Then he goes on in (vv. 12-14) to describe the sea commerce of the great city
of Tyre. To Tarshish, away on the western coast of Spain, the Strait of
Gibraltar on the Atlantic Ocean her trade extended. "Tarshish was thy
merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron,
tin, and lead, they traded for thy wares." From Javan, Tubal, (south of
the Black Sea) and Meshech, they brought vessels of brass and slaves. Togarmah
is supposed to be modern Armenia, probably bordering on the Black Sea also.
They reached this country by ships through the Black Sea and the straits. What
did they get there? Horses and mules. So much for the sea commerce.
Now he gives the land commerce (vv. 15-25). Dedan was the Arab tribe bordering
on the southern and eastern boundary of Palestine and Edom. Here they got horns
of ivory and ebony which indicates that these merchants either went into Africa
and made use of the elephant tusks, or went into India and obtained the ivory
and ebony there.
Syria, round about Damascus, supplied them with emeralds, purple and broidered
work, fine linen, coral and rubies.
Judah supplied them with wheat of Minnith, and Pannag (perhaps a kind of
confection), honey, oil, and balm.
Damascus supplied them with the wine of Helbon, the finest and best wine of the
world at that time; also with white wool.
Vedan and Javan supplied them with bright iron, cassia, and calamus.
Dedan supplied them with precious clothes for riding. When the ladies would go
out riding, the fine clothes they wore came all the way from Dedan, probably
located in southeastern Arabia.
Arabia and the princes of Kedar supplied them with lambs, rams, and goats.
Sheba and Raamah supplied them with all kinds of spices, precious stones, and
gold.
Haran, Canneh, Eden, Asshur, and Chilmad supplied them with blue cloth and
broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of
cedar.
Now that is a magnificent description of the commerce of Tyre. It is the analogue
of that marvelous description which we find in Revelation 18:1-20, where John
pictures all the merchants of the earth mourning over the fall of the great
city, Babylon. Many things there are identical with the articles of commerce
here.
Next we have the fate of this magnificent ship (27:26-36): "Thy rowers
have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the
heart of the seas. Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners,
and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the dealers in thy merchandise, and all thy
men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of
thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin." Her
rowers had rowed into dangerous waters, and the divine powers broke upon her.
The east wind, or divine judgment, produced the fall of the great city of Tyre.
In verses 28-36 there is the lamentation of the nations over the fall of this
great city, just as John pictures all the merchants of the world lamenting over
the fall of the great mystical Babylon, Rome.
The pride and fall of Tyre are represented in 28:1-19. This is a representation
of what he had already said, only here he takes the prince of Tyre as a
personified spirit of the city, the prince, representing the people, and
gathering up in himself, as it were, the spirit of the people. He directs his
lamentation against the prince. He represents the prince of Tyre as saying,
"I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas."
That was the spirit of Tyre and is the spirit of every great commercial center
where the commercial spirit rules and reigns.
Babylon said, "I am, and there is none else beside me."
Self-glorification, self-deification, idolizing self, is the besetting sin of
every great commercial city. It has been and is today, and because of this
great commercialism and inordinate pride, the prince of Tyre was doomed to
destruction. They had great wisdom, worldly wisdom; they had great power, great
wealth, great glory, but they were great idolaters and as such they perished.
In verses 11-19 he pictures the prince of Tyre as a cherub in the garden of
God, or on the mountain of God, clothed in all the magnificence of the finest
and most precious and costliest stones that could be found. This cherub, this angelic
being, fell prey to sin and was destroyed.
There is also a prophecy against Sidon in 28:20-24. (For the prophecies of this
passage see the text.) Sidon was an important city a few miles north of Tyre
and her fate was involved in the fate of Tyre. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed
one he destroyed the other, with all the villages and towns adjacent to it.
Then follows another wonderful prophecy of the restoration of Israel and the
blessings upon her after her return (28:25-26).
Egypt was a great nation, one of the greatest nations of the world, and Ezekiel
devotes four chapters to her fall. The date of it was during the siege of
Jerusalem, 587 B.C. The following is a summary of the prophecy against her:
1. A general statement of the fall of Egypt (29:1-16). Egypt is compared to a
dragon, a crocodile, a huge alligator floundering around in the river Nile and
boasting, as he says in the latter part of verse 3: "My river is mine own,
and I have made it for myself." That was the spirit of Egypt. That great
dragon-crocodile shall be taken with hooks in his mouth and Jehovah will pull
him up and drag him forth and all the little fishes that belong to him will
hang onto his scales, and he will be taken out into the wilderness and there he
will be meat for the beasts and fowls of the air. This means that Egypt shall
be destroyed from one end to the other, from the tower of Seveneh unto the
border of Ethiopia. "Yet thus saith the Lord God: At the end of forty
years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered;
and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return
into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there
a base kingdom." After that Egypt shall be the basest of the kingdoms;
"neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will
diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations." From that
time until this, Egypt has been a poor, weak, and worthless power.
2. The reward of Nebuchadnezzar for failure to get booty at Tyre (17-21). The
prophecy against Tyre that we have been studying was uttered in the year 586
B.C. Shortly after the fall of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre and
continued the siege for thirteen years. We are not told whether he succeeded in
capturing and destroying the city or not. Now, this prophecy came from Ezekiel
in the year 570 B.C., the first month, first day of the month, sixteen years
after he had written the previous prophecy. During those sixteen years
Nebuchadnezzar had been besieging Tyre for thirteen years and had apparently
destroyed the city as Ezekiel had prophesied, but had taken no spoil. Ezekiel
had definitely prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would utterly and completely
overwhelm Tyre, and he had seemingly done it. This prophecy throws some light
upon the situation. Verse 18 says, "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was made
bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre,
for the service he had served against it." How extremely hard was this
thirteen years of toil I Now that plainly indicates that Nebuchadnezzar did not
succeed in securing the wealth of the Tyre.
The truth seems to be that the people of Tyre spirited away by ships all their
wealth and most of their inhabitants, and capitulated to Nebuchadnezzar at the
end of about thirteen years, and when he entered the city he had nothing to
destroy nor any wealth to take. Such seems probable, though we have no history
that would justify the statement.
Now, because Nebuchadnezzar had performed this service for Jehovah against Tyre
and had received no wages (vv. 1920), God says, "Therefore, thus saith the
Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her
prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of
Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they wrought for me, saith
the Lord God."
3. The terror and dismay of the surrounding nations (30: 1-19). The fall of a
nation sends a thrill of horror and dismay through the world, and the fall of a
great nation like Egypt struck terror into the hearts of all the surrounding
nations, Arabia, Ethiopia, Crete, etc.
4. The broken arm of Egypt (30:20-26). Egypt had had one arm broken, probably
by Nebuchadnezzar. Now Ezekiel prophesies that Egypt shall have both arms
broken, and her power shall be destroyed.
5. Pharaoh represented as a lordly cedar cut down (31:3), "Behold, the
Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon." He is using Assyria as an example for
Egypt. He goes on with his magnificent description of the cedar. It is cut
down. The Babylonians and Medes lay the ax at the roots and the cedar falls,
crashing among the nations. In verse 16 he pictures them as going down into the
nethermost part of the earth into the pit of Sheol to abide forever.
6. Lamentation over the fall of Egypt (32:1-16). Here we have the picture of
the dragon again, destroyed and left for a prey of the birds and beasts.
7. The welcome to Sheol, or Hades, by the nations (32: 1732).
This has been said to be the most weird piece of literature in all the world.
All the people of Egypt, the princes, the mighty men, the soldiers, who were
slain in these wars, go down into Sheol, the underworld, the place of the
departed, and there existing in their shadowy and weak existence, grouped
together and with them is Assyria and all her hosts that were slain with the
sword: grouped together also. and with them, Elam and all her hosts; grouped
around them Mesheck, Tubal, and all her multitude; Edom, her kings, and all her
princes, and all the Sidonians grouped together in Sheol. These are all in the
shadowy world below, surrounding Egypt. In verse 31, Pharaoh and his hosts and
all these foreign countries and their hosts, are said to be in Sheol where
light is as darkness, and are gathered together in groups and Pharaoh shall see
them and shall be comforted over all this multitude of slain ones. It is a
picture of their conception of the underworld, Sheol, which is the place of the
dead who have passed through what we know to be the grave, down into the spirit
world. Thus Ezekiel leaves these nations in Sheol, the place where there is no
light.
QUESTIONS
1. What prophets prophesied
against foreign nations and what can you say of the grouping of their
prophecies?
2. Why these prophecies
against foreign nations?
3. What and why the prophecy
against Ammon? (25:1-7.)
4. What and why the prophecy
against Moab? (25:8-11.)
5. What and why the prophecy
against Edom? (25:12-14.)
6. What and why the prophecy
against Philistia? (25:15-17.)
7. What can you say of
Tyre's commercial importance and her attitude toward Judah and Jerusalem?
8. How is the destruction of
the city of Tyre described in chapter 26?
9. Give the magnificent
description of Tyre by Ezekiel under the figure of a great ship (27).
10. How is the pride and
fall of Tyre represented in 28:1-19?
11. What the prophecy
against Sidon in 28:20-24, when fulfilled and what prophecy relative to the
children of Israel?
12. Summarize the prophecy
against Egypt (29-32).
13. What the added prophecy
concerning Tyre in 28:17-21?
PROPHECIES OF THE RESTORATION
Ezekiel 33-39
The subject of this chapter is Ezekiel's prophecies of the restoration of
Israel. Jeremiah (30-33) gave a similar group of prophecies, and in the book of
Isaiah (40-66) we find this same theme: The restoration of Israel and its
future glory. Here Ezekiel discusses the same theme.
We saw in the last chapter that Ezekiel had, in a prophetic way, disposed of
the foreign nations, the enemies of Israel, having predicted the entire
overthrow of all those who had been the means of Israel's downfall with the
exception of Babylon. He gave no direct prophecy of the downfall of Babylon,
only an indirect one prophesying her rule over Egypt for about forty years,
which implied that he believed that Babylon would fall at the end of that
period. Thus it may be seen that these chapters on the restoration of Israel
are in their logical place in his prophecies. He had predicted the fall of
Jerusalem, the capital, and the scattering of the people among all the nations.
Then he predicted the fall of all the nations that were her enemies, and having
finished with them, the way was made clear for his predictions regarding the
future of Israel. He devotes these seven chapters to the blessed age, the
messianic age, which follows the return of Israel from her exile in these
foreign lands.
The great function of the prophet is here set forth. He is to be a watchman
(33:1-20). The figure, of course, is an Oriental one. It was the custom in
those lands to build a watchtower on the border of their territories, or at the
approaches to their cities, or near their great centers, and appoint a man to
stand upon the watchtower and when he saw an army coming he was to blow his
trumpet and warn the people. There were many throughout Israel and all Oriental
lands. The prophet transfers the figure to spiritual functions as regards the
people of Israel.
The duty and responsibility of the watchman are set forth in verses 1-6, which
are easy to comprehend and which need not be commented upon except that the
watchman has the responsibility for the lives of those over whom he watches. If
he sees the foe coming and warns, his duty is done. If he sees the foe coming
and does not warn and any of the inhabitants lose their lives, their blood
shall be required at his hands because he had failed in his duty. He shall
suffer as a result of that failure.
This duty and responsibility were impressed upon Ezekiel thus: The Lord speaks
unto Ezekiel and says, "So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel. .... When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou
shall surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that
wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn
not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy
soul."
A glance at the situation will explain this more clearly. Ezekiel in chapter
18, prophesied and brought before the people that great doctrine of individual
responsibility and liberty. He exploded the old theory that a man is the slave
of his environment and must necessarily suffer for the sins of his fathers. It
is not necessary that he should perish because of the sins of his fathers.
Ezekiel brought before them the great doctrine that Jehovah does not will the
death of any man; that Jehovah has given to all men the privilege and
possibility of repenting and if they repent and turn, the penalties of their
past sins or their father's sins are forever abrogated and they are free from
them. The doctrine of individualism is there set before us, and this chapter is
an application of that principle.
Ezekiel now realizes that, since his nation is destroyed, their capital in
ruins, the center of religious worship is gone, that his duty is to speak to
individuals; that now it is with individual Israelites. His duty is to warn
them of their own sins and the dangers that are consequent upon their sins. He
is not to speak to the nation in the mass any more, but he is to deal with
individuals and put each individual upon his own personal responsibility and
relationship to God. He can thereby prepare the people to return to the land
and begin anew the nation God has purposed they should become.
The condition of the minds of the people is that of despondency, making the
prophet's appeal of no effect. Verses 10-20, especially in verse 10, we have
the condition of their minds set forth: "Thus ye speak, saying, Our
transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can
we live?" This indicates at once that the people were in a state of
despair. They had no hope; they believed that their doom was inevitable; that
it was useless for them to think of enjoying fellowship with God and life any
more. To counteract that complaint and that condition of mind, Ezekiel brings
before them four great principles which are found in the remainder of this
section, and I will embody the substance of these verses in these four
statements:
1. That Jehovah desires that men shall live.
2. That man is not irrevocably bound by the past, but may repent.
3. That men are to come to God individually and thus come into the new Israel.
4. That men are judged more by what they are than by what they have been.
Let us now discuss the theme, occasion, and date of the prophecy of Ezekiel in
33:21-33. On hearing of the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel announces the conditions
of return. These conditions are moral and religious. In verse 21 we have the
date of this prophecy: the twelfth year, that is one year after the fall of
Jerusalem, tenth month and fifth day of the month, almost eighteen months after
the fall. He says, "One that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me,
saying, The city is smitten." Some find a chronological difficulty here.
Some of the ancient versions say it was in the eleventh year and tenth month,
which means that Ezekiel heard of the fall of Jerusalem six months after that
event occurred. According to this account of Ezekiel it was a year and six
months. It seems to them almost incredible that it would require eighteen
months for the news of that great event to reach the prophet and much more
likely, he received the news at the end of six months, that being ample time
for the caravans to reach Babylon and the news to spread. But it is better to
take it as it stands, allowing for probable delays on the part of this
messenger in getting to Babylon.
Now, after he received news that the city was smitten, he had a word to say to
the people that remained in Palestine; that remnant spoken of in Jeremiah
(40-44), Ezekiel addresses in 33:23-29. Note verse 24: "Son of man, they
that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one,
and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for
inheritance," which seems to refer to the miserable remnant that was left
at Mizpah, Bethlehem, and various other places. They say, "Abraham was
one, only one, and he inherited the land, but we are many and the land is given
us for an inheritance." Their idea is that since to Israel was given this
land, and they were the nucleus of Israel, and since Abraham being only one,
developed into such a large nation, they who are many have as many more chances
of developing into a great nation, and therefore they remain in Palestine
believing that they will become a great nation and possess the land for all the
future. The people who said that were still practicing their idolatry. Ezekiel
says, "Thus saith the Lord God: As I live, surely they that are in the
waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I
give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and in
the caves shall die of the pestilence."
In verses 30-33, we have the effect of Ezekiel's prophecies upon the people
with whom he dwelt, there by the river Chebar in Babylon. Here is a passage of
great comfort to a preacher sometimes. Ezekiel has now become popular and he is
drawing fine congregations; the people are flocking to hear him, and they say,
verse 30: "And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of
thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another,
every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word
that cometh forth from the Lord." And he goes on to say how they came and
heard the words but did them not, for with their mouth they show much love but
their heart goeth after their gain. They have a great many good things to say
to their preacher but their hearts go after their gain. "And, lo, thou art
unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play
well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not."
"Fine sermon, very lovely song, prayed splendidly," they say but they
never think of heeding what the preacher says.
The evil shepherds are described (34:1-10). They feed themselves, not the
flock. Jeremiah had something to say regarding those evil shepherds. Ezekiel
has a strong denunciation of them in these ten verses. These shepherds feed
themselves and care for themselves, but care nothing for the sheep, and the
sheep wander through the forests and the deserts and upon every high hill and
are scattered among all the nations of the earth and there are none that seek
after them to bring them back. As a result the shepherds are denounced verse
10: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I
will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the
sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver
my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them."
But Jehovah takes care of his sheep after disposing of the evil shepherds.
Jehovah will undertake the care of the flock in the restoration period (vv.
11-19). Notice particularly verse 11: "Behold, I myself, even I, will
search for my sheep, and will seek them out." Latter part of verse 12:
"So I will seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places
whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." Verse 15:
"I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie
down, saith the Lord God." Jehovah says that he will be the shepherd. He
makes no reference here to a messianic Saviour, the Christ, or King that is to
come. He himself is going to do it. And then in verses 17-22, Jehovah says that
he is going to separate and distinguish between different parts of the flock.
Verse 17: "I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the
he-goats." He is going to see that the leaders among the people of Israel
are not like cattle that go down to the stream and drink and muddy the water,
thus making it unfit for the others to drink. Jehovah is going to distinguish
between them and see that they are in their proper places. Then from verses 23
to 31 it says that Jehovah will raise up David as Shepherd and there shall be
great prosperity. He said before, "I will be the Shepherd," but now
he says, "I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them,
even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd."
This is messianic and refers to the work of Christ. In the latter part of verse
26, he describes the prosperity that shall come: "There shall be showers
of blessing." Here is where the words of the song, "There Shall Be
Showers of Blessing," came from. The prophet continues the magnificent
description of the prosperity of the country and how all shall flourish under
the rule and care of this great Shepherd, David, not David himself in person,
but a member of his dynasty and of his family, who is Christ, our Lord.
There is a prophecy against Edom in chapter 35. The substance of this chapter
is this: Mount Seir, or Edom, had sinned against Judah and Jerusalem at the
time of her calamity (v. 5). He charges Edom with two sins: (1) "Thou hast
had a perpetual enmity"; (2) "Thou hast given over the children of
Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity." When
Edom, or Mount Seir, found Israel down, they trampled on her as hard as they
could. Verse 10 mentions a third sin, and that is (3) "Thou hast said,
These two nations and these two countries (northern and southern Israel) shall
be mine, and we will possess it." The point is this: When Israel was
deported to Babylon and the country left desolate, the Edomites came from the
south and took possession of all the land of Judah they possibly could and
began to inhabit and make it their possession. Because of that the prophet's
denunciation is buried against them, prophesying the downfall of their capital
and their country. It was necessary for the prophet to do this. They were
encroaching upon Israel, and they must be driven forth from the land to make
way for Israel.
Then there is a prophecy concerning the land of Israel in 36:1-15. This is the
counterpart, or the other side, of the prophecy (6) where he denounced the
mountains of Israel because they were the high places of worship and predicted
their desolation and overthrow. In the future age, the mountains of Israel
shall be delivered out of the hand of the enemies, and they shall become
abundantly fruitful. Notice, especially, verse 8: "But ye, O mountains of
Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people
Israel; for they are at hand to come," i.e., "Ye shall till and sow
and I will multiply men upon you; all the house of Israel, and the cities shall
be inhabited and the waste places shall be builded." Then he says,
"And I will multiply upon you man and beast," carrying forward his
glowing description of the prosperity and fruitfulness of the land.
In verses 16-23 the prophet says that Jehovah will do this thing for his name's
sake and in honor of his own holy name: "Therefore say unto the house of
Israel, Thus saith the Lord God: I do not this for your sake, O house of
Israel, but for my holy name which ye have profaned among the nations whither
ye went."
In verses 24-38, we have the restoration and regeneration of Israel. Here we
come to the New Testament ground, in the gospel dispensation. This is Ezekiel's
deepest, sweetest, and best prophecy. This passage calls to mind a notable
challenge of Alexander Campbell, substantially in these words: "The whole
world is challenged to produce even one passage in any part of God's Word, from
Genesis to Revelation, proving that God ever commanded prophet, priest, preacher,
or layman to sprinkle or pour water – just water – pure water, on man, beast,
or thing as a moral ceremonial or religious rite." In response to the
challenge the one passage cited was this scripture, Ezekiel 36:25. Of course it
was easy for Mr. Campbell to show the irrelevancy of this passage. It does not
meet the requirements of the challenge because:
(1) It is not a command of God to any man to do any sprinkling whatever, but an
express declaration of some kind of sprinkling that God himself will do.
(2) The clean water of the text was not even in its type just water, but was a
compound called the water of purification whose recipe is found in Numbers
19:1-10. This was a liquid compound of ashes and water. A red heifer was
burned. Into the burning was cast cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet cloth. The
ashes of this burning were gathered up and mingled with water and this mixture
was called the water of cleansing, or of purification.
(3) The typical efficacy of this mixture was in the ashes of the red things
burned: the red heifer, the red cedar wood, red hyssop, and scarlet cloth; red
signified blood. The antitype is the blood of Christ, Hebrews 9:13-14:
"For if the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the unclean sanctifieth to the
purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God?"
(4) The whole passage in Ezekiel 36:21-38 refers to those last gospel days when
the Jews, long disobedient, blinded, and scattered, will be gathered and saved,
as set forth by Paul (Rom. 11:25-36). This salvation will be of grace (Ezek.
36: 22). It will be by regeneration (Ezek. 36:25-26). This regeneration will
produce a spirit of obedience (Ezek. 36:27). This regeneration consists of at
least two parts, cleansing and renewal. The cleansing (Ezek. 36:25) is effected
by the application of Christ's blood typified by the water of purification, the
antitype of which is the blood of Christ (Heb. 9: 13-14; 1 John 1:7). The
renewal (Ezekiel 36:26) is the change of man's nature. Both of these ideas
appear in John 3:5: "Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God." This is one birth. It is the Spirit birth.
The water signifies cleansing; the Spirit, renewal. The same ideas appear in
Titus 3:5: "The washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Lord." In
none of these passages is there the slightest reference to baptism.
Now let us consider the vision of dry bones (37:1-14) and its interpretation.
What are these dry bones? Is this a literal resurrection from the dead, or is
this a conversion, a spiritual resurrection? It is not either. Verse II gives
the clue to the interpretation. These bones are the house of Israel. What makes
them so dry? "Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is
lost; we are clean cut off." They have no hope whatever as to the resurrection,
or renewal of their national existence. They were saying, "We are
scattered among all the nations. Our city and our capital is gone and there is
no hope for our nation and our people any more." Nationally or
religiously, they were as dry bones which had no hope of a resurrection. Now
there is no distinct reference to any resurrection of the body, nor of any
spiritual regeneration. It is national.
The prophet was required to preach to them. He preached and the bones began to
come together and he kept on preaching and flesh came upon them, and by and by
they stood up. The whole house of Israel raised to a new national life and
existence! Then he kept on preaching and the result was as we see in verse 14:
"I will put my spirit within you and ye shall live and I shall place you
in your own land and ye shall know that I am Jehovah." That was fulfilled
to some extent in the return of the 50,000 after the decree of Cyrus, but it
was never completely fulfilled. An army of about 50,000 whose spirit Jehovah
stirred up, returned at first, and that stirring up was the result of the
preaching of Ezekiel and Jeremiah and the study of the latter part of the book
of Isaiah. The figure of the resurrection is used in verse 12, thus: "I
will open your graves and cause you to come out of your graves," but the
graves are national graves, not literal. This is referred to by Paul (Rom.
11:15) as a resurrection and contemplates the final gathering of the Jews
before the millennium.
The union of Judah and Israel is symbolized in 37:15-28: "Take thee one
stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick
of Ephraim." These two sticks he joined together. This is a symbolic
action similar to many other actions of Ezekiel which we have already
considered. The meaning of it is this: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I
will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes
of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, even with the stick of
Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand."
Jeremiah prophesied the same thing; so did Isaiah in substance; so did Hosea;
so did Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah.
It was the belief of all the prophets that when Israel returned from exile it
would be one nation, a united nation. Ezekiel goes on, "I will make them
one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be to
them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all." ID verse 24 the king is called
"David my servant," that is, one of his descendants; a member of his
dynasty shall be king over them and they shall have one shepherd. Then he says,
"I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting
covenant with them." Verse 27: "My tabernacle also shall be with
them; and they shall be my people," all of which has its fulfilment in the
millennial age. This reminds us of Revelation 21:3.
An account of the invasion of Gog and Magog is found in chapters 38-39. This is
the picture of the last and final struggle of all the nations with God. We find
that John refers to the same struggle in Revelation 20:7-9: "When the
thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall
come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the
sand of the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed
the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of
heaven and devoured them." Ezekiel says, 38:2: "Son of man, set thy
face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Rosh, Meshech and
Tubal, and prophesy against him," nations lying probably away to the north
of Israel on the borders of the Caspian and Black Seas representing the great
barbarian hordes that infested central Asia and northern Armenia on the very
outskirts of the then known world. "I will bring thee forth, and all thine
army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed and in full armor, a great
company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords."
What does this mean? Ezekiel is picturing the millennial age, the messianic
age, and away in the future after the glorious age has been in progress, for
how long we cannot tell, he sees this vision of the final struggle. Israel has
been enjoying the blessedness of that age for centuries and the nations around
her have been destroyed. The nations lying far off on the outskirts of the
world now rouse themselves for a final onslaught on God's kingdom. "And
thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to
them that are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls,
and having neither bars nor gates." Thus the people are unprotected; they
are living in the messianic age when all is peace and harmony. "I will go
to them that are at rest." What for? "To take the spoil and to take the
prey." This is the final conflict of the barbarian nations of the world
with their vast hosts, against the messianic kingdom.
What is to be the result? We find in verses 17-23, Ezekiel says the prophets
have for a long time been prophesying of this very thing, though we do not have
any distinct reference to the prophecy. As Gog, with his hosts, encompasses the
whole land of Israel and surrounds the city, then Ezekiel says in the latter
part of verse 18, "My wrath shall come up into my nostrils . . . I will
rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with
him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone."
That is to be the end of Gog and his innumerable hordes.
Then we have this statement, 39:4: "Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of
Israel, thou, and all thy hordes and the peoples that are with thee: I will
give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field
to be devoured." And in verse 9, he says, "And they that dwell in the
cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn
them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the
handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven
years." Verse 12 says that the people of Israel are going to bury all
those that fall and they are to be seven months burying the dead, and are to
have a rule that when any person finds a bone he is to set up a mark by it
until the body has been buried outside in the valley. Then we have the feast of
all the birds of the air and the beasts of the field upon the slain. The
chapter closes with a description of Israel's restoration (vv. 28-29). The best
commentary on the destruction of Gog is found in that short passage, in
Revelation 20, where John pictures Satan as raising an insurrection among all
the nations of the world at the close of the millennium. Ezekiel pictures it as
taking place a long while after the restoration and the blessed messianic age.
(See the author's discussion of this subject in his book on Revelation.)
QUESTIONS
1. What the theme of this
section and where do we find the same subject discussed in Jeremiah and Isaiah?
2. Show the logical order of
these prophecies.
3. What the great function
of the prophet and how is it here set forth?
4. What the duty and responsibility
of the watchman?
5. How was this duty and
responsibility impressed upon Ezekiel?
6. What the condition of the
minds of the people and how does the prophet meet it?
7. What the theme, occasion,
and date of the prophecy of Ezekiel in 33:21-33, and what chronological
difficulty here and its solution?
8. Whom does the prophet
address in 33:23-29, what the occasion of this address and what the prophet's
message to them?
9. What the effect of
Ezekiel's preaching on the people in exile (33:30-33)?
10. How are the evil
shepherds described in 34:1-10, what the prophet's denunciation of them and how
does Jehovah take care of his sheep?
11. What the prophecy
against Edom in chapter 35 and why?
12. What the prophecy
concerning the land of Israel in 36:1-15?
13. What the motive of
Jehovah in doing all this (38:16-23)?
14. Expound 36:24-38,
showing the controversy about it, and its true interpretation in the light of
the New Testament.
15. What the vision of dry
bones (37:1-14) and what its interpretation?
16. How is the union of
Judah and Israel symbolized and what the glorious picture that follows
(37:15-28)?
17. Give an account of the
invasion of Gog and Magog and the result (38-39). Discuss fully.
THE FINAL CONDITION OF THE REDEEMED
Ezekiel 40-48
The date of this prophecy as given in 40:1 is about 572 B.C., thirteen years
after his last prophecy before this one and fourteen years after the fall of
the city of Jerusalem. Thus, there is an interval of thirteen years between the
last writing of Ezekiel before this and this one.
As to what Ezekiel was doing during the thirteen years between his last
prophecy and this one, we have no record whatever. Perhaps after he had
prophesied the restoration of Israel and the glorious messianic age as found in
chapters 36-37, Ezekiel was thinking and pondering in his mind over the
messianic kingdom. He was thinking of what it would be like, what would be its
constitution, what would be its temple, what would be its temple service, what
would be the relation between the king and the priesthood and what would be the
condition of the people.
After those long years of thinking and pondering in his own mind, at last the
vision broke upon him. A great many visions have come to God's prophets and
God's servants along the line that they had been thinking and meditating. Thus
the vision broke upon Ezekiel, and he saw in this vision the final condition of
the restored and redeemed people of Israel. He does not picture any method of
salvation in these chapters because he conceives of the people as enjoying
salvation; they are in a condition of salvation, saved forever. It is the
kingdom of God that he has in mind, the kingdom of God set up on earth with its
center in Jerusalem and existing in all its glory, blessedness, and beauty. We
call it the millennium, for to Ezekiel it was the millennial period of the
world's history.
This picture is cast in the Jewish mold. The best place to the Jew on this
earth was in Palestine, his own land. There was death and burial and all the
various incidents of life in this blessed age. There were families, there was a
city of a certain size, a tabernacle of a certain size, and buildings, and
chambers; there was a priesthood, there were sacrifices, there was to be a
Prince of the line of David, the messianic Prince. All these things were to
comprise the glorious messianic age, was all cast in the Jewish mold, and not
to be taken as literal.
Now, in these chapters Ezekiel gives the religious side of the kingdom of
Israel. He deals very little with anything but the religious phase. He touches
on the geographical side of the country, a little on the civil side of affairs,
but puts the emphasis almost entirely upon the religious and ecclesiastical. To
Ezekiel religion was the foundation of a nation, for the foundations of
national existence and the great informing principles in all national life from
the beginning of history to the present time, have been the religious conceptions
of the people.
Ezekiel, in vision, was brought by the hand of God into the land of Israel, and
set down upon a very high mountain, whereon was, as it were, the frame of a
city. Placed upon this high mountain Ezekiel opens his eyes in vision and sees
a man, who appears to him as a man of brass. This is an angelic and
supernatural being. He has a line of flax in his hand, also a measuring reed,
and stands at the gate of this great structure.
Ezekiel 40:1-4 gives the introductory remarks of Ezekiel showing how this
vision occurred. He was standing facing the west and also facing the east gate
of the great sanctuary. Before him lay an enclosure, a tabernacle, 500 cubits
square, measuring probably 800 feet or about 250 yards square. This enclosure
was surrounded by a wall six cubits high and six cubits broad, or thick. Right
before him was a gate, the east gate, approached by seven steps. The gate
itself was really a large building, twenty-five cubits broad altogether and
fifty cubits long, reaching into the court of the temple. Inside that gate was
the outer court. That outer court was 150 cubits from the outer wall to the
inner wall, and one hundred cubits from the inside entrance of the gate to the
next gate on the inner wall. This outer court ran around three sides of the
enclosure and on these three sides were the pavements and chambers round about
on the walls.
He then approached the inner court and that had a gate facing east just the
same size as the gate on the outer court, approached by eight steps showing the
gradations up into the holy place. Right in front of the gate which was the
same size as the other gate, was a square place of 100 cubits and in the center
of that was the altar for the burnt offerings. Right behind the gate approached
by ten steps was the temple building itself. There was the porch, there the
holy place behind it, and the most holy place behind that, and chambers around
on three sides. There was a space of five cubits on either side of this temple
building and chambers twenty cubits wide on the outside of that space. The
raised pavement on which the temple stood was exactly 100 cubits square and
reached back to the wall that surrounded the inner court. To the north of the
outer court was a gate exactly the same as that of the east gate; to the south,
a gate exactly the same as the one Ezekiel entered; on the west there was no
gate at all. To the inner court there was a gate to the north and a gate to the
south, exactly like the one to the east which Ezekiel entered.
A more detailed description of the temple with its parts is found in verses
5-16. There he describes the outer gate by which he approaches, ascending seven
steps. The outer gate has a threshold, and the entrance into the outer court
has on either side three lodges or guard chambers, intended for sentinels who
abode there and watched the multitudes that thronged the gates into the temple
courts. This entire gate was twenty-five cubits wide by fifty cubits long,
reaching fifty cubits into the outer court minus the breadth of the wall.
In verses 17-19 he describes the outer court just inside that gate. That outer
court is altogether 150 cubits wide minus the wall and reaches around three
sides. It is covered with a pavement and around on these three sides next the
wall are chambers, large rooms. What these were for he does not tell us;
doubtless they were intended for service in connection with the temple worship.
In verses 20-23 we have described the north gate which is exactly the same as
the one on the east which he entered. In verses 24-27 he describes the south
gate which is exactly the same as the east and the north gate.
In verses 28-37 he describes the inner court. He enters the gate of the inner
court by an approach of eight steps, passes through that fifty cubits deep into
the inner court. There is & south gate and a north gate exactly the same,
all facing the great altar in the center of the court 100 cubits square in the
temple area itself.
In verses 38-43 he describes the tables that are on either side of the north
gate that enters into the inner court. Outside in the outer court are four
tables for killing the sacrifices and washing them; inside are four tables for
the sacrifices, and there are other large stone tables upon which they would
lay the instruments for slaying their sacrifices. It was the law of Leviticus
that the sacrifices were to be slain north of the altar, so all these tables
and instruments are at the north gate which approaches the inner court north of
the great altar.
Now in the inner court we have on either side of that court which is about 250
cubits square counting the thickness of the walls on the north side and on the
south side, large chambers. These chambers were for the use of the priests in
their ministrations. Those on the north were for the use of those who helped
the priests in their services; the south for the sons of Zadok who were the
leaders among the priests. In verses 38-49) he approaches the temple itself and
the porch facing the temple building; ten steps brings him up on to the raised
platform which is exactly 100 cubits square and which contains all the great
temple buildings.
In 41:1-14, he describes the porch, gives the measurements, then the dimensions
of the tabernacle which is forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide; then the
holy of holies which is exactly twenty cubits square. Ezekiel does not go into
the holy of holies; only the messenger goes in and brings out the measurements
and tells them to Ezekiel. The walls are six cubits thick; then there are
little chambers on either side, and there are walls five cubits thick beyond
them. The lower chambers are four Cubits wide, the next, five; the next, six,
just the same as those of Solomon's Temple. All around on either side of that
Temple with its chambers, which was nearly forty cubits wide altogether, was an
open space of five cubits, and outside of that, again on this pavement of ten
cubits, along the two sides were buildings used as chambers for the priests.
In verses 15-26 he describes the inside of the temple proper. It is made of
wood, beautifully carved wood, cherubim carved as was Solomon's Temple; palm
trees carved and engraved upon the wood also, and only one altar, no table of
shewbread, no golden candlestick, no ark of the covenant, no laws written on tables
of stone; they were written on the tables of the heart now and there is no need
for an ark of the covenant or for these other things, only an altar
representing the prayers and worship of the people. There are doors into the
holy place and folding doors into the most holy place. We do not read that
Solomon made any doors between those apartments.
Now in 42:1-14, the other buildings that are inside this inner court are
described. This inner court, as we have said, is about 250 cubits square; 100
cubits are taken up by the altar, 100 for the temple buildings and chambers,
then there are fifty cubits on either side along the north and south sides. Now
these are described in the section we have just mentioned. They are chambers,
and one row is three stories high, extending along 100 cubits on the north side
of the temple buildings, and south side also a row 100 cubits long. These are
for the priests, in which they store their garments, and in which they dress
that they may appear before the people in the outer court and perform the
services in the inner court.
In 42:15-20, we have the measurements of the outer wall and the whole area of
the buildings. Here he gives the general measurements. Now note that he says
500 reeds. A reed is six cubits. Thus he gives the general measurements such as
I have described. Thus far he has been describing the temple and we readily see
it is impossible to give all the details.
In 43:1-12 we enter upon a new theme: the vision of the entrance of Jehovah
into this house, this temple, to abide forever. Notice that Ezekiel says in the
latter part of verse 3: "The visions were like the vision that I saw by
the river Chebar." The same magnificent picture of the four cherubim
appears here now right at the gate of the temple and Jehovah thus enters into
the temple by the east gate, there to abide forever. Note what he says to
Ezekiel as he enters, verses 6-7: "And I heard one speaking unto me out of
the house; and a man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the
place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell
in the midst of the children of Israel forever. And my holy name shall the
house of Israel no more defile." Thus he goes on to describe the new and
blessed condition of Israel and how they are purified from all their sins. Then
in verses 10-12 Ezekiel shows to the people this vision of the great temple
that they are to have, and he says that they shall be ashamed of their
iniquities when they see and learn the pattern. It is a perfect temple, perfect
equipment, divinely measured and symbolizes the relation of Jehovah to his
people.
Now in verses 13-17 he describes the altar of burnt offerings in the center of
that 100 cubits square in the court. Bight in front of the east, north, and
south gates: that altar has a base eighteen cubits square and one cubit thick,
resting upon the solid earth; then another place above that sixteen cubits
square, and another one fourteen cubits square, and the uppermost one twelve
cubits square with four projections, or horns, one at each corner. So the altar
stands high and is twelve cubits, or about twenty feet, square.
In verses 18-27 he describes the sacrifices and the ceremonies relating to the
altar. The sacrifices and ceremonies are to be performed by the sons of Zadok
and they are to cleanse the altar and purify it and make it ready for the
sacrifices of God.
In 44:1-3, he says that the east gate was to be kept forever shut, because
through that gate Jehovah had entered and he had entered to remain forever, and
therefore the gate by which he had entered must be closed forever, and no being
in heaven nor on earth should pass through it.
In verses 4-14, we have the subordinate position of the Levites. The Levites
previous to the exile had become idolatrous, almost to a man; they had gone
after the worship of idols (but many of the priestly families had remained
faithful to Jehovah) and because of that Ezekiel says that the Levites should
not serve in the temple, but should be degraded to a secondary position and
only the sons of Zadok could minister in the inner court.
In verses 15-30, Ezekiel gives the precepts and the rules regarding the
priests. These priests were of the sons of Zadok. Doubtless, Ezekiel himself
belonged to that line. They alone were to go into the inner court; the people
were allowed in the outer courts, but only the priests in the inner court. They
were to have linen garments and everything was to be so pure and so clean that
they were not allowed to wear any garments that would hold perspiration; not
one drop of perspiration was allowed to remain in their clothing; they were to
be scrupulously clean. Their beards were not to be shaved; they were not to
drink any wine while performing the services; they were to marry only a certain
class of women, the widow of a priest or a virgin of the house of Israel; they
were to teach the people, and they were to be the judges in all cases of the
law. The priests were to judge between the litigants. They were to have no
possessions, verse 28: "I am their inheritance; and ye shall give them no
possessions in Israel; I am their possession." They were to have all the
first-fruits of the land and certain other material resources.
In 45:1-8, we have the portion of land assigned to the priests. In almost the
center of this land of Israel, a space 25,000 cubits wide extending from the
Mediterranean Sea to the river Jordan was set apart for the prince and the
priests and the city and the temple. In the center of that was a section 25,000
cubits long and 25,000 cubits wide divided thus: 10,000 cubits of the northern
part was for the Levites, 10,000 cubits in the center, for the priests and in
the center of that was this section we have just described; south of that,
5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long was the city area and in the center of
that was the city itself, about two miles square; lands on either side also
about two miles square; the whole section was about eight miles square. The
Levites had a section about two by eight miles; the priests had a section about
two by eight miles, and the city, a little more than two by eight. At each end
of this section reaching to the Mediterranean Sea on the west side, and to the
Jordan on the east, was the portion of the prince, or royal family, the
messianic king.
In verses 9-17 we have the ordinances for the prince. He was strictly commanded
to be just and square in his dealings, and strange to say, the prince received
the tithes from all the people of Israel, and he supplied the priests with all
their sacrifices, and sustained them out of what the people brought to him. The
prince was a very important personage. He was really the Messiah, the messianic
King.
In verses 18-25 we have the ordinances for cleansing the temple, for the
atonement, for the Passover, and the various offerings, for which see the text.
In 46:1-15, we have the ordinances for the feasts. They are going to have
sacrifices, feasts, pilgrimages, in this blessed messianic age, according to
Ezekiel, and he lays down rules for the feasts of the new moon, the sabbath,
the Passover, and all other appointed feasts. It is to be the Levitical system
carried out to perfection all through the ages. But remember that this is only the
Jewish mold into which these blessed events are cast.
In verses 16-18, Ezekiel says that a prince cannot forfeit permanently his
inheritance. If he does deed it to any member of another noble family, it
reverts back to the royal family in time. Thus these two portions of land are
reserved to the line of David forever.
In verses 19-24 we have described the kitchens for the priests. They are to
have kitchens in the temple, and in the far northwest corner of the inner
court, and the far southwest corner of this inner court are great buildings
that serve as kitchens where the priests are to boil their meat for these
services in the temple; then in the same corners of the outer court are large
buildings where they are going to boil the meat and sacrifices for the people.
The Levites are to do this, as they are not allowed in the inner court.
In 47:1-12 Ezekiel describes a stream which issues from the temple and flows
down to the inner court and outer court and out by the east gate through which
Ezekiel had entered and through which Jehovah had entered, and which is forever
closed, down across the land toward the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
Many have preached from that chapter on "The River of Life." It ran
through that desert land, and coursed down to the awful wilderness surrounding
the Dead Sea, making everything green and the trees bore their fruit every
month, the analogue of John's vision of the River of Life flowing through the
great city of God. Then it flows through those deserts and into the Dead Sea
healing the water which became alive with fishes and everything the river
touches lives. It flows down into the barren deserts, the dead seas of life,
the worthless places, and heals them. There are certain portions by that Dead
Sea that Ezekiel says were given to salt, the marshes. These were not healed
but were given to salt as they needed the salt in the east for their sacrifices
and their food, that was a hot climate. Thus closes the vision of Ezekiel of
the land of Israel. The land is rich and verdant, teeming with life and
fruitage; it is the blessed messianic age. (See the author's sermon on
"The River of Life.")
Verses 13-23 describe the boundaries of the Holy Land and the privilege of
strangers attaching themselves to the tribes. The boundaries of the Holy Land
we cannot exactly fix but they extend west to the Mediterranean Sea; to about
the entering in of Hamath for the northern boundary; the eastern boundary is
the valley of Jordan down through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; the southern
boundary is by way of Kadeshbarnea and to the brook of Egypt. That is Ezekiel's
Holy Land.
In 48:1-7, he tells what tribes are going to live north of the oblation. This
tract of land, 25,000 cubits wide and reaching from the Mediterranean to the Jordan,
is the oblation; the tribes that are to live north of the oblation we find in
verses 1-7. To the far north is Dan; south of him is Asher, reaching from the
Mediterranean to the Jordan Valley; the same for Napthali, and a similar
section for Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah, bordering on the oblation
which was the center and contained the portion for the Levites, temple, city,
and prince. Why he has them in that order we cannot tell.
In verses 8-22 we have the oblation itself and its divisions again described:
25,000 cubits wide, reaching from the Mediterranean to the Jordan and in the
center of that square, 10,000 to the north for the Levites, 10,000 for the
priests and in the center of that, the temple; then a section, 5,000 wide to
the south for the city. We see by this that Ezekiel does not think that the
temple should be in the city, and he separated them by a distance of about
three miles. The city is about two miles square. It has land on either side of
it which is to support the people. Ezekiel makes no provision for the growth of
the city, nor for the increase of the Levites, nor for the priests; there they
are and they are going to abide forever.
In verses 23-29, he gives the tribes south of the city, and the first one is
Benjamin. Ezekiel puts Judah north and Benjamin south, while before, they had
always been the reverse. Below that is Simeon, then Issachar, then Zebulun, and
Gad; previously they had been closer together.
Then verses 30-35 tell of the gates of the city. There are three on each of the
four sides. This is the analogue of John's magnificent vision of the holy city
– "on the east three gates, on the north three gates, and on the south
three gates, and on the west three gates." He goes on to show which tribes
shall enter in by these several gates: three tribes on one side, etc., grouping
Ephraim and Manasseh under the name of Joseph. He closes by saying, verse 35,
"And the name of the city from that day shall be Jehovah-shammah,"
Jehovah is there, that is, all this land is to be sanctified by the presence of
Jehovah, from Dan in the far north to Gad in the far south. As one approaches
the oblation, it is to be more holy; the domain of the priests and the
sanctuary, still more holy. The outer court, the inner court, the temple platform,
the holy place, then the most holy of all.
That is Ezekiel's picture of the great messianic age. He believed that all the
people that inhabited this land were people who had a new heart and a right
spirit, who had the old stony heart taken out of them and a heart of flesh
given them; that God's laws were written in their hearts and on their minds;
that they walked in his statutes and in his law; converted people, regenerated
people, living in bliss upon the earth.
Will this ever be literally fulfilled? Can it be possible that when Jesus
Christ comes this will be fulfilled as Ezekiel pictures it? Our pre-millennialist
brethren believe that this will be literally fulfilled. They believe that
Christianity must revert back to Judaism with Jerusalem as its center. To me it
is unthinkable that our gospel with its worldwide vision and mission can become
so cabbined, cribbed, coffined, and confined that it will be shut up to
Palestine and to Judaism. That would be an unthinkable anticlimax.
QUESTIONS
1. What the date of the
writing of this prophecy?
2. What was Ezekiel doing
during the thirteen years between his last prophecy before this and this one
and what the bearing on this last prophecy?
3. Give a bird's eye view of
the temple as Been by Ezekiel.
4. Give a more detailed
description of the temple with its parts.
5. Describe Jehovah's
entrance into this temple and give its significance.
6. Describe the altar of
burnt offerings and the sacrifices to be offered thereon.
7. What the ordinance
regarding the east gate and why?
8. What the ordinance
respecting the position of the Levites and why?
9. What ordinances regarding
the priests?
10. What provisions were
made for the priests?
11. What the ordinances
regarding the prince and what special provision for the people by the prince?
12. What the ordinances for
cleansing the temple, etc.?
13. What the ordinances for
the feasts?
14. What the ordinances for
the inheritance of the prince?
15. What the special
provision for the work of the priests and Levites?
16. Describe Ezekiel's
"River of Life" and give its significance.
17. Give the boundaries of
Ezekiel's holy land.
18. What tribes are to be
north of the oblation?
19. Describe the oblation
itself.
20. What the tribes south of
the oblation?
21. Describe the gates of
the city and give the position of the tribes.
22. What do you say of the
fulfilment of this magnificent prophetic picture by Ezekiel?