The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1
Chapter I · Vol. III, pp. 1228–1230
1 The time and the calling of Jeremiah. 11 His visions of an almond-rod and a seething-pot, denoting God's speedy judgments against Judah. 17 God encourageth him with his promise of assistance.
1 The wordsa of Jeremiah the son of bHilkiah, of the priests that were in cAnathoth in the land of Benjamin:
2 To whom dthe word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
A.M. cir. 3376. B.C. cir. 628.
d ver.4,11; ch.25.3; 26.15. 1 Ki.13.20. Zep.1.1. 2 Ki.22.1.
3 It came also ein the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto fthe end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the gcarrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.1
e ch.25.1-3; xxvi. xxxv. xxxvi. 2 Ki.24.1-9. 2 Ch.36.5-8.
f ch.xxxix.-xliv. lii.
A.M. cir. 3376. B.C. cir. 628.
g ch.52.8,12,&c. 2 Ki.25.8,11. Zec.7.5; 8.19.
1 See note * below.
* Jeremiah began to prophesy in the year B.C. 628, and he continued during the remaining eighteen years of the reign of Josiah, and during the reigns of his successors Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah—in all, a period of more than forty years. Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel were contemporaries. From ver. 6 it appears he was a very young man, not literally 'a child,' however, when the Lord called him; and from ch. 52. 31 it is evident he must have lived to an extreme old age, for he records an event which occurred during the reign of Evil-Merodach, king of Babylon, and not earlier than B.C. 560. He thus lived during one of the darkest periods of Jewish history, and there fell to his lot more intense suffering probably than any prophet had ever experienced.—P.
5 Before I iformed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; and I ordained2 thee aj prophet unto the nations.
i Is.49.1,5. Lu.1.15,41. Ga.1.15,16. Ro.1.1. Ex.33.12,17.
2 Heb. gave.
j ch.25.15-29; xlvi.-li.; ver.10.
7 But the LORD said unto me, lSay not, I am a child: for nthou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touchedq my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have rput my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to sroot out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
s Eze.32.18; 43.3. Is.44.26; 55.10,11. ch.18.7,9; 15.14; 25.15-26. 1 Ki.19.17. 2 Co.10.4,5.
11 Moreover, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, twhat seest thou? and I said, I see ua rod of an almond-tree.3
12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen; for vI will hasten my word to perform it.
v Eze.12.23,25,28. Am.8.2. De.32.35. Hab.1.5,6, with ch. xxxix. lii.
13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? and I said, I see xa seething-pot;4 and the face thereof is toward5 the north.
x Eze.11.3,7; 24.3,5.
4 A pot for boiling flesh, and consequently an apt emblem of severe and dissolving judgments.—C.
5 Heb. from the face of.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, yOut of the north6 an evil shall break forth7 upon all the inhabitants of the land.
y ch.4.6; 6.1,22; ver.15.
6 From Syria, which lay directly north, or Assyria, which lay toward the north-east of Canaan, and which constituted also a part of the great Babylonian empire.—C.
7 Heb. be opened.
15 For, lo, I will zcall all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne8 at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
z ch.5.15; 6.22; 10.22; 25.9. De.28.49-52. Is.5.26-30; 22.1-6. ch.39.3; 43.10.
8 Foreign invaders shall successively ravage and domineer over the kingdom, or conjointly contend for the sovereignty.—C.
16 And aI will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
A.M. cir. 3376. B.C. cir. 628.
a ch.4.12,18; 5.9,29. Le.26.15-39. De.28.15-68; 32.15-26. 2 Ki. xvi. xxi. Is. i.-iii. v. ch. i.-xxiii.; 44.2-27.
17 Thou therefore bgird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee9 before them.
b 2 Ki.4.29; 9.1. 1 Ki.18.46. Job 38.3. 1 Pe.1.13. Eze.2.6. 1 Co.9.16,27. Mat.10.28. 2 Ti.4.1. Eze.2.7; 3.17. Ac.20.20,27. Mat.28.20.
9 Or, break thee to pieces.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day ca defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
c Is.50.7. ch.6.27; 15.20; 26.10; 23.18; 20.2; 35.15; 38.6.
Notes
Ver. 10. He was appointed to declare what God would infallibly do with the nations. 11-16. The almond-tree, which flourishes very early in the spring, imported that the Jews were almost ripe for destruction, and it would speedily come upon them. And the boiling-pot, with its face toward the north, signified that the Chaldeans would come from the north-east, and burn and render miserable Jerusalem and other cities of Judah. 17-19. Be expeditious and diligent, bold, resolute, and faithful, in delivering my messages, however severe or awful; for I will protect, strengthen, and stablish thee, that none of their persecutions shall hurt thee.
Ver. 1. Anathoth. A city of Benjamin, situated, according to Jerome, about two miles and a half north of Jerusalem. It was assigned to the priests, 1 Ch. 6. 60. It was destroyed by the Chaldeans, and again rebuilt, Ne. 11. 32; but, at present, it fully verifies the denunciations of the prophet, Je. 11. 21-23, for nothing remains but a few poor houses on the bleak mountain-side, surrounded by mounds of rubbish and hewn stones. C.
Ver. 2. Word of the Lord. Not a mere utterance which the prophet was commissioned to make; but the Son of God, in visible form, and with audible speech, ver. 4-14, as he also appeared and spoke to Abraham, Ge. 15. 1-18; 17. 1-22. See also Is. 6. 1; Jos. 5. 13; Eze. 1. 26; Da. 8. 15-18; 10. 6-10. C.
Ver. 17. Be not dismayed. Moral courage, arising from a sense of obedience to God, a love for the souls of sinners, a 'conscience sprinkled from dead works,' with deep self-denial that 'Christ may be all in all,' is an indispensable qualification of every one who would seek to convert sinners and build up believers to salvation. Like all other good qualities, it is the gift of God. He that has it should bless God; and he that has it not should pray for it; for without it it is impossible to 'do the work of an evangelist.' C.
Reflections.—Great are the pains and patience that God exercises to prevent the destruction of his professed people. And it is honourable to be early chosen, sanctified, and prepared for the ministerial service of God. How real are his purposes relative to men's persons and offices! He can easily qualify men for his service, and enable them to speak intelligibly and powerfully, notwithstanding all weakness or opposition, and though their message issue in the ruin of some and deliverance of others. And with great care doth God render his mind plain to his servants and people, and condescendingly vouchsafes them his presence in their work. In what different forms he warns men before he inflicts his remarkable judgments! And ministers had need to consider the infinite importance of their charge, the great danger of unfaithfulness in it, and God's promises of his presence to enable them to perform it, and to protect them in it, as a balance to all the power and threatenings of their persecutors.