The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 17
Chapter XVII · Vol. III, pp. 1251–1252
1 The captivity of Judah for her sin. 5 Trust in man is cursed, in God is blessed. 9 The deceitful heart cannot impose upon God. 12 The salvation of God. 15 The prophet complaineth of the mockers of his prophecy. 19 He is sent to renew the covenant in hallowing the sabbath.
1 The sin of Judah is written with a apen of iron, and with the point1 of a diamond:2 it is graven bupon the table of their heart, and cupon the horns of your altars;
A.M. cir. 3396. B.C. cir. 608.
a Job 19.24.
1 Heb. nail.
2 Shamir, the word here used, is not the Hebrew term usually translated diamond in Scripture. It signifies something very hard and sharp used for cutting. It is questionable whether the diamond was so used at the time when this book was written.—P.
2 Whilst3 theird children remember their altars and their groves4 by the green trees upon the high hills.
3 Or, as they remember their children so they remember their altars, &c.
d 2 Ch.24.18. ch.7.18; 2.20; 3.2. Ju.3.7. Is.1.29; 17.8. Ex.34.13.
4 'Groves' ought to be rendered 'images of Astarte.' These images were set up in groves and retired places, and there the licentious rites were freely indulged in by the votaries of the goddess.—P.
3 O my 5mountain6 in the field, eI will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin,7 throughout all thy borders.
5 Temple and city, La.5.17,18. ch.26.18; 21.13. Zec.8.3. Ps.87.1,2; 76.2.
6 O my mountain. Under this title God addresses the Jewish church (see Is.2.2), threatening her first with spoliation (ver.3), then with captivity, ver.4.—C.
e ch.15.13; 7.14. Eze.7.20-22. Ps.74.6,7.
7 'O my mountain, thy substance in the field, and all thy stores, I will give up to pillage—thy strongholds, on account of sin.'—Blayney.
4 And thou, even thyself,8 shaltg discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; hand I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for iye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.
8 Heb. in thyself.
g ch.16.13,16. Le.26.23,24. De.4.27,28; 28.25,36,47,48. ch.27.6; 2.37; 15.4.
h Ne.9.28.
i De.32.22. ch.7.20; 15.14; 25.9. Eze.20.47,48. Is.5.25.
5 Thus saith the LORD; jCursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,9 and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
6 For he shall be klike the heath in the desert,1 and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, lin a salt land and not inhabited.
1 'For he shall be as the blasted tree upon the waste, which doth not perceive when good cometh (puts forth no bud when the rain falls), but endures the scorching heat of the desert, of a barren land that cannot be inhabited.'—Boothroyd.
k ch.48.6. Is.1.30,31. Ps.129.6; 58.7-9. Job 15.28-34. Mal.1.3,4. De.29.23. Ps.107.34. Zep.2.9.
l Jn.9.45.
8 For he shall be oas a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh; but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought,2 neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
10 I the LORD rsearch the heart, I try the reins, even sto give every man according to his ways, tand according to the fruit of his doings.
11 As the partridge4 sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not;5 sou he that getteth riches, and not by right, vshall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
4 See note * below.
5 Or, gathereth young which she hath not brought forth.
u Hab.2.6-11.
v Ps.55.23. Pr.23.5. Ps.49.10,13,17. Ec.5.14-16. ver.3,4. Lu.12.20.
* This cannot be the common partridge (Perdix cinerea), for the description does not accord with the well-known instincts of that bird. There are, however, several birds that readily usurp the nests of others, of which the Greek partridge (P. saxatilis) is an example; and as this bird is driven away from a nest when the true owner arrives, so shall every one be, sooner or later, driven away, who, by fraud or violence, usurps or appropriates riches to which he has no just claim.—C.
13 O LORD, ythe hope of Israel, zall that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me6 shall be written7 in the earth,8 because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountaina of living waters.
y ch.14.8. Ps.22.4; 130.7; 146.5. Col.1.27.
z Ps.73.27. Is.1.28. Eze.13.9. Ps 69.28, not as Lu.10.20. Phi.4.3.
6 From me. The Lord here replies to the previous address of the prophet.—C.
7 i.e. debased and trampled on.
8 'All that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and shall be recorded in the earth as revolters.'—Boothroyd.
a ch.2.13. Ps.36.8,9. Ca.4.15. Jn.4.10,14. Re.7.17; 22.1,17.
15 Behold, they say unto me, dWhere is the word of the LORD? let it come now.
d Is.5.19. ch.20.7,8. Am.5.18. Eze.12.22,27. 2 Pe.3.4.
16 As for me, eI have not hastened9 from being a pastor to follow1 thee; neither have I desired the woful day, thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
e ch.1.4. He.5.4. Eze.3.17-19; 33.7. 2 Co.2.17. Ac.20.20,27.
9 I have not hastened to outrun God's word, as if anxious for judgment upon my enemies. I have merely followed after the Lord's leading.—C.
1 Heb. after.
18 Leti them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: jbring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.2
19 Thus said the LORD unto me, Go, and stand kin the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
k ch.7.2; 19.2. Pr.1.20-22; 8.1-4; 9.3-5. Mat.22.9. Lu.14.23.
20 And say unto them, lHear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
21 Thus saith the LORD, nTake heed to yourselves, and obear no burden on the sabbath-day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.
n De.4.15. 2 Ki.10.31. Ps.39.1; 119.11. Pr.4.23. Ec.5.1. Mal.2.15. Ac.20.28. 1 Ti.4.16.
o Ne.13.15,16,19. Is.58.13. Nu.15.32,&c. Ex.20.8-10.
22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath-day, neither do ye any work; pbut hallow ye the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers.
p Ex.20.8,9; 23.12; 31.13,15,16. Le.19.3; 23.3. De.5.12-15. Is.56.2,4,6. Eze.20.12.
23 Butq they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, rbut made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
q ch.7.24,26; 16.12; 11.10; 5.3; 19.16. Zec.7.11,12. Is.48.4. Eze.20.13,16,21.
r Pr.29.1.
24 And it shall come to pass, if sye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, tbut hallow the sabbath-day, to do no work therein;
s Ex.15.26. De.4.9; 6.17. Ps.119.4.
t Is.58.13,14.
25 Thenu shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.3
26 And they shall come vfrom the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south,4 bringingx burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
v Jos.15.22-63; 18.11-28. 1 Ki.12.21. Zec.7.7. ch.32.44.
4 'From the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south,' are in the original proper names of well-known and clearly defined districts. 'The plain,' Shephelah in Heb., was the whole region of Philistia. 'The mountains' was the 'hill country' of Judah. 'The south,' in Hebrew Negeb, included a large tract of pasture-land lying along the southern border of Judah and Philistia.—P.
x Le.i.-vii. Nu.xv. xxviii. xxix. Ps.107.22; 116.17. He.13.15.
Notes
Ver. 1, 2. Their proneness to idolatry is deeply rooted in their hearts, and marked on the multitudes of their altars; and they continue in it from generation to generation. 5-8. They who, instead of depending upon God, depend upon human powers for help, shall not only be disappointed of that safety and prosperity which they expected, but shall bring upon themselves the lasting miseries which they thought to have escaped; but they who trust in the Lord shall prosper in their undertakings, and be safe and happy when all around them are in distress. 12-18. O Lord, who hast long dwelt with us in thy tabernacle and temple, and in whom we hope for all necessary blessings, they that apostatize from thee, the infinite source of pure and lasting consolations, shall be disgraced, contemned, and destroyed. But do thou, the object of all my praises, deliver me from the injuries which I suffer from this malicious people, and effectually grant me comfort. They insolently deride me, as if the threatenings which I denounce would never be fulfilled. But I have patiently persevered in delivering thy messages to them, without ever desiring to bear one message of destruction, or to see it executed; and I have never spoken but as directed by thee. Do thou therefore acknowledge, protect, and comfort me, while they malign, terrify, and persecute me. And let these my persecutors be disgraced, perplexed, terrified, and fearfully destroyed.
Ver. 1. The key to this difficult passage seems to be ch. 19. 5, where the Jews are charged with sacrificing their children to Baal. May it not, accordingly, be paraphrased thus:—'The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron (in blood), and with the point of a diamond (or flint, some hard species of stone formed into a sacrificial knife, as was common with the heathen); it is graven upon the tables of their (the people's hard) hearts (from which natural affection has been obliterated), and upon the horns (ye priests) of your altars (to which horns the helpless victims are bound) when they (the people) commemorate their (sacrificed) children at their altars and their groves,' &c.? C.
Ver. 6. A salt land. Equivalent to barren land; for though several, perhaps all, kinds of salt, act as a stimulant manure when applied in small quantity, yet, when largely mixed with earth, they destroy the vegetation of all except a few marine plants. The neighbourhood of the Dead Sea, some parts of Arabia Petræa, large districts of the African deserts, and of South America, are so full of salt as to be totally barren. C.
Ver. 18. This is not an imprecation of wrathful revenge, prompted by passion, but an appeal from man's injustice and cruelty to God's justice, mercy, and protection. See notes on Ps. 5. 10; 35. 8. C.
Ver. 23. Their neck stiff. Jews and Christians have strangely assimilated in 'making their necks stiff' against the light and easy yoke of the Sabbath: (1) By degrading the fourth commandment from a moral to a mere ceremonial institution. (2) By pleading the absolute necessity of many public works being continued on that day. (3) By acting under human authority, and disregarding God's prohibition of labour. (4) By a view of the gain derivable from Sabbath traffic, under a pretended regard for public accommodation, convenience, and health. Doctrines, pleadings, and excuses to 'make void the law,' against which this prophecy directs alike the authority, ver. 20, the promises, ver. 24, and the threatenings, ver. 27, of the Almighty. See ver. 19-21, 24-27. C.
Reflections.—Sinful corruptions are deeply rooted in men's hearts, and fixed in their practice, though sin effectually robs us of everything valuable. There is great malignity and hurt in trusting to creatures. It draws our heart from God, the blessed All and In All. But much satisfaction and success attend a solid dependence upon him alone as our God. Alas! what an unsearchable fund of all manner of deceiving and desperate wickedness is an unrenewed heart! But all is naked and open before the righteous Judge of all, and punisher of the wicked. And dreadful is the curse annexed to ill-gotten riches, as well as to resting on self-righteousness. Great is the esteem which saints have for the temple, the ordinances, the Christ of God. And while he is the hope, the praise, the healer, and the saviour of his people, he is the awful, but just, punisher of his and their enemies. A fearful portion of debasement, terror, and ruin shall earthly men, and apostates from God, receive at the last. When they become incorrigible, their damnation slumbereth not. And O the strength of indwelling corruption, that makes even precious prophets sinfully fret when they meet with much opposition in the execution of their office! Great is the mercy that God does not always employ them in the unpleasing messages of wrath. Alas! the folly and wickedness of nations—of Britain—in disregarding God's Sabbaths, when such important blessings to courts, kingdoms, and churches attend the careful sanctification, and such fearful miseries attend the profanation, of it!