The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 23
Chapter XXIII · Vol. III, pp. 1259–1260
1 Jeremiah prophesieth a restoration of the scattered flock. 5 Christ shall rule and save them. 9 God's fearful judgments against false prophets, 33 and mockers of the true ones.
1 Woe bea unto the pastors1 that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
B.C. cir. 599.
a Is.1.23; 56.9-12. ch.2.8; 10.21; 50.6; 25.34-36; 22.22. Eze.22.27; 34.2,5,6,21. Mat.15.14.
1 Pastors. The word includes both rulers and instructors, ecclesiastical and civil, who 'destroy' by false doctrines and 'scatter' by oppression.—C.
2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people, Yeb have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited2 them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
3 And cI will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 And dI will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
5 Behold, ethe days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 Ing his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.3
7 Therefore, behold, the days come,4 saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
4 ch.16.14,15; see there Is.43.18,19, ver.3. Ro.11.15,25,26. Is.43.5,6.
8 But, hThe LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all 5countries whither I had driven them; and they shall idwell in their own land.6
* 'I certainly believe that the Jews shall, when converted to Christ, return to Palestine and inhabit the land as an independent, flourishing, and powerful nation. I do not at all imagine that Christ will reign visibly among them; but as we call their state under the Old Testament a theocracy, so this future, free, and happy state, in which they shall have no mortal king, but shall acknowledge Christ as their king, may be called a Christocracy' (Michaelis).—P.
A.M. cir. 3405. B.C. cir. 599.
h Zep.3.20.
5 The prophecy is here of Israel generally, and their gathering from 'all countries.' Now the restoration by Zerubbabel, &c., was of little more than a part of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi (Ezr.1.5. Ne.11.4), amounting in all to 42,360, Ezr.2.64. It follows that this prophecy, however it commenced typically, yet remains to be fulfilled; and the Lord will accomplish his purpose, and verify all his promises, as he has realized his judgments.—C.
i Am.9.14,15. Is.27.12,13; 65.10,22. Eze.34.13-15. Ob.15,19,20.
6 See note * in first column.
9 Minej heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake: I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, kbecause of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
10 Forl the land is full of adulterers; for because of 7swearing8 the land mourneth; nthe pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course9 is evil, and their force is not right.
11 Foro both prophet and priest are profane; yea, pin my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
o ch.6.13; 8.10. Zep.3.4. ver.14,15. Eze.22.25,26.
p ch.7.10,11,30; 11.15. 2 Ch.36.14. Eze.23.39; 7.20; 8.5-17. Mat.21.13.
12 Wherefore qtheir way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for rI will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
13 And I have seen folly1 in the prophets of Samaria; sthey prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
1 Heb. unsavoury; or, an absurd thing.
s ch.2.8. 1 Ki.18.18,21. La.2.14. Ho.7.1. Is.9.16.
14 I have seen talso in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible 2thing: uthey commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evil-doers,3 that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as vSodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, xI will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness4 gone forth into all the land.
x ch.8.12,14; 9.15; 14.15. Is.5.25.
4 Or, hypocrisy.
16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, yHearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; zthey make you vain:5 they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
y Pr.19.27. ch.27.14-17. Mat.7.15.
z ch.2.5; 4.10; 6.14; 8.10,11; 14.13-15. 2 Ki.17.15. Ps.62.10. 2 Pe.2.2,3. Re.17.2.
5 They make you vain of your descent from Abraham—of the victories and grandeur of your fathers—of your privileges as the church of God—of your imaginary righteousness derived from ceremonial works, and of God's continued protection, which you have forfeited by your sins.—C.
17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, aYe shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination6 of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
A.M. cir. 3405. B.C. cir. 599.
a ch.6.14;8.11;14.13,14. Eze.13.10,22. Zec.10.2. De.29.19. Mi.2.11;3.11.
6 Or, stubbornness, ch.13.10; 7.24; 3.17; 9.14.
18 For bwho hath stood in the counsel7 of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word?8 whoc hath marked his word, and heard it?
b Job 15.8. 1 Ki.22.24, or Is.40.13. 1 Co.2.16. ver.22,28.
7 Or, secret.
8 See note * below.
c 2 Ch.18.23.
* The evidence that the false prophets did not stand 'in the counsel of the Lord' to discern his secret and future purpose, lies here: they did not 'mark his word,' to render obedience to his holy will, see ver.14,17,22. Where the Spirit of God was not seen as a Sanctifier, the Spirit of God was not heard as a Revealer.—C.
19 Behold, da whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, eand till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: gin the latter days9 ye shall consider it perfectly.
e Pr.21.30.
9 See note † in second column.
† In 'the latter days' of age, ye shall sadly muse upon the follies of youth. In 'the latter days' of coming judgment, too late ye shall discover the falsehood of the prophets that deceive you; and in 'the latter days' of your dispersion, when 'the times of refreshing from the Lord' shall arrive, ye shall 'look upon him whom (both you and your fathers) have pierced,' and 'consider it perfectly,' and turn to the LORD.—C.
21 Ih have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
h ch.14.14;27.15; 29.9. Eze.13.15. Mat.7.15. Ac.20.29,30. ver.32.
22 But iif they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, jthen they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am1 I a God at hand,2 saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
1 1 Ki.20.23,28. Ps.113.6. Eze.8.12;9.9. Ps.10.11,13. Do I see only what is done in heaven and not what is done on earth?
2 At hand. Am I merely 'at hand' in the temple, between the cherubims, and not 'afar off' in the cities? Am I merely 'at hand' in heaven, of which the temple is an emblem, and not 'afar off' in the nations, beholding the evil and the good?—C.
24 Cank any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
k Ps.139.7-12;90.8. Am.9.2,3. 1 Ki.8.27. Ps.147.5.
25 Il have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, nI have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 Howo long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets pof the deceit of their own heart;
27 Whichq think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbour, ras their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
28 The prophet that hath3 a dream, let him tell a dream;4 and he that hath my word, slet him speak my word faithfully. tWhat is the chaff to the wheat?5 saith the LORD.
29 Isu not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
30 Therefore, behold, vI am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words6 every one from his neighbour.
v De.18.20. ch.14.14,15. Mat.13.19. Ac.20.27.
6 They 'steal my words' from the memory of their neighbour, by occupying it with other things. They 'steal my words' from the understanding, by perverting it with false doctrines. They 'steal my words' from the heart, by fostering evil affections and establishing evil habits; and thus fulfil the work of the wicked one, who 'catcheth away' the seed of the word which is sown in the hearts of men, Mat.13.19.—C.
32 Behold,x I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their 8lightness;9 yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore ythey shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
x De.13.1,2;18.20. ver.16; ch.14.14,15; 27.14-27; 28.15-17; 29.20-23,31,32. Eze.xiii. Zep.3.4. Is.3.12. Am.2.4.
A.M. cir. 3405. B.C. cir. 599.
8 Or, vain boasting.
9 Lightness. False doctrines, rash judgments, and loose lives, 'weighed in the balance' of the sanctuary, 'and found wanting.'—C.
y ver.22. Mat.15.14. ch.14.14,16. Ro.10.15. La.2.14. 2 Pe.2.1.
33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, zWhat is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even aforsake you, saith the LORD.
34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish1 that man and his house.
1 Heb. visit upon, ver.2.
35 Thusb shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more; cfor every man's word shall be his burden:2 for ye dhave perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
c Ga.6.5. Mal.3.15. Is.28.22. Ho.7.16. Mat.12.36,37.
2 'For every idle word that men speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment,' Mat.12.36.—C.
d 2 Ch.36.16. Ga.1.7-9.
37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD, Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
Notes
Ver. 5, 6. Behold, in the fulness of time the Son of God shall appear in a holy but debased human nature; who, as God's King set up in his church, shall, with astonishing success, reform the world, and destroy the wicked out of it. By him shall his spiritual Israel be delivered from their sin and misery, and blessed with all spiritual and eternal blessings. In his holiness of nature, obedience of life, and satisfactory sufferings, he shall fulfil for us a complete and everlasting righteousness; by the impartation of which to us for our justification, he shall render us perfectly righteous in law before God as our Judge, and thus secure the gradual sanctification of our nature and practice. 9, 10. I am grieved to see the false prophets deluding the people into wickedness; and I tremble at the' fearful judgments which God, in his infinite holiness, hath denounced against them. For though the wrath of God has already begun to destroy the country, for the abounding wickedness of its inhabitants, they continue to employ their whole power and labour in promoting and encouraging it. 17-20. They encourage the wicked and profane to hope that the Lord will prosper and protect them in their sins; and pretend that themselves alone know his mind, and that no message of reproof or threatening deserves any credit. But a sudden and dreadful storm of judgment shall overtake and ruin them, which shall force them to regard and believe such threatenings. 30. Either they mimicked the true prophets in their language, to render their own predictions the more easily believed, or they laboured to prejudice the people against their messages. 35, 36. Ye shall hereafter speak with great reverence and regard concerning the Lord's Word; but now your irreverent speeches shall pull down judgments on your own heads; for ye have derided and misinterpreted the words of your own God, who lives and reigns over all.
Ver. 3, 4. This prophecy began to be fulfilled under Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, Ezra, &c., the commencement being the type of the completion. The gathering of 'the remnant out of all countries,' and the time when 'they shall fear no more,' are events still future, which the experience of the past renders probable; the Word of God, certain. C.
Ver. 6. Righteousness is exactly equivalent to obedience, Ro. 5. 17-19. This obedience (that is, obedience to the law of God, Ro. 5. 20, unreserved and complete; and there is, and there can be, no other) never was rendered unless by Christ, Ro. 3. 10; comp. with 2 Co. 5. 21; Phi. 2. 8. But he being the Word of Jehovah, Ge. 15. 1-7, 18, 'God manifest in the flesh,' 'as many as (by faith) receive him,' can truly say, he is 'Jehovah our Righteousness.'—Note, It is not unimportant to observe, that the best Jewish expositors unite Jehovah with Righteousness; and the most learned Christians so translate the passage. C.
Ver. 33. 'A burden,' signifies a calamitous prophecy. The question here is put by the speakers lightly, and in contempt of the often repeated and heavy denunciations against sin and sinners. As if they had said, What next? What new judgment that will never come?—Note, Lightness of speech, turning serious things into a jest, may amuse the thoughtless for an hour; but is sure to bring its own punishment, by unfitting the understanding for serious realities, and hardening the heart against sympathy with human sorrows. Besides all which it underlies the sentence: 'I will ever punish that man and his house.' C.
Reflections.—At their own infinite hazard, rulers neglect to execute their office to the honour of God and the welfare of his people. But though they should not, he will at last see to these ends. And often he mercifully gathers his people after he has wrathfully cut off their rulers. The church's peace, happiness, and honour are not founded in the external pomp of her rulers, but in having Jesus Christ as her Prophet, Priest, and King. And his spiritual deliverances are more remarkable than the temporal ones granted to the Jewish nation. That sinners dishonour God and ruin themselves are very grievous considerations to gracious souls. But no guilt is so aggravated as that of profane clergymen. And nothing so emboldens and hardens sinners as when teachers, by their example or doctrine, encourage them in wickedness. No plague is more dangerous than clergymen who intrude into their office by the influence of patrons or church rulers, without any commission from Christ, or who preach another gospel, as if men's own works, however insignificant, could recommend them to the favour of God. It tends to render men quite irreligious and atheistical. And no preachers are so confident of their own abilities as evil and erroneous ones. If God call men to the ministry, he will not only qualify them for it, but give them some success in it. And while profane ministers ought to be detested by all, as the very offscourings of mankind, it is infinitely dangerous to sport with, or make by-words of, any part of the Scripture. God will honour and magnify his own Word in the ruin of the mockers and perverters of it.