Chapter 34:
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Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 isaiah lamentations
Jeremiah 34
Complete Concise
In this chapter we have two messages which God sent by Jeremiah.
I. One to foretel the fate of Zedekiah king of Judah, that he should fall into
the hands of the king of Babylon, that he should live a captive, but should at
last die in peace in his captivity (v. 1-7). II. Another to read the doom both
of prince and people for their treacherous dealings with God, in bringing back
into bondage their servants whom they had released according to the law, and so
playing fast and loose with God. They had walked at all adventures with God (v.
8-11), and therefore God would walk at all adventures with them, in bringing
the Chaldean army upon them again when they began to hope that they had got
clear of them (v. 12-22).
Verses 1-7
This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was delivered to Jeremiah, and
by him to the parties concerned, before he was shut up in the prison, for we
find this prediction here made the ground of his commitment, as appears by the
recital of some passages out of it, ch. 32:4. Observe,
I. The time when this message was sent to Zedekiah; it was
when
the king of Babylon, with all his forces, some out of
all the kingdoms of
the earth that were within his jurisdiction,
fought against Jerusalem and
the cities thereof (v. 1), designing to destroy them, having often plundered
them. The cities that now remained, and yet held out, are named (v. 7),
Lachish
and Azekah. This intimates that things were now brought to the last
extremity, and yet Zedekiah obstinately stood it out, his heart being hardened
to his destruction.
II. The message itself that was sent to him. 1. Here is a
threatening of wrath. He is told that again which he had been often told before,
that the city shall be taken by the Chaldeans
and burnt with fire (v. 2),
that he shall himself fall into the enemy's hands, shall be made a prisoner,
shall be brought before that furious prince Nebuchadnezzar, and be carried away
captive into Babylon (v. 3); yet Ezekiel prophesied that he
should not see
Babylon; nor did he, for his eyes were put out, Eze. 12:13. This Zedekiah
brought upon himself from God by his other sins and from Nebuchadnezzar by
breaking his faith with him. 2. Here is a mixture of mercy. He shall die a
captive, but he
shall not die by the sword he shall die a natural death
(v. 4); he shall end his days with some comfort,
shall die in peace, v.
5. He never had been one of the worst of the kings, but we are willing to hope
that what evil he had
done in the sight of the Lord he repented of in his
captivity, as Manasseh had done, and it was forgiven to him; and, God being
reconciled to him, he might truly be said to
die in peace, Note, A man
may die in a prison and yet
die in peace. Nay, he shall end his days with
some reputation, more than one would expect, all things considered. He shall be
buried
with the burnings of his fathers, that is, with the respect
usually shown to their kings, especially those that had done good in Israel. It
seems, in his captivity he had conducted himself so well towards his own people
that they were willing to do him this honour, and towards Nebuchadnezzar that he
suffered it to be done. If Zedekiah had continued in his prosperity, perhaps he
would have grown worse and would have
departed at last
without being
desired; but his afflictions wrought such a change in him that his death was
looked upon as a great loss. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison
than to live and die impenitent in a palace.
They will lament thee, saying,
Ah lord! an honour which his brother Jehoiakim had not, ch. 22:18. The Jews
say that they lamented thus over him,
Alas! Zedekiah is dead, who drank the
dregs of all the ages that went before him, that is, who suffered for the
sins of his ancestors, the measure of iniquity being filled up in his days. They
shall thus lament him,
saith the Lord, for I have pronounced the word;
and what God hath spoken shall without fail be made good.
III. Jeremiah's faithfulness in delivering this message.
Though he knew it would be ungrateful to the king, and might prove, as indeed it
did, dangerous to himself (for he was imprisoned for it), yet he
spoke all
these words to Zedekiah, v. 6. It is a mercy to great men to have those
about them that will deal faithfully with them, and tell them the evil
consequences of their evil courses, that they may reform and live.
Verses 8-22
We have here another prophecy upon a particular occasion, the
history of which we must take notice of, as necessary to give light to the
prophecy.
I. When Jerusalem was closely besieged by the Chaldean army the
princes and people agreed upon a reformation in one instance, and that was
concerning their servants.
1. The law of God was very express, that those of their own
nation should not be held in servitude above seven years, but, after they had
served one apprenticeship, they should be discharged and have their liberty;
yea, though they had sold themselves into servitude for the payment of their
debts, or though they were
sold by the judges for the punishment of their
crimes. This difference was put between their brethren and strangers, that those
of other nations taken in war, or bought with money, might be held in perpetual
slavery, they and theirs; but their brethren must serve but for seven years at
the longest. This God calls the covenant that he had made with them when he
brought
them out of the land of Egypt, v. 13, 14. This was the first of the judicial
laws which God gave them (Ex. 21:2), and there was good reason for this law.
(1.) God had put honour upon that nation, and he would have them thus to
preserve the honour of it themselves and to put a difference between it and
other nations. (2.) God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, and he would
have them thus to express their grateful sense of that favour, by letting those
go to whom their houses were
houses of bondage, as Egypt had been to
their forefathers. That deliverance is therefore mentioned here (v. 13) as the
ground of that law. Note, God's compassions towards us should engage our
compassions towards our brethren; we must release as we are released, forgive as
we are forgiven, and relieve as we are relieved. And this is called
a
covenant; for our performance of the duty required is the condition of the
continuance of the favours God has bestowed.
2. This law they and their fathers had broken. Their worldly
profit swayed more with them than God's command or covenant. When their
servants had lived seven years with them they understood their business, and how
to apply themselves to it, better than they did when they first came to them,
and therefore they would then by no means part with them, though God himself by
his law had made them free:
Your fathers hearkened not to me in this
matter (v. 14), so that from the days of their fathers they had been in this
trespass; and they thought they might do it because their fathers did it, and
their servants had by disuse lost the benefit of the provision God made for
them; whereas against an express law, especially against an express law of God,
no custom, usage, nor prescription, is to be admitted in plea. For this sin of
theirs, and their fathers, God now brought them into servitude, and justly.
3. When they were besieged, and closely shut in, by the army of
the Chaldeans, they, being told of their fault in this matter, immediately
reformed, and let go all their servants that were entitled to their freedom by
the law of God, as Pharaoh, who, when the plague was upon him, consented to
let
the people go, and bound themselves in a covenant to do so. (1.) The
prophets faithfully admonished them concerning their sin. From them they heard
that they should let their Hebrew servants
go free, v. 10. They might
have read it themselves in the book of the law, but did not, or did not heed it,
therefore the prophets told them what the law was. See what need there is of the
preaching of the word; people must hear the word preached because they will not
make the use they ought to make of the word written. (2.) All orders and degrees
of men concurred in this reformation. The
king, and the
princes,
and
all the people, agreed to
let go their servants, whatever loss
or damage they might sustain by so doing. When the king and princes led in this
good work the people could not for shame but follow. The example and influence
of great men would go very far towards extirpating the most inveterate
corruptions. (3.) They bound themselves by a solemn oath and covenant that they
would do this, whereby they engaged themselves to God and one another. Note,
What God has bound us to by his precept, it is good for us to bind ourselves to
by our promise. This covenant was very solemn: it was made in a sacred place,
made
before me, in the house which is called by my name (v. 15), in the special
presence of God, the tokens of which, in the temple, ought to strike an awe upon
them and make them very sincere in their appeals to him. It was ratified by a
significant sign; they
cut a calf in two, and passed between the parts
thereof (v. 18, 19) with this dreadful imprecation, "Let us be in like
manner cut asunder if we do not perform what we now promise." This calf was
probably offered up in sacrifice to God, who was thereby made a party to the
covenant. When God covenanted with Abraham, for the ratification of it, a
smoking
furnace and a
burning lamp passed between the pieces of the
sacrifice, in allusion to this federal rite, Gen. 15:17. Note, In order that we
may effectually oblige ourselves to our duty, it is good to alarm ourselves with
the apprehensions of the terror of the wrath and curse to which we expose
ourselves if we live in the contempt of it, that wrath which will
cut sinners
asunder (Mt. 24:51), and sensible signs may be of use to make the
impressions of it deep and durable, as here. (4.) They conformed themselves
herein to the command of God and their covenant with him; they did
let their
servants go, though at this time, when the city was besieged, they could
very ill spare them. Thus they did
right in God's sight, v. 15. Though
it was their trouble that drove them to it, yet he was well pleased with it; and
if they had persevered in this act of
mercy to the poor, to their poor
servants, it might have been a lengthening of their tranquillity, Dan. 4:27.
II. When there was some hope that the siege was raised and the
danger over they repented of their repentance, undid the good they had done, and
forced the servants they had released into their respective services again. 1.
The
king of Babylon's army had now
gone up from them, v. 21.
Pharaoh was bringing an army of Egyptians to oppose the progress of the king of
Babylon's victories, upon the tidings of which the Chaldeans raised the siege
for a time, as we find, ch. 37:5.
They departed from Jerusalem. See how
ready God was to put a stop to his judgments, upon the first instance of
reformation, so slow is he to anger and so swift to show mercy. As soon as ever
they let their servants go free God let them go free. 2. When they began to
think themselves safe from the besiegers they made their servants come back into
subjection to them, v. 11, and again v. 16. This was a great abuse to their
servants, to whom servitude would be more irksome, after they had had some taste
of the pleasures of liberty. It was a great shame to themselves that they could
not keep in a good mind when they were in it. But it was especially an affront
to God; in doing this they
polluted his name, v. 16. It was a contempt of
the command he had given them, as if that were of no force at all, but they
might either keep it or break it as they thought fit. It was a contempt of the
covenant they had made with him, and of that wrath which they had imprecated
upon themselves in case they should break that covenant. It was jesting with God
almighty, as if he could be imposed upon by fallacious promises, which, when
they had gained their point, they would look upon themselves no longer obliged
by. it was
lying to God with their mouths and
flattering him with
their tongues. It was likewise a contempt of the judgments of God and
setting them at defiance; as if, when once the course of them was stopped a
little and interrupted, they would never proceed again and the judgment would
never be revived; whereas reprieves are so far from being pardons that if they
be abused thus, and sinners take encouragement from them to return to sin, they
are but preparatives for heavier strokes of divine vengeance.
III. For this treacherous dealing with God they are here
severely threatened.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Those that think
to put a cheat upon God by a dissembled repentance, a fallacious covenant, and a
partial temporary reformation, will prove in the end to have put the greatest
cheat upon their own souls; for
the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
God. it is here threatened, with an observable air of displeasure against
them, 1. That, since they had not given liberty to their servants to go where
they pleased, God would give all his judgments liberty to take their course
against them without control (v. 17):
You have not proclaimed liberty to your
servants. Though they had done it (v. 10), yet they might truly be said not
to have done it, because they did not stand to it, but undid it again; and
factum
non dicitur quod non perseverat—that is not said to be done which does not
last. The righteousness that is forsaken and turned away from shall be
forgotten, and
not mentioned any more than if it had never been, Eze.
18:24.
"Therefore I will proclaim a liberty for you; I will
discharge you from my service, and put you out of my protection, which those
forfeit that withdraw from their allegiance. You shall have liberty to choose
which of these judgments you will be cut off by,
sword, famine, or
pestilence;" such a liberty as was offered to David, which put him into
a
great strait, 2 Sa. 24:14. Note, Those that will not be in subjection
to the law of God put themselves into subjection to the wrath and curse of God.
But this shows what liberty to
sin really—it is but a liberty to the
sorest judgments. 2. That, since they had brought their servants back into
confinement in their houses, God would
make them to be removed into all the
kingdoms of the earth, where they should live in servitude, and, being
strangers, could not expect the privileges of free-born subjects. 3. That, since
they had broken the covenant which they ratified by a solemn imprecation, God
would bring on them the evil which they imprecated upon themselves in case they
should break it. out of their own mouth will he judge them, and so shall their
doom be; the penalty of their bond shall be recovered, because they have not
performed the condition; for so some read v. 18,
"I will make the men
which have transgressed my covenant as the calf which they cut in twain; I
will divide them asunder as they divided it asunder." 4. That, since they
would not let go their servants out of the hands, God would deliver them into
the hands of those that hated them, even
the princes and nobles both
of
Judah and Jerusalem (of the country and of the city),
the eunuchs
(chamberlains, or great officers of the court),
the priests, and all the
people, v. 19. They had all dealt treacherously with God, and therefore
shall all be involved in the common ruin without exception. They shall all be
given
unto the hand of their enemies, that seek, not their wealth only, or their
service, but
their life, and they shall have what they seek; but neither
shall that content them: when they have their lives they shall leave
their
dead bodies unburied, a loathsome spectacle to all mankind and an easy prey
to
the fowls and beasts, a lasting mark of ignominy being hereby fastened
on them, v. 20. 5. That, since they had emboldened themselves in returning to
their sin, contrary to their covenant, by the retreat of the Chaldean army from
them, God would therefore bring it upon them again: "They have now
gone
up from you, and your fright is over for the present, but I
will command
them to face about as they were; they shall
return to this city, and take
it and burn it," v. 22. Note, (1.) As confidence in God is a hopeful
presage of approaching deliverance, so security in sin is a sad omen of
approaching destruction. (2.) When judgments are removed from a people before
they have done their work, leave them, but leave them unhumbled and unreformed,
it is
cum animo revertendi—
with a design to return; they do but
retreat to come on again with so much the greater force; for when God judges he
will overcome. (3.) It is just with God to disappoint those expectations of
mercy which his providence had given cause for when we disappoint those
expectations of duty which our professions, pretensions, and fair promises, had
given cause for. If we repent of the good we had purposed, God will repent of
the good he had purposed.
With the froward thou will show thyself froward.
Chapter 34:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 isaiah lamentations
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