Obedience as opposed to mere sacrifice 7:21-28This seems to be a new message from the Lord. It is a good example of prophetic indictments of Israel’s sacrificial institutions (cf. Jeremiah 6:20; 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalms 51:16-17; Isaiah 1:4-15; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8). read more
In spite of these instructions, each succeeding generation of Israelites did not listen or pay attention. Instead they became obstinate in their disobedience and did even more evil than their fathers had done. read more
1-20. Ceremonies and sacred places shall be no defence.4. God, said the false prophets, will never allow His Temple to be overthrown: cp. Micah 3:11.The temple, etc.] The threefold repetition suggests ’the energy of iteration that only belongs to Eastern fanatics’ (Stanley, ’Jewish Church,’ ii, 438).5-7. Their tenure of the Temple is conditional on obedience to the covenant made by God with their fathers. 10. We are delivered] By the discharge of this formality we are set free for a return to... read more
(26) Worse than their fathers.—The rapid survey of the past makes it doubtful whether the comparison is made between the generations that came out of Egypt and their immediate followers, or between those followers and their successors. Probably the general thought was that the whole history of Israel had been one of progressive deterioration, reaching its climax in the generation in which Jeremiah lived. His words find a striking parallel in the complaint of the Roman historian (Livy, Præf), or... read more
; Jeremiah 8:1-22; Jeremiah 9:1-26; Jeremiah 10:1-25; Jeremiah 26:1-24In the four chapters which we are now to consider we have what is plainly a finished whole. The only possible exception {Jeremiah 10:1-16} shall be considered in its place. The historical occasion of the introductory prophecy, {Jeremiah 7:1-15} and the immediate effect of its delivery, are recorded at length in the twenty-sixth chapter of the book, so that in this instance we are happily not left to the uncertainties of... read more
The Prophet’s Temple Address (7-9) CHAPTER 7 1. Amend your ways and your doings (Jeremiah 7:1-15 ) 2. No prayer-answer to be expected (Jeremiah 7:16-20 ) 3. Sacrifices rejected; Obedience demanded (Jeremiah 7:21-28 ) 4. Jerusalem’s rejection (Jeremiah 7:29-34 ) Jeremiah 7:1-15 . We call this next address of the prophet “the temple address,” because he was commanded to stand in the gate of the LORD’s house. There he stood, a solitary figure, and said: “Hear the Word of the LORD, all ye... read more
PERSECUTED IN HIS HOME TOWN The length of this lesson may alarm, but preparation for it only requires the reading of the chapters two or three times. One who has gone through Isaiah will soon catch the drift of the Spirit’s teaching and be able to break up the chapters into separate discourses and the discourses into their various themes. The main object of the lesson is to dwell on the prophet’s personal experience in his home town which is reached in the closing chapters. It is thought... read more
Organisation and Responsibility Jer 7:10 That men are variously constituted is a fact not merely profoundly interesting to the speculative philosopher, but of the greatest practical consequence to the Christian philanthropist. While the genus, man, is founded on a common basis, the individual is marked by characteristics singular to himself. We are rooted in the same soil, yet each seems to develop according to a law of his own. We have much in common, yet are individualised by the strongest... read more
I pause, not to interrupt the Reader in the progress of these verses, they are all to the same amount as the former. How pathetically the Prophet mourns the obstinacy of his people! Surely ministers ought to have tender feelings of compassion for the state of sinners. read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 7:26
26. hardened . . . neck— (Deuteronomy 31:27; Isaiah 48:4; Acts 7:51). worse than their fathers— (Jeremiah 16:12). In Jeremiah 16:12- : He had said, "your fathers"; here He says, "their fathers"; the change to the third person marks growing alienation from them. He no longer addresses themselves, as it would be a waste of words in the case of such hardened rebels. read more