Judah’s indelible sin and sin’s deceitfulness 17:1-18The next five sections (Jeremiah 17:1-18) continue the theme of Judah’s guilt from the previous chapter. These pericopes have obvious connections with one another, but they were evidently originally separate prophecies. Jeremiah 17:1-4 are particularly ironic. read more
The Judeans would voluntarily let the inheritance that God had given them, namely, their land, drop into their enemy’s hands (cf. Jeremiah 15:14; 2 Kings 25:13-17). They would serve this enemy in a strange land because they had aroused the Lord’s anger by their sin."The irony is clear: Judah has forsaken or abandoned her covenantal inheritance. Therefore Yahweh will abandon Judah to her enemies, and she will find herself exiled from her inheritance in a land that she had not known." [Note: Joel... read more
1-4. The sin of Judah is indelible. Hence the severity of the punishment.2. Groves] RV ’Asherim,’ wooden pillars, or monuments, set up in honour of Astoreth (Astarte), generally near altars (e.g. Judges 6:25). The Law ordered them to be pulled down (Exodus 34:13). 3. O my mountain in the field] The hill on which Jerusalem is built rises high above the plain. On the other hand, it is lower than the surrounding mountains, hence can be spoken of as a ’valley’ in Jeremiah 21:13. For sin] i.e.... read more
(4) Thou, even thyself.—Literally, in or by thyself, an emphatic form for expressing loneliness and abandonment.Shalt discontinue . . .—The word was a half-technical one, used to describe the act of leaving lands untilled and releasing creditors in the sabbatical year (Exodus 23:11; Deuteronomy 15:2). The land would have its rest now, would “enjoy its Sabbaths” (Leviticus 26:34; 2 Chronicles 36:21), though Judah had failed in obedience to the Law which prescribed them. For the rest of the... read more
Jeremiah 17:9 PÈre Pacheu quotes the saying of the Comte de Maistre: 'Whatever the conscience of a criminal may be, I know only the heart of an honest man, and it is a wretched and a fearful thing!' A Bad Heart Jeremiah 17:9-10 I wish, firstly, to prove to you the truth of the words 'the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked'; secondly, to remind you that God knows what is within you 'I the Lord search the heart'; and, thirdly, the only remedy that can do you any good, if... read more
CHAPTER IXTHE DROUGHT AND ITS MORAL IMPLICATIONSJeremiah 14:1-22; Jeremiah 15:1-21 (17?)VARIOUS opinions have been expressed about the division of these chapters. They have been cut up into short sections, supposed to be more or less independent of each other; and they have been regarded as constituting a well-organised whole, at least so far as the eighteenth verse of chapter 17. The truth may lie between these extremes. Chapters 14, 15 certainly hang together; for in them the prophet... read more
CHAPTER 17 1. Judah’s sin (Jeremiah 17:1-4 ) 2. The curse and the blessing (Jeremiah 17:5-11 ) 3. The worship of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:12-18 ) 4. Concerning the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:19-27 ) Jeremiah 17:1-4 . The sin of Judah was idolatry, engraven with a pen of iron, the point of a diamond, upon their heart (from whence it proceeded) and upon the horns of their altars. They had destroyed but a few years before the asherim (translated groves, a kind of sacred post), and now their... read more
17:4 And thou, even {f} thyself, shall discontinue from thy heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in my anger, [which] shall burn for ever.(f) Because you would not give the land rest, at such times, days and years as I appointed, you will after this be carried away and it will rest for lack of labourers. read more
“ IN THE SWELLING OF JORDAN ” God told the prophet worse was to come. The Swelling of Jordan would be experienced later, and in the present lesson, especially towards the close, we have an illustration of it. There are things of interest to look at in the meantime, for example, an illustration of that symbolic teaching mentioned earlier. In chapter 13 we have what two symbols? See Jeremiah 13:1-11 for the first and Jeremiah 13:12-14 for the second. The prophet acted these out before the... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 17:4
4. even thyself—rather, "owing to thyself," that is, by thy own fault ( :-). discontinue from—be dispossessed of. Not only thy substance, but thyself shall be carried off to a strange land (Jeremiah 15:14). read more