The poor Prophet is hunted like the partridge upon the mountains. But though in the midst of foes, yet in no real danger. As he was before the siege, so through the whole of it; and so in the end. So the Lord had promised: and so he found. Jeremiah 1:18-19 . read more
REFLECTIONS READER! we peruse this portion of God's holy word to little purpose, if so be that we do not, under his divine teaching, gather from it the blessed instructions it holds forth. For what is it that we behold in the different characters then, but the same as we behold in the different characters now; that the Lord's children are conformed to his lovely image; and the children of the evil one to Satan their master. Their malice is against Christ and therefore it is manifested to his... read more
There. This he had actually done, chap. xxxvii. 19. He perhaps renewed the petition, at this interview, to satisfy the king. (Haydock) --- We may conceal the truth, but must never speak what is false. (Calmet) --- "In a matter, says Puffendorf, which I am not obliged to declare to another, if I cannot with safety conceal the whole, I may fairly discover no more than a part." Who can require a privy counsellor to reveal the king's secret? Yet Paine accuses the prophet of duplicity! (Watson) read more
14-28 Jeremiah was not forward to repeat the warnings, which seemed only to endanger his own life, and to add to the king's guilt, but asked whether he feared to do the will of God. The less men fear God, the more they fear men; often they dare not act according to their own judgments and consciences. read more
Jeremiah's Advice to the King v. 14. Then Zedekiah, the king, sent and took Jeremiah, the prophet, unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord, very likely the vaulted north gate of the Temple court, which faced the palace; and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. The very attitude of the prophet, together with the definiteness of his message, filled the king with apprehension and a foreboding of evil for himself. v. 15. Then... read more
2. Jeremiah in the Pit (third stage of his imprisonment), his Conference with the King and Confinement in the court of the guard (fourth stage of prisonment)Chap. 381Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah 2:0 had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah]: He that remaineth in this city1 shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but... read more
B. THE EVENTS SUBSEQUENT TO THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM (CHS. 39–44)1. Jeremiah liberated from the court of the guard and given in charge to GedaliahJeremiah 38:28 to Jeremiah 39:1428b. And he was there1 [And it came to pass] when Jerusalem was taken, XXXIX. 1 (In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged 2it. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day 3of the... read more
Under these circumstances he continued to foretell the victory of the Chaldeans, with the result that the anger of the princes was stirred up against him, and he was cast into a most loathsome dungeon. From that dungeon he was released through the intercession of Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, who evidently was in favor with Zedekiah. Again the king sought an interview with him, charging him to hide nothing from him as to the future. Jeremiah advised him earnestly to submit to Babylon,... read more
The Disobedience Of Judah And Its King Is Highlighted By Their Treatment Of The Prophet Of YHWH (Jeremiah 37:1 to Jeremiah 38:28 ). These events once again took place during the reign of Zedekiah, the final king of Judah before the exile. Along with Jeremiah 34:1-7 this passage forms an inclusio for this subsection on disobedience, paralleling the similar inclusio in chapters 21-24, which brings out that the final intention of the prophecy at this stage is to concentrate on the destruction... read more
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Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Jeremiah 38:14-26
This must have been a very interesting interview between the king and the Prophet; and it is impossible but to take concern in it, and to wish that Zedekiah had listened to the Prophet's advice. And as it seems nothing could have been more improbable than that success should have followed the measure, had the king adopted it. But the thing was of the Lord. Reader! do not fail to remark from it, how truly awful it must be, to be given up to a deluded mind. read more