An example of the "treachery" referred to in Jeremiah 12:1 ; a conspiracy against Jeremiah in his own family. Have called a multitude after thee ; rather, have called aloud after thee , as one raises a hue and cry after a thief. read more
I have forsaken mine house . The "house" is here not the temple, but the people of Israel, as the parallel clause shows (see Hosea 8:1 , and setup. Hebrews 3:6 ; 1 Timothy 3:15 ). Jehovah, not the prophet, is evidently the speaker. I have left ; rather, I have east away . Into the hand of her enemies. The Hebrew is more expressive: "Into the palm of the hand." Bonomi has an engraving from the monuments of guests at a banquet, holding their drinking-vessels in the deeply... read more
The forsaken heritage. I. GOD REGARDS HIS PEOPLE AS HIS LINEAGE . The temple was God's house, the Jews were God's heritage. The Church is now the habitation of the Spirit of God, and her members are God's possession. This fact implies: 1. That God dwells with his people. 2. That he takes delight in them. 3. That he may be expected to protect them from harm. 4. That he has rights over them and claims their submission to himself. 5. That his honor is... read more
Leaving all for God. (Naegelsbach is of opinion that the words of Jeremiah 12:7-13 "are to be understood as having a double reference," i.e. both to the prophet's own feelings and to Jehovah's judgment. Zwingli and Bugenhagen consider that Jehovah begins to speak at "Go" or "Come," in Jeremiah 12:9 . There is evidently an intimate blending of the prophetic with the Divine consciousness throughout the whole passage.) A hard duty, but one often devolving upon faithful servants of... read more
The inheritance that has lost its charms. I. WE HAVE HERE REGRETFUL THOUGHTS OF THE PAST . We can see what the prophet once hoped and desired. Not only what he had hoped and desired in those dreams of youth before God had touched his heart and claimed the service of his lips, but also what he had hoped and desired since becoming a prophet. Dear as Anathoth with its inhabitants may have been before, it would become dearer still when he thought of impending calamities to... read more
The hiding of God's face. Here is a most terrible condition of things set forth. It may be taken as telling of the calamities which ensue when God hides his face from his people. It is terrible every way. Because— I. OF HIM BY WHOM HIS FACE IS HIDDEN . It is God. We feel such conduct from our fellow-men according to our estimate of the person who manifests it. Now, all these facts which make the hiding of his face grievous to us meet in God—righteousness, goodness,... read more
A separate prophecy. The key to it is in 2 Kings 24:1 , 2 Kings 24:2 , where it is related that, after Jehoiakim's rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, "Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it." The prophecy falls into two strophes or sections, 2 Kings 24:7-13 and 2 Kings 24:14-17 . In the first we have a complaint of the desolation produced by the... read more
The reason why Jehovah has given up his people. Israel (or, more strictly, Judah) has proceeded to open hostility against his God . He is unto me —or rather, has become unto me— as a lion in the forest ; a familiar circumstance (comp. on Jeremiah 12:5 and Jeremiah 4:7 ). Therefore have I hated it . "To hate" is a strong expression for the withdrawal of love, shown by the giving up of Israel into the power of his enemies, as Malachi 1:3 (Keil). read more
The first part of this verse is mistranslated. Instead of Mine heritage is unto me , etc; it should be, Is mine heritage unto me ( i.e. to my sorrow, a dativus ethics ) a colored bird of prey? Are birds of prey round about her? The passage is difficult, but the following seems the most plausible explanation:—Jehovah is represented as surprised to see his chosen people a prey to the heathen (a strongly anthropomorphic description, as if Jehovah had not anticipated that his "giving up"... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 12:5-6
A prophet's foes they of his own household. These two verses are related, and must be read together in order to get at their proper sense. The prophet had complained of the treachery and prosperous circumstances of the enemies of Jehovah; whereupon he was told that worse things were in store for him—that his own family would be his fiercest opponents. This was in a degree the lot of Christ; it is experienced by many of the true servants of God. I. THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT ... read more