Jeremiah 22:1

JEREMIAH 22

THE EARTHLY HOUSE OF DAVID TERMINATED

This is a landmark chapter in God's Word. The beginning of the Jewish state had been contrary to God's will (1 Samuel 8:7). It was based entirely upon the people's rejection of God's will and their desire to be like the nations around them. Not surprisingly, that "sinful kingdom" became the scandal of antiquity, fully deserving the word of the Lord to Amos when he declared, "Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom; and I will destroy it off the face of the earth" (Amos 9:8). Hosea also was commanded to name his firstborn son Jezreel, which means, "I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease" (Hosea 1:3). The details of that destruction are all evident in this chapter. (For those interested in a further study of this, see Vol. 1 of my commentaries on the minor prophets, pp. 231-235.) As Halley said, "In Jeconiah and Zedekiah, we have the end of the earthly kingdom of Judah."[1]

The chapter naturally falls into four paragraphs: (1) Jeremiah 22:1-9, applicable to the early part of the reign of Jehoiachim; (2) Jeremiah 22:10-12 which speak of the days immediately after the deposition of Jehoahaz and his captivity in Egypt; (3) Jeremiah 22:13-19 applicable to the events near the close of Jehoiachim's wicked reign; and (4) Jeremiah 22:20-30 relating to the reign of Jeconiah (Coniah, or Jehoiachin).[2]

Scholars are not unanimous in their opinions regarding the dates of specific verses in the chapter; but there seems to be no doubt that all of the prophecies in this section may be applied to terminal conditions in "the sinful kingdom." The terminal kings of Judah featured in this section are Josiah, Jehoahaz (Shallum), Jehoiachim (Eliakim), Jehoiachin (Coniah), and Zedekiah. Jehoiachim was actually the firstborn of Josiah; but his evil character was evidently well known in Judah, which probably accounts for the people's elevation of Jehoahaz to the throne instead of his older brother. This violated the principle of primogeniture. However, the strategy did not work. With the removal of Jehoahaz by the Egyptians, the last hope of Judah's having a decent king perished.

"Jehoahaz (Shallum) lasted only three months. Eliakim (Jehoiachim) resented what was done, threw himself into the arms of the Egyptians; and Pharaoh-Necho deposed Jehoahaz (Shallum) and enthroned Eliakim (Jehoiachim) as his vassal king in Jerusalem. He deported Jehoahaz (Shallum) to Egypt; and from that time he was heard of no more."[3]

The double names here should not be confusing. One name is the family name and the other one is the name assumed when the wearer came to the throne. It makes little difference which was which; but Shallum and Eliakim are usually identified as the family names.

Jeremiah 22:1-5,8 are alleged to be "in the style of Deuteronomy";[4] but it would be far better to state that they are in the style of Moses; for it is the whole covenant of God with Israel that is referred to in these verses. There are actually more references in this writer's Cross-Reference Bible to Exodus, Leviticus, Genesis, and Numbers than there are to Deuteronomy. We should heed the wise words of J. A. Thompson in his analysis of the passage.

"The protection of the orphan, the widow, and the stranger is a part of the covenant stipulation (Exodus 22:21-26; 23:9; Leviticus 19:33-34, and Deuteronomy 10:18-19; and 24:17). The king was as much under obligation to fulfill the words of the Sinai Covenant as were the people. The Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7 was no different in this respect from the Mosaic Covenant."[5]

Jeremiah 22:1-9

"Thus said Jehovah; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word. and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates. Thus saith Jehovah: Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the sojourner, the fatherless, nor the widow; neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, everyone with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall cry every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God and worshipped other gods, and served them."

"If ye will do this thing indeed ..." (Jeremiah 22:4) Thompson translated this clause, "If you scrupulously carry out this commission."[6]

"They shall cut down thy choice cedars ..." (Jeremiah 22:7). "In keeping with the figure of a forest, the destruction of Jerusalem is represented as the hewing down of the choice cedars. The destroyed city will become a monument to God's wrath against the transgressors of his covenant."[7]

Jeremiah 22:8 reflects the promise recorded by Moses in Deuteronomy 29:33ff. Along with the king's palace, the whole city will be destroyed.

"Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah ..." (Jeremiah 22:9). The covenant in view here is the one commonly called the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, or the Sinaitic Covenant (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7).

"The covenant violated here was not the Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7, but the initial covenant at Sinai, referred to recurringly in earlier portions of Jeremiah. The extensive devastation was a lesson to all nations on the perils of idolatry."[8]

Although Jellie thought that these first nine verses were addressed to the early days of the reign of Jehoiachim, Harrison assigned them to the times of Zedekiah.[9] As we have frequently noted, if such distinctions were very important, God would have revealed the exact situation. Here it makes little or no difference, because the words perfectly fit either one of the monarchs mentioned.