Jeremiah 7

The following four chapters must be taken together. If they do not contain the very words uttered by Jeremiah on some particular occasion, they must be regarded as made up from the discourses he was accustomed to deliver at this time, and hence as representing, even to the language, his teachings. For the historical setting of this passage, turn to the twenty-sixth chapter. Jehoiakim had been established on the throne by the king of Egypt in the place of his younger brother, Jehoahaz, who had been preferred by the people, probably because Jehoiakim belonged to the party who favoured alliance with Egypt. All hope of the success and perpetuity of Josiah’s reformation had passed away. Hence the great object of the discourse was to work in the people conviction of their sin and their danger, and, if possible, to lead them back, through penitence and humiliation, unto their old faith. The most offensive portion of Jeremiah’s address consisted in his reference to the ruins of Shiloh and his intimation that even Jerusalem, the sanctuary of the Most High, might experience a similar fate. As we learn from the twenty-sixth chapter, Jeremiah would have paid for his fidelity with his life had it not been for influential friends.

The discourse falls into three leading divisions:

1 . The Temple and its Worship no Adequate Ground of Confidence, Jeremiah 7:1 to Jeremiah 8:3.

2 . The Growing Wickedness of the Leaders and Teachers, Jeremiah 8:4 to Jeremiah 9:24.

3 . The Means of Escape, Jeremiah 9:25 to Jeremiah 10:25.