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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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It is plain that the prophecies of this book are not placed here in the
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same order in which they were preached; for there are chapters after
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this which concern Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah, who all reigned
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before Zedekiah, in whose reign the prophecy of this chapter bears
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date. Here is,
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I. The message which Zedekiah sent to the prophet, to desire him to
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enquire of the Lord for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. The answer which Jeremiah, in God's name, sent to that message, in
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which,
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1. He foretels the certain and inevitable ruin of the city, and the
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fruitlessness of their attempts for its preservation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:3-7">ver. 3-7</A>.
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2. He advises the people to make the best of bad, by going over to the
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king of Babylon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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3. He advises the king and his family to repent and reform
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>),
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and not to trust to the strength of their city and grow secure,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:13,14">ver. 13, 14</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer21_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Zedekiah's Message to Jeremiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 590.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, when king
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Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah
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the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
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2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> for us; for Nebuchadrezzar
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king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he
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may go up from us.
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3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
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4 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back
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the weapons of war that <I>are</I> in your hands, wherewith ye fight
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against the king of Babylon, and <I>against</I> the Chaldeans, which
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besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the
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midst of this city.
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5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand
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and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great
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wrath.
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6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and
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beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
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7 And afterward, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, I will deliver Zedekiah king
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of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left
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in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the
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famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into
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the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek
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their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword;
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he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. A very humble decent message which king Zedekiah, when he was in
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distress, sent to Jeremiah the prophet. It is indeed charged upon this
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Zedekiah that he <I>humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet,
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speaking from the mouth of the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:12">2 Chron. xxxvi. 12</A>);
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he did not always humble himself as he did sometimes; he never humbled
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himself till necessity forced him to it; he humbled himself so far as
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to desire the prophet's assistance, but not so far as to take his
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advice, or to be ruled by him. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. The distress which king Zedekiah was now in: <I>Nebuchadrezzar made
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war upon him,</I> not only invaded the land, but besieged the city, and
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had now actually invested it. Note, Those that put the evil day far
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from them will be the more terrified when it comes upon them; and those
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who before slighted God's ministers may then perhaps be glad to court
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an acquaintance with them.</P>
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<P>
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2. The messengers he sent--<I>Pashur and Zephaniah,</I> one belonging to
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the fifth course of the priests, the other to the twenty-fourth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+24:9,18">1 Chron. xxiv. 9, 18</A>.
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It was well that he sent, and that he sent persons of rank; but it
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would have been better if he had desired a personal conference with the
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prophet, which no doubt he might easily have had if he would so far
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have humbled himself. Perhaps these priests were no better than the
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rest, and yet, when they were commanded by the king, they must carry a
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respectful message to the prophet, which was both a mortification to
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them and an honour to Jeremiah. He had rashly said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+20:18"><I>ch.</I> xx. 18</A>),
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<I>My days are consumed with shame;</I> and yet here we find that he
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lived to see better days than those were when he made that complaint;
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now he appears in reputation. Note, It is folly to say, when things are
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bad with us, "They will always be so." It is possible that those who
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are despised may come to be respected; and it is promised that those
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who <I>honour God he will honour,</I> and that those who have
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<I>afflicted his people shall bow to them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:14">Isa. lx. 14</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. The message itself: <I>Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Now that the Chaldean army had got into their borders, into their
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bowels, they were at length convinced that Jeremiah was a true prophet,
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though loth to own it and brought too late to it. Under this conviction
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they desire him to stand their friend with God, believing him to have
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that interest in heaven which none of their other prophets had, who had
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flattered them with hopes of peace. They now employ Jeremiah,
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(1.) To consult the mind of God for them: "<I>Enquire of the Lord for
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us;</I> ask him what course we shall take in our present strait, for
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the measures we have hitherto taken are all broken." Note, Those that
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will not take the direction of God's grace how to get clear of their
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sins would yet be glad of the directions of his providence how to get
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clear of their troubles.
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(2.) To seek the favour of God for them (so some read it): "<I>Entreat
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the Lord for us;</I> be an intercessor for us with God." Note, Those
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that slight the prayers of God's people and ministers when they are in
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prosperity may perhaps be glad of an interest in them when they come to
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be in distress. <I>Give us of your oil.</I> The benefit they promise
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themselves is, <I>It may be the Lord will deal with us</I> now
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<I>according to the wondrous works he wrought for our fathers,</I> that
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the enemy may raise the siege and <I>go up from us.</I> Observe,
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[1.] All their care is to get rid of their trouble, not to make their
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peace with God and be reconciled to him--"That our enemy may <I>go up
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from us,</I>" not, "That our God may return to us." Thus Pharaoh
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+10:17">Exod. x. 17</A>):
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<I>Entreat the Lord that he may take away this death.</I>
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[2.] All their hope is that God had done wondrous works formerly in the
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deliverance of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it, at the prayer of
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Isaiah (so we are told,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:20,21">2 Chron. xxxii. 20, 21</A>),
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and who can tell but he may destroy these besiegers (as he did those)
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at the prayer of Jeremiah? But they did not consider how different the
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character of Zedekiah and his people was from that of Hezekiah and his
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people: those were days of general reformation and piety, these of
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general corruption and apostasy. Jerusalem is now the reverse of what
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it was then. Note, It is folly to think that God should do for us while
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we hold fast our iniquity as he did for those that held fast their
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integrity.</P>
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<P>
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II. A very startling cutting reply which God, by the prophet, sent to
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that message. If Jeremiah had been to have answered the message of
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himself we have reason to think that he would have returned a
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comfortable answer, in hope that their sending such a message was an
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indication of some good purposes in them, which he would be glad to
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make the best of, for he did not desire the woeful day. But God knows
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their hearts better than Jeremiah does, and sends them an answer which
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has scarcely one word of comfort in it. He sends it to them in the name
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of <I>the Lord God of Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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to intimate to them that though God allowed himself to be called the
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<I>God of Israel,</I> and had done great things for Israel formerly,
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and had still great things in store for Israel, pursuant to his
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covenants with them, yet this should stand the present generation in no
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stead, who were Israelites in name only, and not in deed, any more than
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God's dealings with them should cut off his relation to Israel as their
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God. It is here foretold,</P>
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<P>
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1. That God will render all their endeavours for their own security
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fruitless and ineffectual
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"I will be so far from teaching your hands to war, and putting an edge
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upon your swords, that I will <I>turn back the weapons of war that are
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in your hand,</I> when you sally out upon the besiegers to beat them
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off, so that they shall not give the stroke you design; nay, they shall
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recoil into your own faces, and be turned upon yourselves." Nothing can
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make for those who have God against them.</P>
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<P>
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2. That the besiegers shall in a little time make themselves masters of
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Jerusalem, and of all its wealth and strength: <I>I will assemble</I>
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those <I>in the midst of this city</I> who are now surrounding it.
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Note, If that place which should have been a centre of devotion be made
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a centre of wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous
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of destroyers.</P>
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<P>
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3. That God himself will be their enemy; and then I know not who can
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befriend them, no, not Jeremiah himself
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"I will be so far from protecting you, as I have done formerly in a
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like case, that <I>I myself will fight against you.</I>" Note, Those
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who rebel against God may justly expect that he will make war upon
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them, and that,
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(1.) With the power of a God who is irresistibly victorious: <I>I will
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fight against you with an outstretched hand,</I> which will reach far,
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and <I>with a strong arm,</I> which will strike home and wound deeply.
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(2.) With the displeasure of a God who is indisputably righteous. It is
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not a correction in love, but an execution <I>in anger, in fury, and in
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great wrath;</I> it is upon a sentence sworn in wrath, against which
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there will lie no exception, and it will soon be found what a fearful
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thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.</P>
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<P>
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4. That those who, for their own safety, decline sallying out upon the
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besiegers, and so avoid their sword, shall yet not escape the sword of
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God's justice
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>I will smite those that abide in the city</I> (so it may be read),
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<I>both man and beast,</I> both the beasts that are for food and those
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that are for service in war, foot and horse; <I>they shall, die of a
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great pestilence,</I> which shall rage within the walls, while the
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enemies are encamped about them. Though Jerusalem's gates and walls may
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for a time keep out the Chaldeans, they cannot keep out God's
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judgments. His arrows of pestilence can reach those that think
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themselves safe from other arrows.</P>
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<P>
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5. That the king himself, and people that escape the <I>sword,
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famine,</I> and <I>pestilence,</I> shall fall <I>into the hands</I> of
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the Chaldeans, who shall cut them off in cold blood
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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They <I>shall not spare them,</I> nor <I>have pity</I> on them. Let not
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those expect to find mercy with men who have forfeited God's
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compassions, and shut themselves out from his mercy. Thus had the
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decree gone forth; and then to what purpose was it for Jeremiah to
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<I>enquire of the Lord for them?</I></P>
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<A NAME="Jer21_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer21_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Answer to Zedekiah's Message; Advice to the King and the People.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 590.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
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Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
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9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by
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the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and
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falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his
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life shall be unto him for a prey.
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10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not
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for good, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: it shall be given into the hand of the
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king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
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11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, <I>say,</I> Hear ye
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the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
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12 O house of David, thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Execute judgment in
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the morning, and deliver <I>him that is</I> spoiled out of the hand of
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the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none
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can quench <I>it,</I> because of the evil of your doings.
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13 Behold, I <I>am</I> against thee, O inhabitant of the valley,
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<I>and</I> rock of the plain, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; which say, Who shall
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come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
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14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,
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saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof,
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and it shall devour all things round about it.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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By the civil message which the king sent to Jeremiah it appeared that
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both he and the people began to have a respect for him, which it would
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have been Jeremiah's policy to make some advantage of for himself; but
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the reply which God obliges him to make is enough to crush the little
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respect they begin to have for him, and to exasperate them against him
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more than ever. Not only the predictions in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:1-7">foregoing verses</A>,
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but the prescriptions in these, were provoking; for here,</P>
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<P>
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I. He advises the people to surrender and desert to the Chaldeans, as
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the only means left them to save their lives,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:8-10"><I>v.</I> 8-10</A>.
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This counsel was very displeasing to those who were flattered by their
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false prophets into a desperate resolution to hold out to the last
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extremity, trusting to the strength of their walls and the courage of
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their soldiery to keep out the enemy, or to their foreign aids to raise
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the siege. The prophet assures them, "<I>The city shall be given into
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the hand of the king of Babylon,</I> and he shall not only plunder it,
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but <I>burn it with fire,</I> for God himself hath <I>set his face
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against this city for evil and not for good,</I> to lay it waste and
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not to protect it, <I>for evil</I> which shall have no good mixed with
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it, no mitigation or merciful allay; and therefore, if you would make
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the best of bad, you must beg quarter of the Chaldeans, and surrender
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prisoners of war." In vain did Rabshakeh persuade the Jews to do this
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while they had God for them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:16">Isa. xxxvi. 16</A>),
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but it was the best course they could take now that God was against
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them. Both the law and the prophets had often set before them life and
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death in another sense--life if they obey the voice of God, death if
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they persist in disobedience,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+30:19">Deut. xxx. 19</A>.
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But they had slighted that life which would have made them truly happy,
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to upbraid them with which the prophet here uses the same expression
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death,</I>
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which denotes not, as that, a fair proposal, but a melancholy dilemma,
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advising them of two evils to choose the less; and that less evil, a
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shameful and wretched captivity, is all the life now left for them to
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propose to themselves. <I>He that abides in the city,</I> and trusts to
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that to secure him, shall certainly die either by <I>the sword</I>
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without the walls or <I>famine</I> or <I>pestilence</I> within. But he
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that can so far bring down his spirit, and quit his vain hopes, as to
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|
go out, and fall <I>to the Chaldeans, his life shall be given him for a
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|
prey;</I> he shall save his life, but with much difficulty and hazard,
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|
as a prey is taken from the mighty. It is an expression like that,
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<I>He shall be saved, yet so as by fire.</I> He shall escape but very
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|
narrowly, or he shall have such surprising joy and satisfaction in
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escaping with his life from such a universal destruction as shall equal
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theirs that divide the spoil. They thought to make a prey of the camp
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|
of the Chaldeans, as their ancestors did that of the Assyrians
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:23">Isa. xxxiii. 23</A>),
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but they will be sadly disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they
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can but save their lives, that is all the prey they must promise
|
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themselves. Now one would think this advice from a prophet, in God's
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name, should have gained some credit with them and been universally
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followed; but, for aught that appears, there were few or none that took
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it; so wretchedly were their hearts hardened, to their destruction.</P>
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<P>
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II. He advises the king and princes to reform, and make conscience of
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|
the duty of their place. Because it was the king that sent the message
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to him, in the reply there shall be a particular word for <I>the house
|
|
of the king,</I> not to compliment or court them (that was no part of
|
|
the prophet's business, no, not when they did him the honour to send to
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|
him), but to give them wholesome counsel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>):
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"<I>Execute judgment in the morning;</I> do it carefully and
|
|
diligently. Those magistrates that would fill up their place with duty
|
|
had need rise betimes. Do it quickly, and do not delay to do justice
|
|
upon appeals made to you, and tire out poor petitioners as you have
|
|
done. Do not lie in your beds in a morning to sleep away the debauch of
|
|
the night before, nor spend the morning in pampering the body (as those
|
|
princes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:16">Eccl. x. 16</A>),
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but spend it in the despatch of business. You would be delivered out of
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|
the hand of those that distress you, and expect that therein God should
|
|
do you justice; see then that you do justice to those that apply to
|
|
you, and <I>deliver them out of the hand of their oppressors, lest my
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|
fury go out like fire</I> against you in a particular manner, and you
|
|
fare worst who think to escape best, <I>because of the evil of your
|
|
doings.</I>" Now,
|
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|
1. This intimates that it was their neglect to do their duty that
|
|
brought all this desolation upon the people. It was the <I>evil of
|
|
their doings</I> that kindled the fire of God's wrath. Thus plainly
|
|
does he deal even with the <I>house of the king;</I> for those that
|
|
would have the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a
|
|
prophet's reproofs.
|
|
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|
2. This directs them to take the right method for a national
|
|
reformation. The princes must begin, and set a good example, and then
|
|
the people will be invited to reform. They must use their power for the
|
|
punishment of wrong, and then the people will be obliged to reform. He
|
|
reminds them that they are <I>the house of David,</I> and therefore
|
|
should tread in his steps, who executed judgment and justice to his
|
|
people.
|
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|
|
3. This gives them some encouragement to hope that there may yet be a
|
|
lengthening of their tranquillity,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+4:27">Dan. iv. 27</A>.
|
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|
If any thing will recover their state from the brink of ruin, this
|
|
will.</P>
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|
<P>
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|
III. He shows them the vanity of all their hopes so long as they
|
|
continued unreformed,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
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|
Jerusalem is an <I>inhabitant of the valley,</I> guarded with mountains
|
|
on all sides, which were their natural fortifications, making it
|
|
difficult for an army to approach them. It is a <I>rock of the
|
|
plain,</I> which made it difficult for an enemy to undermine them.
|
|
These advantages of their situation they trusted to more than to the
|
|
power and promise of God; and, thinking their city by these means to be
|
|
impregnable, they set the judgments of God at defiance, saying, "<I>Who
|
|
shall come down against us?</I> None of our neighbours dare make a
|
|
descent upon us, or, if they do, <I>who shall enter into our
|
|
habitations?</I>" They had some colour for this confidence; for it
|
|
appears to have been the sense of all their neighbours that no enemy
|
|
could force his way into Jerusalem,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:12">Lam. iv. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
But those are least safe that are most secure. God soon shows the
|
|
vanity of that challenge, <I>Who shall come down against us?</I> when
|
|
he says
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Behold, I am against thee.</I> They had indeed by the wickedness
|
|
driven God out of their city when he would have tarried with them as a
|
|
friend; but they could not by their bulwarks keep them out of their
|
|
city when he came against them as an enemy. If God be for us, who can
|
|
be against us? But, if he be against us, who can be for us, to stand
|
|
us in any stead? Nay, he comes against them not as an enemy that may
|
|
lawfully and with some hope of success be resisted, but as a judge that
|
|
cannot be resisted; for he says
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I will punish you,</I> by due course of law, <I>according to the
|
|
fruit of your doings,</I> that is, according to the merit of them and
|
|
the direct tendency of them. That shall be brought upon you which is
|
|
the natural product of sin. Nay, he will not only come with the anger
|
|
of an enemy and the justice of a judge, but with the force of a
|
|
consuming fire, which has no compassion, as a judge sometimes has, nor
|
|
spares any thing combustible that comes in its way. Jerusalem has
|
|
become a forest, in which God will <I>kindle a fire</I> that shall
|
|
consume all before it; for our God is himself <I>a consuming fire;</I>
|
|
and <I>who is able to stand in his sight</I> when once he is angry?</P>
|
|
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