mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 22.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxiii" n="xxiii" next="Jer.xxiv" prev="Jer.xxii" progress="36.65%" title="Chapter XXII">
<h2 id="Jer.xxiii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxiii-p0.2">CHAP. XXII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxiii-p1" shownumber="no">Upon occasion of the message sent in the foregoing
chapter to the house of the king, we have here recorded some
sermons which Jeremiah preached at court, in some preceding reigns,
that it might appear they had had fair warning long before that
fatal sentence was pronounced upon them, and were put in a way to
prevent it. Here is, I. A message sent to the royal family, as it
should seem in the reign of Jehoiakim, relating partly to Jehoahaz,
who was carried away captive into Egypt, and partly to Jehoiakim,
who succeeded him and was now upon the throne. The king and princes
are exhorted to execute judgment, and are assured that, if they did
so, the royal family should flourish, but otherwise it should be
ruined, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.1-Jer.22.9" parsed="|Jer|22|1|22|9" passage="Jer 22:1-9">ver. 1-9</scripRef>.
Jehoahaz, called here Shallum, is lamented, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.10-Jer.22.12" parsed="|Jer|22|10|22|12" passage="Jer 22:10-12">ver. 10-12</scripRef>. Jehoiakim is reproved and
threatened, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.13-Jer.22.19" parsed="|Jer|22|13|22|19" passage="Jer 22:13-19">ver. 13-19</scripRef>.
II. Another message sent them in the reign of Jehoiachin (alias,
Jeconiah) the son of Jehoiakim. He is charged with an obstinate
refusal to hear, and is threatened with destruction, and it is
foretold that in him Solomon's house should fail, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.20-Jer.22.30" parsed="|Jer|22|20|22|30" passage="Jer 22:20-30">ver. 20-30</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxiii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22" parsed="|Jer|22|0|0|0" passage="Jer 22" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxiii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.1-Jer.22.9" parsed="|Jer|22|1|22|9" passage="Jer 22:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxiii-p1.7">
<h4 id="Jer.xxiii-p1.8">Jeremiah Preaches before
Jehoiakim. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 590.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxiii-p2" shownumber="no">1 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.1">Lord</span>; Go down to the house of the king of Judah,
and speak there this word,   2 And say, Hear the word of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.2">Lord</span>, O king of Judah, that sittest
upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people
that enter in by these gates:   3 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.3">Lord</span>; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and
deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no
wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the
widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.   4 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.
  5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.4">Lord</span>, that this house
shall become a desolation.   6 For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.5">Lord</span> unto the king's house of Judah; Thou
<i>art</i> Gilead unto me, <i>and</i> the head of Lebanon:
<i>yet</i> surely I will make thee a wilderness, <i>and</i> cities
<i>which</i> are not inhabited.   7 And I will prepare
destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall
cut down thy choice cedars, and cast <i>them</i> into the fire.
  8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall
say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.6">Lord</span> done thus unto this great city?   9
Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p2.7">Lord</span> their God, and worshipped
other gods, and served them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p3" shownumber="no">Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p4" shownumber="no">I. Orders given to Jeremiah to go and
preach before the king. In the foregoing chapter we are told that
Zedekiah sent messengers to the prophet, but here the prophet is
bidden to go, in his own proper person, <i>to the house of the
king,</i> and demand his attention to the word of the King of kings
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.2" parsed="|Jer|22|2|0|0" passage="Jer 22:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>Hear the
word of the Lord, O king of Judah!</i> Subjects must own that where
the word of the king is there is power over them, but kings must
own that where the word of the Lord is there is power over them.
The <i>king of Judah</i> is here spoken to <i>as sitting upon the
throne of David,</i> who was a man after God's own heart, as
holding his dignity and power by the covenant made with David; let
him therefore conform to his example, that he may have the benefit
of the promises made to him. With the king his <i>servants</i> are
spoken to, because a good government depends upon a good ministry
as well as a good king.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p5" shownumber="no">II. Instructions given him what to
preach.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p6" shownumber="no">1. He must tell them what was their duty,
what was the good which the Lord their God required of them,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.3" parsed="|Jer|22|3|0|0" passage="Jer 22:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. They must take
care, (1.) That they do all the good they can with the power they
have. They must do justice in defence of those that were injured,
and must <i>deliver the spoiled out of the hand of their
oppressors.</i> This was the duty of their place, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.82.3" parsed="|Ps|82|3|0|0" passage="Ps 82:3">Ps. lxxxii. 3</scripRef>. Herein they must be
ministers of God for good. (2.) That they do no hurt with it, <i>no
wrong, no violence.</i> That is the greatest wrong and violence
which is done under colour of law and justice, and by those whose
business it is to punish and protect from wrong and violence. They
must <i>do no wrong to the stranger, fatherless, and widow;</i> for
these God does in a particular matter patronise and take under his
tuition, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.22.21-Exod.22.22" parsed="|Exod|22|21|22|22" passage="Ex 22:21,22">Exod. xxii. 21,
22</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p7" shownumber="no">2. He must assure them that the faithful
discharge of their duty would advance and secure their prosperity,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.4" parsed="|Jer|22|4|0|0" passage="Jer 22:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. There shall
then be a succession of kings, an uninterrupted succession, <i>upon
the throne of David</i> and of his line, these enjoying a perfect
tranquillity, and living in great state and dignity, <i>riding in
chariots and on horses,</i> as before, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.25" parsed="|Jer|17|25|0|0" passage="Jer 17:25"><i>ch.</i> xvii. 25</scripRef>. Note, the most
effectual way to preserve the dignity of the government is to do
the duty of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p8" shownumber="no">3. He must likewise assure them that the
iniquity of their family, if they persisted in it, would be the
ruin of their family, though it was a royal family (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.5" parsed="|Jer|22|5|0|0" passage="Jer 22:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>If you will not
hear,</i> will not obey, <i>this house shall become a
desolation,</i> the palace of the kings of Judah shall fare no
better than other habitations in Jerusalem. Sin has often been the
ruin of royal palaces, though ever so stately, ever so strong. This
sentence is ratified by an oath: <i>I swear by myself</i> (and God
can swear by no greater, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.13" parsed="|Heb|6|13|0|0" passage="Heb 6:13">Heb. vi.
13</scripRef>) that this house shall be laid in ruins. Note, Sin
will be the ruin of the houses of princes as well as of mean
men.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p9" shownumber="no">4. He must show how fatal their wickedness
would be to their kingdom as well as to themselves, to Jerusalem
especially, the royal city, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.6-Jer.22.9" parsed="|Jer|22|6|22|9" passage="Jer 22:6-9"><i>v.</i> 6-9</scripRef>. (1.) It is confessed that
Judah and Jerusalem had been valuable in God's eyes and
considerable in their own: <i>thou art Gilead unto me and the head
of Lebanon.</i> Their lot was cast in a place that was rich and
pleasant as Gilead; Zion was a stronghold, as stately as Lebanon:
this they trusted to as their security. But, (2.) This shall not
protect them; the country that is now fruitful as Gilead shall be
made <i>a wilderness.</i> The cities that are now strong as Lebanon
shall be cities <i>not inhabited;</i> and, when the country is laid
waste, the cities must be dispeopled. See how easily God's
judgments can ruin a nation, and how certainly sin will do it. When
this desolating work is to be done, [1.] There shall be those that
shall do it effectually (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.7" parsed="|Jer|22|7|0|0" passage="Jer 22:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>): "<i>I will prepare destroyers against thee;</i> I
will <i>sanctify</i> them" (so the word is); "I will appoint them
to this service and use them in it." Note, When destruction is
designed destroyers are prepared, and perhaps are in the preparing,
and things are working towards the designed destruction, and are
getting ready for it, long before. And who can contend with
destroyers of God's preparing? They shall destroy cities as easily
as men fell trees in a forest: <i>They shall cut down thy choice
cedars;</i> and yet, when they are down, shall value them no more
than thorns and briers; they shall <i>cast them into the fire,</i>
for their choicest cedars have become rotten ones and good for
nothing else. [2.] There shall be those who shall be ready to
justify God in the doing of it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.8-Jer.22.9" parsed="|Jer|22|8|22|9" passage="Jer 22:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8, 9</scripRef>); persons of <i>many
nations,</i> when they <i>pass by</i> the ruins of <i>this city</i>
in their travels, will ask, "<i>Wherefore hath the Lord done thus
unto this city?</i> How came so strong a city to be overpowered? so
rich a city to be impoverished? so populous a city to be
depopulated? so holy a city to be profaned? and a city that had
been so dear to God to be abandoned by him?" The reason is so
obvious that it shall be ready in every man's mouth. Ask those
<i>that go by the way,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.29" parsed="|Job|21|29|0|0" passage="Job 21:29">Job xxi.
29</scripRef>. Ask the next man you meet, and he will tell you it
was because they changed their gods, which other nations never used
to do. They forsook <i>the covenant</i> of Jehovah their own God,
revolted from their allegiance to him and from the duty which their
covenant with him bound them to, and they <i>worshipped other gods
and served them,</i> in contempt of him; and therefore he gave them
up to this destruction. Note, God never casts any off until they
first cast him off. "Go," says God to the prophet, "and preach this
to the royal family."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxiii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.10-Jer.22.19" parsed="|Jer|22|10|22|19" passage="Jer 22:10-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxiii-p9.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xxiii-p9.7">The Doom of Shallum and
Jehoiakim. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p9.8">b. c.</span> 590.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxiii-p10" shownumber="no">10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him:
<i>but</i> weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return
no more, nor see his native country.   11 For thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p10.1">Lord</span> touching Shallum the son of
Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father,
which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any
more:   12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led
him captive, and shall see this land no more.   13 Woe unto
him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by
wrong; <i>that</i> useth his neighbour's service without wages, and
giveth him not for his work;   14 That saith, I will build me
a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and
<i>it is</i> cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.  
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest <i>thyself</i> in cedar?
did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice,
<i>and</i> then <i>it was</i> well with him?   16 He judged
the cause of the poor and needy; then <i>it was</i> well <i>with
him: was</i> not this to know me? saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p10.2">Lord</span>.   17 But thine eyes and thine heart
<i>are</i> not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent
blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do <i>it.</i>
  18 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p10.3">Lord</span> concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah; They shall not lament for him, <i>saying,</i> Ah my
brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him,
<i>saying,</i> Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!   19 He shall be
buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the
gates of Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p11" shownumber="no">Kings, though they are gods to us, are men
to God, and shall <i>die like men;</i> so it appears in these
verses, where we have a sentence of death passed upon two kings who
reigned successively in Jerusalem, two brothers, and both the
ungracious sons of a very pious father.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p12" shownumber="no">I. Here is the doom of Shallum, who
doubtless is the same with Jehoahaz, for he is that son of Josiah
king of Judah who reigned <i>in the stead of Josiah his father</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.11" parsed="|Jer|22|11|0|0" passage="Jer 22:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), which
Jehoahaz did by the act of the people, who made him king though he
was not the eldest son, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.23.30 Bible:2Chr.36.1" parsed="|2Kgs|23|30|0|0;|2Chr|36|1|0|0" passage="2Ki 23:30,2Ch 36:1">2
Kings xxiii. 30; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1</scripRef>. Among the sons of
Josiah (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.3.15" parsed="|1Chr|3|15|0|0" passage="1Ch 3:15">1 Chron. iii. 15</scripRef>)
there is one Shallum mentioned, and not Jehoahaz. Perhaps the
people preferred him before his elder brother because they thought
him a more active daring young man, and fitter to rule; but God
soon showed them the folly of their injustice, and that it could
not prosper, for within three months the king of Egypt came upon
him, deposed him, and carried him away prisoner into Egypt, as God
had threatened, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.68" parsed="|Deut|28|68|0|0" passage="De 28:68">Deut. xxviii.
68</scripRef>. It does not appear that any of the people were taken
into captivity with him. We have the story <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.23.34 Bible:2Chr.36.4" parsed="|2Kgs|23|34|0|0;|2Chr|36|4|0|0" passage="2Ki 23:34,2Ch 36:4">2 Kings xxiii. 34; 2 Chron. xxxvi.
4</scripRef>. Now here, 1. The people are directed to lament him
rather than his father Josiah: "<i>Weep not for the dead,</i> weep
not any more for Josiah." Jeremiah had been himself a true mourner
for him, and had stirred up the people to mourn for him (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.35.25" parsed="|2Chr|35|25|0|0" passage="2Ch 35:25">2 Chron. xxxv. 25</scripRef>): yet now he will
have them go out of mourning for him, though it was but three
months after his death, and to turn their tears into another
channel. They must weep sorely for Jehoahaz, who had gone into
Egypt; not that there was any great loss of him to the public, as
there was of his father, but that his case was much more
deplorable. Josiah went to the grave in peace and honour, was
prevented from seeing the evil to come in this world and removed to
see the good to come in the other world; and therefore, <i>Weep not
for him,</i> but for his unhappy son, who is likely to live and die
in disgrace and misery, a wretched captive. Note, Dying saints may
be justly envied, while living sinners are justly pitied. And so
dismal perhaps the prospect of the times may be that tears even for
a Josiah, even for a Jesus, must be restrained, that they may be
reserved for <i>ourselves and for our children,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.23.28" parsed="|Luke|23|28|0|0" passage="Lu 23:28">Luke xxiii. 28</scripRef>. 2. The reason given
is because he shall never return out of captivity, as he and his
people expected, but shall die there. They were loth to believe
this, therefore it is repeated here again and again, He shall
<i>return no more,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.10" parsed="|Jer|22|10|0|0" passage="Jer 22:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. He shall never have the pleasure of seeing <i>his
native country,</i> but shall have the continual grief of hearing
of the desolations of it. He has gone <i>forth out of this
place,</i> and shall <i>never return,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.11" parsed="|Jer|22|11|0|0" passage="Jer 22:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. <i>He shall die in the place
whither they have led him captive,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.12" parsed="|Jer|22|12|0|0" passage="Jer 22:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. This came of his forsaking the
good example of his father, and usurping the right of his elder
brother. In Ezekiel's lamentation for the princes of Israel this
Jehoahaz is represented as a young lion, that soon learned to
<i>catch the prey,</i> but was taken, and brought in chains to
Egypt, and was long expected to return, but in vain. See <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p12.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.19.3-Ezek.19.5" parsed="|Ezek|19|3|19|5" passage="Eze 19:3-5">Ezek. xix. 3-5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p13" shownumber="no">II. Here is the doom of Jehoiakim, who
succeeded him. Whether he had any better right to the crown than
Shallum we know not; for, though he was older than his predecessor,
there seems to be another son of Josiah, older than he, called
<i>Johanan,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.3.15" parsed="|1Chr|3|15|0|0" passage="1Ch 3:15">1 Chron. iii.
15</scripRef>. But this we know he ruled no better, and fared no
better at last. Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p14" shownumber="no">1. His sins faithfully reproved. It is not
fit for a private person to say to a king, <i>Thou art wicked;</i>
but a prophet, who has a message from God, betrays his trust if he
does not deliver it, be it ever so unpleasing, even to kings
themselves. Jehoiakim is not here charged with idolatry, and
probably he had not yet put Urijah the prophet to death (as we find
afterwards he did, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.22-Jer.26.23" parsed="|Jer|26|22|26|23" passage="Jer 26:22,23"><i>ch.</i>
xxvi. 22, 23</scripRef>), for then he would have been told of it
here; but the crimes for which he is here reproved are, (1.) Pride
and affection of pomp and splendour; as if all the business of a
king were to look great, and to do good were to be the least of his
care. He must build himself a stately palace, a <i>wide house,</i>
and <i>large chambers,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.14" parsed="|Jer|22|14|0|0" passage="Jer 22:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. He must have <i>windows cut out</i> after the newest
fashion, perhaps like sash-windows with us. The rooms must be
<i>ceiled with cedar,</i> the richest sort of wood. His house must
be as well-roofed and wainscoted as the temple itself, or else it
will not please him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.6.15-1Kgs.6.16" parsed="|1Kgs|6|15|6|16" passage="1Ki 6:15,16">1 Kings vi.
15, 16</scripRef>. Nay, it must exceed that, for it must be painted
with <i>minium,</i> or <i>vermilion,</i> which dyes red, or, as
some read it, with <i>indigo,</i> which dyes blue. No doubt it is
lawful for princes and great men to build, and beautify, and
furnish their houses so as is agreeable to their dignity; but he
that knows what is in man knew that Jehoiakim did this in the pride
of his heart, which makes that to be sinful, exceedingly sinful,
which is in itself lawful. Those therefore that are enlarging their
houses, and making them more sumptuous, have need to look well to
the frame of their own spirits in the doing of it, and carefully to
watch against all the workings of vain-glory. But that which was
particularly amiss in Jehoiakim's case was that he did this when he
could not but perceive, both by the word of God and by his
providence, that divine judgments were breaking in upon him. He
reigned his first three years by the permission and allowance of
the king of Egypt, and all the rest by the permission and allowance
of the king of Babylon; and yet he that was no better than a
viceroy will covet to vie with the greatest monarchs in building
and furniture. Observe how peremptory he is in this resolution:
"<i>I will build myself a wide house;</i> I am resolved <i>I
will,</i> whoever advises me to the contrary." Note, It is the
common folly of those that are sinking in their estates to covet to
make a fair show. Many have unhumbled hearts under humbling
providences, and look most haughty when God is bringing them down.
This is striving with our Maker. (2.) Carnal security and
confidence in his wealth, depending upon the continuance of his
prosperity, as if his mountain now stood so strong that it could
never be moved. He thought he must reign without any disturbance or
interruption because he had <i>enclosed himself in cedar</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.15" parsed="|Jer|22|15|0|0" passage="Jer 22:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), as if that
were too fine to be assaulted and too strong to be broken through,
and as if God himself could not, for pity, give up such a stately
house as that to be burned. Thus when Christ spoke of the
destruction of the temple his disciples came to him, to show him
what a magnificent structure it was, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.23.38 Bible:Matt.24.1" parsed="|Matt|23|38|0|0;|Matt|24|1|0|0" passage="Mt 23:38,24:1">Matt. xxiii. 38; xxiv. 1</scripRef>. Note, Those
wretchedly deceive themselves who think their present prosperity is
a lasting security, and dream of reigning because they are
<i>enclosed in cedar.</i> It is but in his own conceit that <i>the
rich man's wealth is his strong city.</i> (3.) Some think he is
here charged with sacrilege, and robbing the house of God to
beautify and adorn his own house. He <i>cuts him out</i> my
<i>windows</i> (so it is in the margin), which some understand as
if he had taken windows out of the temple to put into his own
palace and then <i>painted them</i> (as it follows) <i>with
vermilion,</i> that it might not be discovered, but might look of a
piece with his own buildings. Note, Those cheat themselves, and
ruin themselves at last, who think to enrich themselves by robbing
God and his house; and, however they may disguise it, God discovers
it. (4.) He is here charged with extortion and oppression, violence
and injustice. He <i>built his house by unrighteousness,</i> with
money unjustly got and materials which were not honestly come by,
and perhaps upon ground obtained as Ahab obtained Naboth's
vineyard. And, because he went beyond what he could afford, he
defrauded his workmen of their wages, which is one of the sins that
<i>cries in the ears of the Lord of hosts,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Jas.5.4" parsed="|Jas|5|4|0|0" passage="Jam 5:4">Jam. v. 4</scripRef>. God takes notice of the wrong done
by the greatest of men to their poor servants and labourers, and
will repay those, in justice, that will not in justice pay those
whom they employ, but <i>use their neighbour's service without
wages.</i> Observe, The greatest of men must look upon the meanest
as their neighbours, and be just to them accordingly, and love them
as themselves. Jehoiakim was oppressive, not only in his buildings,
but in the administration of his government. He did not do justice,
made no conscience of shedding innocent blood, when it was to serve
the purposes of his ambition, avarice, and revenge. He was all for
<i>oppression</i> and <i>violence,</i> not to threaten it only, but
to do it; and, when he was set upon any act of injustice, nothing
should stop him, but he would go through with it. And that which
was at the bottom of all was covetousness, that love of <i>money
which is the root of all evil. Thy eyes and thy heart are not but
for covetousness;</i> they were for that, and nothing else.
Observe, In covetousness the heart walks after the eyes: it is
therefore called <i>the lust of the eye,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:1John.2.16 Bible:Job.31.7" parsed="|1John|2|16|0|0;|Job|31|7|0|0" passage="1Jo 2:16,Job 31:7">1 John ii. 16; Job xxxi. 7</scripRef>. It is
<i>setting the eyes upon that which is not,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Prov.23.5" parsed="|Prov|23|5|0|0" passage="Pr 23:5">Prov. xxiii. 5</scripRef>. The eyes and the heart are
then for covetousness when the aims and affections are wholly set
upon the wealth of this world; and, where they are so, the
temptation is strong to murder, oppression, and all manner of
violence and villany. (5.) That which aggravated all his sins was
that he was the son of a good father, who had left him a good
example, if he would but have followed it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.15-Jer.22.16" parsed="|Jer|22|15|22|16" passage="Jer 22:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>): <i>Did not thy father
eat and drink?</i> When Jehoiakim enlarged and enlightened his
house it is probable that he spoke scornfully of his father for
contenting himself with such a mean and inconvenient dwelling,
below the grandeur of a sovereign prince, and ridiculed him as one
that had a dull fancy, a low spirit, and could not find in his
heart to lay out his money, nor cared for what was fashionable;
that should not serve him which served his father: but God, by the
prophet, tells him that his father, though he had not the spirit of
building, was a man of an excellent spirit, a better man than he,
and did better for himself and his family. Those children that
despise their parents' old fashions commonly come short of their
real excellences. Jeremiah tells him, [1.] That he was directed to
do his duty by his father's practice: He <i>did judgment and
justice;</i> he never did wrong to any of his subjects, never
oppressed them, nor put any hardship upon them, but was careful to
preserve all their just rights and properties. Nay, he not only did
not abuse his power for the support of wrong, but he used it for
the maintaining of right. He <i>judged the cause of the poor and
needy,</i> was ready to hear the cause of the meanest of his
subjects and do them justice. Note, The care of magistrates must
be, not to support their grandeur and take their ease, but to do
good, not only not to oppress the poor themselves, but to defend
those that are oppressed. [2.] That he was encouraged to do his
duty by his father's prosperity. <i>First,</i> God accepted him:
"<i>Was not this to know me, saith the Lord?</i> Did he not hereby
make it to appear that he rightly knew his God, and worshipped him,
and consequently was known and owned of him?" Note, The right
knowledge of God consists in doing our duty, particularly that
which is the duty of our place and station in the world.
<i>Secondly,</i> He himself had the comfort of it: <i>Did he not
eat and drink</i> soberly and cheerfully, so as to fit himself for
his business, <i>for strength and not for drunkenness?</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.10" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.10.17" parsed="|Eccl|10|17|0|0" passage="Ec 10:17">Eccl. x. 17</scripRef>. He did <i>eat,
and drink, and do judgment;</i> he did not (as perhaps Jehoiakim
and his princes did) <i>drink, and forget the law, and pervert the
judgment of the afflicted,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.11" osisRef="Bible:Prov.31.5" parsed="|Prov|31|5|0|0" passage="Pr 31:5">Prov.
xxxi. 5</scripRef>. He did <i>eat and drink;</i> that is, God
blessed him with great plenty, and he had the comfortable enjoyment
of it himself and gave handsome entertainments to his friends, was
very hospitable and very charitable. It was Jehoiakim's pride that
he had built a fine house, but Josiah's true praise that he kept a
good house. Many times those have least in them of true generosity
that have the greatest affection for pomp and grandeur; for, to
support the extravagant expense of that, hospitality, bounty to the
poor, yea, and justice itself, will be pinched. It is better to
live with Josiah in an old-fashioned house, and do good, than live
with Jehoiakim in a stately house, and leave debts unpaid. Josiah
did <i>justice and judgment,</i> and then <i>it was well with
him,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.15" parsed="|Jer|22|15|0|0" passage="Jer 22:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>, and
it is repeated again, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p14.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.16" parsed="|Jer|22|16|0|0" passage="Jer 22:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>. He lived very comfortably; his own subjects, and all
his neighbours, respected him; and whatever he put his hand to
prospered. Note, While we do well we may expect it will be well
with us. This Jehoiakim knew, that his father found the way of duty
to be the way of comfort, and yet he would not tread in his steps.
Note, It should engage us to keep up religion in our day that our
godly parents kept it up in theirs and recommended it to us from
their own experience of the benefit of it. They told us that they
had found the promises which godliness has of the <i>life that
now</i> is made good to them, and that religion and piety are
friendly to outward prosperity. So that we are inexcusable if we
turn aside from that good way.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p15" shownumber="no">2. Here we have Jehoiakim's doom faithfully
read, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.18-Jer.22.19" parsed="|Jer|22|18|22|19" passage="Jer 22:18,19"><i>v.</i> 18, 19</scripRef>.
We may suppose that it was in the utmost peril of his own life that
Jeremiah here foretold the shameful death of Jehoiakim; but <i>thus
saith the Lord concerning</i> him, and therefore thus saith he.
(1.) He shall die unlamented; he shall make himself so odious by
his oppression and cruelty that all about him shall be glad to part
with him, and none shall do him the honour of dropping one tear for
him, whereas his father, who <i>did judgment and justice,</i> was
universally lamented; and it is promised to Zedekiah that he should
be lamented at his death, for he conducted himself better than
Jehoiakim had done, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.34.5" parsed="|Jer|34|5|0|0" passage="Jer 34:5"><i>ch.</i> xxxiv.
5</scripRef>. His relations shall not <i>lament him,</i> no, not
with the common expressions of grief used at the funeral of the
meanest, where they cried, <i>Ah, my brother!</i> or, <i>Ah,
sister!</i> His subjects shall not lament him, nor cry out, as they
used to do at the graves of their princes, <i>Ah, lord!</i> or
<i>Ah his glory!</i> It is sad for any to live so that, when they
die, none will be sorry to part with them. Nay, (2.) He shall lie
unburied. This is worse than the former. Even those that have no
tears to grace the funerals of the dead with would willingly have
them buried out of their sight; but Jehoiakim shall be <i>buried
with the burial of an ass,</i> that is, he shall have no burial at
all, but his dead body shall be cast into a ditch or upon a
dunghill; it shall be <i>drawn,</i> or dragged, ignominiously, and
<i>cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.</i> It is said, in the
story of Jehoiakim (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.36.6" parsed="|2Chr|36|6|0|0" passage="2Ch 36:6">2 Chron. xxxvi.
6</scripRef>), that Nebuchadnezzar <i>bound him in fetters, to
carry him to Babylon,</i> and (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.19.9" parsed="|Ezek|19|9|0|0" passage="Eze 19:9">Ezek.
xix. 9</scripRef>) that he was <i>brought in chains to the king of
Babylon.</i> But it is probable that he died a prisoner, before he
was carried away to Babylon as was intended; perhaps he died for
grief, or, in the pride of his heart, hastened his own end, and,
for that reason, was denied a decent burial, as self-murderers
usually are with us. Josephus says that Nebuchadnezzar slew him at
Jerusalem, and left his body thus exposed, somewhere at a great
distance from the <i>gates of Jerusalem.</i> And it is said
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.24.6" parsed="|2Kgs|24|6|0|0" passage="2Ki 24:6">2 Kings xxiv. 6</scripRef>) <i>he
slept with his fathers.</i> When he built himself a stately house,
no doubt he designed himself a stately sepulchre; but see how he
was disappointed. Note, Those that are lifted up with great pride
are commonly reserved for some great disgrace in life or death.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxiii-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.20-Jer.22.30" parsed="|Jer|22|20|22|30" passage="Jer 22:20-30" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxiii-p15.7">
<h4 id="Jer.xxiii-p15.8">The Desolation of Judah; The Doom of
Jeconiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p15.9">b. c.</span> 590.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxiii-p16" shownumber="no">20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy
voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are
destroyed.   21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity;
<i>but</i> thou saidst, I will not hear. This <i>hath been</i> thy
manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.   22
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into
captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all
thy wickedness.   23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy
nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon
thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!   24 <i>As</i> I
live, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p16.1">Lord</span>, though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right
hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;   25 And I will give thee
into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand <i>of
them</i> whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
  26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee,
into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye
die.   27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return,
thither shall they not return.   28 <i>Is</i> this man Coniah
a despised broken idol? <i>is he</i> a vessel wherein <i>is</i> no
pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are
cast into a land which they know not?   29 O earth, earth,
earth, hear the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p16.2">Lord</span>.
  30 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxiii-p16.3">Lord</span>, Write
ye this man childless, a man <i>that</i> shall not prosper in his
days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne
of David, and ruling any more in Judah.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p17" shownumber="no">This prophecy seems to have been calculated
for the ungracious inglorious reign of Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, the
son of Jehoiakim, who succeeded him in the government, reigned but
three months, and was then carried captive to Babylon, where he
lived many years, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.52.31" parsed="|Jer|52|31|0|0" passage="Jer 52:31"><i>ch.</i> lii.
31</scripRef>. We have, in these verses, a prophecy,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p18" shownumber="no">I. Of the desolations of the kingdom, which
were now hastening on apace, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.20-Jer.22.23" parsed="|Jer|22|20|22|23" passage="Jer 22:20-23"><i>v.</i> 20-23</scripRef>. Jerusalem and Judah are
here spoken to, or the Jewish state as a single person, and we have
it here under a threefold character:—1. Very haughty in a day of
peace and safety (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.21" parsed="|Jer|22|21|0|0" passage="Jer 22:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>): "<i>I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity,</i> spoke
by my servants the prophets, reproofs, admonitions, counsels,
<i>but thou saidst, I will not hear,</i> I will not heed, <i>thou
obeyedst not my voice,</i> and wast resolved that thou wouldst not,
and hadst the front to tell me so." It is common for those that
live at ease to live in contempt of the word of God. <i>Jeshurun
waxed fat, and kicked.</i> This is so much the worse that they had
it by kind: <i>This has been thy manner from thy youth.</i> They
were called <i>transgressors from the womb,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.48.8" parsed="|Isa|48|8|0|0" passage="Isa 48:8">Isa. xlviii. 8</scripRef>. 2. Very timorous upon the
alarms of trouble (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.20" parsed="|Jer|22|20|0|0" passage="Jer 22:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>): "When thou seest <i>all thy lovers destroyed,</i>
when thou findest thy idols unable to help thee and thy foreign
alliances failing thee, thou wilt then go up to Lebanon, and cry,
as one undone and giving up all for lost, cry with a bitter cry;
thou wilt cry, <i>Help, help, or we are lost;</i> thou wilt <i>lift
up thy voice</i> in fearful shrieks upon <i>Lebanon and Bashan,</i>
two high hills, in hope to be heard thence by the advantage of the
rising ground. Thou wilt <i>cry from the passages,</i> from the
roads, where thou wilt ever and anon be in distress." Thou wilt cry
from <i>Abarim</i> (so some read it, as a proper name), a famous
mountain in the border of Moab. "Thou wilt cry, as those that are
in great consternation use to do, to all about thee; but in vain,
for (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.22" parsed="|Jer|22|22|0|0" passage="Jer 22:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>) <i>the
wind shall eat up all thy pastors,</i> or <i>rulers,</i> that
should protect and lead thee, and provide for thy safety; they
shall be blasted, and withered, and brought to nothing, as buds and
blossoms are by a bleak or freezing wind; they shall be devoured
suddenly, insensibly, and irresistibly, as fruits by the wind.
<i>Thy lovers,</i> that thou dependest upon and hast an affection
for, shall <i>go into captivity,</i> and shall be so far from
saving thee that they shall not be able to save themselves." 3.
Very tame under the heavy and lasting pressures of trouble: "When
there appears no relief from any of thy confederates, and thy own
priests are at a loss, <i>then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded
for all thy wickedness,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.22" parsed="|Jer|22|22|0|0" passage="Jer 22:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. Note, Many will never be
ashamed of their sins till they are brought by them to the last
extremity; and it is well if we get this good by our straits to be
brought by them to confusion for our sins. The Jewish state is here
called <i>an inhabitant of Lebanon,</i> because that famous forest
was within their border (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.23" parsed="|Jer|22|23|0|0" passage="Jer 22:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>), and all their country was wealthy, and well-guarded
as with Lebanon's natural fastnesses; but so proud and haughty were
they that they are said to <i>make their nest in the cedars,</i>
where they thought themselves out of the reach of all danger, and
whence they looked with contempt upon all about them. "But, <i>how
gracious wilt thou be when pangs come upon thee!</i> Then thou wilt
humble thyself before God and promise amendment. When thou art
overthrown in stony places thou wilt be glad to <i>hear those
words</i> which in thy prosperity <i>thou wouldst not hear,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.141.6" parsed="|Ps|141|6|0|0" passage="Ps 141:6">Ps. cxli. 6</scripRef>. Then thou wilt
endeavour to make thyself acceptable with that God whom, before,
thou madest light of." Note, Many have their pangs of piety who,
when the pangs are over, show that they have no true piety. Some
give another sense of it: "What will all thy pomp, and state, and
wealth avail thee? What will become of it all, or what comfort
shalt thou have of it, when thou shalt be in these distresses? No
more than <i>a woman in travail,</i> full of pains and fears, can
take comfort in her ornaments while she is in that condition." So
Mr. Gataker. Note, Those that are proud of their worldly advantages
would do well to consider how they will look when pangs come upon
them, and how they will then have lost all their beauty.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p19" shownumber="no">II. Here is a prophecy of the disgrace of
the king; his name was <i>Jeconiah,</i> but he is here once and
again called <i>Coniah,</i> in contempt. The prophet shortens or
nicks his name, and gives him, as we say, a nickname, perhaps to
denote that he should be despoiled of his dignity, that his reign
should be shortened, and the number of his months cut off in the
midst. Two instances of dishonour are here put upon him:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p20" shownumber="no">1. He shall be carried away <i>into
captivity</i> and shall spend and end his days in bondage. He was
born to a crown, but it should quickly fall from his head, and he
should exchange it for fetters. Observe the steps of this judgment.
(1.) God will abandon him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.24" parsed="|Jer|22|24|0|0" passage="Jer 22:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>. The God of truth says it, and confirms it with an
oath: "<i>Though he were the signet upon my right hand</i> (his
predecessors have been so, and he might have been so if he had
conducted himself well, but he being degenerated) <i>I will pluck
him thence.</i>" The godly kings of Judah had been as signets on
God's right hand, near and dear to him; he had gloried in them, and
made use of them as instruments of his government, as the prince
does of his signet-ring, or sign manual; but Coniah has made
himself utterly unworthy of the honour, and therefore the privilege
of his birth shall be no security to him; notwithstanding that, he
shall be thrown off. Answerable to this threatening against
Jeconiah is God's promise to Zerubbabel, when he made him his
people's guide in their return out of captivity (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Hag.2.23" parsed="|Hag|2|23|0|0" passage="Hag 2:23">Hag. ii. 23</scripRef>): <i>I will take thee, O
Zerubbabel! my servant, and make thee as a signet.</i> Those that
think themselves as signets on God's right hand must not be secure,
but fear lest they be plucked thence. (2.) The king of Babylon
shall seize him. <i>Those</i> know not what enemies and mischiefs
they lie exposed to who have thrown themselves out of God's
protection, <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.25" parsed="|Jer|22|25|0|0" passage="Jer 22:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>.
The Chaldeans are here said to be such as had a spite to
<i>Coniah;</i> they <i>sought his life;</i> no less than that, they
thought, would satisfy their rage; they were such as he had a dread
of (they are those <i>whose face thou fearest</i>) which would make
it the more terrible to him to fall into their hands, especially
when it was God himself that gave <i>him into their hands.</i> And,
if God deliver him to them, who can deliver him from them? (3.) He
and his family shall be carried to Babylon, where they shall wear
out many tedious years of their lives in a miserable
captivity—<i>he and his mother</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.26" parsed="|Jer|22|26|0|0" passage="Jer 22:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>), <i>he and his seed</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.28" parsed="|Jer|22|28|0|0" passage="Jer 22:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>), that is,
he and all the royal family (for he had no children of his own when
he went into captivity), or he and the children in his loins; they
shall all be cast out to another country, to a strange country,
<i>a country where they were not born,</i> nor such a country as
that where they were born, <i>a land which they know not,</i> in
which they have no acquaintance with whom to converse or from whom
to expect any kindness. Thither they shall be carried, from a land
where they were entitled to dominion, into a land where they shall
be compelled to servitude. But have they no hopes of seeing their
own country again? No: <i>To the land whereunto they desire to
return, thither shall they not return,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.27" parsed="|Jer|22|27|0|0" passage="Jer 22:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. They conducted themselves ill
in it when they were in it, and therefore they shall never see it
more. Jehoahaz was carried to Egypt, the land of the south,
Jeconiah to Babylon, the land of the north, both far remote, the
quite contrary way, and must never expect to meet again, nor either
of them to breathe their native air again. Those that had abused
the dominion they had over others were justly brought thus under
the dominion of others. Those that had indulged and gratified their
sinful desires, by their oppression, luxury, and cruelty, were
justly denied the gratification of their innocent desire to see
their own native country again. We may observe something very
emphatic in that part of this threatening (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.26" parsed="|Jer|22|26|0|0" passage="Jer 22:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>), <i>In the country where you
were not born, there shall you die.</i> As there is a <i>time to be
born</i> and a <i>time to die,</i> so there is a place to be born
in and a place to die in. We know where we were born, but where we
shall die we know not; it is enough that our God knows. Let it be
our care that we die in Christ, and then it will be well with us,
wherever we die, though it should be in a far country. (4.) This
shall render him very mean and despicable in the eyes of all his
neighbours. They shall be ready to say (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.28" parsed="|Jer|22|28|0|0" passage="Jer 22:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>), "<i>This is Coniah a despised
broken idol?</i> Yes, certainly he is, and much debased from what
he was." [1.] Time was when he was dignified, nay, when he was
almost deified. The people who had seen his father lately deposed
were ready to adore him when they saw him upon the throne, but now
<i>he is a despised broken idol,</i> which, when it was whole, was
worshipped, but, when it is rotten and broken, is thrown by and
despised, and nobody regards it, or remembers what it has been.
Note, What is idolized will, first or last, be despised and broken;
what is unjustly honoured will be justly contemned, and rivals with
God will be the scorn of man. Whatever we idolize we shall be
disappointed in and then shall despise. [2.] Time was when he was
delighted in; but now he is <i>a vessel in which is not
pleasure,</i> or to which there is no desire, either because grown
out of fashion or because cracked or dirtied, and so rendered
unserviceable. Those whom God has no pleasure in will, some time or
other, be so mortified that men will have no pleasure in them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxiii-p21" shownumber="no">2. He shall leave no posterity to inherit
his honour. The prediction of this is ushered in with a solemn
preface (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.29" parsed="|Jer|22|29|0|0" passage="Jer 22:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>):
<i>O earth, earth, earth! hear the word of the Lord.</i> Let all
the inhabitants of the world take notice of these judgments of God
upon a nation and a family that had been near and dear to him, and
thence infer that God is impartial in the administration of
justice. Or it is an appeal to the earth itself on which we tread,
since those that dwell on earth are so deaf and careless, like that
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.2" parsed="|Isa|1|2|0|0" passage="Isa 1:2">Isa. i. 2</scripRef>), <i>Hear, O
heavens! and give ear, O earth!</i> God's word, however slighted,
will be heard; the earth itself will be made to hear it, and yield
to it, when it, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt
up. Or it is a call to men that <i>mind earthly things,</i> that
are swallowed up in those things and are inordinate in the pursuit
of them; such have need to be called upon again and again, and a
third time, to <i>hear the word of the Lord.</i> Or it is a call to
men considered as mortal, of the earth, and hastening to the earth
again. We all are so; earth we are, <i>dust we are,</i> and, in
consideration of that, are concerned to hear and regard <i>the word
of the Lord,</i> that, though we are earth, we may be found among
those whose names are written in heaven. Now that which is here to
be taken notice of is that Jeconiah is <i>written childless</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.30" parsed="|Jer|22|30|0|0" passage="Jer 22:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>), that is,
as it follows, <i>No man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon
the throne of David.</i> In him the line of David was extinct as a
royal line. Some think that he had children born in Babylon because
mention is made of his seed being cast out there (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.28" parsed="|Jer|22|28|0|0" passage="Jer 22:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>) and that they died
before him. We read in the genealogy (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.3.17" parsed="|1Chr|3|17|0|0" passage="1Ch 3:17">1 Chron. iii. 17</scripRef>) of seven sons of Jeconiah
Assir (that is, Jeconiah the captive) of whom Salathiel is the
first. Some think that they were only his adopted sons, and that
when it is said (<scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Matt.1.12" parsed="|Matt|1|12|0|0" passage="Mt 1:12">Matt. i.
12</scripRef>), <i>Jeconiah begat Salathiel,</i> no more is meant
than that he bequeathed to him what claims and pretensions he had
to the government, the rather because Salathiel is called the
<i>son of Neri</i> of <i>the house of Nathan,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxiii-p21.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.3.27 Bible:Luke.3.31" parsed="|Luke|3|27|0|0;|Luke|3|31|0|0" passage="Lu 3:27,31">Luke iii. 27, 31</scripRef>. Whether he had
children begotten, or only adopted, thus far he was childless that
none of his seed ruled as kings in Judah. He was the
<i>Augustulus</i> of that empire, in whom it determined. Whoever
are childless, it is God that writes them so; and those who take no
care to do good in their days cannot expect to prosper in their
days.</p>
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