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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah LII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC24051.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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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. LII.</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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History is the best expositor of prophecy; and therefore, for the
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better understanding of the prophecies of this book which relate to the
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destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah, we are here
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furnished with an account of that sad event. It is much he same with
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the history we had
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:1-25:30">2 Kings xxiv. and xxv.</A>,
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and many of the particulars we had before in that book, but the matter
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is here repeated and put together, to give light to the book of the
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Lamentations, which follows next, and to serve as a key to it. That
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article in the close concerning the advancement of Jehoiachin in his
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captivity, which happened after Jeremiah's time, gives colour to the
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conjecture of those who suppose that this chapter was not written by
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Jeremiah himself, but by some man divinely inspired among those in
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captivity, for a constant memorandum to those who in Babylon preferred
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Jerusalem above their chief joy. In this chapter we have,
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I. The bad reign of Zedekiah, very bad in regard both of sin and of
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punishment,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. The besieging and taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>.
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III. The severe usage which Zedekiah and the princes met with,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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IV. The destruction of the temple and the city,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.
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V. The captivity of the people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>)
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and the numbers of those that were carried away into captivity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:28-30">ver. 28-30</A>.
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VI. The carrying off of the plunder of the temple,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:17-23">ver. 17-23</A>.
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VII. The slaughter of the priests, and some other great men, in cold
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blood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:24-27">ver. 24-27</A>.
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VIII. The better days which king Jehoiachin lived to see in the latter
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end of his time, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:31-34">ver. 31-34</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer52_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_11"> </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>Jerusalem Taken by Nebuchadnezzar.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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 Zedekiah <I>was</I> one and twenty years old when he began to
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reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's
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name <I>was</I> Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
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2 And he did <I>that which was</I> evil in the eyes of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
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3 For through the anger of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> it came to pass in
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Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence,
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that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
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4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the
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tenth month, in the tenth <I>day</I> of the month, <I>that</I>
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Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against
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Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it
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round about.
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5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king
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Zedekiah.
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6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth <I>day</I> of the month, the
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famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the
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people of the land.
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7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and
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went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate
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between the two walls, which <I>was</I> by the king's garden; (now the
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Chaldeans <I>were</I> by the city round about:) and they went by the
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way of the plain.
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8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and
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overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was
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scattered from him.
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9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of
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Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment
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upon him.
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10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his
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eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
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11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of
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Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put
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him in prison till the day of his death.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This narrative begins no higher than the beginning of the reign of
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Zedekiah, though there were two captivities before, one in the fourth
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year of Jehoiakim, the other in the first of Jeconiah; but probably it
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was drawn up by some of those that were carried away with Zedekiah, as
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a reproach to themselves for imagining that they should not go into
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captivity after their brethren, with which hopes they had long
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flattered themselves. We have here,
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1. God's just displeasure against Judah and Jerusalem for their sin,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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His anger was against them to such a degree that he determined to
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<I>cast them out from his presence,</I> his favourable gracious
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presence, as a father, when he is extremely angry with an undutiful
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son, bids him get out of his presence, he expelled them from that good
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land that had such tokens of his presence in providential bounty and
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that holy city and temple that had such tokens of his presence in
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covenant-grace and love. Note, Those that are banished from God's
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ordinances have reason to complain that they are in some degree <I>cast
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out of his presence;</I> yet none are cast out from God's gracious
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presence but those that by sin have first thrown themselves out of it.
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This fruit of sin we should therefore deprecate above any thing, as
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David
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:11">Ps. li. 11</A>),
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<I>Cast me not away from thy presence.</I>
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2. Zedekiah's bad conduct and management, to which God left him, in
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displeasure against the people, and for which God punished him, in
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displeasure against him. Zedekiah had arrived at years of discretion
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when he came to the throne; he <I>was twenty-one years old</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>);
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he was none of the worst of the kings (we never read of his
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idolatries), yet his character is that he <I>did evil in the eyes of
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the Lord,</I> for he did not do the good he should have done. But that
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evil deed of his which did in a special manner hasten this destruction
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was his <I>rebelling against the king of Babylon,</I> which was both
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his sin and his folly, and brought ruin upon his people, not only
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meritoriously, but efficiently. God was greatly displeased with him for
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his perfidious dealing with the king of Babylon (as we find,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:15">Ezek. xvii. 15</A>,
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&c.); and, because he was angry at Judah and Jerusalem, he put him into
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the hand of his own counsels, to do that foolish thing which proved
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fatal to him and his kingdom.
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3. The possession which the Chaldeans at length gained of Jerusalem,
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after eighteen months' siege. They sat down before it, and blocked it
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up, in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, in the tenth month
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and made themselves masters of it in the <I>eleventh year in the fourth
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month,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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In remembrance of these two steps towards their ruin, while they were
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in captivity, they kept <I>a fast in the fourth month, and a fast in
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the tenth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:19">Zech. viii. 19</A>):
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that in the <I>fifth month</I> was in remembrance of the burning of the
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temple, and that in the <I>seventh</I> of the murder of Gedaliah. We
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may easily imagine, or rather cannot imagine, what a sad time it was
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with Jerusalem, during this year and half that it was besieged, when
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all provisions were cut off from coming to them and they were ever and
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anon alarmed by the attacks of the enemy, and, being obstinately
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resolved to hold out to the last extremity, nothing remained but a
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<I>certain fearful looking for of judgment.</I> That which disabled
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them to hold out, and yet could not prevail with them to capitulate,
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was the <I>famine in the city</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
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there was <I>no bread for the people of the land,</I> so that the
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soldiers could not make good their posts, but were rendered wholly
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unserviceable; and then no wonder that <I>the city was broken up,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Walls, in such a case, will not hold out long without men, any more
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than men without walls; nor will both together stand people in any
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stead without God and his protection.
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4. The inglorious retreat of the king and his mighty men. They got out
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of the city <I>by night</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>)
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and made the best of their way, I know not whither, nor perhaps they
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themselves; but the king was overtaken by the pursuers <I>in the plains
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of Jericho,</I> his guards were dispersed, and all his army was
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<I>scattered from him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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His fright was not causeless, for there is no escaping the judgments of
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God; they will <I>come upon the sinner,</I> and will <I>overtake
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him,</I> let him flee where he will
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:15">Deut. xxviii. 15</A>),
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and these judgments particularly that are here executed were there
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threatened,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:52,53"><I>v.</I> 52, 53</A>,
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&c.
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5. The sad doom passed upon Zedekiah by the king of Babylon, and
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immediately put in execution. He treated him as a rebel, <I>gave
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judgment upon him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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One cannot think of it without the utmost vexation and regret that a
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king, a king of Judah, a king of the house of David, should be
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arraigned as a criminal at the bar of this heathen king. But he
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<I>humbled not himself before Jeremiah</I> the prophet; therefore God
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thus humbled him. Pursuant to the sentence passed upon him by the
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haughty conqueror, <I>his sons were slain before his eyes,</I> and all
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<I>the princes of Judah</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>);
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then <I>his eyes were put out,</I> and he was <I>bound in chains,</I>
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carried in triumph to Babylon; perhaps they made sport with him, as
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they did with Samson when his eyes were put out; however, he was
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condemned to perpetual imprisonment, wearing out the remainder of his
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life (I cannot say his days, for he saw day no more) in darkness and
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misery. He was kept in prison till <I>the day of his death,</I> but had
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some honour done him at his funeral,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:5"><I>ch.</I> xxxiv. 5</A>.
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Jeremiah had often told him what it would come to, but he would not
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take warning when he might have prevented it.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer52_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer52_23"> </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>The Babylonish Captivity.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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>12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth <I>day</I> of the month,
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which <I>was</I> the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of
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Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, <I>which</I> served
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the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
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13 And burned the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the king's house; and
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all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great
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<I>men,</I> burned he with fire:
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14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that <I>were</I> with the
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captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round
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about.
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15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away
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captive <I>certain</I> of the poor of the people, and the residue of
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the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away,
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that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
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16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left <I>certain</I> of
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the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
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17 Also the pillars of brass that <I>were</I> in the house of the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the bases, and the brasen sea that <I>was</I> in the house
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of
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them to Babylon.
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18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and
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the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith
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they ministered, took they away.
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19 And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the
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caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups;
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<I>that</I> which <I>was</I> of gold <I>in</I> gold, and <I>that</I> which <I>was</I> of
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silver <I>in</I> silver, took the captain of the guard away.
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20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that
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<I>were</I> under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
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21 And <I>concerning</I> the pillars, the height of one pillar <I>was</I>
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eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it;
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and the thickness thereof <I>was</I> four fingers: <I>it was</I> hollow.
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22 And a chapiter of brass <I>was</I> upon it; and the height of one
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chapiter <I>was</I> five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon
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the chapiters round about, all <I>of</I> brass. The second pillar also
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and the pomegranates <I>were</I> like unto these.
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23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; <I>and</I>
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all the pomegranates upon the network <I>were</I> a hundred round
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about.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an account of the woeful havoc that was made by the
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Chaldean army, a month after the city was taken, under the command of
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Nebuzaradan, who was <I>captain of the guard,</I> or general of the
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army, in this action. In the margin he is called the <I>chief of the
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slaughter-men,</I> or <I>executioners;</I> for soldiers are but
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slaughter-men, and God employs them as executioners of his sentence
|
|
against a sinful people. Nebuzaradan was chief of those soldiers, but,
|
|
in the execution he did, we have reason to fear he had no eye to God,
|
|
but he served the king of Babylon and his own designs, now that he came
|
|
into Jerusalem, into the very bowels of it, as captain of the
|
|
slaughter-men there. And,
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1. He laid the temple in ashes, having first plundered it of every
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|
thing that was valuable: He <I>burnt the house of the Lord,</I> that
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holy and beautiful house, where their <I>fathers praised him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+64:11">Isa. lxiv. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. He burnt the royal palace, probably that which Solomon built after
|
|
he had built the temple, which was, ever since, <I>the king's
|
|
house.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. He burnt <I>all the houses of Jerusalem,</I> that is, all the houses
|
|
of the great men, or those particularly; if any escaped, it was only
|
|
some sorry cottages for the poor of the land.
|
|
|
|
4. He <I>broke down all the walls of Jerusalem,</I> to be revenged upon
|
|
them for standing in the way of his army so long. Thus, of a defenced
|
|
city, it was made a ruin,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+25:2">Isa. xxv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
5. He <I>carried away many into captivity</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
he took away <I>certain of the poor of the people,</I> that is, of the
|
|
people in the city, for <I>the poor of the land</I> (the poor of the
|
|
country) he left for <I>vine-dressers and husbandmen.</I> He also
|
|
carried off <I>the residue of the people that remained in the city,</I>
|
|
that had escaped the sword and famine, and the deserters, such as he
|
|
thought fit, or rather such as God thought fit; for he had already
|
|
determined some for the <I>pestilence,</I> some for the <I>sword,</I>
|
|
some for <I>famine,</I> and some for <I>captivity,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+15:2"><I>ch.</I> xv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
But,
|
|
|
|
6. Nothing is more particularly and largely related here than the
|
|
carrying away of the appurtenances of the temple. All that were of
|
|
great value were carried away before, <I>the vessels of silver and
|
|
gold,</I> yet some of that sort remained, which were now carried away,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
But most of the temple-prey that was now seized was of brass, which,
|
|
being of less value, was carried off last. When the gold was gone, the
|
|
brass soon went after it, because the people repented not, according to
|
|
Jeremiah's prediction,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+27:19"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 19</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. When the walls of the city were demolished, the pillars of the
|
|
temple were pulled down too, and both in token that God, who was the
|
|
strength and stay both of their civil and their ecclesiastical
|
|
government, had departed from them. No walls can protect those, nor
|
|
pillars sustain those, from whom God withdraws. These pillars of the
|
|
temple were not for support (for there was nothing built upon them),
|
|
but for ornament and significancy. They were called <I>Jachin--He will
|
|
establish;</I> and <I>Boaz--In him is strength;</I> so that the
|
|
breaking of these signified that God would no longer establish his
|
|
house nor be the strength of it. These pillars are here very
|
|
particularly described
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:21-23,1Ki+7:15"><I>v.</I> 21-23,
|
|
from 1 Kings vii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
that the extraordinary beauty and stateliness of them may affect us the
|
|
more with the demolishing of them. All the vessels that belonged to the
|
|
brazen altar were carried away; for the iniquity of Jerusalem, like
|
|
that of Eli's house, was not to be purged by sacrifice or offering,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:14">
|
|
1 Sam. iii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>The brass of all these vessels was without weight;</I> so it was in
|
|
the making of them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+7:47">1 Kings vii. 47</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>the weight of the brass was not</I> then <I>found out</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+4:18">2 Chron. iv. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
and so it was in the destroying of them. Those that made great spoil of
|
|
them did not stand to weigh them, as purchasers do, for, whatever they
|
|
weighted, it was all their own.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_30"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Babylonish Captivity.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest,
|
|
and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the
|
|
door:
|
|
25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge
|
|
of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the
|
|
king's person, which were found in the city; and the principal
|
|
scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and
|
|
threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the
|
|
midst of the city.
|
|
26 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and
|
|
brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
|
|
27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in
|
|
Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive
|
|
out of his own land.
|
|
28 This <I>is</I> the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away
|
|
captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and
|
|
twenty:
|
|
29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away
|
|
captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
|
|
30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar
|
|
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the
|
|
Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons <I>were</I>
|
|
four thousand and six hundred.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here a very melancholy account,
|
|
|
|
1. Of the slaughter of some great men, in cold blood, at Riblah,
|
|
seventy-two in number (according to the number of the elders of Israel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+11:24,25">Num. xi. 24, 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
so they are computed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+25:18,19">2 Kings xxv. 18, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
We read there of five out of the temple, two out of the city, five out
|
|
of the court, and sixty out of the country. The account here agrees
|
|
with that, except in one article; there it is said that there were
|
|
five, here there were seven, of those that were <I>near the king,</I>
|
|
which Dr. Lightfoot reconciles thus, that he took away seven of those
|
|
that were near the king, but two of them were Jeremiah himself and
|
|
Ebed-melech, who were both discharged, as we have read before, so that
|
|
there were only five of them put to death, and so the number was
|
|
reduced to seventy-two, some of all ranks, for they had all corrupted
|
|
their way; and it is probable that such were made examples of as had
|
|
been most forward to excite and promote the rebellion against the king
|
|
of Babylon. <I>Seraiah the chief priest</I> is put first, whose sacred
|
|
character could not exempt him from this stroke; how should it, when he
|
|
himself had profaned it by sin? Seraiah the prince was <I>a quiet
|
|
prince</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+51:59"><I>ch.</I> li. 59</A>),
|
|
|
|
but perhaps Seraiah the priest was not so, but unquiet and turbulent,
|
|
by which he had made himself obnoxious to the king of Babylon. The
|
|
leaders of this people had caused them to err, and now they are in a
|
|
particular manner made monuments of divine justice.
|
|
|
|
2. Of the captivity of the rest. Come and see how <I>Judah was carried
|
|
away captive out of his own land</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
and how it spued them out as it spued out the Canaanites that went
|
|
before them, which God had told them it would certainly do if they trod
|
|
in their steps and copied out their abominations,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:28">Lev. xviii. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now here is an account,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Of two captivities which we had an account of before, one in the
|
|
seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar (the same with that which is said to be
|
|
in his eighth year,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:12">2 Kings xxiv. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
another in his eighteenth year, the same with that which is said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
to be in his nineteenth year. But the sums here are very small, in
|
|
comparison with what we find expressed concerning the former
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:14,16">2 Kings xxiv. 14, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
when there were 18,000 carried captive, whereas here they are said to
|
|
be 3023; they are also small in comparison with what we may reasonably
|
|
suppose concerning the latter; for, when all the residue of the people
|
|
were carried away
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
one would think there should be more than 832 souls; therefore Dr.
|
|
Lightfoot conjectures that, these accounts being joined to the story of
|
|
the putting to death of the great men at Riblah, all that are here said
|
|
to be carried away were <I>put to death</I> as rebels.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Of a third captivity, not mentioned before, which was in the
|
|
twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, four years after the destruction
|
|
of Jerusalem
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>):
|
|
|
|
Then <I>Nebuzaradan</I> came, and <I>carried away</I> 745 Jews; it is
|
|
probable that this was done in revenge of the murder of Gedaliah, which
|
|
was another rebellion against the king of Babylon, and that those who
|
|
were now taken were aiders and abetters of Ishmael in that murder, and
|
|
were not only carried away, but put to death for it; yet this is
|
|
uncertain. If this be the sum total of the captives (<I>all the persons
|
|
were</I> 4600,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>),
|
|
|
|
we may see how strangely they were reduced from what they had been, and
|
|
may wonder as much how they came to be so numerous again as afterwards
|
|
we find them; for it should seem that, as at first in Egypt, so again
|
|
in Babylon, the Lord made them fruitful in the land of their
|
|
affliction, and the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied.
|
|
And the truth is, this people were often miracles both of judgment and
|
|
mercy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer52_34"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jehoiachin Favoured by Evil-merodach.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the
|
|
captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in
|
|
the five and twentieth <I>day</I> of the month, <I>that</I> Evil-merodach
|
|
king of Babylon in the <I>first</I> year of his reign lifted up the
|
|
head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of
|
|
prison,
|
|
32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the
|
|
throne of the kings that <I>were</I> with him in Babylon,
|
|
33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat
|
|
bread before him all the days of his life.
|
|
34 And <I>for</I> his diet, there was a continual diet given him of
|
|
the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his
|
|
death, all the days of his life.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This passage of story concerning the reviving which king Jehoiachin had
|
|
in his bondage we had likewise before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+25:27-30">2 Kings xxv. 27-30</A>),
|
|
|
|
only there it is said to be done on <I>the twenty-seventh day of the
|
|
twelfth month,</I> here <I>on the twenty-fifth;</I> but in a thing of
|
|
this nature two days make a very slight difference in the account. It
|
|
is probable that the orders were given for his release on the
|
|
twenty-fifth day, but that he was not presented to the king till the
|
|
twenty-seventh. We may observe in this story,
|
|
|
|
1. That new lords make new laws. Nebuchadnezzar had long kept this
|
|
unhappy prince in prison; and his son, though well-affected to the
|
|
prisoner, could not procure him any favour, not one smile, from his
|
|
father, any more than Jonathan could for David from his father; but,
|
|
when the old peevish man was dead, his son countenanced Jehoiachin and
|
|
made him a favourite. It is common for children to undo what their
|
|
fathers have done; it were well if it were always as much for the
|
|
better as this was.
|
|
|
|
2. That the world we live in is a changing world. Jehoiachin, in his
|
|
beginning, fell from a throne into a prison, but here he is advanced
|
|
again to a throne of state
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
though not to a throne of power. As, before, the robes were changed
|
|
into prison-garments, so now they were converted into robes again. Such
|
|
chequer-work is this world; prosperity and adversity are set the one
|
|
over-against the other, that we may learn to <I>rejoice as though we
|
|
rejoiced not and weep as though we wept not.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. That, though the night of affliction be very long, yet we must not
|
|
despair but that the day may dawn at last. Jehoiachin was thirty-seven
|
|
years a prisoner, in confinement, in contempt, ever since he was
|
|
eighteen years old, in which time we may suppose him so inured to
|
|
captivity that he had forgotten the sweets of liberty; or, rather, that
|
|
after so long an imprisonment it would be doubly welcome to him. Let
|
|
those whose afflictions have been lengthened out encourage themselves
|
|
with this instance; the vision will at the end speak comfortably, and
|
|
therefore wait for it. <I>Dum spiro spero--While there is life there is
|
|
hope. Non si male nunc, et olim sic erit--Though now we suffer, we
|
|
shall not always suffer.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. That god can make his people to find favour in the eyes of those
|
|
that are their oppressors, and unaccountably turn their hearts to pity
|
|
them, according to that word
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:46">
|
|
Ps. cvi. 46</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>He made them to be pitied of all those that carried them
|
|
captives.</I> He can bring those that have spoken roughly to speak
|
|
kindly, and those to feed his people that have fed upon them. Those
|
|
therefore that are under oppression will find that it is not in vain to
|
|
hope and quietly to <I>wait for the salvation of the Lord.
|
|
Therefore</I> our times are in God's hand, because the hearts of all we
|
|
deal with are so.
|
|
|
|
5. And now, upon the whole matter, comparing the prophecy and the
|
|
history of this book together, we may learn, in general,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That it is no new thing for churches and persons highly dignified
|
|
to degenerate, and become very corrupt.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That iniquity tends to the ruin of those that harbour it; and, if
|
|
it be not repented of and forsaken, will certainly end in their ruin:
|
|
|
|
(3.) That external professions and privileges will not only not amount
|
|
to an excuse for sin and an exemption from ruin, but will be a very
|
|
great aggravation of both.
|
|
|
|
(4.) That no word of God shall fall to the ground, but the event will
|
|
fully answer the prediction; and the unbelief of man shall not make
|
|
God's threatenings, any more than his promises, of no effect. The
|
|
justice and truth of God are here written in bloody characters, for the
|
|
conviction or the confusion of all those that make a jest of his
|
|
threatenings. Let them <I>not be deceived, God is not mocked.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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