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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah XXXVIII].</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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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter, just as in the former, we have Jeremiah greatly
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debased under the frowns of the princes, and yet greatly honoured by
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the favour of the king. They used him as a criminal; he used him as a
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privy-counsellor. Here,
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I. Jeremiah for his faithfulness is put into the dungeon by the princes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. At the intercession of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, by special order
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from the king, he is taken up out of the dungeon and confined only to
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the court of the prison,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:7-13">ver. 7-13</A>.
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III. He has a private conference with the king upon the present
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conjuncture of affairs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:14-22">ver. 14-22</A>.
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IV. Care is taken to keep that conference private,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:24-28">ver. 24-28</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer38_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_13"> </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>Jeremiah Put into the Dungeon; Ebed-melech's Care of Jeremiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</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 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of
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Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of
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Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the
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people, saying,
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2 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, He that remaineth in this city shall die
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by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that
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goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his
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life for a prey, and shall live.
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3 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, This city shall surely be given into the
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hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
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4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee,
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let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of
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the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the
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people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh
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not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
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5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he <I>is</I> in your hand:
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for the king <I>is</I> not <I>he that</I> can do <I>any</I> thing against you.
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6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of
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Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that <I>was</I> in the court of the
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prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon
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<I>there was</I> no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
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7 Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which
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was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the
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dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
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8 Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to
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the king, saying,
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9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they
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have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the
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dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he
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is: for <I>there is</I> no more bread in the city.
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10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying,
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Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the
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prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
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11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house
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of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts
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and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon
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to Jeremiah.
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12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now
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<I>these</I> old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes
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under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
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13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of
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the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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1. Jeremiah persists in his plain preaching; what he had many a time
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said, he still says
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>This city shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon;</I>
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though it hold out long, it will taken at last. Nor would he have so
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often repeated this unwelcome message but that he could put them in a
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certain way, though not to save the city, yet to save themselves; so
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that every man might have his own life given him for a prey if he would
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be advised,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Let him not stay in the city, in hopes to defend that, for it will be
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to no purpose, but let him <I>go forth to the Chaldeans,</I> and throw
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himself upon their mercy, before things come to extremity, and then he
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<I>shall live;</I> they will not put him to the sword, but give him
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quarter (<I>satis est prostrasse leoni--it suffices the lion to lay his
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antagonist prostrate</I>) and he shall escape the <I>famine and
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pestilence,</I> which will be the death of multitudes within the city.
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Note, Those do better for themselves who patiently submit to the rebukes
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of Providence than those who contend with them. And, if we cannot have
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our liberty, we must reckon it a mercy to have our lives, and not
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foolishly throw them away upon a point of honour; they may be reserved
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for better times.
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2. The princes persist in their malice against Jeremiah. He was
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faithful to his country and to his trust as a prophet, though he had
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suffered many a time for his faithfulness; and, though at this time he
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ate the king's bread, yet that did not stop his mouth. But his
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persecutors were still bitter against him, and complained that he
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abused the liberty he had of walking in the court of the prison; for,
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though he could not go to the temple to preach, yet he vented the same
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things in private conversation to those that came to visit him, and
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therefore
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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they represented him to the king as a dangerous man, disaffected to his
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country and to the government he lived under: <I>He seeks not the
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welfare of this people, but the hurt</I>--an unjust insinuation, for no
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man had laid out himself more for the good of Jerusalem than he had
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done. They represent his preaching as having a bad tendency. The design
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of it was plainly to bring men to repent and turn to God, which would
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have been as much as any thing a strengthening to the hands both the
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soldiery and of the burghers, and yet they represented it <I>as
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weakening their hands</I> and discouraging them; and, if it did this,
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it was their own fault. Note, It is common for wicked people to look
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upon God's faithful ministers as their enemies, only because they show
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them what enemies they are to themselves while they continue
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impenitent.
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3. Jeremiah hereupon, by the king's permission, is put into a dungeon,
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with a view to his destruction there. Zedekiah, though he felt a
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conviction that Jeremiah was a prophet, sent of God, had not courage to
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own it, but yielded to the violence of his persecutors
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>He is in your hand;</I> and a worse sentence he could not have
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passed upon him. We found in Jehoiakim's reign that the princes were
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better affected to the prophet than the king was
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+36:25"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 25</A>);
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but now they were more violent against him, a sign that they were
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ripening apace for ruin. Had it been in a cause that concerned his own
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honour or profit, he would have let them know that the king is he who
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can do what he pleases, whether they will or no; but in the cause of
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God and his prophet, which he was very cool in, he basely sneaks, and
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truckles to them: <I>The king is not he that can do any thing against
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you.</I> Note, Those will have a great deal to answer for who, though
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they have a secret kindness for good people, dare not own it in a time
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of need, nor will do what they might do to prevent mischief designed
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them. The princes, having this general warrant from the king,
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immediately put poor <I>Jeremiah into the dungeon of Malchiah, that was
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in the court of the prison</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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a deep dungeon, for they <I>let</I> him <I>down</I> into it <I>with
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cords,</I> and a dirty one, for <I>there was no water</I> in it, <I>but
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mire;</I> and he <I>sunk in the mire, up to the neck,</I> says
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Josephus. Those that put him here doubtless designed that he should die
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here, die for hunger, die for cold, and so die miserably, die
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obscurely, fearing, if they should put him to death openly, the people
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might be affected with what he would say and be incensed against them.
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Many of God's faithful witnesses have thus been privately made away,
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and starved to death, in prisons, whose blood will be brought to
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account in the day of discovery. We are not here told what Jeremiah did
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in this distress, but he tells us himself
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+3:55,57">Lam. iii. 55, 57</A>),
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<I>I called upon thy name, O Lord! out of the low dungeon, and thou
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drewest near, saying, Fear not.</I>
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4. Application is made to the king by an honest courtier,
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<I>Ebed-melech,</I> one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber, in behalf
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of the poor sufferer. Though the princes carried on the matter as
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privately as they could, yet it came to the ear of this good man, who
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probably sought opportunities to do good. It may be he came to the
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knowledge of it by hearing Jeremiah's moans out of the dungeon, for it
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was in the king's house,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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<I>Ebed-melech</I> was an Ethiopian, a <I>stranger to the commonwealth
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of Israel,</I> and yet had in him more humanity, and more divinity too,
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than native Israelites had. Christ found more faith among Gentiles
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than among Jews. Ebed-melech lived in a wicked court and in a very
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corrupt degenerate age, and yet had a great sense both of equity and
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piety. God has his remnant in all places, among all sorts. There were
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<I>saints</I> even <I>in Cæsar's household.</I> The king was now
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<I>sitting in the gate of Benjamin,</I> to try causes and receive
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appeals and petitions, or perhaps holding a council of war there.
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Thither Ebed-melech went immediately to him, for the case would not
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admit delay; the prophet might have perished if he had trifled or put
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it off till he had an opportunity of speaking to the king in private.
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Not time must be lost when life is in danger, especially so valuable a
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life. He boldly asserts the Jeremiah had a great deal of wrong done
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him, and is not afraid to tell the king so, though they were princes
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that did it, though they were now present in court, and though they had
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the king's warrant for what they did. Whither should oppressed
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innocency flee for protection but to the throne, especially when great
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men are its oppressors? Ebed-melech appears truly brave in this matter.
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He does not mince the matter; though he had a place at court, which he
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would be in danger of losing for his plain dealing, yet he tells the
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king faithfully, let him take it as he will, <I>These men have done ill
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in all that they have done to Jeremiah.</I> They had dealt unjustly
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with him, for he had not deserved any punishment at all; and they had
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dealt barbarously with him, so as they used not to deal with the vilest
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malefactors. And they needed not to have put him to this miserable
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death; for, if they had let him alone where he was, he was <I>likely to
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die for hunger in the place where he was,</I> in the court of the
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prison to which he was confined, <I>for there was not more bread in the
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city:</I> the stores out of which he was to have his allowance
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:21"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 21</A>)
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were in a manner spent. See how God can raise up friends for his people
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in distress where they little thought of them, and animate men for his
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service even beyond expectation.
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5. Orders are immediately given for his release, and Ebed-melech takes
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care to see them executed. The king, who but now durst do nothing
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against the princes, had his heart wonderfully changed on a sudden, and
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will now have Jeremiah released in defiance of the princes, for
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therefore he orders no less than thirty men, and those of the
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lifeguard, to be employed in fetching him out of the dungeon, lest the
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princes should raise a party to oppose it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Let this encourage us to appear boldly for God--we may succeed better
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that we could have thought, for <I>the hearts of kings are in the hand
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of God.</I> Ebed-melech gained his point, and soon brought Jeremiah the
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good news; and it is observable how particularly the manner of his
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drawing him out of the dungeon is related (for <I>God is not
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unrighteous to forget</I> any <I>work or labour of love</I> which is
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shown to his people or ministers, no, nor any circumstance of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:10">Heb. vi. 10</A>);
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special notice is taken of his great tenderness in providing old soft
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rags for Jeremiah to put under his arm-holes, to keep the cords
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wherewith he was to be drawn up from hurting him, his arm-holes being
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probably galled by the cords wherewith he was let down. Nor did he
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throw the rags down to him, lest they should be lost in the mire, but
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carefully let them down,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
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Note, Those that are in distress should not only be relieved, but
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relieved with compassion and marks of respect, all which shall be
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placed to account and abound to a good account in the day of
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recompence. See what a good use even old rotten rags may be put to,
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which therefore should not be made waste of, any more than broken meat:
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even in the king's house, and <I>under the treasury</I> too, these were
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carefully preserved for the use of the poor or sick. Jeremiah is
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brought up out of the dungeon, and is now where he was, <I>in the court
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of the prison,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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Perhaps Ebed-melech could have made interest with the king to get him
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his discharge thence also, now that he had the king's ear; but he
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though him safer and better provided for there than he would be any
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where else. God can, when he pleases, make a prison to become a refuge
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and hiding-place to his people in distress and danger.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer38_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer38_28"> </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>Zedekiah's Conference with Jeremiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</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>14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet
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unto him into the third entry that <I>is</I> in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
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and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide
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nothing from me.
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15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare <I>it</I> unto
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thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee
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counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
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16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying,
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<I>As</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee
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to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men
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that seek thy life.
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17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the
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God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth
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unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and
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this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and
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thine house:
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18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's
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princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the
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Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not
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escape out of their hand.
|
|
19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the
|
|
Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into
|
|
their hand, and they mock me.
|
|
20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver <I>thee.</I> Obey, I
|
|
beseech thee, the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, which I speak unto thee: so
|
|
it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
|
|
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this <I>is</I> the word that the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath shewed me:
|
|
22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of
|
|
Judah's house <I>shall be</I> brought forth to the king of Babylon's
|
|
princes, and those <I>women</I> shall say, Thy friends have set thee
|
|
on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the
|
|
mire, <I>and</I> they are turned away back.
|
|
23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to
|
|
the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but
|
|
shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt
|
|
cause this city to be burned with fire.
|
|
24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these
|
|
words, and thou shalt not die.
|
|
25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and
|
|
they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what
|
|
thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will
|
|
not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
|
|
26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication
|
|
before the king, that he would not cause me to return to
|
|
Jonathan's house, to die there.
|
|
27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and
|
|
he told them according to all these words that the king had
|
|
commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was
|
|
not perceived.
|
|
28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day
|
|
that Jerusalem was taken: and he was <I>there</I> when Jerusalem was
|
|
taken.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In the foregoing chapter we had the king in close conference with
|
|
Jeremiah, and here again, though
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
he had given him up into the hands of his enemies; such a struggle
|
|
there was in the breast of this unhappy prince between his convictions
|
|
and his corruptions. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The honour that Zedekiah did to the prophet. When he was newly
|
|
fetched out of the dungeon he sent for him to advise with him
|
|
privately. He met him in <I>the third entry,</I> or (as the margin
|
|
reads it) <I>the principal entry,</I> that <I>is in,</I> or leads
|
|
towards, or adjoins to, <I>the house of the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
In appointing this place of interview with the prophet perhaps he
|
|
intended to show a respect and reverence for <I>the house of God,</I>
|
|
which was proper enough now that he was desiring to hear <I>the word of
|
|
God.</I> Zedekiah would ask <I>Jeremiah a thing;</I> it should rather
|
|
be rendered, <I>a word.</I> "I am here asking thee for <I>a word of
|
|
prediction,</I> of counsel, of comfort, <I>a word from the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+37:17"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Whatever word thou has for me <I>hide it not from me;</I> let me know
|
|
the worst." He had been told plainly what things would come to in the
|
|
foregoing chapter, but, like Balaam, he asks again, in hopes to get a
|
|
more pleasing answer, as if God, who is <I>in one mind,</I> were
|
|
altogether such a one as himself, who was in many minds.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The bargain that Jeremiah made with him before he would give him
|
|
his advice,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He would stipulate,
|
|
|
|
1. For his own safety. Zedekiah would have him deal faithfully with
|
|
him: "And if I do," says Jeremiah, "<I>wilt thou not put me to
|
|
death?</I> I am afraid <I>thou wilt</I>" (so some take it); "what else
|
|
can I expect when thou art led blindfold by the princes?" Not that
|
|
Jeremiah was backward to seal the doctrine he preached with his blood,
|
|
when he was called to do so; but, in doing our duty, we ought to use
|
|
all lawful means for our own preservation; even the apostles of Christ
|
|
did so.
|
|
|
|
2. He would answer for the success of his advice, being no less
|
|
concerned for Zedekiah's welfare than for his own. He is willing to
|
|
give him wholesome advice, and does not upbraid him with his unkindness
|
|
in suffering him to be put into the dungeon, nor bid him go and consult
|
|
with his princes, whose judgments he had such a value for. Ministers
|
|
must with meekness instruct even those that oppose themselves, and
|
|
render good for evil. He is desirous that he should <I>hear counsel and
|
|
receive instruction: "Wilt thou not hearken unto me?</I> Surely thou
|
|
wilt; I am in hopes to find thee pliable at last, and now <I>in this
|
|
thy day</I> willing to know <I>the things that belong to thy
|
|
peace.</I>" Note, Then, and then only, there is hope of sinners, when
|
|
they are willing to hearken to good counsel. Some read it as spoken
|
|
despairingly: "<I>If I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto
|
|
me;</I> I have reason to fear thou wilt not, and then I might as well
|
|
keep my counsel to myself." Note, Ministers have little heart to speak
|
|
to those who have long and often turned a deaf ear to them. Now, as to
|
|
this latter concern of Jeremiah's, Zedekiah makes him no answer, will
|
|
not promise to hearken to his advice: though he desires to know what is
|
|
the mind of God, yet he will reserve himself a liberty, when he does
|
|
know it, to do as he things fit; as if it were the prerogative of a
|
|
prince not to have his ruin prevented by good counsel. But, as to the
|
|
prophet's safety, he promises him, upon the word of a king, and
|
|
confirms his promise with an oath, that, whatever he should say to him,
|
|
no advantage should be taken against him for it: <I>I will neither put
|
|
thee to death nor deliver thee into the hands of those that will,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
This, he thought, was a mighty favour, and yet Nebuchadnezzar and
|
|
Belshazzar, when Daniel read their doom, not only protected him, but
|
|
preferred and rewarded him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:48,Jer+38:29">Dan. ii. 48; <I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Zedekiah's oath on this occasion is solemn, and very observable: "<I>As
|
|
the Lord liveth, who made us this soul,</I> who gave me my life and
|
|
thee thine, I dare not take away thy life unjustly, knowing that then I
|
|
should forfeit my own to him that is the Lord of life." Note, God is
|
|
the Father of spirits; souls are his workmanship, and they are more
|
|
<I>fearfully and wonderfully made</I> than bodies are. The soul both of
|
|
the greatest prince and of the poorest prisoner is of God's making.
|
|
<I>He fashioneth their hearts</I> alike easily. In all our appeals to
|
|
God, and in all our dealings both with ourselves and others, we ought
|
|
to consider this, that <I>the living God made us these souls.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The good advice that Jeremiah gave him, with good reasons why he
|
|
should take it, not from any prudence or politics of his own, but in
|
|
the <I>name of the Lord, the God of hosts</I> and <I>God of Israel.</I>
|
|
Not as a statesman, but as a prophet, he advises him by all means to
|
|
surrender himself and his city <I>to the king of Babylon's princes: "Go
|
|
forth to them,</I> and make the best terms thou canst with them,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was the advice he had given to the people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>,
|
|
|
|
and before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+21:9"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
to submit to divine judgments, and not think of contending with them.
|
|
Note, In dealing with God, that which is good counsel to the meanest is
|
|
so to the greatest, for <I>there is no respect of persons</I> with him.
|
|
To persuade him to take this counsel, he sets before him good and evil,
|
|
life and death.
|
|
|
|
1. If he will tamely yield, he shall save his children from the sword
|
|
and Jerusalem from the flames. The white flag is yet hung out; if he
|
|
will be acknowledge God's justice, he shall experience his mercy:
|
|
<I>The city shall not be burnt,</I> and <I>thou shalt live and thy
|
|
house.</I> But,
|
|
|
|
2. If he will obstinately stand it out, it will be the ruin both of his
|
|
house and Jerusalem
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>);
|
|
|
|
for when God judges he will overcome. This is the case of sinners with
|
|
God; let them humbly submit to his grace and government and they shall
|
|
live; let them <I>take hold on his strength, that they may make peace,
|
|
and they shall make peace;</I> but, if they harden their hearts against
|
|
his proposals, it will certainly be to their destruction: they must
|
|
either bend or break.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The objection which Zedekiah made against the prophet's advice,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Jeremiah spoke to him by prophecy, in the name of God, and therefore if
|
|
he had had a due regard to the divine authority, wisdom, and goodness,
|
|
as soon as he understood what the mind of God was he would immediately
|
|
have acquiesced in it and resolved to observe it, without disputing;
|
|
but, as if it had been the dictate only of Jeremiah's prudence, he
|
|
advances against it some prudential considerations of his own: but
|
|
human wisdom is folly when it contradicts the divine counsel. All he
|
|
suggests is, "<I>I am afraid,</I> not of the Chaldeans; their princes
|
|
are men of honour, but of the Jews, that have already gone over to the
|
|
Chaldeans; when they see <I>me</I> follow them, and who had so much
|
|
opposed their going, they will laugh at me, and say, <I>Hast thou also
|
|
become weak as water?</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:10">Isa. xiv. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
1. It was not at all likely that he should be thus exposed and
|
|
ridiculed, that the Chaldeans should so far gratify the Jews, or
|
|
trample upon him, as to deliver him into their hands; nor that the
|
|
Jews, who were themselves captives, should be in such a gay humour as
|
|
to make a jest of the misery of their prince. Note, We often frighten
|
|
ourselves from our duty by foolish, causeless, groundless, fears, that
|
|
are merely the creatures of our own fancy and imagination.
|
|
|
|
2. If he should be taunted at a little by the Jews, could he not
|
|
despise it and make light of it? What harm would it do him? Note,
|
|
Those have very weak and fretful spirits indeed that cannot bear to be
|
|
laughed at for that which is both their duty and their interest.
|
|
|
|
3. Though it had been really the greatest personal mischief that he
|
|
could imagine it to be, yet he ought to have ventured it, in obedience
|
|
to God, and for the preservation of his family and city. He thought it
|
|
would be looked upon as a piece of cowardice to surrender; whereas it
|
|
would be really an instance of true courage cheerfully to bear a less
|
|
evil, the mocking of the Jews, for the avoiding of a greater, the ruin
|
|
of his family and kingdom.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The pressing importunity with which Jeremiah followed the advice he
|
|
had given the king. He assures him that, if he would comply with the
|
|
will of God herein, the thing he feared should not come upon him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall not deliver thee up,</I> but treat thee as becomes thy
|
|
character. He begs of him, after all the foolish games he had played,
|
|
to manage wisely the last stake, and now at length to do well for
|
|
himself: <I>Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord,</I> because it
|
|
is his voice, so it <I>shall be well unto thee.</I> But he tells him
|
|
what would be the consequence if he would not obey.
|
|
|
|
1. He himself would <I>fall into the hands of the Chaldeans,</I> as
|
|
implacable enemies, whom he might now make his friends by throwing
|
|
himself into their hands. If he must fall, he should contrive how to
|
|
fall easily: "<I>Thou shalt not escape,</I> as thou hopest to do,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. He would himself be chargeable with the destruction of Jerusalem,
|
|
which he pretended a concern for the preservation of: <I>"Thou shalt
|
|
cause this city to be burnt with fire,</I> for by a little submission
|
|
and self-denial thou mightest have prevented it." Thus subjects often
|
|
suffer for the pride and wilfulness of their rulers, who should be
|
|
their protectors, but prove their destroyers.
|
|
|
|
3. Whereas he causelessly feared an unjust reproach for surrendering,
|
|
he should certainly fall under a just reproach for standing it out, and
|
|
that from women too,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
The court ladies who were left when Jehoiakim and Jeconiah were carried
|
|
away will now at length fall into the hands of the enemy, and they
|
|
shall say, "<I>The men of thy peace,</I> whom thou didst consult with
|
|
and confide in, and who promised thee peace if thou wouldst be ruled by
|
|
them, have <I>set thee on,</I> have encouraged thee to be bold and
|
|
brace and hold out to the last extremity; and see what comes of it?
|
|
They, by prevailing upon thee, have <I>prevailed against thee,</I> and
|
|
thou findest those thy real enemies that would be thought thy only
|
|
friends. <I>Now thy feet are sunk in the mire,</I> thou art
|
|
embarrassed, and hast noway to help thyself; thy feet cannot get
|
|
forward, but are <I>turned away back.</I>" Thus will Zedekiah be
|
|
bantered by the women, when all his wives and children shall be made a
|
|
prey to the conquerors,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, What we seek to avoid by sin will be justly brought upon us by
|
|
the righteousness of God. And those that decline the way of duty for
|
|
fear of reproach will certainly meet with much greater reproach in the
|
|
way of disobedience. <I>The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon
|
|
him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:24">Prov. x. 24</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. The care which Zedekiah took to keep this conference private
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Let no man know of these words.</I> he does not at all incline to
|
|
take God's counsel, nor so much as promise to consider of it; for so
|
|
obstinate has he been to the calls of God, and so wilful in the ways of
|
|
sin, that though he has good counsel given him he seems to be given up
|
|
to walk in his own counsels. He has nothing to object against
|
|
Jeremiah's advice, and yet he will not follow it. Many hear God's
|
|
words, but will not do them.
|
|
|
|
1. Jeremiah is charged to let no man know of what had passed between
|
|
the king and him. Zedekiah is concerned to keep it private, not so much
|
|
for Jeremiah's safety (for he knew the princes could do him no hurt
|
|
without his permission), but for his own reputation. Note, Many have
|
|
really a better affection to good men and good things than they are
|
|
willing to own. God's prophets are manifest in their consciences
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+5:11">2 Cor. v. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
but they care not for manifesting that to the world; they would rather
|
|
do them a kindness than have it known that they do: such, it is to be
|
|
feared, <I>love the praise of men more than the praise of God.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. He is instructed what to say to the princes if they should examine
|
|
him about it. He must tell them that he was petitioning the king not to
|
|
remand him back to <I>the house of Jonathan the scribe</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
and he did tell them so
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
and no doubt it was true: he would not let slip so fair an opportunity
|
|
of engaging the king's favour; so that this was no lie or equivocation,
|
|
but a part of the truth, which it was lawful for him to put them off
|
|
with when he was under no obligation at all to tell them the whole
|
|
truth. Note, Though we must be harmless as doves, so as never to tell a
|
|
wilful lie, yet we must be wise as serpents, so as not needlessly to
|
|
expose ourselves to danger by telling all we know.</P>
|
|
|
|
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