,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,editor of ,the ,expositor ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jeremiah ,,chapters ,,xxi4-,,lii4 ,,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mdcccxcv ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d1 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-h4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-i4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-a4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,fifth ,,series1 #ahia-b4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 #a and #b ,thessalonians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,job4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,ephesians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,sixth ,,series1 #ahib-c4 #a ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,philippians4 ,by ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,joshua4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter4 ,by ,prof4 ,,rawson ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,seventh ,,series1 #ahic-d4 #b ,kings4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,romans4 ,by ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,books of ,chronicles4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 #b ,corinthians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,eighth ,,series1 #ahie-f4 ,daniel4 ,by ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,farrar4 ,the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,deuteronomy4 ,by ,prof4 ,,andrew ,,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,the ,song of ,solomon and ,lamentations4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,ezekiel4 ,by ,prof4 ,,john ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,minor ,prophets4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,vols4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jeremiah ,,chapters ,,xxi4-,,lii4 ,,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,,professor ,,of ,,old ,,testament ,,languages ,,and ,,literature ,,hackney ,,and ,,new ,,colleges ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mdcccxcv ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,preface ,the present work deals primarily with ,jeremiah xxi4-lii41 thus forming a supplement to the volume of the ,expositor's ,bible on ,jeremiah by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,references to the earlier chapters are only introduced where they are necessary to illustrate and explain the later sections4 ,i regret that two important works1 ,prof4 ,skinner's ,ezekiel in this series1 and ,cornill's ,jeremiah in ,dr4 ,haupt's ,sacred ,books of the ,old ,testament1 were published too late to be used in the preparation of this volume4 ,i have again to acknowledge my indebtedness to the ,rev4 ,t4 ,h4 ,darlow1 ,m4,a41 for a careful reading and much valuable criticism of my ,,ms4 ,,index 7,the larger figures in black type are the chief references4 ,passages in i4-xx4 are only noticed by way of illustration of later sections7 ,,chap4 ,,page i4 #g #bie #aj #bie1 #cjh #aj-ab #cdj #ae #bie #ah #hb ii4 #aj1 #aa #ea #bg #bij #cd #bgb iii4 #ad #ceb #ae #cbd iv4 #ai #cbg #ba #cjb v4 #ca #ae vi4 #bh #bge vii4 #d #bj #e-i #bgb #ab-ad #ad ix4 #aa1 x4 #bb #cjf xi4 #ai #f xii4 #ad #cbc xiii4 #ah #ij xiv4 #h #cjh xv4 #a #bif #a-d #bdj #d #bjb xvi4 #a #f #aj #bgd #ac #cjh #ad1 #ae #cbj xvii4 #a #cec #bc #bia xix4 #d #bgb #ae #cjd xx4 #b #bgb xxi4 #a-aj #ada #c-f #cjc xxii4 #a-i #bie #aj-ab #c #ac-ai #fc #ag #bgb #bj-cj #hj xxiii41 xxiv4 #if xxiii4 #c-h #cai #ab #bii1 #cjb #ad #bgb #be-bg #bhh #be-cb #cdj #cc1 #cd #cjd #dj #cjg xxiv4 #ii #f1 #g #cai xxv4 #e #big #i #bae #aj #cjf1 #cjg #ab #caf #ae-ch #baa #cd-ch #aja xxvi4 #aj #c #bih #f #cjg xxvii41 xxviii4 #aae xxvii4 #i #cdj xxix4 #aca #h #cdj #aj #caf #d-ad #bei #bc #bgc xxx41 xxxi4 #cai xxxi4 #ca-ch #cdf xxxii4 #cjh #bf-ce #bgd #cd1 #ce #bhe xxxiii4 #cai xxxiv4 #ada #b #cje #ba #cjd #bb #cje xxxv4 #dd #ae #big #ag #cjd xxxvi4 #bh #b #bih #cj1 #ca #fc #ca #hc1 #cjd xxxvii4 #a-aj #ada #h #cje #aa-ba #aee #ab #cji xxxviii4 #aee xxxix4 #agb #ae-ah #aee xl4 #agb xli4 #agb xlii41 xliii4 #ahg #h-ac #bbj xliv4 #aig #cj #bbj1 #bbi xlv4 #ed xlvi4 #bbj #be #bbi xlvii4 #bcj xlviii4 #bcd xlix4 #a-f #bdb #g-bb #bdc #bc-bg #bdh #bh-cc #bea #cd-ci #bee l41 li4 #beh lii4 #agb ,,chronological ,,table ,in the present stage of investigation of ,old ,testament ,chronology1 absolute accuracy cannot be claimed for such a table as the following4 ,hardly any1 if any1 of these dates are supported by a general consensus of opinion4 ,on the other hand1 the range of variation is1 for the most part1 not more than three or four years1 and the table will furnish an approximately accurate idea of sequences and synchronisms4 ,in other respects also the data admit of alternative interpretations1 and the course of events is partly a matter of theory--hence the occasional insertion of 7874 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,,classical ,,judah ,,and ,,jeremiah ,,assyria ,,egypt ,,synchronisms ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,traditional date of the ,,manasseh 787 foundation ,esarhaddon1 #fha of ,rome1 #gec ,assurbanipal1 #ffh ,x,x,v,ith ,dynasty ,psammetichus ,jeremiah born1 ,i41 #fff probably between #fee and #fde ,,amon1 #fdj ,,josiah1 #fch ,last kings of ,jeremiah's call in the ,assyria1 number ,psammetichus #acth year of ,josiah1 and names besieges ,ashdod #fbf uncertain1 for twenty-nine ,scythian inroad #fbf-fjg-f years into ,western ,asia ,habakkuk ----------------- ,zephaniah ,,babylon4 ,publication of ,nabopolassar1 ,deuteronomy1 #fba #fbf ,josiah slain at ,necho1 ,megiddo1 #fjh #fab ,,jehoahaz1 #fjh ,,fall ,,of 7xxii4 #aj-ab1 ,ch4 ,i47 ,,nineveh1 #fjg-f ,deposed by ,necho1 who appoints ,,jehoiakim1 #fjh 7xxii4 #ac-ai1 xxxvi4 #cj1 #ca1 ,,vi47 ,jeremiah predicts ruin of ,judah and is tried for blasphemy 7xxvi41 ,,ii47 ,,fourth ,,year ,,of ,,battle ,,of ,,carchemish ,,jehoiakim1 #fje-d 7xlvi41 ,,xvii47 ,nebuchadnezzar#a advances into ,syria1 is suddenly recalled,nebuchadnezzar1 to ,babylon-- #fjd before subduing ,judah 787 ,baruch writes ,jeremiah's prophecies in a roll1 which is read successively to the people1 the nobles1 and ,jehoiakim1 and destroyed by the king 7xxxvi41 ,,iii42 xlv41 ,v47 ,nebuchadnezzar invades ,judah 7871 the ,rechabites take refuge in ,jerusalem 7871 the ,jews rebuked by their example 7xxxv41 ,,iv47 ,jehoiakim submits to ,nebuchadnezzar1 revolts after three years1 is attacked by various bands1 but dies before ,nebuchadnezzar arrives ,,jehoiachin1 #eig 7xxii4 #bj-cj1 ,,vii47 ,continues revolt1 but surrenders to ,nebuchadnezzar on his arrival2 is deposed and carried to ,babylon with many of his subjects4 ,nebuchadnezzar appoints ,,zedekiah1 #eif ,psammetichus ,,ii41 #eif ,jeremiah attempts to keep ,zedekiah loyal to ,nebuchadnezzar1 ,ezekiel and contends with priests and prophets who support ,egyptian party 7xxiii41 xxiv41 ,,viii47 ,solon's ,proposed confederation legislation1 against #eid ,nebuchadnezzar denounced by ,hophra1 ,jeremiah1 but #eia supported by ,hananiah2 proposal abandoned2 ,hananiah dies 7xxvii41 xxviii41 ,,ix471 #eic-b ,controversy by letter with hostile prophets at ,babylon 7xxix41 ,x47 ,judah revolts1 encouraged by ,hophra4 ,jerusalem is besieged by ,chaldeans4 ,there being no prospect of relief by ,egypt1 ,jeremiah regains his influence and pledges the people by covenant to release their slaves4 ,on the news of ,hophra's advance1 the ,chaldeans raise the siege2 the ,egyptian party again become supreme and annul the covenant 7xxi4 #a-aj1 xxxiv41 xxxvii4 #a-aj1 ,,xi47 ,jeremiah attempts to leave the city1 is arrested and imprisoned ,hophra retreats into ,egypt and the ,chaldeans renew the siege 7xxxvii4 #aa-ba1 xxxviii41 xxxix4 #ae-ah1 ,,xii47 ,while imprisoned ,jeremiah buys his kinsman's inheritance 7xxxii41 ,,xxx47 ,,destruction ,,of ,siege of ,tyre ,,jerusalem1 #ehf ,jeremiah remains for a month a prisoner amongst the other captives4 ,nebuzaradan arrives2 arranges for deportation of bulk of population2 appoints ,gedaliah governor of residue2 releases ,jeremiah1 who elects to join ,gedaliah at ,mizpah4 ,gedaliah murdered4 ,jeremiah carried off1 but rescued by ,johanan 7xxxix4-xli41 lii41 ,,xiii47 ,johanan1 in spite of ,jeremiah's protest1 goes down to ,egypt and takes ,jeremiah with him 7xlii41 xliii41 ,,xiv47 ,jews in ,egypt hold festival in honour of ,queen of ,heaven4 ,amasis1 ,ineffectual protest #egj of ,jeremiah 7xliv41 ,,xv47 ,nebuchadnezzar invades ,egypt1 787 #efh ,pistratus1 ,evil-,merodach1 #efj-ebg ,release of ,jehoiachin #efa ,,cyrus ,,conquers ,,babylon ,,and ,,gives ,,the ,,jews ,,permission ,,to ,,return1 #ech ,,footnote3 #a ,for spelling see note1 page #d ,,contents ,,page ,,preface v ,,index ,,of ,,chapters vii ,,chronological ,,table ix ,,book ,i ,,personal ,,utterances ,,and ,,narratives ,,chapter ,i ,,introductory3 ,,jehoahaz4 xxii4 #aj-ab #c ,weep ye not for the dead1 neither bemoan him3 but weep sore for him that goeth away3 for he shall return no more4--xxii1 #aj ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,,trial ,,for ,,heresy4 xxvi43 cf4 vii4-x4 #aj ,when ,jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that ,jehovah had commanded him to speak unto all the people1 the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him1 saying1 ,thou shalt surely die4--xxvi4 #h ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,roll4 xxxvi4 #bh ,take thee a roll of a book1 and write therein all the words that ,i have spoken unto thee4--xxxvi4 #b ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,rechabites4 xxxv4 #dd ,jonadab the son of ,rechab shall not want a man to stand before ,me for ever4--xxxv4 #ai ,,chapter ,v ,,baruch4 xlv4 #ed ,thy life will ,i give unto thee for a prey4--xlv4 #e ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,judgment ,,on ,,jehoiakim4 xxii4 #ac-ai1 xxxvi4 #cj1 #ca #fc ,jehoiakim 444 slew him 7,uriah7 with the sword1 and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people4--xxvi4 #bc ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah concerning ,jehoiakim1 444 ,he shall be buried with the burial of an ass1 drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of ,jerusalem4--xxii4 #ah1 #ai ,jehoiakim 444 did that which was evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that his fathers had done4--#b ,,kings xxiii4 #cf1 #cg ,,chapter ,,vii ,,jehoiachin4 xxii4 #bj-cj #hj ,a despised broken vessel4--xxii4 #bh ,a young lion4 ,and he went up and down among the lions1 he became a young lion and he learned to catch the prey1 he devoured men4--,,ezek4 xix4 #e1 #f ,jehoiachin 444 did evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that his father had done4--#b ,,kings xxiv4 #h1 #i ,,chapter ,,viii ,,bad ,,shepherds ,,and ,,false ,,prophets4 xxiii42 xxiv4 #if ,woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of ,my pasture6--xxii4 #a ,of what avail is straw instead of grain8444 ,is not ,my word like fire1 444 like a hammer that shattereth the rocks8--xxiii4 #bh1 #bi ,,chapter ,,ix ,,hananiah4 xxvii41 xxviii4 #aae ,hear now1 ,hananiah2 ,jehovah hath not sent thee1 but thou makest this people to trust in a lie4--xxviii4 #ae ,,chapter ,x ,,correspondence ,,with ,,the ,,exiles4 xxix4 #aca ,jehovah make thee like ,zedekiah and ,ahab1 whom the king of ,babylon roasted in the fire4--xxix4 #bb ,,chapter ,,xi ,a ,,broken ,,covenant4 xxi4 #a-aj1 xxxiv42 xxxvii4 #a-aj #ada ,all the princes and people 444 changed their minds and reduced to bondage again all the slaves whom they had set free4--xxxiv4 #aj1 #aa ,,chapter ,,xii ,,jeremiah',s ,,imprisonment4 xxxvii4 #aa-ba1 xxxviii41 xxxix4 #ae-ah #aee ,jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that ,jerusalem was taken4--xxxviii4 #bh ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,gedaliah4 xxxix4-xli41 lii4 #agb ,then arose ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah1 and the ten men that were with him1 and smote with the sword and slew ,gedaliah ben ,ahikam ben ,shaphan1 whom the king of ,babylon had made king over the land4--xli4 #b ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,descent ,,into ,,egypt4 xlii41 xliii4 #ahg ,they came into the land of ,egypt1 for they obeyed not the voice of ,jehovah4--xliii4 #g ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,queen ,,of ,,heaven4 xliv4 #aig ,since we left off burning incense and offering libations to the ,queen of ,heaven1 we have been in want of everything1 and have been consumed by the sword and the famine4--xliv4 #ah ,,book ,,ii ,,prophecies ,,concerning ,,foreign ,,nations ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,jehovah ,,and ,,the ,,nations4 xxv4 #ae-ch #baa ,jehovah hath a controversy with the nations4--xxv4 #ca ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,egypt4 xliii4 #h-ac1 xliv4 #cj1 xlvi4 #bbj ,i will visit ,amon of ,no1 and ,pharaoh1 and ,egypt1 with their gods and their kings2 even ,pharaoh1 and all them that trust in him4--xlvi4 #be ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,the ,,philistines4 xlvii4 #bcj ,o sword of ,jehovah1 how long will it be ere thou be quiet8 put up thyself into thy scabbard2 rest1 and be still4--xlvii4 #f ,,chapter ,,xix ,,moab4 xlviii4 #bcd ,moab shall be destroyed from being a people1 because he hath magnified himself against ,jehovah4--xlviii4 #db ,chemosh said to me1 ,go1 take ,nebo against ,israel 444 and ,i took it 444 and ,i took from it the vessels of ,jehovah1 and offered them before ,chemosh4--,,moabite ,,stone4 ,yet will ,i bring again the captivity of ,moab in the latter days4--xlviii4 #dg ,,chapter ,,xx ,,ammon4 xlix4 #a-f #bdb ,hath ,israel no sons8 hath he no heir8 why then doth ,moloch possess ,gad1 and his people dwell in the cities thereof8--xlix4 #a ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,edom4 xlix4 #g-bb #bdc ,bozrah shall become an astonishment1 a reproach1 a waste1 and a curse4--xlix4 #ac ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,damascus4 xlix4 #bc-bg #bdh ,i will kindle a fire in the wall of ,damascus1 and it shall devour the palaces of ,benhadad4--xlix4 #bg ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,kedar ,,and ,,hazor4 xlix4 #bh-cc #bea ,concerning ,kedar1 and the kingdoms of ,hazor which ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon smote4--xlix4 #bh ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,elam4 xlix4 #cd-ci #bee ,i will break the bow of ,elam1 the chief of their might4--xlix4 #ce ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,babylon4 l41 li4 #beh ,babylon is taken1 ,bel is confounded1 ,merodach is broken in pieces4--l4 #b ,,book ,,iii ,,jeremiah',s ,,teaching ,,concerning ,,israel ,,and ,,judah ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,introductory #bfg ,i will be the ,god of all the families of ,israel1 and they shall be ,my people4--xxxi4 #a ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,social ,,and ,,religious ,,corruption #bgj ,very bad figs1 444 too bad to be eaten4--xxiv4 #b1 #h1 xxix4 #ag ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,persistent ,,apostasy #bhc ,they have forsaken the covenant of ,jehovah their ,god1 and worshipped other gods1 and served them4--xxii4 #i ,every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his heart4--xxiii4 #ag ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,ruin4 xxii4 #a-i1 xxvi4 #ad #bie ,the sword1 the pestilence1 and the famine4--xxi1 #i and passim4 ,terror on every side4--vi4 #be1 xx4 #aj1 xlvi4 #e1 xlix4 #bi2 also as proper name1 ,,magor-,,missabib1 xx4 #c ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,restoration--,i4 ,,the ,,symbol4 xxxii4 #cjh ,and ,i bought the field of ,hanameel4--xxxii4 #i ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,restoration--,,ii4 ,,the ,,new ,,israel4 xxiii4 #c-h1 xxiv4 #f1 #g1 xxx41 xxxi41 xxxiii4 #cai ,in those days shall ,judah be saved1 and ,jerusalem shall dwell safely3 and this is the name whereby she shall be called1 ,jehovah our ,righteousness4--xxxiii4 #af ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,restoration--,,iii4 ,,reunion4 xxxi4 #cbi ,i will sow the house of ,israel and the house of ,judah with the seed of man1 and with the seed of beast4--xxxi4 #bg ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,restoration--,,iv4 ,,the ,,new ,,covenant4 xxxi4 #ca-ch3 cf4 ,hebrews viii4 #cdf ,i will make a new covenant with the house of ,israel and the house of ,judah4--xxxi4 #ca ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,restoration--,v4 ,,review4 xxx4-xxxiii4 #ceg ,,epilogue ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,christ #cfg ,jehovah thy ,god will raise up unto thee a prophet from amongst thee1 of thy brethren1 like unto me2 unto him shall ye hearken4--,,deut4 xviii4 #ae ,jesus 444 asked ,his disciples1 saying1 ,who do men say that the ,son of ,man is8 ,and they said1 ,some say ,john the ,baptist2 some1 ,elijah3 and others1 ,jeremiah1 or one of the prophets4--,,matt4 xvi4 #ac1 #ad ,,book ,i ,,personal ,,utterances ,,and ,,narratives ,,chapter ,i ,,introductory3#b ,,jehoahaz xxii4 #aj-ab4 ,weep ye not for the dead1 neither bemoan him3 but weep sore for him that goeth away3 for he shall return no more4--,,jer4 xxii4 #aj4 ,as the prophecies of ,jeremiah are not arranged in the order in which they were delivered1 there is no absolute chronological division between the first twenty chapters and those which follow4 ,for the most part1 however1 chapters xxi4-lii4 fall in or after the fourth year of ,jehoiakim 7,b4,c4 #fje74 ,we will therefore briefly consider the situation at ,jerusalem in this crisis4 ,the period immediately preceding ,b4,c4 #fje somewhat resembles the era of the dissolution of the ,roman ,empire or of the ,wars of the ,french ,revolution4 ,an old-established international system was breaking in pieces1 and men were quite uncertain what form the new order would take4 ,for centuries the futile assaults of the ,pharaohs had only served to illustrate the stability of the ,assyrian supremacy in ,western ,asia4 ,then in the last two decades of the seventh century ,b4,c4 the ,assyrian ,empire collapsed1 like the ,roman ,empire under ,honorius and his successors4 ,it was as if by some swift succession of disasters modern ,france or ,germany were to become suddenly and permanently annihilated as a military power4 ,for the moment1 all the traditions and principles of ,european statesmanship would lose their meaning1 and the shrewdest diplomatist would be entirely at fault4 ,men's reason would totter1 their minds would lose their balance at the stupendous spectacle of so unparalleled a catastrophe4 ,the wildest hopes would alternate with the extremity of fear2 everything would seem possible to the conqueror4 ,such was the situation in ,b4,c4 #fje1 to which our first great group of prophecies belongs4 ,two oppressors of ,israel--,assyria and ,egypt--had been struck down in rapid succession4 ,when ,nebuchadnezzar#c was suddenly recalled to ,babylon by the death of his father1 the ,jews would readily imagine that the ,divine judgment had fallen upon ,chaldea and its king4 ,sanguine prophets announced that ,jehovah was about to deliver ,his people from all foreign dominion1 and establish the supremacy of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,court and people would be equally possessed with patriotic hope and enthusiasm4 ,jehoiakim1 it is true1 was a nominee of ,pharaoh ,necho2 but his gratitude would be far too slight to override the hopes and aspirations natural to a ,prince of the ,house of ,david4 ,in ,hezekiah's time1 there had been an ,egyptian and an ,assyrian party at the court of ,judah2 the recent supremacy of ,egypt had probably increased the number of her partisans4 ,assyria had disappeared1 but her former adherents would retain their antipathy to ,egypt1 and their personal feuds with ,jews of the opposite faction2 they were as tools lying ready to any hand that cared to use them4 ,when ,babylon succeeded ,assyria in the overlordship of ,asia1 she doubtless inherited the allegiance of the anti-,egyptian party in the various ,syrian states4 ,jeremiah1 like ,isaiah1 steadily opposed any dependence upon ,egypt2 it was probably by his advice that ,josiah undertook his ill-fated expedition against ,pharaoh ,necho4 ,the partisans of ,egypt would be the prophet's enemies2 and though ,jeremiah never became a mere dependent and agent of ,nebuchadnezzar1 yet the friends of ,babylon would be his friends1 if only because her enemies were his enemies4 ,we are told in #b ,kings xxiii4 #cg that ,jehoiakim did evil in the sight of ,jehovah according to all that his father had done4 ,whatever other sins may be implied by this condemnation1 we certainly learn that the king favoured a corrupt form of the religion of ,jehovah in opposition to the purer teaching which ,jeremiah inherited from ,isaiah4 ,when we turn to ,jeremiah himself1 the date the fourth year of ,jehoiakim reminds us that by this time the prophet could look back upon a long and sad experience2 he had been called in the thirteenth year of ,josiah1 some twenty-four years before4 ,with what sometimes seems to our limited intelligence the strange irony of ,providence1 this lover of peace and quietness was called to deliver a message of ruin and condemnation1 a message that could not fail to be extremely offensive to most of his hearers1 and to make him the object of bitter hostility4 ,much of this ,jeremiah must have anticipated1 but there were some from whose position and character the prophet expected acceptance1 even of the most unpalatable teaching of the ,spirit of ,jehovah4 ,the personal vindictiveness with which priests and prophets repaid his loyalty to the ,divine mission and his zeal for truth came to him with a shock of surprise and bewilderment1 which was all the greater because his most determined persecutors were his sacerdotal kinsmen and neighbours at ,anathoth4 ,let us destroy the tree1 they said1 with the fruit thereof1 and let us cut him off from the land of the living1 that his name may be no more remembered4#d ,he was not only repudiated by his clan1 but also forbidden by ,jehovah to seek consolation and sympathy in the closer ties of family life3 ,thou shalt not take a wife1 thou shalt have no sons or daughters4#e ,like ,paul1 it was good for ,jeremiah by reason of the present distress to deny himself these blessings4 ,he found some compensation in the fellowship of kindred souls at ,jerusalem4 ,we can well believe that1 in those early days1 he was acquainted with ,zephaniah1 and that they were associated with ,hilkiah and ,shaphan and ,king ,josiah in the publication of ,deuteronomy and its recognition as the law of ,israel4 ,later on ,shaphan's son ,ahikam protected ,jeremiah when his life was in imminent danger4 ,the twelve years that intervened between ,josiah's ,reformation and his defeat at ,megiddo were the happiest part of ,jeremiah's ministry4 ,it is not certain that any of the extant prophecies belong to this period4 ,with ,josiah on the throne and ,deuteronomy accepted as the standard of the national life1 the prophet felt absolved for a season from his mission to pluck up and break down1 and perhaps began to indulge in hopes that the time had come to build and to plant4 ,yet it is difficult to believe that he had implicit confidence in the permanence of the ,reformation or the influence of ,deuteronomy4 ,the silence of ,isaiah and ,jeremiah as to the ecclesiastical reforms of ,hezekiah and ,josiah stands in glaring contrast to the great importance attached to them by the ,books of ,kings and ,chronicles4 ,but1 in any case1 ,jeremiah must have found life brighter and easier than in the reigns that followed4 ,probably1 in these happier days1 he was encouraged by the sympathy and devotion of disciples like ,baruch and ,ezekiel4 ,but ,josiah's attempt to realise a ,kingdom of ,god was short-lived2 and1 in a few months1 ,jeremiah saw the whole fabric swept away4 ,the king was defeated and slain2 and his religious policy was at once reversed either by a popular revolution or a court intrigue4 ,the people of the land made ,josiah's son ,shallum king1 under the name of ,jehoahaz4 ,this young prince of twenty-three only reigned three months1 and was then deposed and carried into captivity by ,pharaoh ,necho2 yet it is recorded of him1 that he did evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that his fathers had done4#f ,he--or1 more probably1 his ministers1 especially the queen-mother#g--must have been in a hurry to undo ,josiah's work4 ,jeremiah utters no condemnation of ,jehoahaz2 he merely declares that the young king will never return from his exile1 and bids the people lament over his captivity as a more grievous fate than the death of ,josiah3-- ,weep not for the dead1 ,neither lament over him3 ,but weep sore for him that goeth into captivity2 ,for he shall return no more1 ,neither shall he behold his native land4#h ,ezekiel adds admiration to sympathy3 ,jehoahaz was a young lion skilled to catch the prey1 he devoured men1 the nations heard of him1 he was taken in their pit1 and they brought him with hooks into the land of ,egypt4#i ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel could not but feel some tenderness towards the son of ,josiah2 and probably they had faith in his personal character1 and believed that in time he would shake off the yoke of evil counsellors and follow in his father's footsteps4 ,but any such hopes were promptly disappointed by ,pharaoh ,necho1 and ,jeremiah's spirit bowed beneath a new burden as he saw his country completely subservient to the dreaded influence of ,egypt4 ,thus1 at the time when we take up the narrative1 the government was in the hands of the party hostile to ,jeremiah1 and the king1 ,jehoiakim1 seems to have been his personal enemy4 ,jeremiah himself was somewhere between forty and fifty years old1 a solitary man without wife or child4 ,his awful mission as the herald of ruin clouded his spirit with inevitable gloom4 ,men resented the stern sadness of his words and looks1 and turned from him with aversion and dislike4 ,his unpopularity had made him somewhat harsh2 for intolerance is twice curst1 in that it inoculates its victims with the virus of its own bitterness4 ,his hopes and illusions lay behind him2 he could only watch with melancholy pity the eager excitement of these stirring times4 ,if he came across some group busily discussing the rout of the ,egyptians at ,carchemish1 or the report that ,nebuchadnezzar was posting in hot haste to ,babylon1 and wondering as to all that this might mean for ,judah1 his countrymen would turn to look with contemptuous curiosity at the bitter1 disappointed man who had had his chance and failed1 and now grudged them their prospect of renewed happiness and prosperity4 ,nevertheless ,jeremiah's greatest work still lay before him4 ,jerusalem was past saving2 but more was at stake than the existence of ,judah and its capital4 ,but for ,jeremiah the religion of ,jehovah might have perished with ,his ,chosen ,people4 ,it was his mission to save ,revelation from the wreck of ,israel4 ,humanly speaking1 the religious future of the world depended upon this stern solitary prophet4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,cf4 ,preface4 #c ,we know little of ,nebuchadnezzar's campaigns4 ,in #b ,kings xxiv4 #a we are told that ,nebuchadnezzar came up in the days of ,jehoiakim1 and ,jehoiakim became his servant three years4 ,it is not clear whether ,nebuchadnezzar came up immediately after the battle of ,carchemish1 or at a later time after his return to ,babylon4 ,in either case the impression made by his hasty departure from ,syria would be the same4 ,cf4 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah 7,men of the ,bible71 p4 #acb4 ,i call the ,chaldean king ,nebuchadnezzar--not ,nebuchadrezzar--because the former has been an ,english household word for centuries4 #d xi4 #ai4 #e xvi4 #b4 #f #b ,kings xxiii4 #cj-cb4 #g ,cf4 xxii4 #bf4 #h xxii4 #aj-ab4 #i ,ezek4 xix4 #c1 #d4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,,trial ,,for ,,heresy xxvi43 cf4 vii4-x4 ,when ,jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that ,jehovah had commanded him to speak unto all the people1 the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him1 saying1 ,thou shalt surely die4--,,jer4 xxvi4 #h4 ,the date of this incident is given1 somewhat vaguely1 as the beginning of the reign of ,jehoiakim4 ,it was1 therefore1 earlier than ,b4,c4 #fje1 the point reached in the previous chapter4 ,jeremiah could offer no political resistance to ,jehoiakim and his ,egyptian suzerain2 yet it was impossible for him to allow ,josiah's policy to be reversed without a protest4 ,moreover1 something1 perhaps much1 might yet be saved for ,jehovah4 ,the king1 with his court and prophets and priests1 was not everything4 ,jeremiah was only concerned with sanctuaries1 ritual1 and priesthoods as means to an end4 ,for him the most important result of the work he had shared with ,josiah was a pure and holy life for the nation and individuals4 ,renan--in some passages1 for he is not always consistent--is inclined to minimise the significance of the change from ,josiah to ,jehoiakim2 in fact1 he writes very much as a cavalier might have done of the change from ,cromwell to ,charles ,,ii4 ,both the ,jewish kings worshipped ,jehovah1 each in his own fashion3 ,josiah was inclined to a narrow puritan severity of a life2 ,jehoiakim was a liberal1 practical man of the world4 ,probably this is a fair modern equivalent of the current estimate of the kings and their policy1 especially on the part of ,jehoiakim's friends2 but then1 as unhappily still in some quarters1 narrow puritan severity was a convenient designation for a decent and honourable life1 for a scrupulous and self-denying care for the welfare of others4 ,jeremiah dreaded a relapse into the old half-heathen ideas that ,jehovah would be pleased with homage and service that satisfied ,baal1 ,moloch1 and ,chemosh4 ,such a relapse would lower the ethical standard1 and corrupt or even destroy any beginnings of spiritual life4 ,our ,english ,restoration is an object-lesson as to the immoral effects of political and ecclesiastical reaction2 if such things were done in sober ,england1 what must have been possible to hot ,eastern blood6 ,in protesting against the attitude of ,jehoiakim1 ,jeremiah would also seek to save the people from the evil effects of the king's policy4 ,he knew from his own experience that a subject might trust and serve ,god with his whole heart1 even when the king was false to ,jehovah4 ,what was possible for him was possible for others4 ,he understood his countrymen too well to expect that the nation would continue to advance in paths of righteousness which its leaders and teachers had forsaken2 but1 scattered here and there through the mass of the people1 was ,isaiah's remnant1 the seed of the ,new ,israel1 men and women to whom the ,revelation of ,jehovah had been the beginning of a higher life4 ,he would not leave them without a word of counsel and encouragement4 ,at the command of ,jehovah1 ,jeremiah appeared before the concourse of ,jews1 assembled at the ,temple for some great fast or festival4 ,no feast is expressly mentioned1 but he is charged to address all the cities of ,judah#aj2 all the outlying population would only meet at the ,temple on some specially holy day4 ,such an occasion would naturally be chosen by ,jeremiah for his deliverance1 just as ,christ availed ,himself of the opportunities offered by the ,passover and the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 just as modern philanthropists seek to find a place for their favourite topics on the platform of ,may ,meetings4 ,the prophet was to stand in the court of the ,temple and repeat once more to the ,jews his message of warning and judgment1 all that ,i have charged thee to speak unto them1 thou shalt not keep back a single word4 ,the substance of this address is found in the various prophecies which expose the sin and predict the ruin of ,judah4 ,they have been dealt with in the former volume#aa on ,jeremiah in this series1 and are also referred to in ,book ,,iii4 ,according to the universal principle of ,hebrew prophecy1 the predictions of ruin were conditional2 they were still coupled with the offer of pardon to repentance1 and ,jehovah did not forbid his prophet to cherish a lingering hope that perchance they may hearken and turn every one from his evil way1 so that ,i may repent ,me of the evil ,i purpose to inflict upon them because of the evil of their doings4 ,probably the phrase every one from his evil way is primarily collective rather than individual1 and is intended to describe a national reformation1 which would embrace all the individual citizens2 but the actual words suggest another truth1 which must also have been in ,jeremiah's mind4 ,the nation is1 after all1 an aggregate of men and women2 there can be no national reformation1 except through the repentance and amendment of individuals4 ,jeremiah's audience1 it must be observed1 consisted of worshippers on the way to the ,temple1 and would correspond to an ordinary congregation of church-goers1 rather than to the casual crowd gathered round a street preacher1 or to the throngs of miners and labourers who listened to ,whitfield and ,wesley4 ,as an acknowledged prophet1 he was well within his rights in expecting a hearing from the attendants at the feast1 and men would be curious to see and hear one who had been the dominant influence in ,judah during the reign of ,josiah4 ,moreover1 in the absence of evening newspapers and shop-windows1 a prophet was too exciting a distraction to be lightly neglected4 ,from ,jehovah's charge to speak all that ,he had commanded him to speak and not to keep back a word1 we may assume that ,jeremiah's discourse was long3 it was also avowedly an old sermon#ab2 most of his audience had heard it before1 all of them were quite familiar with its main topics4 ,they listened in the various moods of a modern congregation sitting under a distinguished preacher4 ,jeremiah's friends and disciples welcomed the ideas and phrases that had become part of their spiritual life4 ,many enjoyed the speaker's earnestness and eloquence1 without troubling themselves about the ideas at all4 ,there was nothing specially startling about the well-known threats and warnings2 they had become ,a tale of little meaning tho' the words were strong4 ,men hardened their hearts against inspired prophets as easily as they do against the most pathetic appeals of modern evangelists4 ,mingled with the crowd were ,jeremiah's professional rivals1 who detested both him and his teaching--priests who regarded him as a traitor to his own caste1 prophets who envied his superior gifts and his force of passionate feeling4 ,to these almost every word he uttered was offensive1 but for a while there was nothing that roused them to very vehement anger4 ,he was allowed to finish what he had to say1 to make an end of speaking all that ,jehovah had commanded him4 ,but in this peroration he had insisted on a subject that stung the indifferent into resentment and roused the priests and prophets to fury4 ,go ye now unto ,my place which was in ,shiloh1 where ,i caused ,my name to dwell at the first1 and see what ,i did to it for the wickedness of ,my people ,israel4 ,and now1 because ye have done all these works1 saith ,jehovah1 and ,i spake unto you1 rising up early and speaking1 but ye heard not2 and ,i called you1 but ye answered not3 therefore will ,i do unto the house1 that is called by ,my name1 wherein ye trust1 and unto the place which ,i gave to you and to your fathers1 as ,i have done to ,shiloh4#ac ,the ,ephraimite sanctuary of ,shiloh1 long the home of the ,ark and its priesthood1 had been overthrown in some national catastrophe4 ,apparently when it was destroyed it was no mere tent1 but a substantial building of stone1 and its ruins remained as a permanent monument of the fugitive glory of even the most sacred shrine4 ,the very presence of his audience in the place where they were met showed their reverence for the ,temple3 the priests were naturally devotees of their own shrine2 of the prophets ,jeremiah himself had said1 ,the prophets prophesy falsely1 and the priests rule in accordance with their teaching4#ad ,can we wonder that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him1 saying1 ,thou shalt surely die8 ,for the moment there was an appearance of religious unity in ,jerusalem2 the priests1 the prophets1 and the pious laity on one side1 and only the solitary heretic on the other4 ,it was1 though on a small scale1 as if the obnoxious teaching of some nineteenth-century prophet of ,god had given an unexpected stimulus to the movement for ,christian reunion2 as if cardinals and bishops1 chairmen of unions1 presidents of conferences1 moderators of assemblies1 with great preachers and distinguished laymen1 united to hold monster meetings and denounce the ,divine message as heresy and blasphemy4 ,in like manner ,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 and ,herodians found a basis of common action in their hatred of ,christ1 and ,pilate and ,herod were reconciled by ,his cross4 ,meanwhile the crowd was increasing3 new worshippers were arriving1 and others as they left the ,temple were attracted to the scene of the disturbance4 ,doubtless too the mob1 always at the service of persecutors1 hurried up in hope of finding opportunities for mischief and violence4 ,some six and a half centuries later1 history repeated itself on the same spot1 when the ,asiatic ,jews saw ,paul in the ,temple and laid hands on him1 crying out1 ,men of ,israel1 help3 ,this is the man1 that teacheth all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place1 444 and all the city was moved1 and the people ran together and laid hold on ,paul4#ae ,our narrative1 as it stands1 is apparently incomplete3 we find ,jeremiah before the tribunal of the princes1 but we are not told how he came there2 whether the civil authorities intervened to protect him1 as ,claudius ,lysias came down with his soldiers and centurions and rescued ,paul1 or whether ,jeremiah's enemies observed legal forms1 as ,annas and ,caiaphas did when they arrested ,christ4 ,but1 in any case1 the princes of ,judah1 when they heard these things1 came up from the palace into the ,temple1 and took their seats as judges at the entry of the new gate of the ,temple4 ,the princes of ,judah play a conspicuous part in the last period of the ,jewish monarchy3 we have little definite information about them1 and are left to conjecture that they were an aristocratic oligarchy or an official clique1 or both2 but it is clear that they were a dominant force in the state1 with recognised constitutional status1 and that they often controlled the king himself4 ,we are also ignorant as to the new gate2 it may possibly be the upper gate built by ,jotham#af about a hundred and fifty years earlier4 ,before these judges1 ,jeremiah's ecclesiastical accusers brought a formal charge2 they said1 almost in the very words which the high priest and the ,sanhedrin used of ,christ1 ,this man is worthy of death1 for he hath prophesied against this city1 as ye have heard with your ears--i4e4 when he said1 ,this house shall be like ,shiloh1 and this city shall be desolate without inhabitant4 ,such accusations have been always on the lips of those who have denounced ,christ and ,his disciples as heretics4 ,one charge against ,himself was that ,he said1 ,i will destroy this ,temple that is made with hands1 and in three days ,i will build another that is made without hands4#ag ,stephen was accused of speaking incessantly against the ,temple and the ,law1 and teaching that ,jesus of ,nazareth would destroy the ,temple and change the customs handed down from ,moses4 ,when he asserted that the ,most ,high dwelleth not in temples made with hands1 the impatience of his audience compelled him to bring his defence to an abrupt conclusion4#ah ,of ,paul we have already spoken4 ,how was it that these priests and prophets thought that their princes might be induced to condemn ,jeremiah to death for predicting the destruction of the ,temple8 ,a prophet would not run much risk nowadays by announcing that ,st4 ,paul's should be made like ,stonehenge1 or ,st4 ,peter's like the ,parthenon4 ,expositors of ,daniel and the ,apocalypse habitually fix the end of the world a few years in advance of the date at which they write1 and yet they do not incur any appreciable unpopularity4 ,it is true that ,jeremiah's accusers were a little afraid that his predictions might be fulfilled1 and the most bitter persecutors are those who have a lurking dread that their victims are right1 while they themselves are wrong4 ,but such fears could not very well be evidence or argument against ,jeremiah before any court of law4 ,in order to realise the situation we must consider the place which the ,temple held in the hopes and affections of the ,jews4 ,they had always been proud of their royal sanctuary at ,jerusalem1 but within the last hundred and fifty years it had acquired a unique importance for the religion of ,israel4 ,first ,hezekiah1 and then ,josiah1 had taken away the other high places and altars at which ,jehovah was worshipped1 and had said to ,judah and ,jerusalem1 ,ye shall worship before this altar4#ai ,doubtless the kings were following the advice of ,isaiah and ,jeremiah4 ,these prophets were anxious to abolish the abuses of the local sanctuaries1 which were a continual incentive to an extravagant and corrupt ritual4 ,yet they did not intend to assign any supreme importance to a priestly caste or a consecrated building4 ,certainly for them the hope of ,israel and the assurance of its salvation did not consist in cedar and hewn stones1 in silver and gold4 ,and yet the unique position given to the ,temple inevitably became the starting-point for fresh superstition4 ,once ,jehovah could be worshipped not only at ,jerusalem1 but at ,beersheba and ,bethel and many other places where ,he had chosen to set ,his name4 ,even then1 it was felt that the ,divine ,presence must afford some protection for ,his dwelling-places4 ,but now that ,jehovah dwelt nowhere else but at ,jerusalem1 and only accepted the worship of ,his people at this single shrine1 how could any one doubt that ,he would protect ,his ,temple and ,his ,holy ,city against all enemies1 even the most formidable8 ,had ,he not done so already8 ,when ,hezekiah abolished the high places1 did not ,jehovah set the seal of approval upon his policy by destroying the army of ,sennacherib8 ,was not this great deliverance wrought to guard the ,temple against desecration and destruction1 and would not ,jehovah work out a like salvation in any future time of danger8 ,the destruction of ,sennacherib was essential to the religious future of ,israel and of mankind2 but it had a very mingled influence upon the generations immediately following4 ,they were like a man who has won a great prize in a lottery1 or who has1 quite unexpectedly1 come into an immense inheritance4 ,they ignored the unwelcome thought that the ,divine protection depended on spiritual and moral conditions1 and they clung to the superstitious faith that at any moment1 even in the last extremity of danger and at the eleventh hour1 ,jehovah might1 nay1 even must1 intervene4 ,the priests and the inhabitants of ,jerusalem could look on with comparative composure while the country was ravaged1 and the outlying towns were taken and pillaged2 ,jerusalem itself might seem on the verge of falling into the hands of the enemy1 but they still trusted in their ,palladium4 ,jerusalem could not perish1 because it contained the one sanctuary of ,jehovah2 they sought to silence their own fears and to drown the warning voice of the prophet by vociferating their watchword3 ,the ,temple of ,jehovah6 the ,temple of ,jehovah6 ,the ,temple of ,jehovah is in our midst6#bj ,in prosperous times a nation may forget its ,palladium1 and may tolerate doubts as to its efficacy2 but the strength of the ,jews was broken1 their resources were exhausted1 and they were clinging in an agony of conflicting hopes and fears to their faith in the inviolability of the ,temple4 ,to destroy their confidence was like snatching away a plank from a drowning man4 ,when ,jeremiah made the attempt1 they struck back with the fierce energy of despair4 ,it does not seem that at this time the city was in any immediate danger2 the incident rather falls in the period of quiet submission to ,pharaoh ,necho that preceded the battle of ,carchemish4 ,but the disaster of ,megiddo was fresh in men's memories1 and in the unsettled state of ,eastern ,asia no one knew how soon some other invader might advance against the city4 ,on the other hand1 in the quiet interval1 hopes began to revive1 and men were incensed when the prophet made haste to nip these hopes in the bud1 all the more so because their excited anticipations of future glory had so little solid basis4 ,jeremiah's appeal to the ill-omened precedent of ,shiloh naturally roused the sanguine and despondent alike into frenzy4 ,jeremiah's defence was simple and direct3 ,jehovah sent me to prophesy all that ye have heard against this house and against this city4 ,now therefore amend your ways and your doings1 and hearken unto the voice of ,jehovah your ,god1 that ,he may repent ,him of the evil that ,he hath spoken against you4 ,as for me1 behold1 ,i am in your hands3 do unto me as it seems good and right unto you4 ,only know assuredly that1 if ye put me to death1 ye will bring the guilt of innocent blood upon yourselves1 and upon this city and its inhabitants3 for of a truth ,jehovah sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears4 ,there is one curious feature in this defence4 ,jeremiah contemplates the possibility of two distinct acts of wickedness on the part of his persecutors3 they may turn a deaf ear to his appeal that they should repent and reform1 and their obstinacy will incur all the chastisements which ,jeremiah had threatened2 they may also put him to death and incur additional guilt4 ,scoffers might reply that his previous threats were so awful and comprehensive that they left no room for any addition to the punishment of the impenitent4 ,sinners sometimes find a grim comfort in the depth of their wickedness2 their case is so bad that it cannot be made worse1 they may now indulge their evil propensities with a kind of impunity4 ,but ,jeremiah's prophetic insight made him anxious to save his countrymen from further sin1 even in their impenitence2 the ,divine discrimination is not taxed beyond its capabilities even by the extremity of human wickedness4 ,but to return to the main feature in ,jeremiah's defence4 ,his accusers' contention was that his teaching was so utterly blasphemous1 so entirely opposed to every tradition and principle of true religion--or1 as we should say1 so much at variance with all orthodoxy--that it could not be a word of ,jehovah4 ,jeremiah does not attempt to discuss the relation of his teaching to the possible limits of ,jewish orthodoxy4 ,he bases his defence on the bare assertion of his prophetic mission--,jehovah had sent him4 ,he assumes that there is no room for evidence or discussion2 it is a question of the relative authority of ,jeremiah and his accusers1 whether he or they had the better right to speak for ,god4 ,the immediate result seemed to justify him in this attitude4 ,he was no obscure novice1 seeking for the first time to establish his right to speak in the ,divine name4 ,the princes and people had been accustomed for twenty years to listen to him1 as to the most fully acknowledged mouthpiece of ,heaven2 they could not shake off their accustomed feeling of deference1 and once more succumbed to the spell of his fervid and commanding personality4 ,then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and the prophets1 ,this man is not worthy of death2 for he hath spoken to us in the name of ,jehovah our ,god4 ,for the moment the people were won over and the princes convinced2 but priests and prophets were not so easily influenced by inspired utterances2 some of these probably thought that they had an inspiration of their own1 and their professional experience made them callous4 ,at this point again the sequence of events is not clear2 possibly the account was compiled from the imperfect recollections of more than one of the spectators4 ,the pronouncement of the princes and the people seems1 at first sight1 a formal acquittal that should have ended the trial1 and left no room for the subsequent intervention of certain of the elders1 otherwise the trial seems to have come to no definite conclusion1 and the incident simply terminated in the personal protection given to ,jeremiah by ,ahikam ben ,shaphan4 ,possibly1 however1 the tribunal of the princes was not governed by any strict rules of procedure2 and the force of the argument used by the elders does not depend on the exact stage of the trial at which it was introduced4 ,either ,jeremiah was not entirely successful in his attempt to get the matter disposed of on the sole ground of his own prophetic authority1 or else the elders were anxious to secure weight and finality for the acquittal1 by bringing forward arguments in its support4 ,the elders were an ancient ,israelite institution1 and probably still represented the patriarchal side of the national life2 nothing is said as to their relation to the princes1 and this might not be very clearly defined4 ,the elders appealed1 by way of precedent1 to an otherwise unrecorded incident of the reign of ,hezekiah4 ,micah the ,morasthite had uttered similar threats against ,jerusalem and the ,temple3 ,zion shall be ploughed as a field1 and ,jerusalem shall become heaps1 and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest4#ba ,but ,hezekiah and his people1 instead of slaying ,micah1 had repented1 and the city had been spared4 ,they evidently wished that the precedent could be wholly followed in the present instance2 but1 at any rate1 it was clear that one of the most honoured and successful of the kings of ,judah had accepted a threat against the ,temple as a message from ,jehovah4 ,therefore the mere fact that ,jeremiah had uttered such a threat was certainly not prim facie evidence that he was a false prophet4 ,we are not told how this argument was received1 but the writer of the chapter1 possibly ,baruch1 does not attribute ,jeremiah's escape either to his acquittal by the princes or to the reasoning of the elders4 ,the people apparently changed sides once more1 like the common people in the ,new ,testament1 who heard ,christ gladly and with equal enthusiasm clamoured for ,his crucifixion4 ,at the end of the chapter we find them eager to have the prophet delivered into their hands that they may put him to death4 ,apparently the prophets and priests1 having brought matters into this satisfactory position1 had retired from the scene of action2 the heretic was to be delivered over to the secular arm4 ,the princes1 like ,pilate1 seemed inclined to yield to popular pressure2 but ,ahikam1 a son of the ,shaphan who had to do with the finding of ,deuteronomy1 stood by ,jeremiah1 as ,john of ,gaunt stood by ,wyclif1 and the ,protestant ,princes by ,luther1 and the magistrates of ,geneva by ,calvin2 and ,jeremiah could say with the ,psalmist3-- ,i have heard the defaming of many1 ,terror on every side3 ,while they took counsel together against me1 ,they devised to take away my life4 ,but ,i trusted in ,thee1 ,o ,jehovah3 ,i said1 ,thou art my ,god4 ,my times are in ,thy hand3 ,deliver me from the hand of mine enemies1 and from them that persecute me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let the lying lips be dumb1 ,which speak against the righteous insolently1 ,with pride and contempt4 ,oh1 how great is ,thy goodness1 which ,thou hast laid up for them that fear ,thee1 ,which ,thou hast wrought for them that put their trust in ,thee1 before the sons of men4#bb ,we have here an early and rudimentary example of religious toleration1 of the willingness1 however reluctant1 to hear as a possible ,divine message unpalatable teaching1 at variance with current theology2 we see too the fountain-head of that freedom which since has broadened down from precedent to precedent4 ,but unfortunately no precedent can bind succeeding generations1 and both ,judaism and ,christianity have sinned grievously against the lesson of this chapter4 ,jehoiakim himself soon broke through the feeble restraint of this new-born tolerance4 ,the writer adds an incident that must have happened somewhat later1#bc to show how real was ,jeremiah's danger1 and how transient was the liberal mood of the authorities4 ,a certain ,uriah ben ,shemaiah of ,kirjath ,jearim had the courage to follow in ,jeremiah's footsteps and speak against the city according to all that ,jeremiah had said4 ,with the usual meanness of persecutors1 ,jehoiakim and his captains and princes vented upon this obscure prophet the ill-will which they had not dared to indulge in the case of ,jeremiah1 with his commanding personality and influential friends4 ,uriah fled into ,egypt1 but was brought back and slain1 and his body cast out unburied into the common cemetery4 ,we can understand ,jeremiah's fierce and bitter indignation against the city where such things were possible4 ,this chapter is so full of suggestive teaching that we can only touch upon two or three of its more obvious lessons4 ,the dogma which shaped the charge against ,jeremiah and caused the martyrdom of ,uriah was the inviolability of the ,temple and the ,holy ,city4 ,this dogma was a perversion of the teaching of ,isaiah1 and especially of ,jeremiah himself1#bd which assigned a unique position to the ,temple in the religion of ,israel4 ,the carnal man shows a fatal ingenuity in sucking poison out of the most wholesome truth4 ,he is always eager to discover that something external1 material1 physical1 concrete--some building1 organisation1 ceremony1 or form of words--is a fundamental basis of the faith and essential to salvation4 ,if ,jeremiah had died with ,josiah1 the priests and prophets would doubtless have quoted his authority against ,uriah4 ,the teaching of ,christ and ,his apostles1 of ,luther and ,calvin and their fellow-reformers1 has often been twisted and forged into weapons to be used against their true followers4 ,we are often tempted in the interest of our favourite views to lay undue stress on secondary and accidental statements of great teachers4 ,we fail to keep the due proportion of truth which they themselves observed1 and in applying their precepts to new problems we sacrifice the kernel and save the husk4 ,the warning of ,jeremiah's persecutors might often give us pause4 ,we need not be surprised at finding priests and prophets eager and interested champions of a perversion of revealed truth4 ,ecclesiastical office does not necessarily confer any inspiration from above4 ,the hereditary priest follows the traditions of his caste1 and even the prophet may become the mouthpiece of the passions and prejudices of those who accept and applaud him4 ,when men will not endure sound doctrine1 they heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts2 having itching ears1 they turn away their ears from the truth and turn unto fables4#be ,jeremiah's experience shows that even an apparent consensus of clerical opinion is not always to be trusted4 ,the history of councils and synods is stained by many foul and shameful blots2 it was the cumenical ,council at ,constance that burnt ,huss1 and most ,churches have found themselves1 at some time or other1 engaged in building the tombs of the prophets whom their own officials had stoned in days gone by4 ,we forget that ,athanasius contra mundum implies also ,athanasius contra ecclesiam4 ,,footnotes3 #aj ,the expression is curious2 it usually means all the cities of ,judah1 except ,jerusalem2 the ,,lxx4 reading varies between all the ,jews and all ,judah4 #aa ,see especially the exposition of chaps4 vii4-x41 which are often supposed to be a reproduction of ,jeremiah's utterance on this occasion4 #ab ,the ,hebrew apparently implies that the discourse was a repetition of former prophecies4 #ac vii4 #ab-ad4 ,even if chaps4 vii4-x4 are not a report of ,jeremiah's discourse on this occasion1 the few lines in xxvi4 are evidently a mere summary1 and vii4 will best indicate the substance of his utterance4 ,the verses quoted occur towards the beginning of vii4-x41 but from the emphatic reference to ,shiloh in the brief abstract in xxvi41 ,jeremiah must have dwelt on this topic1 and the fact that the outburst followed his conclusion suggests that he reserved this subject for his peroration4 #ad v4 #ca4 #ae ,acts xxi4 #bg-cj4 #af #b ,kings xv4 #ce4 #ag ,mark xiv4 #eh4 #ah ,acts vi4 #ac1 #ad1 vii4 #dh4 #ai #b ,kings xviii4 #d1 xxiii42 ,isa4 xxxvi4 #g4 #bj vii4 #d4 #ba ,micah iii4 #ab4 ,as the quotation exactly agrees with the verse in our extant ,book of ,micah1 we may suppose that the elders were acquainted with his prophecies in writing4 #bb ,psalm xxxi4 #ac-ae1 #ah1 #ai4 ,the ,psalm is sometimes ascribed to ,jeremiah1 because it can be so readily applied to this incident4 ,the reader will recognise his characteristic phrase ,terror on every side 7,magor-missabib74 #bc ,this incident cannot be part of the speech of the elders2 it would only have told against the point they were trying to make4 ,the various phases--prophesy1 persecution1 flight1 capture1 and execution--must have taken some time1 and can scarcely have preceded ,jeremiah's utterance at the beginning of the reign of ,king ,jehoiakim4 #bd ,assuming his sympathy with ,deuteronomy4 #be #b ,tim4 iv4 #c4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,roll xxxvi4 ,take thee a roll of a book1 and write therein all the words that ,i have spoken unto thee4--,,jer4 xxxvi4 #b4 ,the incidents which form so large a proportion of the contents of our book do not make up a connected narrative2 they are merely a series of detached pictures3 we can only conjecture the doings and experiences of ,jeremiah during the intervals4 ,chapter xxvi4 leaves him still exposed to the persistent hostility of the priests and prophets1 who had apparently succeeded in once more directing popular feeling against their antagonist4 ,at the same time1 though the princes were not ill-disposed towards him1 they were not inclined to resist the strong pressure brought to bear upon them4 ,probably the attitude of the populace varied from time to time1 according to the presence among them of the friends or enemies of the prophet2 and1 in the same way1 we cannot think of the princes as a united body1 governed by a single impulse4 ,the action of this group of notables might be determined by the accidental preponderance of one or other of two opposing parties4 ,jeremiah's only real assurance of safety lay in the personal protection extended to him by ,ahikam ben ,shaphan4 ,doubtless other princes associated themselves with ,ahikam in his friendly action on behalf of the prophet4 ,under these circumstances1 ,jeremiah would find it necessary to restrict his activity4 ,utter indifference to danger was one of the most ordinary characteristics of ,hebrew prophets1 and ,jeremiah was certainly not wanting in the desperate courage which may be found in any ,mohammedan dervish4 ,at the same time he was far too practical1 too free from morbid self-consciousness1 to court martyrdom for its own sake4 ,if he had presented himself again in the ,temple when it was crowded with worshippers1 his life might have been taken in a popular tumult1 while his mission was still only half accomplished4 ,possibly his priestly enemies had found means to exclude him from the sacred precincts4 ,man's extremity was ,god's opportunity2 this temporary and partial silencing of ,jeremiah led to a new departure1 which made the influence of his teaching more extensive and permanent4 ,he was commanded to commit his prophecies to writing4 ,the restriction of his active ministry was to bear rich fruit1 like ,paul's imprisonment1 and ,athanasius' exile1 and ,luther's sojourn in the ,wartburg4 ,a short time since there was great danger that ,jeremiah and the ,divine message entrusted to him would perish together4 ,he did not know how soon he might become once more the mark of popular fury1 nor whether ,ahikam would still be able to protect him4 ,the roll of the book could speak even if he were put to death4 ,but ,jeremiah was not thinking chiefly about what would become of his teaching if he himself perished4 ,he had an immediate and particular end in view4 ,his tenacious persistence was not to be baffled by the prospect of mob violence1 or by exclusion from the most favourable vantage-ground4 ,renan is fond of comparing the prophets to modern journalists2 and this incident is an early and striking instance of the substitution of pen1 ink1 and paper for the orator's tribune4 ,perhaps the closest modern parallel is that of the speaker who is howled down at a public meeting and hands his manuscript to the reporters4 ,in the record of the ,divine command to ,jeremiah1 there is no express statement as to what was to be done with the roll2 but as the object of writing it was that perchance the house of ,judah might hear and repent1 it is evident that from the first it was intended to be read to the people4 ,there is considerable difference of opinion#bf as to the contents of the roll4 ,they are described as3 ,all that ,i have spoken unto thee concerning#bg ,jerusalem#bh and ,judah1 and all the nations1 since ,i 7first7 spake unto thee1 from the time of ,josiah until now4 ,at first sight this would seem to include all previous utterances1 and therefore all the extant prophecies of a date earlier than ,b4,c4 #fje1 i4e4 those contained in chapters i4-xii4 and some portions of xiv4-xx4 7we cannot determine which with any exactness71 and probably most of those dated in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim1 i4e4 xxv4 and parts of xlv4-xlix4 ,cheyne1#bi however1 holds that the roll simply contained the striking and comprehensive prophecy in chapter xxv4 ,the whole series of chapters might very well be described as dealing with ,jerusalem1 ,judah1 and the nations2 but at the same time xxv4 might be considered equivalent1 by way of summary1 to all that had been spoken on these subjects4 ,from various considerations which will appear as we proceed with the narrative1 it seems probable that the larger estimate is the more correct1 i4e4 that the roll contained a large fraction of our ,book of ,jeremiah1 and not merely one or two chapters4 ,we need not1 however1 suppose that every previous utterance of the prophet1 even though still extant1 must have been included in the roll2 the all would of course be understood to be conditioned by relevancy2 and the narratives of various incidents are obviously not part of what ,jehovah had spoken4 ,jeremiah dictated his prophecies1 as ,st4 ,paul did his epistles1 to an amanuensis2 he called his disciple ,baruch#cj ben ,neriah1 and dictated to him all that ,jehovah had spoken1 upon a book1 in the form of a roll4 ,it seems clear that1 as in xxvi41 the narrative does not exactly follow the order of events1#ca and that verse #i1 which records the proclamation of a fast in the ninth month of ,jehoiakim's fifth year1 should be read before verse #e1 which begins the account of the circumstances leading up to the actual reading of the roll4 ,we are not told in what month of ,jehoiakim's fourth year ,jeremiah received this command to write his prophecies in a roll1 but as they were not read till the ninth month of the fifth year1 there must have been an interval of at least ten months or a year between the ,divine command and the reading by ,baruch4 ,we can scarcely suppose that all or nearly all this delay was caused by ,jeremiah and ,baruch's waiting for a suitable occasion4 ,the long interval suggests that the dictation took some time1 and that therefore the roll was somewhat voluminous in its contents1 and that it was carefully compiled1 not without a certain amount of revision4 ,when the manuscript was ready1 its authors had to determine the right time at which to read it2 they found their desired opportunity in the fast proclaimed in the ninth month4 ,this was evidently an extraordinary fast1 appointed in view of some pressing danger2 and1 in the year following the battle of ,carchemish1 this would naturally be the advance of ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,as our incident took place in the depth of winter1 the months must be reckoned according to the ,babylonian year1 which began in ,april2 and the ninth month1 ,kisleu1 would roughly correspond to our ,december4 ,the dreaded invasion would be looked for early in the following spring1 at the time when kings go out to battle4#cb ,jeremiah does not seem to have absolutely determined from the first that the reading of the roll by ,baruch was to be a substitute for his own presence4 ,he had probably hoped that some change for the better in the situation might justify his appearance before a great gathering in the ,temple4 ,but when the time came he was hindered#cc--we are not told how--and could not go into the ,temple4 ,he may have been restrained by his own prudence1 or dissuaded by his friends1 like ,paul when he would have faced the mob in the theatre at ,ephesus2 the hindrance may have been some ban under which he had been placed by the priesthood1 or it may have been some unexpected illness1 or legal uncleanness1 or some other passing accident1 such as ,providence often uses to protect its soldiers till their warfare is accomplished4 ,accordingly it was ,baruch who went up to the ,temple4 ,though he is said to have read the book in the ears of all the people1 he does not seem to have challenged universal attention as openly as ,jeremiah had done2 he did not stand forth in the court of the ,temple1#cd but betook himself to the chamber of the scribe1#ce or secretary of state1 ,gemariah ben ,shaphan1 the brother of ,jeremiah's protector ,ahikam4 ,this chamber would be one of the cells built round the upper court1 from which the new gate#cf led into an inner court of the ,temple4 ,thus ,baruch placed himself formally under the protection of the owner of the apartment1 and any violence offered to him would have been resented and avenged by this powerful noble with his kinsmen and allies4 ,jeremiah's disciple and representative took his seat at the door of the chamber1 and1 in full view of the crowds who passed and repassed through the new gate1 opened his roll and began to read aloud from its contents4 ,his reading was yet another repetition of the exhortations1 warnings1 and threats which ,jeremiah had rehearsed on the feast day when he spake to the people all that ,jehovah had commanded him2 and still both ,jehovah and ,his prophet promised deliverance as the reward of repentance4 ,evidently the head and front of the nation's offence had been no open desertion of ,jehovah for idols1 else ,his servants would not have selected for their audience ,his enthusiastic worshippers as they thronged to ,his ,temple4 ,the fast itself might have seemed a token of penitence1 but it was not accepted by ,jeremiah1 or put forward by the people1 as a reason why the prophecies of ruin should not be fulfilled4 ,no one offers the very natural plea3 ,in this fast we are humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of ,god1 we are confessing our sins1 and consecrating ourselves afresh to service of ,jehovah4 ,what more does ,he expect of us8 ,why does ,he still withhold ,his mercy and forgiveness8 ,wherefore have we fasted1 and ,thou seest not8 ,wherefore have we afflicted our soul1 and ,thou takest no knowledge8 ,such a plea would probably have received an answer similar to that given by one of ,jeremiah's successors3 ,behold1 in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure1 and oppress all your labourers4 ,behold1 ye fast for strife and contention1 and to smite with the fist of wickedness3 ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high4 ,is such the fast that ,i have chosen8 the day for a man to afflict his soul8 ,is it to bow down his head as a rush1 and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him8 wilt thou call this a fast1 and a day acceptable to ,jehovah8 ,is not this the fast that ,i have chosen8 to loose the bonds of wickedness1 to undo the bands of the yoke1 and to let the oppressed go free1 and that ye break every yoke8 ,is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry1 and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house8 when thou seest the naked1 that thou cover him2 and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh8 ,then shall thy light break forth as the morning1 and thy healing shall spring forth speedily3 and thy righteousness shall go before thee2 the glory of ,jehovah shall be thy rearward4#cg ,jeremiah's opponents did not grudge ,jehovah ,his burnt-offerings and calves of a year old2 ,he was welcome to thousands of rams1 and ten thousands of rivers of oil4 ,they were even willing to give their firstborn for their transgression1 the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul2 but they were not prepared to do justly1 and to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with their ,god4#ch ,we are not told how ,jeremiah and the priests and prophets formulated the points at issue between them1 which were so thoroughly and universally understood that the record takes them for granted4 ,possibly ,jeremiah contended for the recognition of ,deuteronomy1 with its lofty ideals of pure religion and a humanitarian order of society4 ,but1 in any case1 these incidents were an early phase of the age-long struggle of the prophets of ,god against the popular attempt to make ritual and sensuous emotion into excuses for ignoring morality1 and to offer the cheap sacrifice of a few unforbidden pleasures1 rather than surrender the greed of grain1 the lust of power1 and the sweetness of revenge4 ,when the multitudes caught the sound of ,baruch's voice and saw him sitting in the doorway of ,gemariah's chamber1 they knew exactly what they would hear4 ,to them he was almost as antagonistic as a ,protestant evangelist would be to the worshippers at some great ,romanist feast2 or perhaps we might find a closer parallel in a ,low ,church bishop addressing a ritualistic audience4 ,for the hearts of these hearers were not steeled by the consciousness of any formal schism4 ,baruch and the great prophet whom he represented did not stand outside the recognised limits of ,divine inspiration4 ,while the priests and prophets and their adherents repudiated his teaching as heretical1 they were still haunted by the fear that1 at any rate1 his threats might have some ,divine authority4 ,apart from all theology1 the prophet of evil always finds an ally in the nervous fears and guilty conscience of his hearer4 ,the feelings of the people would be similar to those with which they had heard the same threats against ,judah1 the city and the ,temple1 from ,jeremiah himself4 ,but the excitement aroused by the defeat of ,pharaoh and the hasty return of ,nebuchadnezzar to ,babylon had died away4 ,the imminence of a new invasion made it evident that this had not been the ,divine deliverance of ,judah4 ,the people were cowed by what must have seemed to many the approaching fulfilments of former threatenings2 the ritual of a fast was in itself depressing2 so that they had little spirit to resent the message of doom4 ,perhaps too there was less to resent3 the prophecies were the same1 but ,baruch may have been less unpopular than ,jeremiah1 and his reading would be tame and ineffective compared to the fiery eloquence of his master4 ,moreover the powerful protection which shielded him was indicated not only by the place he occupied1 but also by the presence of ,gemariah's son1 ,micaiah4 ,the reading passed off without any hostile demonstration on the part of the people1 and ,micaiah went in search of his father to describe to him the scene he had just witnessed4 ,he found him in the palace1 in the chamber of the secretary of state1 ,elishama1 attending a council of the princes4 ,there were present1 amongst others1 ,elnathan ben ,achbor1 who brought ,uriah back from ,egypt1 ,delaiah ben ,shemaiah1 and ,zedekiah ben ,hananiah4 ,micaiah told them what he had heard4 ,they at once sent for ,baruch and the roll4 ,their messenger1 ,jehudi ben ,nethaniah1 seems to have been a kind of court-usher4 ,his name signifies the ,jew1 and as his great-grandfather was ,cushi1 the ,ethiopian1 it has been suggested that he came of a family of ,ethiopian descent1 which had only attained in his generation to ,jewish citizenship4#ci ,when ,baruch arrived1 the princes greeted him with the courtesy and even deference due to the favourite disciple of a distinguished prophet4 ,they invited him to sit down and read them the roll4 ,baruch obeyed2 the method of reading suited the enclosed room and the quiet1 interested audience of responsible men1 better than the swaying crowd gathered round the door of ,gemariah's chamber4 ,baruch now had before him ministers of state who knew from their official information and experience how extremely probable it was that the words to which they were listening would find a speedy and complete fulfilment4 ,baruch must almost have seemed to them like a doomster who announces to a condemned criminal the ghastly details of his coming execution4 ,they exchanged looks of dismay and horror1 and when the reading was over1 they said to one another1#dj ,we must tell the king of all these words4 ,first1 however1 they inquired concerning the exact circumstances under which the roll had been written1 that they might know how far responsibility in this matter was to be divided between the prophet and his disciple1 and also whether all the contents rested upon the full authority of ,jeremiah4 ,baruch assured them that it was simply a case of dictation3 ,jeremiah had uttered every word with his own mouth1 and he had faithfully written it down2 everything was ,jeremiah's own4#da ,the princes were well aware that the prophet's action would probably be resented and punished by ,jehoiakim4 ,they said to ,baruch3 ,do you and ,jeremiah go and hide yourselves1 and let no one know where you are4 ,they kept the roll and laid it up in ,elishama's room2 then they went to the king4 ,they found him in his winter room1 in the inner court of the palace1 sitting in front of a brasier of burning charcoal4 ,on this fast-day the king's mind might well be careful and troubled1 as he meditated on the kind of treatment that he1 the nominee of ,pharaoh ,necho1 was likely to receive from ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,we cannot tell whether he contemplated resistance or had already resolved to submit to the conqueror4 ,in either case he would wish to act on his own initiative1 and might be anxious lest a ,chaldean party should get the upper hand in ,jerusalem and surrender him and the city to the invader4 ,when the princes entered1 their number and their manner would at once indicate to him that their errand was both serious and disagreeable4 ,he seems to have listened in silence while they made their report of the incident at the door of ,gemariah's chamber and their own interview with ,baruch4#db ,the king sent for the roll by ,jehudi1 who had accompanied the princes into the presence chamber2 and on his return the same serviceable official read its contents before ,jehoiakim and the princes1 whose number was now augmented by the nobles in attendance upon the king4 ,jehudi had had the advantage of hearing ,baruch read the roll1 but ancient ,hebrew manuscripts were not easy to decipher1 and probably ,jehudi stumbled somewhat2 altogether the reading of prophecies by a court-usher would not be a very edifying performance1 or very gratifying to ,jeremiah's friends4 ,jehoiakim treated the matter with deliberate and ostentatious contempt4 ,at the end of every three or four columns1#dc he put out his hand for the roll1 cut away the portion that had been read1 and threw it on the fire2 then he handed the remainder back to ,jehudi1 and the reading was resumed till the king thought fit to repeat the process4 ,it at once appeared that the audience was divided into two parties4 ,when ,gemariah's father1 ,shaphan1 had read ,deuteronomy to ,josiah1 the king rent his clothes2 but now the writer tells us1 half aghast1 that neither ,jehoiakim nor any of his servants were afraid or rent their clothes1 but the audience1 including doubtless both court officials and some of the princes1 looked on with calm indifference4 ,not so the princes who had been present at ,baruch's reading3 they had probably induced him to leave the roll with them1 by promising that it should be kept safely2 they had tried to keep it out of the king's hands by leaving it in ,elishama's room1 and now they made another attempt to save it from destruction4 ,they entreated ,jehoiakim to refrain from open and insolent defiance of a prophet who might after all be speaking in the name of ,jehovah4 ,but the king persevered4 ,the alternate reading and burning went on2 the unfortunate usher's fluency and clearness would not be improved by the extraordinary conditions under which he had to read2 and we may well suppose that the concluding columns were hurried over in a somewhat perfunctory fashion1 if they were read at all4 ,as soon as the last shred of parchment was shrivelling on the charcoal1 ,jehoiakim commanded three of his officers#dd to arrest ,jeremiah and ,baruch4 ,but they had taken the advice of the princes and were not to be found3 ,jehovah hid them4 ,thus the career of ,baruch's roll was summarily cut short4 ,but it had done its work2 it had been read on three separate occasions1 first before the people1 then before the princes1 and last of all before the king and his court4 ,if ,jeremiah had appeared in person1 he might have been at once arrested1 and put to death like ,uriah4 ,no doubt this threefold recital was1 on the whole1 a failure2 ,jeremiah's party among the princes had listened with anxious deference1 but the appeal had been received by the people with indifference and by the king with contempt4 ,nevertheless it must have strengthened individuals in the true faith1 and it had proclaimed afresh that the religion of ,jehovah gave no sanction to the policy of ,jehoiakim3 the ruin of ,judah would be a proof of the sovereignty of ,jehovah and not of ,his impotence4 ,but probably this incident had more immediate influence over the king than we might at first sight suppose4 ,when ,nebuchadnezzar arrived in ,palestine1 ,jehoiakim submitted to him1 a policy entirely in accordance with the views of ,jeremiah4 ,we may well believe that the experiences of this fast-day had strengthened the hands of the prophet's friends1 and cooled the enthusiasm of the court for more desperate and adventurous courses4 ,every year's respite for ,judah fostered the growth of the true religion of ,jehovah4 ,the sequel showed how much more prudent it was to risk the existence of a roll rather than the life of a prophet4 ,jeremiah was only encouraged to persevere4 ,by the ,divine command1 he dictated his prophecies afresh to ,baruch1 adding besides unto them many like words4 ,possibly other copies were made of the whole or parts of this roll1 and were secretly circulated1 read1 and talked about4 ,we are not told whether ,jehoiakim ever heard this new roll2 but1 as one of the many like things added to the older prophecies was a terrible personal condemnation of the king1#de we may be sure that he was not allowed to remain in ignorance1 at any rate1 of this portion of it4 ,the second roll was1 doubtless1 one of the main sources of our present ,book of ,jeremiah1 and the narrative of this chapter is of considerable importance for ,old ,testament criticism4 ,it shows that a prophetic book may not go back to any prophetic autograph at all2 its most original sources may be manuscripts written at the prophet's dictation1 and liable to all the errors which are apt to creep into the most faithful work of an amanuensis4 ,it shows further that1 even when a prophet's utterances were written down during his lifetime1 the manuscript may contain only his recollections#df of what he said years before1 and that these might be either expanded or abbreviated1 sometimes even unconsciously modified1 in the light of subsequent events4 ,verse #cb shows that ,jeremiah did not hesitate to add to the record of his former prophecies many like words3 there is no reason to suppose that these were all contained in an appendix2 they would often take the form of annotations4 ,the important part played by ,baruch as ,jeremiah's secretary and representative must have invested him with full authority to speak for his master and expound his views2 such authority points to ,baruch as the natural editor of our present book1 which is virtually the ,life and ,writings of the prophet4 ,the last words of our chapter are ambiguous1 perhaps intentionally4 ,they simply state that many like words were added1 and do not say by whom2 they might even include additions made later on by ,baruch from his own reminiscences4 ,in conclusion1 we may notice that both the first and second copies of the roll were written by the direct ,divine command1 just as in the ,hexateuch and the ,book of ,samuel we read of ,moses1 ,joshua1 and ,samuel committing certain matters to writing at the bidding of ,jehovah4 ,we have here the recognition of the inspiration of the scribe1 as ancillary to that of the prophet4 ,jehovah not only gives ,his word to ,his servants1 but watches over its preservation and transmission4#dg ,but there is no inspiration to write any new revelation3 the spoken word1 the consecrated life1 are inspired2 the book is only a record of inspired speech and action4 ,,footnotes3 #bf ,see ,cheyne1 ,giesebrecht1 ,orelli1 etc4 #bg ,r4,v4 against4 ,the ,hebrew is ambiguous4 #bh ,so ,septuagint4 ,the ,hebrew text has ,israel1 which is a less accurate description of the prophecies1 and is less relevant to this particular occasion4 #bi ,jeremiah 7,men of the ,bible71 p4 #acb4 #cj ,cf4 ,chap4 ,v4 on ,baruch4 #ca ,verses #e-h seem to be a brief alternative account to #i-bf4 #cb #a ,chron4 xx4 i4 #cc ',c,r3 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 shut up2 ,r4,v4 margin1 restrained4 ,the term is used in xxxiii4 #a1 xxxix4 #ae1 in the sense of imprisoned1 but here ,jeremiah appears to be at liberty4 ,the phrase ',c,r ,w ,z,,bh1 ,a4,v4 shut up or left 7,deut4 xxxii4 #cf1 etc471 has been understood1 those under the restraints imposed upon ceremonial uncleanness and those free from these restraints1 i4e4 everybody2 the same meaning has been given to ',c,r here4 #cd xxvi4 #b4 #ce ,so ,cheyne2 the ,hebrew does not make it clear whether the title scribe refers to the father or the son4 ,giesebrecht understands it of ,shaphan1 who appears as scribe in #b ,kings xxii4 #h4 ,he points out that in verse #bj ,elishama is called the scribe1 but we cannot assume that the title was limited to a single officer of state4 #cf ,cf4 xxvi4 #aj4 #cg ,isa4 lviii4 #c-h4 #ch ,micah vi4 #f-h4 #ci ,so ,orelli1 in loco4 #dj ,hebrew text to ,baruch1 which ,,lxx4 omits4 #da ,in verse #ah the word with ink is not in the ,,lxx41 and may be an accidental repetition of the similar word for his mouth4 #db ,the ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 all the words is misleading3 it should rather be everything2 the princes did not recite all the contents of the roll4 #dc ,the ,english tenses cut1 cast1 are ambiguous1 but the ,hebrew implies that the cutting and casting on the fire were repeated again and again4 #dd ,one is called ,jerahmeel the son of ,hammelech 7,a4,v471 or the king's son 7,r4,v472 if the latter is correct we must understand merely a prince of the blood-royal and not a son of ,jehoiakim1 who was only thirty4 #de ,for verses #bi-ca see ,chap4 ,,vi41 where they are dealt with in connection with xxii4 #ac-ai4 #df ,the supposition that ,jeremiah had written notes of previous prophecies is not an impossible one1 but it is a pure conjecture4 #dg ,cf4 ,orelli1 in loco4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,rechabites xxxv4 ,jonadab the son of ,rechab shall not want a man to stand before ,me for ever4--,,jer4 xxxv4 #ai4 ,this incident is dated in the days of ,jehoiakim4 ,we learn from verse #aa that it happened at a time when the open country of ,judah was threatened by the advance of ,nebuchadnezzar with a ,chaldean and ,syrian army4 ,if ,nebuchadnezzar marched into the south of ,palestine immediately after the battle of ,carchemish1 the incident may have happened1 as some suggest1 in the eventful fourth year of ,jehoiakim2 or if he did not appear in the neighbourhood of ,jerusalem till after he had taken over the royal authority at ,babylon1 ,jeremiah's interview with the ,rechabites may have followed pretty closely upon the destruction of ,baruch's roll4 ,but we need not press the words ,nebuchadnezzar 444 came up into the land2 they may only mean that ,judah was invaded by an army acting under his orders4 ,the mention of ,chaldeans and ,assyrians suggests that this invasion is the same as that mentioned in #b ,kings xxiv4 #a1 #b1 where we are told that ,jehoiakim served ,nebuchadnezzar three years and then rebelled against him1 whereupon ,jehovah sent against him bands of ,chaldeans1 ,syrians1 ,moabites1 and ,ammonites1 and sent them against ,judah to destroy it4 ,if this is the invasion referred to in our chapter it falls towards the end of ,jehoiakim's reign1 and sufficient time had elapsed to allow the king's anger against ,jeremiah to cool1 so that the prophet could venture out of his hiding-place4 ,the marauding bands of ,chaldeans and their allies had driven the country people in crowds into ,jerusalem1 and among them the nomad clan of the ,rechabites4 ,according to #a ,chron4 ii4 #ee1 the ,rechabites traced their descent to a certain ,hemath1 and were a branch of the ,kenites1 an ,edomite tribe dwelling for the most part in the south of ,palestine4 ,these ,kenites had maintained an ancient and intimate alliance with ,judah1 and in time the allies virtually became a single people1 so that after the ,return from the ,captivity all distinction of race between ,kenites and ,jews was forgotten1 and the ,kenites were reckoned among the families of ,israel4 ,in this fusion of their tribe with ,judah1 the ,rechabite clan would be included4 ,it is clear from all the references both to ,kenites and to ,rechabites that they had adopted the religion of ,israel and worshipped ,jehovah4 ,we know nothing else of the early history of the ,rechabites4 ,the statement in ,chronicles that the father of the house of ,rechab was ,hemath perhaps points to their having been at one time settled at some place called ,hemath near ,jabez in ,judah4 ,possibly too ,rechab1 which means rider1 is not a personal name1 but a designation of the clan as horsemen of the desert4 ,these ,rechabites were conspicuous among the ,jewish farmers and townsfolk by their rigid adherence to the habits of nomad life2 and it was this peculiarity that attracted the notice of ,jeremiah1 and made them a suitable object-lesson to the recreant ,jews4 ,the traditional customs of the clan had been formulated into positive commands by ,jonadab1 the son of ,rechab1 i4e4 the ,rechabite4 ,this must be the same ,jonadab who co-operated with ,jehu in overthrowing the house of ,omri and suppressing the worship of ,baal4 ,jehu's reforms concluded the long struggle of ,elijah and ,elisha against the house of ,omri and its half-heathen religion4 ,hence we may infer that ,jonadab and his ,rechabites had come under the influence of these great prophets1 and that their social and religious condition was one result of ,elijah's work4 ,jeremiah stood in the true line of succession from the northern prophets in his attitude towards religion and politics2 so that there would be bonds of sympathy between him and these nomad refugees4 ,the laws or customs of ,jonadab1 like the ,ten ,commandments1 were chiefly negative3 ,ye shall drink no wine1 neither ye nor your sons for ever3 neither shall ye build houses1 nor sow seed1 nor plant vineyards1 nor have any3 but all your days ye shall dwell in tents2 that ye may live many days in the land wherein ye are strangers4 ,various parallels have been found to the customs of the ,rechabites4 ,the ,hebrew ,nazarites abstained from wine and strong drink1 from grapes and grape juice and everything made of the vine1 from the kernels even to the husk4#dh ,mohammed forbade his followers to drink any sort of wine or strong drink4 ,but the closest parallel is one often quoted from ,diodorus ,siculus1#di who1 writing about ,b4,c4 #h1 tells us that the ,nabatean ,arabs were prohibited under the penalty of death from sowing corn or planting fruit trees1 using wine or building houses4 ,such abstinence is not primarily ascetic2 it expresses the universal contempt of the wandering hunter and herdsman for tillers of the ground1 who are tied to one small spot of earth1 and for burghers1 who further imprison themselves in narrow houses and behind city walls4 ,the nomad has a not altogether unfounded instinct that such acceptance of material restraints emasculates both soul and body4 ,a remarkable parallel to the laws of ,jonadab ben ,rechab is found in the injunctions of the dying highlander1 ,ranald of the ,mist1 to his heir3 ,son of the ,mist6 be free as thy forefathers4 ,own no lord--receive no law--take no hire--give no stipend--build no hut--enclose no pasture--sow no grain4#ej ,the ,rechabite faith in the higher moral value of their primitive habits had survived their alliance with ,israel1 and ,jonadab did his best to protect his clan from the taint of city life and settled civilisation4 ,abstinence from wine was not enjoined chiefly1 if at all1 to guard against intoxication1 but because the fascinations of the grape might tempt the clan to plant vineyards1 or1 at any rate1 would make them dangerously dependent upon vine-dressers and wine-merchants4 ,till this recent invasion1 the ,rechabites had faithfully observed their ancestral laws1 but the stress of circumstances had now driven them into a fortified city1 possibly even into houses1 though it is more probable that they were encamped in some open space within the walls4#ea ,jeremiah was commanded to go and bring them into the ,temple1 that is1 into one of the rooms in the ,temple buildings1 and offer them wine4 ,the narrative proceeds in the first person1 ,i took ,jaazaniah1 so that the chapter will have been composed by the prophet himself4 ,in somewhat legal fashion he tells us how he took ,jaazaniah ben ,jeremiah1 ben ,habaziniah1 and his brethren1 and all his sons1 and all the clan of the ,rechabites4 ,all three names are compounded of the ,divine name ,iah1 ,jehovah1 and serve to emphasise the devotion of the clan to the ,god of ,israel4 ,it is a curious coincidence that the somewhat rare name ,jeremiah#eb should occur twice in this connection4 ,the room to which the prophet took his friends is described as the chamber of the disciples of the man of ,god#ec ,hanan ben ,igdaliah1 which was by the chamber of the princes1 which was above the chamber of the keeper of the threshold1 ,maaseiah ben ,shallum4 ,such minute details probably indicate that this chapter was committed to writing while these buildings were still standing and still had the same occupants as at the time of this incident1 but to us the topography is unintelligible4 ,the man of ,god or prophet ,hanan was evidently in sympathy with ,jeremiah1 and had a following of disciples who formed a sort of school of the prophets1 and were a sufficiently permanent body to have a chamber assigned to them in the ,temple buildings4 ,the keepers of the threshold were ,temple officials of high standing4 ,the princes may have been the princes of ,judah1 who might very well have a chamber in the ,temple courts2 but the term is general1 and may simply refer to other ,temple officials4 ,hanan's disciples seem to have been in good company4 ,these exact specifications of person and place are probably designed to give a certain legal solemnity and importance to the incident1 and seem to warrant us in rejecting ,reuss' suggestion that our narrative is simply an elaborate prophetic figure4#ed ,after these details ,jeremiah next tells us how he set before his guests bowls of wine and cups1 and invited them to drink4 ,probably ,jaazaniah and his clansmen were aware that the scene was intended to have symbolic religious significance4 ,they would not suppose that the prophet had invited them all1 in this solemn fashion1 merely to take a cup of wine2 and they would welcome an opportunity of showing their loyalty to their own peculiar customs4 ,they said3 ,we will drink no wine3 for our father ,jonadab the son of ,rechab commanded us1 saying1 ,ye shall drink no wine1 neither ye nor your sons for ever4 ,they further recounted ,jonadab's other commands and their own scrupulous obedience in every point1 except that now they had been compelled to seek refuge in a walled city4 ,then the word of ,jehovah came unto ,jeremiah2 he was commanded to make yet another appeal to the ,jews1 by contrasting their disobedience with the fidelity of the ,rechabites4 ,the ,divine ,king and ,father of ,israel had been untiring in ,his instruction and admonitions3 ,i have spoken unto you1 rising up early and speaking4 ,he had addressed them in familiar fashion through their fellow-countrymen3 ,i have sent also unto you all ,my servants the prophets1 rising up early and sending them4 ,yet they had not hearkened unto the ,god of ,israel or ,his prophets4 ,the ,rechabites had received no special revelation2 they had not been appealed to by numerous prophets4 ,their ,torah had been simply given them by their father ,jonadab2 nevertheless the commands of ,jonadab had been regarded and those of ,jehovah had been treated with contempt4 ,obedience and disobedience would bring forth their natural fruit4 ,i will bring upon ,judah1 and upon all the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 all the evil that ,i have pronounced against them3 because ,i have spoken unto them1 but they have not heard2 and ,i have called unto them1 but they have not answered4 ,but because the ,rechabites obeyed the commandment of their father ,jonadab1 ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 ,jonadab the son of ,rechab shall not want a man to stand before ,me for ever4 ,jehovah's approval of the obedience of the ,rechabites is quite independent of the specific commands which they obeyed4 ,it does not bind us to abstain from wine any more than from building houses and sowing seed4 ,jeremiah himself1 for instance1 would have had no more hesitation in drinking wine than in sowing his field at ,anathoth4 ,the tribal customs of the ,rechabites had no authority whatever over him4 ,nor is it exactly his object to set forth the merit of obedience and its certain and great reward4 ,these truths are rather touched upon incidentally4 ,what ,jeremiah seeks to emphasise is the gross1 extreme1 unique wickedness of ,israel's disobedience4 ,jehovah had not looked for any special virtue in ,his people4 ,his ,torah was not made up of counsels of perfection4 ,he had only expected the loyalty that ,moab paid to ,chemosh1 and ,tyre and ,sidon to ,baal4 ,he would have been satisfied if ,israel had observed ,his laws as faithfully as the nomads of the desert kept up their ancestral habits4 ,jehovah had spoken through ,jeremiah long ago and said3 ,pass over the isles of ,chittim1 and see2 and send unto ,kedar1 and consider diligently1 and see if there be any such thing4 ,hath a nation changed their gods1 which are yet no gods8 but ,my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit4#ee ,centuries later ,christ found ,himself constrained to upbraid the cities of ,israel1 wherein most of ,his mighty works were done3 ,woe unto thee1 ,chorazin6 woe unto thee1 ,bethsaida6 for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in ,tyre and ,sidon1 they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes4444 ,it shall be more tolerable for ,tyre and ,sidon at the day of judgment than for you4#ef ,and again and again in the history of the ,church the ,holy ,spirit has been grieved because those who profess and call themselves ,christians1 and claim to prophesy and do many mighty works in the name of ,christ1 are less loyal to the gospel than the heathen to their own superstitions4 ,buddhists and ,mohammedans have been held up as modern examples to rebuke the ,church1 though as a rule with scant justification4 ,perhaps material for a more relevant contrast may be found nearer home4 ,christian societies have been charged with conducting their affairs by methods to which a respectable business firm would not stoop2 they are said to be less scrupulous in their dealings and less chivalrous in their honour than the devotees of pleasure2 at their gatherings they are sometimes supposed to lack the mutual courtesy of members of a ,legislature or a ,chamber of ,commerce4 ,the history of councils and synods and ,church meetings gives colour to such charges1 which could never have been made if ,christians had been as jealous for the ,name of ,christ as a merchant is for his credit or a soldier for his honour4 ,and yet these contrasts do not argue any real moral and religious superiority of the ,rechabites over the ,jews or of unbelievers over professing ,christians4 ,it was comparatively easy to abstain from wine and to wander over wide pasture lands instead of living cooped up in cities--far easier than to attain to the great ideals of ,deuteronomy and the prophets4 ,it is always easier to conform to the code of business and society than to live according to the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,the fatal sin of ,judah was not that it fell so far short of its ideals1 but that it repudiated them4 ,so long as we lament our own failures and still cling to the ,name and ,faith of ,christ1 we are not shut out from mercy2 our supreme sin is to crucify ,christ afresh1 by denying the power of ,his gospel1 while we retain its empty form4 ,the reward promised to the ,rechabites for their obedience was that ,jonadab the son of ,rechab shall not want a man to stand before ,me for ever2 to stand before ,jehovah is often used to describe the exercise of priestly or prophetic ministry4 ,it has been suggested that the ,rechabites were hereby promoted to the status of the true ,israel1 a kingdom of priests2 but this phrase may merely mean that their clan should continue in existence4 ,loyal observance of national law1 the subordination of individual caprice and selfishness to the interests of the community1 make up a large part of that righteousness that establisheth a nation4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 students of prophecy have been anxious to discover some literal fulfilment2 and have searched curiously for any trace of the continued existence of the ,rechabites4 ,the notice in ,chronicles implies that they formed part of the ,jewish community of the ,restoration4 ,apparently ,alexandrian ,jews were acquainted with ,rechabites at a still later date4 ,psalm lxxi4 is ascribed by the ,septuagint to the sons of ,jonadab4 ,eusebius#eg mentions priests of the sons of ,rechab1 and ,benjamin of ,tudela1 a ,jewish traveller of the twelfth century1 states that he met with them in ,arabia4 ,more recent travellers have thought that they discovered the descendants of ,rechab amongst the nomads in ,arabia or the ,peninsula of ,sinai that still practised the old ancestral customs4 ,but the fidelity of ,jehovah to ,his promises does not depend upon our unearthing obscure tribes in distant deserts4 ,the gifts of ,god are without repentance1 but they have their inexorable conditions2 no nation can flourish for centuries on the virtues of its ancestors4 ,the ,rechabites may have vanished in the ordinary stream of history1 and yet we can hold that ,jeremiah's prediction has been fulfilled and is still being fulfilled4 ,no scriptural prophecy is limited in its application to an individual or a race1 and every nation possessed by the spirit of true patriotism shall stand before ,jehovah for ever4 ,,footnotes3 #dh ,num4 vi4 #b4 #di xix4 #id4 #ej ,scott1 ,legend of ,montrose1 chap4 xxii4 #ea ,the term house of the ,rechabites in verse #b means family or clan1 and does not refer to a building4 #eb ,eight ,jeremiahs occur in ,o4,t4 #ec ,literally sons of ,hanan4 #ed ,jeremiah1 according to this view1 had no interview with the ,rechabites1 but made an imaginary incident a text for his discourse4 #ee ii4 #aj1 #aa4 #ef ,matt4 xi4 #ba1 #bb4 #eg ,ch4 ,hist41 ii4 #bc4 ,,chapter ,v ,,baruch xlv4 ,thy life will ,i give unto thee for a prey4--,,jer4 xlv4 #e4 ,the editors of the versions and of the ,hebrew text of the ,old ,testament have assigned a separate chapter to this short utterance concerning ,baruch2 thus paying an unconscious tribute to the worth and importance of ,jeremiah's disciple and secretary1 who was the first to bear the familiar ,jewish name1 which in its ,latinised form of ,benedict has been a favourite with saints and popes4 ,probably few who read of these great ascetics and ecclesiastics give a thought to the earliest recorded ,baruch1 nor can we suppose that ,christian ,benedicts have been named after him4 ,one thing they may all have in common3 either their own faith or that of their parents ventured to bestow upon a man born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward the epithet ,blessed4 ,we can scarcely suppose that the life of any ,baruch or ,benedict has run so smoothly as to prevent him or his friends from feeling that such faith has not been outwardly justified and that the name suggested an unkind satire4 ,certainly ,jeremiah's disciple1 like his namesake ,baruch ,spinoza1 had to recognise his blessings disguised as distress and persecution4 ,baruch ben ,neriah is said by ,josephus#eh to have belonged to a most distinguished family1 and to have been exceedingly well educated in his native language4 ,these statements are perhaps legitimate deductions from the information supplied by our book4 ,his title scribe#ei and his position as ,jeremiah's secretary imply that he possessed the best culture of his time2 and we are told in li4 #ei that ,seraiah ben ,neriah1 who must be ,baruch's brother1 was chief chamberlain 7,r4,v47 to ,zedekiah4 ,according to the ,old ,latin ,version of the ,apocryphal ,book of ,baruch 7i4 #a7 he was of the tribe of ,simeon1 a statement by no means improbable in view of the close connection between ,judah and ,simeon1 but needing the support of some better authority4 ,baruch's relation to ,jeremiah is not expressly defined1 but it is clearly indicated in the various narratives in which he is referred to4 ,we find him in constant attendance upon the prophet1 acting both as his scribe1 or secretary1 and as his mouthpiece4 ,the relation was that of ,joshua to ,moses1 of ,elisha to ,elijah1 of ,gehazi to ,elisha1 of ,mark to ,paul and ,barnabas1 and of ,timothy to ,paul4 ,it is described in the case of ,joshua and ,mark by the term minister1 while ,elisha is characterised as having poured water on the hands of ,elijah4 ,the minister was at once personal attendant1 disciple1 representative1 and possible successor of the prophet4 ,the position has its analogue in the service of the squire to the medival knight1 and in that of an unpaid private secretary to a modern cabinet minister4 ,squires expected to become knights1 and private secretaries hope for a seat in future cabinets4 ,another less perfect parallel is the relation of the members of a ,german theological seminar to their professor4 ,baruch is first#fj introduced to us in the narrative concerning the roll4 ,he appears as ,jeremiah's amanuensis and representative1 and is entrusted with the dangerous and honourable task of publishing his prophecies to the people in the ,temple4 ,not long before1 similar utterances had almost cost the master his life1 so that the disciple showed high courage and devotion in undertaking such a commission4 ,he was called to share with his master at once the same cup of persecution--and the same ,divine protection4 ,we next hear of ,baruch in connection with the symbolic purchase of the field at ,anathoth4#fa ,he seems to have been attending on ,jeremiah during his imprisonment in the court of the guard1 and the documents containing the evidence of the purchase were entrusted to his care4 ,baruch's presence in the court of the guard does not necessarily imply that he was himself a prisoner4 ,the whole incident shows that ,jeremiah's friends had free access to him2 and ,baruch probably not only attended to his master's wants in prison1 but also was his channel of communication with the outside world4 ,we are nowhere told that ,baruch himself was either beaten or imprisoned1 but it is not improbable that he shared ,jeremiah's fortunes even to these extremities4 ,we next hear of him as carried down to ,egypt#fb with ,jeremiah1 when the ,jewish refugees fled thither after the murder of ,gedaliah4 ,apparently he had remained with ,jeremiah throughout the whole interval1 had continued to minister to him during his imprisonment1 and had been among the crowd of ,jewish captives whom ,nebuchadnezzar found at ,ramah4 ,josephus probably makes a similar conjecture#fc in telling us that1 when ,jeremiah was released and placed under the protection of ,gedaliah at ,mizpah1 he asked and obtained from ,nebuzaradan the liberty of his disciple ,baruch4 ,at any rate ,baruch shared with his master the transient hope and bitter disappointment of this period2 he supported him in dissuading the remnant of ,jews from fleeing into ,egypt1 and was also compelled to share their flight4 ,according to a tradition recorded by ,jerome1 ,baruch and ,jeremiah died in ,egypt4 ,but the ,apocryphal ,book of ,baruch places him at ,babylon1 whither another tradition takes him after the death of ,jeremiah in ,egypt4#fd ,these legends are probably mere attempts of wistful imagination to supply unwelcome blanks in history4 ,it has often been supposed that our present ,book of ,jeremiah1 in some stage of its formation1 was edited or compiled by ,baruch1 and that this book may be ranked with biographies--like ,stanley's ,life of ,arnold--of great teachers by their old disciples4 ,he was certainly the amanuensis of the roll1 which must have been the most valuable authority for any editor of ,jeremiah's prophecies4 ,and the amanuensis might very easily become the editor4 ,if an edition of the book was compiled in ,jeremiah's lifetime1 we should naturally expect him to use ,baruch's assistance2 if it first took shape after the prophet's death1 and if ,baruch survived1 no one would be better able to compile the ,life and ,works of ,jeremiah than his favourite and faithful disciple4 ,the personal prophecy about ,baruch does not occur in its proper place in connection with the episode of the roll1 but is appended at the end of the prophecies1#fe possibly as a kind of subscription on the part of the editor4 ,these data do not constitute absolute proof1 but they afford strong probability that ,baruch compiled a book1 which was substantially our ,jeremiah4 ,the evidence is similar in character to1 but much more conclusive than1 that adduced for the authorship of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews by ,apollos4 ,almost the final reference to ,baruch suggests another aspect of his relation to ,jeremiah4 ,the ,jewish captains accused him of unduly influencing his master against ,egypt and in favour of ,chaldea4 ,whatever truth there may have been in this particular charge1 we gather that popular opinion credited ,baruch with considerable influence over ,jeremiah1 and probably popular opinion was not far wrong4 ,nothing said about ,baruch suggests any vein of weakness in his character1 such as ,paul evidently recognised in ,timothy4 ,his few appearances upon the scene rather leave the impression of strength and self-reliance1 perhaps even self-assertion4 ,if we knew more about him1 possibly indeed if any one else had compiled these ,memorabilia1 we might discover that much in ,jeremiah's policy and teaching was due to ,baruch1 and that the master leaned somewhat heavily upon the sympathy of the disciple4 ,the qualities that make a successful man of action do not always exempt their possessor from being directed or even controlled by his followers4 ,it would be interesting to discover how much of ,luther is ,melanchthon4 ,of many a great minister1 his secretaries and subordinates might say safely1 in private1 ,cujus pars magna fuimus4 ,the short prophecy which has furnished a text for this chapter shows that ,jeremiah was not unaware of ,baruch's tendency to self-assertion1 and even felt that sometimes it required a check4 ,apparently chapter xlv4 once formed the immediate continuation of chapter xxxvi41 the narrative of the incident of the roll4 ,it was the word spoken by ,jeremiah the prophet to ,baruch ben ,neriah1 when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of ,jeremiah in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim4 ,the reference evidently is to xxxvi4 #cb1 where we are told that ,baruch wrote1 at ,jeremiah's dictation1 all the words of the book that had been burnt1 and many like words4 ,clearly ,baruch had not received ,jeremiah's message as to the sin and ruin of ,judah without strong protest4 ,it was as distasteful to him as to all patriotic ,jews and even to ,jeremiah himself4 ,baruch had not yet been able to accept this heavy burden or to look beyond to the brighter promise of the future4 ,he broke out into bitter complaint3 ,woe is me now6 for ,jehovah hath added sorrow to my pain2 ,i am weary with my groaning1 and find no rest4#ff ,strong as these words are1 they are surpassed by many of ,jeremiah's complaints to ,jehovah1 and doubtless even now they found an echo in the prophet's heart4 ,human impatience of suffering revolts desperately against the conviction that calamity is inevitable2 hope whispers that some unforeseen ,providence will yet disperse the storm-clouds1 and the portents of ruin will dissolve like some evil dream4 ,jeremiah had1 now as always1 the harsh1 unwelcome task of compelling himself and his fellows to face the sad and appalling reality4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,behold1 ,i am breaking down that which ,i built1 ,i am plucking up that which ,i planted4#fg ,this was his familiar message concerning ,judah1 but he had also a special word for ,baruch3 ,and as for thee1 dost thou seek great things for thyself8 ,what great things could a devout and patriotic ,jew1 a disciple of ,jeremiah1 seek for himself in those disastrous times8 ,the answer is at once suggested by the renewed prediction of doom4 ,baruch1 in spite of his master's teaching1 had still ventured to look for better things1 and had perhaps fancied that he might succeed where ,jeremiah had failed and might become the mediator who should reconcile ,israel to ,jehovah4 ,he may have thought that ,jeremiah's threats and entreaties had prepared the way for some message of reconciliation4 ,gemariah ben ,shaphan and other princes had been greatly moved when ,baruch read the roll4 ,might not their emotion be an earnest of the repentance of the people8 ,if he could carry on his master's work to a more blessed issue than the master himself had dared to hope1 would not this be a great thing indeed8 ,we gather from the tone of the chapter that ,baruch's aspirations were unduly tinged with personal ambition4 ,while kings1 priests1 and prophets were sinking into a common ruin from which even the most devoted servants of ,jehovah would not escape1 ,baruch was indulging himself in visions of the honour to be obtained from a glorious mission1 successfully accomplished4 ,jeremiah reminds him that he will have to take his share in the common misery4 ,instead of setting his heart upon great things which are not according to the ,divine purpose1 he must be prepared to endure with resignation the evil which ,jehovah is bringing upon all flesh4 ,yet there is a word of comfort and promise3 ,i will give thee thy life for a prey in all places whither thou goest4 ,baruch was to be protected from violent or premature death4 ,according to ,renan1#fh this boon was flung to ,baruch half-contemptuously1 in order to silence his unworthy and unseasonable importunity3-- ,dans une catastrophe qui va englober l'humanit tout entire1 il est beau de venir rclamer de petites faveurs d'exception6 ,baruch aura la vie sauve partout o il ira2 qu'il s'en contente6 ,we prefer a more generous interpretation4 ,to a selfish man1 unless indeed he clung to bare life in craven terror or mere animal tenacity1 such an existence as ,baruch was promised would have seemed no boon at all4 ,imprisonment in a besieged and starving city1 captivity and exile1 his fellow-countrymen's ill-will and resentment from first to last--these experiences would be hard to recognise as privileges bestowed by ,jehovah4 ,had ,baruch been wholly self-centred1 he might well have craved death instead1 like ,job1 nay1 like ,jeremiah himself4 ,but life meant for him continued ministry to his master1 the high privilege of supporting him in his witness to ,jehovah4 ,if1 as seems almost certain1 we owe to ,baruch the preservation of ,jeremiah's prophecies1 then indeed the life that was given him for a prey must have been precious to him as the devoted servant of ,god4 ,humanly speaking1 the future of revealed religion and of ,christianity depended on the survival of ,jeremiah's teaching1 and this hung upon the frail thread of ,baruch's life4 ,after all1 ,baruch was destined to achieve great things1 even though not those which he sought after2 and as no editor's name is prefixed to our book1 he cannot be accused of self-seeking4 ,so too for every faithful disciple1 his life1 even if given for a prey1 even if spent in sorrow1 poverty1 and pain1 is still a ,divine gift1 because nothing can spoil its opportunity of ministering to men and glorifying ,god1 even if only by patient endurance of suffering4 ,we may venture on a wider application of the promise1 ,thy life shall be given thee for a prey4 ,life is not merely continued existence in the body3 life has come to mean spirit and character1 so that ,christ could say1 ,he that loseth his life for ,my sake shall find it4 ,in this sense the loyal servant of ,god wins as his prey1 out of all painful experiences1 a fuller and nobler life4 ,other rewards may come in due season1 but this is the most certain and the most sufficient4 ,for ,baruch1 constant devotion to a hated and persecuted master1 uncompromising utterance of unpopular truth1 had their chief issue in the redemption of his own inward life4 ,,footnotes3 #eh ,antt41 x4 #i1 #a4 #ei xxxvi4 #bf1 #cb4 #fj ,in order of time1 ch4 xxxvi4 #fa xxxii4 #fb xliii4 #fc ,antt41 x4 #i1 #a4 #fd ,bissell's ,introduction to ,baruch in ,lange's ,commentary4 #fe ,so ,,lxx41 which here probably gives the true order4 #ff ,the clause ,i am weary with my groaning also occurs in ,psalm vi4 #f4 #fg ,the concluding clause of the verse is omitted by ,,lxx41 and is probably a gloss added to indicate that the ruin would not be confined to ,judah1 but would extend over the whole earth4 ,cf4 ,kautzsch4 #fh ,hist4 of ,israel1 iii41 #bic4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,judgment ,,on ,,jehoiakim xxii4 #ac-ai1 xxxvi4 #cj1 #ca4 ,jehoiakim 444 slew him 7,uriah7 with the sword1 and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people4--,,jer4 xxvi4 #bc4 ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah concerning ,jehoiakim1 444 ,he shall be buried with the burial of an ass1 drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of ,jerusalem4--,,jer4 xxii4 #ah1 #ai4 ,jehoiakim 444 did that which was evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that his fathers had done4--#b ,,kings xxiii4 #cf1 #cg4 ,our last four chapters have been occupied with the history of ,jeremiah during the reign of ,jehoiakim1 and therefore necessarily with the relations of the prophet to the king and his government4 ,before we pass on to the reigns of ,jehoiachin and ,zedekiah1 we must consider certain utterances which deal with the personal character and career of ,jehoiakim4 ,we are helped to appreciate these passages by what we here read1 and by the brief paragraph concerning this reign in the ,second ,book of ,kings4 ,in ,jeremiah the king's policy and conduct are specially illustrated by two incidents1 the murder of the prophet ,uriah and the destruction of the roll4 ,the historian states his judgment of the reign1 but his brief record#fi adds little to our knowledge of the sovereign4 ,jehoiakim was placed upon the throne as the nominee and tributary of ,pharaoh ,necho2 but he had the address or good fortune to retain his authority under ,nebuchadnezzar1 by transferring his allegiance to the new suzerain of ,western ,asia4 ,when a suitable opportunity offered1 the unwilling and discontented vassal naturally turned and rebelled against his lord4 ,even then his good fortune did not forsake him2 although in his latter days ,judah was harried by predatory bands of ,chaldeans1 ,syrians1 ,moabites1 and ,ammonites1 yet ,jehoiakim slept with his fathers before ,nebuchadnezzar had set to work in earnest to chastise his refractory subject4 ,he was not reserved1 like ,zedekiah1 to endure agonies of mental and physical torture1 and to rot in a ,babylonian dungeon4 ,jeremiah's judgment upon ,jehoiakim and his doings is contained in the two passages which form the subject of this chapter4 ,the utterance in xxxvi4 #cj1 #ca1 was evoked by the destruction of the roll1 and we may fairly assume that xxii4 #ac-ai was also delivered after that incident4 ,the immediate context of the latter paragraph throws no light on the date of its origin4 ,chapter xxii4 is a series of judgments on the successors of ,josiah1 and was certainly composed after the deposition of ,jehoiachin1 probably during the reign of ,zedekiah2 but the section on ,jehoiakim must have been uttered at an earlier period4 ,renan indeed imagines#gj that ,jeremiah delivered this discourse at the gate of the royal palace at the very beginning of the new reign4 ,the nominee of ,egypt was scarcely seated on the throne1 his new name ,jehoiakim--,he whom ,jehovah establisheth--still sounded strange in his ears1 when the prophet of ,jehovah publicly menaced the king with condign punishment4 ,renan is naturally surprised that ,jehoiakim tolerated ,jeremiah1 even for a moment4 ,but1 here as often elsewhere1 the ,french critic's dramatic instinct has warped his estimate of evidence4 ,we need not accept the somewhat unkind saying that picturesque anecdotes are never true1 but1 at the same time1 we have always to guard against the temptation to accept the most dramatic interpretation of history as the most accurate4 ,the contents of this passage1 the references to robbery1 oppression1 and violence1 clearly imply that ,jehoiakim had reigned long enough for his government to reveal itself as hopelessly corrupt4 ,the final breach between the king and the prophet was marked by the destruction of the roll1 and xxii4 #ac-ai1 like xxxvi4 #cj1 #ca1 may be considered a consequence of this breach4 ,let us now consider these utterances4 ,in xxxvi4 #cj;a we read1 ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah concerning ,jehoiakim king of ,judah1 ,he shall have none to sit upon the throne of ,david4 ,later on1#ga a like judgment was pronounced upon ,jehoiakim's son and successor ,jehoiachin4 ,the absence of this threat from xxii4 #ac-ai is doubtless due to the fact that the chapter was compiled when the letter of the prediction seemed to have been proved to be false by the accession of ,jehoiachin4 ,its spirit and substance were amply satisfied by the latter's deposition and captivity after a brief reign of a hundred days4 ,the next clause in the sentence on ,jehoiakim runs3 ,his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat1 and in the night to the frost4 ,the same doom is repeated in the later prophecy3-- ,they shall not lament for him1 ,alas my brother6 ,alas my brother6 ,they shall not lament for him1 ,alas lord6 ,alas lord6#gb ,he shall be buried with the burial of an ass1 ,dragged forth and cast away without the gates of ,jerusalem4 ,jeremiah did not need to draw upon his imagination for this vision of judgment4 ,when the words were uttered1 his memory called up the murder of ,uriah ben ,shemaiah and the dishonour done to his corpse4 ,uriah's only guilt had been his zeal for the truth that ,jeremiah had proclaimed4 ,though ,jehoiakim and his party had not dared to touch ,jeremiah or had not been able to reach him1 they had struck his influence by killing ,uriah4 ,but for their hatred of the master1 the disciple might have been spared4 ,and ,jeremiah had neither been able to protect him1 nor allowed to share his fate4 ,any generous spirit will understand how ,jeremiah's whole nature was possessed and agitated by a tempest of righteous indignation1 how utterly humiliated he felt to be compelled to stand by in helpless impotence4 ,and now1 when the tyrant had filled up the measure of his iniquity1 when the imperious impulse of the ,divine ,spirit bade the prophet speak the doom of his king1 there breaks forth at last the long pent-up cry for vengeance3 ,avenge1 ,o ,lord1 ,thy slaughtered saint--let the persecutor suffer the agony and shame which he inflicted on ,god's martyr1 fling out the murderer's corpse unburied1 let it lie and rot upon the dishonoured grave of his victim4 ,can we say1 ,amen8 ,not perhaps without some hesitation4 ,yet surely1 if our veins run blood and not water1 our feelings1 had we been in ,jeremiah's place1 would have been as bitter and our words as fierce4 ,jehoiakim was more guilty than our ,queen ,mary1 but the memory of the grimmest of the ,tudors still stinks in ,english nostrils4 ,in our own days1 we have not had time to forget how men received the news of ,hannington's murder at ,uganda1 and we can imagine what ,european ,christians would say and feel if their missionaries were massacred in ,china4 ,and yet1 when we read such a treatise as ,lactantius wrote ,concerning the ,deaths of ,persecutors1 we cannot but recoil4 ,we are shocked at the stern satisfaction he evinces in the miserable ends of ,maximin and ,galerius1 and other enemies of the true faith4 ,discreet historians have made large use of this work1 without thinking it desirable to give an explicit account of its character and spirit4 ,biographers of ,lactantius feel constrained to offer a half-hearted apology for the ,de ,morte ,persecutorum4 ,similarly we find ourselves of one mind with ,gibbon1#gc in refusing to derive edification from a sermon in which ,constantine the ,great1 or the bishop who composed it for him1 affected to relate the miserable end of all the persecutors of the ,church4 ,nor can we share the exultation of the ,covenanters in the ,divine judgment which they saw in the death of ,claverhouse2 and we are not moved to any hearty sympathy with more recent writers1 who have tried to illustrate from history the danger of touching the rights and privileges of the ,church4 ,doubtless ,god will avenge ,his own elect2 nevertheless ,nemo me impune lacessit is no seemly motto for the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,even ,greek mythologists taught that it was perilous for men to wield the thunderbolts of ,zeus4 ,still less is the ,divine wrath a weapon for men to grasp in their differences and dissensions1 even about the things of ,god4 ,michael the ,archangel1 even when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of ,moses1 durst not bring against him a railing judgment1 but said1 ,the ,lord rebuke thee4#gd ,how far ,jeremiah would have shared such modern sentiment1 it is hard to say4 ,at any rate his personal feeling is kept in the background2 it is postponed to the more patient and deliberate judgment of the ,divine ,spirit1 and subordinated to broad considerations of public morality4 ,we have no right to contrast ,jeremiah with our ,lord and ,his proto-martyr ,stephen1 because we have no prayer of the ancient prophet to rank with1 ,father1 forgive them2 for they know not what they do1 or again with1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,christ and ,his disciple forgave wrongs done to themselves3 they did not condone the murder of their brethren4 ,in the ,apocalypse1 which concludes the ,english ,bible1 and was long regarded as ,god's final revelation1 ,his last word to man1 the souls of the martyrs cry out from beneath the altar3 ,how long1 ,o ,master1 the holy and true1 dost ,thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth8#ge ,doubtless ,god will avenge ,his own elect1 and the appeal for justice may be neither ignoble nor vindictive4 ,but such prayers1 beyond all others1 must be offered in humble submission to the ,judge of all4 ,when our righteous indignation claims to pass its own sentence1 we do well to remember that our halting intellect and our purblind conscience are ill qualified to sit as assessors of the ,eternal ,justice4 ,when ,saul set out for ,damascus1 breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the ,lord1 the survivors of his victims cried out for a swift punishment of the persecutor1 and believed that their prayers were echoed by martyred souls in the heavenly ,temple4 ,if that ninth chapter of the ,acts had recorded how ,saul of ,tarsus was struck dead by the lightnings of the wrath of ,god1 preachers down all the ,christian centuries would have moralised on the righteous ,divine judgment4 ,saul would have found his place in the homiletic ,chamber of ,horrors with ,ananias and ,sapphira1 ,herod and ,pilate1 ,nero and ,diocletian4 ,yet the ,captain of our salvation1 choosing ,his lieutenants1 passes over many a man with blameless record1 and allots the highest post to this blood-stained persecutor4 ,no wonder that ,paul1 if only in utter self-contempt1 emphasised the doctrine of ,divine election4 ,verily ,god's ways are not our ways and ,his thoughts are not our thoughts4 ,still1 however1 we easily see that ,paul and ,jehoiakim belong to two different classes4 ,the persecutor who attempts in honest but misguided zeal to make others endorse his own prejudices1 and turn a deaf ear with him to the teaching of the ,holy ,spirit1 must not be ranked with politicians who sacrifice to their own private interests the ,revelation and the ,prophets of ,god4 ,this prediction which we have been discussing of ,jehoiakim's shameful end is followed in the passage in chapter xxxvi4 by a general announcement of universal judgment1 couched in ,jeremiah's usual comprehensive style3-- ,i will visit their sin upon him and upon his children and upon his servants1 and ,i will bring upon them and the inhabitants of ,jerusalem and the men of ,judah all the evil which ,i spake unto them and they did not hearken4 ,in chapter xxii4 the sentence upon ,jehoiakim is prefaced by a statement of the crimes for which he was punished4 ,his eyes and his heart were wholly possessed by avarice and cruelty2 as an administrator he was active in oppression and violence4#gf ,but ,jeremiah does not confine himself to these general charges2 he specifies and emphasises one particular form of ,jehoiakim's wrong-doing1 the tyrannous exaction of forced labour for his buildings4 ,to the sovereigns of petty ,syrian states1 old ,memphis and ,babylon were then what ,london and ,paris are to modern ,ameers1 ,khedives1 and ,sultans4 ,circumstances1 indeed1 did not permit a ,syrian prince to visit the ,egyptian or ,chaldean capital with perfect comfort and unrestrained enjoyment4 ,ancient ,eastern potentates1 like medival suzerains1 did not always distinguish between a guest and a hostage4 ,but the ,jewish kings would not be debarred from importing the luxuries and imitating the vices of their conquerors4 ,renan says#gg of this period3 ,l',egypte tait1 cette poque1 le pays o les industries de luxe taient le plus dveloppes4 ,tout le monde raffolaient1 en particulier1 de sa carrosserie et de ses meubles ouvrags4 ,joiaquin et la noblesse de ,jrusalem ne songeaient qu' se procurer ces beaux objets1 qui ralisaient ce qu'on avait vu de plus exquis en fait de got jusque-l4 ,the supreme luxury of vulgar minds is the use of wealth as a means of display1 and monarchs have always delighted in the erection of vast and ostentatious buildings4 ,at this time ,egypt and ,babylon vied with one another in pretentious architecture4 ,in addition to much useful engineering work1 ,psammetichus ,i4 made large additions to the temples and public edifices at ,memphis1 ,thebes1 ,sais1 and elsewhere1 so that the entire valley of the ,nile became little more than one huge workshop1 where stone-cutters and masons1 bricklayers and carpenters1 laboured incessantly4#gh ,this activity in building continued even after the disaster to the ,egyptian arms at ,carchemish4 ,nebuchadnezzar had an absolute mania for architecture4 ,his numerous inscriptions are mere catalogues of his achievements in building4 ,his home administration and even his extensive conquests are scarcely noticed2 he held them of little account compared with his temples and palaces--this great ,babylon1 which ,i have built for the royal dwelling-place1 by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty4#gi ,nebuchadnezzar created most of the magnificence that excited the wonder and admiration of ,herodotus a century later4 ,jehoiakim had been moved to follow the notable example of ,chaldea and ,egypt4 ,by a strange irony of fortune1 ,egypt1 once the cynosure of nations1 has become in our own time the humble imitator of ,western civilisation1 and now boulevards have rendered the suburbs of ,cairo a shabby reproduction of modern ,paris4 ,possibly in the eyes of ,egyptians and ,chaldeans ,jehoiakim's efforts only resulted in a shabby reproduction of ,memphis or ,babylon4 ,nevertheless these foreign luxuries are always expensive2 and minor states had not then learnt the art of trading on the resources of their powerful neighbours by means of foreign loans4 ,moreover ,judah had to pay tribute first to ,pharaoh ,necho1 and then to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,the times were bad1 and additional taxes for building purposes must have been felt as an intolerable oppression4 ,naturally the king did not pay for his labour2 like ,solomon and all other great ,eastern despots1 he had recourse to the corvee1 and for this in particular ,jeremiah denounced him4 ,woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness ,and his chambers by injustice2 ,that maketh his neighbour toil without wages1 ,and giveth him no hire2 ,that saith1 ',i will build me a wide house ,and spacious chambers1' ,and openeth out broad windows1 with woodwork of cedar ,and vermilion painting4 ,then the denunciation passes into biting sarcasm3-- ,art thou indeed a king1 ,because thou strivest to excel in cedar8#hj ,poor imitations of ,nebuchadnezzar's magnificent structures could not conceal the impotence and dependence of the ,jewish king4 ,the pretentiousness of ,jehoiakim's buildings challenged a comparison which only reminded men that he was a mere puppet1 with its strings pulled now by ,egypt and now by ,babylon4 ,at best he was only reigning on sufferance4 ,jeremiah contrasts ,jehoiakim's government both as to justice and dignity with that of ,josiah3-- ,did not thy father eat and drink8#ha 7,he was no ascetic1 but1 like the ,son of ,man1 lived a full1 natural1 human life47 ,and do judgment and justice8 ,then did he prosper4 ,he judged the cause of the poor and needy1 ,then was there prosperity4 ,is not this to know ,me8 ,jehovah hath spoken it4 ,probably ,jehoiakim claimed by some external observance1 or through some subservient priest or prophet1 to know ,jehovah2 and ,jeremiah repudiates the claim4 ,josiah had reigned in the period when the decay of ,assyria left ,judah dominant in ,palestine1 until ,egypt or ,chaldea could find time to gather up the outlying fragments of the shattered empire4 ,the wisdom and justice of the ,jewish king had used this breathing space for the advantage and happiness of his people2 and during part of his reign ,josiah's power seems to have been as extensive as that of any of his predecessors on the throne of ,judah4 ,and yet1 according to current theology1 ,jeremiah's appeal to the prosperity of ,josiah as a proof of ,god's approbation was a startling anomaly4 ,josiah had been defeated and slain at ,megiddo in the prime of his manhood1 at the age of thirty-nine4 ,none but the most independent and enlightened spirits could believe that the ,reformer's premature death1 at the moment when his policy had resulted in national disaster1 was not an emphatic declaration of ,divine displeasure4 ,jeremiah's contrary belief might be explained and justified4 ,some such justification is suggested by the prophet's utterance concerning ,jehoahaz3 ,weep not for the dead1 neither bemoan him3 but weep sore for him that goeth away4 ,josiah had reigned with real authority1 he died when independence was no longer possible2 and therein he was happier and more honourable than his successors1 who held a vassal throne by the uncertain tenure of time-serving duplicity1 and were for the most part carried into captivity4 ,the righteous was taken away from the evil to come4#hb ,the warlike spirit of classical antiquity and of ,teutonic chivalry welcomed a glorious death upon the field of battle3-- ,and how can man die better ,than facing fearful odds1 ,for the ashes of his fathers1 ,and the temples of his ,gods8 ,no one spoke of ,leonidas as a victim of ,divine wrath4 ,later ,judaism caught something of the same temper4 ,judas ,maccabus1 when in extreme danger1 said1 ,it is better for us to die in battle1 than to look upon the evils of our people and our sanctuary2 and later on1 when he refused to flee from inevitable death1 he claimed that he would leave behind him no stain upon his honour4#hc ,islam also is prodigal in its promises of future bliss to those soldiers who fall fighting for its sake4 ,but the dim and dreary ,shel of the ancient ,hebrews was no glorious ,valhalla or houri-peopled ,paradise4 ,the renown of the battle-field was poor compensation for the warm1 full-blooded life of the upper air4 ,when ,david sang his dirge for ,saul and ,jonathan1 he found no comfort in the thought that they had died fighting for ,israel4 ,moreover the warrior's self-sacrifice for his country seems futile and inglorious1 when it neither secures victory nor postpones defeat4 ,and at ,megiddo ,josiah and his army perished in a vain attempt to come ,between the pass and fell incensed points ,of mighty opposites4 ,we can hardly justify to ourselves ,jeremiah's use of ,josiah's reign as an example of prosperity as the reward of righteousness2 his contemporaries must have been still more difficult to convince4 ,we cannot understand how the words of this prophecy were left without any attempt at justification1 or why ,jeremiah did not meet by anticipation the obvious and apparently crushing rejoinder that the reign terminated in disgrace and disaster4 ,nevertheless these difficulties do not affect the terms of the sentence upon ,jehoiakim1 or the ground upon which he was condemned4 ,we shall be better able to appreciate ,jeremiah's attitude and to discover its lessons if we venture to reconsider his decisions4 ,we cannot forget that there was1 as ,cheyne puts it1 a duel between ,jeremiah and ,jehoiakim2 and we should hesitate to accept the verdict of ,hildebrand upon ,henry ,,iv4 of ,germany1 or of ,thomas ,becket on ,henry ,,ii4 of ,england4 ,moreover the data upon which we have to base our judgment1 including the unfavourable estimate in the ,book of ,kings1 come to us from ,jeremiah or his disciples4 ,our ideas about ,queen ,elizabeth would be more striking than accurate if our only authorities for her reign were ,jesuit historians of ,england4 ,but ,jeremiah is absorbed in lofty moral and spiritual issues2 his testimony is not tainted with that sectarian and sacerdotal casuistry which is always so ready to subordinate truth to the interests of the ,church4 ,he speaks of facts with a simple directness which leaves us in no doubt as to their reality2 his picture of ,jehoiakim may be one-sided1 but it owes nothing to an inventive imagination4 ,even ,renan1 who1 in ,ophite fashion1 holds a brief for the bad characters of the ,old ,testament1 does not seriously challenge ,jeremiah's statements of fact4 ,but the judgment of the modern critic seems at first sight more lenient than that of the ,hebrew prophet3 the former sees in ,jehoiakim un prince libral et modr1#hd but when this favourable estimate is coupled with an apparent comparison with ,louis ,philippe1 we must leave students of modern history to decide whether ,renan is really less severe than ,jeremiah4 ,cheyne1 on the other hand1 holds#he that we have no reason to question ,jeremiah's verdict upon ,jehoiakim1 who1 alike from a religious and a political point of view1 appears to have been unequal to the crisis in the fortunes of ,israel4 ,no doubt this is true2 and yet perhaps ,renan is so far right that ,jehoiakim's failure was rather his misfortune than his fault4 ,we may doubt whether any king of ,israel or ,judah would have been equal to the supreme crisis which ,jehoiakim had to face4 ,our scanty information seems to indicate a man of strong will1 determined character1 and able statesmanship4 ,though the nominee of ,pharaoh ,necho1 he retained his sceptre under ,nebuchadnezzar1 and held his own against ,jeremiah and the powerful party by which the prophet was supported4 ,under more favourable conditions he might have rivalled ,uzziah or ,jeroboam ,,ii4 ,in the time of ,jehoiakim1 a supreme political and military genius would have been as helpless on the throne of ,judah as were the ,palologi in the last days of the ,empire at ,constantinople4 ,something may be said to extenuate his religious attitude4 ,in opposing ,jeremiah he was not defying clear and acknowledged truth4 ,like the ,pharisees in their conflict with ,christ1 the persecuting king had popular religious sentiment on his side4 ,according to that current theology which had been endorsed in some measure even by ,isaiah and ,jeremiah1 the defeat at ,megiddo proved that ,jehovah repudiated the religious policy of ,josiah and his advisers4 ,the inspiration of the ,holy ,spirit enabled ,jeremiah to resist this shallow conclusion1 and to maintain through every crisis his unshaken faith in the profounder truth4 ,jehoiakim was too conservative to surrender at the prophet's bidding the long-accepted and fundamental doctrine of retribution1 and to follow the forward leading of ,revelation4 ,he stood by the old truth as did ,charles ,v4 at the ,reformation4 ,let him that is without sin in this matter first cast a stone at him4 ,though we extenuate ,jehoiakim's conduct1 we are still bound to condemn it2 not however because he was exceptionally wicked1 but because he failed to rise above a low spiritual average3 yet in this judgment we also condemn ourselves for our own intolerance1 and for the prejudice and self-will which have often blinded our eyes to the teachings of our ,lord and ,master4 ,but ,jeremiah emphasises one special charge against the king--his exaction of forced and unpaid labour4 ,this form of taxation was in itself so universal that the censure can scarcely be directed against its ordinary and moderate exercise4 ,if ,jeremiah had intended to inaugurate a new departure1 he would have approached the subject in a more formal and less casual fashion4 ,it was a time of national danger and distress1 when all moral and material resources were needed to avert the ruin of the state1 or at any rate to mitigate the sufferings of the people2 and at such a time ,jehoiakim exhausted and embittered his subjects--that he might dwell in spacious halls with woodwork of cedar4 ,the ,temple and palaces of ,solomon had been built at the expense of a popular resentment1 which survived for centuries1 and with which1 as their silence seems to show1 the prophets fully sympathised4 ,if even ,solomon's exactions were culpable1 ,jehoiakim was altogether without excuse4 ,his sin was that common to all governments1 the use of the authority of the state for private ends4 ,this sin is possible not only to sovereigns and secretaries of state1 but to every town councillor and every one who has a friend on a town council1 nay1 to every clerk in a public office and to every workman in a government dockyard4 ,a king squandering public revenues on private pleasures1 and an artisan pilfering nails and iron with an easy conscience because they only belong to the state1 are guilty of crimes essentially the same4 ,on the one hand1 ,jehoiakim as the head of the state was oppressing individuals2 and although modern states have grown comparatively tender as to the rights of the individual1 yet even now their action is often cruelly oppressive to insignificant minorities4 ,but1 on the other hand1 the right of exacting labour was only vested in the king as a public trust2 its abuse was as much an injury to the community as to individuals4 ,if ,jeremiah had to deal with modern civilisation1 we might1 perchance1 be startled by his passing lightly over our religious and political controversies to denounce the squandering of public resources in the interests of individuals and classes1 sects and parties4 ,,footnotes3 #fi #b ,kings xxiii4 #cd-xxiv4 #g4 #gj iii4 #bgd4 #ga xxii4 #cj4 #gb ,r4,v41 ,ah my brother6 or ,ah sister6444 ,ah lord6 or ,ah his glory6 ,the text is based on an emendation of ,graetz1 following the ,syriac4 7,giesebrecht47 #gc ,chap4 xiii4 #gd ,jude #i4 #ge ,apc4 vi4 #aj4 #gf xxii4 #ag4 ,the exact meaning of the word translated violence 7so ,a4,v41 ,r4,v47 is very doubtful4 #gg ,hist41 etc41 iii4 #bff4 #gh ,rawlinson1 ,ancient ,egypt 7,story of the ,nations74 #gi ,dan4 iv4 #cj4 #hj ,i have followed ,r4,v41 but the text is probably corrupt4 ,cheyne follows ,,lxx4 7,a7 in reading because thou viest with ,ahab3 ,,lxx4 7,b7 has ,ahaz 7so ,ewald74 ,giesebrecht proposes to neglect the accents and translate1 viest in cedar buildings with thy father 7i4e4 ,solomon74 #ha ,according to ,giesebrecht 7cf4 however the last note7 this clause is an objection which the prophet puts into the mouth of the king4 ,my father enjoyed the good things of life--why should not ,i8 ,the prophet rejoins1 ,nay1 but he did judgment1 etc4 #hb ,isa4 lvii4 7,english ,versions74 #hc ,macc4 ii4 #ei1 ix4 #aj4 #hd iii4 #bfi4 #he ,p4 #adb4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,jehoiachin#hf xxii4 #bj-cj4 ,a despised broken vessel1--,,jer4 xxii4 #bh4 ,a young lion4 ,and he went up and down among the lions1 he became a young lion and he learned to catch the prey1 he devoured men4--,,ezek4 xix4 #e1 #f4 ,jehoiachin 444 did evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that his father had done4--#b ,,kings xxiv4 #h1 #i4 ,we have seen that our book does not furnish a consecutive biography of ,jeremiah2 we are not even certain as to the chronological order of the incidents narrated4 ,yet these chapters are clear and full enough to give us an accurate idea of what ,jeremiah did and suffered during the eleven years of ,jehoiakim's reign4 ,he was forced to stand by while the king lent the weight of his authority to the ancient corruptions of the national religion1 and conducted his home and foreign policy without any regard to the will of ,jehovah1 as expressed by ,his prophet4 ,his position was analogous to that of a ,romanist priest under ,elizabeth or a ,protestant divine in the reign of ,james ,,ii4 ,according to some critics1 ,nebuchadnezzar was to ,jeremiah what ,philip of ,spain was to the priest and ,william of ,orange to the ,puritan4 ,during all these long and weary years1 the prophet watched the ever multiplying tokens of approaching ruin4 ,he was no passive spectator1 but a faithful watchman to the house of ,israel2 again and again he risked his life in a vain attempt to make his fellow-countrymen aware of their danger4#hg ,the vision of the coming sword was ever before his eyes1 and he blew the trumpet and warned the people2 but they would not be warned1 and the prophet knew that the sword would come and take them away in their iniquity4 ,he paid the penalty of his faithfulness2 at one time or another he was beaten1 imprisoned1 proscribed1 and driven to hide himself2 still he persevered in his mission1 as time and occasion served4 ,yet he survived ,jehoiakim1 partly because he was more anxious to serve ,jehovah than to gain the glorious deliverance of martyrdom2 partly because his royal enemy feared to proceed to extremities against a prophet of ,jehovah1 who was befriended by powerful nobles1 and might possibly have relations with ,nebuchadnezzar himself4 ,jehoiakim's religion--for like the ,athenians he was probably very religious--was saturated with superstition1 and it was only when deeply moved that he lost the sense of an external sanctity attaching to ,jeremiah's person4 ,in ,israel prophets were hedged by a more potent divinity than kings4 ,meanwhile ,jeremiah was growing old in years and older in experience4 ,when ,jehoiakim died1 it was nearly forty years since the young priest had first been called to pluck up and to break down1 and to destroy and to overthrow2 to build and to plant2 it was more than eleven since his brighter hopes were buried in ,josiah's grave4 ,jehovah had promised that ,he would make ,his servant into an iron pillar and brasen walls4#hh ,the iron was tempered and hammered into shape during these days of conflict and endurance1 like-- 444 iron dug from central gloom1 ,and heated hot with burning fears ,and dipt in baths of hissing tears1 ,and battered with the shocks of doom1 ,to shape and use4 ,he had long lost all trace of that sanguine youthful enthusiasm which promises to carry all before it4 ,his opening manhood had felt its happy illusions1 but they did not dominate his soul and they soon passed away4 ,at the ,divine bidding1 he had surrendered his most ingrained prejudices1 his dearest desires4 ,he had consented to be alienated from his brethren at ,anathoth1 and to live without home or family2 although a patriot1 he accepted the inevitable ruin of his nation as the just judgment of ,jehovah2 he was a priest1 imbued by heredity and education with the religious traditions of ,israel1 yet he had yielded himself to ,jehovah1 to announce1 as ,his herald1 the destruction of the ,temple1 and the devastation of the ,holy ,land4 ,he had submitted his shrinking flesh and reluctant spirit to ,god's most unsparing demands1 and had dared the worst that man could inflict4 ,such surrender and such experiences wrought in him a certain stern and terrible strength1 and made his life still more remote from the hopes and fears1 the joys and sorrows of common men4 ,in his isolation and his inspired self-sufficiency he had become an iron pillar4 ,doubtless he seemed to many as hard and cold as iron2 but this pillar of the faith could still glow with white heat of indignant passion1 and within the shelter of the brasen walls there still beat a human heart1 touched with tender sympathy for those less disciplined to endure4 ,we have thus tried to estimate the development of ,jeremiah's character during the second period of his ministry1 which began with the death of ,josiah and terminated with the brief reign of ,jehoiachin4 ,before considering ,jeremiah's judgment upon this prince we will review the scanty data at our disposal to enable us to appreciate the prophet's verdict4 ,jehoiakim died while ,nebuchadnezzar was on the march to punish his rebellion4 ,his son ,jehoiachin1 a youth of eighteen1#hi succeeded his father and continued his policy4 ,thus the accession of the new king was no new departure1 but merely a continuance of the old order2 the government was still in the hands of the party attached to ,egypt1 and opposed to ,babylon and hostile to ,jeremiah4 ,under these circumstances we are bound to accept the statement of ,kings that ,jehoiakim slept with his fathers1 i4e4 was buried in the royal sepulchre4#ij ,there was no literal fulfilment of the prediction that he should be buried with the burial of an ass4 ,jeremiah had also declared concerning ,jehoiakim3 ,he shall have none to sit upon the throne of ,david4#ia ,according to popular superstition1 the honourable burial of ,jehoiakim and the succession of his son to the throne further discredited ,jeremiah and his teaching4 ,men read happy omens in the mere observance of ordinary constitutional routine4 ,the curse upon ,jehoiakim seemed so much spent breath3 why should not ,jeremiah's other predictions of ruin and exile also prove a mere vox et prterea nihil8 ,in spite of a thousand disappointments1 men's hopes still turned to ,egypt2 and if earthly resources failed they trusted to ,jehovah ,himself to intervene1 and deliver ,jerusalem from the advancing hosts of ,nebuchadnezzar1 as from the army of ,sennacherib4 ,ezekiel's elegy over ,jehoiachin suggests that the young king displayed energy and courage worthy of a better fortune3-- ,he walked up and down among the lions1 ,he became a young lion2 ,he learned to catch the prey1 ,he devoured men4 ,he broke down#ib their palaces1 ,he wasted their cities2 ,the land1 was desolate1 and the fulness thereof1 ,at the noise of his roaring4#ic ,however figurative these lines may be1 the hyperbole must have had some basis in fact4 ,probably before the regular ,babylonian army entered ,judah1 ,jehoiachin distinguished himself by brilliant but useless successes against the marauding bands of ,chaldeans1 ,syrians1 ,moabites1 and ,ammonites1 who had been sent to prepare the way for the main body4 ,he may even have carried his victorious arms into the territory of ,moab or ,ammon4 ,but his career was speedily cut short3 ,the servants of ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon came up to ,jerusalem and besieged the city4 ,pharaoh ,necho made no sign1 and ,jehoiachin was forced to retire before the regular forces of ,babylon1 and soon found himself shut up in ,jerusalem4 ,still for a time he held out1 but when it was known in the beleaguered city that ,nebuchadnezzar was present in person in the camp of the besiegers1 the ,jewish captains lost heart4 ,perhaps too they hoped for better treatment1 if they appealed to the conqueror's vanity by offering him an immediate submission which they had refused to his lieutenants4 ,the gates were thrown open2 ,jehoiachin and the ,queen ,mother1 ,nehushta1 with his ministers and princes and the officers of his household1 passed out in suppliant procession1 and placed themselves and their city at the disposal of the conqueror4 ,in pursuance of the policy which ,nebuchadnezzar had inherited from the ,assyrians1 the king and his court and eight thousand picked men were carried away captive to ,babylon4#id ,for thirty-seven years ,jehoiachin languished in a ,chaldean prison1 till at last his sufferings were mitigated by an act of grace1 which signalised the accession of a new king of ,babylon4 ,nebuchadnezzar's successor ,evil ,merodach1 in the year when he began to reign1 lifted up the head of ,jehoiachin king of ,judah out of prison1 and spake kindly to him1 and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in ,babylon4 ,and ,jehoiachin changed his prison garments1 and ate at the royal table continually all the days of his life1 and had a regular allowance given him by the king1 a daily portion1 all the days of his life4#ie ,at the age of fifty-five1 the last survivor of the reigning princes of the house of ,david emerges from his dungeon1 broken in mind and body by his long captivity1 to be a grateful dependent upon the charity of ,evil ,merodach1 just as the survivor of the house of ,saul had sat at ,david's table4 ,the young lion that devoured the prey and caught men and wasted cities was thankful to be allowed to creep out of his cage and die in comfort--a despised broken vessel4 ,we feel a shock of surprise and repulsion as we turn from this pathetic story to ,jeremiah's fierce invectives against the unhappy king4 ,but we wrong the prophet and misunderstand his utterance if we forget that it was delivered during that brief frenzy in which the young king and his advisers threw away the last chance of safety for ,judah4 ,jehoiachin might have repudiated his father's rebellion against ,babylon2 ,jehoiakim s death had removed the chief offender1 no personal blame attached to his successor1 and a prompt submission might have appeased ,nebuchadnezzar's wrath against ,judah and obtained his favour for the new king4 ,if a hot-headed young rajah of some protected ,indian state revolted against the ,english suzerainty and exposed his country to the misery of a hopeless war1 we should sympathise with any of his counsellors who condemned such wilful folly2 we have no right to find fault with ,jeremiah for his severe censure of the reckless vanity which precipitated his country's fate4 ,jeremiah's deep and absorbing interest in ,judah and ,jerusalem is indicated by the form of this utterance2 it is addressed to the ,daughter of ,zion#if3-- ,go up to ,lebanon1 and lament1 ,and lift up thy voice in ,bashan1 ,and lament from ,abarim1#ig ,for thy lovers are all destroyed6 ,her lovers1 her heathen allies1 whether gods or men1 are impotent1 and ,judah is as forlorn and helpless as a lonely and unfriended woman2 let her bewail her fate upon the mountains of ,israel1 like ,jephthah's daughter in ancient days4 ,i spake unto thee in thy prosperity2 ,thou saidst1 ,i will not hearken4 ,this hath been thy way from thy youth1 ,that thou hast not obeyed ,my voice4 ,the tempest shall be the shepherd to all thy shepherds4 ,kings and nobles1 priests and prophets1 shall be carried off by the ,chaldean invaders1 as trees and houses are swept away by a hurricane4 ,these shepherds who had spoiled and betrayed their flock would themselves be as silly sheep in the hands of robbers4 ,thy lovers shall go into captivity4 ,then1 verily1 shalt thou be ashamed and confounded ,because of all thy wickedness4 ,o thou that dwellest in ,lebanon6 ,o thou that hast made thy nest in the cedar6 ,the former mention of ,lebanon reminded ,jeremiah of ,jehoiakim's halls of cedar4 ,with grim irony he links together the royal magnificence of the palace and the wild abandonment of the people's lamentation4 ,how wilt thou groan#ih when pangs come upon thee1 ,anguish as of a woman in travail6 ,the nation is involved in the punishment inflicted upon her rulers4 ,in such passages the prophets largely identify the nation with the governing classes--not without justification4 ,no government1 whatever the constitution may be1 can ignore a strong popular demand for righteous policy1 at home and abroad4 ,a special responsibility of course rests on those who actually wield the authority of the state1 but the policy of rulers seldom succeeds in effecting much either for good or evil without some sanction of public feeling4 ,our revolution which replaced the ,puritan ,protectorate by the restored ,monarchy was rendered possible by the change of popular sentiment4 ,yet even under the purest democracy men imagine that they divest themselves of civic responsibility by neglecting their civic duties2 they stand aloof1 and blame officials and professional politicians for the injustice and crime wrought by the state4 ,national guilt seems happily disposed of when laid on the shoulders of that convenient abstraction the government2 but neither the prophets nor the ,providence which they interpret recognise this convenient theory of vicarious atonement3 the king sins1 but the prophet's condemnation is uttered against and executed upon the nation4 ,nevertheless a special responsibility rests upon the ruler1 and now ,jeremiah turns from the nation to its king4 ,as ,i live--,jehovah hath spoken it-- ,though ,coniah ben ,jehoiakim king of ,judah were a signet ring upon ,my right hand---- ,by a forcible ,hebrew idiom ,jehovah1 as it were1 turns and confronts the king and specially addresses him3-- ,yet would ,i pluck thee thence4 ,a signet ring was valuable in itself1 and1 as far as an inanimate object could be1 was an alter ego of the sovereign2 it scarcely ever left his finger1 and when it did1 it carried with it the authority of its owner4 ,a signet ring could not be lost or even cast away without some reflection upon the majesty of the king4 ,jehoiachin's character was by no means worthless2 he had courage1 energy1 and patriotism4 ,the heir of ,david and ,solomon1 the patron and champion of the ,temple1 dwelt1 as it were1 under the very shadow of the ,almighty4 ,men generally believed that ,jehovah's honour was engaged to defend ,jerusalem and the house of ,david4 ,he ,himself would be discredited by the fall of the elect dynasty and the captivity of the chosen people4 ,yet everything must be sacrificed--the career of a gallant young prince1 the ancient association of the sacred ,name with ,david and ,zion1 even the superstitious awe with which the heathen regarded the ,god of the ,exodus and of the deliverance from ,sennacherib4 ,nothing will be allowed to stand in the way of the ,divine judgment4 ,and yet we still sometimes dream that the working out of the ,divine righteousness will be postponed in the interests of ecclesiastical traditions and in deference to the criticisms of ungodly men6 ,and ,i will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life1 ,into the hand of them of whom thou art afraid1 ,into the hand of ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon and the ,chaldeans4 ,and ,i will hurl thee and the mother that bare thee into another land1 where ye were not born3 ,there shall ye die4 ,and unto the land whereunto their soul longeth to return1 ,thither they shall not return4 ,again the sudden change in the person addressed emphasises the scope of the ,divine proclamation2 the doom of the royal house is not only announced to them1 but also to the world at large4 ,the mention of the ,queen ,mother1 ,nehushta1 reveals what we should in any case have conjectured1 that the policy of the young prince was largely determined by his mother4 ,her importance is also indicated by xiii4 #ah1 usually supposed to be addressed to ,jehoiachin and ,nehushta3--- ,say unto the king and the queen mother1 ,leave your thrones and sit in the dust1 ,for your glorious diadems are fallen4 ,the ,queen ,mother is a characteristic figure of polygamous ,eastern dynasties1 but we may be helped to understand what ,nehushta was to ,jehoiachin if we remember the influence of ,eleanor of ,poitou over ,richard ,i4 and ,john1 and the determined struggle which ,margaret of ,anjou made on behalf of her ill-starred son4 ,the next verse of our prophecy seems to be a protest against the severe sentence pronounced in the preceding clauses3-- ,is then this man ,coniah a despised vessel1 only fit to be broken8 ,is he a tool1 that no one wants8 ,thus ,jeremiah imagines the citizens and warriors of ,jerusalem crying out against him1 for his sentence of doom against their darling prince and captain4 ,the prophetic utterance seemed to them monstrous and incredible1 only worthy to be met with impatient scorn4 ,we may find a medival analogy to the situation at ,jerusalem in the relations of ,clement ,,iv4 to ,conradin1 the last heir of the house of ,hohenstaufen4 ,when this youth of sixteen was in the full career of victory1 the ,pope predicted that his army would be scattered like smoke1 and pointed out the prince and his allies as victims for the sacrifice4 ,when ,conradin was executed after his defeat at ,tagliacozzo1 ,christendom was filled with abhorrence at the suspicion that ,clement had countenanced the doing to death of the hereditary enemy of the ,papal ,see4 ,jehoiachin's friends felt towards ,jeremiah somewhat as these thirteenth-century ,ghibellines towards ,clement4 ,moreover the charge against ,clement was probably unfounded2 ,milman#ii says of him1 ,he was doubtless moved with inner remorse at the cruelties of 'his champion' ,charles of ,anjou4 ,jeremiah too would lament the doom he was constrained to utter4 ,nevertheless he could not permit ,judah to be deluded to its ruin by empty dreams of glory3-- ,o land1 land1 land1 ,hear the word of ,jehovah4 ,isaiah had called all ,nature1 heaven and earth to bear witness against ,israel1 but now ,jeremiah is appealing with urgent importunity to ,judah4 ,o ,chosen ,land of ,jehovah1 so richly blessed by ,his favour1 so sternly chastised by ,his discipline1 ,land of prophetic ,revelation1 now at last1 after so many warnings1 believe the word of thy ,god and submit to ,his judgment4 ,hasten not thy unhappy fate by shallow confidence in the genius and daring of ,jehoiachin3 he is no true ,messiah4 ,for saith ,jehovah1 ,write this man childless1 ,a man whose life shall not know prosperity3 ,for none of his seed shall prosper2 ,none shall sit upon the throne of ,david1 ,nor rule any more over ,judah4 ,thus1 by ,divine decree1 the descendants of ,jehoiakim were disinherited2 ,jehoiachin was to be recorded in the genealogies of ,israel as having no heir4 ,he might have offspring1#ajj but the ,messiah1 the ,son of ,david1 would not come of his line4 ,two points suggest themselves in connection with this utterance of ,jeremiah2 first as to the circumstances under which it was uttered1 then as to its application to ,jehoiachin4 ,a moment's reflection will show that this prophecy implied great courage and presence of mind on the part of ,jeremiah--his enemies might even have spoken of his barefaced audacity4 ,he had predicted that ,jehoiakim's corpse should be cast forth without any rites of honourable sepulture2 and that no son of his should sit upon the throne4 ,jehoiakim had been buried like other kings1 he slept with his fathers1 and ,jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead4 ,the prophet should have felt himself utterly discredited2 and yet here was ,jeremiah coming forward unabashed with new prophecies against the king1 whose very existence was a glaring disproof of his prophetic inspiration4 ,thus the friends of ,jehoiachin4 ,they would affect towards ,jeremiah's message the same indifference which the present generation feels for the expositors of ,daniel and the ,apocalypse1 who confidently announce the end of the world for #ahff1 and in #ahfg fix a new date with cheerful and undiminished assurance4 ,but these students of sacred records can always save the authority of ,scripture by acknowledging the fallibility of their calculations4 ,when their predictions fail1 they confess that they have done their sum wrong and start it afresh4 ,but ,jeremiah's utterances were not published as human deductions from inspired data2 he himself claimed to be inspired4 ,he did not ask his hearers to verify and acknowledge the accuracy of his arithmetic or his logic1 but to submit to the ,divine message from his lips4 ,and yet it is clear that he did not stake the authority of ,jehovah or even his own prophetic status upon the accurate and detailed fulfilment of his predictions4 ,nor does he suggest that1 in announcing a doom which was not literally accomplished1 he had misunderstood or misinterpreted his message4 ,the details which both ,jeremiah and those who edited and transmitted his words knew to be unfulfilled were allowed to remain in the record of ,divine ,revelation--not1 surely1 to illustrate the fallibility of prophets1 but to show that an accurate forecast of details is not of the essence of prophecy2 such details belong to its form and not to its substance4 ,ancient ,hebrew prophecy clothed its ideas in concrete images2 its messages of doom were made definite and intelligible in a glowing series of definite pictures4 ,the prophets were realists and not impressionists4 ,but they were also spiritual men1 concerned with the great issues of history and religion4 ,their message had to do with these3 they were little interested in minor matters2 and they used detailed imagery as a mere instrument of exposition4 ,popular scepticism exulted when subsequent facts did not exactly correspond to ,jeremiah's images1 but the prophet himself was unconscious of either failure or mistake4 ,jehoiakim might be magnificently buried1 but his name was branded with eternal dishonour2 ,jehoiachin might reign for a hundred days1 but the doom of ,judah was not averted1 and the house of ,david ceased for ever to rule in ,jerusalem4 ,our second point is the application of this prophecy to ,jehoiachin4 ,how far did the king deserve his sentence8 ,jeremiah indeed does not explicitly blame ,jehoiachin1 does not specify his sins as he did those of his royal sire4 ,the estimate recorded in the ,book of ,kings doubtless expresses the judgment of ,jeremiah1 but it may be directed not so much against the young king as against his ministers4 ,yet the king cannot have been entirely innocent of the guilt of his policy and government4 ,in chapter xxiv41 however1 ,jeremiah speaks of the captives at ,babylon1 those carried away with ,jehoiachin1 as good figs2 but we scarcely suppose he meant to include the king himself in this favourable estimate1 otherwise we should discern some note of sympathy in the personal sentence upon him4 ,we are left1 therefore1 to conclude that ,jeremiah's judgment was unfavourable2 although1 in view of the prince's youth and limited opportunities1 his guilt must have been slight compared to that of his father4 ,and1 on the other hand1 we have the manifest sympathy and even admiration of ,ezekiel4 ,the two estimates stand side by side in the sacred record to remind us that ,god neither tolerates man's sins because there is a better side to his nature1 nor yet ignores his virtues on account of his vices4 ,for ourselves we may be content to leave the last word on this matter with ,jeremiah4 ,when he declares ,god's sentence on ,jehoiachin1 he does not suggest that it was undeserved1 but he refrains from any explicit reproach4 ,probably if he had known how entirely his prediction would be fulfilled1 if he had foreseen the seven-and-thirty weary years which the young lion was to spend in his ,babylonian cage1 ,jeremiah would have spoken more tenderly and pitifully even of the son of ,jehoiakim4 ,,footnotes3 #hf ,also called ,coniah and ,jeconiah4 #hg ,considerable portions of chaps4 i4-xx4 are referred to the reigns of ,jehoiakim and ,jehoiachin3 see previous volume on ,jeremiah4 #hh i4 #ah4 #hi ,the ,chronicler's account of ,jehoiakim's end 7#b ,chron4 xxviii4 #f-h7 is due to a misunderstanding of the older records4 ,according to ,chronicles ,jehoiachin was only eight1 but all our data indicate that ,kings is right4 #ij ,in ,,lxx4 of #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #h1 ,jehoiakim1 like ,manasseh and ,amon1 was buried in the garden of ,uzza3 ,b1 ,ganoz2 ,a1 ,ganozan4 ,cheyne is inclined to accept this statement1 which he regards as derived from tradition4 #ia xxxvi4 #cj4 #ib ,so ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson in ,cambridge ,bible1 etc41 by a slight conjectural emendation2 there have been many other suggested corrections of the text4 ,the ,hebrew text as it stands would mean literally he knew their widows 7,r4,v4 margin72 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 by a slight change1 he knew their 7,a4,v4 desolate7 palaces4 #ic ,ezek4 xix4 #e-g4 #id #b ,kings xxiv4 #h-ag4 #ie #b ,kings xxv4 #bg-cj2 ,jer4 lii4 #ca-cd4 #if ,the ,hebrew verbs are in #b s4 fem42 the person addressed is not named1 but from analogy she can only be the ,daughter of ,zion1 i4e4 ,jerusalem personified4 #ig ,identified with the mountains of ,moab4 #ih ,r4,v4 margin1 with ,,lxx41 ,vulg41 and ,syr4 #ii ,milman's ,latin ,christianity1 vi4 #cib4 #ajj #a ,chron4 iii4 #ag mentions the sons of ,jeconiah1 and in ,matt4 i4 #ab ,shealtiel is called his son1 but in ,luke iii4 #bg ,shealtiel is called the son of ,neri4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,bad ,,shepherds ,,and ,,false ,,prophets xxiii41 xxiv4 ,woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of ,my pasture6--,,jer4 xxiii4 #a4 ,of what avail is straw instead of grain8444 ,is not ,my word like fire1 444 like a hammer that shattereth the rocks8--,,jer4 xxiii4 #bh1 #bi4 ,the captivity of ,jehoiachin and the deportation of the flower of the people marked the opening of the last scene in the tragedy of ,judah and of a new period in the ministry of ,jeremiah4 ,these events1 together with the accession of ,zedekiah as ,nebuchadnezzar's nominee1 very largely altered the state of affairs in ,jerusalem4 ,and yet the two main features of the situation were unchanged--the people and the government persistently disregarded ,jeremiah's exhortations4 ,neither ,zedekiah1 nor his servants1 nor the people of the land1 did hearken unto the words of ,jehovah which ,he spake by the prophet ,jeremiah4#aja ,they would not obey the will of ,jehovah as to their life and worship1 and they would not submit to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,zedekiah 444 did evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 according to all that ,jehoiakim had done2 444 and ,zedekiah rebelled against the king of ,babylon4#ajb ,it is remarkable that though ,jeremiah consistently urged submission to ,babylon1 the various arrangements made by ,nebuchadnezzar did very little to improve the prophet's position or increase his influence4 ,the ,chaldean king may have seemed ungrateful only because he was ignorant of the services rendered to him--,jeremiah would not enter into direct and personal co-operation with the enemy of his country1 even with him whom ,jehovah had appointed to be the scourge of ,his disobedient people--but the ,chaldean policy served ,nebuchadnezzar as little as it profited ,jeremiah4 ,jehoiakim1 in spite of his forced submission1 remained the able and determined foe of his suzerain1 and ,zedekiah1 to the best of his very limited ability1 followed his predecessor's example4 ,zedekiah was uncle of ,jehoiachin1 half-brother of ,jehoiakim1 and own brother to ,jehoahaz4#ajc ,possibly the two brothers owed their bias against ,jeremiah and his teaching to their mother1 ,josiah's wife ,hamutal1 the daughter of another ,jeremiah1 the ,libnite4 ,ezekiel thus describes the appointment of the new king3 ,the king of ,babylon 444 took one of the seed royal1 and made a covenant with him2 he also put him under an oath1 and took away the mighty of the land3 that the kingdom might be base1 that it might not lift itself up1 but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand4#ajd ,apparently ,nebuchadnezzar was careful to choose a feeble prince for his base kingdom2 all that we read of ,zedekiah suggests that he was weak and incapable4 ,henceforth the sovereign counted for little in the internal struggles of the tottering state4 ,josiah had firmly maintained the religious policy of ,jeremiah1 and ,jehoiakim1 as firmly1 the opposite policy2 but ,zedekiah had neither the strength nor the firmness to enforce a consistent policy and to make one party permanently dominant4 ,jeremiah and his enemies were left to fight it out amongst themselves1 so that now their antagonism grew more bitter and pronounced than during any other reign4 ,but whatever advantage the prophet might derive from the weakness of the sovereign was more than counterbalanced by the recent deportation4 ,in selecting the captives ,nebuchadnezzar had sought merely to weaken ,judah by carrying away every one who would have been an element of strength to the base kingdom4 ,perhaps he rightly believed that neither the prudence of the wise nor the honour of the virtuous would overcome their patriotic hatred of subjection2 weakness alone would guarantee the obedience of ,judah4 ,he forgot that even weakness is apt to be foolhardy--when there is no immediate prospect of penalty4 ,one result of his policy was that the enemies and friends of ,jeremiah were carried away indiscriminately2 there was no attempt to leave behind those who might have counselled submission to ,babylon as the acceptance of a ,divine judgment1 and thus have helped to keep ,judah loyal to its foreign master4 ,on the contrary ,jeremiah's disciples were chiefly thoughtful and honourable men1 and ,nebuchadnezzar's policy in taking away the mighty of the land bereft the prophet of many friends and supporters1 amongst them his disciple ,ezekiel and doubtless a large class of whom ,daniel and his three friends might be taken as types4 ,when ,jeremiah characterises the captives as good figs and those left behind as bad figs1#aje and the judgment is confirmed and amplified by ,ezekiel1#ajf we may be sure that most of the prophet's adherents were in exile4 ,we have already had occasion to compare the changes in the religious policy of the ,jewish government to the alternations of ,protestant and ,romanist sovereigns among the ,tudors2 but no ,tudor was as feeble as ,zedekiah4 ,he may rather be compared to ,charles ,,ix4 of ,france1 helpless between the ,huguenots and the ,league4 ,only the ,jewish factions were less numerous1 less evenly balanced2 and by the speedy advance of ,nebuchadnezzar civil dissensions were merged in national ruin4 ,the opening years of the new reign passed in nominal allegiance to ,babylon4 ,jeremiah's influence would be used to induce the vassal king to observe the covenant he had entered into and to be faithful to his oath to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,on the other hand a crowd of patriotic prophets urged ,zedekiah to set up once more the standard of national independence1 to come to the help of the ,lord against the mighty4 ,let us then briefly consider ,jeremiah's polemic against the princes1 prophets1 and priests of his people4 ,while ,ezekiel in a celebrated chapter#ajg denounces the idolatry of the princes1 priests1 and women of ,judah1 their worship of creeping things and abominable beasts1 their weeping for ,tammuz1 their adoration of the sun1 ,jeremiah is chiefly concerned with the perverse policy of the government and the support it receives from priests and prophets1 who profess to speak in the name of ,jehovah4 ,jeremiah does not utter against ,zedekiah any formal judgment like those on his three predecessors4 ,perhaps the prophet did not regard this impotent sovereign as the responsible representative of the state1 and when the long-expected catastrophe at last befell the doomed people1 neither ,zedekiah nor his doings distracted men's attention from their own personal sufferings and patriotic regrets4 ,at the point where a paragraph on ,zedekiah would naturally have followed that on ,jehoiachin1 we have by way of summary and conclusion to the previous sections a brief denunciation of the shepherds of ,israel4 ,woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of ,my pasture6444 ,ye have scattered ,my flock1 and driven them away1 and have not cared for them2 behold1 ,i will visit upon you the evil of your doings4 ,these shepherds are primarily the kings1 ,jehoahaz1 ,jehoiakim1 and ,jehoiachin1 who have been condemned by name in the previous chapter1 together with the unhappy ,zedekiah1 who is too insignificant to be mentioned4 ,but the term shepherds will also include the ruling and influential classes of which the king was the leading representative4 ,the image is a familiar one in the ,old ,testament and is found in the oldest literature of ,israel1#ajh but the denunciation of the rulers of ,judah as unfaithful shepherds is characteristic of ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 and one of the prophecies appended to the ,book of ,zechariah4#aji ,ezekiel xxxiv4 expands this figure and enforces its lessons3-- ,woe unto the shepherds of ,israel that do feed themselves6 ,should not the shepherds feed the sheep8 ,ye eat the fat1 and ye clothe you with the wool4 ,ye kill the fatlings2 but ye feed not the sheep4 ,the diseased have ye not strengthened1 ,neither have ye healed the sick1 ,neither have ye bound up the bruised1 ,neither have ye brought back again that which was driven away1 ,neither have ye sought for that which was lost1 ,but your rule over them has been harsh and violent4 ,and for want of a shepherd1 they were scattered1 ,and became food for every beast of the field4#aaj ,so in ,zechariah ix41 etc41 ,jehovah's anger is kindled against the shepherds1 because they do not pity ,his flock4#aaa ,elsewhere#aab ,jeremiah speaks of the kings of all nations as shepherds1 and pronounces against them also a like doom4 ,all these passages illustrate the concern of the prophets for good government4 ,they were neither ,pharisees nor formalists2 their religious ideals were broad and wholesome4 ,doubtless the elect remnant will endure through all conditions of society2 but the ,kingdom of ,god was not meant to be a pure ,church in a rotten state4 ,this present evil world is no manure heap to fatten the growth of holiness3 it is rather a mass for the saints to leaven4 ,both ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel turn from the unfaithful shepherds whose hungry sheep look up and are not fed to the true ,king of ,israel1 the ,shepherd of ,israel that led ,joseph like a flock1 and dwelt between the ,cherubim4 ,in the days of the ,restoration ,he will raise up faithful shepherds1 and over them a righteous ,branch1 the real ,jehovah ,zidqenu1 instead of the sapless twig who disgraced the name ,zedekiah4 ,similarly ,ezekiel promises that ,god will set up one shepherd over ,his people1 even ,my servant ,david4 ,the pastoral care of ,jehovah for ,his people is most tenderly and beautifully set forth in the twenty-third ,psalm4 ,our ,lord1 the root and the offspring of ,david1 claims to be the fulfilment of ancient prophecy when ,he calls ,himself the ,good ,shepherd4 ,the words of ,christ and of the ,psalmist receive new force and fuller meaning when we contrast their pictures of the true ,shepherd with the portraits of the ,jewish kings drawn by the prophets4 ,moreover the history of this metaphor warns us against ignoring the organic life of the ,christian society1 the ,church1 in our concern for the spiritual life of the individual4 ,as ,sir ,thomas ,more said1 in applying this figure to ,henry ,,viii41 ,of the multitude of sheep cometh the name of a shepherd4#aac ,a shepherd implies not merely a sheep1 but a flock2 ,his relation to each member is tender and personal1 but ,he bestows blessings and requires service in fellowship with the ,family of ,god4 ,by a natural sequence the denunciation of the unfaithful shepherds is followed by a similar utterance concerning the prophets4 ,it is true that the prophets are not spoken of as shepherds2 and ,milton's use of the figure in ,lycidas suggests the ,new ,testament rather than the ,old4 ,yet the prophets had a large share in guiding the destinies of ,israel in politics as well as in religion1 and having passed sentence on the shepherds--the kings and princes--,jeremiah turns to the ecclesiastics1 chiefly1 as the heading implies1 to the prophets4 ,the priests indeed do not escape1 but ,jeremiah seems to feel that they are adequately dealt with in two or three casual references4 ,we use the term ecclesiastics advisedly2 the prophets were now a large professional class1 more important and even more clerical than the priests4 ,the prophets and priests together were the clergy of ,israel4 ,they claimed to be devoted servants of ,jehovah1 and for the most part the claim was made in all sincerity2 but they misunderstood ,his character1 and mistook for ,divine inspiration the suggestions of their own prejudice and self-will4 ,jeremiah's indictment against them has various counts4 ,he accuses them of speaking without authority1 and also of time-serving1 plagiarism1 and cant4 ,first1 then1 as to their unauthorised utterances3 ,jeremiah finds them guilty of an unholy licence in prophesying1 a distorted caricature of that liberty of prophesying which is the prerogative of ,god's accredited ambassadors4 ,hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you4 ,they make fools of you3 ,the visions which they declare are from their own hearts1 ,and not from the mouth of ,jehovah4 99 99 99 99 99 ,who hath stood in the council of ,jehovah1 ,to perceive and hear ,his word8 ,who hath marked ,his word and heard it8 ,i sent not the prophets--yet they ran2 ,i spake not unto them--yet they prophesied4 ,the evils which ,jeremiah describes are such as will always be found in any large professional class4 ,to use modern terms--in the ,church1 as in every profession1 there will be men who are not qualified for the vocation which they follow4 ,they are indeed not called to their vocation2 they follow1 but do not overtake it4 ,they are not sent of ,god1 yet they run2 they have no ,divine message1 yet they preach4 ,they have never stood in the council of ,jehovah2 they might perhaps have gathered up scraps of the ,king's purposes from ,his true councillors2 but when they had opportunity they neither marked nor heard2 and yet they discourse concerning heavenly things with much importance and assurance4 ,but their inspiration1 at its best1 has no deeper or richer source than their own shallow selves2 their visions are the mere product of their own imaginations4 ,strangers to the true fellowship1 their spirit is not a well of water springing up unto eternal life1 but a stagnant pool4 ,and1 unless the judgment and mercy of ,god intervene1 that pool will in the end be fed from a fountain whose bitter waters are earthly1 sensual1 devilish4 ,we are always reluctant to speak of ancient prophecy or modern preaching as a profession4 ,we may gladly dispense with the word1 if we do not thereby ignore the truth which it inaccurately expresses4 ,men lived by prophecy1 as1 with ,apostolic sanction1 men live by the gospel4 ,they were expected1 as ministers are now1 though in a less degree1 to justify their claims to an income and an official status1 by discharging religious functions so as to secure the approval of the people or the authorities4 ,then1 as now1 the prophet's reputation1 influence1 and social standing1 probably even his income1 depended upon the amount of visible success that he could achieve4 ,in view of such facts1 it is futile to ask men of the world not to speak of the clerical life as a profession4 ,they discern no ethical difference between a curate's dreams of a bishopric and the aspirations of a junior barrister to the woolsack4 ,probably a refusal to recognise the element common to the ministry with law1 medicine1 and other professions1 injures both the ,church and its servants4 ,one peculiar difficulty and most insidious temptation of the ,christian ministry consists in its mingled resemblances to and differences from the other professions4 ,the minister has to work under similar worldly conditions1 and yet to control those conditions by the indwelling power of the ,spirit4 ,he has to run1 it may be twice or even three times a week1 whether he be sent or no3 how can he always preach only that which ,god has taught him8 ,he is consciously dependent upon the exercise of his memory1 his intellect1 his fancy3 how can he avoid speaking the visions of his own heart8 ,the ,church can never allow its ministers to regard themselves as mere professional teachers and lecturers1 and yet if they claim to be more1 must they not often fall under ,jeremiah's condemnation8 ,it is one of those practical dilemmas which delight casuists and distress honest and earnest servants of ,god4 ,in the early ,christian centuries similar difficulties peopled the ,egyptian and ,syrian deserts with ascetics1 who had given up the world as a hopeless riddle4 ,a full discussion of the problem would lead us too far away from the exposition of ,jeremiah1 and we will only venture to make two suggestions4 ,the necessity1 which most ministers are under1 of living by the gospel1 may promote their own spiritual life and add to their usefulness4 ,it corrects and reduces spiritual pride1 and helps them to understand and sympathise with their lay brethren1 most of whom are subject to a similar trial4 ,secondly1 as a minister feels the ceaseless pressure of strong temptation to speak from and live for himself--his lower1 egotistic self--he will be correspondingly driven to a more entire and persistent surrender to ,god4 ,the infinite fulness and variety of ,revelation is expressed by the manifold gifts and experience of the prophets4 ,if only the prophet be surrendered to the ,spirit1 then what is most characteristic of himself may become the most forcible expression of his message4 ,his constant prayer will be that he may have the child's heart and may never resist the ,holy ,ghost1 that no personal interest or prejudice1 no bias of training or tradition or current opinion1 may dull his hearing when he stands in the council of the ,lord1 or betray him into uttering for ,christ's gospel the suggestions of his own self-will or the mere watchwords of his ecclesiastical faction4 ,but to return to the ecclesiastics who had stirred ,jeremiah's wrath4 ,the professional prophets naturally adapted their words to the itching ears of their clients4 ,they were not only officious1 but also time-serving4 ,had they been true prophets1 they would have dealt faithfully with ,judah2 they would have sought to convince the people of sin1 and to lead them to repentance2 they would thus have given them yet another opportunity of salvation4 ,if they had stood in ,my council1 ,they would have caused ,my people to hear ,my words2 ,they would have turned them from their evil way1 ,and from the evil of their doings4 ,but now3-- ,they walk in lies and strengthen the hands of evildoers1 ,that no one may turn away from his sin4 99 99 99 99 99 ,they say continually unto them that despise the word of ,jehovah1#aad ,ye shall have peace2 ,and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his heart they say1 ,no evil shall come upon you4 ,unfortunately1 when prophecy becomes professional in the lowest sense of the word1 it is governed by commercial principles4 ,a sufficiently imperious demand calls forth an abundant supply4 ,a sovereign can tune the pulpits2 and a ruling race can obtain from its clergy formal ecclesiastical sanction for such domestic institutions as slavery4 ,when evildoers grow numerous and powerful1 there will always be prophets to strengthen their hands and encourage them not to turn away from their sin4 ,but to give the lie to these false prophets ,god sends ,jeremiahs1 who are often branded as heretics and schismatics1 turbulent fellows who turn the world upside-down4 ,the self-important1 self-seeking spirit leads further to the sin of plagiarism3-- ,therefore ,i am against the prophets1 is the utterance of ,jehovah1 ,who steal ,my word from one another4 ,the sin of plagiarism is impossible to the true prophet1 partly because there are no rights of private property in the word of ,jehovah4 ,the ,old ,testament writers make free use of the works of their predecessors4 ,for instance1 ,isaiah ii4 #b-d is almost identical with ,micah iv4 #a-c2 yet neither author acknowledges his indebtedness to the other or to any third prophet4#aae ,uriah ben ,shemaiah prophesied according to all the words of ,jeremiah1#aaf who himself owes much to ,hosea1 whom he never mentions4 ,yet he was not conscious of stealing from his predecessor1 and he would have brought no such charge against ,isaiah or ,micah or ,uriah4 ,in the ,new ,testament #b ,peter and ,jude have so much in common that one must have used the other without acknowledgment4 ,yet the ,church has not1 on that ground1 excluded either ,epistle from the ,canon4 ,in the goodly fellowship of the prophets and the glorious company of the apostles no man says that the things which he utters are his own4 ,but the mere hireling has no part in the spiritual communism wherein each may possess all things because he claims nothing4 ,when a prophet ceases to be the messenger of ,god1 and sinks into the mercenary purveyor of his own clever sayings and brilliant fancies1 then he is tempted to become a clerical ,autolycus1 a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles4 ,modern ideas furnish a curious parallel to ,jeremiah's indifference to the borrowings of the true prophet1 and his scorn of the literary pilferings of the false4 ,we hear only too often of stolen sermons1 but no one complains of plagiarism in prayers4 ,doubtless among these false prophets charges of plagiarism were bandied to and fro with much personal acrimony4 ,but it is interesting to notice that ,jeremiah is not denouncing an injury done to himself2 he does not accuse them of thieving from him1 but from one another4 ,probably assurance and lust of praise and power would have overcome any awe they felt for ,jeremiah4 ,he was only free from their depredations1 because--from their point of view--his words were not worth stealing4 ,there was nothing to be gained by repeating his stern denunciations1 and even his promises were not exactly suited to the popular taste4 ,these prophets were prepared to cater for the average religious appetite in the most approved fashion--in other words1 they were masters of cant4 ,their office had been consecrated by the work of true men of ,god like ,elijah and ,isaiah4 ,they themselves claimed to stand in the genuine prophetic succession1 and to inherit the reverence felt for their great predecessors1 quoting their inspired utterances and adopting their weighty phrases4 ,as ,jeremiah's contemporaries listened to one of their favourite orators1 they were soothed by his assurances of ,divine favour and protection1 and their confidence in the speaker was confirmed by the frequent sound of familiar formul in his unctuous sentences4 ,these had the true ring2 they were redolent of sound doctrine1 of what popular tradition regarded as orthodox4 ,the solemn attestation ,,ne',,um ,,yahwe1 ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah1 is continually appended to prophecies1 almost as if it were the sign-manual of the ,almighty4 ,isaiah and other prophets frequently use the term ,,massa 7,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 burden7 as a title1 especially for prophecies concerning neighbouring nations4 ,the ancient records loved to tell how ,jehovah revealed ,himself to the patriarchs in dreams4 ,jeremiah's rivals included dreams in their clerical apparatus3-- ,behold1 ,i am against them that prophesy lying dreams-- ,ne'um ,yahwe-- ,and tell them1 and lead astray ,my people ,by their lies and their rodomontade2 ,it was not ,i who sent or commanded them1 ,neither shall they profit this people at all1 ,ne'um ,yahwe ,these prophets thought to cause the ,lord's people to forget ,his name1 as their fathers forgot ,his name for ,baal1 by their dreams which they told one another4 ,moreover they could glibly repeat the sacred phrases as part of their professional jargon3-- ,behold1 ,i am against the prophets1 ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah 7,ne'um ,yahwe71 ,that use their tongues ,to utter utterances 7,wayyin'amu ,ne'um74 ,to utter utterances--the prophets uttered them1 not ,jehovah4 ,these sham oracles were due to no ,diviner source than the imagination of foolish hearts4 ,but for ,jeremiah's grim earnestness1 the last clause would be almost blasphemous4 ,it is virtually a caricature of the most solemn formula of ancient ,hebrew religion4 ,but this was really degraded when it was used to obtain credence for the lies which men prophesied out of the deceit of their own heart4 ,jeremiah's seeming irreverence was the most forcible way of bringing this home to his hearers4 ,there are profanations of the most sacred things which can scarcely be spoken of without an apparent breach of the ,third ,commandment4 ,the most awful taking in vain of the name of the ,lord ,god is not heard among the publicans and sinners1 but in pulpits and on the platforms of religious meetings4 ,but these prophets and their clients had a special fondness for the phrase ,the burden of ,jehovah1 and their unctuous use of it most especially provoked ,jeremiah's indignation3-- ,when this people1 priest1 or prophet shall ask thee1 ,what is the burden of ,jehovah8 ,then say unto them1 ,ye are the burden4#aag ,but ,i will cast you off1 ,ne'um ,yahwe4 ,if priest or prophet or people shall say1 ,the burden of ,jehovah1 ,i will punish that man and his house4 ,and ye shall say to one another1 ,what hath ,jehovah answered8 and1 ,what hath ,jehovah spoken8 ,and ye shall no more make mention of the burden of ,jehovah3 ,for 7if ye do7 men's words shall become a burden to themselves4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus shall ye inquire of a prophet1 ,what hath ,jehovah answered thee8 ,what hath ,jehovah spoken unto thee8 ,but if ye say1 ,the burden of ,jehovah1 ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,because ye say this word1 ,the burden of ,jehovah1 ,when ,i have sent unto you the command1 ,ye shall not say1 ,the burden of ,jehovah1 ,therefore ,i will assuredly take you up1 ,and will cast away from before ,me both you and the city which ,i gave to you and to your fathers4 ,i will bring upon you everlasting reproach ,and everlasting shame1 that shall not be forgotten4 ,jeremiah's insistence and vehemence speak for themselves4 ,their moral is obvious1 though for the most part unheeded4 ,the most solemn formul1 hallowed by ancient and sacred associations1 used by inspired teachers as the vehicle of revealed truths1 may be debased till they become the very legend of ,antichrist1 blazoned on the ,vexilla ,regis ,inferni4 ,they are like a motto of one of ,charles's ,paladins flaunted by his unworthy descendants to give distinction to cruelty and vice4 ,the ,church's line of march is strewn with such dishonoured relics of her noblest champions4 ,even our ,lord's own words have not escaped4 ,there is a fashion of discoursing upon the gospel which almost tempts reverent ,christians to wish they might never hear that word again4 ,neither is this debasing of the moral currency confined to religious phrases2 almost every political and social watchword has been similarly abused4 ,one of the vilest tyrannies the world has ever seen--the ,reign of ,terror--claimed to be an incarnation of ,liberty1 ,equality1 and ,fraternity4 ,yet the ,bible1 with that marvellous catholicity which lifts it so high above the level of all other religious literature1 not only records ,jeremiah's prohibition to use the term ,burden1 but also tells us that centuries later ,malachi could still speak of the burden of the word of ,jehovah4 ,a great phrase that has been discredited by misuse may yet recover itself2 the tarnished and dishonoured sword of faith may be baptised and burnished anew1 and flame in the forefront of the holy war4 ,jeremiah does not stand alone in his unfavourable estimate of the professional prophets of ,judah2 a similar depreciation seems to be implied by the words of ,amos3 ,i am neither a prophet nor of the sons of the prophets4#aah ,one of the unknown authors whose writings have been included in the ,book of ,zechariah takes up the teaching of ,amos and ,jeremiah and carries it a stage further3-- ,in that day 7it is the utterance of ,jehovah ,sabaoth7 ,i will cut off the names of the idols from the land1 ,they shall not be remembered any more2 ,also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness ,will ,i expel from the land4 ,when any shall yet prophesy1 ,his father and mother that begat him shall say unto him1 ,thou shalt not live1 for thou speakest lies in the name of ,jehovah3 ,and his father and mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth4 ,in that day every prophet when he prophesieth shall be ashamed of his vision2 ,neither shall any wear a hairy mantle to deceive3 ,he shall say1 ,i am no prophet2 ,i am a tiller of the ground1 ,i was sold for a slave in my youth4#aai ,no man with any self-respect would allow his fellows to dub him prophet2 slave was a less humiliating name4 ,no family would endure the disgrace of having a member who belonged to this despised caste2 parents would rather put their son to death than see him a prophet4 ,to such extremities may the spirit of time-serving and cant reduce a national clergy4 ,we are reminded of ,latimer's words in his famous sermon to ,convocation in #aecf3 ,all good men in all places accuse your avarice1 your exactions1 your tyranny4 ,i commanded you that ye should feed my sheep1 and ye earnestly feed yourselves from day to day1 wallowing in delights and idleness4 ,i commanded you to teach my law2 you teach your own traditions1 and seek your own glory4#abj ,over against their fluent and unctuous cant ,jeremiah sets the terrible reality of his ,divine message4 ,compared to this1 their sayings are like chaff to the wheat2 nay1 this is too tame a figure--,jehovah's word is like fire1 like a hammer that shatters rocks4 ,he says of himself3-- ,my heart within me is broken2 all my bones shake3 ,i am like a drunken man1 like a man whom wine hath overcome1 ,because of ,jehovah and ,his holy words4 ,thus we have in chapter xxiii4 a full and formal statement of the controversy between ,jeremiah and his brother-prophets4 ,on the one hand1 self-seeking and self-assurance winning popularity by orthodox phrases1 traditional doctrine1 and the prophesying of smooth things2 on the other hand1 a man to whom the word of the ,lord was like a fire in his bones1 who had surrendered prejudice and predilection that he might himself become a hammer to shatter the ,lord's enemies1 a man through whom ,god wrought so mightily that he himself reeled and staggered with the blows of which he was the instrument4 ,the relation of the two parties was not unlike that of ,st4 ,paul and his ,corinthian adversaries3 the prophet1 like the ,apostle1 spoke in demonstration of the ,spirit and of power2 he considered not the word of them which are puffed up1 but the power4 ,for the kingdom of ,god is not in word1 but in power4 ,in our next chapter we shall see the practical working of this antagonism which we have here set forth4 ,,footnotes3 #aja xxxvii4 #b4 #ajb #b ,kings xxiv4 #ah-bj4 #ajc #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #aj makes ,zedekiah the brother of ,jehoiachin1 possibly using the word in the general sense of relation4 ,zedekiah's age shows that he cannot have been the son of ,jehoiakim4 #ajd ,ezek4 xvii4 #ac1 #ad4 #aje xxiv4 #ajf vii4-xi4 #ajg viii4 #ajh ,gen4 xlix4 #bd1 ,j4 from older source4 ,micah v4 #e4 #aji ix4-xi41 xiii4 #g-i4 #aaj ,ezek4 xxxiv4 #b-e4 #aaa ,zech4 x4 #c1 xi4 #e4 #aab xxv4 #cd-ch4 #aac ,froude1 i4 #bje4 #aad ,,lxx4 ,see ,r4,v4 margin4 #aae ,possibly1 however1 the insertion of this passage in one of the books may have been the work of an editor1 and we cannot be sure that1 in ,jeremiah's time1 collections entitled ,isaiah and ,micah both included this section4 #aaf xxvi4 #bj4 #aag ,so ,,lxx4 and modern editors3 see ,giesebrecht1 in loco4 ,r4,v4 ,what burden6 #aah vii4 #ad2 but cf4 ,r4,v42 ,i was1 etc4 #aai ,zech4 xiii4 #b-e4 ,post-exilic1 according to most critics 7,driver's ,introduction1 in loco74 #abj ,froude1 ii4 #dgd4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,hananiah xxvii41 xxviii4 ,hear now1 ,hananiah2 ,jehovah hath not sent thee1 but thou makest this people to trust in a lie4--,,jer4 xxviii4 #ae4 ,the most conspicuous point at issue between ,jeremiah and his opponents was political rather than ecclesiastical4 ,jeremiah was anxious that ,zedekiah should keep faith with ,nebuchadnezzar1 and not involve ,judah in useless misery by another hopeless revolt4 ,the prophets preached the popular doctrine of an imminent ,divine intervention to deliver ,judah from her oppressors4 ,they devoted themselves to the easy task of fanning patriotic enthusiasm1 till the ,jews were ready for any enterprise1 however reckless4 ,during the opening years of the new reign1 ,nebuchadnezzar's recent capture of ,jerusalem and the consequent wholesale deportation were fresh in men's minds2 fear of the ,chaldeans together with the influence of ,jeremiah kept the government from any overt act of rebellion4 ,according to li4 #ei1 the king even paid a visit to ,babylon1 to do homage to his suzerain4 ,it was probably in the fourth year of his reign#aba that the tributary ,syrian states began to prepare for a united revolt against ,babylon4 ,the ,assyrian and ,chaldean annals constantly mention such combinations1 which were formed and broken up and reformed with as much ease and variety as patterns in a kaleidoscope4 ,on the present occasion the kings of ,edom1 ,moab1 ,ammon1 ,tyre1 and ,zidon sent their ambassadors to ,jerusalem to arrange with ,zedekiah for concerted action4 ,but there were more important persons to deal with in that city than ,zedekiah4 ,doubtless the princes of ,judah welcomed the opportunity for a new revolt4 ,but before the negotiations were very far advanced1 ,jeremiah heard what was going on4 ,by ,divine command1 he made bands and bars1 i4e4 yokes1 for himself and for the ambassadors of the allies1 or possibly for them to carry home to their masters4 ,they received their answer1 not from ,zedekiah1 but from the true ,king of ,israel1 ,jehovah ,himself4 ,they had come to solicit armed assistance to deliver them from ,babylon2 they were sent back with yokes to wear as a symbol of their entire and helpless subjection to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,this was the word of ,jehovah3-- ,the nation and the kingdom that will not put its neck beneath the yoke of the king of ,babylon1 ,that nation will ,i visit with sword and famine and pestilence until ,i consume them by his hand4 ,the allied kings had been encouraged to revolt by oracles similar to those uttered by the ,jewish prophets in the name of ,jehovah2 but3-- ,as for you1 hearken not to your prophets1 diviners1 dreams1 soothsayers and sorcerers1 ,when they speak unto you1 saying1 ,ye shall not serve the king of ,babylon4 ,they prophesy a lie unto you1 to remove you far from your land2 ,that ,i should drive you out1 and that you should perish4 ,but the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of ,babylon1 and serve him1 ,that nation will ,i maintain in their own land 7it is the utterance of ,jehovah71 and they shall till it and dwell in it4 ,when he had sent his message to the foreign envoys1 ,jeremiah addressed an almost identical admonition to his own king4 ,he bids him submit to the ,chaldean yoke1 under the same penalties for disobedience--sword1 pestilence1 and famine for himself and his people4 ,he warns him also against delusive promises of the prophets1 especially in the matter of the sacred vessels4 ,the popular doctrine of the inviolable sanctity of the ,temple had sustained a severe shock when ,nebuchadnezzar carried off the sacred vessels to ,babylon4 ,it was inconceivable that ,jehovah would patiently submit to so gross an indignity4 ,in ancient days the ,ark had plagued its ,philistine captors till they were only too thankful to be rid of it4 ,later on a graphic narrative in the ,book of ,daniel told with what swift vengeance ,god punished ,belshazzar for his profane use of these very vessels4 ,so now patriotic prophets were convinced that the golden candlestick1 the bowls and chargers of gold and silver1 would soon return in triumph1 like the ,ark of old2 and their return would be the symbol of the final deliverance of ,judah from ,babylon4 ,naturally the priests above all others would welcome such a prophecy1 and would industriously disseminate it4 ,but ,jeremiah spake to the priests and all this people1 saying1 ,thus saith ,jehovah3-- ,hearken not unto the words of your prophets1 which prophesy unto you1 ,behold1 the vessels of the house of ,jehovah shall be brought back from ,babylon now speedily3 ,for they prophesy a lie unto you4 ,how could ,jehovah grant triumphant deliverance to a carnally minded people who would not understand ,his ,revelation1 and did not discern any essential difference between ,him and ,moloch and ,baal8 ,hearken not unto them2 serve the king of ,babylon and live4 ,why should this city become a desolation8 ,possibly1 however1 even now1 the ,divine compassion might have spared ,jerusalem the agony and shame of her final siege and captivity4 ,god would not at once restore what was lost1 but ,he might spare what was still left4 ,jeremiah could not endorse the glowing promises of the prophets1 but he would unite with them to intercede for mercy upon the remnant of ,israel4 ,if they are prophets and the word of ,jehovah is with them1 ,let them intercede with ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 that the rest of the vessels of the ,temple1 the ,palace1 and the ,city may not go to ,babylon4 ,the ,god of ,israel was yet ready to welcome any beginning of true repentance4 ,like the father of the ,prodigal ,son1 ,he would meet ,his people when they were on the way back to ,him4 ,any stirring of filial penitence would win an instant and gracious response4 ,we can scarcely suppose that this appeal by ,jeremiah to his brother-prophets was merely sarcastic and denunciatory4 ,passing circumstances may have brought ,jeremiah into friendly intercourse with some of his opponents2 personal contact may have begotten something of mutual kindliness2 and hence there arose a transient gleam of hope that reconciliation and co-operation might still be possible4 ,but it was soon evident that the patriotic party would not renounce their vain dreams2 ,judah must drink the cup of wrath to the dregs3 the pillars1 the sea1 the bases1 the rest of the vessels left in ,jerusalem must also be carried to ,babylon1 and remain there till ,jehovah should visit the ,jews and bring them back and restore them to their own land4 ,thus did ,jeremiah meet the attempt of the government to organise a ,syrian revolt against ,babylon1 and thus did he give the lie to the promises of ,divine blessing made by the prophets4 ,in the face of his utterances1 it was difficult to maintain the popular enthusiasm necessary to a successful revolt4 ,in order to neutralise1 if possible1 the impression made by ,jeremiah1 the government put forward one of their prophetic supporters to deliver a counter-blast4 ,the place and the occasion were similar to those chosen by ,jeremiah for his own address to the people and for ,baruch's reading of the roll--the court of the ,temple where the priests and all the people were assembled4 ,jeremiah himself was there4 ,possibly it was a feast-day4 ,the incident came to be regarded as of special importance1 and a distinct heading is attached to it1 specifying its exact date1 in the same year--as the incidents of the previous chapter--in the beginning of the reign of ,zedekiah1 in the fourth year1 in the fifth month4 ,on such an occasion1 ,jeremiah's opponents would select as their representative some striking personality1 a man of high reputation for ability and personal character4 ,such a man1 apparently1 they found in ,hananiah ben ,azzur of ,gibeon4 ,let us consider for a moment this mouthpiece and champion of a great political and ecclesiastical party1 we might almost say of a ,national ,government and a ,national ,church4 ,he is never mentioned except in chapter xxviii41 but what we read here is sufficiently characteristic1 and receives much light from the other literature of the period4 ,as ,gibeon is assigned to the priests in ,joshua xxi4 #ag1 it has been conjectured that1 like ,jeremiah himself1 ,hananiah was a priest4 ,the special stress laid on the sacred vessels would be in accordance with this theory4 ,in our last chapter we expounded ,jeremiah's description of his prophetic contemporaries1 as self-important and time-serving1 guilty of plagiarism and cant4 ,now from this dim1 inarticulate crowd of professional prophets1 an individual steps for a moment into the light of history and speaks with clearness and emphasis4 ,let us gaze at him1 and hear what he has to say4 ,if we could have been present at this scene immediately after a careful study of chapter xxvii4 even the appearance of ,hananiah would have caused us a shock of surprise--such as is sometimes experienced by a devout student of ,protestant literature on being introduced to a live ,jesuit1 or by some budding secularist when he first makes the personal acquaintance of a curate4 ,we might possibly have discerned something commonplace1 some lack of depth and force in the man whose faith was merely conventional2 but we should have expected to read liar and hypocrite in every line of his countenance1 and we should have seen nothing of the sort4 ,conscious of the enthusiastic support of his fellow-countrymen and especially of his own order1 charged--as he believed--with a message of promise for ,jerusalem1 ,hananiah's face and bearing1 as he came forward to address his sympathetic audience1 betrayed nothing unworthy of the high calling of a prophet4 ,his words had the true prophetic ring1 he spoke with assured authority3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 the ,god of ,israel1 ,i have broken the yoke of the king of ,babylon4 ,his special object was to remove the unfavourable impression caused by ,jeremiah's contradiction of the promise concerning the sacred vessels4 ,like ,jeremiah1 he meets this denial in the strongest and most convincing fashion4 ,he does not argue--he reiterates the promise in a more definite form and with more emphatic asseveration4 ,like ,jonah at ,nineveh1 he ventures to fix an exact date in the immediate future for the fulfilment of the prophecy4 ,yet forty days1 said ,jonah1 but the next day he had to swallow his own words2 and ,hananiah's prophetic chronology met with no better fate3-- ,within two full years will ,i bring again to this place all the vessels of the ,temple1 that ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon took away4 ,the full significance of this promise is shown by the further addition3-- ,and ,i will bring again to this place the king of ,judah1 ,jeconiah ben ,jehoiakim1 and all the captives of ,judah that went to ,babylon 7it is the utterance of ,jehovah72 for ,i will break the yoke of the king of ,babylon4 ,this bold challenge was promptly met3-- ,the prophet ,jeremiah said unto the prophet ,hananiah before the priests and all the people that stood in the ,temple4 ,not the true prophet and the false prophet1 not the man of ,god and the impostor1 but simply the prophet ,jeremiah and the prophet ,hananiah4 ,the audience discerned no obvious difference of status or authority between the two--if anything the advantage lay with ,hananiah2 they watched the scene as a modern churchman might regard a discussion between ritualistic and evangelical bishops at a ,church ,congress1 only ,hananiah was their ideal of a good churchman4 ,the true parallel is not debates between atheists and the ,christian ,evidence ,society1 or between missionaries and ,brahmins1 but controversies like those between ,arius and ,athanasius1 ,jerome and ,rufinus1 ,cyril and ,chrysostom4 ,these prophets1 however1 display a courtesy and self-restraint that have1 for the most part1 been absent from ,christian polemics4 ,jeremiah the prophet said1 ,amen3 may ,jehovah bring it to pass2 may ,he establish the words of thy prophecy1 by bringing back again from ,babylon unto this place both the vessels of the ,temple and all the captives4 ,with that entire sincerity which is the most consummate tact1 ,jeremiah avows his sympathy with his opponents' patriotic aspirations1 and recognises that they were worthy of ,hebrew prophets4 ,but patriotic aspirations were not a sufficient reason for claiming ,divine authority for a cheap optimism4 ,jeremiah's reflection upon the past had led him to an entirely opposite philosophy of history4 ,behind ,hananiah's words lay the claim that the religious traditions of ,israel and the teaching of former prophets guaranteed the inviolability of the ,temple and the ,holy ,city4 ,jeremiah appealed to their authority for his message of doom3-- ,the ancient prophets who were our predecessors prophesied war and calamity and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms4 ,it was almost a mark of the true prophet that he should be the herald of disaster4 ,the prophetical books of the ,old ,testament ,canon fully confirm this startling and unwelcome statement4 ,their main burden is the ruin and misery that await ,israel and its neighbours4 ,the presumption therefore was in favour of the prophet of evil1 and against the prophet of good4 ,jeremiah does not1 of course1 deny that there had been1 and might yet be1 prophets of good4 ,indeed every prophet1 he himself included1 announced some ,divine promise1 but3-- ,the prophet which prophesieth of peace shall be known as truly sent of ,jehovah when his prophecy is fulfilled4 ,it seemed a fair reply to ,hananiah's challenge4 ,his prophecy of the return of the sacred vessels and the exiles within two years was intended to encourage ,judah and its allies to persist in their revolt4 ,they would be at once victorious1 and recover all and more than all which they had lost4 ,under such circumstances ,jeremiah's criterion of prophecies of peace was eminently practical4 ,you are promised these blessings within two years3 very well1 do not run the terrible risks of a rebellion2 keep quiet and see if the two years bring the fulfilment of this prophecy--it is not long to wait4 ,hananiah might fairly have replied that this fulfilment depended on ,judah's faith and loyalty to the ,divine promise2 and their faith and loyalty would be best shown by rebelling against their oppressors4 ,jehovah promised ,canaan to the ,hebrews of the ,exodus1 but their carcasses mouldered in the desert because they had not courage enough to attack formidable enemies4 ,let us not1 ,hananiah might have said1 imitate their cowardice1 and thus share alike their unbelief and its penalty4 ,neither ,jeremiah's premises nor his conclusions would commend his words to the audience1 and he probably weakened his position by leaving the high ground of authority and descending to argument4 ,hananiah at any rate did not follow his example3 he adheres to his former method1 and reiterates with renewed emphasis the promise which his adversary had contradicted4 ,following ,jeremiah in his use of the parable in action1 so common with ,hebrew prophets1 he turned the symbol of the yoke against its author4 ,as ,zedekiah ben ,chenaanah made him horns of iron and prophesied to ,ahab and ,jehoshaphat1 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,with these shalt thou push the ,syrians until thou have consumed them1#abb so now ,hananiah took the yoke off ,jeremiah's neck and broke it before the assembled people and said3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,even so will ,i break the yoke of ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon from the neck of all nations within two full years4 ,naturally the promise is for all nations--not for ,judah only1 but for the other allies4 ,and the prophet ,jeremiah went his way4 ,for the moment ,hananiah had triumphed2 he had had the last word1 and ,jeremiah was silenced4 ,a public debate before a partisan audience was not likely to issue in victory for the truth4 ,the situation may have even shaken his faith in himself and his message2 he may have been staggered for a moment by ,hananiah's apparent earnestness and conviction4 ,he could not but remember that the gloomy predictions of ,isaiah's earlier ministry had been followed by the glorious deliverance from ,sennacherib4 ,possibly some similar sequel was to follow his own denunciations4 ,he betook himself anew to fellowship with ,god1 and awaited a fresh mandate from ,jehovah4 ,then the word of ,jehovah came unto ,jeremiah1 444 ,go and tell ,hananiah3 ,thou hast broken wooden yokes2 thou shalt make iron yokes in their stead4 ,for thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 the ,god of ,israel3 ,i have put a yoke of iron upon the necks of all these nations1 that they may serve ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon4#abc ,we are not told how long ,jeremiah had to wait for this new message1 or under what circumstances it was delivered to ,hananiah4 ,its symbolism is obvious4 ,when ,jeremiah sent the yokes to the ambassadors of the allies and exhorted ,zedekiah to bring his neck under the yoke of ,nebuchadnezzar1 they were required to accept the comparatively tolerable servitude of tributaries4 ,their impatience of this minor evil would expose them to the iron yoke of ruin and captivity4 ,thus the prophet of evil received new ,divine assurance of the abiding truth of his message and of the reality of his own inspiration4 ,the same revelation convinced him that his opponent was either an impostor or woefully deluded3-- ,then said the prophet ,jeremiah unto the prophet ,hananiah1 ,hear now1 ,hananiah2 ,jehovah hath not sent thee1 but thou makest this people to trust in a lie4 ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah3 ,i will cast thee away from on the face of the earth2 this year thou shalt die1 because thou hast preached rebellion against ,jehovah4 ,by a judgment not unmixed with mercy1 ,hananiah was not left to be convicted of error or imposture1 when the two full years should have elapsed1 and his glowing promises be seen to utterly fail4 ,he also was taken away from the evil to come4 ,so ,hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month--i4e4 about two months after this incident4 ,such personal judgments were most frequent in the case of kings1 but were not confined to them4 ,isaiah#abd left on record prophecies concerning the appointment to the treasurership of ,shebna and ,eliakim2 and elsewhere ,jeremiah himself pronounces the doom of ,pashhur ben ,immer1 the governor of the ,temple2 but the conclusion of this incident reminds us most forcibly of the speedy execution of the apostolic sentence upon ,ananias and ,sapphira4 ,the subjects of this and the preceding chapter raise some of the most important questions as to authority in religion4 ,on the one hand1 on the subjective side1 how may a man be assured of the truth of his own religious convictions2 on the other hand1 on the objective side1 how is the hearer to decide between conflicting claims on his faith and obedience8 ,the former question is raised as to the personal convictions of the two prophets4 ,we have ventured to assume that1 however erring and culpable ,hananiah may have been1 he yet had an honest faith in his own inspiration and in the truth of his own prophecies4 ,the conscious impostor1 unhappily1 is not unknown either in ancient or modern ,churches2 but we should not look for edification from the study of this branch of morbid spiritual pathology4 ,there were doubtless ,jewish counterparts to ,mr4 ,sludge the ,medium and to the more subtle and plausible ,bishop ,blougram2 but ,hananiah was of a different type4 ,the evident respect felt for him by the people1 ,jeremiah's almost deferential courtesy and temporary hesitation as to his rival's ,divine mission1 do not suggest deliberate hypocrisy4 ,hananiah's lie was a falsehood in fact but not in intention4 ,the ,divine message ,jehovah hath not sent thee was felt by ,jeremiah to be no mere exposure of what ,hananiah had known all along1 but to be a revelation to his adversary as well as to himself4 ,the sweeping condemnation of the prophets in chapter xxiii4 does not exclude the possibility of ,hananiah's honesty1 any more than our ,lord's denunciation of the ,pharisees as devourers of widows' houses necessarily includes ,gamaliel4 ,in critical times1 upright1 earnest men do not always espouse what subsequent ages hold to have been the cause of truth4 ,sir ,thomas ,more and ,erasmus remained in the communion which ,luther renounced3 ,hampden and ,falkland found themselves in opposite camps4 ,if such men erred in their choice between right and wrong1 we may often feel anxious as to our own decisions4 ,when we find ourselves in opposition to earnest and devoted men1 we may well pause to consider which is ,jeremiah and which ,hananiah4 ,the point at issue between these two prophets was exceedingly simple and practical--whether ,jehovah approved of the proposed revolt and would reward it with success4 ,theological questions were only indirectly and remotely involved4 ,yet1 in face of his opponent's persistent asseverations1 ,jeremiah--perhaps the greatest of the prophets--went his way in silence to obtain fresh ,divine confirmation of his message4 ,and the man who hesitated was right4 ,two lessons immediately follow1 one as to practice1 the other as to principle4 ,it often happens that earnest servants of ,god find themselves at variance1 not on simple practical questions1 but on the history and criticism of the remote past1 or on abstruse points of transcendental theology4 ,before any one ventures to denounce his adversary as a teacher of deadly error1 let him1 like ,jeremiah1 seek1 in humble and prayerful submission to the ,holy ,spirit1 a ,divine mandate for such denunciation4 ,but again ,jeremiah was willing to reconsider his position1 not merely because he himself might have been mistaken1 but because altered circumstances might have opened the way for a change in ,god's dealings4 ,it was a bare possibility1 but we have seen elsewhere that ,jeremiah represents ,god as willing to make a gracious response to the first movement of compunction4 ,prophecy was the declaration of ,his will1 and that will was not arbitrary1 but at every moment and at every point exactly adapted to conditions with which it had to deal4 ,its principles were unchangeable and eternal2 but prophecy was chiefly an application of these principles to existing circumstances4 ,the true prophet always realised that his words were for men as they were when he addressed them4 ,any moment might bring a change which would abrogate or modify the old teaching1 and require and receive a new message4 ,like ,jonah1 he might have to proclaim ruin one day and deliverance the next4 ,a physician1 even after the most careful diagnosis1 may have to recognise unsuspected symptoms which lead him to cancel his prescription and write a new one4 ,the sickening and healing of the soul involve changes equally unexpected4 ,the ,bible does not teach that inspiration1 any more than science1 has only one treatment for each and every spiritual condition and contingency4 ,the true prophet's message is always a word in season4 ,we turn next to the objective question3 ,how is the hearer to decide between conflicting claims on his faith and obedience8 ,we say the right was with ,jeremiah2 but how were the ,jews to know that8 ,they were addressed by two prophets1 or1 as we might say1 two accredited ecclesiastics of the national ,church2 each with apparent earnestness and sincerity claimed to speak in the name of ,jehovah and of the ancient faith of ,israel1 and each flatly contradicted the other on an immediate practical question1 on which hung their individual fortunes and the destinies of their country4 ,what were the ,jews to do8 ,which were they to believe8 ,it is the standing difficulty of all appeals to external authority4 ,you inquire of this supposed divine oracle and there issues from it a babel of discordant voices1 and each demands that you shall unhesitatingly submit to its dictates on peril of eternal damnation2 and some have the audacity to claim obedience1 because their teaching is quod semper1 quod ubique1 quod ab omnibus4 ,one simple and practical test is indeed suggested--the prophet of evil is more likely to be truly inspired than the prophet of good2 but ,jeremiah naturally does not claim that this is an invariable test4 ,nor can he have meant that you can always believe prophecies of evil without any hesitation1 but that you are to put no faith in promises until they are fulfilled4 ,yet it is not difficult to discern the truth underlying ,jeremiah's words4 ,the prophet whose words are unpalatable to his hearers is more likely to have a true inspiration than the man who kindles their fancy with glowing pictures of an imminent millennium4 ,the divine message to a congregation of country squires is more likely to be an exhortation to be just to their tenants than a sermon on the duty of the labourer to his betters4 ,a true prophet addressing an audience of working men would perhaps deal with the abuses of trades unions rather than with the sins of capitalists4 ,but this principle1 which is necessarily of limited application1 does not go far to solve the great question of authority in religion1 on which ,jeremiah gives us no further help4 ,there is1 however1 one obvious moral4 ,no system of external authority1 whatever pains may be taken to secure authentic legitimacy1 can altogether release the individual from the responsibility of private judgment4 ,unreserved faith in the idea of a ,catholic ,church is quite consistent with much hesitation between the ,anglican1 ,roman1 and ,greek communions2 and the most devoted ,catholic may be called upon to choose between rival anti-popes4 ,ultimately the inspired teacher is only discerned by the inspired hearer2 it is the answer of the conscience that authenticates the divine message4 ,,footnotes3 #aba ,the close connection between xxvii4 and xxviii4 shows that the date in xxviii4 #a1 the fourth year of ,zedekiah1 covers both chapters4 ,jehoiakim in xxvii4 #a is a misreading for ,zedekiah3 see ,r4,v4 margin4 #abb #a ,kings xxii4 #aa4 #abc ,the rest of this verse has apparently been inserted from xxvii4 #f by a scribe4 ,it is omitted by the ,,lxx4 #abd xxii4 #ae-be4 ,,chapter ,x ,,correspondence ,,with ,,the ,,exiles xxix4 ,jehovah make thee like ,zedekiah and ,ahab1 whom the king of ,babylon roasted in the fire4--,,jer4 xxix4 #bb4 ,nothing further is said about the proposed revolt1 so that ,jeremiah's vigorous protest seems to have been successful4 ,in any case1 unless irrevocable steps had been taken1 the enterprise could hardly have survived the death of its advocate1 ,hananiah4 ,accordingly ,zedekiah sent an embassy to ,babylon1 charged doubtless with plausible explanations and profuse professions of loyalty and devotion4 ,the envoys were ,elasah ben ,shaphan and ,gemariah ben ,hilkiah4 ,shaphan and ,hilkiah were almost certainly the scribe and high priest who discovered ,deuteronomy in the eighteenth year of ,josiah1 and ,elasah was the brother of ,ahikam ben ,shaphan1 who protected ,jeremiah in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim1 and of ,gemariah ben ,shaphan1 in whose chamber ,baruch read the roll1 and who protested against its destruction4 ,probably ,elasah and ,gemariah were adherents of ,jeremiah1 and the fact of the embassy1 as well as the choice of ambassadors1 suggests that1 for the moment1 ,zedekiah was acting under the influence of the prophet4 ,jeremiah took the opportunity of sending a letter to the exiles at ,babylon4 ,hananiah had his allies in ,chaldea3 ,ahab ben ,kolaiah1 ,zedekiah ben ,maaseiah1 and ,shemaiah the ,nehelamite1 with other prophets1 diviners1 and dreamers1 had imitated their brethren in ,judah2 they had prophesied without being sent and had caused the people to believe a lie4 ,we are not expressly told what they prophesied1 but the narrative takes for granted that they1 like ,hananiah1 promised the exiles a speedy return to their native land4 ,such teaching naturally met with much acceptance1 the people congratulating themselves because1 as they supposed1 ,jehovah hath raised us up prophets in ,babylon4 ,the presence of prophets among them was received as a welcome proof that ,jehovah had not deserted ,his people in their house of bondage4 ,thus when ,jeremiah had confounded his opponents in ,jerusalem he had still to deal with their friends in ,babylon4 ,here again the issue was one of immediate practical importance4 ,in ,chaldea as at ,jerusalem the prediction that the exiles would immediately return was intended to kindle the proposed revolt4 ,the ,jews at ,babylon were virtually warned to hold themselves in readiness to take advantage of any success of the ,syrian rebels1 and1 if opportunity offered1 to render them assistance4 ,in those days information travelled slowly1 and there was some danger lest the captives should be betrayed into acts of disloyalty1 even after the ,jewish government had given up any present intention of revolting against ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,such disloyalty might have involved their entire destruction4 ,both ,zedekiah and ,jeremiah would be anxious to inform them at once that they must refrain from any plots against their ,chaldean masters4 ,moreover the prospect of an immediate return had very much the same effect upon these ,jews as the expectation of ,christ's ,second ,coming had upon the primitive ,church at ,thessalonica4 ,it made them restless and disorderly4 ,they could not settle to any regular work1 but became busybodies--wasting their time over the glowing promises of their popular preachers1 and whispering to one another wild rumours of successful revolts in ,syria2 or were even more dangerously occupied in planning conspiracies against their conquerors4 ,jeremiah's letter sought to bring about a better state of mind4 ,it is addressed to the elders1 priests1 prophets1 and people of the ,captivity4 ,the enumeration reminds us how thoroughly the exiled community reproduced the society of the ancient ,jewish state--there was already a miniature ,judah in ,chaldea1 the first of those ,israels of the ,dispersion which have since covered the face of the earth4 ,this is ,jehovah's message by ,his prophet3-- ,build houses and dwell in them2 ,plant gardens and eat the fruit thereof2 ,marry and beget sons and daughters2 ,marry your sons and daughters1 ,that they may bear sons and daughters1 ,that ye may multiply there and not grow few4 ,seek the peace of the city whither ,i have sent you into captivity3 ,pray for it unto ,jehovah2 ,for in its peace1 ye shall have peace4 ,there was to be no immediate return2 their captivity would last long enough to make it worth their while to build houses and plant gardens4 ,for the present they were to regard ,babylon as their home4 ,the prospect of restoration to ,judah was too distant to make any practical difference to their conduct of ordinary business4 ,the concluding command to seek the peace of ,babylon is a distinct warning against engaging in plots1 which could only ruin the conspirators4 ,there is an interesting difference between these exhortations and those addressed by ,paul to his converts in the first century4 ,he never counsels them to marry1 but rather recommends celibacy as more expedient for the present necessity4 ,apparently life was more anxious and harassed for the early ,christians than for the ,jews in ,babylon4 ,the return to ,canaan was to these exiles what the millennium and the ,second ,advent were to the primitive ,church4 ,jeremiah having bidden his fellow-countrymen not to be agitated by supposing that this much-longed event might come at any moment1 fortifies their faith and patience by a promise that it should not be delayed indefinitely4 ,when ye have fulfilled seventy years in ,babylon ,i will visit you1 ,and will perform for you ,my gracious promise to bring you back to this place4#abe ,seventy is obviously a round number4 ,moreover the constant use of seven and its multiples in sacred symbolism forbids us to understand the prophecy as an exact chronological statement4 ,we should adequately express the prophet's meaning by translating in about two generations4 ,we need not waste time and trouble in discovering or inventing two dates exactly separated by seventy years1 one of which will serve for the beginning and the other for the end of the ,captivity4 ,the interval between the destruction of ,jerusalem and the ,return was fifty years 7,b4,c4 #ehf-ecf71 but as our passage refers more immediately to the prospects of those already in exile1 we should obtain an interval of sixty-five years from the deportation of ,jehoiachin and his companions in ,b4,c4 #fja4 ,but there can be no question of approximation1 however close4 ,either the seventy years merely stands for a comparatively long period1 or it is exact4 ,we do not save the inspiration of a date by showing that it is only five years wrong1 and not twenty4 ,for an inspired date must be absolutely accurate2 a mistake of a second in such a case would be as fatal as a mistake of a century4 ,israel's hope is guaranteed by ,god's self-knowledge of ,his gracious counsel3-- ,i know the purposes which ,i purpose concerning you1 is the utterance of ,jehovah1 ,purposes of peace and not of evil1 to give you hope for the days to come4 ,in the former clause ,i is emphatic in both places1 and the phrase is parallel to the familiar formula by ,myself have ,i sworn1 saith ,jehovah4 ,the future of ,israel was guaranteed by the divine consistency4 ,jehovah1 to use a colloquial phrase1 knew ,his own mind4 ,his everlasting purpose for the ,chosen ,people could not be set aside4 ,did ,god cast off ,his people8 ,god forbid4 ,yet this persistent purpose is not fulfilled without reference to character and conduct3-- ,ye shall call upon ,me1 and come and pray unto ,me1 ,and ,i will hearken unto you4 ,ye shall seek ,me1 and find ,me1 ,because ye seek ,me with all your heart4 ,i will be found of you--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,i will bring back your captivity1 and will gather you from all nations and places whither ,i have scattered you--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,i will bring you back to this place whence ,i sent you away to captivity4#abf ,as in the previous chapter1 ,jeremiah concludes with a personal judgment upon those prophets who had been so acceptable to the exiles4 ,if verse #bc is to be understood literally1 ,ahab and ,zedekiah had not only spoken without authority in the name of ,jehovah1 but had also been guilty of gross immorality4 ,their punishment was to be more terrible than that of ,hananiah4 ,they had incited the exiles to revolt by predicting the imminent ruin of ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,possibly the ,jewish king proposed to make his own peace by betraying his agents1 after the manner of our own ,elizabeth and other sovereigns4 ,they were to be given over to the terrible vengeance which a ,chaldean king would naturally take on such offenders1 and would be publicly roasted alive1 so that the malice of him who desired to curse his enemy might find vent in such words as3-- ,jehovah make thee like ,zedekiah and ,ahab1 whom the king of ,babylon roasted alive4 ,we are not told whether this prophecy was fulfilled1 but it is by no means unlikely4 ,the ,assyrian king ,assurbanipal says1 in one of his inscriptions concerning a viceroy of ,babylon who had revolted1 that ,assur and the other gods in the fierce burning fire they threw him and destroyed his life--possibly through the agency of ,assurbanipal's servants4#abg ,one of the seven brethren who were tortured to death in the persecutions of ,antiochus ,epiphanes is said to have been fried in the pan4#abh ,christian hagiology commemorates ,st4 ,lawrence and many other martyrs1 who suffered similar torments4 ,such punishments remained part of criminal procedure until a comparatively recent date2 they are still sometimes inflicted by lynch law in the ,united ,states1 and have been defended even by ,christian ministers4 ,jeremiah's letter caused great excitement and indignation among the exiles4 ,we have no rejoinder from ,ahab and ,zedekiah2 probably they were not in a position to make any4 ,but ,shemaiah the ,nehelamite tried to make trouble for ,jeremiah at ,jerusalem4 ,he1 in his turn1 wrote letters to all the people at ,jerusalem and to the priest ,zephaniah ben ,maaseiah and to all the priests to this effect3-- ,jehovah hath made thee priest in the room of ,jehoiada the priest1 to exercise supervision over the ,temple1 and to deal with any mad fanatic who puts himself forward to prophesy1 by placing him in the stocks and the collar4 ,why then hast thou not rebuked ,jeremiah of ,anathoth1 who puts himself forward to prophesy unto you8 ,consequently he has sent unto us at ,babylon3 ,it 7your captivity7 will be long2 build houses and dwell in them1 plant gardens and eat the fruit thereof4 ,confidence in a speedy return had already been exalted into a cardinal article of the exiles' faith1 and ,shemaiah claims that any one who denied this comfortable doctrine must be ipso facto a dangerous and deluded fanatic1 needing to be placed under strict restraint4 ,this letter travelled to ,jerusalem with the returning embassy1 and was duly delivered to ,zephaniah4 ,zephaniah is spoken of in the historical section common to ,kings and ,jeremiah as the second priest1#abi ,seraiah being the ,high ,priest2 like ,pashhur ben ,immer1 he seems to have been the governor of the ,temple4 ,he was evidently well disposed to ,jeremiah1 to whom ,zedekiah twice sent him on important missions4 ,on the present occasion1 instead of acting upon the suggestions made by ,shemaiah1 he read the letter to ,jeremiah1 in order that the latter might have an opportunity of dealing with it4 ,jeremiah was divinely instructed to reply to ,shemaiah1 charging him1 in his turn1 with being a man who put himself forward to prophesy without any commission from ,jehovah1 and who thus deluded his hearers into belief in falsehoods4 ,personal sentence is passed upon him1 as upon ,hananiah1 ,ahab1 and ,zedekiah2 no son of his shall be reckoned amongst ,god's people or see the prosperity which they shall hereafter enjoy4 ,the words are obscure3 it is said that ,jehovah will visit ,shemaiah and his seed1 so that it cannot mean that he will be childless2 but it is further said that he shall not have a man to abide amongst this people4 ,it is apparently a sentence of excommunication against ,shemaiah and his family4 ,here the episode abruptly ends4 ,we are not told whether the letter was sent1 or how it was received1 or whether it was answered4 ,we gather that1 here also1 the last word rested with ,jeremiah1 and that at this point his influence became dominant both at ,jerusalem and at ,babylon1 and that ,king ,zedekiah himself submitted to his guidance4 ,chapters xxviii41 xxix41 deepen the impression made by other sections of ,jeremiah's intolerance and personal bitterness towards his opponents4 ,he seems to speak of the roasting alive of the prophets at ,babylon with something like grim satisfaction1 and we are tempted to think of ,torquemada and ,bishop ,bonner4 ,but we must remember that the stake1 as we have already said1 has scarcely yet ceased to be an ordinary criminal punishment1 and that1 after centuries of ,christianity1 ,more and ,cranmer1 ,luther and ,calvin1 had hardly any more tenderness for their ecclesiastical opponents than ,jeremiah4 ,indeed the ,church is only beginning to be ashamed of the complacency with which she has contemplated the fiery torments of hell as the eternal destiny of unrepentant sinners4 ,one of the most tolerant and catholic of our religious teachers has written3 ,if the unlucky malefactor1 who in mere brutality of ignorance or narrowness of nature or of culture has wronged his neighbour1 excite our anger1 how much deeper should be our indignation when intellect and eloquence are abused to selfish purposes1 when studious leisure and learning and thought turn traitors to the cause of human well-being and the wells of a nation's moral life are poisoned4#acj ,the deduction is obvious3 society feels constrained to hang or burn the unlucky malefactor2 consequently such punishments are1 if anything1 too merciful for the false prophet4 ,moreover the teaching which ,jeremiah denounced was no mere dogmatism about abstruse philosophical and theological abstractions4 ,like the ,jesuit propaganda under ,elizabeth1 it was more immediately concerned with politics than with religion4 ,we are bound to be indignant with a man1 gifted in exploiting the emotions of his docile audience1 who wins the confidence and arouses the enthusiasm of his hearers1 only to entice them into hopeless and foolhardy ventures4 ,and yet we are brought back to the old difficulty1 how are we to know the false prophet8 ,he has neither horns nor hoofs1 his tie may be as white and his coat as long as those of the true messenger of ,god4 ,again1 ,jeremiah's method affords us some practical guidance4 ,he does not himself order and superintend the punishment of false prophets2 he merely announces a divine judgment1 which ,jehovah ,himself is to execute4 ,he does not condemn men by the code of any ,church1 but each sentence is a direct and special revelation from ,jehovah4 ,how many sentences would have been passed upon heretics1 if their accusers and judges had waited for a similar sanction8 ,,footnotes3 #abe ,doubts have been expressed as to whether this verse originally formed part of ,jeremiah's letter1 or was ever written by him2 but in view of his numerous references to a coming restoration those doubts are unnecessary4 #abf ,the ,hebrew ,text inserts a paragraph 7vv4 #af-bj7 substantially identical with other portions of the book1 especially xxiv4 #h-aj1 announcing the approaching ruin and captivity of ,zedekiah and the ,jews still remaining in ,judah4 ,this section is omitted by the ,,lxx41 and breaks the obvious connection between verses #ae and #ba4 #abg ,smith's ,assurbanipal1 p4 #afc4 #abh #b ,macc4 vii4 #e4 #abi lii4 #bd2 #b ,kings xxv4 #ah4 #acj ,ecce ,homo1 xxi4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,a ,,broken ,,covenant xxi4 #a-aj1 xxxiv41 xxxvii4 #a-aj4 ,all the princes and people 444 changed their minds and reduced to bondage again all the slaves whom they had set free4--,,jer4 xxxiv4 #aj1 #aa4 ,in our previous chapter we saw that1 at the point where the fragmentary record of the abortive conspiracy in the fourth year of ,zedekiah came to an abrupt conclusion1 ,jeremiah seemed to have regained the ascendency he enjoyed under ,josiah4 ,the ,jewish government had relinquished their schemes of rebellion and acquiesced once more in the supremacy of ,babylon4 ,we may possibly gather from a later chapter#aca that ,zedekiah himself paid a visit to ,nebuchadnezzar to assure him of his loyalty4 ,if so1 the embassy of ,elasah ben ,shaphan and ,gemariah ben ,hilkiah was intended to assure a favourable reception for their master4 ,the history of the next few years is lost in obscurity1 but when the curtain again rises everything is changed and ,judah is once more in revolt against the ,chaldeans4 ,no doubt one cause of this fresh change of policy was the renewed activity of ,egypt4 ,in the account of the conspiracy in ,zedekiah's fourth year1 there is a significant absence of any reference to ,egypt4 ,jeremiah succeeded in baffling his opponents partly because their fears of ,babylon were not quieted by any assurance of ,egyptian support4 ,now there seemed a better prospect of a successful insurrection4 ,about the seventh year of ,zedekiah1 ,psammetichus ,,ii4 of ,egypt was succeeded by his brother ,pharaoh ,hophra1 the son of ,josiah's conqueror1 ,pharaoh ,necho4 ,when ,hophra--the ,apries of ,herodotus--had completed the reconquest of ,ethiopia1 he made a fresh attempt to carry out his father's policy and to re-establish the ancient ,egyptian supremacy in ,western ,asia2 and1 as of old1 ,egypt began by tampering with the allegiance of the ,syrian vassals of ,babylon4 ,according to ,ezekiel1#acb ,zedekiah took the initiative3 he rebelled against him 7,nebuchadnezzar7 by sending his ambassadors into ,egypt1 that they might give him horses and much people4 ,the knowledge that an able and victorious general was seated on the ,egyptian throne1 along with the secret intrigues of his agents and partisans1 was too much for ,zedekiah's discretion4 ,jeremiah's advice was disregarded4 ,the king surrendered himself to the guidance--we might almost say1 the control--of the ,egyptian party in ,jerusalem2 he violated his oath of allegiance to his suzerain1 and the frail and battered ship of state was once more embarked on the stormy waters of rebellion4 ,nebuchadnezzar promptly prepared to grapple with the reviving strength of ,egypt in a renewed contest for the lordship of ,syria4 ,probably ,egypt and ,judah had other allies1 but they are not expressly mentioned4 ,a little later ,tyre was besieged by ,nebuchadnezzar2 but as ,ezekiel#acc represents ,tyre as exulting over the fall of ,jerusalem1 she can hardly have been a benevolent neutral1 much less a faithful ally4 ,moreover1 when ,nebuchadnezzar began his march into ,syria1 he hesitated whether he should first attack ,jerusalem or ,rabbath ,ammon3-- ,the king of ,babylon stood at the parting of the way1 444 to use divination3 he shook the arrows to and fro1 he consulted the teraphim1 he looked in the liver4#acd ,later on ,baalis1 king of ,ammon1 received the ,jewish refugees and supported those who were most irreconcilable in their hostility to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,nevertheless the ,ammonites were denounced by ,jeremiah for occupying the territory of ,gad1 and by ,ezekiel#ace for sharing the exultation of ,tyre over the ruin of ,judah4 ,probably ,baalis played a double part4 ,he may have promised support to ,zedekiah1 and then purchased his own pardon by betraying his ally4 ,nevertheless the hearty support of ,egypt was worth more than the alliance of any number of the petty neighbouring states1 and ,nebuchadnezzar levied a great army to meet this ancient and formidable enemy of ,assyria and ,babylon4 ,he marched into ,judah with all his army1 and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion1 and all the peoples1 and fought against ,jerusalem and all the cities thereof4#acf ,at the beginning of the siege ,zedekiah's heart began to fail him4 ,the course of events seemed to confirm ,jeremiah's threats1 and the king1 with pathetic inconsistency1 sought to be reassured by the prophet himself4 ,he sent ,pashhur ben ,malchiah and ,zephaniah ben ,maaseiah to ,jeremiah with the message3-- ,inquire1 ,i pray thee1 of ,jehovah for us1 for ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon maketh war against us3 peradventure ,jehovah will deal with us according to all ,his wondrous works1 that he may go up from us4 ,the memories of the great deliverance from ,sennacherib were fresh and vivid in men's minds4 ,isaiah's denunciations had been as uncompromising as ,jeremiah's1 and yet ,hezekiah had been spared4 ,peradventure1 thought his anxious descendant1 the prophet may yet be charged with gracious messages that ,jehovah repents ,him of the evil and will even now rescue ,his ,holy ,city4 ,but the timid appeal only called forth a yet sterner sentence of doom4 ,formidable as were the enemies against whom ,zedekiah craved protection1 they were to be reinforced by more terrible allies2 man and beast should die of a great pestilence1 and ,jehovah ,himself should be their enemy3-- ,i will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands1 wherewith ye fight against the king of ,babylon and the ,chaldeans4444 ,i ,myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm1 in anger and fury and great wrath4 ,the city should be taken and burnt with fire1 and the king and all others who survived should be carried away captive4 ,only on one condition might better terms be obtained3-- ,behold1 ,i set before you the way of life and the way of death4 ,he that abideth in this city shall die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence2 but he that goeth out1 and falleth to the besieging ,chaldeans1 shall live1 and his life shall be unto him for a prey4#acg ,on another occasion ,zephaniah ben ,maaseiah with a certain ,tehucal ben ,shelemiah was sent by the king to the prophet with the entreaty1 ,pray now unto ,jehovah our ,god for us4 ,we are not told the sequel to this mission1 but it is probably represented by the opening verses of chapter xxxiv4 ,this section has the direct and personal note which characterises the dealings of ,hebrew prophets with their sovereigns4 ,doubtless the partisans of ,egypt had had a severe struggle with ,jeremiah before they captured the ear of the ,jewish king1 and ,zedekiah was possessed to the very last with a half-superstitious anxiety to keep on good terms with the prophet4 ,jehovah's iron pillar and brasen wall would make no concession to these royal blandishments3 his message had been rejected1 his ,master had been slighted and defied1 the ,chosen ,people and the ,holy ,city were being betrayed to their ruin2 ,jeremiah would not refrain from denouncing this iniquity because the king who had sanctioned it tried to flatter his vanity by sending deferential deputations of important notables4 ,this is the ,divine sentence3-- ,i will give this city into the hand of the king of ,babylon1 ,and he shall burn it with fire4 ,thou shalt not escape out of his hand2 ,thou shalt assuredly be taken prisoner2 ,thou shalt be delivered into his hand4 ,thou shalt see the king of ,babylon1 face to face2 ,he shall speak to thee1 mouth to mouth1 ,and thou shalt go to ,babylon4 ,yet there should be one doubtful mitigation of his punishment3-- ,thou shalt not die by the sword2 ,thou shalt die in peace3 ,with the burnings of thy fathers1 the former kings that were before thee1 ,so shall they make a burning for thee2 ,and they shall lament thee1 saying1 ,alas lord6 ,for it is ,i that have spoken the word--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,king and people were not proof against the combined terrors of the prophetic rebukes and the besieging enemy4 ,jeremiah regained his influence1 and ,jerusalem gave an earnest of the sincerity of her repentance by entering into a covenant for the emancipation of all ,hebrew slaves4 ,deuteronomy had re-enacted the ancient law that their bondage should terminate at the end of six years1#ach but this had not been observed3 ,your fathers hearkened not unto ,me1 neither inclined their ear4#aci ,a large proportion of those then in slavery must have served more than six years2#adj and partly because of the difficulty of discrimination at such a crisis1 partly by way of atonement1 the ,jews undertook to liberate all their slaves4 ,this solemn reparation was made because the limitation of servitude was part of the national ,torah1 the covenant that ,jehovah made with their fathers in the day that ,he brought them forth out of the land of ,egypt--i4e4 the ,deuteronomic ,code4 ,hence it implied the renewed recognition of ,deuteronomy1 and the restoration of the ecclesiastical order established by ,josiah's reforms4 ,even ,josiah's methods were imitated4 ,he had assembled the people at the ,temple and made them enter into a covenant before ,jehovah1 to walk after ,jehovah1 to keep ,his commandments and testimonies and statutes with all their heart and soul1 to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book4 ,and all the people entered into the covenant4#ada ,so now ,zedekiah in turn caused the people to make a covenant before ,jehovah1 in the house which was called by ,his name1#adb that every one should release his ,hebrew slaves1 male and female1 and that no one should enslave a brother ,jew4#adc ,a further sanction had been given to this vow by the observance of an ancient and significant rite4 ,when ,jehovah promised to ,abraham a seed countless as the stars of heaven1 ,he condescended to ratify ,his promise by causing the symbols of ,his presence--a smoking furnace and a burning lamp--to pass between the divided halves of a heifer1 a she-goat1 a ram1 and between a turtle-dove and a young pigeon4#add ,now1 in like manner1 a calf was cut in twain1 the two halves laid opposite each other1 and the princes of ,judah and ,jerusalem1 the eunuchs1 the priests1 and all the people of the land1 444 passed between the parts of the calf4#ade ,similarly1 after the death of ,alexander the ,great1 the contending factions in the ,macedonian army ratified a compromise by passing between the two halves of a dog4 ,such symbols spoke for themselves3 those who used them laid themselves under a curse2 they prayed that if they violated the covenant they might be slain and mutilated like the divided animals4 ,this covenant was forthwith carried into effect1 the princes and people liberating their ,hebrew slaves according to their vow4 ,we cannot1 however1 compare this event with the abolition of slavery in ,british colonies or with ,abraham ,lincoln's ,decree of ,emancipation4 ,the scale is altogether different3 ,hebrew bondage had no horrors to compare with those of the ,american plantations2 and moreover1 even at the moment1 the practical results cannot have been great4 ,shut up in a beleaguered city1 harassed by the miseries and terrors of a siege1 the freedmen would see little to rejoice over in their new-found freedom4 ,unless their friends were in ,jerusalem they could not rejoin them1 and in most cases they could only obtain sustenance by remaining in the households of their former masters1 or by serving in the defending army4 ,probably this special ordinance of ,deuteronomy was selected as the subject of a solemn covenant1 because it not only afforded an opportunity of atoning for past sin1 but also provided the means of strengthening the national defence4 ,such expedients were common in ancient states in moments of extreme peril4 ,in view of ,jeremiah's persistent efforts1 both before and after this incident1 to make his countrymen loyally accept the ,chaldean supremacy1 we cannot doubt that he hoped to make terms between ,zedekiah and ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,apparently no tidings of ,pharaoh ,hophra's advance had reached ,jerusalem2 and the non-appearance of his horses and much people had discredited the ,egyptian party1 and enabled ,jeremiah to overthrow their influence with the king and people4 ,egypt1 after all her promises1 had once more proved herself a broken reed2 there was nothing left but to throw themselves on ,nebuchadnezzar's mercy4 ,but the situation was once more entirely changed by the news that ,pharaoh ,hophra had come forth out of ,egypt with a mighty army and a great company4#adf ,the sentinels on the walls of ,jerusalem saw the besiegers break up their encampment1 and march away to meet the relieving army4 ,all thought of submitting to ,babylon was given up4 ,indeed1 if ,pharaoh ,hophra were to be victorious1 the ,jews must of necessity accept his supremacy4 ,meanwhile they revelled in their respite from present distress and imminent danger4 ,surely the new covenant was bearing fruit4 ,jehovah had been propitiated by their promise to observe the ,torah2 ,pharaoh was the instrument by which ,god would deliver ,his people2 or even if the ,egyptians were defeated1 the ,divine resources were not exhausted4 ,when ,tirhakah advanced to the relief of ,hezekiah1 he was defeated at ,eltekeh1 yet ,sennacherib had returned home baffled and disgraced4 ,naturally the partisans of ,egypt1 the opponents of ,jeremiah1 recovered their control of the king and the government4 ,the king sent1 perhaps at the first news of the ,egyptian advance1 to inquire of ,jeremiah concerning their prospects of success4 ,what seemed to every one else a ,divine deliverance was to him a national misfortune2 the hopes he had once more indulged of averting the ruin of ,judah were again dashed to the ground4 ,his answer is bitter and gloomy3-- ,behold1 ,pharaoh's army1 which is come forth to help you1 ,shall return to ,egypt into their own land4 ,the ,chaldeans shall come again1 and fight against this city2 ,they shall take it1 and burn it with fire4 ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,do not deceive yourselves1 saying1 ,the ,chaldeans shall surely depart from us3 ,they shall not depart4 ,though ye had smitten the whole army of the ,chaldeans that fight against you1 ,and there remained none but wounded men among them1 ,yet should they rise up every man in his tent1 ,and burn this city with fire4 ,jeremiah's protest was unavailing1 and only confirmed the king and princes in their adherence to ,egypt4 ,moreover ,jeremiah had now formally disclaimed any sympathy with this great deliverance1 which ,pharaoh--and presumably ,jehovah--had wrought for ,judah4 ,hence it was clear that the people did not owe this blessing to the covenant to which they had submitted themselves by ,jeremiah's guidance4 ,as at ,megiddo1 ,jehovah had shown once more that ,he was with ,pharaoh and against ,jeremiah4 ,probably they would best please ,god by renouncing ,jeremiah and all his works--the covenant included4 ,moreover they could take back their slaves with a clear conscience1 to their own great comfort and satisfaction4 ,true1 they had sworn in the ,temple with solemn and striking ceremonies1 but then ,jehovah ,himself had manifestly released them from their oath4 ,all the princes and people changed their mind1 and reduced to bondage again all the slaves whom they had set free4 ,the freedmen had been rejoicing with their former masters in the prospect of national deliverance2 the date of their emancipation was to mark the beginning of a new era of ,jewish happiness and prosperity4 ,when the siege was raised and the ,chaldeans driven away1 they could use their freedom in rebuilding the ruined cities and cultivating the wasted lands4 ,to all such dreams there came a sudden and rough awakening3 they were dragged back to their former hopeless bondage--a happy augury for the new dispensation of ,divine protection and blessing6 ,jeremiah turned upon them in fierce wrath1 like that of ,elijah against ,ahab when he met him taking possession of ,naboth's vineyard4 ,they had profaned the name of ,jehovah1 and-- ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah3 ,ye have not hearkened unto ,me to proclaim a release every one to his brother and his neighbour3 ,behold1 ,i proclaim a release for you--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--unto the sword1 the pestilence1 and the famine2 ,and ,i will make you a terror among all the kingdoms of the earth4 ,the prophet plays upon the word release with grim irony4 ,the ,jews had repudiated the release which they had promised under solemn oath to their brethren1 but ,jehovah would not allow them to be so easily quit of their covenant4 ,there should be a release after all1 and they themselves should have the benefit of it--a release from happiness and prosperity1 from the sacred bounds of the ,temple1 the ,holy ,city1 and the ,land of ,promise--a release unto the sword1 the pestilence1 and the famine4 ,i will give the men that have transgressed ,my covenant into the hands of their enemies4444 ,their dead bodies shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and for the beasts of the earth4 ,zedekiah king of ,judah and his princes will ,i give into the hand of 444 the host of the king of ,babylon1 which are gone up from you4 ,behold1 ,i will command--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--and will bring them back unto this city3 ,they shall fight against it1 and take it1 and burn it with fire4 ,i will lay the cities of ,judah waste1 without inhabitant4 ,another broken covenant was added to the list of ,judah's sins1 another promise of amendment speedily lost in disappointment and condemnation4 ,jeremiah might well say with his favourite ,hosea3-- ,o ,judah1 what shall ,i do unto thee8 ,your goodness is as a morning cloud1 ,and as the dew that goeth early away4#adg ,this incident has many morals2 one of the most obvious is the futility of the most stringent oaths and the most solemn symbolic ritual4 ,whatever influence oaths may have in causing a would-be liar to speak the truth1 they are very poor guarantees for the performance of contracts4 ,william the ,conqueror profited little by ,harold's oath to help him to the crown of ,england1 though it was sworn over the relics of holy saints4 ,wulfnoth's whisper in ,tennyson's drama-- ,swear thou to-day1 to-morrow is thine own-- states the principle on which many oaths have been taken4 ,the famous blush of ,sigismund over the violation of his safe-conduct to ,huss was rather a token of unusual sensitiveness than a confession of exceptional guilt4 ,the ,christian ,church has exalted perfidy into a sacred obligation4 ,as ,milman says#adh3-- ,the fatal doctrine1 confirmed by long usage1 by the decrees of ,pontiffs1 by the assent of all ecclesiastics1 and the acquiescence of the ,christian world1 that no promise1 no oath1 was binding to a heretic1 had hardly been questioned1 never repudiated4 ,at first sight an oath seems to give firm assurance to a promise2 what was merely a promise to man is made into a promise to ,god4 ,what can be more binding upon the conscience than a promise to ,god8 ,true2 but ,he to whom the promise is made may always release from its performance4 ,to persist in what ,god neither requires nor desires because of a promise to ,god seems absurd and even wicked4 ,it has been said that men have a way of calling everything they want to do a dispensation of ,providence4 ,similarly1 there are many ways by which a man may persuade himself that ,god has cancelled his vows1 especially if he belongs to an infallible ,church with a ,divine commission to grant dispensations4 ,no doubt these ,jewish slaveholders had full sacerdotal absolution from their pledge4 ,the priests had slaves of their own4 ,failing ecclesiastical aid1 ,satan himself will play the casuist--it is one of his favourite parts--and will find the traitor full justification for breaking the most solemn contract with ,heaven4 ,if a man's whole soul and purpose go with his promise1 oaths are superfluous2 otherwise1 they are useless4 ,however1 the main lesson of the incident lies in its added testimony to the supreme importance which the prophets attached to social righteousness4 ,when ,jeremiah wished to knit together again the bonds of fellowship between ,judah and its ,god1 he did not make them enter into a covenant to observe ritual or to cultivate pious sentiments1 but to release their slaves4 ,it has been said that a gentleman may be known by the way in which he treats his servants2 a man's religion is better tested by his behaviour to his helpless dependents than by his attendance on the means of grace or his predilection for pious conversation4 ,if we were right in supposing that the government supported ,jeremiah because the act of emancipation would furnish recruits to man the walls1 this illustrates the ultimate dependence of society upon the working classes4 ,in emergencies1 desperate efforts are made to coerce or cajole them into supporting governments by which they have been neglected or oppressed4 ,the sequel to this covenant shows how barren and transient are concessions begotten by the terror of imminent ruin4 ,the social covenant between all classes of the community needs to be woven strand by strand through long years of mutual helpfulness and goodwill1 of peace and prosperity1 if it is to endure the strain of national peril and disaster4 ,,footnotes3 #aca li4 #ei1 ,hebrew ,text4 ,according to the ,,lxx41 ,zedekiah sent another embassy and did not go himself to ,babylon4 ,the section is apparently a late addition4 #acb xvii4 #ae4 #acc xxvi4 #b4 #acd ,ezek4 xxi4 #ba4 #ace xxv4 #a-g4 #acf xxi4 #a-aj4 ,the exact date of this section is not given1 but it is closely parallel to xxxiv4 #a-g1 and seems to belong to the same period4 #acg xxi4 #a-aj4 #ach ,deut4 xv4 #ab4 ,cf4 ,exod4 xxi4 #b1 xxiii4 #aj4 #aci xxxiv4 #ad4 #adj xxxiv4 #ac4 #ada #b ,kings xxiii4 #c4 #adb xxxiv4 #ae4 #adc xxxiv4 #i4 #add ,gen4 xv4 #ade xxxiv4 #ai4 #adf ,ezek4 xvii4 #ag4 #adg ,hosea vi4 #d4 #adh ,milman's ,latin ,christianity1 viii4 #bee4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,jeremiah',s ,,imprisonment xxxvii4 #aa-ba1 xxxviii41 xxxix4 #ae-ah4 ,jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that ,jerusalem was taken4--,,jer4 xxxviii4 #bh4 ,when the ,chaldean army was broken up from ,jerusalem for fear of ,pharaoh's army1 ,jeremiah went forth out of ,jerusalem to go into the land of ,benjamin to transact certain family business at ,anathoth4#adi ,he had announced that all who remained in the city should perish1 and that only those who deserted to the ,chaldeans should escape4 ,in these troubled times all who sought to enter or leave ,jerusalem were subjected to close scrutiny1 and when ,jeremiah wished to pass through the gate of ,benjamin he was stopped by the officer in charge--,irijah ben ,shelemiah ben ,hananiah--and accused of being about to practise himself what he had preached to the people3 ,thou fallest away to the ,chaldeans4 ,the suspicion was natural enough2 for1 although the ,chaldeans had raised the siege and marched away to the south-west1 while the gate of ,benjamin was on the north of the city1 ,irijah might reasonably suppose that they had left detachments in the neighbourhood1 and that this zealous advocate of submission to ,babylon had special information on the subject4 ,jeremiah indeed had the strongest motives for seeking safety in flight4 ,the party whom he had consistently denounced had full control of the government1 and even if they spared him for the present any decisive victory over the enemy would be the signal for his execution4 ,when once ,pharaoh ,hophra was in full march upon ,jerusalem at the head of a victorious army1 his friends would show no mercy to ,jeremiah4 ,probably ,irijah was eager to believe in the prophet's treachery1 and ready to snatch at any pretext for arresting him4 ,the name of the captain's grandfather--,hananiah--is too common to suggest any connection with the prophet who withstood ,jeremiah2 but we may be sure that at this crisis the gates were in charge of trusty adherents of the princes of the ,egyptian party4 ,jeremiah would be suspected and detested by such men as these4 ,his vehement denial of the charge was received with real or feigned incredulity2 ,irijah hearkened not unto him4 ,the arrest took place in the midst of the people4#aej ,the gate was crowded with other ,jews hurrying out of ,jerusalem3 citizens eager to breathe more freely after being cooped up in the overcrowded city2 countrymen anxious to find out what their farms and homesteads had suffered at the hands of the invaders2 not a few1 perhaps1 bound on the very errand of which ,jeremiah was accused1 friends of ,babylon1 convinced that ,nebuchadnezzar would ultimately triumph1 and hoping to find favour and security in his camp4 ,critical events of ,jeremiah's life had often been transacted before a great assembly2 for instance1 his own address and trial in the ,temple1 and the reading of the roll4 ,he knew the practical value of a dramatic situation4 ,this time he had sought the crowd1 rather to avoid than attract attention2 but when he was challenged by ,irijah1 the accusation and denial must have been heard by all around4 ,the soldiers of the guard1 necessarily hostile to the man who had counselled submission1 gathered round to secure their prisoner2 for a time the gate was blocked by the guards and spectators4 ,the latter do not seem to have interfered4 ,formerly the priests and prophets and all the people had laid hold on ,jeremiah1 and afterwards all the people had acquitted him by acclamation4 ,now his enemies were content to leave him in the hands of the soldiers1 and his friends1 if he had any1 were afraid to attempt a rescue4 ,moreover men's minds were not at leisure and craving for new excitement1 as at ,temple festivals2 they were preoccupied1 and eager to get out of the city4 ,while the news quickly spread that ,jeremiah had been arrested as he was trying to desert1 his guards cleared a way through the crowd1 and brought the prisoner before the princes4 ,the latter seem to have acted as a ,committee of ,national ,defence2 they may either have been sitting at the time1 or a meeting1 as on a previous occasion1#aea may have been called when it was known that ,jeremiah had been arrested4 ,among them were probably those enumerated later on3#aeb ,shephatiah ben ,mattan1 ,gedaliah ben ,pashhur1 ,jucal ben ,shelemiah1 and ,pashhur ben ,malchiah4 ,shephatiah and ,gedaliah are named only here2 possibly ,gedaliah's father was ,pashhur ben ,immer1 who beat ,jeremiah and put him in the stocks4 ,both ,jucal and ,pashhur ben ,malchiah had been sent by the king to consult ,jeremiah4 ,jucal may have been the son of the ,shelemiah who was sent to arrest ,jeremiah and ,baruch after the reading of the roll4 ,we note the absence of the princes who then formed ,baruch's audience1 some of whom tried to dissuade ,jehoiakim from burning the roll2 and we especially miss the prophet's former friend and protector1 ,ahikam ben ,shaphan4 ,fifteen or sixteen years had elapsed since these earlier events2 some of ,jeremiah's adherents were dead1 others in exile1 others powerless to help him4 ,we may safely conclude that his judges were his personal and political enemies4 ,jeremiah was now their discomfited rival3 a few weeks before he had been master of the city and the court4 ,pharaoh ,hophra's advance had enabled them to overthrow him4 ,we can understand that they would at once take ,irijah's view of the case4 ,they treated their fallen antagonist as a criminal taken in the act3 they were wroth with him1 i4e4 they overwhelmed him with a torrent of abuse2 they beat him1 and put him in prison in the house of ,jonathan the secretary4 ,but this imprisonment in a private house was not mild and honourable confinement under the care of a distinguished noble1 who was rather courteous host than harsh gaoler4 ,they had made that the prison1 duly provided with a dungeon and cells1 to which ,jeremiah was consigned and where he remained many days4 ,prison accommodation at ,jerusalem was limited2 the ,jewish government preferred more summary methods of dealing with malefactors4 ,the revolution which had placed the present government in power had given them special occasion for a prison4 ,they had defeated rivals whom they did not venture to execute publicly1 but who might be more safely starved and tortured to death in secret4 ,for such a fate they destined ,jeremiah4 ,we shall not do injustice to ,jonathan the secretary if we compare the hospitality which he extended to his unwilling guests with the treatment of modern ,armenians in ,turkish prisons4 ,yet the prophet remained alive for many days2 probably his enemies reflected that even if he did not succumb earlier to the hardships of his imprisonment1 his execution would suitably adorn the looked-for triumph of ,pharaoh ,hophra4 ,few however of the many days had passed1 before men's exultant anticipations of victory and deliverance began to give place to anxious forebodings4 ,they had hoped to hear that ,nebuchadnezzar had been defeated and was in headlong retreat to ,chaldea2 they had been prepared to join in the pursuit of the routed army1 to gratify their revenge by massacring the fugitives and to share the plunder with their ,egyptian allies4 ,the fortunes of war belied their hopes2 ,pharaoh retreated1 either after a battle or perhaps even without fighting4 ,the return of the enemy was announced by the renewed influx of the country people to seek the shelter of the fortifications1 and soon the ,jews crowded to the walls as ,nebuchadnezzar's vanguard appeared in sight and the ,chaldeans occupied their old lines and re-formed the siege of the doomed city4 ,there was no longer any doubt that prudence dictated immediate surrender4 ,it was the only course by which the people might be spared some of the horrors of a prolonged siege1 followed by the sack of the city4 ,but the princes who controlled the government were too deeply compromised with ,egypt to dare to hope for mercy4 ,with ,jeremiah out of the way1 they were able to induce the king and the people to maintain their resistance1 and the siege went on4 ,but though ,zedekiah was1 for the most part1 powerless in the hands of the princes1 he ventured now and then to assert himself in minor matters1 and1 like other feeble sovereigns1 derived some consolation amidst his many troubles from intriguing with the opposition against his own ministers4 ,his feeling and behaviour towards ,jeremiah were similar to those of ,charles ,,ix4 towards ,coligny1 only circumstances made the ,jewish king a more efficient protector of ,jeremiah4 ,at this new and disastrous turn of affairs1 which was an exact fulfilment of ,jeremiah's warnings1 the king was naturally inclined to revert to his former faith in the prophet--if indeed he had ever really been able to shake himself free from his influence4 ,left to himself he would have done his best to make terms with ,nebuchadnezzar1 as ,jehoiakim and ,jehoiachin had done before him4 ,the only trustworthy channel of help1 human or divine1 was ,jeremiah4 ,accordingly he sent secretly to the prison and had the prophet brought into the palace4 ,there in some inner chamber1 carefully guarded from intrusion by the slaves of the palace1 ,zedekiah received the man who now for more than forty years had been the chief counsellor of the kings of ,judah1 often in spite of themselves4 ,like ,saul on the eve of ,gilboa1 he was too impatient to let disaster be its own herald2 the silence of ,heaven seemed more terrible than any spoken doom1 and again like ,saul he turned in his perplexity and despair to the prophet who had rebuked and condemned him4 ,is there any word from ,jehovah8 ,and ,jeremiah said1 ,there is3 444 thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of ,babylon4 ,the ,church is rightly proud of ,ambrose rebuking ,theodosius at the height of his power and glory1 and of ,thomas ,becket1 unarmed and yet defiant before his murderers2 but the ,jewish prophet showed himself capable of a simpler and grander heroism4 ,for many days he had endured squalor1 confinement1 and semi-starvation4 ,his body must have been enfeebled and his spirit depressed4 ,weak and contemptible as ,zedekiah was1 yet he was the prophet's only earthly protector from the malice of his enemies4 ,he intended to utilise this interview for an appeal for release from his present prison4 ,thus he had every motive for conciliating the man who asked him for a word from ,jehovah4 ,he was probably alone with ,zedekiah1 and was not nerved to self-sacrifice by any opportunity of making public testimony to the truth1 and yet he was faithful alike to ,god and to the poor helpless king--,thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of ,babylon4 ,and then he proceeds1 with what seems to us inconsequent audacity1 to ask a favour4 ,did ever petitioner to a king preface his supplication with so strange a preamble8 ,this was the request3-- ,now hear1 ,i pray thee1 ,o my lord the king3 let my supplication1 ,i pray thee1 be accepted before thee2 that thou do not cause me to return to the house of ,jonathan the secretary1 lest ,i die there4 ,then ,zedekiah the king commanded1 and they committed ,jeremiah into the court of the guard1 and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street4 ,a loaf of bread is not sumptuous fare1 but it is evidently mentioned as an improvement upon his prison diet3 it is not difficult to understand why ,jeremiah was afraid he would die in the house of ,jonathan4 ,during this milder imprisonment in the court of the guard occurred the incident of the purchase of the field at ,anathoth1 which we have dealt with in another chapter4 ,this low ebb of the prophet's fortunes was the occasion of ,divine revelation of a glorious future in store for ,judah4 ,but this future was still remote1 and does not seem to have been conspicuous in his public teaching4 ,on the contrary ,jeremiah availed himself of the comparative publicity of his new place of detention to reiterate in the ears of all the people the gloomy predictions with which they had so long been familiar3 ,this city shall assuredly be given into the hand of the army of the king of ,babylon4 ,he again urged his hearers to desert to the enemy3 ,he that abideth in this city shall die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence2 but he that goeth forth to the ,chaldeans shall live4 ,we cannot but admire the splendid courage of the solitary prisoner1 helpless in the hands of his enemies and yet openly defying them4 ,he left his opponents only two alternatives1 either to give up the government into his hands or else to silence him4 ,jeremiah in the court of the guard was really carrying on a struggle in which neither side either would or could give quarter4 ,he was trying to revive the energies of the partisans of ,babylon1 that they might overpower the government and surrender the city to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,if he had succeeded1 the princes would have had a short shrift4 ,they struck back with the prompt energy of men fighting for their lives4 ,no government conducting the defence of a besieged fortress could have tolerated ,jeremiah for a moment4 ,what would have been the fate of a ,french politician who should have urged ,parisians to desert to the ,germans during the siege of #ahgj8aec ,the princes' former attempt to deal with ,jeremiah had been thwarted by the king2 this time they tried to provide beforehand against any officious intermeddling on the part of ,zedekiah4 ,they extorted from him a sanction of their proceedings4 ,then the princes said unto the king1 ,let this man1 we pray thee1 be put to death3 for he weakeneth the hands of the soldiers that are left in this city1 and of all the people1 by speaking such words unto them3 for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people1 but the hurt4 ,certainly ,jeremiah's word was enough to take the heart out of the bravest soldiers2 his preaching would soon have rendered further resistance impossible4 ,but the concluding sentence about the welfare of the people was merely cheap cant1 not without parallel in the sayings of many princes in later times4 ,the welfare of the people would have been best promoted by the surrender which ,jeremiah advocated4 ,the king does not pretend to sympathise with the princes2 he acknowledges himself a mere tool in their hands4 ,behold1 he answers1 he is in your power1 for the king can do nothing against you4 ,then they took ,jeremiah1 and cast him into the cistern of ,malchiah ben ,hammelech1 that was in the court of the guard2 and they let ,jeremiah down with cords4 ,and there was no water in the cistern1 only mud1 and ,jeremiah sank in the mud4 ,the depth of this improvised oubliette is shown by the use of cords to let the prisoner down into it4 ,how was it1 however1 that1 after the release of ,jeremiah from the cells in the house of ,jonathan1 the princes did not at once execute him8 ,probably1 in spite of all that had happened1 they still felt a superstitious dread of actually shedding the blood of a prophet4 ,in some mysterious way they felt that they would be less guilty if they left him in the empty cistern to starve to death or be suffocated in the mud1 than if they had his head cut off4 ,they acted in the spirit of ,reuben's advice concerning ,joseph1 who also was cast into an empty pit1 with no water in it3 ,shed no blood1 but cast him into this pit in the wilderness1 and lay no hand upon him4#aed ,by a similar blending of hypocrisy and superstition1 the medival ,church thought to keep herself unstained by the blood of heretics1 by handing them over to the secular arm2 and ,macbeth having hired some one else to kill ,banquo was emboldened to confront his ghost with the words3-- ,thou canst not say ,i did it4 ,never shake ,thy gory locks at me4 ,but the princes were again baffled2 the prophet had friends in the royal household who were bolder than their master3 ,ebed-melech the ,ethiopian1 an eunuch1 heard that they had put ,jeremiah in the cistern4 ,he went to the king1 who was then sitting in the gate of ,benjamin1 where he would be accessible to any petitioner for favour or justice1 and interceded for the prisoner3-- ,my lord the king1 these men have done evil in all that they have done to ,jeremiah the prophet1 whom they have cast into the cistern2 and he is like to die in the place where he is because of the famine1 for there is no more bread in the city4 ,apparently the princes1 busied with the defence of the city and in their pride too much despising their royal master1 had left him for a while to himself4 ,emboldened by this public appeal to act according to the dictates of his own heart and conscience1 and possibly by the presence of other friends of ,jeremiah1 the king acts with unwonted courage and decision4 ,the king commanded ,ebed-melech the ,ethiopian1 saying1 ,take with thee hence thirty men1 and draw up ,jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern1 before he die4 ,so ,ebed-melech took the men with him1 and went into the palace under the treasury1 and took thence old cast clouts and rotten rags1 and let them down by cords into the cistern to ,jeremiah4 ,and he said to ,jeremiah1 ,put these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords4 ,and ,jeremiah did so4 ,so they drew him up with the cords1 and took him up out of the cistern3 and he remained in the court of the guard4 ,jeremiah's gratitude to his deliverer is recorded in a short paragraph in which ,ebed-melech1 like ,baruch1 is promised that his life shall be given him for a prey4 ,he should escape with his life from the sack of the city--because he trusted in ,jehovah4 ,as of the ten lepers whom ,jesus cleansed only the ,samaritan returned to give glory to ,god1 so when none of ,god's people were found to rescue ,his prophet1 the dangerous honour was accepted by an ,ethiopian proselyte4#aee ,meanwhile the king was craving for yet another word of ,jehovah4 ,true1 the last word given him by the prophet had been1 ,thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of ,babylon4 ,but now that he had just rescued ,jehovah's prophet from a miserable death 7he forgot that ,jeremiah had been consigned to the cistern by his own authority71 possibly there might be some more encouraging message from ,god4 ,accordingly he sent and took ,jeremiah unto him for another secret interview1 this time in the corridor of the bodyguard1#aef a passage between the palace and the ,temple4 ,here he implored the prophet to give him a faithful answer to his questions concerning his own fate and that of the city3 ,hide nothing from me4 ,but ,jeremiah did not respond with his former prompt frankness4 ,he had had too recent a warning not to put his trust in princes4 ,if ,i declare it unto thee1 said he1 wilt thou not surely put me to death8 and if ,i give thee counsel1 thou wilt not hearken unto me4 ,so ,zedekiah the king sware secretly to ,jeremiah1 ,as ,jehovah liveth1 who is the source and giver of our life1 ,i will not put thee to death1 neither will ,i give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life4 ,then said ,jeremiah unto ,zedekiah1 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 the ,god of hosts1 the ,god of ,israel3 ,if thou wilt go forth unto the king of ,babylon's princes1 thy life shall be spared1 and this city shall not be burned1 and thou and thine house shall live2 but if thou wilt not go forth1 then shall this city be given into the hand of the ,chaldeans1 and they shall burn it1 and thou shalt not escape out of their hand4 ,zedekiah said unto ,jeremiah1 ,i am afraid of the ,jews that have deserted to the ,chaldeans1 lest they deliver me into their hand1 and they mock me4 ,he does not1 however1 urge that the princes will hinder any such surrender2 he believed himself sufficiently master of his own actions to be able to escape to the ,chaldeans if he chose4 ,but evidently1 when he first revolted against ,babylon1 and more recently when the siege was raised1 he had been induced to behave harshly towards her partisans3 they had taken refuge in considerable numbers in the enemy's camp1 and now he was afraid of their vengeance4 ,similarly1 in ,quentin ,durward1 ,scott represents ,louis ,,xi4 on his visit to ,charles the ,bold as startled by the sight of the banners of some of his own vassals1 who had taken service with ,burgundy1 and as seeking protection from ,charles against the rebel subjects of ,france4 ,zedekiah is a perfect monument of the miseries that wait upon weakness3 he was everybody's friend in turn--now a docile pupil of ,jeremiah and gratifying the ,chaldean party by his professions of loyalty to ,nebuchadnezzar1 and now a pliant tool in the hands of the ,egyptian party persecuting his former friends4 ,at the last he was afraid alike of the princes in the city1 of the exiles in the enemy's camp1 and of the ,chaldeans4 ,the mariner who had to pass between ,scylla and ,charybdis was fortunate compared to ,zedekiah4 ,to the end he clung with a pathetic blending of trust and fearfulness to ,jeremiah4 ,he believed him1 and yet he seldom had courage to act according to his counsel4 ,jeremiah made a final effort to induce this timid soul to act with firmness and decision4 ,he tried to reassure him3 ,they shall not deliver thee into the hands of thy revolted subjects4 ,obey1 ,i beseech thee1 the voice of ,jehovah1 in that which ,i speak unto thee3 so it shall be well with thee1 and thy life shall be spared4 ,he appealed to that very dread of ridicule which the king had just betrayed4 ,if he refused to surrender1 he would be taunted for his weakness and folly by the women of his own harem3-- ,if thou refuse to go forth1 this is the word that ,jehovah hath showed me3 ,behold1 all the women left in the palace shall be brought forth to the king of ,babylon's princes1 and those women shall say1 ,thy familiar friends have duped thee and got the better of thee2 thy feet are sunk in the mire1 and they have left thee in the lurch4 ,he would be in worse plight than that from which ,jeremiah had only just been rescued1 and there would no ,ebed-melech to draw him out4 ,he would be humiliated by the suffering and shame of his own family3 ,they shall bring out all thy wives and children to the ,chaldeans4 ,he himself would share with them the last extremity of suffering3 ,thou shalt not escape out of their hand1 but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of ,babylon4 ,and as ,tennyson makes it the climax of ,geraint's degeneracy that he was not only-- ,forgetful of his glory and his name1 but also-- ,forgetful of his princedom and its cares1 so ,jeremiah appeals last of all to the king's sense of responsibility for his people3 ,thou wilt be the cause of the burning of the city4 ,in spite of the dominance of the ,egyptian party1 and their desperate determination1 not only to sell their own lives dearly1 but also to involve king and people1 city and temple1 in their own ruin1 the power of decisive action still rested with ,zedekiah2 if he failed to use it1 he would be responsible for the consequences4 ,thus ,jeremiah strove to possess the king with some breath of his own dauntless spirit and iron will4 ,zedekiah paused irresolute4 ,a vision of possible deliverance passed through his mind4 ,his guards and the domestics of the palace were within call4 ,the princes were unprepared2 they would never dream that he was capable of anything so bold4 ,it would be easy to seize the nearest gate1 and hold it long enough to admit the ,chaldeans4 ,but no6 he had not nerve enough4 ,then his predecessors ,joash1 ,amaziah1 and ,amon had been assassinated1 and for the moment the daggers of the princes and their followers seemed more terrible than ,chaldean instruments of torture4 ,he lost all thought of his own honour and his duty to his people in his anxiety to provide against this more immediate danger4 ,never was the fate of a nation decided by a meaner utterance4 ,then said ,zedekiah to ,jeremiah1 ,no one must know about our meeting1 and thou shalt not die4 ,if the princes hear that ,i have talked with thee1 and come and say unto thee1 ,declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king2 hide it not from us1 and we will not put thee to death3 declare unto us what the king said unto thee3 then thou shalt say unto them1 ,i presented my supplication unto the king1 that he would not cause me to return to ,jonathan's house1 to die there4 ,then all the princes came to ,jeremiah1 and asked him2 and he told them just what the king had commanded4 ,so they let him alone1 for no report of the matter had got abroad4 ,we are a little surprised that the princes so easily abandoned their purpose of putting ,jeremiah to death1 and did not at once consign him afresh to the empty cistern4 ,probably they were too disheartened for vigorous action2 the garrison were starving1 and it was clear that the city could not hold out much longer4 ,moreover the superstition that had shrunk from using actual violence to the prophet would suspect a token of ,divine displeasure in his release4 ,another question raised by this incident is that of the prophet's veracity1 which1 at first sight1 does not seem superior to that of the patriarchs4 ,it is very probable that the prophet1 as at the earlier interview1 had entreated the king not to allow him to be confined in the cells in ,jonathan's house1 but the narrative rather suggests that the king constructed this pretext on the basis of the former interview4 ,moreover1 if the princes let ,jeremiah escape with nothing less innocent than a suppressio veri1 if they were satisfied with anything less than an explicit statement that the place of the prophet's confinement was the sole topic of conversation1 they must have been more guileless that we can easily imagine4 ,but1 at any rate1 if ,jeremiah did stoop to dissimulation1 it was to protect ,zedekiah1 not to save himself4 ,zedekiah is a conspicuous example of the strange irony with which ,providence entrusts incapable persons with the decision of most momentous issues2 ,it sets ,laud and ,charles ,i4 to adjust the ,tudor ,monarchy to the sturdy self-assertion of ,puritan ,england1 and ,louis ,,xvi4 to cope with the ,french ,revolution4 ,such histories are after all calculated to increase the self-respect of those who are weak and timid4 ,moments come1 even to the feeblest1 when their action must have the most serious results for all connected with them4 ,it is one of the crowning glories of ,christianity that it preaches a strength that is made perfect in weakness4 ,perhaps the most significant feature in this narrative is the conclusion of ,jeremiah's first interview with the king4 ,almost in the same breath the prophet announces to ,zedekiah his approaching ruin and begs from him a favour4 ,he thus defines the true attitude of the believer towards the prophet4 ,unwelcome teaching must not be allowed to interfere with wonted respect and deference1 or to provoke resentment4 ,possibly if this truth were less obvious men would be more willing to give it a hearing and it might be less persistently ignored4 ,but the prophet's behaviour is even more striking and interesting as a revelation of his own character and of the true prophetic spirit4 ,his faithful answer to the king involved much courage1 but that he should proceed from such an answer to such a petition shows a simple and sober dignity not always associated with courage4 ,when men are wrought up to the pitch of uttering disagreeable truths at the risk of their lives1 they often develop a spirit of defiance1 which causes personal bitterness and animosity between themselves and their hearers1 and renders impossible any asking or granting of favours4 ,many men would have felt that a petition compromised their own dignity and weakened the authority of the divine message4 ,the exaltation of self-sacrifice which inspired them would have suggested that they ought not to risk the crown of martyrdom by any such appeal1 but rather welcome torture and death4 ,thus some amongst the early ,christians would present themselves before the ,roman tribunals and try to provoke the magistrates into condemning them4 ,but ,jeremiah1 like ,polycarp and ,cyprian1 neither courted nor shunned martyrdom2 he was as incapable of bravado as he was of fear4 ,he was too intent upon serving his country and glorifying ,god1 too possessed with his mission and his message1 to fall a prey to the self-consciousness which betrays men1 sometimes even martyrs1 into theatrical ostentation4 ,,footnotes3 #adi ,cf4 xxxii4 #f-h4 #aej xxxvii4 #ab2 so ,r4,v41 ,streane 7,camb4 ,bible71 ,kautzsch1 etc4 #aea xxvi4 #aj4 #aeb xxxviii4 #a4 #aec ,cf4 ,renan1 iii4 #ccc4 #aed ,gen4 xxxvii4 #bb-bd4 #aee xxxix4 #ae-ah4 #aef ,so ,giesebrecht1 in loco2 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 third entry4 ,in any case it will naturally be a passage from the palace to the ,temple4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,gedaliah xxxix4-xli41 lii4#aeg ,then arose ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah1 and the ten men that were with him1 and smote with the sword and slew ,gedaliah ben ,ahikam ben ,shaphan1 whom the king of ,babylon had made king over the land4--,,jer4 xli4 #b4 ,we now pass to the concluding period of ,jeremiah's ministry4 ,his last interview with ,zedekiah was speedily followed by the capture of ,jerusalem4 ,with that catastrophe the curtain falls upon another act in the tragedy of the prophet's life4 ,most of the chief dramatis person make their final exit2 only ,jeremiah and ,baruch remain4 ,king and princes1 priests and prophets1 pass to death or captivity1 and new characters appear to play their part for a while upon the vacant stage4 ,we would gladly know how ,jeremiah fared on that night when the city was stormed1 and ,zedekiah and his army stole out in a vain attempt to escape beyond ,jordan4 ,our book preserves two brief but inconsistent narratives of his fortunes4 ,one is contained in xxxix4 #aa-ad4 ,nebuchadnezzar1 we must remember1 was not present in person with the besieging army4 ,his headquarters were at ,riblah1 far away in the north4 ,he had1 however1 given special instructions concerning ,jeremiah to ,nebuzaradan1 the general commanding the forces before ,jerusalem3 ,take him1 and look well to him1 and do him no harm2 but do with him even as he shall say unto thee4 ,accordingly ,nebuzaradan and all the king of ,babylon's princes sent and took ,jeremiah out of the court of the guard1 and committed him to ,gedaliah ben ,ahikam ben ,shaphan1 to take him to his house4#aeh ,and ,jeremiah dwelt among the people4 ,this account is not only inconsistent with that given in the next chapter1 but it also represents ,nebuzaradan as present when the city was taken1 whereas later on#aei we are told that he did not come upon the scene till a month later4 ,for these and similar reasons1 this version of the story is generally considered the less trustworthy4 ,it apparently grew up at a time when the other characters and interests of the period had been thrown into the shade by the reverent recollection of ,jeremiah and his ministry4 ,it seemed natural to suppose that ,nebuchadnezzar was equally preoccupied with the fortunes of the great prophet who had consistently preached obedience to his authority4 ,the section records the intense reverence which the ,jews of the ,captivity felt for ,jeremiah4 ,we are more likely1 however1 to get a true idea of what happened by following the narrative in chapter xl4 ,according to this account1 ,jeremiah was not at once singled out for any exceptionally favourable treatment4 ,when ,zedekiah and the soldiers had left the city1 there can have been no question of further resistance4 ,the history does not mention any massacre by the conquerors1 but we may probably accept ,lamentations ii4 #bj1 #ba1 as a description of the sack of ,jerusalem3-- ,shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the ,lord8 ,the youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets2 ,my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword3 ,thou hast slain them in the day of ,thine anger2 ,thou hast slaughtered1 and not pitied4 ,yet the silence of ,kings and ,jeremiah as to all this1 combined with their express statements as to captives1 indicates that the ,chaldean generals did not order a massacre1 but rather sought to take prisoners4 ,the soldiers would not be restrained from a certain slaughter in the heat of their first breaking into the city2 but prisoners had a market value1 and were provided for by the practice of deportation which ,babylon had inherited from ,nineveh4 ,accordingly the soldiers' lust for blood was satiated or bridled before they reached ,jeremiah's prison4 ,the court of the guard probably formed part of the precincts of the palace1 and the ,chaldean commanders would at once secure its occupants for ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,jeremiah was taken with other captives and put in chains4 ,if the dates in lii4 #f1 #ab1 be correct1 he must have remained a prisoner till the arrival of ,nebuzaradan1 a month later on4 ,he was then a witness of the burning of the city and the destruction of the fortifications1 and was carried with the other captives to ,ramah4 ,here the ,chaldean general found leisure to inquire into the deserts of individual prisoners and to decide how they should be treated4 ,he would be aided in this task by the ,jewish refugees from whose ridicule ,zedekiah had shrunk1 and they would at once inform him of the distinguished sanctity of the prophet and of the conspicuous services he had rendered to the ,chaldean cause4 ,nebuzaradan at once acted upon their representations4 ,he ordered ,jeremiah's chains to be removed1 gave him full liberty to go where he pleased1 and assured him of the favour and protection of the ,chaldean government3-- ,if it seem good unto thee to come with me into ,babylon1 come1 and ,i will look well unto thee2 but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into ,babylon1 forbear3 behold1 all the land is before thee2 go whithersoever it seemeth to thee good and right4 ,these words are1 however1 preceded by two remarkable verses4 ,for the nonce1 the prophet's mantle seems to have fallen upon the ,chaldean soldier4 ,he speaks to his auditor just as ,jeremiah himself had been wont to address his erring fellow-countrymen3-- ,thy ,god ,jehovah pronounced this evil upon this place3 and ,jehovah hath brought it1 and done according as ,he spake2 because ye have sinned against ,jehovah1 and have not obeyed ,his voice1 therefore this thing is come unto you4 ,possibly ,nebuzaradan did not include ,jeremiah personally in the ye and you2 and yet a prophet's message is often turned upon himself in this fashion4 ,even in our day outsiders will not be at the trouble to distinguish between one ,christian and another1 and will often denounce a man for his supposed share in ,church abuses he has strenuously combated4 ,we need not be surprised that a heathen noble can talk like a pious ,jew4 ,the ,chaldeans were eminently religious1 and their worship of ,bel and ,merodach may often have been as spiritual and sincere as the homage paid by most ,jews to ,jehovah4 ,the ,babylonian creed could recognise that a foreign state might have its own legitimate deity and would suffer for disloyalty to him4 ,assyrian and ,chaldean kings were quite willing to accept the prophetic doctrine that ,jehovah had commissioned them to punish this disobedient people4 ,still ,jeremiah must have been a little taken aback when one of the cardinal points of his own teaching was expounded to him by so strange a preacher2 but he was too prudent to raise any discussion on the matter1 and too chivalrous to wish to establish his own rectitude at the expense of his brethren4 ,moreover he had to decide between the two alternatives offered him by ,nebuzaradan4 ,should he go to ,babylon or remain in ,judah8 ,according to a suggestion of ,gratz1 accepted by ,cheyne1#afj xv4 #aj-ba is a record of the inner struggle through which ,jeremiah came to a decision on this matter4 ,the section is not very clear1 but it suggests that at one time it seemed ,jehovah's will that he should go to ,babylon1 and that it was only after much hesitation that he was convinced that ,god required him to remain in ,judah4 ,powerful motives drew him in either direction4 ,at ,babylon he would reap the full advantage of ,nebuchadnezzar's favour1 and would enjoy the order and culture of a great capital4 ,he would meet with old friends and disciples1 amongst the rest ,ezekiel4 ,he would find an important sphere for ministry amongst the large ,jewish community in ,chaldea1 where the flower of the whole nation was now in exile4 ,in ,judah he would have to share the fortunes of a feeble and suffering remnant1 and would be exposed to all the dangers and disorder consequent on the break-up of the national government--brigandage on the part of native guerilla bands and raids by the neighbouring tribes4 ,these guerilla bands were the final effort of ,jewish resistance1 and would seek to punish as traitors those who accepted the dominion of ,babylon4 ,on the other hand1 ,jeremiah's surviving enemies1 priests1 prophets1 and princes1 had been taken en masse to ,babylon4 ,on his arrival he would find himself again plunged into the old controversies4 ,many if not the majority of his countrymen there would regard him as a traitor4 ,the protg of ,nebuchadnezzar was sure to be disliked and distrusted by his less fortunate brethren4 ,and ,jeremiah was not a born courtier like ,josephus4 ,in ,judah1 moreover1 he would be amongst friends of his own way of thinking2 the remnant left behind had been placed under the authority of his friend ,gedaliah1 the son of his former protector ,ahikam1 the grandson of his ancient ally ,shaphan4 ,he would be free from the anathemas of corrupt priests and the contradiction of false prophets4 ,the advocacy of true religion amongst the exiles might safely be left to ,ezekiel and his school4 ,but probably the motives that decided ,jeremiah's course of action were1 firstly1 that devoted attachment to the sacred soil which was a passion with every earnest ,jew2 and1 secondly1 the inspired conviction that ,palestine was to be the scene of the future development of revealed religion4 ,this conviction was coupled with the hope that the scattered refugees who were rapidly gathering at ,mizpah under ,gedaliah might lay the foundations of a new community1 which should become the instrument of the divine purpose4 ,jeremiah was no deluded visionary1 who would suppose that the destruction of ,jerusalem had exhausted ,god's judgments1 and that the millennium would forthwith begin for the special and exclusive benefit of his surviving companions in ,judah4 ,nevertheless1 while there was an organised ,jewish community left on native soil1 it would be regarded as the heir of the national religious hopes and aspirations1 and a prophet1 with liberty of choice1 would feel it his duty to remain4 ,accordingly ,jeremiah decided to join ,gedaliah4#afa ,nebuzaradan gave him food and a present1 and let him go4 ,gedaliah's headquarters were at ,mizpah1 a town not certainly identified1 but lying somewhere to the north-west of ,jerusalem1 and playing an important part in the history of ,samuel and ,saul4 ,men would remember the ancient record which told how the first ,hebrew king had been divinely appointed at ,mizpah1 and might regard the coincidence as a happy omen that ,gedaliah would found a kingdom more prosperous and permanent than that which traced its origin to ,saul4 ,nebuzaradan had left with the new governor men1 women1 and children1 444 of them that were not carried away captive to ,babylon4 ,these were chiefly of the poorer sort1 but not altogether1 for among them were royal princesses and doubtless others belonging to the ruling classes4 ,apparently after these arrangements had been made the ,chaldean forces were almost entirely withdrawn1 and ,gedaliah was left to cope with the many difficulties of the situation by his own unaided resources4 ,for a time all went well4 ,it seemed at first as if the scattered bands of ,jewish soldiers still in the field would submit to the ,chaldean government and acknowledge ,gedaliah's authority4 ,various captains with their bands came to him at ,mizpah1 amongst them ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah1 ,johanan ben ,kareah and his brother ,jonathan4 ,gedaliah swore to them that they should be pardoned and protected by the ,chaldeans4 ,he confirmed them in their possession of the towns and districts they had occupied after the departure of the enemy4 ,they accepted his assurance1 and their alliance with him seemed to guarantee the safety and prosperity of the settlement4 ,refugees from ,moab1 the ,ammonites1 ,edom1 and all the neighbouring countries flocked to ,mizpah1 and busied themselves in gathering in the produce of the oliveyards and vineyards which had been left ownerless when the nobles were slain or carried away captive4 ,many of the poorer ,jews revelled in such unwonted plenty1 and felt that even national ruin had its compensations4 ,tradition has supplemented what the sacred record tells us of this period in ,jeremiah's history4 ,we are told#afb that it is also found in the records that the prophet ,jeremiah commanded the exiles to take with them fire from the altar of the ,temple1 and further exhorted them to observe the law and to abstain from idolatry2 and that it was also contained in the same writing1 that the prophet1 being warned of ,god1 commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him1 as he went forth unto the mountain1 where ,moses climbed up1 and saw the heritage of ,god4 ,and when ,jeremiah came thither1 he found an hollow cave1 wherein he laid the tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense1 and so stopped the door4 ,and some of those that followed him came to mark the way1 but they could not find it3 which when ,jeremiah perceived he blamed them1 saying1 ,as for that place1 it shall be unknown until the time that ,god gather ,his people again together and receive them to ,his mercy4 ,a less improbable tradition is that which narrates that ,jeremiah composed the ,book of ,lamentations shortly after the capture of the city4 ,this is first stated by the ,septuagint2 it has been adopted by the ,vulgate and various ,rabbinical authorities1 and has received considerable support from ,christian scholars4#afc ,moreover as the traveller leaves ,jerusalem by the ,damascus ,gate1 he passes great stone quarries1 where ,jeremiah's ,grotto is still pointed out as the place where the prophet composed his elegy4 ,without entering into the general question of the authorship of ,lamentations1 we may venture to doubt whether it can be referred to any period of ,jeremiah's life which is dealt with in our book2 and even whether it accurately represents his feelings at any such period4 ,during the first month that followed the capture of ,jerusalem the ,chaldean generals held the city and its inhabitants at the disposal of their king4 ,his decision was uncertain2 it was by no means a matter of course that he would destroy the city4 ,jerusalem had been spared by ,pharaoh ,necho after the defeat of ,josiah1 and by ,nebuchadnezzar after the revolt of ,jehoiakim4 ,jeremiah and the other ,jews must have been in a state of extreme suspense as to their own fate and that of their city1 very different from the attitude of ,lamentations4 ,this suspense was ended when ,nebuzaradan arrived and proceeded to burn the city4 ,jeremiah witnessed the fulfilment of his own prophecies when ,jerusalem was thus overtaken by the ruin he had so often predicted4 ,as he stood there chained amongst the other captives1 many of his neighbours must have felt towards him as we should feel towards an anarchist gloating over the spectacle of a successful dynamite explosion2 and ,jeremiah could not be ignorant of their sentiments4 ,his own emotions would be sufficiently vivid1 but they would not be so simple as those of the great elegy4 ,probably they were too poignant to be capable of articulate expression2 and the occasion was not likely to be fertile in acrostics4 ,doubtless when the venerable priest and prophet looked from ,ramah or ,mizpah towards the blackened ruins of the ,temple and the ,holy ,city1 he was possessed by something of the spirit of ,lamentations4 ,but from the moment when he went to ,mizpah he would be busily occupied in assisting ,gedaliah in his gallant effort to gather the nucleus of a new ,israel out of the flotsam and jetsam of the shipwreck of ,judah4 ,busy with this work of practical beneficence1 his unconquerable spirit already possessed with visions of a brighter future1 ,jeremiah could not lose himself in mere regrets for the past4 ,he was doomed to experience yet another disappointment4 ,gedaliah had only held his office for about two months1#afd when he was warned by ,johanan ben ,kareah and the other captains that ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah had been sent by ,baalis1 king of the ,ammonites1 to assassinate him4 ,gedaliah refused to believe them4 ,johanan1 perhaps surmising that the governor's incredulity was assumed1 came to him privately and proposed to anticipate ,ishmael3 ,let me go1 ,i pray thee1 and slay ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah1 and no one shall know it3 wherefore should he slay thee1 that all the ,jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered1 and the remnant of ,judah perish8 ,but ,gedaliah ben ,ahikam said unto ,johanan ben ,kareah1 ,thou shalt not do this thing3 for thou speakest falsely of ,ishmael4 ,gedaliah's misplaced confidence soon had fatal consequences4 ,in the second month1 about ,october1 the ,jews in the ordinary course of events would have celebrated the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 to return thanks for their plentiful ingathering of grapes1 olives1 and summer fruit4 ,possibly this occasion gave ,ishmael a pretext for visiting ,mizpah4 ,he came thither with ten nobles who1 like himself1 were connected with the royal family and probably were among the princes who persecuted ,jeremiah4 ,this small and distinguished company could not be suspected of intending to use violence4 ,ishmael seemed to be reciprocating ,gedaliah's confidence by putting himself in the governor's power4 ,gedaliah feasted his guests4 ,johanan and the other captains were not present2 they had done what they could to save him1 but they did not wait to share the fate which he was bringing on himself4 ,then arose ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah and his ten companions and smote ,gedaliah ben ,ahikam 444 and all the ,jewish and ,chaldean soldiers that were with him at ,mizpah4 ,probably the eleven assassins were supported by a larger body of followers1 who waited outside the city and made their way in amidst the confusion consequent on the murder2 doubtless1 too1 they had friends amongst ,gedaliah's entourage4 ,these accomplices had first lulled any suspicions that he might feel as to ,ishmael1 and had then helped to betray their master4 ,not contented with the slaughter which he had already perpetrated1 ,ishmael took measures to prevent the news getting abroad1 and lay in wait for any other adherents of ,gedaliah who might come to visit him4 ,he succeeded in entrapping a company of eighty men from ,northern ,israel3 ten were allowed to purchase their lives by revealing hidden stores of wheat1 barley1 oil1 and honey2 the rest were slain and thrown into an ancient pit1 which ,king ,asa had made for fear of ,baasha king of ,israel4 ,these men were pilgrims1 who came with shaven chins and torn clothes1 and having cut themselves1 bringing meal offerings and frankincense to the house of ,jehovah4 ,the pilgrims were doubtless on their way to celebrate the ,feast of ,tabernacles3 with the destruction of ,jerusalem and the ,temple1 all the joy of that festival would be changed to mourning and its songs to wailing4 ,possibly they were going to lament on the site of the ruined temple4 ,but ,mizpah itself had an ancient sanctuary4 ,hosea speaks of the priests1 princes1 and people of ,israel as having been a snare on ,mizpah4 ,jeremiah may have sanctioned the use of this local temple thinking that ,jehovah would set ,his name there till ,jerusalem was restored1 even as ,he had dwelt at ,shiloh before ,he chose the ,city of ,david4 ,but to whatever shrine these pilgrims were journeying1 their errand should have made them sacrosanct to all ,jews4 ,ishmael's hypocrisy1 treachery1 and cruelty in this matter go far to justify ,jeremiah's bitterest invectives against the princes of ,judah4 ,but after this bloody deed it was high time for ,ishmael to be gone and betake himself back to his heathen patron1 ,baalis the ,ammonite4 ,these massacres could not long be kept a secret4 ,and yet ,ishmael seems to have made a final effort to suppress the evidence of his crimes4 ,in his retreat he carried with him all the people left in ,mizpah1 soldiers1 women1 children1 and eunuchs1 including the royal princesses1 and apparently ,jeremiah and ,baruch4 ,no doubt he hoped to make money out of his prisoners by selling them as slaves or holding them to ransom4 ,he had not ventured to slay ,jeremiah3 the prophet had not been present at the banquet and had thus escaped the first fierce slaughter1 and ,ishmael shrank from killing in cold blood the man whose predictions of ruin had been so exactly and awfully fulfilled by the recent destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,when ,johanan ben ,kareah and the other captains heard how entirely ,ishmael had justified their warning1 they assembled their forces and started in pursuit4 ,ishmael's band seems to have been comparatively small1 and was moreover encumbered by the disproportionate number of captives with which they had burdened themselves4 ,they were overtaken by the great waters that are in ,gibeon1 only a very short distance from ,mizpah4 ,however ,ishmael's original following of ten may have been reinforced1 his band cannot have been very numerous and was manifestly inferior to ,johanan's forces4 ,in face of an enemy of superior strength1 ,ishmael's only chance of escape was to leave his prisoners to their own devices--he had not even time for another massacre4 ,the captives at once turned round and made their way to their deliverer4 ,ishmael's followers seem to have been scattered1 taken captive1 or slain1 but he himself escaped with eight men--possibly eight of the original ten--and found refuge with the ,ammonites4 ,johanan and his companions with the recovered captives made no attempt to return to ,mizpah4 ,the ,chaldeans would exact a severe penalty for the murder of their governor ,gedaliah1 and their own fellow-countryman3 their vengeance was not likely to be scrupulously discriminating4 ,the massacre would be regarded as an act of rebellion on the part of the ,jewish community in ,judah1 and the community would be punished accordingly4 ,johanan and his whole company determined that when the day of retribution came the ,chaldeans should find no one to punish4 ,they set out for ,egypt1 the natural asylum of the enemies of ,babylon4 ,on the way they halted in the neighbourhood of ,bethlehem at a caravanserai#afe which bore the name of ,chimham1#aff the son of ,david's generous friend ,barzillai4 ,so far the fugitives had acted on their first impulse of dismay2 now they paused to take breath1 to make a more deliberate survey of their situation1 and to mature their plans for the future4 ,,footnotes3 #aeg ,chapter lii4 #b ,kings xxiv4 #ah-xxv4 #cj1 and xxxix4 #a-aj lii4 #d-af1 in each case with minor variations which do not specially bear upon our subject4 ,cf4 ,driver1 ,introduction1 in loco4 ,the detailed treatment of this section belongs to the exposition of the ,book of ,kings4 #aeh ,literally the house--either ,jeremiah's or ,gedaliah's1 or possibly the royal palace4 #aei lii4 #f1 #ab4 #afj ,pulpit ,commentary1 in loco4 ,cf4 the previous volume on ,jeremiah in this series4 #afa ,the sequence of verses #d and #e has been spoilt by some corruption of the text4 ,the versions diverge variously from the ,hebrew4 ,possibly the original text told how ,jeremiah found himself unable to give an immediate answer1 and ,nebuzaradan1 observing his hesitation1 bade him return to ,gedaliah and decide at his leisure4 #afb #b ,macc4 ii4 #a-h4 #afc ,cf4 ,professor ,adeney's ,canticles and ,lamentations in this series4 #afd ,cf4 lii4 #ab1 fifth month1 and xli4 #a1 seventh month4 ,cheyne however points out that no year is specified in xli4 #a1 and holds that ,gedaliah's governorship lasted for over four years1 and that the deportation four years 7lii4 #cj7 after the destruction of the city was the prompt punishment of his murder4 #afe ,the reading is doubtful2 possibly the word 7geruth7 translated caravanserai1 or some similar word to be read instead of it1 merely forms a compound proper name with ,chimham4 #aff #b ,sam4 xix4 #ca-dj4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,descent ,,into ,,egypt xlii41 xliii4 ,they came into the land of ,egypt1 for they obeyed not the voice of ,jehovah4--,,jer4 xliii4 #g4 ,thus within a few days ,jeremiah had experienced one of those sudden and extreme changes of fortune which are as common in his career as in a sensational novel4 ,yesterday the guide1 philosopher1 and friend of the governor of ,judah1 to-day sees him once more a helpless prisoner in the hands of his old enemies4 ,to-morrow he is restored to liberty and authority1 and appealed to by the remnant of ,israel as the mouthpiece of ,jehovah4 ,johanan ben ,kareah and all the captains of the forces1 from the least even unto the greatest1 came near and besought ,jeremiah to pray unto ,jehovah thy ,god1 that ,jehovah thy ,god may show us the way wherein we may walk1 and the thing we may do4 ,jeremiah promised to make intercession and to declare faithfully unto them whatsoever ,jehovah should reveal unto him4 ,and they on their part said unto ,jeremiah3 ,jehovah be a true and faithful witness against us1 if we do not according to every word that ,jehovah thy ,god shall send unto us by thee4 ,we will obey the voice of ,jehovah our ,god1 to whom we send thee1 whether it be good or evil1 that it may be well with us1 when we obey the voice of ,jehovah our ,god4 ,the prophet returned no hasty answer to this solemn appeal4 ,as in his controversy with ,hananiah1 he refrained from at once announcing his own judgment as the ,divine decision1 but waited for the express confirmation of the ,spirit4 ,for ten days prophet and people were alike kept in suspense4 ,the patience of ,johanan and his followers is striking testimony to their sincere reverence for ,jeremiah4 ,on the tenth day the message came1 and ,jeremiah called the people together to hear ,god's answer to their question1 and to learn that ,divine will to which they had promised unreserved obedience4 ,it ran thus3-- ,if you will still abide in this land1 ,i will build you and not pull you down1 ,i will plant you and not pluck you up4 ,the words of ,jeremiah's original commission seem ever present to his mind3-- ,for ,i repent ,me of the evil ,i have done unto you4 ,they need not flee from ,judah as an accursed land2 ,jehovah had a new and gracious purpose concerning them1 and therefore3-- ,be not afraid of the king of ,babylon1 ,of whom ye are afraid2 ,be not afraid of him--it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,for ,i am with you1 ,to save you and deliver you out of his hand4 ,i will put kindness in his heart toward you1 ,and he shall deal kindly with you1 ,and restore you to your lands4 ,it was premature to conclude that ,ishmael's crime finally disposed of the attempt to shape the remnant into the nucleus of a new ,israel4 ,hitherto ,nebuchadnezzar had shown himself willing to discriminate2 when he condemned the princes1 he spared and honoured ,jeremiah1 and the ,chaldeans might still be trusted to deal fairly and even generously with the prophet's friends and deliverers4 ,moreover the heart of ,nebuchadnezzar1 like that of all earthly potentates1 was in the hands of the ,king of ,kings4 ,but ,jeremiah knew too well what mingled hopes and fears drew his hearers towards the fertile valley and rich cities of the ,nile4 ,he sets before them the reverse of the picture3 they might refuse to obey ,god's command to remain in ,judah2 they might say1 ,no1 we will go into the land of ,egypt1 where we shall see no war1 nor hear the sound of the trumpet1 nor hunger for bread1 and there will we dwell4 ,as of old1 they craved for the flesh-pots of ,egypt2 and with more excuse than their forefathers4 ,they were worn out with suffering and toil1 some of them had wives and children2 the childless prophet was inviting them to make sacrifices and incur risks which he could neither share nor understand4 ,can we wonder if they fell short of his inspired heroism1 and hesitated to forego the ease and plenty of ,egypt in order to try social experiments in ,judah8 ,let what is broken so remain4 ,the ,gods are hard to reconcile3 ',tis hard to settle order once again4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sore task to hearts worn out by many wars4 ,but ,jeremiah had neither sympathy nor patience with such weakness4 ,moreover1 now as often1 valour was the better part of discretion1 and the boldest course was the safest4 ,the peace and security of ,egypt had been broken in upon again and again by ,asiatic invaders2 only recently it had been tributary to ,nineveh1 till the failing strength of ,assyria enabled the ,pharaohs to recover their independence4 ,now that ,palestine had ceased to be the seat of war the sound of ,chaldean trumpets would soon be heard in the valley of the ,nile4 ,by going down into ,egypt1 they were leaving ,judah where they might be safe under the broad shield of ,babylonian power1 for a country that would soon be afflicted by the very evils they sought to escape3-- ,if ye finally determine to go to ,egypt to sojourn there1 ,the sword1 which ye fear1 shall overtake you there in the land of ,egypt1 ,the famine1 whereof ye are afraid1 shall follow hard after you there in ,egypt1 ,and there shall ye die4 ,the old familiar curses1 so often uttered against ,jerusalem and its inhabitants1 are pronounced against any of his hearers who should take refuge in ,egypt3-- ,as ,mine anger and fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 ,so shall ,my fury be poured forth upon you1 when ye shall enter in ,egypt4 ,they would die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence2 they would be an execration and an astonishment1 a curse and a reproach4 ,he had set before them two alternative courses1 and the ,divine judgment upon each3 he had known beforehand that1 contrary to his own choice and judgment1 their hearts were set upon going down into ,egypt2 hence1 as when confronted and contradicted by ,hananiah1 he had been careful to secure divine confirmation before he gave his decision4 ,already he could see the faces of his hearers hardening into obstinate resistance or kindling into hot defiance2 probably they broke out into interruptions which left no doubt as to their purpose4 ,with his usual promptness1 he turned upon them with fierce reproof and denunciation3-- ,ye have been traitors to yourselves4 ,ye sent me unto ,jehovah your ,god1 saying1 ,pray for us unto ,jehovah our ,god2 ,according unto all that ,jehovah our ,god shall say1 ,declare unto us1 and we will do it4 ,i have this day declared it unto you1 ,but ye have in no wise obeyed the voice of ,jehovah your ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,ye shall die by the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence1 ,in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn4 ,his hearers were equally prompt with their rejoinder2 ,johanan ben ,kareah and all the proud men answered him3-- ,thou liest6 ,it is not ,jehovah our ,god who hath sent thee to say1 ,ye shall not go into ,egypt to sojourn there2 but ,baruch ben ,neriah setteth thee on against us1 to deliver us into the hand of the ,chaldeans1 that they may slay us or carry us away captive to ,babylon4 ,jeremiah had experienced many strange vicissitudes1 but this was not the least striking4 ,ten days ago the people and their leaders had approached him in reverent submission1 and had solemnly promised to accept and obey his decision as the word of ,god4 ,now they called him a liar2 they asserted that he did not speak by any ,divine inspiration1 but was a feeble impostor1 an oracular puppet1 whose strings were pulled by his own disciple4#afg ,such scenes are1 unfortunately1 only too common in ,church history4 ,religious professors are still ready to abuse and to impute unworthy motives to prophets whose messages they dislike1 in a spirit not less secular than that which is shown when some modern football team tries to mob the referee who has given a decision against its hopes4 ,moreover we must not unduly emphasise the solemn engagement given by the ,jews to abide ,jeremiah's decision4 ,they were probably sincere1 but not very much in earnest4 ,the proceedings and the strong formul used were largely conventional4 ,ancient kings and generals regularly sought the approval of their prophets or augurs before taking any important step1 but they did not always act upon their advice4 ,the final breach between ,saul and the prophet ,samuel seems to have been due to the fact that the king did not wait for his presence and counsel before engaging the ,philistines4#afh ,before the disastrous expedition to ,ramoth ,gilead1 ,jehoshaphat insisted on consulting a prophet of ,jehovah1 and then acted in the teeth of his inspired warning4#afi ,johanan and his company felt it essential to consult some divine oracle2 and ,jeremiah was not only the greatest prophet of ,jehovah1 he was also the only prophet available4 ,they must have known from his consistent denunciation of all alliance with ,egypt that his views were likely to be at variance with their own4 ,but they were consulting ,jehovah--,jeremiah was only ,his mouthpiece2 hitherto ,he had set ,his face against any dealings with ,egypt1 but circumstances were entirely changed1 and ,jehovah's purpose might change with them1 ,he might repent4 ,they promised to obey1 because there was at any rate a chance that ,god's commands would coincide with their own intentions4 ,butler's remark that men may be expected to act not only upon an even chance1 but upon much less1 specially applies to such promises as the ,jews made to ,jeremiah4 ,certain tacit conditions may always be considered attached to a profession of willingness to be guided by a friend's advice4 ,our newspapers frequently record breaches of engagements that should be as binding as that entered into by ,johanan and his friends1 and they do so without any special comment4 ,for instance1 the verdicts of arbitrators in trade disputes have been too often ignored by the unsuccessful parties2 and--to take a very different illustration--the most unlimited professions of faith in the infallibility of the ,bible have sometimes gone along with a denial of its plain teaching and a disregard of its imperative commands4 ,while ,shylock expected a favourable decision1 ,portia was a ,daniel come to judgment3 his subsequent opinion of her judicial qualities has not been recorded4 ,those who have never refused or evaded unwelcome demands made by an authority whom they have promised to obey may cast the first stone at ,johanan4 ,after the scene we have been describing1 the refugees set out for ,egypt1 carrying with them the princesses and ,jeremiah and ,baruch4 ,they were following in the footsteps of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 of ,jeroboam and many another ,jew who had sought protection under the shadow of ,pharaoh4 ,they were the forerunners of that later ,israel in ,egypt which1 through ,philo and his disciples1 exercised so powerful an influence on the doctrine1 criticism1 and exegesis of the early ,christian ,church4 ,yet this exodus in the wrong direction was by no means complete4 ,four years later ,nebuzaradan could still find seven hundred and forty-five ,jews to carry away to ,babylon4#agj ,johanan's movements had been too hurried to admit of his gathering in the inhabitants of outlying districts4 ,when ,johanan's company reached the frontier1 they would find the ,egyptian officials prepared to receive them4 ,during the last few months there must have been constant arrivals of ,jewish refugees1 and rumour must have announced the approach of so large a company1 consisting of almost all the ,jews left in ,palestine4 ,the very circumstances that made them dread the vengeance of ,nebuchadnezzar would ensure them a hearty welcome in ,egypt4 ,their presence was an unmistakable proof of the entire failure of the attempt to create in ,judah a docile and contented dependency and outpost of the ,chaldean ,empire4 ,they were accordingly settled at ,tahpanhes and in the surrounding district4 ,but no welcome could conciliate ,jeremiah's implacable temper1 nor could all the splendour of ,egypt tame his indomitable spirit4 ,amongst his fellow-countrymen at ,bethlehem1 he had foretold the coming tribulations of ,egypt4 ,he now renewed his predictions within the very precincts of ,pharaoh's palace1 and enforced them by a striking symbol4 ,at ,tahpanhes--the modern ,tell ,defenneh--which was the ancient ,egyptian frontier fortress and settlement on the more westerly route from ,syria1 the word of ,jehovah came to ,jeremiah1 saying1 ,take great stones in thine hand1 and hide them in mortar in the brick pavement1 at the entry of ,pharaoh's palace in ,tahpanhes1 in the presence of the men of ,judah2 and say unto them1 ,thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 the ,god of ,israel3-- ,behold1 ,i will send and take ,my servant ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon3 ,i will set his throne upon these stones which ,i have hid1 ,and he shall spread his state pavilion over them4 ,he would set up his royal tribunal1 and decide the fate of the conquered city and its inhabitants4 ,he shall come and smite the land of ,egypt2 ,such as are for death shall be put to death1 ,such as are for captivity shall be sent into captivity1 ,such as are for the sword shall be slain by the sword4 ,i will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of ,egypt2 ,he shall burn their temples1 and carry them away captive3 ,he shall array himself with the land of ,egypt1 ,as a shepherd putteth on his garment4 ,the whole country would become a mere mantle for his dignity1 a comparatively insignificant part of his vast possessions4 ,he shall go forth from thence in peace4 ,a campaign that promised well at the beginning has often ended in despair1 like ,sennacherib's attack on ,judah1 and ,pharaoh ,necho's expedition to ,carchemish4 ,the invading army has been exhausted by its victories1 or wasted by disease and compelled to beat an inglorious retreat4 ,no such misfortunes should overtake the ,chaldean king4 ,he would depart with all his spoil1 leaving ,egypt behind him subdued into a loyal province of his empire4 ,then the prophet adds1 apparently as a kind of afterthought3-- ,he also shall break the obelisks of ,heliopolis1 in the land of ,egypt4 7so styled to distinguish this ,beth-,shemesh from ,beth-,shemesh in ,palestine71 ,and shall burn with fire the temples of the gods of ,egypt4 ,the performance of this symbolic act and the delivery of its accompanying message are not recorded1 but ,jeremiah would not fail to make known the divine word to his fellow-countrymen4 ,it is difficult to understand how the exiled prophet would be allowed to assemble the ,jews in front of the main entrance of the palace1 and hide great stones in the pavement4 ,possibly the palace was being repaired1#aga or the stones might be inserted under the front or side of a raised platform1 or possibly the symbolic act was only to be described and not performed4 ,mr4 ,flinders ,petrie recently discovered at ,tell ,defenneh a large brickwork pavement1 with great stones buried underneath1 which he supposed might be those mentioned in our narrative4 ,he also found there another possible relic of these ,jewish migrs in the shape of the ruins of a large brick building of the twenty-sixth dynasty--to which ,pharaoh ,hophra belonged--still known as the ,palace of the ,jew's ,daughter4 ,it is a natural and attractive conjecture that this was the residence assigned to the ,jewish princesses whom ,johanan carried with him into ,egypt4 ,but while the ruined palace may testify to ,pharaoh's generosity to the ,royal ,house that had suffered through its alliance with him1 the great stones remind us that1 after a brief interval of sympathy and co-operation1 ,jeremiah again found himself in bitter antagonism to his fellow-countrymen4 ,in our next chapter we shall describe one final scene of mutual recrimination4#agb ,,footnotes3 #afg ,cf4 chapter on ,baruch4 #afh #a ,sam4 xiii4 #afi #a ,kings xxii4 #agj lii4 #cj4 #aga ,so ,orelli1 in loco4 #agb ,for the prophecy against ,egypt and its fulfilment see further chapter ,,xvii4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,queen ,,of ,,heaven xliv4 ,since we left off burning incense and offering libations to the ,queen of ,heaven1 we have been in want of everything1 and have been consumed by the sword and the famine4--,,jer4 xliv4 #ah4 ,the ,jewish exiles in ,egypt still retained a semblance of national life1 and were bound together by old religious ties4 ,accordingly we read that they came together from their different settlements--from ,migdol and ,tahpanhes on the north-eastern frontier1 from ,noph or ,memphis on the ,nile south of the site of ,cairo1 and from ,pathros or ,upper ,egypt--to a great assembly1 no doubt a religious festival4 ,the list of cities shows how widely the ,jews were scattered throughout ,egypt4 ,nothing is said as to where and when this great assembly met2 but for ,jeremiah1 such a gathering at all times and anywhere1 in ,egypt as at ,jerusalem1 became an opportunity for fulfilling his ,divine commission4 ,he once again confronted his fellow-countrymen with the familiar threats and exhortations4 ,a new climate had not created in them either clean hearts or a right spirit4 ,recent history had added force to his warnings4 ,he begins therefore by appealing to the direful consequences which had come upon the ,holy ,land1 through the sins of its inhabitants3-- ,ye have seen all the evil that ,i have brought upon ,jerusalem1 and upon all the cities of ,judah4 ,behold1 this day they are an uninhabited waste1 ,because of their wickedness which they wrought to provoke ,me to anger1 ,by going to burn incense and to serve other gods whom neither they nor their fathers knew4 ,the ,israelites had enjoyed for centuries intimate personal relations with ,jehovah1 and knew ,him by this ancient and close fellowship and by all ,his dealings with them4 ,they had no such knowledge of the gods of surrounding nations4 ,they were like foolish children who prefer the enticing blandishments of a stranger to the affection and discipline of their home4 ,such children do not intend to forsake their home or to break the bonds of filial affection1 and yet the new friendship may wean their hearts from their father4 ,so these exiles still considered themselves worshippers of ,jehovah1 and yet their superstition led them to disobey and dishonour ,him4 ,before its ruin1 ,judah had sinned against light and leading3-- ,howbeit ,i sent unto you all ,my servants the prophets1 ,rising up early and sending them1 saying1 ,oh do not this abominable thing that ,i hate4 ,but they hearkened not1 nor inclined their ears1 so as to turn from their evil1 ,that they should not burn incense to other gods4 ,wherefore ,my fury and ,my anger was poured forth4 ,political and social questions1 the controversies with the prophets who contradicted ,jeremiah in the name of ,jehovah1 have fallen into the background2 the poor pretence of loyalty to ,jehovah which permitted ,his worshippers to degrade ,him to the level of ,baal and ,moloch is ignored as worthless3 and ,jeremiah1 like ,ezekiel1 finds the root of the people's sin in their desertion of ,jehovah4 ,their real religion was revealed by their heathenish superstitions4 ,every religious life is woven of many diverse strands2 if the web as a whole is rotten1 the ,great ,taskmaster can take no account of a few threads that have a form and profession of soundness4 ,our ,lord declared that ,he would utterly ignore and repudiate men upon whose lips ,his name was a too familiar word1 who had preached and cast out devils and done many mighty works in that ,holy ,name4 ,these were men who had worked iniquity1 who had combined promising externals with the worship of other gods1 ,mammon or ,belial or some other of those evil powers1 who place ,within ,his sanctuary itself their shrines1 ,abominations2 and with cursed things ,his holy rites and solemn feasts profane2 ,and with their darkness dare affront ,his light4 ,this profane blending of idolatry with a profession of zeal for ,jehovah had provoked the divine wrath against ,judah3 and yet the exiles had not profited by their terrible experience of the consequences of sin2 they still burnt incense unto other gods4 ,therefore ,jeremiah remonstrates with them afresh1 and sets before their eyes the utter ruin which will punish persistent sin4 ,this discourse repeats and enlarges the threats uttered at ,bethlehem4 ,the penalties then denounced on disobedience are now attributed to idolatry4 ,we have here yet another example of the tacit understanding attaching to all the prophet's predictions4 ,the most positive declarations of doom are often warnings and not final sentences4 ,jehovah does not turn a deaf ear to the penitent1 and the doom is executed not because ,he exacts the uttermost farthing1 but because the culprit perseveres in his uttermost wrong4 ,lack of faith and loyalty at ,bethlehem and idolatry in ,egypt were both symptoms of the same deep-rooted disease4 ,on this occasion there was no rival prophet to beard ,jeremiah and relieve his hearers from their fears and scruples4 ,probably indeed no professed prophet of ,jehovah would have cared to defend the worship of other gods4 ,but1 as at ,bethlehem1 the people themselves ventured to defy their aged mentor4 ,they seem to have been provoked to such hardihood by a stimulus which often prompts timorous men to bold words4 ,their wives were specially devoted to the superstitious burning of incense1 and these women were present in large numbers4 ,probably1 like ,lady ,macbeth1 they had already in private ,poured their spirits in their husbands' ears1 ,and chastised1 with the valour of their tongues1 ,all that impeded those husbands from speaking their minds to ,jeremiah4 ,in their presence1 the men dared not shirk an obvious duty1 for fear of more domestic chastisement4 ,the prophet's reproaches would be less intolerable than such inflictions4 ,moreover the fair devotees did not hesitate to mingle their own shrill voices in the wordy strife4 ,these idolatrous ,jews--male and female--carried things with a very high hand indeed3-- ,we will not obey thee in that which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of ,jehovah4 ,we are determined to perform all the vows we have made to burn incense and other libations to the ,queen of ,heaven1 exactly as we have said and as we and our fathers and kings and princes did in the cities of ,judah and in the streets of ,jerusalem4#agc ,moreover they were quite prepared to meet ,jeremiah on his own ground and argue with him according to his own principles and methods4 ,he had appealed to the ruin of ,judah as a proof of ,jehovah's condemnation of their idolatry and of ,his power to punish3 they argued that these misfortunes were a divine spret injuria form1 the vengeance of the ,queen of ,heaven1 whose worship they had neglected4 ,when they duly honoured her1-- ,then had we plenty of victuals1 and were prosperous and saw no evil2 but since we left off burning incense and offering libations to the ,queen of ,heaven1 we have been in want of everything1 and have been consumed by the sword and the famine4 ,moreover the women had a special plea of their own3-- ,when we burned incense and offered libations to the ,queen of ,heaven1 did we not make cakes to symbolise her and offer libations to her with our husbands' permission8 ,a wife's vows were not valid without her husband's sanction1 and the women avail themselves of this principle to shift the responsibility for their superstition on the men's shoulders4 ,possibly too the unfortunate ,benedicts were not displaying sufficient zeal in the good cause1 and these words were intended to goad them into greater energy4 ,doubtless they cannot be entirely exonerated of blame for tolerating their wives' sins1 probably they were guilty of participation as well as connivance4 ,nothing however but the utmost determination and moral courage would have curbed the exuberant religiosity of these devout ladies4 ,the prompt suggestion that1 if they have done wrong1 their husbands are to blame for letting them have their own way1 is an instance of the meanness which results from the worship of other gods4 ,but these defiant speeches raise a more important question4 ,there is an essential difference between regarding a national catastrophe as a divine judgment and the crude superstition to which an eclipse expresses the resentment of an angry god4 ,but both involve the same practical uncertainty4 ,the sufferers or the spectators ask what god wrought these marvels and what sins they are intended to punish1 and to these questions neither catastrophe nor eclipse gives any certain answer4 ,doubtless the altars of the ,queen of ,heaven had been destroyed by ,josiah in his crusade against heathen cults2 but her outraged majesty had been speedily avenged by the defeat and death of the iconoclast1 and since then the history of ,judah had been one long series of disasters4 ,jeremiah declared that these were the just retribution inflicted by ,jehovah because ,judah had been disloyal to ,him2 in the reign of ,manasseh their sin had reached its climax3-- ,i will cause them to be tossed to and fro among all the nations of the earth1 because of ,manasseh ben ,hezekiah1 king of ,judah1 for that which he did in ,jerusalem4#agd ,his audience were equally positive that the national ruin was the vengeance of the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,josiah had destroyed her altars1 and now the worshippers of ,istar had retaliated by razing the ,temple to the ground4 ,a ,jew1 with the vague impression that ,istar was as real as ,jehovah1 might find it difficult to decide between these conflicting theories4 ,to us1 as to ,jeremiah1 it seems sheer nonsense to speak of the vengeance of the ,queen of ,heaven1 not because of what we deduce from the circumstances of the fall of ,jerusalem1 but because we do not believe in any such deity4 ,but the fallacy is repeated when1 in somewhat similar fashion1 ,protestants find proof of the superiority of their faith in the contrast between ,england and ,catholic ,spain1 while ,romanists draw the opposite conclusion from a comparison of ,holland and ,belgium4 ,in all such cases the assured truth of the disputant's doctrine1 which is set forth as the result of his argument1 is in reality the premise upon which his reasoning rests4 ,faith is not deduced from1 but dictates an interpretation of history4 ,in an individual the material penalties of sin may arouse a sleeping conscience1 but they cannot create a moral sense3 apart from a moral sense the discipline of rewards and punishments would be futile3-- ,were no inner eye in us to tell1 ,instructed by no inner sense1 ,the light of heaven from the dark of hell1 ,that light would want its evidence4 ,jeremiah1 therefore1 is quite consistent in refraining from argument and replying to his opponents by reiterating his former statements that sin against ,jehovah had ruined ,judah and would yet ruin the exiles4 ,he spoke on the authority of the inner sense1 itself instructed by ,revelation4 ,but1 after the manner of the prophets1 he gave them a sign--,pharaoh ,hophra should be delivered into the hand of his enemies as ,zedekiah had been4 ,such an event would indeed be an unmistakable sign of imminent calamity to the fugitives who had sought the protection of the ,egyptian king against ,nebuchadnezzar4#age ,we have reserved for separate treatment the questions suggested by the references to the ,queen of ,heaven4#agf ,this divine name only occurs again in the ,old ,testament in vii4 #ah1 and we are startled1 at first sight1 to discover that a cult about which all other historians and prophets have been entirely silent is described in these passages as an ancient and national worship4 ,it is even possible that the great assembly was a festival in her honour4 ,we have again to remind ourselves that the ,old ,testament is an account of the progress of ,revelation and not a ,history of ,israel4 ,probably the true explanation is that given by ,kuenen4 ,the prophets do not1 as a rule1 speak of the details of false worship2 they use the generic ,baal and the collective other gods4 ,even in this chapter ,jeremiah begins by speaking of other gods1 and only uses the term ,queen of ,heaven when he quotes the reply made to him by the ,jews4 ,similarly when ,ezekiel goes into detail concerning idolatry#agg he mentions cults and ritual#agh which do not occur elsewhere in the ,old ,testament4 ,the prophets were little inclined to discriminate between different forms of idolatry1 just as the average churchman is quite indifferent to the distinctions of the various ,nonconformist bodies1 which are to him simply dissenters4 ,one might read many volumes of ,anglican sermons and even some ,english ,church ,history without meeting with the term ,unitarian4 ,it is easy to find modern parallels--,christian and heathen--to the name of this goddess4 ,the ,virgin ,mary is honoured with the title ,regina ,cli1 and at ,mukden1 the ,sacred ,city of ,china1 there is a temple to the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,but it is not easy to identify the ancient deity who bore this name4 ,the ,jews are accused elsewhere of worshipping the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven1 and one or other of these heavenly bodies--mostly either the moon or the planet ,venus--has been supposed to have been the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,neither do the symbolic cakes help us4 ,such emblems are found in the ritual of many ancient cults3 at ,athens cakes called 1 and shaped like a full-moon were offered to the moon-goddess ,artemis2 a similar usage seems to have prevailed in the worship of the ,arabian goddess ,al-,uzza1 whose star was ,venus1 and also of connection with the worship of the sun4#agi ,moreover we do not find the title ,queen of ,heaven as an ordinary and well-established name of any neighbouring divinity4 ,queen is a natural title for any goddess1 and was actually given to many ancient deities4 ,schrader#ahj finds our goddess in the ,atar-samain 7,athar-,astarte7 who is mentioned in the ,assyrian ascriptions as worshipped by a ,north ,arabian tribe of ,kedarenes4 ,possibly too the ,assyrian ,istar is called ,queen of ,heaven4#aha ,istar1 however1 is connected with the moon as well as with the planet ,venus4#ahb ,for the present therefore we must be content to leave the matter an open question1#ahc but any day some new discovery may solve the problem4 ,meanwhile it is interesting to notice how little religious ideas and practices are affected by differences in profession4 ,st4 ,isaac the ,great1 of ,antioch1 who died about ,a4,d4 #dfj1 tells us that the ,christian ladies of ,syria--whom he speaks of very ungallantly as fools--used to worship the planet ,venus from the roofs of their houses1 in the hope that she would bestow upon them some portion of her own brightness and beauty4 ,his experience naturally led ,st4 ,isaac to interpret the ,queen of ,heaven as the luminary which his countrywomen venerated4#ahd ,the episode of the great assembly closes the history of ,jeremiah's life4 ,we leave him 7as we so often met with him before7 hurling ineffective denunciations at a recalcitrant audience4 ,vagrant fancy1 holding this to be a lame and impotent conclusion1 has woven romantic stories to continue and complete the narrative4 ,there are traditions that he was stoned to death at ,tahpanhes1 and that his bones were removed to ,alexandria by ,alexander the ,great2 that he and ,baruch returned to ,judea or went to ,babylon and died in peace2 that he returned to ,jerusalem and lived there three hundred years1--and other such legends4 ,as has been said concerning the ,apocryphal ,gospels1 these narratives serve as a foil to the history they are meant to supplement3 they remind us of the sequels of great novels written by inferior pens1 or of attempts made by clumsy mechanics to convert a bust by some inspired sculptor into a full-length statue4 ,for this story of ,jeremiah's life is not a torso4 ,sacred biography constantly disappoints our curiosity as to the last days of holy men4 ,we are scarcely ever told how prophets and apostles died4 ,it is curious too that the great exceptions--,elijah in his chariot of fire and ,elisha dying quietly in his bed--occur before the period of written prophecy4 ,the deaths of ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 and ,ezekiel1 ,peter1 ,paul1 and ,john1 are passed over in the ,sacred ,record1 and when we seek to follow them beyond its pages1 we are taught afresh the unique wisdom of inspiration4 ,if we may understand ,deuteronomy xxxiv4 to imply that no eye was permitted to behold ,moses in the hour of death1 we have in this incident a type of the reticence of ,scripture on such matters4 ,moreover a moment's reflection reminds us that the inspired method is in accordance with the better instincts of our nature4 ,a death in opening manhood1 or the death of a soldier in battle or of a martyr at the stake1 rivets our attention2 but when men die in a good old age1 we dwell less on their declining years than on the achievements of their prime4 ,we all remember the martyrdoms of ,huss and ,latimer1 but how many of those in whose mouths ,calvin and ,luther are familiar as household words know how those great ,reformers died8 ,there comes a time when we may apply to the aged saint the words of ,browning's ,death in the ,desert3-- ,so is myself withdrawn into my depths1 ,the soul retreated from the perished brain ,whence it was wont to feel and use the world ,through these dull members1 done with long ago4 ,and the poet's comparison of this soul to ,a stick once fire from end to end2 ,now1 ashes save the tip that holds a spark4 ,love craves to watch to the last1 because the spark may ,run back1 spread itself ,a little where the fire was4444 ,and we would not lose ,the last of what might happen on his face4 ,such privileges may be granted to a few chosen disciples1 probably they were in this case granted to ,baruch2 but they are mostly withheld from the world1 lest blind irreverence should see in the aged saint nothing but ,second childishness1 and mere oblivion2 ,sans teeth1 sans eyes1 sans taste1 sans everything4 ,,footnotes3 #agc ,combined from verses #af1 #ag1 and #be4 #agd xv4 #d4 #age ,as to the fulfilment of this prophecy see ,chap4 ,,xvii4 #agf ,,melekheth ,,hashshamayim4 ,the ,masoretic pointing seems to indicate a rendering service or work of heaven1 probably in the sense of host of heaven1 i4e4 the stars1 being written defectively for 1 but this translation is now pretty generally abandoned4 ,cf4 ,c4 ,j4 ,ball1 ,giesebrecht1 ,orelli1 ,cheyne1 etc41 on vii4 #ah1 and especially ,kuenen's treatise on the ,queen of ,heaven--in the ,gesammelte ,abhandlungen1 translated by ,budde--to which this section is largely indebted4 #agg ,ezek4 viii4 #agh ,the worship of ,tammuz and of creeping things and abominable beasts etc4 #agi ,kuenen1 #bjh4 #ahj ,schrader 7,whitehouse's translation71 ii4 #bjg4 #aha ,kuenen1 #bjf4 #ahb ,sayce1 ,higher ,criticism1 etc41 #hj4 #ahc ,so ,giesebrecht on vii4 #ah4 ,kuenen argues for the identification of the ,queen of ,heaven with the planet ,venus4 #ahd ,kuenen1 #baa4 ,,book ,,ii ,,prophecies ,,concerning ,,foreign ,,nations ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,jehovah ,,and ,,the ,,nations xxv4 #ae-ch4 ,jehovah hath a controversy with the nations4--,,jer4 xxv4 #ca4 ,as the son of a king only learns very gradually that his father's authority and activity extend beyond the family and the household1 so ,israel in its childhood thought of ,jehovah as exclusively concerned with itself4 ,such ideas as omnipotence and universal ,providence did not exist2 therefore they could not be denied2 and the limitations of the national faith were not essentially inconsistent with later ,revelation4 ,but when we reach the period of recorded prophecy we find that1 under the guidance of the ,holy ,spirit1 the prophets had begun to recognise ,jehovah's dominion over surrounding peoples4 ,there was1 as yet1 no deliberate and formal doctrine of omnipotence1 but1 as ,israel became involved in the fortunes first of one foreign power and then of another1 the prophets asserted that the doings of these heathen states were overruled by the ,god of ,israel4 ,the idea of ,jehovah's ,lordship of the ,nations enlarged with the extension of international relations1 as our conception of the ,god of ,nature has expanded with the successive discoveries of science4 ,hence1 for the most part1 the prophets devote special attention to the concerns of ,gentile peoples4 ,hosea1 ,micah1 ,haggai1 ,zechariah1 and ,malachi are partial exceptions4 ,some of the minor prophets have for their main subject the doom of a heathen empire4 ,jonah and ,nahum deal with ,nineveh1 ,habbakuk with ,chaldea1 and ,edom is specially honoured by being almost the sole object of the denunciations of ,obadiah4 ,daniel also deals with the fate of the kingdoms of the world1 but in the ,apocalyptic fashion of the ,pseudepigrapha4 ,jewish criticism rightly declined to recognise this book as prophetic1 and relegated it to the latest collection of canonical scriptures4 ,each of the other prophetical books contains a longer or shorter series of utterances concerning the neighbours of ,israel1 its friends and foes1 its enemies and allies4 ,the fashion was apparently set by ,amos1 who shows ,god's judgment upon ,damascus1 the ,philistines1 ,tyre1 ,edom1 ,ammon1 and ,moab4 ,this list suggests the range of the prophet's religious interest in the ,gentiles4 ,assyria and ,egypt were1 for the present1 beyond the sphere of ,revelation1 just as ,china and ,india were to the average ,protestant of the seventeenth century4 ,when we come to the ,book of ,isaiah1 the horizon widens in every direction4 ,jehovah is concerned with ,egypt and ,ethiopia1 ,assyria and ,babylon4#ahe ,in very short books like ,joel and ,zephaniah we could not expect exhaustive treatment of this subject4 ,yet even these prophets deal with the fortunes of the ,gentiles3 ,joel1 variously held one of the latest or one of the earliest of the canonical books1 pronounces a divine judgment on ,tyre and ,sidon and the ,philistines1 on ,egypt and ,edom2 and ,zephaniah1 an elder contemporary of ,jeremiah1 devotes sections to the ,philistines1 ,moab and ,ammon1 ,ethiopia and ,assyria4 ,the fall of ,nineveh revolutionised the international system of the ,east4 ,the judgment on ,asshur was accomplished1 and her name disappears from these catalogues of doom4 ,in other particulars ,jeremiah1 as well as ,ezekiel1 follows closely in the footsteps of his predecessors4 ,he deals1 like them1 with the group of ,syrian and ,palestinian states--,philistines1 ,moab1 ,ammon1 ,edom1 and ,damascus4#ahf ,he dwells with repeated emphasis on ,egypt1 and ,arabia is represented by ,kedar and ,hazor4 ,in one section the prophet travels into what must have seemed to his contemporaries the very far ,east1 as far as ,elam4 ,on the other hand1 he is comparatively silent about ,tyre1 in which ,joel1 ,amos1 the ,book of ,isaiah1#ahg and above all ,ezekiel display a lively interest4 ,nebuchadnezzar's campaigns were directed against ,tyre as much as against ,jerusalem2 and ,ezekiel1 living in ,chaldea1 would have attention forcibly directed to the ,phnician capital1 at a time when ,jeremiah was absorbed in the fortunes of ,zion4 ,but in the passage which we have chosen as the subject for this introduction to the prophecies of the nations1 ,jeremiah takes a somewhat wider range3-- ,thus saith unto me ,jehovah1 the ,god of ,israel3 ,take at ,my hand this cup of the wine of fury1 ,and make all the nations1 to whom ,i send thee1 drink it4 ,they shall drink1 and reel to and fro1 and be mad1 ,because of the sword that ,i will send among them4 ,first and foremost of these nations1 pre-eminent in punishment as in privilege1 stand ,jerusalem and the cities of ,judah1 with its kings and princes4 ,this bad eminence is a necessary application of the principle laid down by ,amos#ahh3-- ,you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth3 ,therefore ,i will visit upon you all your iniquities4 ,but as ,jeremiah says later on1 addressing the ,gentile nations1-- ,i begin to work evil at the city which is called by ,my name4 ,should ye go scot-free8 ,ye shall not go scot-free4 ,and the prophet puts the cup of ,god's fury to their lips also1 and amongst them1 ,egypt1 the bte noir of ,hebrew seers1 is most conspicuously marked out for destruction3 ,pharaoh king of ,egypt1 and his servants and princes and all his people1 and all the mixed population of ,egypt4#ahi ,then follows1 in epic fashion1 a catalogue of all the nations as ,jeremiah knew them3 ,all the kings of the land of ,uz1 all the kings of the land of the ,philistines2 ,ashkelon1 ,gaza1 ,ekron1 and the remnant of ,ashdod2#aij ,edom1 ,moab1 and the ,ammonites2 all the kings#aia of ,tyre1 all the kings of ,zidon1 and the kings of their colonies#aib beyond the sea2 ,dedan and ,tema and ,buz1 and all that have the corners of their hair polled2#aic and all the kings of ,arabia1 and all the kings of the mixed populations that dwell in the desert2 all the kings of ,zimri1 all the kings of ,elam1 and all the kings of the ,medes4 ,jeremiah's definite geographical information is apparently exhausted1 but he adds by way of summary and conclusion3 ,and all the kings of the north1 far and near1 one after the other2 and all the kingdoms of the world1 which are on the face of the earth4 ,there is one notable omission in the list4 ,nebuchadnezzar1 the servant of ,jehovah1#aid was the divinely appointed scourge of ,judah and its neighbours and allies4 ,elsewhere#aie the nations are exhorted to submit to him1 and here apparently ,chaldea is exempted from the general doom1 just as ,ezekiel passes no formal sentence on ,babylon4 ,it is true that all the kingdoms of the earth would naturally include ,babylon1 possibly were even intended to do so4 ,but the ,jews were not long content with so veiled a reference to their conquerors and oppressors4 ,some patriotic scribe added the explanatory note1 ,and the king of ,sheshach 7i4e4 ,babylon7 shall drink after them4#aif ,sheshach is obtained from ,babel by the cypher ',athbash1 according to which an alphabet is written out and a reversed alphabet written out underneath it1 and the letters of the lower row used for those of the upper and vice vers4 ,thus ,aleph ,b ,k ,l ,t ,,sh ,l ,k ,the use of cypher seems to indicate that the note was added in ,chaldea during the ,exile1 when it was not safe to circulate documents which openly denounced ,babylon4 ,jeremiah's enumeration of the peoples and rulers of his world is naturally more detailed and more exhaustive than the list of the nations against which he prophesied4 ,it includes the ,phnician states1 details the ,philistine cities1 associates with ,elam the neighbouring nations of ,zimri and the ,medes1 and substitutes for ,kedar and ,hazor ,arabia and a number of semi-,arab states1 ,uz1 ,dedan1 ,tema1 and ,buz4#aig ,thus ,jeremiah's world is the district constantly shown in ,scripture atlases in a map comprising the scenes of ,old ,testament history1 ,egypt1 ,arabia1 and ,western ,asia1 south of a line from the north-east corner of the ,mediterranean to the southern end of the ,caspian ,sea1 and west of a line from the latter point to the northern end of the ,persian ,gulf4 ,how much of history has been crowded into this narrow area6 ,here science1 art1 and literature won those primitive triumphs which no subsequent achievements could surpass or even equal4 ,here1 perhaps for the first time1 men tasted the ,dead ,sea apples of civilisation1 and learnt how little accumulated wealth and national splendour can do for the welfare of the masses4 ,here was ,eden1 where ,god walked in the cool of the day to commune with man2 and here also were many ,mount ,moriahs1 where man gave his firstborn for his transgression1 the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul1 and no angel voice stayed his hand4 ,and now glance at any modern map and see for how little ,jeremiah's world counts among the great ,powers of the nineteenth century4 ,egypt indeed is a bone of contention between ,european states1 but how often does a daily paper remind its readers of the existence of ,syria or ,mesopotamia8 ,we may apply to this ancient world the title that ,byron gave to ,rome1 ,lone mother of dead empires1 and call it3-- ,the desert1 where we steer ,stumbling o'er recollections4 ,it is said that ,scipio's exultation over the fall of ,carthage was marred by forebodings that ,time had a like destiny in store for ,rome4 ,where ,cromwell might have quoted a text from the ,bible1 the ,roman soldier applied to his native city the ,homeric lines3-- ,troy shall sink in fire1 ,and ,priam's city with himself expire4 ,the epitaphs of ancient civilisations are no mere matters of archology2 like the inscriptions on common graves1 they carry a ,memento mori for their successors4 ,but to return from epitaphs to prophecy3 in the list which we have just given1 the kings of many of the nations are required to drink the cup of wrath1 and the section concludes with a universal judgment upon the princes and rulers of this ancient world under the familiar figure of shepherds1 supplemented here by another1 that of the principal of the flock1 or1 as we should say1 bell-wethers4 ,jehovah would break out upon them to rend and scatter like a lion from his covert4 ,therefore3-- ,howl1 ye shepherds1 and cry6 ,roll yourselves in the dust1 ye bell-wethers6 ,the time has fully come for you to be slaughtered4 ,i will cast you down with a crash1 like a vase of porcelain4#aih ,ruin hath overtaken the refuge of the shepherds1 ,and the way of escape of the bell-wethers4 ,thus ,jeremiah announces the coming ruin of an ancient world1 with all its states and sovereigns1 and we have seen that the prediction has been amply fulfilled4 ,we can only notice two other points with regard to this section4 ,first1 then1 we have no right to accuse the prophet of speaking from a narrow national standpoint4 ,his words are not the expression of the ,jewish adversus omnes alios hostile odium2#aii if they were1 we should not hear so much of ,judah's sin and ,judah's punishment4 ,he applied to heathen states as he did to his own the divine standard of national righteousness1 and they too were found wanting4 ,all history confirms ,jeremiah's judgment4 ,this brings us to our second point4 ,christian thinkers have been engrossed in the evidential aspect of these national catastrophes4 ,they served to fulfil prophecy1 and therefore the squalor of ,egypt and the ruins of ,assyria to-day have seemed to make our way of salvation more safe and certain4 ,but ,god did not merely sacrifice these holocausts of men and nations to the perennial craving of feeble faith for signs4 ,their fate must of necessity illustrate ,his justice and wisdom and love4 ,jeremiah tells us plainly that ,judah and its neighbours had filled up the measure of their iniquity before they were called upon to drink the cup of wrath2 national sin justifies ,god's judgments4 ,yet these very facts of the moral failure and decadence of human societies perplex and startle us4 ,individuals grow old and feeble and die1 but saints and heroes do not become slaves of vice and sin in their last days4 ,the glory of their prime is not buried in a dishonoured grave4 ,nay rather1 when all else fails1 the beauty of holiness grows more pure and radiant4 ,but of what nation could we say3-- ,let me die the death of the righteous1 ,let my last end be like his8 ,apparently the collective conscience is a plant of very slow growth2 and hitherto no society has been worthy to endure honourably or even to perish nobly4 ,in ,christendom itself the ideals of common action are still avowedly meaner than those of individual conduct4 ,international and collective morality is still in its infancy1 and as a matter of habit and system modern states are often wantonly cruel and unjust towards obscure individuals and helpless minorities4 ,yet surely it shall not always be so2 the daily prayer of countless millions for the coming of the ,kingdom of ,god cannot remain unanswered4 ,,footnotes3 #ahe ,doubts however have been raised as to whether any of the sections about ,babylon are by ,isaiah himself4 #ahf ,doubts have been expressed as to the genuineness of the ,damascus prophecy4 #ahg ,the ,isaianic authorship of this prophecy 7,isa4 xxiii47 is rejected by very many critics4 #ahh ,amos iii4 #b4 #ahi ,so ,giesebrecht1 ,orelli1 etc4 #aij ,psammetichus had recently taken ,ashdod1 after a continuous siege of twenty-nine years4 #aia ,the plural may refer to dependent chiefs or may be used for the sake of symmetry4 #aib ,lit4 the coasts 7i4e4 islands and coastland7 where the ,phnicians had planted their colonies4 #aic ,see on xlix4 #bh-cb4 #aid xxv4 #i4 #aie xxvii4 #h4 #aif ,sheshach 7,sheshakh7 for ,babel also occurs in li4 #da4 ,this explanatory note is omitted by ,,lxx4 #aig ,as to ,damascus cf4 note on p4 #bac4 #aih ,this line is somewhat paraphrased4 ,lit4 ,i will shatter you1 and ye shall fall like an ornamental vessel 7,,keli ,,hemda74 #aii ,tacitus1 ,history1 v4 #e4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,egypt xliii4 #h-ac1 xliv4 #cj1 xlvi4 ,i will visit ,amon of ,no1 and ,pharaoh1 and ,egypt1 with their gods and their kings2 even ,pharaoh1 and all them that trust in him4--,,jer4 xlvi4 #be4 ,the kings of ,egypt with whom ,jeremiah was contemporary--,psammetichus ,,ii41 ,pharaoh ,necho1 and ,pharaoh ,hophra--belonged to the twenty-sixth dynasty4 ,when growing distress at home compelled ,assyria to loose her hold on her distant dependencies1 ,egypt still retained something of her former vigorous elasticity4 ,in the rebound from subjection under the heavy hand of ,sennacherib1 she resumed her ancient forms of life and government4 ,she regained her unity and independence1 and posed afresh as an equal rival with ,chaldea for the supremacy of ,western ,asia4 ,at home there was a renascence of art and literature1 and1 as of old1 the wealth and devotion of powerful monarchs restored the ancient temples and erected new shrines of their own4 ,but this revival was no new growth springing up with a fresh and original life from the seeds of the past2 it cannot rank with the ,european ,renascence of the fifteenth century4 ,it is rather to be compared with the reorganisations by which ,diocletian and ,constantine prolonged the decline of the ,roman ,empire1 the rally of a strong constitution in the grip of mortal disease4 ,these latter-day ,pharaohs failed ignominiously in their attempts to recover the ,syrian dominion of the ,thothmes and ,rameses2 and1 like the ,roman ,empire in its last centuries1 the ,egypt of the twenty-sixth dynasty surrendered itself to ,greek influence and hired foreign mercenaries to fight its battles4 ,the new art and literature were tainted by pedantic archaism4 ,according to ,brugsch1#bjj ,even to the newly created dignities and titles1 the return to ancient times had become the general watchword4444 ,the stone door-posts of this age reveal the old ,memphian style of art1 mirrored in its modern reflection after the lapse of four thousand years4 ,similarly ,meyer#bja tells us that apparently the ,egyptian state was reconstituted on the basis of a religious revival1 somewhat in the fashion of the establishment of ,deuteronomy by ,josiah4 ,inscriptions after the time of ,psammetichus are written in archaic ,egyptian of a very ancient past2 it is often difficult to determine at first sight whether inscriptions belong to the earliest or latest period of ,egyptian history4 ,the superstition that sought safety in an exact reproduction of a remote antiquity could not1 however1 resist the fascination of ,eastern demonology4 ,according to ,brugsch1#bjb in the age called the ,egyptian ,renascence the old ,egyptian theology was adulterated with ,grco-,asiatic elements--demons and genii of whom the older faith and its purer doctrine had scarcely an idea2 exorcisms became a special science1 and are favourite themes for the inscriptions of this period4 ,thus1 amid many differences1 there are also to be found striking resemblances between the religious movements of the period in ,egypt and amongst the ,jews1 and corresponding difficulties in determining the dates of ,egyptian inscriptions and of sections of the ,old ,testament4 ,this enthusiasm for ancient custom and tradition was not likely to commend the ,egypt of ,jeremiah's age to any student of ,hebrew history4 ,he would be reminded that the dealings of the ,pharaohs with ,israel had almost always been to its hurt2 he would remember the ,oppression and the ,exodus--how1 in the time of ,solomon1 friendly intercourse with ,egypt taught that monarch lessons in magnificent tyranny1 how ,shishak plundered the ,temple1 how ,isaiah had denounced the ,egyptian alliance as a continual snare to ,judah4 ,a ,jewish prophet would be prompt to discern the omens of coming ruin in the midst of renewed prosperity on the ,nile4 ,accordingly at the first great crisis of the new international system1 in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim1 either just before or just after the battle of ,carchemish--it matters little which--,jeremiah takes up his prophecy against ,egypt4 ,first of all1 with an ostensible friendliness which only masks his bitter sarcasm1 he invites the ,egyptians to take the field3-- ,prepare buckler and shield1 and draw near to battle4 ,harness the horses to the chariots1 mount the chargers1 stand forth armed cap--pie for battle2 ,furbish the spears1 put on the coats of mail4 ,this great host with its splendid equipment must surely conquer4 ,the prophet professes to await its triumphant return2 but he sees instead a breathless mob of panic-stricken fugitives1 and pours upon them the torrent of his irony3-- ,how is it that ,i behold this8 ,these heroes are dismayed and have turned their backs2 ,their warriors have been beaten down2 ,they flee apace1 and do not look behind them3 ,terror on every side--is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,then irony passes into explicit malediction3-- ,let not the swift flee away1 nor the warrior escape2 ,away northward1 they stumble and fall by the river ,euphrates4 ,then1 in a new strophe1 ,jeremiah again recurs in imagination to the proud march of the countless hosts of ,egypt3-- ,who is this that riseth up like the ,nile1 ,whose waters toss themselves like the rivers8 ,egypt riseth up like the ,nile1 ,his waters toss themselves like the rivers4 ,and he saith1 ,i will go up and cover the land 7like the ,nile in flood72 ,i will destroy the cities and their inhabitants 7and1 above all other cities1 ,babylon74 ,again the prophet urges them on with ironical encouragement3-- ,go up1 ye horses2 rage1 ye chariots2 ,ethiopians and ,libyans that handle the shield1 ,lydians that handle and bend the bow 7the tributaries and mercenaries of ,egypt74 ,then1 as before1 he speaks plainly of coming disaster3 ,that day is a day of vengeance for the ,lord ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 whereon ,he will avenge ,him of ,his adversaries 7a day of vengeance upon ,pharaoh ,necho for ,megiddo and ,josiah74 ,the sword shall devour and be sated1 and drink its fill of their blood3 ,for the ,lord ,jehovah ,sabaoth hath a sacrifice in the northern land1 by the river ,euphrates4 ,in a final strophe1 the prophet turns to the land left bereaved and defenceless by the defeat at ,carchemish3-- ,go up to ,gilead and get thee balm1 ,o virgin daughter of ,egypt3 ,in vain dost thou multiply medicines2 thou canst not be healed4 ,the nations have heard of thy shame1 the earth is full of thy cry3 ,for warrior stumbles against warrior2 they fall both together4 ,nevertheless the end was not yet4 ,egypt was wounded to death1 but she was to linger on for many a long year to be a snare to ,judah and to vex the righteous soul of ,jeremiah4 ,the reed was broken1 but it still retained an appearance of soundness1 which more than once tempted the ,jewish princes to lean upon it and find their hands pierced for their pains4 ,hence1 as we have seen already1 ,jeremiah repeatedly found occasion to reiterate the doom of ,egypt1 of ,necho's successor1 ,pharaoh ,hophra1 and of the ,jewish refugees who had sought safety under his protection4 ,in the concluding part of chapter xlvi41 a prophecy of uncertain date sets forth the ruin of ,egypt with rather more literary finish than in the parallel passages4 ,this word of ,jehovah was to be proclaimed in ,egypt1 and especially in the frontier cities1 which would have to bear the first brunt of invasion3-- ,declare in ,egypt1 proclaim in ,migdol1 proclaim in ,noph and ,tahpanhes3 ,say ye1 ,take thy stand and be ready1 for the sword hath devoured round about thee4 ,why hath ,apis#bjc fled and thy calf not stood8 ,because ,jehovah overthrew it4 ,memphis was devoted to the worship of ,apis1 incarnate in the sacred bull2 but now ,apis must succumb to the mightier divinity of ,jehovah1 and his sacred city become a prey to the invaders4 ,he maketh many to stumble2 they fall one against another4 ,then they say1 ,arise1 and let us return to our own people and to our native land1 before the oppressing sword4 ,we must remember that the ,egyptian armies were largely composed of foreign mercenaries4 ,in the hour of disaster and defeat these hirelings would desert their employers and go home4 ,give unto ,pharaoh king of ,egypt the name#bjd ,crash2 he hath let the appointed time pass by4 ,the form of this enigmatic sentence is probably due to a play upon ,egyptian names and titles4 ,when the allusions are forgotten1 such paronomasia naturally results in hopeless obscurity4 ,the appointed time has been explained as the period during which ,jehovah gave ,pharaoh the opportunity of repentance1 or as that within which he might have submitted to ,nebuchadnezzar on favourable terms4 ,as ,i live1 is the utterance of the ,king1 whose name is ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 ,one shall come like ,tabor among the mountains and like ,carmel by the sea4 ,it was not necessary to name this terrible invader2 it could be no other than ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,get thee gear for captivity1 ,o daughter of ,egypt1 that dwellest in thine own land3 ,for ,noph shall become a desolation1 and shall be burnt up and left without inhabitants4 ,egypt is a very fair heifer1 but destruction is come upon her from the north4 ,this tempest shattered the ,greek phalanx in which ,pharaoh trusted3-- ,even her mercenaries in the midst of her are like calves of the stall2 ,even they have turned and fled together1 they have not stood3 ,for their day of calamity hath come upon them1 their day of reckoning4 ,we do not look for chronological sequence in such a poem1 so that this picture of the flight and destruction of the mercenaries is not necessarily later in time than their overthrow and contemplated desertion in verse #ae4 ,the prophet is depicting a scene of bewildered confusion2 the disasters that fell thick upon ,egypt crowd into his vision without order or even coherence4 ,now he turns again to ,egypt herself3-- ,her voice goeth forth like the 7low hissing of7 the serpent2 ,for they come upon her with a mighty army1 and with axes like woodcutters4 ,a like fate is predicted in ,isaiah xxix4 #d for ,ariel1 the city where ,david dwelt3-- ,thou shalt be brought low and speak from the ground2 ,thou shalt speak with a low voice out of the dust2 ,thy voice shall come from the ground1 like that of a familiar spirit1 ,and thou shalt speak in a whisper from the dust4 ,thus too ,egypt would seek to writhe herself from under the heel of the invader2 hissing out the while her impotent fury1 she would seek to glide away into some safe refuge amongst the underwood4 ,her dominions1 stretching far up the ,nile1 were surely vast enough to afford her shelter somewhere2 but no6 the woodcutters are too many and too mighty for her3-- ,they cut down her forest--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--for it is impenetrable2 ,for they are more than the locusts1 and are innumerable4 ,the whole of ,egypt is overrun and subjugated2 no district holds out against the invader1 and remains unsubjugated to form the nucleus of a new and independent empire4 ,the daughter of ,egypt is put to shame2 she is delivered into the hand of the northern people4 ,her gods share her fate2 ,apis had succumbed at ,memphis1 but ,egypt had countless other stately shrines whose denizens must own the overmastering might of ,jehovah3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 the ,god of ,israel3 ,behold1 ,i will visit ,amon of ,no1 ,and ,pharaoh1 and ,egypt1 and all her gods and kings1 ,even ,pharaoh and all who trust in him4 ,amon of ,no1 or ,thebes1 known to the ,greeks as ,ammon and called by his own worshippers ,amen1 or the hidden one1 is apparently mentioned with ,apis as sharing the primacy of the ,egyptian divine hierarchy4 ,on the fall of the twentieth dynasty1 the high priest of the ,theban ,amen became king of ,egypt1 and centuries afterwards ,alexander the ,great made a special pilgrimage to the temple in the oasis of ,ammon and was much gratified at being there hailed son of the deity4 ,probably the prophecy originally ended with this general threat of visitation of ,egypt and its human and divine rulers4 ,an editor1 however1 has added1#bje from parallel passages1 the more definite but sufficiently obvious statement that ,nebuchadnezzar and his servants were to be the instruments of the ,divine visitation4 ,a further addition is in striking contrast to the sweeping statements of ,jeremiah3-- ,afterward it shall be inhabited1 as in the days of old4 ,similarly1 ,ezekiel foretold a restoration for ,egypt3-- ,at the end of forty years1 ,i will gather the ,egyptians1 and will cause them to return 444 to their native land2 and they shall be there a base kingdom3 it shall be the basest of the kingdoms4#bjf ,and elsewhere we read yet more gracious promises to ,egypt3-- ,israel shall be a third with ,egypt and ,assyria1 a blessing in the midst of the land3 whom ,jehovah ,sabaoth shall bless1 saying1 ,blessed be ,egypt ,my people1 and ,assyria the work of ,my hands1 and ,israel ,mine inheritance4#bjg ,probably few would claim to discover in history any literal fulfilment of this last prophecy4 ,perhaps it might have been appropriated for the ,christian ,church in the days of ,clement and ,origen4 ,we may take ,egypt and ,assyria as types of heathendom1 which shall one day receive the blessings of the ,lord's people and of the work of ,his hands4 ,of political revivals and restorations ,egypt has had her share4 ,but less interest attaches to these general prophecies than to more definite and detailed predictions2 and there is much curiosity as to any evidence which monuments and other profane witnesses may furnish as to a conquest of ,egypt and capture of ,pharaoh ,hophra by ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,according to ,herodotus1#bjh ,apries 7,hophra7 was defeated and imprisoned by his successor ,amasis1 afterwards delivered up by him to the people of ,egypt1 who forthwith strangled their former king4 ,this event would be an exact fulfilment of the words1 ,i will give ,pharaoh ,hophra king of ,egypt into the hand of his enemies1 and into the hand of them that seek his life1#bji if it were not evident from parallel passages#baj that the ,book of ,jeremiah intends ,nebuchadnezzar to be the enemy into whose hands ,pharaoh is to be delivered4 ,but ,herodotus is entirely silent as to the relations of ,egypt and ,babylon during this period2 for instance1 he mentions the victory of ,pharaoh ,necho at ,megiddo--which he miscalls ,magdolium--but not his defeat at ,carchemish4 ,hence his silence as to ,chaldean conquests in ,egypt has little weight4 ,even the historian's explicit statement as to the death of ,apries might be reconciled with his defeat and capture by ,nebuchadnezzar1 if we knew all the facts4 ,at present1 however1 the inscriptions do little to fill the gap left by the ,greek historian2 there are1 however1 references which seem to establish two invasions of ,egypt by the ,chaldean king1 one of which fell in the reign of ,pharaoh ,hophra4 ,but the spiritual lessons of this and the following prophecies concerning the nations are not dependent on the spade of the excavator or the skill of the decipherers of hieroglyphics and cuneiform script2 whatever their relation may be to the details of subsequent historical events1 they remain as monuments of the inspired insight of the prophet into the character and destiny alike of great empires and petty states4 ,they assert the ,divine government of the nations1 and the subordination of all history to the coming of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #bjj ,second edition1 ii4 #bia1 #bib4 #bja ,meyer1 ,geschichte des alten gypten1 #cga1 #cgc4 #bjb ii4 #bic4 #bjc ,giesebrecht1 with ,,lxx4 #bjd ,giesebrecht1 ,orelli1 ,kautzsch1 with ,,lxx41 ,syr41 and ,vulg41 by an alteration of the pointing4 #bje ,,lxx4 omits verse #bf4 ,verses #bg1 #bh xxx4 #aj1 #aa1 and probably are an insertion here4 #bjf ,ezek4 xxix4 #ac-ae4 #bjg ,isa4 xix4 #be4 #bjh ,herodotus1 ,,ii4 clxix4 #bji xliv4 #cj4 #baj xlvi4 #be4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,the ,,philistines xlvii4 ,o sword of ,jehovah1 how long will it be ere thou be quiet8 put up thyself into thy scabbard2 rest1 and be still4--,,jer4 xlvii4 #f4 ,according to the title placed at the head of this prophecy1 it was uttered before ,pharaoh smote ,gaza4 ,the ,pharaoh is evidently ,pharaoh ,necho1 and this capture of ,gaza was one of the incidents of the campaign which opened with the victory at ,megiddo and concluded so disastrously at ,carchemish4 ,our first impulse is to look for some connection between this incident and the contents of the prophecy3 possibly the editor who prefixed the heading may have understood by the northern enemy ,pharaoh ,necho on his return from ,carchemish2 but would ,jeremiah have described a defeated army thus8 ,behold1 waters rise out of the north1 and become an overflowing torrent2 ,they overflow the land1 and all that is therein1 the city and its inhabitants4 ,men cry out1 and all the inhabitants of the land howl1 ,at the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions1 ,at the rattling of his chariots and the rumbling of his wheels4 ,here as elsewhere the enemy from the north is ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,pharaohs might come and go1 winning victories and taking cities1 but these broken reeds count for little2 not they1 but the king of ,babylon is the instrument of ,jehovah's supreme purpose4 ,the utter terror caused by the ,chaldean advance is expressed by a striking figure3-- ,the fathers look not back to their children for slackness of hands4 ,their very bodies are possessed and crippled with fear1 their palsied muscles cannot respond to the impulses of natural affection2 they can do nothing but hurry on in headlong flight1 unable to look round or stretch out a helping hand to their children3-- ,because of the day that cometh for the spoiling of all the ,philistines1 ,for cutting off every ally that remaineth unto ,tyre and ,zidon3 ,for ,jehovah spoileth the ,philistines1 the remnant of the coast of ,caphtor4#baa ,baldness cometh upon ,gaza2 ,ashkelon is destroyed3 ,o remnant of the ,anakim1#bab how long wilt thou cut thyself8 ,this list is remarkable both for what it includes and what it omits4 ,in order to understand the reference to ,tyre and ,zidon1 we must remember that ,nebuchadnezzar's expedition was partly directed against these cities1 with which the ,philistines had evidently been allied4 ,the ,chaldean king would hasten the submission of the ,phnicians1 by cutting off all hope of succour from without4 ,there are various possible reasons why out of the five ,philistine cities only two--,ashkelon and ,gaza--are mentioned2 ,ekron1 ,gath1 and ,ashdod may have been reduced to comparative insignificance4 ,ashdod had recently been taken by ,psammetichus after a twenty-nine years' siege4 ,or the names of two of these cities may be given by way of paronomasia in the text3 ,ashdod may be suggested by the double reference to the spoiling and the spoiler1 ,shdod and ,shoded2 ,gath may be hinted at by the word used for the mutilation practised by mourners1 ,tithgoddadi1 and by the mention of the ,anakim1 who are connected with ,gath1 ,ashdod1 and ,gaza in ,joshua xi4 #bb4 ,as ,jeremiah contemplates this fresh array of victims of ,chaldean cruelty1 he is moved to protest against the weary monotony of ruin3-- ,o sword of ,jehovah1 how long will it be ere thou be quiet8 ,put up thyself into thy scabbard2 rest1 and be still4 ,the prophet ceases to be the mouthpiece of ,god1 and breaks out into the cry of human anguish4 ,how often since1 amid the barbarian inroads that overwhelmed the ,roman ,empire1 amid the prolonged horrors of the ,thirty ,years' ,war1 amid the carnage of the ,french ,revolution1 men have uttered a like appeal to an unanswering and relentless ,providence6 ,indeed1 not in war only1 but even in peace1 the tide of human misery and sin often seems to flow1 century after century1 with undiminished volume1 and ever and again a vain ,how long is wrung from pallid and despairing lips4 ,for the ,divine purpose may not be hindered1 and the sword of ,jehovah must still strike home4 ,how can it be quiet1 seeing that ,jehovah hath given it a charge8 ,against ,ashkelon and against the sea-shore1 there hath ,he appointed it4 ,yet ,ashkelon survived to be a stronghold of the ,crusaders1 and ,gaza to be captured by ,alexander and even by ,napoleon4 ,jehovah has other instruments besides ,his devastating sword2 the victorious endurance and recuperative vitality of men and nations also come from ,him4 ,come1 and let us return unto ,jehovah3 ,for ,he hath torn1 and ,he will heal us2 ,he hath smitten1 and ,he will bind us up4#bac ,,footnotes3 #baa ,referring to their ancient immigration from ,caphtor1 probably ,crete4 #bab ,kautzsch1 ,giesebrecht1 with ,,lxx41 reading ',nqm for the ,masoretic ',mqm2 ,eng4 ,vers41 their valley4 #bac ,hosea vi4 #a4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,moab xlviii4 ,moab shall be destroyed from being a people1 because he hath magnified himself against ,jehovah4--,,jer4 xlviii4 #db4 ,chemosh said to me1 ,go1 take ,nebo against ,israel 444 and ,i took it 444 and ,i took from it the vessels of ,jehovah1 and offered them before ,chemosh4--,,moabite ,,stone4 ,yet will ,i bring again the captivity of ,moab in the latter days4--,,jer4 xlviii4 #dg4 ,the prophets show a very keen interest in ,moab4 ,with the exception of the very short ,book of ,joel1 all the prophets who deal in detail with foreign nations devote sections to ,moab4 ,the unusual length of such sections in ,isaiah and ,jeremiah is not the only resemblance between the utterances of these two prophets concerning ,moab4 ,there are many parallels#bad of idea and expression1 which probably indicate the influence of the elder prophet upon his successor2 unless indeed both of them adapted some popular poem which was early current in ,judah4#bae ,it is easy to understand why the ,jewish ,scriptures should have much to say about ,moab1 just as the sole surviving fragment of ,moabite literature is chiefly occupied with ,israel4 ,these two ,terahite tribes--the children of ,jacob and the children of ,lot--had dwelt side by side for centuries1 like the ,scotch and ,english borderers before the accession of ,james ,i4 ,they had experienced many alternations of enmity and friendship1 and had shared complex interests1 common and conflicting1 after the manner of neighbours who are also kinsmen4 ,each in its turn had oppressed the other2 and ,moab had been the tributary of the ,israelite monarchy till the victorious arms of ,mesha had achieved independence for his people and firmly established their dominion over the debatable frontier lands4 ,there are traces1 too1 of more kindly relations3 the ,house of ,david reckoned ,ruth the ,moabitess amongst its ancestors1 and ,jesse1 like ,elimelech and ,naomi1 had taken refuge in ,moab4 ,accordingly this prophecy concerning ,moab1 in both its editions1 frequently strikes a note of sympathetic lamentation and almost becomes a dirge4 ,therefore will ,i howl for ,moab2 ,yea1 for all ,moab will ,i cry out4 ,for the men of ,kir-heres shall they mourn4 ,with more than the weeping of ,jazer ,will ,i weep for thee1 ,o vine of ,sibmah4 99 99 99 99 99 ,therefore mine heart soundeth like pipes for ,moab1 ,mine heart soundeth like pipes for the men of ,kir-heres4 ,but this pity could not avail to avert the doom of ,moab2 it only enabled the ,jewish prophet to fully appreciate its terrors4 ,the picture of coming ruin is drawn with the colouring and outlines familiar to us in the utterances of ,jeremiah--spoiling and destruction1 fire and sword and captivity1 dismay and wild abandonment of wailing4 ,chemosh shall go forth into captivity1 his priests and his princes together4 ,every head is bald1 and every beard clipped2 ,upon all the hands are cuttings1 and upon the loins sackcloth4 ,on all the housetops and in all the streets of ,moab there is everywhere lamentation2 ,for ,i have broken ,moab like a useless vessel--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,how is it broken down6 ,howl ye6 ,be thou ashamed6 ,how hath ,moab turned the back6 ,all the neighbours shall laugh and shudder at ,moab4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the heart of the mighty men of ,moab at that day ,shall be like the heart of a woman in her pangs4 ,this section of ,jeremiah illustrates the dramatic versatility of the prophet's method4 ,he identifies himself now with the blood-thirsty invader1 now with his wretched victims1 and now with the terror-stricken spectators2 and sets forth the emotions of each in turn with vivid realism4 ,hence at one moment we have the pathos and pity of such verses as we have just quoted1 and at another such stern and savage words as these3-- ,cursed be he that doeth the work of ,jehovah negligently1 ,cursed be he that stinteth his sword of blood4 ,these lines might have served as a motto for ,cromwell at the massacre of ,drogheda1 for ,tilly's army at the sack of ,magdeburg1 or for ,danton and ,robespierre during the ,reign of ,terror4 ,jeremiah's words were the more terrible because they were uttered with the full consciousness that in the dread ,chaldean king#baf a servant of ,jehovah was at hand who would be careful not to incur any curse for stinting his sword of blood4 ,we shrink from what seems to us the prophet's brutal assertion that relentless and indiscriminate slaughter is sometimes the service which man is called upon to render to ,god4 ,such sentiment is for the most part worthless and unreal2 it does not save us from epidemics of war fever1 and is at once ignored under the stress of horrors like the ,indian ,mutiny4 ,there is no true comfort in trying to persuade ourselves that the most awful events of history lie outside of the ,divine purpose1 or in forgetting that the human scourges of their kind do the work that ,god has assigned to them4 ,in this inventory1 as it were1 of the ruin of ,moab our attention is arrested by the constant and detailed references to the cities4 ,this feature is partly borrowed from ,isaiah4 ,ezekiel too speaks of the ,moabite cities which are the glory of the country2#bag but ,jeremiah's prophecy is a veritable ,domesday ,book of ,moab4 ,with his epic fondness for lists of sonorous names--after the manner of ,homer's catalogue of the ships--he enumerates ,nebo1 ,kiriathaim1 ,heshbon1 and ,horonaim1 city after city1 till he completes a tale of no fewer than twenty-six1#bah and then summarises the rest as all the cities of the land of ,moab1 far and near4 ,eight of these cities are mentioned in ,joshua#bai as part of the inheritance of ,reuben and ,gad4 ,another1 ,bozrah1 is usually spoken of as a city of ,edom4#bbj ,the ,moabite ,stone explains the occurrence of ,reubenite cities in these lists4 ,it tells us how ,mesha took ,nebo1 ,jahaz1 and ,horonaim from ,israel4 ,possibly in this period of conquest ,bozrah became tributary to ,moab1 without ceasing to be an ,edomite city4 ,this extension of territory and multiplication of towns points to an era of power and prosperity1 of which there are other indications in this chapter4 ,we are mighty and valiant for war1 said the ,moabites4 ,when ,moab fell there was broken a mighty sceptre and a glorious staff4 ,other verses imply the fertility of the land and the abundance of its vintage4 ,moab in fact had profited by the misfortunes of its more powerful and ambitious neighbours4 ,the pressure of ,damascus1 ,assyria1 and ,chaldea prevented ,israel and ,judah from maintaining their dominion over their ancient tributary4 ,moab lay less directly in the track of the invaders2 it was too insignificant to attract their special attention1 perhaps too prudent to provoke a contest with the lords of the ,east4 ,hence1 while ,judah was declining1 ,moab had enlarged her borders and grown in wealth and power4 ,and even as ,jeshurun kicked1 when he was waxen fat1#bba so ,moab in its prosperity was puffed up with unholy pride4 ,even in ,isaiah's time this was the besetting sin of ,moab2 he says in an indictment which ,jeremiah repeats almost word for word3-- ,we have heard of the pride of ,moab1 that he is very proud1 ,even of his arrogancy and his pride and his wrath4#bbb ,this verse is a striking example of the ,hebrew method of gaining emphasis by accumulating derivatives of the same and similar roots4 ,the verse in ,jeremiah runs thus3 ,we have heard of the pride 7,ge',,on7 of ,moab1 that he is very proud 7,,ge',,eh72 his loftiness 7,g,a,b,he,h,o71 and his pride 7,ge',,ono71 and his proudfulness 7,,ga'a,w,a,t,h,o74 ,jeremiah dwells upon this theme3-- ,moab shall be destroyed from being a people1 ,because he hath magnified himself against ,jehovah4 ,zephaniah bears like testimony#bbc3-- ,this shall they have for their pride1 ,because they have been insolent1 and have magnified themselves ,against the people of ,jehovah ,sabaoth4 ,here again the ,moabite ,stone bears abundant testimony to the justice of the prophet's accusations2 for there ,mesha tells how in the name and by the grace of ,chemosh he conquered the cities of ,israel2 and how1 anticipating ,belshazzar's sacrilege1 he took the sacred vessels of ,jehovah from ,his temple at ,nebo and consecrated them to ,chemosh4 ,truly ,moab had magnified himself against ,jehovah4 ,prosperity had produced other baleful effects beside a haughty spirit1 and pride was not the only cause of the ruin of ,moab4 ,jeremiah applies to nations the dictum of ,polonius-- ,home-keeping youths have ever homely wits1 and apparently suggests that ruin and captivity were necessary elements in the national discipline of ,moab3-- ,moab hath been undisturbed from his youth2 ,he hath settled on his lees2 ,he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel2 ,he hath not gone into captivity3 ,therefore his taste remaineth in him1 ,his scent is not changed4 ,wherefore1 behold1 the days come--it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,that ,i will send men unto him that shall tilt him up2 ,they shall empty his vessels and break his#bbd bottles4 ,as the chapter1 in its present form1 concludes with a note-- ,i will bring again the captivity of ,moab in the latter days--it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- we gather that even this rough handling was disciplinary2 at any rate1 the former lack of such vicissitudes had been to the serious detriment of ,moab4 ,it is strange that ,jeremiah did not apply this principle to ,judah4 ,for1 indeed1 the religion of ,israel and of mankind owes an incalculable debt to the captivity of ,judah1 a debt which later writers are not slow to recognise4 ,behold1 says the prophet of the ,exile1-- ,i have refined thee1 but not as silver2 ,i have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction4#bbe ,history constantly illustrates how when ,christians were undisturbed and prosperous the wine of truth settled on the lees and came to taste of the cask2 and--to change the figure--how affliction and persecution proved most effectual tonics for a debilitated ,church4 ,continental critics of modern ,england speak severely of the ill-effects which our prolonged freedom from invasion and civil war1 and the unbroken continuity of our social life have had on our national character and manners4 ,in their eyes ,england is a perfect ,moab1 concerning which they are ever ready to prophesy after the manner of ,jeremiah4 ,the ,hebrew ,chronicler blamed ,josiah because he would not listen to the advice and criticism of ,pharaoh ,necho4 ,there may be warnings which we should do well to heed1 even in the acrimony of foreign journalists4 ,but any such suggestion raises wider and more difficult issues2 for ordinary individuals and nations the discipline of calamity seems necessary4 ,what degree of moral development exempts from such discipline1 and how may it be attained8 ,christians cannot seek to compound for such discipline by self-inflicted loss or pain1 like ,polycrates casting away his ring or ,browning's ,caliban1 who in his hour of terror1 ,lo6 ',lieth flat and loveth ,setebos6 ',maketh his teeth meet through his upper lip1 ,will let those quails fly1 will not eat this month ,one little mess of whelks1 so he may 'scape4 ,but though it is easy to counsel resignation and the recognition of a wise loving ,providence in national as in personal suffering1 yet mankind longs for an end to the period of pupilage and chastisement and would fain know how it may be hastened4 ,,footnotes3 #bad ,e4g4 xlviii4 #e1 ,for by the ascent of ,luhith with continual weeping shall they go up2 for in going down of ,horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction1 is almost identical with ,isa4 xv4 #e4 ,cf4 also xlviii4 #bi-cd with ,isa4 xv4 #d1 xvi4 #f-aa4 #bae ,verse #dg with the subscription1 ,thus far is the judgment of ,moab1 is wanting in the ,,lxx4 #baf ,the exact date of the prophecy is uncertain1 but it must have been written during the reign of ,nebuchadnezzar4 #bag ,ezek4 xxv4 #i4 #bah ,some of the names1 however1 may be variants4 #bai ,josh4 xiii4 #ae-bh 7possibly on ,,je4 basis74 #bbj xlix4 #ac1 possibly this is not the ,edomite ,bozrah4 #bba ,deut4 xxxii4 #ae4 #bbb ,isa4 xvi4 #f4 #bbc ii4 #aj4 #bbd ,kautzsch1 ,giesebrecht1 with ,,lxx42 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 with ,hebrew ,text1 their bottles4 #bbe ,isa4 xlviii4 #aj4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,ammon xlix4 #a-f4 ,hath ,israel no sons8 hath he no heir8 why then doth ,moloch possess ,gad1 and his people dwell in the cities thereof8--,,jer4 xlix4 #a ,the relations of ,israel with ,ammon were similar but less intimate than they were with his twin-brother ,moab4 ,hence this prophecy is1 mutatis mutandis1 an abridgment of that concerning ,moab4 ,as ,moab was charged with magnifying himself against ,jehovah1 and was found to be occupying cities which ,reuben claimed as its inheritance1 so ,ammon had presumed to take possession of the ,gadite cities1 whose inhabitants had been carried away captive by the ,assyrians4 ,here again the prophet enumerates ,heshbon1 ,ai1 ,rabbah1 and the dependent towns1 the daughters of ,rabbah4 ,only in the territory of this half-nomadic people the cities are naturally not so numerous as in ,moab2 and ,jeremiah mentions also the fertile valleys wherein the ,ammonites gloried4 ,the familiar doom of ruin and captivity is pronounced against city and country and all the treasures of ,ammon2 ,moloch1#bbf like ,chemosh1 must go into captivity with his priests and princes4 ,this prophecy also concludes with a promise of restoration3-- ,afterward ,i will bring again the captivity of the children of ,ammon--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,,footnote3 #bbf xlix4 #c3 ,a4,v41 their king2 ,r4,v41 ,malcam1 which here and in verse #a is a form of ,moloch4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,edom xlix4 #g-bb4 ,bozrah shall become an astonishment1 a reproach1 a waste1 and a curse4--,,jer4 xlix4 #ac4 ,the prophecy concerning ,edom is not formulated along the same line as those which deal with the twin children of ,lot1 ,moab and ,ammon4 ,edom was not merely the cousin1 but the brother of ,israel4 ,his history1 his character and conduct1 had marked peculiarities1 which received special treatment4 ,edom had not only intimate relations with ,israel as a whole1 but was also bound by exceptionally close ties to the ,southern ,kingdom4 ,the ,edomite clan ,kenaz had been incorporated in the tribe of ,judah2#bbg and when ,israel broke up into two states1 ,edom was the one tributary which was retained or reconquered by the ,house of ,david1 and continued subject to ,judah till the reign of ,jehoram ben ,jehoshaphat4#bbh ,much virtuous indignation is often expressed at the wickedness of ,irishmen in contemplating rebellion against the dominion of ,england3 we cannot therefore be surprised that the ,jews resented the successful revolt of ,edom1 and regarded the hostility of ,mount ,seir to its former masters as ingratitude and treachery4 ,in moments of hot indignation against the manifold sins of ,judah ,jeremiah might have announced with great vehemence that ,judah should be made a reproach and a proverb2 but when1 as ,obadiah tells us1 the ,edomites stood gazing with eager curiosity on the destruction of ,jerusalem1 and rejoiced and exulted in the distress of the ,jews1 and even laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity1 and occupied the roads to catch fugitives and deliver them up to the ,chaldeans1#bbi then the patriotic fervour of the prophet broke out against ,edom4 ,like ,moab and ,ammon1 he was puffed up with pride1 and deluded by baseless confidence into a false security4 ,these hardy mountaineers trusted in their reckless courage and in the strength of their inaccessible mountain fastnesses4 ,men shall shudder at thy fate1#bcj the pride of thy heart hath deceived thee1 ,o thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock1 that holdest the height of the hill3 ,though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle1#bca ,i will bring thee down from thence--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,pliny speaks of the ,edomite capital as oppidum circumdatum montibus inaccessis1#bcb and doubtless the children of ,esau had often watched from their eyrie ,assyrian and ,chaldean armies on the march to plunder more defenceless victims1 and trusted that their strength1 their good fortune1 and their ancient and proverbial wisdom would still hold them scatheless4 ,their neighbours--the ,jews amongst the rest--might be plundered1 massacred1 and carried away captive1 but ,edom could look on in careless security1 and find its account in the calamities of kindred tribes4 ,if ,jerusalem was shattered by the ,chaldean tempest1 the ,edomites would play the part of wreckers4 ,but all this shrewdness was mere folly3 how could these ,solons of ,mount ,seir prove so unworthy of their reputation8 ,is wisdom no more in ,teman8 ,has counsel perished from the prudent8 ,has their wisdom vanished8 ,they thought that ,jehovah would punish ,jacob whom ,he loved1 and yet spare ,esau whom ,he hated4 ,but3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,behold1 they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink4 ,art thou he that shall go altogether unpunished8 ,thou shalt not go unpunished1 but thou shalt assuredly drink 7#ab74 ,ay1 and drink to the dregs3-- ,if grape-gatherers come to thee1 would they not leave gleanings8 ,if thieves came by night1 they would only destroy till they had enough4 ,but ,i have made ,esau bare1 ,i have stripped him stark naked2 he shall not be able to hide himself4 ,his children1 and his brethren1 and his neighbours are given up to plunder1 and there is an end of him 7#i1 #aj74 ,i have sworn by ,myself--is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,that ,bozrah shall become an astonishment1 a reproach1 a desolation1 and a curse2 ,all her cities shall become perpetual wastes4 ,i have heard tidings from ,jehovah1 and an ambassador is sent among the nations1 saying1 ,gather yourselves together and come against her1 arise to battle 7#ac1 #ad74 ,there was obviously but one leader who could lead the nations to achieve the overthrow of ,edom and lead her little ones away captive1 who could come up like a lion from the thickets of ,jordan1 or flying like an eagle and spreading his wings against ,bozrah 7#bb7--,nebuchadnezzar1 king of ,babylon1 who had come up against ,judah with all the kingdoms and peoples of his dominions4#bcc ,in this picture of chastisement and calamity1 there is one apparent touch of pitifulness3-- ,leave thine orphans1 ,i will preserve their lives2 ,let thy widows put their trust in ,me 7#aa74 ,at first sight1 at any rate1 these seem to be the words of ,jehovah4 ,all the adult males of ,edom would perish1 yet the helpless widows and orphans would not be without a protector4 ,the ,god of ,israel would watch over the lambs of ,edom1#bcd when they were dragged away into captivity4 ,we are reluctant to surrender this beautiful and touching description of a ,god1 who1 though ,he may visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation1 yet even in such judgment ever remembers mercy4 ,it is impossible1 however1 to ignore the fact that such ideas are widely different from the tone and sentiment of the rest of the section4 ,these words may be an immediate sequel to the previous verse1 ,no ,edomite survives to say to his dying brethren1 ,leave thine orphans to me1 or possibly they may be quoted1 in bitter irony1 from some message from ,edom to ,jerusalem1 inviting the ,jews to send their wives and children for safety to ,mount ,seir4 ,edom1 ungrateful and treacherous ,edom1 shall utterly perish--,edom that offered an asylum to ,jewish refugees1 and yet shared the plunder of ,jerusalem and betrayed her fugitives to the ,chaldeans4 ,there is no word of restoration4 ,moab and ,ammon and ,elam might revive and flourish again1 but for ,esau1 as of old1 there should be no place of repentance4 ,for ,edom1 in the days of the ,captivity1 trespassed upon the inheritance of ,israel more grievously than ,ammon and ,moab upon ,reuben and ,gad4 ,the ,edomites possessed themselves of the rich pastures of the south of ,judah1 and the land was thenceforth called ,idumea4 ,thus they earned the undying hatred of the ,jews1 in whose mouths ,edom became a curse and a reproach1 a term of opprobrium4 ,like ,babylon1 ,edom was used as a secret name for ,rome1 and later on for the ,christian ,church4 ,nevertheless1 even in this prophecy1 there is a hint that these predictions of utter ruin must not be taken too literally3-- ,for1 behold1 ,i will make thee small among the nations1 ,despised among men 7#ae74 ,these words are scarcely consistent with the other verses1 which imply that1 as a people1 ,edom would utterly perish from off the face of the earth4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,edom flourished in her new territory till the time of the ,maccabees1 and when the ,messiah came to establish the ,kingdom of ,god1 instead of saviours standing on ,mount ,zion to judge the ,mount of ,esau1#bce an ,edomite dynasty was reigning in ,jerusalem4 ,,footnotes3 #bbg ,cf4 the designation of ,caleb ben ,jephunneh the ,kenizzite1 ,num4 xxxii4 #ab1 etc41 with the genealogies which trace the descent of ,kenaz to ,esau1 ,gen4 xxxvi4 #aa1 etc4 ,cf4 also ,expositor's ,bible1 ,chronicles4 #bbh ,cf4 #a ,kings xxii4 #dg with #b ,kings viii4 #bj4 #bbi ,obadiah #aa-ae4 ,the difference between ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 is more apparent than real4 ,the prohibition which ,r4,v4 gives must have been based on experience4 ,the short prophecy of ,obadiah has very much in common with this section of ,jeremiah3 ,obad4 #a-f1 #h1 are almost identical with ,jer4 xlix4 #ad-af1 #i1 #aj;a1 #g4 ,the relation of the two passages is a matter of controversy1 but probably both use a common original4 ,cf4 ,driver's ,introduction on ,obadiah4 #bcj ,lit4 thy terror1 i4e4 the terror inspired by thy fate4 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 thy terribleness1 suggests that ,edom trusted in the terror felt for him by his enemies1 but we can scarcely suppose that even the fiercest highlanders expected ,nebuchadnezzar to be terrified at them4 #bca ,obad4 #d3 ,though thou set thy nest among the stars4 #bcb ,hist4 ,nat41 vi4 #bh4 ,orelli4 #bcc xxxiv4 #a4 #bcd ,verse #bj4 #bce ,obadiah #ba4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,damascus xlix4 #bc-bg4 ,i will kindle a fire in the wall of ,damascus1 and it shall devour the palaces of ,benhadad4--,,jer4 xlix4 #bg4 ,we are a little surprised to meet with a prophecy of ,jeremiah concerning ,damascus and the palaces of ,benhadad4 ,the names carry our minds back for more than a couple of centuries4 ,during ,elisha's ministry1 ,damascus and ,samaria were engaged in their long1 fierce duel for the supremacy over ,syria and ,palestine4 ,in the reign of ,ahaz these ancient rivals combined to attack ,judah1 so that ,isaiah is keenly interested in ,damascus and its fortunes4 ,but about ,b4,c4 #gde1 about a hundred and fifty years before ,jeremiah's time1 the ,assyrian king ,tiglath-,pileser#bcf overthrew the ,syrian kingdom and carried its people into captivity4 ,we know from ,ezekiel1#bcg what we might have surmised from the position and later history of ,damascus1 that this ancient city continued a wealthy commercial centre2 but ,ezekiel has no oracle concerning ,damascus1 and the other documents of the period and of later times do not mention the capital of ,benhadad4 ,its name does not even occur in ,jeremiah's exhaustive list of the countries of his world in xxv4 #ae-bf4 ,religious interest in alien races depended on their political relations with ,israel2 when the latter ceased1 the prophets had no word from ,jehovah concerning foreign nations4 ,such considerations have suggested doubts as to the authenticity of this section1 and it has been supposed that it may be a late echo of ,isaiah's utterances concerning ,damascus4 ,we know1 however1 too little of the history of the period to warrant such a conclusion4 ,damascus would continue to exist as a tributary state1 and might furnish auxiliary forces to the enemies of ,judah or join with her to conspire against ,babylon1 and would in either case attract ,jeremiah's attention4 ,moreover1 in ancient as in modern times1 commerce played its part in international politics4 ,doubtless slaves were part of the merchandise of ,damascus1 just as they were among the wares of the ,apocalyptic ,babylon4 ,joel#bch denounces ,tyre and ,zidon for selling ,jews to the ,greeks1 and the ,damascenes may have served as slave-agents to ,nebuchadnezzar and his captains1 and thus provoked the resentment of patriot ,jews4 ,so many picturesque and romantic associations cluster around ,damascus1 that this section of ,jeremiah almost strikes a jarring note4 ,we love to think of this fairest of ,oriental cities1 half as old as time1 as the ,eye of the ,east which ,mohammed refused to enter--because ,man1 he said1 can have but one paradise1 and my paradise is fixed above--and as the capital of ,noureddin and his still more famous successor ,saladin4 ,and so we regret that1 when it emerges from the obscurity of centuries into the light of ,biblical narrative1 the brief reference should suggest a disaster such as it endured in later days at the hands of the treacherous and ruthless ,tamerlane4 ,damascus hath grown feeble3 ,she turneth herself to flee2 ,trembling hath seized on her4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how is the city of praise forsaken1#bci ,the city of joy6 ,her young men shall fall in the streets1 ,all the warriors shall be put to silence in that day4 ,we are moved to sympathy with the feelings of ,hamath and ,arpad1 when they heard the evil tidings1 and were filled with sorrow1 like the sea that cannot rest4 ,yet even here this most uncompromising of prophets may teach us1 after his fashion1 wholesome though perhaps unwelcome truths4 ,we are reminded how often the mystic glamour of romance has served to veil cruelty and corruption1 and how little picturesque scenery and interesting associations can do of themselves to promote a noble life4 ,feudal castles1 with their massive grandeur1 were the strongholds of avarice and cruelty2 and ancient abbeys which1 even in decay1 are like a dream of fairyland1 were sometimes the home of abominable corruption4 ,,footnotes3 #bcf #b ,kings xvi4 #i4 #bcg ,ezek4 xxvii4 #ah4 #bch ,joel iii4 #d4 #bci ,so ,giesebrecht1 with most of the ancient versions4 ,a4,v41 ,r4,v41 with ,masoretic ,text1 not forsaken 444 my joy1 possibly meaning1 ,why did not the inhabitants forsake the doomed city8 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,kedar ,,and ,,hazor xlix4 #bh-cc4 ,concerning ,kedar1 and the kingdoms of ,hazor which ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon smote4--,,jer4 xlix4 #bh4 ,from an immemorial seat of human culture1 an eternal city which antedates ,rome by centuries1 if not millenniums1 we turn to those ,arab tribes whose national life and habits were as ancient and have been as persistent as the streets of ,damascus4 ,while ,damascus has almost always been in the forefront of history1 the ,arab tribes--except in the time of ,mohammed and the early ,caliphs--have seldom played a more important part than that of frontier marauders4 ,hence1 apart from a few casual references1 the only other passage in the ,old ,testament which deals1 at any length1 with ,kedar is the parallel prophecy of ,isaiah4 ,and yet ,kedar was the great northern tribe1 which ranged the deserts between ,palestine and the ,euphrates1 and which must have had closer relations with ,judah than most ,arab peoples4 ,the kingdoms of ,hazor are still more unknown to history4 ,there were several ,hazors in ,palestine1 besides sundry towns whose names are also derived from ,hr1 a village2 and some of these are on or beyond the southern frontier of ,judah1 in the wilderness of the ,exodus1 where we might expect to find nomad ,arabs4 ,but even these latter cities can scarcely be the ,hazor of ,jeremiah1 and the more northern are quite out of the question4 ,it is generally supposed that ,hazor here is either some ,arabian town1 or1 more probably1 a collective term for the district inhabited by ,arabs1 who lived not in tents1 but in ,hrm1 or villages4 ,this district would be in ,arabia itself1 and more distant from ,palestine than the deserts over which ,kedar roamed4 ,possibly ,isaiah's villages 7,hrm7 that ,kedar doth inhabit were to be found in the ,hazor of ,jeremiah1 and the same people were called ,kedar and ,hazor respectively according as they lived a nomad life or settled in more permanent dwellings4 ,the great warlike enterprises of ,egypt1 ,assyria1 and ,chaldea during the last centuries of the ,jewish monarchy would bring these desert horsemen into special prominence4 ,they could either further or hinder the advance of armies marching westward from ,mesopotamia1 and could command their lines of communication4 ,kedar1 and possibly ,hazor too1 would not be slack to use the opportunities of plunder presented by the calamities of the ,palestinian states4 ,hence their conspicuous position in the pages of ,isaiah and ,jeremiah4 ,as the ,assyrians1 when their power was at its height1 had chastised the aggressions of the ,arabs1 so now ,nebuchadnezzar smote ,kedar and the kingdoms of ,hazor4 ,even the wandering nomads and dwellers by distant oases in trackless deserts could not escape the sweeping activity of this scourge of ,god4 ,doubtless the ravages of ,chaldean armies might serve to punish many sins besides the wrongs they were sent to revenge4 ,the ,bedouin always had their virtues1 but the wild liberty of the desert easily degenerated into unbridled licence4 ,judah and every state bordering on the wilderness knew by painful experience how large a measure of rapine and cruelty might coexist with primitive customs1 and the ,jewish prophet gives ,nebuchadnezzar a ,divine commission as for a holy war3-- ,arise1 go up to ,kedar2 ,spoil the men of the east4 ,they 7the ,chaldeans7 shall take away their tents and flocks2 ,they shall take for themselves their tent-coverings1 ,and all their gear and their camels3 ,men shall cry concerning them1 ,terror on every side4#bdj ,then the prophet turns to the more distant ,hazor with words of warning3-- ,flee1 get you far off1 dwell in hidden recesses of the land1 ,o inhabitants of ,hazor-- ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,for ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon hath counselled a counsel and purposed a purpose against you4 ,but then1 as if this warning were a mere taunt1 he renews his address to the ,chaldeans and directs their attack against ,hazor3-- ,arise1 go up against a nation that is at ease1 that dwelleth without fear--it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,which abide alone1 without gates or bars-- like the people of ,laish before the ,danites came1 and like ,sparta before the days of ,epaminondas4 ,possibly we are to combine these successive utterances1 and to understand that it was alike ,jehovah's will that the ,chaldeans should invade and lay waste ,hazor1 and that the unfortunate inhabitants should escape--but escape plundered and impoverished3 for ,their camels shall become a spoil1 ,the multitude of their cattle a prey3 ,i will scatter to every wind them that have the corners of their hair polled2#bda ,i will bring their calamity upon them from all sides4 ,hazor shall be a haunt of jackals1 a desolation for ever3 ,no one shall dwell there1 ,no soul shall sojourn therein4 ,,footnotes3 #bdj ,magor-missabib3 cf4 xlvi4 #e4 #bda ,i4e4 cut off4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,elam xlix4 #cd-ci ,i will break the bow of ,elam1 the chief of their might4--,,jer4 xlix4 #ce4 ,we do not know what principle or absence of principle determined the arrangement of these prophecies2 but1 in any case1 these studies in ancient geography and politics present a series of dramatic contrasts4 ,from two ancient and enduring types of ,eastern life1 the city of ,damascus and the ,bedouin of the desert1 we pass to a state of an entirely different order1 only slightly connected with the international system of ,western ,asia4 ,elam contended for the palm of supremacy with ,assyria and ,babylon in the farther east1 as ,egypt did to the south-west4 ,before the time of ,abraham ,elamite kings ruled over ,chaldea1 and ,genesis xiv4 tells us how ,chedorlaomer with his subject-allies collected his tribute in ,palestine4 ,many centuries later1 the ,assyrian king ,ashur-bani-pal 7,b4,c4 #ffh-fbf7 conquered ,elam1 sacked the capital ,shushan1 and carried away many of the inhabitants into captivity4 ,according to ,ezra iv4 #i1 #aj1 ,elamites were among the mingled population whom the great and noble ,asnapper 7probably ,ashur-bani-pal7 settled in ,samaria4 ,when we begin to recall even a few of the striking facts concerning ,elam discovered in the last fifty years1 and remember that for millenniums ,elam had played the part of a first-class ,asiatic power1 we are tempted to wonder that ,jeremiah only devotes a few conventional sentences to this great nation4 ,but the prophet's interest was simply determined by the relations of ,elam with ,judah2 and1 from this point of view1 an opposite difficulty arises4 ,how came the ,jews in ,palestine in the time of ,jeremiah to have any concern with a people dwelling beyond the ,euphrates and ,tigris1 on the farther side of the ,chaldean dominions8 ,one answer to this question has already been suggested3 the ,jews may have learnt from the ,elamite colonists in ,samaria something concerning their native country2 it is also probable that ,elamite auxiliaries served in the ,chaldean armies that invaded ,judah4 ,accordingly the prophet sets forth1 in terms already familiar to us1 how ,elamite fugitives should be scattered to the four quarters of the earth and be found in every nation under heaven1 how the sword should follow them into their distant places of refuge and utterly consume them4 ,i will set ,my throne in ,elam2 ,i will destroy out of it both king and princes-- ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,in the prophecy concerning ,egypt1 ,nebuchadnezzar was to set his throne at ,tahpanhes to decide the fate of the captives2 but here ,jehovah ,himself is pictured as the triumphant and inexorable conqueror1 holding ,his court as the arbiter of life and death4 ,the vision of the great white throne was not first accorded to ,john in his ,apocalypse4 ,jeremiah's eyes were opened to see beside the tribunals of heathen conquerors the judgment-seat of a mightier ,potentate2 and his inspired utterances remind the believer that every battle may be an ,armageddon1 and that at every congress there is set a mystic throne from which the ,eternal ,king overrules the decisions of plenipotentiaries4 ,but this sentence of condemnation was not to be the final utterance of ,jehovah with regard to ,elam4 ,a day of renewed prosperity was to dawn for ,elam1 as well as for ,moab1 ,ammon1 ,egypt1 and ,judah3-- ,in the latter days ,i will bring again the captivity of ,elam-- ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,the ,apostle ,peter#bdb tells us that the prophets sought and searched diligently concerning the application of their words1 searching what time and what manner of time the ,spirit of ,christ which was in them did point unto4 ,we gather from these verses that1 as ,newton could not have foreseen all that was contained in the law of gravitation1 so the prophets often understood little of what was involved in their own inspiration4 ,we could scarcely have a better example than this prophecy affords of the knowledge of the principles of ,god's future action combined with ignorance of its circumstances and details4 ,if we may credit the current theory1 ,cyrus1 the servant of ,jehovah1 the deliverer of ,judah1 was a king of ,elam4 ,if ,jeremiah had foreseen how his prophecies of the restoration of ,elam and of ,judah would be fulfilled1 we may be sure that this utterance would not have been so brief1 its hostile tone would have been mitigated1 and the concluding sentence would not have been so cold and conventional4 ,,footnote3 #bdb #a ,peter i4 #aj1 #aa4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,babylon l41 li4 ,babylon is taken1 ,bel is confounded1 ,merodach is broken in pieces4--,,jer4 l41 #b4 ,these chapters present phenomena analogous to those of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi41 and have been very commonly ascribed to an author writing at ,babylon towards the close of the ,exile1 or even at some later date4 ,the conclusion has been arrived at in both cases by the application of the same critical principles to similar data4 ,in the present case the argument is complicated by the concluding paragraph of chapter li41 which states that ,jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon ,babylon1 even all these words that are written against ,babylon1 in the fourth year of ,zedekiah1 and gave the book to ,seraiah ben ,neriah to take to ,babylon and tie a stone to it and throw it into the ,euphrates4 ,such a statement1 however1 cuts both ways4 ,on the one hand1 we seem to have--what is wanting in the case of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4--a definite and circumstantial testimony as to authorship4 ,but1 on the other hand1 this very testimony raises new difficulties4 ,if l4 and li4 had been simply assigned to ,jeremiah1 without any specification of date1 we might possibly have accepted the tradition according to which he spent his last years at ,babylon1 and have supposed that altered1 circumstances and novel experiences account for the differences between these chapters and the rest of the book4 ,but ,zedekiah's fourth year is a point in the prophet's ministry at which it is extremely difficult to account for his having composed such a prophecy4 ,if1 however1 li4 #ei-fd is mistaken in its exact and circumstantial account of the origin of the preceding section1 we must hesitate to recognise its authority as to that section's authorship4 ,a detailed discussion of the question would be out of place here1#bdc but we may notice a few passages which illustrate the arguments for an exilic date4 ,we learn from ,jeremiah xxvii4-xxix4 that1 in the fourth year of ,zedekiah1#bdd the prophet was denouncing as false teachers those who predicted that the ,jewish captives in ,babylon would speedily return to their native land4 ,he himself asserted that judgment would not be inflicted upon ,babylon for seventy years1 and exhorted the exiles to build houses and marry1 and plant gardens1 and to pray for the peace of ,babylon4#bde ,we can hardly imagine that1 in the same breath almost1 he called upon these exiles to flee from the city of their captivity1 and summoned the neighbouring nations to execute ,jehovah's judgment against the oppressors of ,his people4 ,and yet we read3-- ,there shall come the ,israelites1 they and the ,jews together3 ,they shall weep continually1 as they go to seek ,jehovah their ,god2 ,they shall ask their way to ,zion1 with their faces hitherward#bdf 7l4 #d1 #e74 99 99 99 99 99 ,remove from the midst of ,babylon1 and be ye as he-goats before the flock 7l4 #h74 ,these verses imply that the ,jews were already in ,babylon1 and throughout the author assumes the circumstances of the ,exile4 ,the vengeance of the ,temple1 i4e4 vengeance for the destruction of the ,temple at the final capture of ,jerusalem1 is twice threatened4#bdg ,the ruin of ,babylon is described as imminent3-- ,set up a standard on the earth1 ,blow the trumpet among the nations1 ,prepare the nations against her4 ,if these words were written by ,jeremiah in the fourth year of ,zedekiah1 he certainly was not practising his own precept to pray for the peace of ,babylon4 ,various theories have been advanced to meet the difficulties which are raised by the ascription of this prophecy to ,jeremiah4 ,it may have been expanded from an authentic original4 ,or again1 li4 #ei-fd may not really refer to l4 #a-li4 #eh2 the two sections may once have existed separately1 and may owe their connection to an editor1 who met with l4 #a-li4 #eh as an anonymous document1 and thought he recognised in it the book referred to in li4 #ei-fd4 ,or again1 l4 #a-li4 #eh may be a hypothetical reconstruction of a lost prophecy of ,jeremiah2 li4 #ei-fd mentioned such a prophecy and none was extant1 and some student and disciple of ,jeremiah's school utilised the material and ideas of extant writings to supply the gap4 ,in any case1 it must have been edited more than once1 and each time with modifications4 ,some support might be obtained for any one of these theories from the fact that l4 #a-li4 #eh is prim facie partly a cento of passages from the rest of the book and from the ,book of ,isaiah4#bdh ,in view of the great uncertainty as to the origin and history of this prophecy1 we do not intend to attempt any detailed exposition4 ,elsewhere whatever non-,jeremianic matter occurs in the book is mostly by way of expansion and interpretation1 and thus lies in the direct line of the prophet's teaching4 ,but the section on ,babylon attaches itself to the new departure in religious thought that is more fully expressed in ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 ,chapters l41 li41 may possibly be ,jeremiah's swan-song1 called forth by one of those ,pisgah visions of a new dispensation sometimes granted to aged seers2 but such visions of a new era and a new order can scarcely be combined with earlier teaching4 ,we will therefore only briefly indicate the character and contents of this section4 ,it is apparently a mosaic1 complied from lost as well as extant sources2 and dwells upon a few themes with a persistent iteration of ideas and phrases hardly to be paralleled elsewhere1 even in the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,it has been reckoned#bdi that the imminence of the attack on ,babylon is introduced afresh eleven times1 and its conquest and destruction nine times4 ,the advent of an enemy from the north is announced four times4#bej ,the main theme is naturally that dwelt upon most frequently1 the imminent invasion of ,chaldea by victorious enemies who shall capture and destroy ,babylon4 ,hereafter the great city and its territory will be a waste1 howling wilderness3-- ,your mother shall be sore ashamed1 ,she that bare you shall be confounded2 ,behold1 she shall be the hindmost of the nations1 ,a wilderness1 a parched land1 and a desert4 ,because of the wrath of ,jehovah1 it shall be uninhabited2 ,the whole land shall be a desolation4 ,every one that goeth by ,babylon ,shall hiss with astonishment because of all her plagues4#bea ,the gods of ,babylon1 ,bel and ,merodach1 and all her idols1 are involved in her ruin1 and reference is made to the vanity and folly of idolatry4#beb ,but the wrath of ,jehovah has been chiefly excited1 not by false religion1 but by the wrongs inflicted by the ,chaldeans on ,his ,chosen ,people4 ,he is moved to avenge ,his ,temple#bec3-- ,i will recompense unto ,babylon ,and all the inhabitants of ,chaldea ,all the evil which they wrought in ,zion1 ,and ye shall see it--it is the utterance of ,jehovah 7li4 #bd74 ,though ,he thus avenge ,judah1 yet its former sins are not yet blotted out of the book of ,his remembrance3-- ,their adversaries said1 ,we incur no guilt1 ,because they have sinned against ,jehovah1 the ,pasture of ,justice1 ,against the ,hope of their fathers1 even ,jehovah 7l4 #g74 ,yet now there is forgiveness3-- ,the iniquity of ,israel shall be sought for1 and there shall be none2 ,and the sins of ,judah1 and they shall not be found3 ,for ,i will pardon the remnant that ,i preserve 7l4 #bj74 ,the ,jews are urged to flee from ,babylon1 lest they should be involved in its punishment1 and are encouraged to return to ,jerusalem and enter afresh into an everlasting covenant with ,jehovah4 ,as in ,jeremiah xxxi41 ,israel is to be restored as well as ,judah3-- ,i will bring ,israel again to his ,pasture3 ,he shall feed on ,carmel and ,bashan2 ,his desires shall be satisfied on the hills of ,ephraim and in ,gilead 7l4 #ai74 ,,footnotes3 #bdc ,see against the authenticity ,driver's ,introduction1 in loco2 and in support of it ,speaker's ,commentary1 ,streane 7,c4,b4,s474 ,cf4 also ,sayce1 ,higher ,criticism1 etc41 pp4 #dhd-dhf4 #bdd ,in xxvii4 #a we must read1 ,in the beginning of the reign of ,zedekiah1 not ,jehoiakim4 #bde xxix4 #d-ad4 #bdf ,hitherward seems to indicate that the writers local standpoint is that of ,palestine4 #bdg l4 #bh1 li4 #aa4 #bdh ,cf4 l4 #h1 li4 #f1 with ,isa4 xlviii4 #bj2 l4 #ac with xlix4 #ag2 l4 #da-dc with vi4 #bb-bd2 l4 #dd-df with xlix4 #ai-ba2 li4 #ae-ai with x4 #ab-af4 #bdi ,budde ap4 ,giesebrecht1 in loco4 #bej l4 #c1 #i1 li4 #da1 #dh4 #bea l4 #ab1 #ac3 cf4 l4 #ci1 #dj1 li4 #bf1 #bi1 #cg1 #da-dc4 #beb li4 #ag1 #ah4 #bec l4 #bh4 ,,book ,,iii ,,jeremiah',s ,,teaching ,,concerning ,,israel ,,and ,,judah ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,introductory ,i will be the ,god of all the families of ,israel1 and they shall be ,my people4--,,jer4 xxxi4 #a4 ,in this third book an attempt is made to present a general view of ,jeremiah's teaching on the subject with which he was most preoccupied--the political and religious fortunes of ,judah4 ,certain#bed chapters detach themselves from the rest1 and stand in no obvious connection with any special incident of the prophet's life4 ,these are the main theme of this book1 and have been dealt with in the ordinary method of detailed exposition4 ,they have been treated separately1 and not woven into the continuous narrative1 partly because we thus obtain a more adequate emphasis upon important aspects of their teaching1 but chiefly because their date and occasion cannot be certainly determined4 ,with them other sections have been associated1 on account of the connection of subject4 ,further material for a synopsis of ,jeremiah's teaching has been collected from chapters xxi4-xlix4 generally1 supplemented by brief#bee references to the previous chapters4 ,inasmuch as the prophecies of our book do not form an ordered treatise on dogmatic theology1 but were uttered with regard to individual conduct and critical events1 topics are not exclusively dealt with in a single section1 but are referred to at intervals throughout4 ,moreover1 as both the individuals and the crises were very much alike1 ideas and phrases are constantly reappearing1 so that there is an exceptionally large amount of repetition in the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,the method we have adopted avoids some of the difficulties which would arise if we attempted to deal with these doctrines in our continuous exposition4 ,our general sketch of the prophet's teaching is naturally arranged under categories suggested by the book itself1 and not according to the sections of a modern treatise on ,systematic ,theology4 ,no doubt much may legitimately be extracted or deduced concerning ,anthropology1 ,soteriology1 and the like2 but true proportion is as important in exposition as accurate interpretation4 ,if we wish to understand ,jeremiah1 we must be content to dwell longest upon what he emphasised most1 and to adopt the standpoint of time and race which was his own4 ,accordingly in our treatment we have followed the cycle of sin1 punishment1 and restoration1 so familiar to students of ,hebrew prophecy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,note ,,some ,,characteristic ,,expressions ,,of ,,jeremiah ,this note is added partly for convenience of reference1 and partly to illustrate the repetition just mentioned as characteristic of ,jeremiah4 ,the instances are chosen from expressions occurring in chapters xxi4-lii4 ,the reader will find fuller lists dealing with the whole book in the ,speaker's ,commentary and the ,cambridge ,bible for ,schools and ,colleges4 ,the ,hebrew student is referred to the list in ,driver's ,introduction1 upon which the following is partly based4 #a4 ,rising up early3 vii4 #ac1 #be2 xi4 #g2 xxv4 #c1 #d2 xxvi4 #e2 xxix4 #ai2 xxxii4 #cc2 xxxv4 #ad1 #ae2 xliv4 #d4 ,this phrase1 familiar to us in the narratives of ,genesis and in the historical books1 is used here1 as in #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #ae1 of ,god addressing ,his people on sending the prophets4 #b4 ,stubbornness of heart 7,a4,v4 imagination of heart73 iii4 #ag2 vii4 #bd2 ix4 #ad2 xi4 #h2 xiii4 #aj2 xvi4 #ab2 xviii4 #ab2 xxiii4 #ag2 also found ,deut4 xxix4 #ai and ,ps4 lxxxi4 #ae4 #c4 ,the evil of your doings3 iv4 #d2 xxi4 #ab2 xxiii4 #b1 #bb2 xxv4 #e2 xxvi4 #c2 xliv4 #bb2 also ,deut4 xxviii4 #bj2 #a ,sam4 xxv4 #c2 ,isa4 i4 #af2 ,hos4 ix4 #ae2 ,ps4 xxviii4 #d2 and in slightly different form in xi4 #ah and ,zech4 i4 #d4 ,the fruit of your doings3 xvii4 #aj2 xxi4 #ad2 xxxii4 #ai2 also found in ,micah vii4 #ac4 ,doings1 your doings1 etc41 are also found in ,jeremiah and elsewhere4 #d4 ,the sword1 the pestilence1 and the famine1 in various orders1 and either as a phrase or each word occurring in one of three successive clauses3 xiv4 #ab2 xv4 #b2 xxi4 #g1 #i2 xxiv4 #aj2 xxvii4 #h1 #ac2 xxix4 #ag1 #ah2 xxxii4 #bd1 #cf2 xxxiv4 #ag2 xxxviii4 #b2 xlii4 #ag1 #bb2 xliv4 #ac4 ,the sword and the famine1 with similar variations3 v4 #ab2 xi4 #bb2 xiv4 #ac1 #ae1 #af1 #ah2 xvi4 #d2 xviii4 #ba2 xlii4 #af2 xliv4 #ab1 #ah1 #bg4 ,cf4 similar lists1 etc41 death 444 sword 444 captivity in xliii4 #aa2 war 444 evil 444 pestilence1 xxviii4 #h4 #e4 ,kings 444 princes 444 priests 444 prophets1 in various orders and combinations3 ii4 #bf2 iv4 #i2 viii4 #a2 xiii4 #ac2 xxiv4 #h2 xxxii4 #cb4 ,cf4 ,prophet 444 priest 444 people1 xxiii4 #cc1 #cd4 ,prophets 444 divines 444 dreamers 444 enchanters 444 sorcerers1 xxvii4 #i4 ,,footnotes3 #bed xxx41 xxxi41 and1 in part1 xxxiii4 #bee ,brief1 in order not to trespass more than is absolutely necessary upon the ground covered by the previous ,expositor's ,bible volume on ,jeremiah4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,social ,,and ,,religious ,,corruption ,very bad figs1 444 too bad to be eaten4--,,jer4 xxiv4 #b1 #h1 xxix4 #ag4 ,prophets and preachers have taken the ,israelites for ,god's helots1 as if the ,chosen ,people had been made drunk with the cup of the ,lord's indignation1 in order that they might be held up as a warning to ,his more favoured children throughout after ages4 ,they seem depicted as sinners above all men1 that by this supreme warning the heirs of a better covenant may be kept in the path of righteousness4 ,their sin is no mere inference from the long tragedy of their national history1 because they have suffered such things2 their own prophets and their own ,messiah testify continually against them4 ,religious thought has always singled out ,jeremiah as the most conspicuous and uncompromising witness to the sins of his people4 ,one chief feature of his mission was to declare ,god's condemnation of ancient ,judah4 ,jeremiah watched and shared the prolonged agony and overwhelming catastrophes of the last days of the ,jewish monarchy1 and ever and anon raised his voice to declare that his fellow-countrymen suffered1 not as martyrs1 but as criminals4 ,he was like the herald who accompanies a condemned man on the way to execution1 and proclaims his crime to the spectators4 ,what were these crimes8 ,how was ,jerusalem a sink of iniquity1 an ,augean stable1 only to be cleansed by turning through it the floods of ,divine chastisement8 ,the annalists of ,egypt and ,chaldea show no interest in the morality of ,judah2 but there is no reason to believe that they regarded ,jerusalem as more depraved than ,tyre1 or ,babylon1 or ,memphis4 ,if a citizen of one of these capitals of the ,east visited the city of ,david he might miss something of accustomed culture1 and might have occasion to complain of the inferiority of local police arrangements1 but he would be as little conscious of any extraordinary wickedness in the city as a ,parisian would in ,london4 ,indeed1 if an ,english ,christian familiar with the ,east of the nineteenth century could be transported to ,jerusalem under ,king ,zedekiah1 in all probability its moral condition would not affect him very differently from that of ,cabul or ,ispahan4 ,when we seek to learn from ,jeremiah wherein the guilt of ,judah lay1 his answer is neither clear nor full3 he does not gather up her sins into any complete and detailed indictment2 we are obliged to avail ourselves of casual references scattered through his prophecies4 ,for the most part ,jeremiah speaks in general terms2 a precise and exhaustive catalogue of current vices would have seemed too familiar and commonplace for the written record4 ,the corruption of ,judah is summed up by ,jeremiah in the phrase the evil of your doings1#bef and her punishment is described in a corresponding phrase as the fruit of your doings1 or as coming upon her because of the evil of your doings4 ,the original of doings is a peculiar word#beg occurring most frequently in ,jeremiah1 and the phrases are very common in ,jeremiah1 and hardly occur at all elsewhere4 ,the constant reiteration of this melancholy refrain is an eloquent symbol of ,jehovah's sweeping condemnation4 ,in the total depravity of ,judah1 no special sin1 no one group of sins1 stood out from the rest4 ,their doings were evil altogether4 ,the picture suggested by the scattered hints as to the character of these evil doings is such as might be drawn of almost any ,eastern state in its darker days4 ,the arbitrary hand of the government is illustrated by ,jeremiah's own experience of the bastinado#beh and the dungeon1#bei and by the execution of ,uriah ben ,shemaiah4#bfj ,the rights of less important personages were not likely to be more scrupulously respected4 ,the reproach of shedding innocent blood is more than once made against the people and their rulers2#bfa and the more general charge of oppression occurs still more frequently4#bfb ,the motive for both these crimes was naturally covetousness2#bfc as usual1 they were specially directed against the helpless1 the poor1#bfd the stranger1 the fatherless1 and the widow2 and the machinery of oppression was ready to hand in venal judges and rulers4 ,upon occasion1 however1 recourse was had to open violence--men could steal and murder1 as well as swear falsely2#bfe they lived in an atmosphere of falsehood1 they walked in a lie4#bff ,indeed the word lie is one of the keynotes of these prophecies4#bfg ,the last days of the monarchy offered special temptations to such vices4 ,social wreckers reaped an unhallowed harvest in these stormy times4 ,revolutions were frequent1 and each in its turn meant fresh plunder for unscrupulous partisans4 ,flattery and treachery could always find a market in the court of the suzerain or the camp of the invader4 ,naturally1 amidst this general demoralisation1 the life of the family did not remain untouched3 the land was full of adulterers4#bfh ,zedekiah and ,ahab1 the false prophets at ,babylon1 are accused of having committed adultery with their neighbours' wives4#bfi ,in these passages adultery can scarcely be a figure for idolatry2 and even if it is1 idolatry always involved immoral ritual4 ,in accordance with the general teaching of the ,old ,testament1 ,jeremiah traces the roots of the people's depravity to a certain moral stupidity2 they are a foolish people1 without understanding1 who1 like the idols in ,psalm cxv4 #e1 #f1 have eyes and see not and have ears and hear not4#bgj ,in keeping with their stupidity was an unconsciousness of guilt which even rose into proud self-righteousness4 ,they could still come with pious fervour to worship in the temple of ,jehovah and to claim the protection of its inviolable sanctity4 ,they could still assail ,jeremiah with righteous indignation because he announced the coming destruction of the place where ,jehovah had chosen to set ,his name4#bga ,they said that they had no sin1 and met the prophet's rebukes with protests of conscious innocence3 ,wherefore hath ,jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us8 or what is our iniquity8 or what is our sin that we have committed against ,jehovah our ,god8#bgb ,when the public conscience condoned alike the abuse of the forms of law and its direct violation1 actual legal rights would be strained to the utmost against debtors1 hired labourers1 and slaves4 ,in their extremity1 the princes and people of ,judah sought to propitiate the anger of ,jehovah by emancipating their ,hebrew slaves2 when the immediate danger had passed away for a time1 they revoked the emancipation4#bgc ,the form of their submission to ,jehovah reveals their consciousness that their deepest sin lay in their behaviour to their helpless dependents4 ,this prompt repudiation of a most solemn covenant illustrated afresh their callous indifference to the well-being of their inferiors4 ,the depravity of ,judah was not only total1 it was also universal4 ,in the older histories we read how ,achan's single act of covetousness involved the whole people in misfortune1 and how the treachery of the bloody house of ,saul brought three years' famine upon the land2 but now the sins of individuals and classes were merged in the general corruption4 ,jeremiah dwells with characteristic reiteration of idea and phrase upon this melancholy truth4 ,again and again he enumerates the different classes of the community3 kings1 princes1 priests1 prophets1 men of ,judah and inhabitants of ,jerusalem4 ,they had all done evil and provoked ,jehovah to anger2 they were all to share the same punishment4#bgd ,they were all arch-rebels1 given to slander2 nothing but base metal2#bge corrupters1 every one of them4#bgf ,the universal extent of total depravity is most forcibly expressed when ,zedekiah with his court and people are summarily described as a basket of very bad figs1 too bad to be eaten4 ,the dark picture of ,israel's corruption is not yet complete--,israel's corruption1 for now the prophet is no longer exclusively concerned with ,judah4 ,the sin of these last days is no new thing2 it is as old as the ,israelite occupation of ,jerusalem4 ,this city hath been to ,me a provocation of ,my anger and of ,my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day2 from the earliest days of ,israel's national existence1 from the time of ,moses and the ,exodus1 the people have been given over to iniquity4 ,the children of ,israel and the children of ,judah have done nothing but evil before ,me from their youth up4#bgg ,thus we see at last that ,jeremiah's teaching concerning the sin of ,judah can be summed up in one brief and comprehensive proposition4 ,throughout their whole history all classes of the community have been wholly given over to every kind of wickedness4 ,this gloomy estimate of ,god's ,chosen ,people is substantially confirmed by the prophets of the later monarchy1 from ,amos and ,hosea onwards4 ,hosea speaks of ,israel in terms as sweeping as those of ,jeremiah4 ,hear the word of ,jehovah1 ye children of ,israel2 for ,jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land1 because there is no truth1 nor mercy1 nor knowledge of ,god in the land4 ,swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery1 they cast off all restraint1 and blood toucheth blood4#bgh ,as a prophet of the ,northern ,kingdom1 ,hosea is mainly concerned with his own country1 but his casual references to ,judah include her in the same condemnation4#bgi ,amos again condemns both ,israel and ,judah3 ,judah1 because they have despised the law of ,jehovah1 and have not kept ,his commandments1 and their lies caused them to err1 after the which their fathers walked2 ,israel1 because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes1 and pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor and turn aside the way of the meek4#bhj ,the first chapter of ,isaiah is in a similar strain3 ,israel is a sinful nation1 a people laden with iniquity1 a seed of evil-doers2 the whole head is sick1 the whole heart faint4 ,from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it1 but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores4 ,according to ,micah1 ,zion is built up with blood and ,jerusalem with iniquity4 ,the heads thereof judge for reward1 and the priests thereof teach for hire1 and the prophets thereof divine for money4#bha ,jeremiah's older and younger contemporaries1 ,zephaniah and ,ezekiel1 alike confirm his testimony4 ,in the spirit and even the style afterwards used by ,jeremiah1 ,zephaniah enumerates the sins of the nobles and teachers of ,jerusalem4 ,her princes within her are roaring lions2 her judges are evening wolves4444 ,her prophets are light and treacherous persons3 her priests have polluted the sanctuary1 they have done violence to the law4#bhb ,ezekiel xx4 traces the defections of ,israel from the sojourn in ,egypt to the ,captivity4 ,elsewhere ,ezekiel says that the land is full of bloody crimes1 and the city is full of violence2#bhc and in xxii4 #bc-ca he catalogues the sins of priests1 princes1 prophets1 and people1 and proclaims that ,jehovah sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge1 and stand in the gap before ,me for the land1 that ,i should not destroy it3 but ,i found none4 ,we have now fairly before us the teaching of ,jeremiah and the other prophets as to the condition of ,judah3 the passages quoted or referred to represent its general tone and attitude2 it remains to estimate its significance4 ,we should naturally suppose that such sweeping statements as to the total depravity of the whole people throughout all their history were not intended to be interpreted as exact mathematical formul4 ,and the prophets themselves state or imply qualifications4 ,isaiah insists upon the existence of a righteous remnant4 ,when ,jeremiah speaks of ,zedekiah and his subjects as a basket of very bad figs1 he also speaks of the ,jews who had already gone into captivity as a basket of very good figs4 ,the mere fact of going into captivity can hardly have accomplished an immediate and wholesale conversion4 ,the good figs among the captives were presumably good before they went into exile4 ,jeremiah's general statements that they were all arch-rebels do not therefore preclude the existence of righteous men in the community4 ,similarly1 when he tells us that the city and people have always been given over to iniquity1 ,jeremiah is not ignorant of ,moses and ,joshua1 ,david and ,solomon1 and the kings who did right in the eyes of ,jehovah2 nor does he intend to contradict the familiar accounts of ancient history4 ,on the other hand1 the universality which the prophets ascribe to the corruption of their people is no mere figure of rhetoric1 and yet it is by no means incompatible with the view that ,jerusalem1 in its worst days1 was not more conspicuously wicked than ,babylon or ,tyre2 or even1 allowing for the altered circumstances of the times1 than ,london or ,paris4 ,it would never have occurred to ,jeremiah to apply the average morality of ,gentile cities as a standard by which to judge ,jerusalem2 and ,christian readers of the ,old ,testament have caught something of the old prophetic spirit4 ,the very introduction into the present context of any comparison between ,jerusalem and ,babylon may seem to have a certain flavour of irreverence4 ,we perceive with the prophets that the ,city of ,jehovah and the cities of the ,gentiles must be placed in different categories4 ,the popular modern explanation is that heathenism was so utterly abominable that ,jerusalem at its worst was still vastly superior to ,nineveh or ,tyre4 ,however exaggerated such views may be1 they still contain an element of truth2 but ,jeremiah's estimate of the moral condition of ,judah was based on entirely different ideas4 ,his standards were not relative but absolute1 not practical but ideal4 ,his principles were the very antithesis of the tacit ignoring of difficult and unusual duties1 the convenient and somewhat shabby compromise represented by the modern word respectable4 ,israel was to be judged by its relation to ,jehovah's purpose for ,his people4 ,jehovah had called them out of ,egypt1 and delivered them from a thousand dangers4 ,he had raised up for them judges and kings1 ,moses1 ,david1 and ,isaiah4 ,he had spoken to them by ,torah and by prophecy4 ,this peculiar munificence of ,providence and ,revelation was not meant to produce a people only better by some small percentage than their heathen neighbours4 ,the comparison between ,israel and its neighbours would no doubt be much more favourable under ,david than under ,zedekiah1 but even then the outcome of ,mosaic religion as practically embodied in the national life was utterly unworthy of the ,divine ideal2 to have described the ,israel of ,david or the ,judah of ,hezekiah as ,jehovah's specially cherished possession1 a kingdom of priests and a holy nation1#bhd would have seemed a ghastly irony even to the sons of ,zeruiah1 far more to ,nathan1 ,gad1 or ,isaiah4 ,nor had any class1 as a class1 been wholly true to ,jehovah at any period of the history4 ,if for any considerable time the numerous order of professional prophets had had a single eye to the glory of ,jehovah1 the fortunes of ,israel would have been altogether different1 and where prophets failed1 priests and princes and common people were not likely to succeed4 ,hence1 judged as citizens of ,god's ,kingdom on earth1 the ,israelites were corrupt in every faculty of their nature3 as masters and servants1 as rulers and subjects1 as priests1 prophets1 and worshippers of ,jehovah1 they succumbed to selfishness and cowardice1 and perpetrated the ordinary crimes and vices of ancient ,eastern life4 ,the reader is perhaps tempted to ask3 ,is this all that is meant by the fierce and impassioned denunciations of ,jeremiah8 ,not quite all4 ,jeremiah had had the mortification of seeing the great religious revival under ,josiah spend itself1 apparently in vain1 against the ingrained corruption of the people4 ,the reaction1 as under ,manasseh1 had accentuated the worst features of the national life4 ,at the same time the constant distress and dismay caused by disastrous invasions tended to general licence and anarchy4 ,a long period of decadence reached its nadir4 ,but these are mere matters of degree and detail2 the main thing for ,jeremiah was not that ,judah had become worse1 but that it had failed to become better4 ,one great period of ,israel's probation was finally closed4 ,the kingdom had served its purpose in the ,divine ,providence2 but it was impossible to hope any longer that the ,jewish monarchy was to prove the earthly embodiment of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,there was no prospect of ,judah attaining a social order appreciably better than that of the surrounding nations4 ,jehovah and ,his ,revelation would be disgraced by any further association with the ,jewish state4 ,certain schools of socialists bring a similar charge against the modern social order2 that it is not a ,kingdom of ,god upon earth is sufficiently obvious2 and they assert that our social system has become stereotyped on lines that exclude and resist progress towards any higher ideal4 ,now it is certainly true that every great civilisation hitherto has grown old and obsolete2 if ,christian society is to establish its right to abide permanently1 it must show itself something more than an improved edition of the ,athens of ,pericles or the ,empire of the ,antonines4 ,all will agree that ,christendom falls sadly short of its ideal1 and therefore we may seek to gather instruction from ,jeremiah's judgment on the shortcomings of ,judah4 ,jeremiah specially emphasises the universality of corruption in individual character1 in all classes of society and throughout the whole duration of history4 ,similarly we have to recognise that prevalent social and moral evils lower the general tone of individual character4 ,moral faculties are not set apart in watertight compartments4 ,whosoever shall keep the whole law1 and yet offend in one point1 is guilty of all1 is no mere forensic principle4 ,the one offence impairs the earnestness and sincerity with which a man keeps the rest of the law1 even though there may be no obvious lapse4 ,there are moral surrenders made to the practical exigencies of commercial1 social1 political1 and ecclesiastical life4 ,probably we should be startled and dismayed if we understood the consequent sacrifice of individual character4 ,we might also learn from the prophet that the responsibility for our social evils rests with all classes4 ,time was when the lower classes were plentifully lectured as the chief authors of public troubles2 now it is the turn of the capitalist1 the parson1 and the landlord4 ,the former policy had no very marked success1 possibly the new method may not fare better4 ,wealth and influence imply opportunity and responsibility which do not belong to the poor and feeble2 but power is by no means confined to the privileged classes2 and the energy1 ability1 and self-denial embodied in the great ,trades ,unions have sometimes shown themselves as cruel and selfish towards the weak and destitute as any association of capitalists4 ,a necessary preliminary to social amendment is a ,general ,confession by each class of its own sins4 ,finally1 the ,divine ,spirit had taught ,jeremiah that ,israel had always been sadly imperfect4 ,he did not deny ,divine ,providence and human hope by teaching that the ,golden ,age lay in the past1 that the ,kingdom of ,god had been realised and allowed to perish4 ,he was under no foolish delusion as to the good old times2 in his most despondent moods he was not given over to wistful reminiscence4 ,his example may help us not to become discouraged through exaggerated ideas about the attainments of past generations4 ,in considering modern life it may seem that we pass to an altogether different quality of evil to that denounced by ,jeremiah1 that we have lost sight of anything that could justify his fierce indignation1 and thus that we fail in appreciating his character and message4 ,any such illusion may be corrected by a glance at the statistics of congested town districts1 sweated industries1 and prostitution4 ,a social reformer1 living in contact with these evils1 may be apt to think ,jeremiah's denunciations specially adapted to the society which tolerates them with almost unruffled complacency4 ,,footnotes3 #bef ,characteristic ,expressions 7#a71 p4 #bfi4 #beg 4 #beh xx4 #b1 xxxvii4 #ae4 #bei xxxvii41 xxxviii4 #bfj xxvi4 #bj-bd4 #bfa ii4 #cd1 xix4 #d1 xxii4 #ag4 #bfb v4 #be1 vi4 #f1 vii4 #e4 #bfc vi4 #ac4 #bfd ii4 #cd4 #bfe vii4 #e-i4 #bff xxiii4 #ad4 #bfg ,characteristic ,expressions 7#b71 p4 #bfi4 #bfh xxiii4 #aj1 #ad4 #bfi xxix4 #bc4 #bgj v4 #ba1 quoted by ,ezekiel1 xii4 #b4 ,the verse is also the foundation of the description of ,israel as the blind people that have eyes1 and the deaf that have ears1 in ,isa4 xlii4 #ah ff41 xliii4 #h4 ,cf4 ,giesebrecht on ,jer4 v4 #ba4 #bga vii41 xxvi4 #bgb xvi4 #aj4 #bgc xxxiv4 #bgd xxxii4 #bf-ce3 cf4 p4 #bfi1 ,characteristic ,expressions 7#c74 #bge ,literally copper and iron4 #bgf vi4 #bh4 #bgg xxxii4 #bf-ce4 #bgh ,hosea iv4 #a1 #b2 also ,hosea's general picture of the kingdom of ,samaria4 #bgi ,the ,a4,v4 translation of xi4 #ab 7,judah yet ruleth with ,god1 and is faithful with the saints7 must be set aside4 ,the sense is obscure and the text doubtful4 #bhj ,amos ii4 #d-h4 #bha ,micah iii4 #aj1 #aa4 #bhb ,zeph4 iii4 #c1 #d4 #bhc ,ezek4 vii4 #bc3 cf4 vii4 #i1 xxii4 #a-ab4 #bhd ,exod4 xix4 #f4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,persistent ,,apostasy ,they have forsaken the covenant of ,jehovah their ,god1 and worshipped other gods1 and served them4--,,jer4 xxii4 #i4 ,every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his heart4--,,jer4 xxiii4 #ag4 ,the previous chapter has been intentionally confined1 as far as possible1 to ,jeremiah's teaching upon the moral condition of ,judah4 ,religion1 in the narrower sense1 was kept in the background1 and mainly referred to as a social and political influence4 ,in the same way the priests and prophets were mentioned chiefly as classes of notables--estates of the realm4 ,this method corresponds with a stage in the process of ,revelation2 it is that of the older prophets4 ,hosea1 as a native of the ,northern ,kingdom1 may have had a fuller experience and clearer understanding of religious corruption than his contemporaries in ,judah4 ,but1 in spite of the stress that he lays upon idolatry and the various corruptions of worship1 many sections of his book simply deal with social evils4 ,we are not explicitly told why the prophet was a fool and a snare of a fowler1 but the immediate context refers to the abominable immorality of ,gibeah4#bhe ,the priests are not reproached with incorrect ritual1 but with conspiracy to murder4#bhf ,in ,amos1 the land is not so much punished on account of corrupt worship1 as the sanctuaries are destroyed because the people are given over to murder1 oppression1 and every form of vice4 ,in ,isaiah again the main stress is constantly upon international politics and public and private morality4#bhg ,for instance1 none of the woes in v4 #h-bd are directed against idolatry or corrupt worship1 and in xxviii4 #g the charge brought against ,ephraim does not refer to ecclesiastical matters2 they have erred through strong drink4 ,in ,jeremiah's treatment of the ruin of ,judah1 he insists1 as ,hosea had done as regards ,israel1 on the fatal consequences of apostasy from ,jehovah to other gods4 ,this very phrase other gods is one of ,jeremiah's favourite expressions1 and in the writings of the other prophets only occurs in ,hosea iii4 #a4 ,on the other hand1 references to idols are extremely rare in ,jeremiah4 ,these facts suggest a special difficulty in discussing the apostasy of ,judah4 ,the ,jews often combined the worship of other gods with that of ,jehovah4 ,according to the analogy of other nations1 it was quite possible to worship ,baal and ,ashtaroth1 and the whole heathen ,pantheon1 without intending to show any special disrespect to the national ,deity4 ,even devout worshippers1 who confined their adorations to the one true ,god1 sometimes thought they did honour to ,him by introducing into ,his services the images and all the paraphernalia of the splendid cults of the great heathen empires4 ,it is not always easy to determine whether statements about idolatry imply formal apostasy from ,jehovah1 or merely a debased worship4 ,when the early ,mohammedans spoke with lofty contempt of image-worshippers1 they were referring to the ,eastern ,christians2 the iconoclast heretics denounced the idolatry of the ,orthodox ,church1 and the ,covenanters used similar terms as to prelacy4 ,ignorant modern ,jews are sometimes taught that ,christians worship idols4 ,hence when we read of the ,jews1 ,they set their abominations in the house which is called by ,my name1 to defile it1 we are not to understand that the ,temple was transferred from ,jehovah to some other deities1 but that the corrupt practices and symbols of heathen worship were combined with the ,mosaic ritual4 ,even the high places of ,baal1 in the ,valley of ,ben-,hinnom1 where children were passed through the fire unto ,moloch1 professed to offer an opportunity of supreme devotion to the ,god of ,israel4 ,baal and ,melech1 ,lord and ,king1 had in ancient times been amongst ,his titles2 and when they became associated with the more heathenish modes of worship1 their misguided devotees still claimed that they were doing homage to the national ,deity4 ,the inhuman sacrifices to ,moloch were offered in obedience to sacred tradition and ,divine oracles1 which were supposed to emanate from ,jehovah4 ,in three different places1 ,jeremiah explicitly and emphatically denies that ,jehovah had required or sanctioned these sacrifices3 ,i commanded them not1 neither came it into ,my mind1 that they should do this abomination1 to cause ,judah to sin4#bhh ,the ,pentateuch preserves an ancient ordinance which the ,moloch-worshippers probably interpreted in support of their unholy rites1 and ,jeremiah's protests are partly directed against the misinterpretation of the command the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give ,me4 ,the immediate context also commanded that the firstlings of sheep and oxen should be given to ,jehovah4 ,the beasts were killed2 must it not be intended that the children should be killed too8#bhi ,a similar blind literalism has been responsible for many of the follies and crimes perpetrated in the name of ,christ4 ,the ,church is apt to justify its most flagrant enormities by appealing to a misused and misinterpreted ,old ,testament4 ,thou shalt not suffer a witch to live and ,cursed be ,canaan have been proof-texts for witch-hunting and negro-slavery2 and the book of ,joshua has been regarded as a ,divine charter1 authorising the unrestrained indulgence of the passion for revenge and blood4 ,when it was thus necessary to put on record reiterated denials that inhuman rites of ,baal and ,moloch were a divinely sanctioned adoration of ,jehovah1 we can understand that the ,baal-worship constantly referred to by ,hosea1 ,jeremiah1 and ,zephaniah#bij was not generally understood to be apostasy4 ,the worship of other gods1 the sun1 the moon1 and all the host of heaven1#bia and of the ,queen of ,heaven1 would be more difficult to explain as mere syncretism1 but the assimilation of ,jewish worship to heathen ritual and the confusion of the ,divine ,name with the titles of heathen deities masked the transition from the religion of ,moses and ,isaiah to utter apostasy4 ,such assimilation and confusion perplexed and baffled the prophets4#bib ,social and moral wrongdoing were easily exposed and denounced2 and the evils thus brought to light were obvious symptoms of serious spiritual disease4 ,the ,divine ,spirit taught the prophets that sin was often most rampant in those who professed the greatest devotion to ,jehovah and were most punctual and munificent in the discharge of external religious duties4 ,when the prophecy in ,isaiah i4 was uttered it almost seemed as if the whole system of ,mosaic ritual would have to be sacrificed1 in order to preserve the religion of ,jehovah4 ,but the further development of the disease suggested a less heroic remedy4 ,the passion for external rites did not confine itself to the traditional forms of ancient ,israelite worship4 ,the practices of unspiritual and immoral ritualism were associated specially with the names of ,baal and ,moloch and with the adoration of the host of heaven2 and the departure from the true worship became obvious when the deities of foreign nations were openly worshipped4 ,jeremiah clearly and constantly insisted on the distinction between the true and the corrupt worship4 ,the worship paid to ,baal and ,moloch was altogether unacceptable to ,jehovah4 ,these and other objects of adoration were not to be regarded as forms1 titles1 or manifestations of the one ,god1 but were other gods1 distinct and opposed in nature and attributes2 in serving them the ,jews were forsaking ,him4 ,so far from recognising such rites as homage paid to ,jehovah1 ,jeremiah follows ,hosea in calling them backsliding1#bic a falling away from true loyalty4 ,when they addressed themselves to their idols1 even if they consecrated them in the ,temple and to the glory of the ,most ,high1 they were not really looking to ,him in reverent supplication1 but with impious profanity were turning their backs upon ,him3 ,they have turned unto ,me the back1 and not the face4#bid ,these proceedings were a violation of the covenant between ,jehovah and ,israel4#bie ,the same anxiety to discriminate the true religion from spurious imitations and adulterations underlies the stress which ,jeremiah lays upon the ,divine ,name4 ,his favourite formula1 ,jehovah ,sabaoth is ,his name1#bif may be borrowed from ,amos1 or may be an ancient liturgical sentence2 in any case1 its use would be a convenient protest against the doctrine that ,jehovah could be worshipped under the names of and after the manner of ,baal and ,moloch4 ,when ,jehovah speaks of the people forgetting ,my name1 ,he does not mean either that the people would forget all about ,him1 or would cease to use the name ,jehovah2 but that they would forget the character and attributes1 the purposes and ordinances1 which were properly expressed by ,his ,name4 ,the prophets who prophesy lies in ,my name cause ,my people to forget ,my name4#big ,baal and ,moloch had sunk into fit titles for a god who could be worshipped with cruel1 obscene1 and idolatrous rites1 but the religion of ,revelation had been for ever associated with the one sacred ,name1 when ,elohim said unto ,moses1 ,thou shalt say unto the ,israelites3 ,jehovah1 the ,god of your fathers1 the ,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of ,jacob1 hath sent me unto you3 this is ,my name for ever1 and this is ,my memorial unto all generations4 ,all religious life and practice inconsistent with this ,revelation given through ,moses and the prophets--all such worship1 even if offered to beings which1 as ,jehovah1 sat in the ,temple of ,jehovah1 professing to be ,jehovah--were nevertheless service and obedience paid to other and false gods4 ,jeremiah's mission was to hammer these truths into dull and unwilling minds4 ,his work seems to have been successful4 ,ezekiel1 who is in a measure his disciple1#bih drops the phrase other gods1 and mentions idols very frequently4#bii ,argument and explanation were no longer necessary to show that idolatry was sin against ,jehovah2 the word idol could be freely used and universally understood as indicating what was wholly alien to the religion of ,israel4#cjj ,jeremiah was too anxious to convince the ,jews that all syncretism was apostasy to distinguish it carefully from the avowed neglect of ,jehovah for other gods4 ,it is not even clear that such neglect existed in his day4 ,in chap4 xliv4 we have one detailed account of false worship to the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,it was offered by the ,jewish refugees in ,egypt2 shortly before1 these refugees had unanimously entreated ,jeremiah to pray for them to ,jehovah1 and had promised to obey ,his commands4 ,the punishment of their false worship was that they should no longer be permitted to name the ,holy ,name4 ,clearly1 therefore1 they had supposed that offering incense to the ,queen of ,heaven was not inconsistent with worshipping ,jehovah4 ,we need not dwell on a distinction which is largely ignored by ,jeremiah2 the apostasy of ,judah was real and widespread1 it matters little how far the delinquents ventured to throw off the cloak of orthodox profession4#cja ,the most lapsed masses in a ,christian country do not utterly break their connection with the ,church2 they consider themselves legitimate recipients of its alms1 and dimly contemplate as a vague and distant possibility the reformation of their life and character through ,christianity4 ,so the blindest worshippers of stocks and stones claimed a vested interest in the national ,deity1 and in the time of their trouble they turned to ,jehovah with the appeal ,arise and save us4#cjb ,jeremiah also dwells on the deliberate and persistent character of the apostasy of ,judah4 ,nations have often experienced a sort of satanic revival when the fountains of the nether deep seemed broken up1 and flood-tides of evil influence swept all before them4 ,such1 in a measure1 was the reaction from the ,puritan ,commonwealth1 when so much of ,english society lapsed into reckless dissipation4 ,such too was the carnival of wickedness into which the ,first ,french ,republic was plunged in the ,reign of ,terror4 ,but these periods were transient1 and the domination of lust and cruelty soon broke down before the reassertion of an outraged national conscience4 ,but we noticed1 in the previous chapter1 that ,israel and ,judah alike steadily failed to attain the high social ideal of the ,mosaic dispensation4 ,naturally1 this continuous failure is associated with persistent apostasy from true religious teaching of the ,mosaic and prophetic ,revelation4 ,exodus1 ,deuteronomy and the ,chronicler agree with ,jeremiah that the ,israelites were a stiff-necked people2#cjc and1 in the ,chronicler's time at any rate1 ,israel had played a part in the world long enough for its character to be accurately ascertained2 and subsequent history has shown that1 for good or for evil1 the ,jews have never lacked tenacity4 ,syncretism1 the tendency to adulterate true teaching and worship with elements from heathen sources1 had been all along a morbid affection of ,israelite religion4 ,the ,pentateuch and the historical books are full of rebukes of the ,israelite passion for idolatry1 which must for the most part be understood as introduced into or associated with the worship of ,jehovah4 ,jeremiah constantly refers to the stubbornness of their evil heart3#cjd they 444 have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart and after the ,baalim4 ,this stubbornness was shown in their resistance to all the means which ,jehovah employed to wean them from their sin4 ,again and again1 in our book1 ,jehovah speaks of ,himself as rising up early#cje to speak to the ,jews1 to teach them1 to send prophets to them1 to solemnly adjure them to submit themselves to ,him2 but they would not hearken either to ,jehovah or to ,his prophets1 they would not accept ,his teaching or obey ,his commands1 they made themselves stiff-necked and would not bow to ,his will4 ,he had subjected them to the discipline of affliction1 instruction had become correction2 ,jehovah had wounded them with the wound of an enemy1 with the chastisement of a cruel one2 but as they had been deaf to exhortation1 so they were proof against chastisement--they refused to receive correction4 ,only the ruin of the state and the captivity of the people could purge out this evil leaven4 ,apostasy from the ,mosaic and prophetic religion was naturally accompanied by social corruption4 ,it has recently been maintained that the universal instinct which inclines man to be religious is not necessarily moral1 and that it is the distinguishing note of the true faith1 or of religion proper1 that it enlists this somewhat neutral instinct in the cause of a pure morality4 ,the ,phnician and ,syrian cults1 with which ,israel was most closely in contact1 sufficiently illustrated the combination of fanatical religious feeling with gross impurity4 ,on the other hand1 the teaching of ,revelation to ,israel consistently inculcated a high morality and an unselfish benevolence4 ,the prophets vehemently affirmed the worthlessness of religious observances by men who oppressed the poor and helpless4 ,apostasy from ,jehovah to ,baal and ,moloch involved the same moral lapse as a change from loyal service of ,christ to a pietistic antinomianism4 ,widespread apostasy meant general social corruption4 ,the most insidious form of apostasy was that specially denounced by ,jeremiah1 in which the authority of ,jehovah was more or less explicitly claimed for practices and principles which defied ,his law4 ,the ,reformer loves a clear issue1 and it was more difficult to come to close quarters with the enemy when both sides professed to be fighting in the ,king's name4 ,moreover the syncretism which still recognised ,jehovah was able without any violent revolution to control the established institutions and orders of the state--palace and temple1 king and princes1 priests and prophets4 ,for a moment the ,reformation of ,josiah1 and the covenant entered into by king and people to observe the law as laid down in the newly discovered ,book of ,deuteronomy1 seemed to have raised ,judah from its low estate4 ,but the defeat and death of ,josiah and the deposition of ,jehoahaz followed to discredit ,jeremiah and his friends4 ,in the consequent reaction it seemed as if the religion of ,jehovah and the life of ,his people had become hopelessly corrupt4 ,we are too much accustomed to think of the idolatry of ,israel as something openly and avowedly distinct from and opposed to the worship of ,jehovah4 ,modern ,christians often suppose that the true worshipper and the ancient idolater were as contrasted as a pious ,englishman and a devotee of one of the hideous images seen on missionary platforms2 or1 at any rate1 that they were as easily distinguishable as a native ,indian evangelist from his unconverted fellow-countrymen4 ,this mistake deprives us of the most instructive lessons to be derived from the record4 ,the sin which ,jeremiah denounced is by no means outside ,christian experience2 it is much nearer to us than conversion to ,buddhism--it is possible to the ,church in every stage of its history4 ,the missionary finds that the lives of his converts continually threaten to revert to a nominal profession which cloaks the immorality and superstition of their old heathenism4 ,the ,church of the ,roman ,empire gave the sanction of ,christ's name and authority to many of the most unchristian features of ,judaism and ,paganism2 once more the rites of strange gods were associated with the worship of ,jehovah1 and a new ,queen of ,heaven was honoured with unlimited incense4 ,the ,reformed ,churches in their turn1 after the first kindness of their youth1 the first love of their espousals1 have often fallen into the very abuses against which their great leaders protested2 they have given way to the ritualistic spirit1 have put the ,church in the place of ,christ1 and have claimed for human formul the authority that can only belong to the inspired ,word of ,god4 ,they have immolated their victims to the ,baals and ,molochs of creeds and confessions1 and thought that they were doing honour to ,jehovah thereby4 ,moreover we have still to contend like ,jeremiah with the continual struggle of corrupt human nature to indulge in the luxury of religious sentiment and emotion without submitting to the moral demands of ,christ4 ,the ,church suffers far less by losing the allegiance of the lapsed masses than it does by those who associate with the service of ,christ those malignant and selfish vices which are often canonised as ,respectability and ,convention4 ,,footnotes3 #bhe ,hosea ix4 #g-i3 cf4 ,judges xix4 #bb4 #bhf ,hosea vi4 #i4 #bhg ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 is excluded from this statement4 #bhh xxxii4 #cd1 #ce1 repeating vii4 #cj1 #ca1 with slight variations4 ,a similar statement occurs in xix4 #d1 #e4 ,cf4 #b ,kings xvi4 #c1 xxi4 #f1 xxiii4 #aj2 also ,giesebrecht and ,orelli in loco4 #bhi ,exod4 xxii4 #bi 7,,je474 ,exod4 xxxiv4 #bj is probably a later interpretation intended to guard against misunderstandings4 #bij ,baal is not mentioned in the other prophetical books4 #bia vii4 #b4 #bib ,here and elsewhere1 prophet1 unless specially qualified by the context1 is used of the true prophet1 the messenger of ,divine ,revelation1 and does not include the mere professional prophets4 ,cf4 ,chap4 ,,viii4 #bic ii4 #ai1 etc4 #bid xxxii4 #cc1 etc4 #bie xxii4 #i3 cf4 xi4 #aj1 xxxi4 #cb1 and ,hosea vi4 #g1 viii4 #a4 #bif x4 #af3 cf4 ,amos iv4 #ac4 #big xxiii4 #be-bg3 cf4 ,giesebrecht1 in loco4 #bih ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah3 ,life and ,times1 p4 #aej4 #bii ,jeremiah hardly mentions idols4 #cjj ,cf4 on this whole subject1 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah3 ,life and ,times1 p4 #cai4 #cja ,the strongest expressions are in chap4 ii41 for which see previous volume on ,jeremiah4 #cjb ii4 #bg4 #cjc xvii4 #bc3 cf4 ,exod4 xxxii4 #i1 etc4 7,,je472 ,deut4 ix4 #f2 #b ,chron4 xxx4 #h4 #cjd ,characteristic ,expressions1 p4 #bfi4 #cje ,ibid41 p4 #bfi4 ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,ruin xxii4 #a-i1 xxvi4 #ad4 ,the sword1 the pestilence1 and the famine4--,,jer4 xxi4 #i and passim4#cjf ,terror on every side4--,,jer4 vi4 #be1 xx4 #aj1 xlvi4 #e1 xlix4 #bi2 also as proper name1 ,,magor-,,missabib1 xx4 #c4 ,we have seen1 in the two previous chapters1 that the moral and religious state of ,judah not only excluded any hope of further progress towards the realisation of the ,kingdom of ,god1 but also threatened to involve ,revelation itself in the corruption of ,his people4 ,the ,spirit that opened ,jeremiah's eyes to the fatal degradation of his country showed him that ruin must follow as its swift result4 ,he was elect from the first to be a herald of doom1 to be set over the nations and over the kingdoms1 to pluck up and to break down1 and to destroy and to overthrow4#cjg ,in his earliest vision he saw the thrones of the northern conquerors set over against the walls of ,jerusalem and the cities of ,judah4#cjh ,but ,jeremiah was called in the full vigour of early manhood2#cji he combined with the uncompromising severity of youth its ardent affection and irrepressible hope4 ,the most unqualified threats of ,divine wrath always carried the implied condition that repentance might avert the coming judgment2#caj and ,jeremiah recurred again and again to the possibility that1 even in these last days1 amendment might win pardon4 ,like ,moses at ,sinai and ,samuel at ,ebenezer1 he poured out his whole soul in intercession for ,judah1 only to receive the answer1 ,though ,moses and ,samuel stood before ,me1 yet ,my mind could not be toward this people3 cast them out of ,my sight and let them go forth4#caa ,the record of these early hopes and prayers is chiefly found in chapters i4-xx41 and is dealt with in the previous volume on ,jeremiah4 ,the prophecies in xiv4 #a-xvii4 #ah seem to recognise the destiny of ,judah as finally decided1 and to belong to the latter part of the reign of ,jehoiakim1#cab and there is little in the later chapters of an earlier date4 ,in xxii4 #a-e the king of ,judah is promised that if he and his ministers and officers will refrain from oppression1 faithfully administer justice1 and protect the helpless1 kings of the elect dynasty shall still pass with magnificent retinues in chariots and on horses through the palace gates to sit upon the throne of ,david4 ,possibly this section belongs to the earlier part of ,jeremiah's career4 ,but there were pauses and recoils in the advancing tide of ruin1 alternations of hope and despair2 and these varying experiences were reflected in the changing moods of the court1 the people1 and the prophet himself4 ,we may well believe that ,jeremiah hastened to greet any apparent zeal for reformation with a renewed declaration that sincere and radical amendment would be accepted by ,jehovah4 ,the proffer of mercy did not avert the ruin of the state1 but it compelled the people to recognise that ,jehovah was neither harsh nor vindictive4 ,his sentence was only irrevocable because the obduracy of ,israel left no other way open for the progress of ,revelation1 except that which led through fire and blood4 ,the ,holy ,spirit has taught mankind in many ways that when any government or church1 any school of thought or doctrine1 ossifies so as to limit the expansion of the soul1 that society or system must be shattered by the forces it seeks to restrain4 ,the decadence of ,spain and the distractions of ,france sufficiently illustrate the fruits of persistent refusal to abide in the liberty of the ,spirit4 ,but1 until the catastrophe is clearly inevitable1 the ,christian1 both as patriot and as churchman1#cac will be quick to cherish all those symptoms of higher life which indicate that society is still a living organism4 ,he will zealously believe and teach that even a small leaven may leaven the whole mass4 ,he will remember that ten righteous men might have saved ,sodom2 that1 so long as it is possible1 ,god will work by encouraging and rewarding willing obedience rather than by chastising and coercing sin4 ,thus ,jeremiah1 even when he teaches that the day of grace is over1 recurs wistfully to the possibilities of salvation once offered to repentance4#cad ,was not this the message of all the prophets3 ,return ye now every one from his evil way1 and from the evil of your doings1 and dwell in the land that ,jehovah hath given unto your fathers8#cae ,even at the beginning of ,jehoiakim's reign ,jehovah entrusted ,jeremiah with a message of mercy1 saying3 ,it may be they will hearken1 and turn every man from his evil way2 that ,i may repent ,me of the evil1 which ,i purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings4#caf ,when the prophet multiplied the dark and lurid features of his picture1 he was not gloating with morbid enjoyment over the national misery1 but rather hoped that the awful vision of judgment might lead them to pause1 and reflect and repent4 ,in his age history had not accumulated her now abundant proofs that the guilty conscience is panoplied in triple brass against most visions of judgment4 ,the sequel of ,jeremiah's own mission was added evidence for this truth4 ,yet it dawned but slowly on the prophet's mind4 ,the covenant of emancipation#cag in the last days of ,zedekiah was doubtless proposed by ,jeremiah as a possible beginning of better things1 an omen of salvation1 even at the eleventh hour4 ,to the very last the prophet offered the king his life and promised that ,jerusalem should not be burnt1 if only he would submit to the ,chaldeans1 and thus accept the ,divine judgment and acknowledge its justice4 ,faithful friends have sometimes stood by the drunkard or the gambler1 and striven for his deliverance through all the vicissitudes of his downward career2 to the very last they have hoped against hope1 have welcomed and encouraged every feeble stand against evil habit1 every transient flash of high resolve4 ,but1 long before the end1 they have owned1 with sinking heart1 that the only way to salvation lay through the ruin of health1 fortune1 and reputation4 ,so1 when the edge of youthful hopefulness had quickly worn itself away1 ,jeremiah knew in his inmost heart that1 in spite of prayers and promises and exhortations1 the fate of ,judah was sealed4 ,let us therefore try to reproduce the picture of coming ruin which ,jeremiah kept persistently before the eyes of his fellow-countrymen4 ,the pith and power of his prophecies lay in the prospect of their speedy fulfilment4 ,with him1 as with ,savonarola1 a cardinal doctrine was that before the regeneration must come the scourge1 and that these things will come quickly4 ,here again1 ,jeremiah took up the burden of ,hosea's utterances4 ,the elder prophet said of ,israel1 ,the days of visitation are come2#cah and his successor announced to ,judah the coming of the year of visitation4#cai ,the long-deferred assize was at hand1 when the ,judge would reckon with ,judah for her manifold infidelities1 would pronounce sentence and execute judgment4 ,if the hour of doom had struck1 it was not difficult to surmise whence destruction would come or the man who would prove its instrument4 ,the ,north 7named in ,hebrew the hidden quarter7 was to the ,jews the mother of things unforeseen and terrible4 ,isaiah menaced the ,philistines with a smoke out of the north1#cbj i4e4 the ,assyrians4 ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel both speak very frequently of the destroyers of ,judah as coming from the north4 ,probably the early references in our book to northern enemies denote the ,scythians1 who invaded ,syria towards the beginning of ,josiah's reign2 but later on the danger from the north is the restored ,chaldean ,empire1 under its king ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,north is even less accurate geographically for ,chaldea than for ,assyria4 ,probably it was accepted in a somewhat symbolic sense for ,assyria1 and then transferred to ,chaldea as her successor in the hegemony of ,western ,asia4 ,nebuchadnezzar is first#cba introduced in the fourth year of ,jehoiakim2 after the decisive defeat of ,pharaoh ,necho by ,nebuchadnezzar at ,carchemish1 ,jeremiah prophesied the devastation of ,judah by the victor2 it is also prophesied that he is to carry ,jehoiachin away captive1#cbb and similar prophecies were repeated during the reign of ,zedekiah4#cbc ,nebuchadnezzar and his ,chaldeans very closely resembled the ,assyrians1 with whose invasions the ,jews had long been only too familiar2 indeed1 as ,chaldea had long been tributary to ,assyria1 it is morally certain that ,chaldean princes must have been present with auxiliary forces at more than one of the many ,assyrian invasions of ,palestine4 ,under ,hezekiah1 on the other hand1 ,judah had been allied with ,merodach-baladan of ,babylon against his ,assyrian suzerain4 ,so that the circumstances of ,chaldean invasions and conquests were familiar to the ,jews before the forces of the restored empire first attacked them2 their imagination could readily picture the horrors of such experiences4 ,but ,jeremiah does not leave them to their unaided imagination1 which they might preferably have employed upon more agreeable subjects4 ,he makes them see the future reign of terror1 as ,jehovah had revealed it to his shuddering and reluctant vision4 ,with his usual frequency of iteration1 he keeps the phrase the sword1 the famine1 and the pestilence ringing in their ears4 ,the sword was the symbol of the invading hosts1 the splendid and awful military parade of the bitter and hasty nation that were dreadful and terrible4#cbd ,the famine inevitably followed from the ravages of the invaders1 and the impossibility of ploughing1 sowing1 and reaping4 ,it became most gruesome in the last desperate agonies of besieged garrisons1 when1 as in ,elisha's time and the last siege of ,jerusalem1 men ate the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters1 and ate every one the flesh of his friend4#cbe ,among such miseries and horrors1 the stench of unburied corpses naturally bred a pestilence1 which raged amongst the multitudes of refugees huddled together in ,jerusalem and the fortified towns4 ,we are reminded how the great plague of ,athens struck down its victims from among the crowds driven within its walls during the long siege of the ,peloponnesian war4 ,an ordinary ,englishman can scarcely do justice to such prophecies2 his comprehension is limited by a happy inexperience4 ,the constant repetition of general phrases seems meagre and cold1 because they carry few associations and awaken no memories4 ,those who have studied ,french and ,russian realistic art1 and have read ,erckmann-,chatrain1 ,zola1 and ,tolsto1 may be stirred somewhat more by ,jeremiah's grim rhetoric4 ,it will not be wanting in suggestiveness to those who have known battles and sieges4 ,for students of missionary literature we may roughly compare the ,jews1 when exposed to the full fury of a ,chaldean attack1 to the inhabitants of ,african villages raided by slave-hunters4 ,the ,jews1 therefore1 with their extensive1 first-hand knowledge of the miseries denounced against them1 could not help filling in for themselves the rough outline drawn by ,jeremiah4 ,very probably1 too1 his speeches were more detailed and realistic than the written reports4 ,as time went on1 the inroads of the ,chaldeans and their allies provided graphic and ghastly illustrations of the prophecies that ,jeremiah still reiterated4 ,in a prophecy1 possibly originally referring to the ,scythian inroads and afterwards adapted to the ,chaldean invasions1 ,jeremiah speaks of himself3 ,i am pained at my very heart2 my heart is disquieted in me2 ,i cannot hold my peace2 for my soul heareth#cbf the sound of the trumpet1 the alarm of war4444 ,how long shall ,i see the standard1 and hear the sound of the trumpet8#cbg ,here1 for once1 ,jeremiah expressed emotions that throbbed in every heart4 ,there was terror on every hand2 men seemed to be walking through slippery places in darkness1#cbh or to stumble along rough paths in a dreary twilight4 ,wormwood was their daily food1 and their drink maddening draughts of poison4#cbi ,jeremiah and his prophecies were no mean part of the terror4 ,to the devotees of ,baal and ,moloch ,jeremiah must have appeared in much the same light as the fanatic whose ravings added to the horrors of the ,plague of ,london1 while the very sanity and sobriety of his utterances carried a conviction of their fatal truth4 ,when the people and their leaders succeeded in collecting any force of soldiers or store of military equipment1 and ventured on a sally1 ,jeremiah was at once at hand to quench any reviving hope of effective resistance4 ,how could soldiers and weapons preserve the city which ,jehovah had abandoned to its fate8 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 the ,god of ,israel3 ,behold1 ,i will turn back the weapons in your hands1 with which ye fight without the walls against your besiegers1 the king of ,babylon and the ,chaldeans1 and will gather them into the midst of this city4 ,i ,myself will fight against you in furious anger and in great wrath1 with outstretched hand and strong arm4 ,i will smite the inhabitants of this city1 both man and beast3 they shall die of a great pestilence4#ccj ,when ,jerusalem was relieved for a time by the advance of an ,egyptian army1 and the people allowed themselves to dream of another deliverance like that from ,sennacherib1 the relentless prophet only turned upon them with renewed scorn3 ,though ye had smitten the whole hostile army of the ,chaldeans1 and all that were left of them were desperately wounded1 yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burn this city4#cca ,not even the most complete victory could avail to save the city4 ,the final result of invasions and sieges was to be the overthrow of the ,jewish state1 the capture and destruction of ,jerusalem1 and the captivity of the people4 ,this unhappy generation were to reap the harvest of centuries of sin and failure4 ,as in the last siege of ,jerusalem there came upon the ,jews all the righteous blood shed on the earth1 from the blood of righteous ,abel unto the blood of ,zachariah son of ,barachiah1#ccb so now ,jehovah was about to bring upon ,his ,chosen ,people all the evil that ,he had spoken against them#ccc--;all that had been threatened by ,isaiah and his brother-prophets1 all the curses written in ,deuteronomy4 ,but these threats were to be fully carried out1 not because predictions must be fulfilled1 nor even merely because ,jehovah had spoken and ,his word must not return to ,him void1 but because the people had not hearkened and obeyed4 ,his threats were never meant to exclude the penitent from the possibility of pardon4 ,as ,jeremiah had insisted upon the guilt of every class of the community1 so he is also careful to enumerate all the classes as about to suffer from the coming judgment3 ,zedekiah king of ,judah and his princes2#ccd the people1 the prophet1 and the priest4#cce ,this ,last ,judgment of ,judah1 as it took the form of the complete overthrow of the ,state1 necessarily included all under its sentence of doom4 ,one of the mysteries of ,providence is that those who are most responsible for national sins seem to suffer least by public misfortunes4 ,ambitious statesmen and bellicose journalists do not generally fall in battle and leave destitute widows and children4 ,when the captains of commerce and manufacture err in their industrial policy1 one great result is the pauperism of hundreds of families who had no voice in the matter4 ,a spendthrift landlord may cripple the agriculture of half a county4 ,and yet1 when factories are closed and farmers ruined1 the manufacturer and the landlord are the last to see want4 ,in former invasions of ,judah1 the princes and priests had some share of suffering2 but wealthy nobles might incur losses and yet weather the storm by which poorer men were overwhelmed4 ,fines and tribute levied by the invaders would1 after the manner of the ,east1 be wrung from the weak and helpless4 ,but now ruin was to fall on all alike4 ,the nobles had been flagrant in sin1 they were now to be marked out for most condign punishment--,to whomsoever much is given1 of him shall much be required4 ,part of the burden of ,jeremiah's prophecy1 one of the sayings constantly on his lips1 was that the city would be taken and destroyed by fire4#ccf ,the ,temple would be laid in ruins like the ancient sanctuary of ,israel at ,shiloh4#ccg ,the palaces#cch of the king and princes would be special marks for the destructive fury of the enemy1 and their treasures and all the wealth of the city would be for a spoil2 those who survived the sack of the city would be carried captive to ,babylon4#cci ,in this general ruin the miseries of the people would not end with death4 ,all nations have attached much importance to the burial of the dead and the due performance of funeral rites4 ,in the touching ,greek story ,antigone sacrificed her life in order to bury the remains of her brother4 ,later ,judaism attached exceptional importance to the burial of the dead1 and the ,book of ,tobit lays great stress on this sacred duty4 ,the angel ,raphael declares that one special reason why the ,lord had been merciful to ,tobias was that he had buried dead bodies1 and had not delayed to rise up and leave his meal to go and bury the corpse of a murdered ,jew1 at the risk of his own life4#cdj ,jeremiah prophesied of the slain in this last overthrow3 ,they shall not be lamented1 neither shall they be buried2 they shall be as dung on the face of the ground2 444 their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven1 and for the beasts of the earth4 ,when these last had done their ghastly work1 the site of the ,temple1 the city1 the whole land would be left silent and desolate4 ,the stranger1 wandering amidst the ruins1 would hear no cheerful domestic sounds2 when night fell1 no light gleaming through chink or lattice would give the sense of human neighbourhood4 ,jehovah would take away the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle4#cda ,the only sign of life amidst the desolate ruins of ,jerusalem and the cities of ,judah would be the melancholy cry of the jackals round the traveller's tent4#cdb ,the ,hebrew prophets and our ,lord ,himself often borrowed their symbols from the scenes of common life1 as they passed before their eyes4 ,as in the days of ,noah1 as in the days of ,lot1 as in the days of the ,son of ,man1 so in the last agony of ,judah there was marrying and giving in marriage4 ,some such festive occasion suggested to ,jeremiah one of his favourite formul2 it occurs four times in the ,book of ,jeremiah1 and was probably uttered much oftener4 ,again and again it may have happened that1 as a marriage procession passed through the streets1 the gay company were startled by the grim presence of the prophet1 and shrank back in dismay as they found themselves made the text for a stern homily of ruin3 ,thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 ,i will take away from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness1 the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride4 ,at any rate1 however1 and whenever used1 the figure could not fail to arrest attention1 and to serve as an emphatic declaration that the ordinary social routine would be broken up and lost in the coming calamity4 ,henceforth the land would be as some guilty habitation of sinners1 devoted to eternal destruction1 an astonishment and a hissing and a perpetual desolation4#cdc ,when the heathen sought some curse to express the extreme of malignant hatred1 they would use the formula1 ,god make thee like ,jerusalem4#cdd ,jehovah's ,chosen ,people would become an everlasting reproach1 a perpetual shame1 which should not be forgotten4#cde ,the wrath of ,jehovah pursued even captives and fugitives4 ,in chapter xxix4 ,jeremiah predicts the punishment of the ,jewish prophets at ,babylon4 ,when we last hear of him1 in ,egypt1 he is denouncing ruin against the remnant of ,judah that have set their faces to go into the land of ,egypt to sojourn there4 ,he still reiterates the same familiar phrases3 ,ye shall die by the sword1 by the famine1 and by the pestilence2 they shall be an execration1 and an astonishment1 and a curse1 and a reproach4 ,we have now traced the details of the prophet's message of doom4 ,fulfilment followed fast upon the heels of prediction1 till ,jeremiah rather interpreted than foretold the thick-coming disasters4 ,when his book was compiled1 the prophecies were already1 as they are now1 part of the history of the last days of ,judah4 ,the book became the record of this great tragedy1 in which these prophecies take the place of the choric odes in a ,greek drama4 ,,footnotes3 #cjf ,characteristic ,expressions1 p4 #bfi4 #cjg i4 #aj4 #cjh i4 #ae4 #cji i4 #g4 ,the word for child 7na'ar7 is an elastic term1 equalling boy or young man1 with all the range of meaning possible in ,english to the latter phrase4 #caj ,cf4 the ,book of ,jonah4 #caa xv4 #a4 #cab ,driver1 ,introduction1 p4 #bdb4 #cac ,church is used1 in the true ,catholic sense1 to embrace all ,christians4 #cad xxvii4 #ah4 #cae xxv4 #e1 xxxv4 #ae4 #caf xxvi4 #c1 xxxvi4 #b4 #cag ,chap4 ,,xi4 #cah ,hosea ix4 #g4 #cai xxiii4 #ab4 #cbj ,isa4 xiv4 #ca4 #cba xxv4 #a-ad3 first1 i4e41 in time1 not in the order of chapters in our ,book of ,jeremiah4 #cbb xxii4 #be4 ,jehoiachin 7,kings1 ,chronicles1 and ,jer4 lii4 #ca7 is also called ,coniah 7,jer4 xxii4 #bd1 #bh1 xxxvii4 #a7 and ,jeconiah 7,chronicles1 ,esther1 ,jer4 xxiv4 #a1 xxvii4 #bj1 xxviii4 #d1 xxix4 #b74 ,they are virtually forms of the same name1 the ,yah of the ,divine ,name being prefixed in the first and affixed in the last two4 #cbc xxi4 #g1 xxviii4 #ad4 #cbd ,habakkuk i4 #f1 #g4 #cbe xix4 #i4 #cbf ,r4,v4 margin4 #cbg iv4 #ba4 #cbh xxiii4 #ab4 #cbi xxiii4 #ae4 #ccj xxi4 #c-f4 #cca xxxvii4 #aj4 #ccb ,matt4 xxiii4 #ce4 #ccc xxxv4 #ag3 cf4 xix4 #ae1 xxxvi4 #ca4 #ccd xxxiv4 #ba4 #cce xxiii4 #cc1 #cd4 #ccf xxxiv4 #b1 #bb1 xxxvii4 #h4 #ccg vii4 and xxvi4 #cch vi4 #e4 #cci xx4 #e4 #cdj ,tobit xii4 #ac3 cf4 ii4 #cda xxv4 #aj4 #cdb ix4 #aa1 x4 #bb4 #cdc xxv4 #i1 #aj4 #cdd xxvi4 #f4 #cde xxiii4 #dj4 ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,restoration--,i4 ,,the ,,symbol xxxii ,and ,i bought the field of ,hanameel4--,,jer4 xxxii4 #i4 ,when ,jeremiah was first called to his prophetic mission1 after the charge to pluck up and to break down1 and to destroy and to overthrow1 there were added--almost as if they were an afterthought--the words to build and to plant4#cdf ,throughout a large part of the book little or nothing is said about building and planting2 but1 at last1 four consecutive chapters1 xxx4-xxxiii41 are almost entirely devoted to this subject4 ,jeremiah's characteristic phrases are not all denunciatory2 we owe to him the description of ,jehovah as the ,hope of ,israel4#cdg ,sin and ruin1 guilt and punishment1 could not quench the hope that centred in ,him4 ,though the day of ,jehovah might be darkness and not light1#cdh yet1 through the blackness of this day turned into night1 the prophets beheld a radiant dawn4 ,when all other building and planting were over for ,jeremiah1 when it might seem that much that he had planted was being rooted up again in the overthrow of ,judah1 he was yet permitted to plant shoots in the garden of the ,lord1 which have since become trees whose leaves are for the healing of the nations4 ,the symbolic act dealt with in this chapter is a convenient introduction to the prophecies of restoration1 especially as chapters xxx41 xxxi41 have no title and are of uncertain date4 ,the incident of the purchase of ,hanameel's field is referred by the title to the year #ehg ,b4,c41 when ,jeremiah was in prison and the capture of the city was imminent4 ,verses #b-f are an introduction by some editor1 who was anxious that his readers should fully understand the narrative that follows4 ,they are compiled from the rest of the book1 and contain nothing that need detain us4 ,when ,jeremiah was arrested and thrown into prison1 he was on his way to ,anathoth to receive his portion there1#cdi i4e41 as we gather from this chapter1 to take possession of an inheritance that devolved upon him4 ,as he was now unable to attend to this business at ,anathoth1 his cousin ,hanameel came to him in the prison1 to give him the opportunity of observing the necessary formalities4 ,in his enforced leisure ,jeremiah would often recur to the matter on which he had been engaged when he was arrested4 ,an interrupted piece of work is apt to intrude itself upon the mind with tiresome importunity2 moreover his dismal surroundings would remind him of his business--it had been the cause of his imprisonment4 ,the bond between an ,israelite and the family inheritance was almost as close and sacred as that between ,jehovah and the ,land of ,promise4 ,naboth had died a martyr to the duty he owed to the land4 ,jehovah forbid that ,i should give thee the inheritance of my fathers1#cej said he to ,ahab4 ,and now1 in the final crisis of the fortunes of ,judah1 the prophet whose heart was crushed by the awful task laid upon him had done what he could to secure the rights of his family in the field at ,anathoth4 ,apparently he had failed4 ,the oppression of his spirits would suggest that ,jehovah had disapproved and frustrated his purpose4 ,his failure was another sign of the utter ruin of the nation4 ,the solemn grant of the ,land of ,promise to the ,chosen ,people was finally revoked2 and ,jehovah no longer sanctioned the ancient ceremonies which bound the households and clans of ,israel to the soil of their inheritance4 ,in some such mood1 ,jeremiah received the intimation that his cousin ,hanameel was on his way to see him about this very business4 ,the word of ,jehovah came unto him3 ,behold1 thine uncle ,shallum's son ,hanameel is coming to thee1 to say unto thee1 ,buy my field in ,anathoth1 for it is thy duty to buy it by way of redemption4 ,the prophet was roused to fresh perplexity4 ,the opportunity might be a ,divine command to proceed with the redemption4 ,and yet he was a childless man doomed to die in exile4 ,what had he to do with a field at ,anathoth in that great and terrible day of the ,lord8 ,death or captivity was staring every one in the face2 land was worthless4 ,the transaction would put money into ,hanameel's pocket4 ,the eagerness of a ,jew to make sure of a good bargain seemed no very safe indication of the will of ,jehovah4 ,in this uncertain frame of mind ,hanameel found his cousin1 when he came to demand that ,jeremiah should buy his field4 ,perhaps the prisoner found his kinsman's presence a temporary mitigation of his gloomy surroundings1 and was inspired with more cheerful and kindly feelings4 ,the solemn and formal appeal to fulfil a kinsman's duty towards the family inheritance came to him as a ,divine command3 ,i knew that this was the word of ,jehovah4 ,the cousins proceeded with their business1 which was in no way hindered by the arrangements of the prison4 ,we must be careful to dismiss from our minds all the associations of the routine and discipline of a modern ,english gaol4 ,the court of the guard in which they were was not properly a prison2 it was a place of detention1 not of punishment4 ,the prisoners may have been fettered1 but they were together and could communicate with each other and with their friends4 ,the conditions were not unlike those of a debtors' prison such as the old ,marshalsea1 as described in ,little ,dorrit4 ,our information as to this right or duty of the next-of-kin to buy or buy back land is of the scantiest4#cea ,the leading case is that in the ,book of ,ruth1 where1 however1 the purchase of land is altogether secondary to the levirate marriage4 ,the land custom assumes that an ,israelite will only part with his land in case of absolute necessity1 and it was evidently supposed that some member of the clan would feel bound to purchase4 ,on the other hand1 in ,ruth1 the next-of-kin is readily allowed to transfer the obligation to ,boaz4 ,why ,hanameel sold his field we cannot tell2 in these days of constant invasion1 most of the small landowners must have been reduced to great distress1 and would gladly have found purchasers for their property4 ,the kinsman to whom land was offered would pretty generally refuse to pay anything but a nominal price4 ,formerly the demand that the next-of-kin should buy an inheritance was seldom made1 but the exceptional feature in this case was ,jeremiah's willingness to conform to ancient custom4 ,the price paid for the field was seventeen shekels of silver1 but1 however precise this information may seem1 it really tells us very little4 ,a curious illustration is furnished by modern currency difficulties4 ,the shekel1 in the time of the ,maccabees1 when we are first able to determine its value with some certainty1 contained about half an ounce of silver1 i4e4 about the amount of metal in an ,english half-crown4 ,the commentaries accordingly continue to reckon the shekel as worth half-a-crown1 whereas its value by weight according to the present price of silver would be about fourteenpence4 ,probably the purchasing power of silver was not more stable in ancient ,palestine than it is now4 ,fifty shekels seemed to ,david and ,araunah a liberal price for a threshing-floor and its oxen1 but the ,chronicler thought it quite inadequate4#ceb ,we know neither the size of ,hanameel's field nor the quality of the land1 nor yet the value of the shekels2#cec but the symbolic use made of the incident implies that ,jeremiah paid a fair and not a panic price4 ,the silver was duly weighed in the presence of witnesses and of all the ,jews that were in the court of the guard1 apparently including the prisoners2 their position as respectable members of society was not affected by their imprisonment4 ,a deed or deeds were drawn up1 signed by ,jeremiah and the witnesses1 and publicly delivered to ,baruch to be kept safely in an earthen vessel4 ,the legal formalities are described with some detail2 possibly they were observed with exceptional punctiliousness2 at any rate1 great stress is laid upon the exact fulfilment of all that law and custom demanded4 ,unfortunately1 in the course of so many centuries1 much of the detail has become unintelligible4 ,for instance1 ,jeremiah the purchaser signs the record of the purchase1 but nothing is said about ,hanameel signing4 ,when ,abraham bought the field of ,machpelah of ,ephron the ,hittite there was no written deed1 the land was simply transferred in public at the gate of the city4#ced ,here the written record becomes valid by being publicly delivered to ,baruch in the presence of ,hanameel and the witnesses4 ,the details with regard to the deeds are very obscure1 and the text is doubtful4 ,the ,hebrew apparently refers to two deeds1 but the ,septuagint for the most part to one only4 ,the ,r4,v4 of verse #aa runs3 ,so ,i took the deed of the purchase1 both that which was sealed1 according to the law and the custom1 and that which was open4 ,the ,septuagint omits everything after that which was sealed2 and1 in any case1 the words the law and the custom--better1 as ,r4,v4 margin1 containing the terms and the conditions--are a gloss4 ,in verse #ad the ,r4,v4 has3 ,take these deeds1 this deed of the purchase1 both that which is sealed1 and this deed which is open1 and put them in an earthen vessel4 ,the ,septuagint reads3 ,take this book of the purchase and this book that has been read1#cee and thou shalt put it in an earthen vessel4#cef ,it is possible that1 as has been suggested1 the reference to two deeds has arisen out of a misunderstanding of the description of a single deed4 ,scribes may have altered or added to the text in order to make it state explicitly what they supposed to be implied4 ,no reason is given for having two deeds4 ,we could have understood the double record if each party had retained one of the documents1 or if one had been buried in the earthen vessel and the other kept for reference1 but both are put into the earthen vessel4 ,the terms that which is sealed and that which is open may1 however1 be explained of either of one or two documents#ceg somewhat as follows3 the record was written1 signed1 and witnessed2 it was then folded up and sealed2 part or the whole of the contents of this sealed-up record was then written again on the outside or on a separate parchment1 so that the purport of the deed could easily be ascertained without exposing the original record4 ,the ,assyrian and ,chaldean contract-tablets were constructed on this principle2 the contract was first written on a clay tablet1 which was further enclosed in an envelope of clay1 and on the outside was engraved an exact copy of the writing within4 ,if the outer writing became indistinct or was tampered with1 the envelope could be broken and the exact terms of the contract ascertained from the first tablet4 ,numerous examples of this method can be seen in the ,british ,museum4 ,the ,jews had been vassals of ,assyria and ,babylon for about a century1 and thus must have had ample opportunity to become acquainted with their legal procedure2 and1 in this instance1 ,jeremiah and his friends may have imitated the ,chaldeans4 ,such an imitation would be specially significant in what was intended to symbolise the transitoriness of the ,chaldean conquest4 ,the earthen vessel would preserve the record from being spoilt by the damp2 similarly bottles are used nowadays to preserve the documents that are built up into the memorial stones of public buildings4 ,in both cases the object is that they may continue many days4 ,so far the prophet had proceeded in simple obedience to a ,divine command to fulfil an obligation which otherwise might excusably have been neglected4 ,he felt that his action was a parable which suggested that ,judah might retain its ancient inheritance1#ceh but ,jeremiah hesitated to accept an interpretation seemingly at variance with the judgments he had pronounced upon the guilty people4 ,when he had handed over the deed to ,baruch1 and his mind was no longer occupied with legal minuti1 he could ponder at leisure on the significance of his purchase4 ,the prophet's meditations naturally shaped themselves into a prayer2 he laid his perplexity before ,jehovah4#cei ,possibly1 even from the court of the guard1 he could see something of the works of the besiegers2 and certainly men would talk constantly of the progress of the siege4 ,outside the ,chaldeans were pushing their mounds and engines nearer and nearer to the walls1 within famine and pestilence decimated and enfeebled the defenders2 the city was virtually in the enemy's hands4 ,all this was in accordance with the will of ,jehovah and the mission entrusted to ,his prophet4 ,what thou hast spoken of is come to pass1 and1 behold1 thou seest it4 ,and yet1 in spite of all this1 ,thou hast said unto me1 ,o ,lord ,jehovah1 ,buy the field for money and take witnesses--and the city is in the hands of the ,chaldeans6 ,jeremiah had already predicted the ruin of ,babylon and the return of the captives at the end of seventy years4#cfj ,it is clear1 therefore1 that he did not at first understand the sign of the purchase as referring to restoration from the ,captivity4 ,his mind1 at the moment1 was preoccupied with the approaching capture of ,jerusalem2 apparently his first thought was that his prophecies of doom were to be set aside1 and at the last moment some wonderful deliverance might be wrought out for ,zion4 ,in the ,book of ,jonah1 ,nineveh is spared in spite of the prophet's unconditional and vehement declaration3 ,yet forty days and ,nineveh shall be overthrown4 ,was it possible1 thought ,jeremiah1 that after all that had been said and done1 buying and selling1 building and planting1 marrying and giving in marriage1 were to go on as if nothing had happened8 ,he was bewildered and confounded by the idea of such a revolution in the ,divine purposes4 ,jehovah in ,his answer at once repudiates this idea4 ,he asserts ,his universal sovereignty and omnipotence2 these are to be manifested1 first in judgment and then in mercy4 ,he declares afresh that all the judgments predicted by ,jeremiah shall speedily come to pass4 ,then ,he unfolds ,his gracious purpose of redemption and deliverance4 ,he will gather the exiles from all lands and bring them back to ,judah1 and they shall dwell there securely4 ,they shall be ,his people and ,he will be their ,god4 ,henceforth ,he will make an everlasting covenant with them1 that ,he will never again abandon them to misery and destruction1 but will always do them good4 ,by ,divine grace they shall be united in purpose and action to serve ,jehovah2 ,he ,himself will put ,his fear in their hearts4 ,and then returning to the symbol of the purchased field1 ,jehovah declares that fields shall be bought1 with all the legal formalities usual in settled and orderly societies1 deeds shall be signed1 sealed1 and delivered in the presence of witnesses4 ,this restored social order shall extend throughout the territory of the ,southern ,kingdom1 ,benjamin1 the environs of ,jerusalem1 the cities of ,judah1 of the hill country1 of the ,shephelah and the ,negeb4 ,the exhaustive enumeration partakes of the legal character of the purchase of ,hanameel's field4 ,thus the symbol is expounded3 ,israel's tenure of the ,promised ,land will survive the ,captivity2 the ,jews will return to resume their inheritance1 and will again deal with the old fields and vineyards and oliveyards1 according to the solemn forms of ancient custom4 ,the familiar classical parallel to this incident is found in ,livy1 xxvi4 #aa1 where we are told that when ,hannibal was encamped three miles from ,rome1 the ground he occupied was sold in the ,forum by public auction1 and fetched a good price4 ,both at ,rome and at ,jerusalem the sale of land was a symbol that the control of the land would remain with or return to its original inhabitants4 ,the symbol recognised that access to land is essential to all industry1 and that whoever controls this access can determine the conditions of national life4 ,this obvious and often forgotten truth was constantly present to the minds of the inspired writers3 to them the ,holy ,land was almost as sacred as the ,chosen ,people2 its right use was a matter of religious obligation1 and the prophets and legislators always sought to secure for every ,israelite family some rights in their native soil4 ,the selection of a legal ceremony and the stress laid upon its forms emphasise the truth that social order is the necessary basis of morality and religion4 ,the opportunity to live healthily1 honestly1 and purely is an antecedent condition of the spiritual life4 ,this opportunity was denied to slaves in the great heathen empires1 just as it is denied to the children in our slums4 ,both here and more fully in the sections we shall deal with in the following chapters1 ,jeremiah shows that he was chiefly interested in the restoration of the ,jews because they could only fulfil the ,divine purpose as a separate community in ,judah4 ,moreover1 to use a modern term1 he was no anarchist2 spiritual regeneration might come through material ruin1 but the prophet did not look for salvation either in anarchy or through anarchy4 ,while any fragment of the ,state held together1 its laws were to be observed2 as soon as the exiles were re-established in ,judah1 they would resume the forms and habits of an organised community4 ,the discipline of society1 like that of an army1 is most necessary in times of difficulty and danger1 and1 above all1 in the crisis of defeat4 ,,footnotes3 #cdf i4 #aj4 #cdg xiv4 #h1 xvii4 #ac4 #cdh ,amos v4 #ah1 #bj4 #cdi xxxvii4 #ab 7,r4,v474 #cej #a ,kings xxi4 #c4 #cea ,lev4 xxv4 #be1 ,law of ,holiness2 ,ruth iv4 #ceb #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #bd3 cf4 #a ,chron4 xxi4 #be1 where the price is six hundred shekels of gold4 ,it is scarcely necessary to point out that threshing-floor 7,sam47 and place of the threshing-floor 7,chron47 are synonymous4 #cec ,by value here is meant purchasing power1 to which the weight denoted by the term shekel is now no clue4 #ced ,gen4 xxiii4 7,p474 #cee probably a corruption of 4 #cef ,the text varies in different ,,mss4 of the ,,lxx4 #ceg ,cf4 ,cheyne1 etc41 in loco4 #ceh ,verse #ae anticipates by way of summary verses #db-dd1 and is apparently ignored in verse #be4 ,it probably represents ,jeremiah's interpretation of ,god's command at the time when he wrote the chapter4 ,in the actual development of the incident1 the conviction of the ,divine promise of restoration came to him somewhat later4 #cei ,what was said of verse #ae partly applies to verses #ag-bc 7with the exception of the introductory words3 ,ah1 ,lord ,jehovah674 ,these verses are not dealt with in the text1 because they largely anticipate the ideas and language of the following ,divine utterance4 ,kautzsch and ,cornill1 following ,stade1 mark these verses as a later addition2 ,giesebrecht is doubtful4 ,cf4 v4 #bj ff4 and xxvii4 #e f4 #cfj xxv4 #ab1 xxix4 #aj4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,restoration--,,ii4 ,,the ,,new ,,israel xxiii4 #c-h1 xxiv4 #f1 #g1 xxx41 xxxi41 xxxiii4#cfa ,in those days shall ,judah be saved1 and ,jerusalem shall dwell safely3 and this is the name whereby she shall be called4--,,jer4 xxxiii4 #af4 ,the ,divine utterances in chapter xxxiii4 were given to ,jeremiah when he was shut up in the court of the guard during the last days of the siege4 ,it may1 however1 have been committed to writing at a later date1 possibly in connection with chapters xxx4 and xxxi41 when the destruction of ,jerusalem was already past4 ,it is in accordance with all analogy that the final record of a word of ,jehovah should include any further light which had come to the prophet through his inspired meditations on the original message4 ,chapters xxx41 xxxi41 and xxxiii4 mostly expound and enforce leading ideas contained in xxxii4 #cg-dd and in earlier utterances of ,jeremiah4 ,they have much in common with ,,ii4 ,isaiah4 ,the ruin of ,judah and the captivity of the people were accomplished facts to both writers1 and they were both looking forward to the return of the exiles and the restoration of the kingdom of ,jehovah4 ,we shall have occasion to notice individual points of resemblance later on4 ,in xxx4 #b ,jeremiah is commanded to write in a book all that ,jehovah has spoken to him2 and according to the present context the all1 in this case1 refers merely to the following four chapters4 ,these prophecies of restoration would be specially precious to the exiles2 and now that the ,jews were scattered through many distant lands1 they could only be transmitted and preserved in writing4 ,after the command to write in a book there follows1 by way of title1 a repetition of the statement that ,jehovah would bring back ,his people to their fatherland4 ,here1 in the very forefront of the ,book of ,promise1 ,israel and ,judah are named as being recalled together from exile4 ,as we read twice#cfb elsewhere in ,jeremiah1 the promised deliverance from ,assyria and ,babylon was to surpass all earlier manifestations of the ,divine power and mercy4 ,the ,exodus would not be named in the same breath with it3 ,behold1 the days come1 saith ,jehovah1 that it shall no more be said1 ,as ,jehovah liveth1 that brought up the ,israelites out of the land of ,egypt2 but1 ,as ,jehovah liveth1 that brought up the ,israelites from the land of the north1 and from all the countries whither ,he had driven them4 ,this prediction has waited for fulfilment to our own times3 hitherto the ,exodus has occupied men's minds much more than the ,return2 we are now coming to estimate the supreme religious importance of the latter event4 ,elsewhere again ,jeremiah connects his promise with the clause in his original commission to build and to plant3#cfc ,i will set ,my eyes upon them 7the captives7 for good1 and ,i will bring them again to this land2 and ,i will build them1 and not pull them down2 and ,i will plant them1 and not pluck them up4#cfd ,as in xxxii4 #bh-ce1 the picture of restoration is rendered more vivid by contrast with ,judah's present state of wretchedness2 the marvellousness of ,jehovah's mercy is made apparent by reminding ,israel of the multitude of its iniquities4 ,the agony of ,jacob is like that of a woman in travail4 ,but travail shall be followed by deliverance and triumph4 ,in the second ,psalm the subject nations took counsel against ,jehovah and against ,his ,anointed3-- ,let us break their bands asunder1 ,and cast away their cords from us2 but now this is the counsel of ,jehovah concerning ,his people and their ,babylonian conqueror3-- ,i will break his yoke from off thy neck1 ,and break thy bands asunder4#cfe ,judah's lovers1 her foreign allies1 ,assyria1 ,babylon1 ,egypt1 and all the other states with whom she had intrigued1 had betrayed her2 they had cruelly chastised her1 so that her wounds were grievous and her bruises incurable4 ,she was left without a champion to plead her cause1 without a friend to bind up her wounds1 without balm to allay the pain of her bruises4 ,because thy sins were increased1 ,i have done these things unto thee1 saith ,jehovah4 ,jerusalem was an outcast1 of whom men said contemptuously3 ,this is ,zion1 whom no man seeketh after4#cff ,but man's extremity was ,god's opportunity2 because ,judah was helpless and despised1 therefore ,jehovah said1 ,i will restore health unto thee1 and ,i will heal thee of thy wounds4#cfg ,while ,jeremiah was still watching from his prison the progress of the siege1 he had seen the houses and palaces beyond the walls destroyed by the ,chaldeans to be used for their mounds2 and had known that every sally of the besieged was but another opportunity for the enemy to satiate themselves with slaughter1 as they executed ,jehovah's judgments upon the guilty city4 ,even at this extremity ,he announced solemnly and emphatically the restoration and pardon of ,his people4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 who established the earth1 when ,he made and fashioned it--,jehovah is ,his name3 ,call upon ,me1 and ,i will answer thee1 and will show thee great mysteries1 which thou knowest not4#cfh ,i will bring to this city healing and cure1 and will cause them to know all the fulness of steadfast peace4444 ,i will cleanse them from all their iniquities1 and will pardon all their iniquities1 whereby they have sinned and transgressed against ,me4#cfi ,the healing of ,zion naturally involved the punishment of her cruel and treacherous lovers4#cgj ,the ,return1 like other revolutions1 was not wrought by rose-water2 the yokes were broken and the bands rent asunder by main force4 ,jehovah would make a full end of all the nations whither ,he had scattered them4 ,their devourers should be devoured1 all their adversaries should go into captivity1 those who had spoiled and preyed upon them should become a spoil and a prey4 ,jeremiah had been commissioned from the beginning to pull down foreign nations and kingdoms as well as his native ,judah4#cga ,judah was only one of ,israel's evil neighbours who were to be plucked up out of their land4#cgb ,and at the ,return1 as at the ,exodus1 the waves at one and the same time opened a path of safety for ,israel and overwhelmed her oppressors4 ,israel1 pardoned and restored1 would again be governed by legitimate kings of the ,house of ,david4 ,in the dying days of the monarchy ,israel and ,judah had received their rulers from the hands of foreigners4 ,menahem and ,hoshea bought the confirmation of their usurped authority from ,assyria4 ,jehoiakim was appointed by ,pharaoh ,necho1 and ,zedekiah by ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,we cannot doubt that the kings of ,egypt and ,babylon were also careful to surround their nominees with ministers who were devoted to the interests of their suzerains4 ,but now their nobles were to be of themselves1 and their ruler was to proceed out of their midst1#cgc i4e4 nobles and rulers were to hold their offices according to national custom and tradition4 ,jeremiah was fond of speaking of the leaders of ,judah as shepherds4 ,we have had occasion already#cgd to consider his controversy with the shepherds of his own time4 ,in his picture of the ,new ,israel he uses the same figure4 ,in denouncing the evil shepherds1 he predicts that1 when the remnant of ,jehovah's flock is brought again to their folds1 ,he will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them1#cge shepherds according to ,jehovah's own heart1 who should feed them with knowledge and understanding4#cgf ,over them ,jehovah would establish as ,chief ,shepherd a ,prince of the ,house of ,david4 ,isaiah had already included in his picture of ,messianic times the fertility of ,palestine2 its vegetation1#cgg by the blessing of ,jehovah1 should be beautiful and glorious3 he had also described the ,messianic ,king as a fruitful ,branch#cgh out of the root of ,jesse4 ,jeremiah takes the idea of the latter passage1 but uses the language of the former4 ,for him the ,king of the ,new ,israel is1 as it were1 a ,growth 7ema7 out of the sacred soil1 or perhaps more definitely from the roots of the ,house of ,david1 that ancient tree whose trunk had been hewn down and burnt4 ,both the ,growth 7ema7 and the ,branch 7neer7 had the same vital connection with the soil of ,palestine and the root of ,david4 ,our ,english versions exercised a wise discretion when they sacrificed literal accuracy and indicated the identity of idea by translating both ema and neer by ,branch4 ,behold1 the days come1 saith ,jehovah1 that ,i will raise up unto ,david a righteous ,branch2 and ,he shall be a wise and prudent ,king1 and ,he shall execute justice and maintain the right4 ,in ,his days ,judah shall be saved and ,israel shall dwell securely1 and ,his name shall be ,jehovah 'idqenu1' ,jehovah is our righteousness4#cgi ,jehovah idqenu might very well be the personal name of a ,jewish king1 though the form would be unusual2 but what is chiefly intended is that ,his character shall be such as the name describes4 ,the name is a brief and pointed censure upon a king whose character was the opposite of that described in these verses1 yet who bore a name of almost identical meaning--,zedekiah1 ,jehovah is my righteousness4 ,the name of the last reigning ,prince of the ,house of ,david had been a standing condemnation of his unworthy life1 but the ,king of the ,new ,israel1 ,jehovah's true ,messiah1 would realise in ,his administration all that such a name promised4 ,sovereigns delight to accumulate sonorous epithets in their official designations--,highness1 ,high and ,mighty1 ,majesty1 ,serene1 ,gracious4 ,the glaring contrast between character and titles often only serves to advertise the worthlessness of those who are labelled with such epithets3 the ,majesty of ,james ,i41 the ,graciousness of ,richard ,,iii4 ,yet these titles point to a standard of true royalty1 whether the sovereign be an individual or a class or the people2 they describe that ,divine ,sovereignty which will be realised in the ,kingdom of ,god4#chj ,the material prosperity of the restored community is set forth with wealth of glowing imagery4 ,cities and palaces are to be rebuilt on their former sites with more than their ancient splendour4 ,out of them shall proceed thanksgiving1 and the voice of them that make merry3 and ,i will multiply them1 and they shall not be few2 ,i will also glorify them1 and they shall not be small4 ,and the children of ,jacob shall be as of old1 and their assembly shall be established before ,me4#cha ,the figure often used of the utter desolation of the deserted country is now used to illustrate its complete restoration3 ,yet again there shall be heard in this place 444 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness1 the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride4 ,throughout all the land which is waste1 without man and without beast1 and in all the cities thereof1 shepherds shall dwell and pasture and fold their flocks2 and in the cities of all the districts of the ,southern ,kingdom 7enumerated as exhaustively as in xxxii4 #dd7 shall the flocks again pass under the shepherd's hands to be told4#chb ,jehovah's own peculiar flock1 ,his ,chosen ,people1 shall be fruitful and multiply according to the primval blessing2 under their new shepherds they shall no more fear nor be dismayed1 neither shall any be lacking4#chc ,jeremiah recurs again and again to the quiet1 the restfulness1 the freedom from fear and dismay of the restored ,israel4 ,in this1 as in all else1 the ,new ,dispensation was to be an entire contrast to those long weary years of alternate suspense and panic1 when men's hearts were shaken by the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war4#chd ,israel is to dwell securely at rest from fear of harm4#che ,when ,jacob returns1 he shall be quiet and at ease1 and none shall make him afraid4#chf ,egyptian1 ,assyrian1 and ,chaldean shall all cease from troubling2 the memory of past misery shall become dim and shadowy4 ,the finest expansion of this idea is a passage which always fills the soul with a sense of utter rest4 ,he shall dwell on high3 his refuge shall be the inaccessible rocks3 his bread shall be given him2 his waters shall be sure4 ,thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty3 they shall behold a far-stretching land4 ,thine heart shall muse on the terror3 where is he that counted1 where is he that weighed the tribute8 where is he that counted the towers8 ,thou shalt not see the fierce people1 a people of a deep speech that thou canst not perceive2 of a strange tongue that thou canst not understand4 ,look upon ,zion1 the city of our solemnities3 thine eyes shall see ,jerusalem a quiet habitation1 a tent that shall not be removed1 the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up1 neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken4 ,there ,jehovah will be with us in majesty1 a place of broad rivers and streams2 wherein shall go no galley with oars1 neither shall gallant ship pass thereby4#chg ,for ,jeremiah too the presence of ,jehovah in majesty was the only possible guarantee of the peace and prosperity of ,israel4 ,the voices of joy and gladness in the ,new ,jerusalem were not only those of bride and bridegroom1 but also of those that said1 ,give thanks to ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 for ,jehovah is good1 for ,his mercy endureth for ever1 and of those that came to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving in the house of ,jehovah4#chh ,this new ,david1 as the ,messianic ,king is called1#chi is to have the priestly right of immediate access to ,god3 ,i will cause ,him to draw near1 and ,he shall approach unto ,me3 for else who would risk his life by daring to approach ,me8#cij ,israel is liberated from foreign conquerors to serve ,jehovah their ,god and ,david their ,king2 and the ,lord ,himself rejoices in ,his restored and ransomed people4 ,the city that was once a desolation1 an astonishment1 a hissing1 and a curse among all nations shall now be to ,jehovah a name of joy1 a praise and a glory1 before all the nations of the earth1 which shall hear all the good that ,i do unto them1 and shall tremble with fear for all the good and all the peace that ,i procure unto it4#cia ,,footnotes3 #cfa ,vatke and ,stade reject chapters xxx41 xxxi41 xxxiii41 but they are accepted by ,driver1 ,cornill1 ,kautzsch 7for the most part74 ,giesebrecht assigns them partly to ,baruch and partly to a later editor4 ,it is on this account that the full exposition of certain points in xxxii4 and elsewhere has been reserved for the present chapter4 ,moreover1 if the cardinal ideas come from ,jeremiah1 we need not be over-anxious to decide whether the expansion1 illustration1 and enforcing of them is due to the prophet himself1 or to his disciple ,baruch1 or to some other editor4 ,the question is somewhat parallel to that relating to the discourses of our ,lord in the ,fourth ,gospel4 #cfb xvi4 #ad1 #ae1 xxiii4 #g1 #h4 #cfc i4 #aj4 #cfd xxiv4 #f4 #cfe xxx4 #e-h4 #cff xxx4 #ab-ag4 #cfg ,the two verses xxx4 #aj1 #aa1 present some difficulty here4 ,according to ,kautzsch1 and of course ,giesebrecht1 they are a later addition4 ,the ideas can mostly be paralleled elsewhere in ,jeremiah4 ,verse #aa b1 ,i will correct thee with judgment1 and will in no wise leave thee unpunished1 seems inconsistent with the context1 which represents the punishment as actually inflicted4 ,still1 the verses might be a genuine fragment misplaced4 ,driver 7,introduction1 #bdf7 says3 ,the title of honour ',my servant' 444 appears to have formed the basis upon which ,,ii4 ,isaiah constructs his great conception of ,jehovah's ideal servant4 #cfh xxxiii4 #b1 #c2 earth is inserted with the ,,lxx4 ,many regard these verses as a later addition1 based on ,,ii4 ,isaiah3 cf4 ,isa4 xlviii4 #f4 ,the phrase ,jehovah is ,his name and the terms make and fashion are specially common in ,,ii4 ,isaiah4 xxxiii4 so largely repeats the ideas of xxx4 that it is most convenient to deal with them together4 #cfi xxxiii4 #f-h1 slightly paraphrased and condensed4 #cgj xxx4 #h1 #aa1 #af1 #bj4 ,cf4 also the chapters on the prophecies concerning foreign nations4 #cga i4 #aj4 #cgb xii4 #ad4 xxx4 #bc1 #bd1 is apparently a gloss1 added as a suitable illustration of this chapter1 from xxiii4 #ai1 #bj1 which are almost identical with these two verses4 #cgc xxx4 #ba4 #cgd ,cf4 ,chap4 ,,viii4 #cge xxiii4 #c1 #d4 #cgf iii4 #ae4 #cgg ,isa4 iv4 #b1 ema2 ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 ,branch1 ,r4,v4 margin ,shoot or ,bud4 #cgh ,isa4 xi4 #a4 #cgi xxv4 #e1 #f2 repeated in xxxiii4 #ae1 #af1 with slight variations4 #chj ,in xxxiii4 #ad-bf the permanence of the ,davidic dynasty1 the ,levitical priests1 and the people of ,israel is solemnly assured by a ,divine promise4 ,these verses are not found in the ,,lxx41 and are considered by many to be a later addition2 see ,kautzsch1 ,giesebrecht1 ,cheyne1 etc4 ,they are mostly of a secondary character--#ae1 #af1 xxiii4 #e1 #f2 here ,jerusalem and not its king is called ,jehovah ,cidqenu1 possibly because the addition was made when there was no visible prospect of the restoration of the ,davidic dynasty4 ,verse #ag is based on the original promise in #b ,sam4 vii4 #ad-af1 and is equivalent to ,jer4 xxii4 #d1 #cj4 ,the form and substance of the ,divine promise imitate xxxi4 #ce-cg4 #cha xxx4 #ah-bj4 #chb xxxiii4 #aj-ac4 #chc xxiii4 #c1 #d4 #chd iv4 #ai4 #che xxiii4 #f4 #chf xxx4 #aj4 #chg ,isa4 xxxiii4 #af-ba3 cf4 xxxii4 #ae-ah4 #chh xxxiii4 #aa4 #chi xxx4 #i4 #cij xxx4 #ba1 as ,kautzsch4 #cia xxxiii4 #i4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,restoration--,,iii4 ,,reunion xxxi4 ,i will sow the house of ,israel and the house of ,judah with the seed of man1 and with the seed of beast4--,,jer4 xxxi4 #bg4 ,in his prophecies of restoration1 ,jeremiah continually couples together ,judah and ,israel4#cib ,israel1 it is true1 often stands for the whole elect nation1 and is so used by ,jeremiah4 ,after the disappearance of the ,ten ,tribes1 the ,jewish community is spoken of as ,israel4 ,but ,israel1 in contrast to ,judah1 will naturally mean the ,northern ,kingdom or its exiled inhabitants4 ,in this chapter ,jeremiah clearly refers to this ,israel2 he speaks of it under its distinctive title of ,ephraim1 and promises that vineyards shall again be planted on the mountains of ,samaria4 ,jehovah had declared that ,he would cast ,judah out of ,his sight1 as ,he had cast out the whole seed of ,ephraim4#cic ,in the days to come ,jehovah would make ,his new covenant with the ,house of ,israel1 as well as with the ,house of ,judah4 ,amos1#cid who was sent to declare the captivity of ,israel1 also prophesied its return2 and similar promises are found in ,micah and ,isaiah4#cie ,but1 in his attitude towards ,ephraim1 ,jeremiah1 as in so much else1 is a disciple of ,hosea4 ,both prophets have the same tender1 affectionate interest in this wayward child of ,god4 ,hosea mourns over ,ephraim's sin and punishment3 ,how shall ,i give thee up1 ,ephraim8 how shall ,i deliver thee to thine enemies1 ,o ,israel8 how shall ,i make thee as ,admah8 how shall ,i set thee as ,zeboim8#cif ,jeremiah exults in the glory of ,ephraim's restoration4 ,hosea barely attains to the hope that ,israel will return from captivity1 or possibly that its doom may yet be averted4 ,mine heart is turned within ,me1 ,my compassions are kindled together4 ,i will not execute the fierceness of ,mine anger1 ,i will not again any more destroy ,ephraim3 for ,i am ,god1 and not man2 the ,holy ,one of ,israel in the midst of thee4#cig ,but ,jehovah rather longs to pardon than finds any sign of the repentance that makes pardon possible2 and similarly the promise--,i will be as the dew unto ,israel3 he shall blossom as the lily1 and cast forth his roots as ,lebanon4 ,his branches shall spread1 and his beauty shall be as the olive tree1 and his smell as ,lebanon--is conditioned upon the very doubtful response to the appeal ,o ,israel1 return unto ,jehovah thy ,god4#cih ,but ,jeremiah's confidence in the glorious future of ,ephraim is dimmed by no shade of misgiving4 ,they shall be ,my people1 and ,i will be their ,god1 is the refrain of ,jeremiah's prophecies of restoration2 this chapter opens with a special modification of the formula1 which emphatically and expressly includes both ,ephraim and ,judah--,i will be the ,god of all the clans of ,israel1 and they shall be ,my people4 ,the ,assyrian and ,chaldean captivities carried men's thoughts back to the bondage in ,egypt2 and the experiences of the ,exodus provided phrases and figures to describe the expected ,return4 ,the judges had delivered individual tribes or groups of tribes4 ,jeroboam ,,ii4 had been the saviour of ,samaria2 and the overthrow of ,sennacherib had rescued ,jerusalem4 ,but the ,exodus stood out from all later deliverances as the birth of the whole people4 ,hence the prophets often speak of the ,return as a ,new ,exodus4 ,this prophecy takes the form of a dialogue between ,jehovah and the ,virgin of ,israel1 i4e4 the nation personified4 ,jehovah announces that the ,israelite exiles1 the remnant left by the sword of ,shalmaneser and ,sargon1 were to be more highly favoured than the fugitives from the sword of ,pharaoh1 of whom ,jehovah sware in ,his wrath that they should not enter into ,my rest2 whose carcases fell in the wilderness4 ,a people that hath survived the sword hath found favour in the wilderness2 ,israel hath entered into his rest1#cii--;hath found favour--hath entered--because ,jehovah regards ,his purpose as already accomplished4 ,jehovah speaks from his ancient dwelling-place in ,jerusalem1 and1 when the ,virgin of ,israel hears ,him in her distant exile1 she answers3-- ,from afar hath ,jehovah appeared unto me 7saying71 ,with ,my ancient love do ,i love thee2 ,therefore ,my lovingkindness is enduring toward thee4#djj ,his love is as old as the ,exodus1 ,his mercy has endured all through the long1 weary ages of ,israel's sin and suffering4 ,then ,jehovah replies3-- ,again will ,i build thee1 and thou shalt be built1 ,o ,virgin of ,israel2 ,again shalt thou take thy tabrets1 and go forth in the dances of them that make merry2 ,again shalt thou plant vineyards on the mountains of ,samaria1 while they that plant shall enjoy the fruit4 ,this contrasts with the times of invasion when the vintage was destroyed or carried off by the enemy4 ,then follows the ,divine purpose1 the crowning mercy of ,israel's renewed prosperity3-- ,for the day cometh when the vintagers#dja shall cry in the hill-country of ,ephraim1 ,arise1 let us go up to ,zion1 to ,jehovah our ,god4 ,israel will no longer keep her vintage feasts in schism at ,samaria and ,bethel and her countless high places1 but will join with ,judah in the worship of the ,temple1 which ,josiah's covenant had accepted as the one sanctuary of ,jehovah4 ,the exultant strain continues stanza after stanza3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,exult joyously for ,jacob1 and shout for the chief of the nations2 ,make your praises heard1 and say1 ,jehovah hath saved ,his people1#djb even the remnant of ,israel4 ,behold1 ,i bring them from the land of the north1 and gather them from the uttermost ends of the earth2 ,among them blind and lame1 pregnant women and women in travail together4 ,none are left behind1 not even those least fit for the journey4 ,a great company shall return hither4 ,they shall come with weeping1 and with supplications will ,i lead them4 ,of old1 weeping and supplication had been heard upon the heights of ,israel because of her waywardness and apostasy2#djc but now the returning exiles offer prayers and thanksgiving mingled with tears1 weeping partly for joy1 partly for pathetic memories4 ,i will bring them to streams of water1 by a plain path1 wherein they cannot stumble3 ,for ,i am become once more a father to ,israel1 and ,ephraim is ,my first-born son4 ,of the two ,israelite states1 ,ephraim1 the ,northern ,kingdom1 had long been superior in power1 wealth1 and religion4 ,judah was often little more than a vassal of ,samaria1 and owed her prosperity and even her existence to the barrier which ,samaria interposed between ,jerusalem and invaders from ,assyria or ,damascus4 ,until the latter days of ,samaria1 ,judah had no prophets that could compare with ,elijah and ,elisha4 ,the ,jewish prophet is tenacious of the rights of ,zion1 but he does not base any claim for the ascendency of ,judah on the geographical position of the ,temple2 he does not even mention the sacerdotal tribe of ,levi4 ,jew and priest as he was1 he acknowledges the political and religious hegemony of ,ephraim4 ,the fact is a striking illustration of the stress laid by the prophets on the unity of ,israel1 to which all sectional interests were to be sacrificed4 ,if ,ephraim was required to forsake his ancient shrines1 ,jeremiah was equally ready to forego any pride of tribe or caste4 ,did we1 in all our different ,churches1 possess the same generous spirit1 ,christian reunion would no longer be a vain and distant dream4 ,but1 passing on to the next stanza1-- ,hear the word of ,jehovah1 ,o ye nations1 and make it known in the distant islands4 ,say1 ,he that scattered ,israel doth gather him1 and watcheth over him as a shepherd over his flock4 ,for ,jehovah hath ransomed ,jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him that was too strong for him4 ,they shall come and sing for joy in the height of ,zion2 ,they shall come in streams to the bounty of ,jehovah1 for corn and new wine and oil and lambs and calves4 ,jeremiah does not dwell1 in any grasping sacerdotal spirit1 on the contributions which these reconciled schismatics would pay to the ,temple revenues1 but rather delights to make mention of their share in the common blessings of ,god's obedient children4 ,they shall be like a well-watered garden2 they shall no more be faint and weary3 ,then shall they rejoice--the damsels in the dance--the young men and the old together4 ,i will turn their mourning into gladness1 and will comfort them1 and will bring joy out of their wretchedness4 ,i will fill the priests with plenty1 and ,my people shall be satisfied with ,my bounty-- ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,it is not quite clear how far1 in this chapter1 ,israel is to be understood exclusively of ,ephraim4 ,if the foregoing stanza is1 as it seems1 perfectly general1 the priests are simply those of the restored community1 ministering at the ,temple2 but if the reference is specially to ,ephraim1 the priests belong to families involved in the captivity of the ten tribes1 and we have further evidence of the catholic spirit of the ,jewish prophet4 ,another stanza3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,a voice is heard in ,ramah1 lamentation and bitter weeping1 ,rachel weeping for her children4 ,she refuseth to be comforted for her children1 for they are not4 ,rachel1 as the mother of ,benjamin and ,joseph1 claimed an interest in both the ,israelite kingdoms4 ,jeremiah shows special concern for ,benjamin1 in whose territory his native ,anathoth was situated4#djd ,her children would be chiefly the ,ephraimites and ,manassites1 who formed the bulk of the ,northern ,kingdom2 but the phrase was doubtless intended to include other ,jews1 that ,rachel might be a symbol of national unity4 ,the connection of ,rachel with ,ramah is not obvious2 there is no precedent for it4 ,possibly ,ramah is not intended for a proper name1 and we might translate ,a voice is heard upon the heights4 ,in ,gen4 xxxv4 #ai1 ,rachel's grave is placed between ,bethel and ,ephrath1#dje and in #a ,sam4 x4 #b1 in the border of ,benjamin at ,zelzah2 only here has ,rachel anything to do with ,ramah4 ,the name1 however1 in its various forms1 was not uncommon4 ,ramah1 to the north of ,jerusalem1 seems to have been a frontier town1 and debatable territory#djf between the two kingdoms2 and ,rachel's appearance there might symbolise her relation to both4 ,this ,ramah was also a slave depot for the ,chaldeans#djg after the fall of ,jerusalem1 and ,rachel might well revisit the glimpses of the moon at a spot where her descendants had drunk the first bitter draught of the cup of exile4 ,in any case1 the lines are a fresh appeal to the spirit of national unity4 ,the prophet seems to say3 ,children of the same mother1 sharers in the same fate1 whether of ruin or restoration1 remember the ties that bind you and forget your ancient feuds4 ,rachel1 wailing in ghostly fashion1 was yet a name to conjure with1 and the prophet hoped that her symbolic tears could water the renewed growth of ,israel's national life4 ,christ1 present in ,his living ,spirit1 lacerated at heart by the bitter feuds of those who call ,him ,lord1 should temper the harsh judgments that ,christians pass on servants of their ,one ,master4 ,the ,jewish prophet lamenting the miseries of schismatic ,israel contrasts with the ,pope singing ,te ,deums over the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew4 ,then comes the answer3-- ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,refrain thy voice from weeping1 and thine eyes from tears4 ,thou shalt have wages for thy labour--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--they shall return from the enemy's land4 ,there is hope for thee in the days to come--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--thy children shall return to their own border4#djh ,the ,niobe of the nation is comforted1 but now is heard another voice3-- ,surely ,i hear ,ephraim bemoaning himself3 ,thou hast chastised me2 ,i am chastised like a calf not yet broken to the yoke4 ,restore me to ,thy favour1 that ,i may return unto ,thee1 for ,thou art ,jehovah my ,god4 ,in returning unto ,thee1 ,i repent2 when ,i come to myself1 ,i smite upon my thigh in penitence4#dji ,the image of the calf is another reminiscence of ,hosea1 with whom ,israel figures as a backsliding heifer and ,ephraim as a heifer that has been broken in and loveth to tread out the corn2 though apparently in ,hosea ,ephraim is broken in to wickedness4 ,possibly this figure was suggested by the calves at ,bethel and ,dan4 ,the moaning of ,ephraim1 like the wailing of ,rachel1 is met and answered by the ,divine compassion4 ,by a bold and touching figure1 ,jehovah is represented as surprised at the depth of ,his passionate affection for ,his prodigal son3-- ,can it be that ,ephraim is indeed a son that is precious to ,me8 is he indeed a darling child8 ,as often as ,i speak against him1 ,i cannot cease to remember him1#daj ,wherefore ,my tender compassion is moved towards him3 verily ,i will have mercy on him-- ,it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,as with ,hosea1 ,israel is still the child whom ,jehovah loved1 the son whom ,he called out of ,egypt4 ,but now ,israel is called with a more effectual calling3-- ,set thee up pillars of stone1#daa to mark the way2 make thee guide-posts3 set thy heart toward the highway whereby thou wentest4 ,return1 ,o ,virgin of ,israel1 return unto these thy cities4 ,the following verse strikes a note of discord1 that suggests the revulsion of feeling1 the sudden access of doubt1 that sometimes follows the most ecstatic moods3-- ,how long wilt thou wander to and fro1 ,o backsliding daughter8 ,jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth--a woman shall compass a man4 ,it is just possible that this verse is not intended to express doubt of ,israel's cordial response1 but is merely an affectionate urgency that presses the immediate appropriation of the promised blessings4 ,but such an exegesis seems forced1 and the verse is a strange termination to the glowing stanzas that precede4 ,it may have been added when all hope of the return of the ten tribes was over4#dab ,the meaning of the concluding enigma is as profound a mystery as the fate of the lost tribes1 and the solutions rather more unsatisfactory4 ,the words apparently denote that the male and the female shall interchange functions1 and an explanation often given is that1 in the profound peace of the ,new ,dispensation1 the women will protect the men4 ,this portent seems to be the sign which is to win the ,virgin of ,israel from her vacillation and induce her to return at once to ,palestine4 ,in ,isaiah xliii4 #ai the new thing which ,jehovah does is to make a way in the untrodden desert and rivers in the parched wilderness4 ,a parallel interpretation1 suggested for our passage1 is that women should develop manly strength and courage1 as abnormal to them as roads and rivers to a wilderness4 ,when women were thus endowed1 men could not for shame shrink from the perils of the ,return4 ,in ,isaiah iv4 #a seven women court one man1 and it has been suggested#dac that the sense here is women shall court men1 but it is difficult to see how this would be relevant4 ,another parallel has been sought for in the ,immanuel and other prophecies of ,isaiah1 in which the birth of a child is set forth as a sign4 ,our passage would then assume a ,messianic character2 the return of the ,virgin of ,israel would be postponed till her doubts and difficulties should be solved by the appearance of a new ,moses4#dad ,this view has much to commend it1 but does not very readily follow from the usage of the word translated compass4 ,still less can we regard these words as a prediction of the miraculous conception of our ,lord4 ,the next stanza connects the restoration of ,judah with that of ,ephraim1 and1 for the most part1 goes over ground already traversed in our previous chapters2 one or two points only need be noticed here4 ,it is in accordance with the catholic and gracious spirit which characterises this chapter that the restoration of ,judah is expressly connected with that of ,ephraim4 ,the combination of the future fortunes of both in a single prophecy emphasises their reunion4 ,the heading of this stanza1 ,thus saith ,jehovah ,sabaoth1 the ,god of ,israel1 is different from that hitherto used1 and has a special significance in its present context4 ,it is the ,god of ,israel to whom ,ephraim is a darling child and a first-born son1 the ,god of that ,israel which for centuries stood before the world as ,ephraim2 it is this ,god who blesses and redeems ,judah4 ,her faint and weary soul is also to be satisfied with ,his plenty2 ,zion is to be honoured as the habitation of justice and the mountain of holiness4 ,hereupon1 saith the prophet1 ,i awaked and looked about me1 and felt that my sleep had been pleasant to me4 ,the vision had come to him1 in some sense1 as a dream4 ,zechariah#dae had to be aroused1 like a man wakened out of his sleep1 in order to receive the ,divine message2 and possibly ,zechariah's sleep was the ecstatic trance in which he had beheld previous visions4 ,jeremiah1 however1 shows scant confidence#daf in the inspiration of those who dream dreams1 and it does not seem likely that this is a unique exception to his ordinary experience4 ,perhaps we may say with ,orelli that the prophet had become lost in the vision of future blessedness as in some sweet dream4 ,in the following stanza ,jehovah promises to recruit the dwindled numbers of ,israel and ,judah2 with a sowing more gracious and fortunate than that of ,cadmus1 ,he will scatter#dag over the land1 not dragons' teeth1 but the seed of man and beast4 ,recurring#dah to ,jeremiah's original commission1 ,he promises that as ,he watched over ,judah to pluck up and to break down1 to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict1 so now ,he will watch over them to build and to plant4 ,the next verse is directed against a lingering dread1 by which men's minds were still possessed4 ,more than half a century elapsed between the death of ,manasseh and the fall of ,jerusalem4 ,he was succeeded by ,josiah1 who turned to ,jehovah with all his heart1 and with all his soul1 and with all his might4#dai ,yet ,jehovah declared to ,jeremiah that ,manasseh's sins had irrevocably fixed the doom of ,judah1 so that not even the intercession of ,moses and ,samuel could procure her pardon4#dbj ,men might well doubt whether the guilt of that wicked reign was even yet fully expiated1 whether their teeth might not still be set on edge because of the sour grapes which ,manasseh had eaten4 ,therefore the prophet continues3 ,in those days men shall no longer say1 ,the fathers have eaten sour grapes1 and the children's teeth are set on edge2 but every man shall die for his own transgression1 all who eat sour grapes shall have their own teeth set on edge4 ,or to use the explicit words of ,ezekiel1 in the great chapter in which he discusses this permanent theological difficulty3 ,the soul that sinneth1 it shall die4 ,the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father1 neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son2 the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him1 and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him4#dba ,with the fall of ,jerusalem1 a chapter in the history of ,israel was concluded for ever2 ,jehovah blotted out the damning record of the past1 and turned over a new leaf in the annals of ,his people4 ,the account between ,jehovah and the ,israel of the monarchy was finally closed1 and no penal balance was carried over to stand against the restored community4 ,the last portion of this chapter is so important that we must reserve it for separate treatment1 but we may pause for a moment to consider the prophecy of the restoration of ,ephraim from two points of view--the unity of ,israel and the return of the ten tribes4 ,in the first place1 this chapter is an eirenicon1 intended to consign to oblivion the divisions and feuds of the ,chosen ,people4 ,after the fall of ,samaria1 the remnant of ,israel had naturally looked to ,judah for support and protection1 and the growing weakness of ,assyria had allowed the ,jewish kings to exercise a certain authority over the territory of northern tribes4 ,the same fate--the sack of the capital and the deportation of most of the inhabitants--had successively befallen ,ephraim and ,judah4 ,his sense of the unity of the race was too strong to allow the prophet to be satisfied with the return of ,judah and ,benjamin1 apart from the other tribes4 ,yet it would have been monstrous to suppose that ,jehovah would bring back ,ephraim from ,assyria1 and ,judah from ,babylon1 only that they might resume their mutual hatred and suspicion4 ,even wild beasts are said not to rend one another when they are driven by floods to the same hill-top4 ,thus various causes contributed to produce a kindlier feeling between the survivors of the catastrophes of ,samaria and ,jerusalem2 and from henceforth those of the ten tribes who found their way back to ,palestine lived in brotherly union with the other ,jews4 ,and1 on the whole1 the ,jews have since remained united both as a race and a religious community4 ,it is true that the relations of the later ,jews to ,samaria were somewhat at variance both with the letter and spirit of this prophecy1 but that ,samaria had only the slightest claim to be included in ,israel4 ,otherwise the divisions between ,hillel and ,shammai1 ,sadducees and ,pharisees1 ,karaites1 ,sephardim and ,ashkenazim1 ,reformed and ,unreformed ,jews1 have rather been legitimate varieties of opinion and practice within ,judaism than a rending asunder of the ,israel of ,god4 ,matters stand very differently with regard to the restoration of ,ephraim4 ,we know that individual members and families of the ten tribes were included in the new ,jewish community1 and that the ,jews reoccupied ,galilee and portions of ,eastern ,palestine4 ,but the husbandmen who had planted vineyards on the hills of ,samaria were violently repulsed by ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 and were denied any part or lot in the restored ,israel4 ,the tribal inheritance of ,ephraim and ,manasseh was never reoccupied by ,ephraimites and ,manassites who came to worship ,jehovah in ,his ,temple at ,jerusalem4 ,there was no return of the ten tribes that in any way corresponded to the terms of this prophecy or that could rank with the return of their brethren4 ,our growing acquaintance with the races of the world seems likely to exclude even the possibility of any such restoration of ,ephraim4 ,of the two divisions of ,israel1 so long united in common experiences of grace and chastisement1 the one has been taken and the other left4 ,christendom is the true heir of the ideals of ,israel1 but she is mostly content to inherit them as counsels of perfection4 ,isaiah#dbb struck the keynote of this chapter when he prophesied that ,ephraim should not envy ,judah1 nor ,judah vex ,ephraim4 ,our prophet1 in the same generous spirit1 propounds a programme of reconciliation4 ,it might serve for a model to those who construct schemes for ,christian ,reunion4 ,when two denominations are able to unite on such terms that the one admits the other to be the first-born of ,god1 ,his darling child and precious in ,his sight1 and the latter is willing to accept the former's central sanctuary as the headquarters of the united body1 we shall have come some way towards realising this ancient ,jewish ideal4 ,meanwhile ,ephraim remains consumed with envy of ,judah2 and ,judah apparently considers it her most sacred duty to vex ,ephraim4 ,moreover the disappearance of what was at one time the most flourishing branch of the ,hebrew ,church has many parallels in ,church ,history4 ,again and again religious dissension has been one of the causes of political ruin1 and the overthrow of a ,christian state has sometimes involved the extinction of its religion4 ,christian thought and doctrine owe an immense debt to the great ,churches of ,northern ,africa and ,egypt4 ,but these provinces were torn by the dissensions of ecclesiastical parties2 and the quarrels of ,donatists1 ,arians1 and ,catholics in ,north ,africa1 the endless controversies over the ,person of ,christ in ,egypt1 left them helpless before the ,saracen invader4 ,to-day the ,church of ,tertullian and ,augustine is blotted out1 and the ,church of ,origen and ,clement is a miserable remnant4 ,similarly the ecclesiastical strife between ,rome and ,constantinople lost to ,christendom some of the fairest provinces of ,europe and ,asia1 and placed ,christian races under the rule of the ,turk4 ,even now the cause of ,christians in heathen and ,mohammedan countries suffers from the jealousy of ,christian states1 and modern ,churches sometimes avail themselves of this jealousy to try and oust their rivals from promising fields for mission work4 ,it is a melancholy reflection that ,jeremiah's effort at reconciliation came too late1 when the tribes whom it sought to reunite were hopelessly set asunder4 ,reconciliation1 which involves a kind of mutual repentance1 can ill afford to be deferred to the eleventh hour4 ,in the last agonies of the ,greek ,empire1 there was more than one formal reconciliation between the ,eastern and ,western ,churches2 but they also came too late1 and could not survive the ,empire which they failed to preserve4 ,,footnotes3 #cib xxxiii41 #g1 etc4 #cic vii4 #ae4 #cid ,amos ix4 #ad4 #cie ,micah ii4 #ab2 ,isa4 xi4 #aj-af4 #cif ,hosea xi4 #h4 #cig ,hosea xi4 #i4 #cih ,hosea xiv4 #cii ,so ,giesebrecht1 reading with ,jerome and ,targum l'marg' for the obscure and obviously corrupt l'harg'4 ,the other versions vary widely in their readings4 #djj ,r4,v4 with lovingkindness have ,i drawn thee1 ,r4,v4 margin have ,i continued lovingkindness unto thee2 the word for drawn occurs also in ,hosea xi4 #d1 ,i drew them 444 with bands of love4 #dja ,so ,giesebrecht's conjecture of bocerim 7vintages71 for the nocerim 7watchmen1 ,r4,v474 ,the latter is usually explained of the watcher who looked for the appearance of the new moon1 in order to determine the time of the feasts4 ,the practice is stated on negative grounds to be post-exilic1 but seems likely to be ancient4 ,on the other hand vintagers seems a natural sequel to the preceding clauses4 #djb ,according to the reading of the ,,lxx4 and the ,targum1 the ,hebrew ,text has 7as ,r4,v47 ,o ,jehovah1 save ,thy people4 #djc iii4 #ba4 #djd ,isaiah does not mention ,benjamin4 #dje ,which is ,bethlehem1 in ,genesis1 is probably a later explanatory addition2 and the explanation is not necessarily a mistake4 ,cf4 ,matt4 ii4 #ah4 #djf #a ,kings xv4 #ag4 #djg xl4 #a4 #djh ,,lxx4 omits verse #ag b1 i4e4 from ,jehovah to border4 #dji ,slightly paraphrased4 #daj ,more literally as ,r4,v41 ,i do earnestly remember him still4 #daa ,the ,hebrew ,text has the same word1 tamrurim1 here that is used in verse #ae in the phrase bekhi tamrurim1 weeping of bitternesses or bitter weeping4 ,it is difficult to believe that the coincidence is accidental1 and ,hebrew literature is given to paronomasia2 at the same time the distance of the words and the complete absence of point in this particular instance are remarkable4 ,the ,,lxx41 not understanding the word1 represented it more suo by the similar ,greek word 1 which may indicate that the original reading was timorim1 and the assimilation to tamrurim may be a scribe's caprice4 ,in any case1 the word here connects with tamar1 a palm1 the post being made of or like a palm tree4 ,cf4 ,giesebrecht1 ,orelli1 ,cheyne1 etc4 #dab ,giesebrecht treats verses #ba-bf as a later addition1 but this seems unnecessary4 #dac ,so ,kautzsch4 #dad ,cf4 ,streane1 ,cambridge ,bible4 #dae ,zech4 iv4 #a4 #daf xxiii1 #be-cb1 xxvii4 #i1 xxix4 #h3 cf4 ,deut4 xiii4 #a-e4 #dag ,cf4 ,hosea ii4 #bc1 ,i will sow her unto ,me in the earth 7or land71 in reference to ,jezreel1 understood as ,whom ,god soweth 7,r4,v4 margin74 #dah i4 #aj-ab4 #dai #b ,kings xxiii4 #be4 #dbj xv4 #a-d4 #dba ,ezek4 xviii4 #bj3 cf4 ,cheyne1 ,jeremiah 7,men of the ,bible71 p4 #aej4 #dbb ,isa4 xi4 #ac4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,restoration--,,iv4 ,,the ,,new ,,covenant xxxi4 #ca-ch3 cf4 ,hebrews viii4 ,i will make a new covenant with the house of ,israel and the house of ,judah4--,,jer4 xxxi4 #ca4 ,the religious history of ,israel in the ,old ,testament has for its epochs a series of covenants3 ,jehovah declared ,his gracious purposes towards ,his people1 and made known the conditions upon which they were to enjoy ,his promised blessings2 they1 on their part1 undertook to observe faithfully all that ,jehovah commanded4 ,we are told that covenants were made with ,noah1 after the ,flood2 with ,abraham1 when he was assured that his descendants should inherit the land of ,canaan2 at ,sinai1 when ,israel first became a nation2 with ,joshua1 after the ,promised ,land was conquered2 and1 at the close of ,old ,testament history1 when ,ezra and ,nehemiah established the ,pentateuch as the ,code and ,canon of ,judaism4 ,one of the oldest sections of the ,pentateuch1 ,exodus xx4 #bj-xxiii4 #cc1 is called the ,book of the ,covenant1#dbc and ,ewald named the ,priestly ,code the ,book of the ,four ,covenants4 ,judges and ,samuel record no covenants between ,jehovah and ,israel2 but the promise of permanence to the ,davidic dynasty is spoken of as an everlasting covenant4 ,isaiah1#dbd ,amos1 and ,micah make no mention of the ,divine covenants4 ,jeremiah1 however1 imitates ,hosea#dbe in emphasising this aspect of ,jehovah's relation to ,israel1 and is followed in his turn by ,ezekiel and ,,ii4 ,isaiah4 ,jeremiah had played his part in establishing covenants between ,israel and its ,god4 ,he is not1 indeed1 even so much as mentioned in the account of ,josiah's reformation2 and it is not clear that he himself makes any express reference to it2 so that some doubt must still be felt as to his share in that great movement4 ,at the same time indirect evidence seems to afford proof of the common opinion that ,jeremiah was active in the proceedings which resulted in the solemn engagement to observe the code of ,deuteronomy4 ,but yet another covenant occupies a chapter#dbf in the ,book of ,jeremiah1 and in this case there is no doubt that the prophet was the prime mover in inducing the ,jews to release their ,hebrew slaves4 ,this act of emancipation was adopted in obedience to an ordinance of ,deuteronomy1#dbg so that ,jeremiah's experience of former covenants was chiefly connected with the code of ,deuteronomy and the older ,book of the ,covenant upon which it was based4 ,the ,restoration to which ,jeremiah looked forward was to throw the ,exodus into the shade1 and to constitute a new epoch in the history of ,israel more remarkable than the first settlement in ,canaan4 ,the nation was to be founded anew1 and its regeneration would necessarily rest upon a ,new ,covenant1 which would supersede the ,covenant of ,sinai4 ,behold1 the days come--it is the utterance of ,jehovah--when ,i will enter into a new covenant with the ,house of ,israel and the ,house of ,judah3 not according to the covenant into which ,i entered with your fathers1 when ,i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of ,egypt4 ,the ,book of the ,covenant and ,deuteronomy had both been editions of the ,mosaic ,covenant1 and had neither been intended nor regarded as anything new4 ,whatever was fresh in them1 either in form or substance1 was merely the adaptation of existing ordinances to altered circumstances4 ,but now the ,mosaic ,covenant was declared obsolete1 the ,new ,covenant was not to be1 like ,deuteronomy1 merely a fresh edition of the earliest code4 ,the ,return from ,babylon1 like the primitive ,migration from ,ur and like the ,exodus from ,egypt1 was to be the occasion of a new ,revelation1 placing the relations of ,jehovah and ,his people on a new footing4 ,when ,ezra and ,nehemiah established1 as the ,covenant of the ,restoration1 yet another edition of the ,mosaic ordinances1 they were acting in the teeth of this prophecy--not because ,jehovah had changed ,his purpose1 but because the time of fulfilment had not yet come4#dbh ,the rendering of the next clause is uncertain1 and1 in any case1 the reason given for setting aside the old covenant is not quite what might have been expected4 ,the ,authorised and ,revised ,versions translate3 ,which ,my covenant they brake1 although ,i was an husband unto them2#dbi thus introducing that ,old ,testament figure of marriage between ,jehovah and ,israel which is transferred in ,ephesians and the ,apocalypse to ,christ and the ,church4 ,the margin of the ,revised ,version has3 ,forasmuch as they brake ,my covenant1 although ,i was lord over them4 ,there is little difference between these two translations1 both of which imply that in breaking the covenant ,israel was setting aside ,jehovah's legitimate claim to obedience4 ,a third translation1 on much the same lines1 would be although ,i was ,baal unto or over them2#dcj ,baal or ba'al being found for lord1 husband1 in ancient times as a name of ,jehovah1 and in ,jeremiah's time as a name of heathen gods4 ,jeremiah is fond of paronomasia1 and frequently refers to ,baal1 so that he may have been here deliberately ambiguous4 ,the phrase might suggest to the ,hebrew reader that ,jehovah was the true lord or husband of ,israel1 and the true ,baal or ,god1 but that ,israel had come to regard ,him as a mere ,baal1 like one of the ,baals of the heathen4 ,forasmuch as they1 on their part1 set at nought ,my covenant2 so that ,i1 their true ,lord1 became to them as a mere heathen ,baal4 ,the covenant and the ,god who gave it were alike treated with contempt4 ,the ,septuagint1 which is quoted in ,hebrews viii4 #i1 has another translation3 ,and ,i regarded them not4#dca ,unless this represents a different reading1#dcb it is probably due to a feeling that the form of the ,hebrew sentence required a close parallelism4 ,israel neglected to observe the covenant1 and ,jehovah ceased to feel any interest in ,israel4 ,but the idea of the latter clause seems alien to the context4 ,in any case1 the new and better covenant is offered to ,israel1 after it has failed to observe the first covenant4 ,this ,divine procedure is not quite according to many of our theories4 ,the law of ordinances is often spoken of as adapted to the childhood of the race4 ,we set children easy tasks1 and when these are successfully performed we require of them something more difficult4 ,we grant them limited privileges1 and if they make a good use of them the children are promoted to higher opportunities4 ,we might perhaps have expected that when the ,israelites failed to observe the ,mosaic ordinances1 they would have been placed under a narrower and harsher dispensation2 yet their very failure leads to the promise of a better covenant still4 ,subsequent history1 indeed1 qualifies the strangeness of the ,divine dealing4 ,only a remnant of ,israel survived as the people of ,god4 ,the ,covenant of ,ezra was very different from the ,new ,covenant of ,jeremiah2 and the later ,jews1 as a community1#dcc did not accept that dispensation of grace which ultimately realised ,jeremiah's prophecy4 ,in a narrow and unspiritual fashion the ,jews of the ,restoration observed the covenant of external ordinances2 so that1 in a certain sense1 the ,law was fulfilled before the new ,kingdom of ,god was inaugurated4 ,but if ,isaiah and ,jeremiah had reviewed the history of the restored community1 they would have declined to receive it as1 in any sense1 the fulfilling of a ,divine covenant4 ,the ,law of ,moses was not fulfilled1 but made void1 by the traditions of the ,pharisees4 ,the fact therefore remains1 that failure in the lower forms1 so to speak1 of ,god's school is still followed by promotion to higher privileges4 ,however little we may be able to reconcile this truth with a priori views of ,providence1 it has analogies in nature1 and reveals new depths of ,divine love and greater resourcefulness of ,divine grace4 ,boys whose early life is unsatisfactory nevertheless grow up into the responsibilities and privileges of manhood2 and the wilful1 disobedient child does not always make a bad man4 ,we are apt to think that the highest form of development is steady1 continuous1 and serene1 from good to better1 from better to best4 ,the real order is more awful and stupendous1 combining good and evil1 success and failure1 victory and defeat1 in its continuous advance through the ages4 ,the wrath of man is not the only evil passion that praises ,god by its ultimate subservience to ,his purpose4 ,we need not fear lest such ,divine overruling of sin should prove any temptation to wrongdoing1 seeing that it works1 as in the exile of ,israel1 through the anguish and humiliation of the sinner4 ,the next verse explains the character of the ,new ,covenant2 once ,jehovah wrote ,his law on tables of stone1 but now3-- ,this is the covenant which ,i will conclude with the ,house of ,israel after those days--it is the utterance of ,jehovah-- ,i will put ,my law within them1 and will write it upon their heart2 ,and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be ,my people4 ,these last words were an ancient formula for the immemorial relation of ,jehovah and ,israel1 but they were to receive new fulness of meaning4 ,the inner law1 written on the heart1 is in contrast to ,mosaic ordinances4 ,it has1 therefore1 two essential characteristics3 first1 it governs life1 not by fixed external regulations1 but by the continual control of heart and conscience by the ,divine ,spirit2 secondly1 obedience is rendered to the ,divine ,will1 not from external compulsion1 but because man's inmost nature is possessed by entire loyalty to ,god4 ,the new law involves no alteration of the standards of morality or of theological doctrine1 but it lays stress on the spiritual character of man's relation to ,god1 and therefore on the fact that ,god is a spiritual and moral being4 ,when man's obedience is claimed on the ground of ,god's irresistible power1 and appeal is made to material rewards and punishments1 ,god's personality is obscured and the way is opened for the deification of political or material ,force4 ,this doctrine of setting aside of ancient codes by the authority of the ,inner ,law is implied in many passages of our book4 ,the superseding of the ,mosaic ,law is set forth by a most expressive symbol1#dcd ,when ye are multiplied and increased in the land1 ',the ,ark of the ,covenant of ,jehovah' shall no longer be the watchword of ,israel3 men shall neither think of the ark nor remember it2 they shall neither miss the ark nor make another in its place4 ,the ,ark and the ,mosaic ,torah were inseparably connected2 if the ,ark was to perish and be forgotten1 the ,law must also be annulled4 ,jeremiah moreover discerned with ,paul that there was a law in the members warring against the ,law of ,jehovah3 ,the sin of ,judah is written with a pen of iron1 and with the point of a diamond3 it is graven upon the table of their heart1 and upon the horns of their altars4#dce ,hence the heart of the people had to be changed before they could enter into the blessings of the ,restoration3 ,i will give them an heart to know ,me1 that ,i am ,jehovah3 and they shall be ,my people1 and ,i will be their ,god3 for they shall return unto ,me with their whole heart4#dcf ,in the exposition of the symbolic purchase of ,hanameel's field1 ,jehovah promises to make an everlasting covenant with ,his people1 that ,he will always do them good and never forsake them4 ,such continual blessings imply that ,israel will always be faithful4 ,jehovah no longer seeks to ensure their fidelity by an external law1 with its alternate threats and promises3 ,he will rather control the inner life by ,his grace4 ,i will give them one heart and one way1 that they may fear ,me for ever2 444 ,i will put ,my fear in their hearts1 that they may not depart from ,me4#dcg ,we must not1 of course1 suppose that these principles--of obedience from loyal enthusiasm1 and of the guidance of heart and conscience by the ,spirit of ,jehovah--were new to the religion of ,israel4 ,they are implied in the idea of prophetic inspiration4 ,when ,saul went home to ,gibeah1 there went with him a band of men1 whose hearts ,god had touched4#dch ,in ,deuteronomy1 ,israel is commanded to love ,jehovah thy ,god with all thine heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy might4 ,and these words1 which ,i command thee this day1 shall be in thine heart4#dci ,the novelty of ,jeremiah's teaching is that these principles are made central in the ,new ,covenant4 ,even ,deuteronomy1 which approaches so closely to the teaching of ,jeremiah1 was a new edition of the ,covenant of the ,exodus1 an attempt to secure a righteous life by exhaustive rules and by external sanctions4 ,jeremiah had witnessed and probably assisted the effort to reform ,judah by the enforcement of the ,deuteronomic ,code4 ,but when ,josiah's religious policy collapsed after his defeat and death at ,megiddo1 ,jeremiah lost faith in elaborate codes1 and turned from the letter to the spirit4 ,the next feature of the ,new ,covenant naturally follows from its being written upon men's hearts by the finger of ,jehovah3-- ,men shall no longer teach one another and teach each other1 saying1 ,know ye ,jehovah6 ,for all shall know ,me1 from the least to the greatest--it is the utterance of ,jehovah4 ,in ancient times men could only know ,jehovah and ascertain ,his will by resorting to some sanctuary1 where the priests preserved and transmitted the sacred tradition and delivered the ,divine oracles4 ,written codes scarcely altered the situation2 copies would be few and far between1 and still mostly in the custody of the priests4 ,whatever drawbacks arise from attaching supreme religious authority to a printed book were multiplied a thousandfold when codes could only be copied4 ,but1 in the ,new ,israel1 men's spiritual life would not be at the mercy of pen1 ink1 and paper1 of scribe and priest4 ,the man who had a book and could read would no longer be able1 with the self-importance of exclusive knowledge1 to bid his less fortunate brethren to know ,jehovah4 ,he ,himself would be the one teacher1 and ,his instruction would fall1 like the sunshine and the rain1 upon all hearts alike4 ,and yet again ,israel is assured that past sin shall not hinder the fulfilment of this glorious vision3-- ,for ,i will forgive their iniquity1 and their sin will ,i remember no more4 ,recurring to the general topic of the ,restoration of ,israel1 the prophet affixes the double seal of two solemn ,divine asseverations4 ,of old1 ,jehovah had promised ,noah3 ,while the earth remaineth1 seedtime and harvest1 cold and heat1 summer and winter1 day and night1 shall not cease4#ddj ,now ,he promises that while sun and moon and stars and sea continue in their appointed order1 ,israel shall not cease from being a nation4 ,and1 again1 ,jehovah will not cast off ,israel on account of its sin till the height of heaven can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out4#dda ,,footnotes3 #dbc ,exod4 xxiv4 #g4 #dbd ,i4e4 in the sections generally acknowledged4 #dbe ,hosea ii4 #ah1 vi4 #g1 viii4 #a4 #dbf xxxiv4 #dbg ,cf4 xxxiv4 #ad with ,deut4 xv4 #ab and ,exod4 xxi4 #b4 #dbh ,cf4 ,prof4 ,adeney's ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 etc41 in this series4 #dbi ,so also ,kautzsch1 ,reuss1 ,sugfried1 and ,stade4 ,the same phrase is thus translated in iii4 #ad4 #dcj ,i was ,baal ba'alti4 #dca 4 #dcb 2 occurs in xiv4 #ai1 and is translated by ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 loathed4 #dcc ,we usually underrate the proportion of ,jews who embraced ,christianity4 ,hellenistic ,judaism disappeared as ,christianity became widely diffused1 and was probably for the most part absorbed into the new faith4 #dcd iii4 #af1 slightly paraphrased4 #dce xvii4 #a4 #dcf xxiv4 #g4 #dcg xxxii4 #ci1 #dj4 #dch #a ,sam4 x4 #bf4 #dci ,deut4 vi4 #e1 #f4 #ddj ,gen4 viii4 #bb 7,j474 #dda ,verses #ce-cg occur in the ,,lxx4 in the order #cg1 #ce1 #cf4 ,they are considered by many critics to be a later addition4 ,the most remarkable feature of the paragraph is the clause translated by the ,authorised ,version which divideth ,revised ,version1 text stirreth up1 margin stilleth the sea when the waves thereof roar2 ,the ,lord of ,hosts is ,his name4 ,this whole clause is taken word for word from ,isa4 li4 #ae1 ,i am ,jehovah thy ,god1 which stirreth up1 etc4 ,it seems clear that either this clause or #ce-cg as a whole were added by an editor acquainted with ,,ii4 ,isaiah4 ,the prophecy1 as it stands in the ,masoretic text1 is concluded by a detailed description of the site of the restored ,jerusalem4 ,the contrast between the glorious vision of the ,new ,israel and these architectural specifications is almost grotesque4 ,verses #ch-dj are regarded by many as a later addition2 and even if they are by ,jeremiah1 they form an independent prophecy and have no connection with the rest of the chapter4 ,our knowledge of the geographical points mentioned is not sufficient to enable us to define the site assigned to the restored city4 ,the point of verse #dj is that the most unclean districts of the ancient city shall partake of the sanctity of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,restoration--,v4 ,,review xxx4-xxxiii4 ,in reviewing these chapters we must be careful not to suppose that ,jeremiah knew all that would ultimately result from his teaching4 ,when he declared that the conditions of the ,new ,covenant would be written1 not in a few parchments1 but on every heart1 he laid down a principle which involved the most characteristic teaching of the ,new ,testament and the ,reformers1 and which might seem to justify extreme mysticism4 ,when we read these prophecies in the light of history1 they seem to lead by a short and direct path to the ,pauline doctrines of ,faith and ,grace4 ,constraining grace is described in the words3 ,i will put ,my fear in their hearts1 that they shall not depart from ,me4#ddb ,justification by faith instead of works substitutes the response of the soul to the ,spirit of ,god for conformity to a set of external regulations--the writing on the heart for the carving of ordinances on stone4 ,yet1 as ,newton's discovery of the law of gravitation did not make him aware of all that later astronomers have discovered1 so ,jeremiah did not anticipate ,paul and ,augustine1 ,luther and ,calvin3 he was only their forerunner4 ,still less did he intend to affirm all that has been taught by the ,brothers of the ,common ,life or the ,society of ,friends4 ,we have followed the ,epistle to the ,hebrews in interpreting his prophecy of the ,new ,covenant as abrogating the ,mosaic code and inaugurating a new departure upon entirely different lines4 ,this view is supported by his attitude towards the ,temple1 and especially the ,ark4 ,at the same time we must not suppose that ,jeremiah contemplated the summary and entire abolition of the previous dispensation4 ,he simply delivers his latest message from ,jehovah1 without bringing its contents into relation with earlier truth1 without indeed waiting to ascertain for himself how the old and the new were to be combined4 ,but we may be sure that the ,divine writing on the heart would have included much that was already written in ,deuteronomy1 and that both books and teachers would have had their place in helping men to recognise and interpret the inner leadings of the ,spirit4 ,in rising from the perusal of these chapters the reader is tempted to use the prophet's words with a somewhat different meaning3 ,i awaked and looked about me1 and felt that ,i had had a pleasant dream4#ddc ,renan1 with cynical frankness1 heads a chapter on such prophecies with the title ,pious ,dreams4 ,while ,jeremiah's glowing utterances rivet our attention1 the gracious words fall like balm upon our aching hearts1 and we seem1 like the ,apostle1 caught up into ,paradise4 ,but as soon as we try to connect our visions with any realities1 past1 present1 or in prospect1 there comes a rude awakening4 ,the restored community attained to no ,new ,covenant1 but was only found worthy of a fresh edition of the written code4 ,instead of being committed to the guidance of the ever-present ,spirit of ,jehovah1 they were placed under a rigid and elaborate system of externals--carnal ordinances1 concerned with meats and drinks and divers washings1 imposed until a time of reformation4#ddd ,they still remained under the covenant from ,mount ,sinai1 bearing children unto bondage1 which is ,hagar4 ,now this ,hagar is ,mount ,sinai in ,arabia1 and answereth to the ,jerusalem that now is3 for she is in bondage with her children4#dde ,for these bondservants of the letter1 there arose no ,david1 no glorious ,scion of the ancient stock4 ,for a moment the hopes of ,zechariah rested on ,zerubbabel1 but this ,branch quickly withered away and was forgotten4 ,we need not underrate the merits and services of ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 of ,simon the ,just and ,judas ,maccabus2 and yet we cannot find any one of them who answers to the ,priestly ,king of ,jeremiah's visions4 ,the new ,growth of ,jewish royalty came to an ignominious end in ,aristobulus1 ,hyrcanus1 and the ,herods1 ,antichrists rather than ,messiahs4 ,the ,reunion of long-divided ,israel is for the most part a misnomer2 there was no healing of the wound1 and the offending member was cut off4 ,even now1 when the leaven of the ,kingdom has been working in the lump of humanity for nearly two thousand years1 any suggestion that these chapters are realised in ,modern ,christianity would seem cruel irony4 ,renan accuses ,christianity of having quickly forgotten the programme which its ,founder borrowed from the prophets1 and of having become a religion like other religions1 a religion of priests and sacrifices1 of external observances and superstitions4#ddf ,it is sometimes asserted that ,protestants lack faith and courage to trust to any law written on the heart1 and cling to a printed book1 as if there were no ,holy ,spirit--as if the ,branch of ,david had borne fruit once for all1 and ,christ were dead4 ,the movement for ,christian ,reunion seems thus far chiefly to emphasise the feuds that make the ,church a kingdom divided against itself4 ,but we must not allow the obvious shortcomings of ,christendom to blind us to brighter aspects of truth4 ,both in the ,jews of the ,restoration and in the ,church of ,christ we have a real fulfilment of ,jeremiah's prophecies4 ,the fulfilment is no less real because it is utterly inadequate4 ,prophecy is a guide-post and not a mile-stone2 it shows the way to be trodden1 not the duration of the journey4 ,jews and ,christians have fulfilled ,jeremiah's prophecies because they have advanced by the road along which he pointed towards the spiritual city of his vision4 ,the pious dreams of a little group of enthusiasts have become the ideals and hopes of humanity4 ,even ,renan ranks himself among the disciples of ,jeremiah3 ,the seed sown in religious tradition by inspired ,israelites will not perish2 all of us who seek a ,god without priests1 a revelation without prophets1 a covenant written in the heart1 are in many respects the disciples of these ancient fanatics 7ces vieux gars74#ddg ,the ,judaism of the ,return1 with all its faults and shortcomings1 was still an advance in the direction ,jeremiah had indicated4 ,however ritualistic the ,pentateuch may seem to us1 it was far removed from exclusive trust in ritual4 ,where the ancient ,israelite had relied upon correct observance of the forms of his sanctuary1 the ,torah of ,ezra introduced a large moral and spiritual element1 which served to bring the soul into direct fellowship with ,jehovah4 ,pity and humanity are pushed to their utmost limits1 always of course in the bosom of the family of ,israel4#ddh ,the ,torah moreover included the great commands to love ,god and man1 which once for all placed the religion of ,israel on a spiritual basis4 ,if the ,jews often attached more importance to the letter and form of ,revelation than to its substance1 and were more careful for ritual and external observances than for inner righteousness1 we have no right to cast a stone at them4 ,it is a curious phenomenon that after the time of ,ezra the further developments of the ,torah were written no longer on parchment1 but1 in a certain sense1 on the heart4 ,the decisions of the rabbis interpreting the ,pentateuch1 the fence which they made round the law1 were not committed to writing1 but learnt by heart and handed down by oral tradition4 ,possibly this custom was partly due to ,jeremiah's prophecy4 ,it is a strange illustration of the way in which theology sometimes wrests the ,scriptures to its own destruction1 that the very prophecy of the triumph of the spirit over the letter was made of none effect by a literal interpretation4 ,nevertheless1 though ,judaism moved only a very little way towards ,jeremiah's ideal1 yet it did move1 its religion was distinctly more spiritual than that of ancient ,israel4 ,although ,judaism claimed finality and did its best to secure that no future generation should make further progress1 yet in spite of1 nay1 even by means of1 ,pharisee and ,sadducee1 the ,jews were prepared to receive and transmit that great resurrection of prophetic teaching which came through ,christ4 ,if even ,judaism did not altogether fail to conform itself to ,jeremiah's picture of the ,new ,israel1 clearly ,christianity must have shaped itself still more fully according to his pattern4 ,in the ,old ,testament both the idea and the name of a ,new ,covenant1#ddi superseding that of ,moses1 are peculiar to ,jeremiah1 and the ,new ,testament consistently represents the ,christian dispensation as a fulfilment of ,jeremiah's prophecy4 ,besides the express and detailed application in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 ,christ instituted the ,lord's ,supper as the ,sacrament of ,his ,new ,covenant--,this cup is the ,new ,covenant in ,my blood2#dej and ,st4 ,paul speaks of himself as a minister of the ,new ,covenant4#dea ,christianity has not been unworthy of the claim made on its behalf by its ,founder1 but has realised1 at any rate in some measure1 the visible peace1 prosperity1 and unity of ,jeremiah's ,new ,israel1 as well as the spirituality of his ,new ,covenant4 ,christendom has its hideous blots of misery and sin1 but1 on the whole1 the standard of material comfort and intellectual culture has been raised to a high average throughout the bulk of a vast population4 ,internal order and international concord have made enormous strides since the time of ,jeremiah4 ,if an ancient ,israelite could witness the happy security of a large proportion of ,english workmen and ,french peasants1 he would think that many of the predictions of his prophets had been fulfilled4 ,but the advance of large classes to a prosperity once beyond the dreams of the most sanguine only brings out in darker relief the wretchedness of their less fortunate brethren4 ,in view of the growing knowledge and enormous resources of modern society1 any toleration of its cruel wrongs is an unpardonable sin4 ,social problems are doubtless urgent because a large minority are miserable1 but they are rendered still more urgent by the luxury of many and the comfort of most4 ,the high average of prosperity shows that we fail to right our social evils1 not for want of power1 but for want of devotion4 ,our civilisation is a ,dives1 at whose gate ,lazarus often finds no crumbs4 ,again ,christ's ,kingdom of the ,new ,covenant has brought about a larger unity4 ,we have said enough elsewhere on the divisions of the ,church4 ,doubtless we are still far from realising the ideals of chapter xxxi41 but1 at any rate1 they have been recognised as supreme1 and have worked for harmony and fellowship in the world4 ,ephraim and ,judah are forgotten1 but the ,new ,covenant has united into brotherhood a worldwide array of races and nations4 ,there are still divisions in the ,church1 and a common religion will not always do away with national enmities2 but in spite of all1 the influence of our common ,christianity has done much to knit the nations together and promote mutual amity and goodwill4 ,the vanguard of the modern world has accepted ,christ as its standard and ideal1 and has thus attained an essential unity1 which is not destroyed by minor differences and external divisions4 ,and1 finally1 the promise that the ,new ,covenant should be written on the heart is far on the way towards fulfilment4 ,if ,roman and ,greek orthodoxy interposes the ,church between the soul and ,christ1 yet the inspiration claimed for the ,church to-day is1 at any rate in some measure1 that of the living ,spirit of ,christ speaking to the souls of living men4 ,on the other hand1 a predilection for ,rabbinical methods of exegesis sometimes interferes with the influence and authority of the ,bible4 ,yet in reality there is no serious attempt to take away the key of knowledge or to forbid the individual soul to receive the direct teaching of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the ,reformers established the right of private judgment in the interpretation of the ,scriptures2 and the interpretation of the ,library of ,sacred ,literature1 the spiritual harvest of a thousand years1 affords ample scope for reverent development of our knowledge of ,god4 ,one group of ,jeremiah's prophecies has indeed been entirely fulfilled4#deb ,in ,christ1 ,god has raised up a ,branch of ,righteousness unto ,david1 and through ,him judgment and righteousness are wrought in the earth4 ,,footnotes3 #ddb xxxii4 #dj4 #ddc xxxi4 #bf4 #ddd ,heb4 ix4 #aj4 #dde ,gal4 iv4 #bd1 #be4 #ddf ,histoire du ,peuple d',israel1 iii41 #cdj4 #ddg ,renan1 iii41 #cdj4 #ddh ,renan1 iii41 #dbe4 #ddi ,we have the idea of a spiritual covenant in ,isa4 lix4 #ba1 ,this is ,my covenant with them3 444 ,my spirit that is upon thee1 and ,my words which ,i have put in thy mouth1 shall not depart out of thy mouth1 nor out of the mouth of thy seed1 nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed1 444 from henceforth and for ever2 but nothing is said as to a new covenant4 #dej ,luke xxii4 #bj2 #a ,cor4 xi4 #be4 ,the word new is omitted by ,codd4 ,sin4 and ,vat4 and the ,r4,v4 in ,matt4 xxvi4 #bh and ,mark xiv4 #bd4 #dea #b ,cor4 iii4 #f4 #deb xxxiii4 #ae4 ,,epilogue ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,christ ,jehovah thy ,god will raise up unto thee a prophet from amongst thee1 of thy brethren1 like unto me2 unto him shall ye hearken4--,,deut4 xviii4 #ae4 ,jesus 444 asked ,his disciples1 saying1 ,who do men say that the ,son of ,man is8 ,and they said1 ,some say ,john the ,baptist2 some1 ,elijah3 and others1 ,jeremiah1 or one of the prophets4--,,matt4 xvi4 #ac1 #ad4 ,english feeling about ,jeremiah has long ago been summed up and stereotyped in the single word jeremiad4 ,the contempt and dislike which this word implies are partly due to his supposed authorship of ,lamentations2 but1 to say the least1 the ,book of ,jeremiah is not sufficiently cheerful to remove the impression created by the linked wailing1 long drawn out1 which has been commonly regarded as an appendix to its prophecies4 ,we can easily understand the unpopularity of the prophet of doom in modern ,christendom4 ,such prophets are seldom acceptable1 except to the enemies of the people whom they denounce2 and even ardent modern advocates of ,jew-baiting would not be entirely satisfied with ,jeremiah--they would resent his patriotic sympathy with sinful and suffering ,judah4 ,most modern ,christians have ceased to regard the ,jews as monsters of iniquity1 whose chastisement should give profound satisfaction to every sincere believer4 ,history has recorded but few of the crimes which provoked and justified our prophet's fierce indignation1 and those of which we do read repel our interest by a certain lack of the picturesque1 so that we do not take the trouble to realise their actual and intense wickedness4 ,ahab is a by-word1 but how many people know anything about ,ishmael ben ,nethaniah8 ,the cruelty of the nobles and the unctuous cant of their prophetic allies are forgotten in--nay1 they seem almost atoned for by--the awful calamities that befell ,judah and ,jerusalem4 ,jeremiah's memory may even be said to have suffered from the speedy and complete fulfilment of his prophecies4 ,the national ruin was a triumphant vindication of his teaching1 and his disciples were eager to record every utterance in which he had foretold the coming doom4 ,probably the book1 in its present form1 gives an exaggerated impression of the stress which ,jeremiah laid upon this topic4 ,moreover1 while the prophet's life is essentially tragic1 its drama lacks an artistic close and climax4 ,again and again ,jeremiah took his life in his hand1 but the good confession which he witnessed for so long does not culminate in the crown of martyrdom4 ,a final scene like the death of ,john the ,baptist would have won our sympathy and conciliated our criticism4 ,we thus gather that the popular attitude towards ,jeremiah rests on a superficial appreciation of his character and work2 it is not difficult to discern that a careful examination of his history establishes important claims on the veneration and gratitude of the ,christian ,church4 ,for ,judaism was not slow to pay her tribute of admiration and reverence to ,jeremiah as to a ,patron ,saint and ,confessor4 ,his prophecy of the ,restoration of ,israel is appealed to in ,ezra and ,daniel2 and the ,hebrew ,chronicler1 who says as little as he can of ,isaiah1 adds to the references made by the ,book of ,kings to ,jeremiah4 ,we have already seen that apocryphal legends clustered round his honoured name4 ,he was credited with having concealed the ,tabernacle and the ,ark in the caves of ,sinai4#dec ,on the eve of a great victory1 he appeared to ,judas ,maccabus1 in a vision1 as a man distinguished by grey hairs1 and a majestic appearance2 but something wonderful and exceedingly magnificent was the grandeur about him1 and was made known to ,judas as a lover of the brethren1 who prayeth much for the people and for the holy city1 to wit1 ,jeremiah the prophet of ,god4 ,and ,jeremiah stretching forth his right hand delivered over to ,judas a sword of gold4#ded ,the ,son of ,sirach does not fail to include ,jeremiah in his praise of famous men2#dee and there is an apocryphal epistle purporting to be written by our prophet4#def ,it is noteworthy that in the ,new ,testament ,jeremiah is only mentioned by name in the ,judaistic ,gospel of ,st4 ,matthew4 ,in the ,christian ,church1 notwithstanding the lack of popular sympathy1 earnest students of the prophet's life and words have ranked him with some of the noblest characters of history4 ,a modern writer enumerates as amongst those with whom he has been compared ,cassandra1 ,phocion1 ,demosthenes1 ,dante1 ,milton1 and ,savonarola4#deg ,the list might easily be enlarged1 but another parallel has been drawn which has supreme claims on our consideration4 ,the ,jews in ,new ,testament times looked for the return of ,elijah or ,jeremiah to usher in ,messiah's reign2 and it seemed to some among them that the character and teaching of ,jesus of ,nazareth identified him with the ancient prophet who had been commissioned to root out1 pull down1 destroy and throw down1 to build and to plant4 ,the suggested comparison has often been developed1 but undue stress has been laid on such accidental and external circumstances as the prophet's celibacy and the statement that he was sanctified from the womb4 ,the discussion of such details does not greatly lend itself to edification4 ,but it has also been pointed out that there is an essential resemblance between the circumstances and mission of ,jeremiah and his ,divine ,successor1 and to this some little space may be devoted4 ,jeremiah and our ,lord appeared at similar crises in the history of ,israel and of revealed religion4 ,the prophet foretold the end of the ,jewish monarchy1 the destruction of the ,first ,temple and of ancient ,jerusalem2 ,christ1 in like manner1 announced the end of the restored ,israel1 the destruction of the ,second ,temple and of the newer ,jerusalem4 ,in both cases the doom of the city was followed by the dispersion and captivity of the people4 ,at both eras the religion of ,jehovah was supposed to be indissolubly bound up with the ,temple and its ritual2 and1 as we have seen1 ,jeremiah1 like ,stephen and ,paul and our ,lord ,himself1 was charged with blasphemy because he predicted its coming ruin4 ,the prophet1 like ,christ1 was at variance with the prevalent religious sentiment of his time and with what claimed to be orthodoxy4 ,both were regarded and treated by the great body of contemporary religious teachers as dangerous and intolerable heretics2 and their heresy1 as we have said1 was practically one and the same4 ,to the champions of the ,temple1 their teaching seemed purely destructive1 an irreverent attack upon fundamental doctrines and indispensable institutions4 ,but the very opposite was the truth2 they destroyed nothing but what deserved to perish4 ,both in ,jeremiah's time and in our ,lord's1 men tried to assure themselves of the permanence of erroneous dogmas and obsolete rites by proclaiming that these were of the essence of ,divine ,revelation4 ,in either age to succeed in this effort would have been to plunge the world into spiritual darkness3 the light of ,hebrew prophecy would have been extinguished by the ,captivity1 or1 again1 the hope of the ,messiah would have melted away like a mirage1 when the legions of ,titus and ,hadrian dispelled so many ,jewish dreams4 ,but before the catastrophe came1 ,jeremiah had taught men that ,jehovah's ,temple and city were destroyed of ,his own set purpose1 because of the sins of ,his people2 there was no excuse for supposing that ,he was discredited by the ruin of the place where ,he had once chosen to set ,his ,name4 ,thus the ,captivity was not the final page in the history of ,hebrew religion1 but the opening of a new chapter4 ,in like manner ,christ and ,his ,apostles1 more especially ,paul1 finally dissociated ,revelation from the ,temple and its ritual1 so that the light of ,divine truth was not hidden under the bushel of ,judaism1 but shone forth upon the whole world from the many-branched candlestick of the ,universal ,church4 ,again1 in both cases1 not only was ancient faith rescued from the ruin of human corruption and commentary1 but the purging away of the old leaven made room for a positive statement of new teaching4 ,jeremiah announced a new covenant--that is1 a formal and complete change in the conditions and method of man's service to ,god and ,god's beneficence to men4 ,the ancient ,church1 with its sanctuary1 its clergy1 and its ritual1 was to be superseded by a new order1 without sanctuary1 clergy1 or ritual1 wherein every man would enjoy immediate fellowship with his ,god4 ,this great ideal was virtually ignored by the ,jews of the ,restoration1 but it was set forth afresh by ,christ and ,his ,apostles4 ,the ,new ,covenant was declared to be ratified by ,his sacrifice1 and was confirmed anew at every commemoration of ,his death4 ,we read in ,john iv4 #ba-bc3 ,the hour cometh1 when neither in this mountain1 nor in ,jerusalem1 shall ye worship the ,father4444 ,the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and truth4 ,thus when we confess that the ,church is built upon the foundation of the ,prophets and ,apostles1 we have to recognise that to this foundation ,jeremiah's ministry supplied indispensable elements1 alike by its positive and in its negative parts4 ,this fact was manifest even to ,renan1 who fully shared the popular prejudices against ,jeremiah4 ,nothing short of ,christianity1 according to him1 is the realisation of the prophet's dream3 ,il ajoute un facteur essentiel l'uvre humaine2 ,jrmie est1 avant ,jean-,baptiste1 l'homme qui a le plus contribu la fondation du ,christianisme2 il doit compter1 malgr la distance des sicles1 entre les prcurseurs immdiats de ,jsus4#deh ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,footnotes3 #dec #b ,macc4 ii4 #a-h4 #ded #b ,macc4 xv4 #ab-af4 #dee ,ecclus4 xlix4 #f1 #g4 #def ,sometimes appended to the ,book of ,baruch as a sixth chapter4 #deg ,smith's ,dictionary of the ,bible1 art4 ,jeremiah4 #deh ,hist41 iii41 #bea1 #cje4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4 ,inconsistent hyphenation left as in the original text4 ,footnote #aja3 ,anchor was missing from original text1 added anchor4 ,footnote #deb3 ,anchor was missing from original text1 added anchor4