XXIV. (1) THE LORD SHEWED ME... — The chapter belongs to the same period as the two preceding, _i.e.,_ to the reign of Zedekiah, after the first capture of Jerusalem and the captivity of the chief inhabitants. The opening words indicate that the symbols on which the prophet looked were seen in visio... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE THE FIGS THAT ARE FIRST RIPE. — Figs were usually gathered in August. The “first ripe,” the “summer fruits” of Micah 7:1, the “hasty fruit before the summer” (Isaiah 28:4; Hosea 9:10) were looked upon as a choice delicacy. The “naughty” (_i.e.,_ worthless) fruits were those that had been left b... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT SEEST THOU, JEREMIAH? — The question is asked as if to force the symbol as strongly as possible on the prophet’s mind, leaving him to wait till another word of the Lord should come and reveal its true interpretation. We are reminded, as he must have been, of the vision and the question which ha... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAIN THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME. — The words seem to imply an interval, during which the prophet was left to ponder over the symbols that he had thus seen. At last “the word of the Lord came” and made their meaning clear.... [ Continue Reading ]
SO WILL I ACKNOWLEDGE. — The expected revelation came. The two baskets represented the two sections of the people. The captives who had been carried to Babylon were, as the list shows, for the most part of higher rank than those who were left behind. The workmen were the skilled labourers of the art... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL SET MINE EYES UPON THEM FOR GOOD. — The state of the Jews at Babylon at the time of the return from exile was obviously far above that of slaves or prisoners. They had money (Ezra 2:69), they cultivated land, they built houses (Jeremiah 29:4; Jeremiah 29:28). Many were reluctant to leave thei... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL GIVE THEM AN HEART TO KNOW ME... — Of this also the history of the return gives at least a partial proof. Whatever other faults might be growing up, they never again fell into the apostasy from the true faith in God, which up to the time of the exile had been their besetting sin. THEY SHALL... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEM THAT DWELL IN THE LAND OF EGYPT. — These were, in fact, such as had been carried into captivity with Jehoahaz by Pharaoh-nechoh (see Note on Jeremiah 22:11), or had fled thither in order to avoid submission to Nebuchadnezzar, and were settled in Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Noph. We meet with... [ Continue Reading ]
TO BE A REPROACH AND A PROVERB. — The language of the verse is coloured by that of Deuteronomy 28:25; Deuteronomy 28:37, from which most of the words are chosen.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SWORD, THE FAMINE, AND THE PESTILENCE. — The three forms of suffering are grouped together, as in Jeremiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 14:21. The two latter followed almost inevitably in the wake of the first.... [ Continue Reading ]