CHAPTER III _The first five verses of this chapter allude to the subject of_ _the last; and contain earnest exhortations to repentance, with_ _gracious promises of pardon, notwithstanding every aggravation_ _of guilt_, 1-5. _At the sixth verse a new section of prophecy commences, opening_ _wit... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:2. _AS THE ARABIAN IN THE WILDERNESS_] They were as fully intent on the practice of their idolatry as the _Arab_ in the desert is in lying in wait to plunder the caravans. Where they have not cover to lie in ambush, they scatter themselves about, and run hither and thither, raising... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:3. _THERE HATH BEEN NO LATTER RAIN_] The _former rain_, which prepared the earth for tillage, fell in the beginning of _November_, or a little sooner; and the _latter rain_ fell in the middle of _April_, after which there was scarcely any rain during the summer.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:4. _WILT THOU NOT - CRY UNTO ME, MY FATHER_] Wilt thou not allow me to be thy Creator and Preserver, and cease thus to acknowledge idols? See on Jeremiah 2:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:5. _WILL HE RESERVE HIS ANGER FOR EVER?_] Why should not wrath be continued against thee, as thou continuest transgression against the Lord?... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:6. _THE LORD SAID ALSO UNTO ME IN THE DAYS OF JOSIAH THE_ _KING_] This is a new discourse, and is supposed to have been delivered after the _eighteenth_ year of the reign of Josiah. Here the prophet shows the people of Judah the transgressions, idolatry, obstinacy, and punishment o... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:7. _AND I SAID_] By the prophets _Elijah, Elisha, Hosea,_ _Amos_, c. for all these prophesied to that rebellious people, and exhorted them to return to the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:8. _I HAD PUT HER AWAY_] Given them up into the hands of the Assyrians.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:9. _THE LIGHTNESS OF HER WHOREDOM_] The _grossness_ of her idolatry: worshipping objects the most degrading, with rites the most impure.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:11. _BACKSLIDING ISRAEL HATH JUSTIFIED HERSELF MORE_] She was less offensive in my eyes, and more excusable, than treacherous Judah. So it is said, Luke 18:14, the humbled _publican_ went down to his house _justified rather than_ the boasting _Pharisee_. The one was more to be pitie... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:12. _PROCLAIM THESE WORDS TOWARD THE NORTH_] The countries where the ten tribes were then in captivity, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Media, c., see 2 Kings 17:6 these lay _north_ of Judea. How tender and compassionate are the exhortations in this and the following verses! Could these peopl... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:14. _I WILL TAKE YOU ONE OF A CITY, AND TWO OF A FAMILY_] If there should be but one of a city left, or one willing to return, and _two only of a whole tribe_, yet will I receive these, and bring them back from captivity into their own land. I have heard these words most sinfully ap... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:15. _I WILL GIVE YOU PASTORS ACCORDING TO MINE HEART_] The pastor means either the _king_ or the _prophet_; and the pastors here promised may be either kings or prophets, or both. These shall be according to God's own heart; they shall be of his own choosing and shall be qualified b... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:16. _THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD_] This symbol of the Divine presence, given to the Jews as a token and pledge of God's dwelling among them, shall be no longer necessary, and shall no longer exist; for in the days of the Messiah, to which this promise seems to relate, God's... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:17. _THEY SHALL CALL JERUSALEM THE THRONE OF THE LORD_] The new Jerusalem, the universal Church of Christ, shall be God's throne: and wherever he is acknowledged as _the Lamb of God who_ _takes away the sin of the world_, there God sits on his throne, and holds his court.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:18. _THE HOUSE OF JUDAH SHALL WALK WITH THE HOUSE OF_ _ISRAEL_] That is, in those days in which the Jews shall be brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles. _OUT OF THE LAND OF THE NORTH_] From Chaldea. This prophecy has two aspects: one refers to the return from the Babylonish c... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:19. _HOW SHALT I PUT THEE AMONG THE CHILDREN_] As if he had said, How can ye be accounted a holy seed, who are polluted? How can ye be united to the people of God, who walk in the path of sinners? How can ye be taken to heaven, who are unholy within, and unrighteous without? _AND I... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:21. _A VOICE WAS HEARD UPON THE HIGH PLACES_] Here the Israelites are represented as assembled together to bewail their idolatry and to implore mercy. While thus engaged, they hear the gracious call of Jehovah -... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:22. _RETURN, YE BACKSLIDING CHILDREN_] This they gladly receive, and with one voice make their confession to him: "Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art Jehovah our God;" and thence to the end of the chapter, show the reasons why they return unto God. 1. Because he is the true Go... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Jeremiah 3:24. _FOR SHAME HATH DEVOURED_] The word _shame_, here and in Jeremiah 11:13; Hosea 9:10, is supposed to signify Baal, the idol which they worshipped. That thing or shame which has brought you into contempt, confusion, and ruin. Sooner or later every sinner must be _ashamed_ of his c... [ Continue Reading ]