CHAPTER 26

(609 B.C.)

JEREMIAH THREATENED WITH DEATH

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this Word from the LORD, saying (this Prophecy takes us back some 22 years before the Babylonian captivity [II Ki. 23:36; 24:18]. All that happened, at least concerning Judah, as portrayed in the previous Chapter, could have been avoided if the words of the Prophet had been heeded at this early time),

²Thus says the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORDs House, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORDs House, all the words that I command you to speak unto them; diminish not a word (as today, so then, people were willing to attend religious services, but not to abandon their sins. In fact, almost all who came to worship did not know the Lord):

³If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. (The word turn means to repent. This Message was spoken to the religious elite of Judah. Such are the hardest to bring to Repentance.)

⁴And you shall say unto them, Thus says the LORD; If you will not hearken to Me, to walk in My Law, which I have set before you (the criteria was My Law, i.e., the Mosaic Law. While the Mosaic Law has been completely fulfilled in Christ, presently the criteria still is the Bible and will always be the Bible),

⁵To hearken to the words of My servants the Prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but you have not hearkened (the idea is: due to the persistence of the Lord, Judah was without excuse!);

⁶Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the Earth. (Shiloh was the place where the Tabernacle of Moses was located during the time of the Judges. Because of Israels great sin in those days, the Lord allowed the Philistines to spoil that place and its worship.)

⁷So the Priests and the Prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of the LORD. (As Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, and did so in the very Temple itself, such a prediction must have been startling to all who heard it. But to those who placed their confidence in the mere existence of this consecrated building, it was like a blow aimed at their life. In fact, the Priests and the Prophets were preaching the very opposite of Jeremiah.)

⁸Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the Priests and the Prophets and all the people took him, saying, You shall surely die. (Jeremiah is placed under arrest because of what he is now preaching.)

⁹Why have you prophesied in the Name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the House of the LORD. (And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the House of the LORD, all too often characterizes the response to all true Prophets. They did not like what he preached, so they were determined to silence him.)

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the kings house unto the House of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORDs House. (The Princes of Judah referred to the members of the various branches of the royal family, who acted as Judges and Magistrates. Their sitting down in the entry of the new gate of the LORDs House refers to Jeremiah being put on trial for his life.)

¹¹Then spoke the Priests and the Prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. (The accusations of these Priests and Prophets to the royal Judges fly thick and fast. They want Jeremiahs life!)

JEREMIAHS ANSWER

¹²Then spoke Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. (In reply to their accusations, Jeremiah little defends himself, but rather uses the occasion to continue his Message. He claims The LORD as his sponsor. As well, he claims that his very Words that have been heard by the people were given to him by the Lord.)

¹³Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent Him of the evil that He has pronounced against you. (In effect, Jeremiah will now give an Altar Call! However, it will do little good.)

¹⁴As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seems good and meet unto you. (With this statement, he puts himself in the hands of God, but does make the following statement:)

¹⁵But know you for certain, that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD has sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. (Jeremiahs statement must have sent fear into the hearts of these magistrates, the princes, because they would not take Jeremiahs side. No doubt, the Lord used these words to speak to their hearts.)

CONTENTION OVER JEREMIAH

¹⁶Then said the princes and all the people unto the Priests and to the Prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God. (It is amazing that these men admitted that he has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God, but yet they would not obey the admonition to repent!)

¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying (the elders of the land were originally the heads of powerful families in Israel, and probably had their foundation in the fixed number of 70, as described in Ex. 24:1),

¹⁸Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD of Hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. (The Prophet Micah was a contemporary with Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah. His Prophecy is recorded in his Book, Micah 1:1 and 3:12. At this time, the Prophecy was over 100 years old.)

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which He had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. (The elders used Hezekiah king of Judah as an example of Righteousness; however, there was a world of difference in Hezekiah and Jehoiakim, who was now the reigning king. By the statement, Thus might we procure great evil against our souls, the elders seemed to understand, at least in part, their precarious spiritual condition. But yet, because of their fear of man, it seems they did little about it, at least regarding Repentance.)

²⁰And there was also a man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah (other than this incident, the Scripture is silent concerning the Prophet Urijah):

²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt (this will show that it is disastrous for a servant of God to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt rather than in the secret place of the Most High. The path of duty is usually the path of safety);

²²And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. (Jehoiakim was not satisfied to stop the voice of the Prophet Urijah, who evidently was prophesying at the same time as Jeremiah, but he had to kill him, as well! Consequently, he would send his henchmen into Egypt to secure that Prophet.)

²³And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. (Him casting his dead body into the graves of the common people was the answer of Jehoiakim to Urijahs Prophecies. Such actions show Jehoiakims contempt! However, what he did to the Prophet likewise would be done to him [Jer. 22:19].)

²⁴Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. (Ahikam was one of those who found the original Scroll of the Pentateuch [II Ki. 22:12] and seemed to have some affinity for that Great Book, as well as for Gods Prophet Jeremiah.)