CHAP. XIII. -
®
The prophet, by-the'sign of a linen girdle,
Jirst-worn by him, and then.buried and spoiled near Euphrates; and by the simile of bottles filled with wine, predicts the approuching captivity, and the miseries attending it, 114A. He calls the rulers and the people to re-peniance ; and mourns over their pride, and in the prospect of their calamities, 15—21. He expostulates with them, concerning their incorrigible obstinacy, , 22—27. $11. abet. nee. | HUS saith the Lorp unto me, * Go 1" & He “and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. OG ez i, 2 SOI gota girdle, » according: to the jonn xiii. 6,2. word of the Lorp, and put, i¢ on my
— loins. 3 And the word’of the Lorp came unto me the second time, saying, sates A Take the girdle that thou hast got,. Ps. : bg : ° cxxavii, 1s Mic. Which is upon thy loins; and arise, ‘go
t ° e 7 e ° s d Bx. xxix. «2,tO Euphrates, and hide it there ina hole
43. xi.16. Matt
xxi.s—8. Jom Of the rock.
ii. S—8. Acts ee is
xvi. 19, 2: 15 So 1 went, and hid it by Euphrates
Heb, xi. 6. 17-4 as the Lorp commanded me. nn in and errors they have imitated.—All the efforts of sinners to escape misery, without repentance and “fruits meet for re- ‘‘ pentance,” will surely terminate in confusion; ‘ becaue ‘* of the fierce anger of the Lorn.” But if judgment begin at the house of God, let not the evii neighbours and persecutors of his church expect impunity. - (Noles, 1 Ped. iv. 17-19) Yet in wrath our God remembers mercy: he will assuredly return and compassionate his church; and all, who diligently learn his ways, and join themselves to his spiritual worshippers, shall be built up among them, even though they once were tempters of others to the vilest abominations: but inevitable destruction awaits all that persevere in disobedience.
May we then employ ourselves diligently in learning the ways of the Lord, and be thankful that poor gentiles may acceptably worship his name: Jet us endeavour in our several places, to lead others also to the knowledge of ‘the truth as it is in Jesus:” and may he speedily unite al] Israel, and all the Gentiles in ‘one fold ‘‘ under one Shepherd,” and ‘‘ destroy every enemy which ** continues to do evil in his sanctuary.”
= NOTES. . CHAP. XIII, V. 1—7. It is probable, that the girdle, which the. prophet was commanded to procure, was one of those which. were used as ornaments by the priests.at that time. He was directed to putit on without washing; ‘to ‘represent the Jews in their corrupt state of nature, when ‘they had nothing to recommend them to grace and favour. ‘ (Compare Ez. xvi. 4.’) {Lowtt.) Perhaps the prophet was required to wear the girdle for a considerable time with-
»
JEREMIAH. | 6 And itcame to pass after marry days, -, ; so
BC. Goth
that the Lorp said: unto me, ° Arise, go°*”"™** to Euphrates, and take the girdle frome, sv. 12, thence, which I commanded thee to hide >.'3",,%
there. / 7. ale 84 She 7 Then I went to Euphrates, and dig- fhiew.1i. ™
ged, and took the girdle from the.plate® fm:v.rs, ”
where I had hid it; and, behold, the "are seb gitdle was marred, ‘it was profitable for 7. 1-3, i.
nothing. | Be, xvi. $0. 36,- 8 Then the word of the Lorp came {sit?aem unto me, saying, 14. Jam. iv. 6.
9 Thus saith the Lorp, * After this"... "Nest manner will I mar "the pride of Judah, i zwit:’ 9. m. and ‘the great pride of Jerusalem. k vil ‘ee, a
10 This * evil people, which refuse =v. Hz to hear my words, ' which walk in-the 33, 6 Heb. xi. “imagination of their heart, and walk! th 2-4 after other gods, to serve them, and to frcug BP worship them, ™shall even be as this* S2’a "ary: girdle, which is good for nothing. x a
11 For as the girdle cleaveth to thems‘ 1—v. loins of a man, so have "I caused to cleave n Ex. iz. b a unto me the whole house of Israel, and 27. 16. smut. the whole house of Judah, saith the Lorn; . &™**-* easly that they might be unto me for a people, ° smi", Buia and ° for a name, and for a praise, and tov. t.P.
for a glory: ? but they would not hear. pee —
out washing, when it would cease to be ornamental, and even become offensive 3 asan emblem of the corrupt state: of Israel, the chosen people of God. (11.}—Many interpreters conclude that the subsequent transaction was only a
- Vision: but it is related as a fact; and it is not advisable,
without evident necessity, to sanction such a mode of ine terpretation, in opposition to (he obvious’ meaning of scrips ture. (Note, a) Nay, the selt-denying, laborious, ime plicit obedience of the prophet, in taking these journeys of several hundreds of miles each, was aptly suited to render his sign impressive; to shame the disobedience of the people, and to shew the excessive hardships, to which they would be exposed by the approaching captivity. (Note, Hes. i. 2, 3.
¥ 8—11. It is probable that the people were made acquainted with this sign, some time before it was expounded, and they were left to make their own observations on it: at length God instructed his servant to explain it to them. He had chosen Israel to be his covenanted people, and brought them near unto him by every external privilege, that they might be an honour and praise unto him: * That they might have the honour of being ‘called by my name; and that I might be glorified, by ‘their shewing forth my truth and praises to the world.’ (Lowth.) (Notes, xxxiit. 6—g. Ex. xix. 5, 6. Js. xlit.. 14—21, 1 Pet.ii. 8,9.) And this was the case whilst they adhered to his worship, and were obedient and prosperous. *_ But they gloried in their peculiar distinctions, and were very proud of them, and at the same time turned aside to atrocious and aggravated idolatry’ and iniquity. “Thus
_
_ evi. 7,8
B. C. 606.
12 @ Therefore thou shalt speak unto
them this word: Thus saith the Lorp
God_.of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled
carers ,, With wine: ‘and they shall say unto thee,
7m dx. s-Do we not certainly know that vay bottle shall be filled with wine?
9. xlix. 26. li. i bee Ixiii. 6. 13 Then shalt thou say unto them,
1g. ¢t air oli: xi viii.
1a. Jude “am Lhus, saith the Lorp, Behold, *I will ze, 08. Pe. feo. fill all the inhabitants of this land, even
Hep. am nan the kings that sit upon David's throne,
‘and the priests, and the prophets, and
all the inhabitants .ot Jerusalem, with .. drunkenness. 3
14 And 'I will dash them * one against
vii es oe 8 another, "even the fathers and the sons
+ He, fren nae together, saith the Lorp: *I will not
yi salt, Re. pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, Tf but
= 1s. xaviii, 146 destroy them.
* Side faa 15 &| Hear ye, Yand give ear; * be
not proud: @ for the Lorp hath spoken.
16 > Give glory to the Logp your God,
a ne "on vi. 2i.— an at Ez. ae
* xix. aoe TE xxvii. 11, Ez. x. Bt. ii. 4. 9-boeshe " vii. 19. 1 Sam. Vi. ame Ps.
they became a scandal instead of an honour to the Lord;
losing their comeliness, and becoming polluted like the un-washen girdle. Therefore he proposed to punish them by the Chaldeans, and to carry the remnant of them captives to Babylon. Then their ‘* great pride would be marred :” their temple would be destroyed and its worship caused to cease ; their city would be desolated, their prosperity ruined,
their numbers reduced ; and a poor ‘despised enslaved company alone would be left to go captives to Babylon, and
there to be worn out by oppressions, till they became like
the decayed girdle. (Note, Lam. v. 5—16.) But though this would ‘* mar their great pride,”’ it was not intended to ruin the nation, but to prepare them for future mercies. (Adarg. Ref.)
V.12—14.
The prophet was next ordered, in the name of the Lord, to assure the people, that ‘* every bottle should << be filled with wine.” ‘This seems to have been a proverbial expression, and applied in different ways; and the Lord forewarned him, that they would reply, in a mixture of contempt and indignation, ‘¢ Do we not certainly know ‘¢ that every bottle shall be filled with wine?”’ ‘ The hearers ‘ shall take this prophecy in great scorn, and say, What “ wonders are these that thou tellestus?: Asif we knew not, “ that the use of bottles is to be filled with wine! ‘Tell these ‘ things to children that understand nothing.’ (Bp.
Hail.) —Upon this he was ordered to explain his meaning; and to shew them, that as the bottle was fitted to hold the wince,,. so their sins had made them ‘* vessels of wrath, fitted for’’ the judgments of God: and that they should all be filled with them, till they were intoxicated and made furious, to accomplish each others destruction; like earthen bottles filled
with wine and dashed against each ‘other: (Notes, Xxili. 1, 2. :
9-12. xxv. 15-17. Ps, lxxvi. 8. Js. xlix. 24—26. li. 17 —2o0, Ez. vili. 17, 18. xxii. 25—27.)
V.15—17. These denunciations seem to have greatly exasperated the Jews: but the prophet endeavoured to ‘enforce his warnings, and soften their resentments, by a most pathetick exhortation. He intreated their patient and atten-
CHAPTER XII... . ~
B. C. 606.
4 your feet stumble upon the dark moun- v3 ee a tains, and, © while ye look for light, he 9,10. A turn it into the shadow of death, and4 Prov. iv. sf make z¢ & gross darkness. Lob i. 10, i 17 But *if ye will not hear it, *my fee soul shall weep in secret places * for your} ft ot Is pride; and mine eye shal] weep sore, andn mais Mal. it. run down with tears, | because the Lory’ Si iz. 1. xiv. 17. flock is carried away captive. xy. Ve 38, Po 18 Say ™ unto the king and to the ce sea queen, ® Humble yourselves, ° sit down ; 4% Xom.ix.2— for your ? principalities shall come down, § 2 he an even the crown of your glory. LL beret 19 The P cities of the south shall be mui. 36 8 King 4shut up, and none shall. open them: x2, &c
- 3 Chr. ‘Judah shall be carried away captive all" xml, “2. 9.
of it, it shall be mele carried away 4Jam. ‘we to.
captive. o ir i 0, 20 Lift- up your : eyes, $ and behold: Sr, viead- es
P XVii, 26. Xxxiii. "18. Josh, xviii. 6. B7. xx. 46, 47, q peek xxviii. 5%. Job xii. 14.
r oe oe lil. 27.—— Lev. xxvi. $1—3$8. Deut. xxviil. 15. 64—68 s i. 14. vi. 22. xX. 2%. Hab. i
xlei.
tive hearing; for these were indeed the words of God, and not his own devices. Instead of proudly rejecting his mes-. sage; he exhorted them to ‘¢ give glory toyGod,” by confessing their sins, acknowledging his justice, humbling themselves in repentance, seeking forgiveness, and returning to his worship and service: (Note, Josh. vii. 19:) and to do this without delay, that the threatened judgments might, if possible, be averted.
Otherwise the Lord would speedily extinguish all their prosperity, and leave them in darkness and despondency: then they would be in distress, like that of men wandering in the dark upon the mountains, liable every moment to fall down precipices, or to be devoured by wild beasts.
Or, they would be carried from the ‘¢ valle ‘¢ of vision” into countries destitute of the light of Revelation, and enveloped in all the darkness of idolatry and wickedness: there they would be left to stumble and fall without remedy ; all their hopes would terminate in disappointment and decper distress, which would be introductory to the final misery and despair, of those who persisted in impenitence. (Noles, iv. 19—27. Is, v. 26—0. viii. 21,
22. lix. 9—15. Am. viil. 4—10. John xii. 394—936.) But, © if they would not hear his words, the prophet assured them, that, so far from rejoicing in the prospect of their miseries, , he should weep secretly and bitterly, lamenting their pride and obstinacy, their presumption, and their contempt of the authority and defiance of the vengeance of God; which he knew would terminate in the captivity of the whole company of his professing people. (Nore, 18—a1. IX. 1, 2. Marg.
Ref.)—The word rendered ‘* dark,” seems to mean, the break of day secn on the mountains. ‘Various circumstances gave the Jews a sort of glimmering prospect of deliverance ; appearing amid their dangers and calamities, as the dawn of day. But when they ex x pected that this would increase, and usher in the clear light; God turned it into the very .** shadow of death:” and the disappointment of. wits presumptuous hopes increased their misery. ; 18—21.. Some think that Jeconiah and his mother are ere meant: and others that Jehoiakim and his queen - #19
B.C. 606.
Zech xia 17.28 the flock that was given thee, thy John x 1% !3-beautiful flock ?
"hx. 's es, 21 What ‘wilt thou say when he shall
* Heb. vtieupn.” PUNish, thee? * for thou hast taught x 2 Kings xvi. 7. h b ° d hi f yt xxix. ot em ¢o be captains, and as chief over xx. 6. xiviithee: Y shall not sorrows take thee, as a xxi. S. 1 The. WOMaN In travail ? yt ~==22 And 7 if thou say in thine heart, Zee 8? Wherefore come these things upon me? phe ie ses ele s Sceeon' v.19 For > the greatness of thine iniquity are xvi. 10, 1!. . : bse on ii. 7—thy © skirts discovered, and thy heels ¢ 26 te it nt made bare. e 4 XiIVil., ° e e glam. ia 23 Can ‘the Ethiopian change his xxiii. #7 —99.skin, Or the leopard his spots? ¢hen may +07" ait re YE also do ‘good, that are ? accustomed Seay ftemto do evil
d ii. $2. 30. v. 3. Vi. 29, 30. xvii. 9. Prov. xxvii. 22. Is. i. 5. Matt. xix. 24—96. t Heb. baught. ix. 5. .. :
were addressed. (Notes, xxii. 24—27. 2 Kings xxiv, 8—16.)
—The prophet seems to have charged the princes, who heard him, to repeat his words to the king and queen ; requiring them in the name of God to sit down on the ground as penitents: for all the authority, splendour, and decorations, of which they were proud, would soon be brought to nothing: the cities of Judah, even those of the south and so most distant from the enemy, would be besieged without being relieved, and the whole nation carried into captivity.
Or, the cities of Egypt, to which the Jews hoped to retreat if driven to extremities, would be shut against them, and none would be able to open them. ‘The invaders would be seen coming from the north: and the prosperous nation, which had been committed to the care of the king, soon after the death of Josiah, and which was also ‘ the flock ‘* of God,” (17,) would be scattered, destroyed, or carried captive, through the wickedness of him and his princes. And what would he say, when the king of Babylon should come to punish him for hiscrimes?
For the house of David, and the people of Judah, had brought themselves into dependence on that prince, by their sinful propensity to call in the help of heathen allies, instead of confiding in the Lord: (Notes, 2 Kings xvi. 7—9. xx. 12—17:) and now their sorrows on that account would become extreme and unavailing. (Marg. Ref) ‘ The verbs and pronouns in the ‘ Hebrew here, (:0, 21,)—are in the feminine gender ; ‘ which supposes the words to be directed to the Jewish ‘ state,—represented under the figure of a woman.’ (Low+h.)
V. 22. The Lord knew that the people would enquire, in their hearts at least, what they had done that such punishments should be inflicted on them! (ores, v. 19. xvi. 10, 11.) Fo this sheught he answered, that if their offences had not been very heinous, he would not have thus exposed them; but the greatness of their iniquity required, that he should strip them of all their ornaments, and leave them exposed to the contempt and scorn of their enemies; that he might shew his abhorrence of sin, especially in his professed worshippers. (26. Js. iii. 16, 17. xx. 2—4. xlvii. 1—3.)
V. 23. ‘This proverbial expression is evidently adduced to aggravate the incorrigible obstinacy of the Jews, and to shew, that no ordinary means would be effectual for their reformation: it might as reasonably be expected, that
4
| JEREMIAH, t 17. xxil. 2. them that céme from the north; twhere| 24 Therefore ¢ will I scatter them f age Lev. xxv. ss,
B.C. 600.
the stubble that passeth away by. the svi 4 ea ; wind of the wilderness. vi. &. xvii. SI.
4. 25 This is & thy lot, the portion of ‘% jas ‘thy measures from me, saith the Lorp; zi "iG, How =a » ecause thou hast.forgotten me, and an aaa | ' trusted in falsehood. mg "a wee:
206 Therefore * will I discover. thy, 5!5 19 u1s.39. skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may - ;,0%ct ==
appear. i See ou vi t 27 I-have seen ' thine adulteries, and acai #30. Ife
thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whore-, Ha. 1.16, 16
° . . Ser on@a, dom, and ™ thine abominations on the! ii oo—a. as, ,
hills in the fields. " Woe unto thee, O Bi 3," fe
é Rx @, ke.
Jerusalem ! ° wilt thou not be made clean? . Fes. ete iv
" Jam. iv. § when P shall it once be? been Hae Is. lvii. 7. Ixv. 7. BZ. Vi. 19. XX. @8. n iv. 13. Ez. ii. 10. xxiv. 6. Zeph. iif. 1. Matt, xs 21, Rev. viii. 13. © iv. 14. Ps. xciv. 4.8. Bz. xxiv. 13. xxxvi, 25. S7. Luke xi. 9-—13. 6.
2 Cor. vii. I. § Heb. after when yet? p Prov. i. 9% Hos. viii.
Ethiopian could be brought by argument to change the colour of his skin, and the leopard to divest himself of his spots; as that exhortations would induce the Jews to re- * nounce those idolatries and iniquities, which they had been taught, and to which they had been so long habituated. Ie also holds good of man’s natural propensity to evil and aversion to good, from which nothing can convert him, except the power, which could change the colour of the negro’s _ skin.
But education in corrupt principles, and wicked. practices, strengthens ndjural depravity; and custom is second nature, which men voluntarily bring upon themselves, and which is doubly criminal and incorrigible.
This was the general case of the Jews, and they were therefore to be cut off by desolating judgments ; a remnant only. being preserved, from whom a new race would spring, which had not contracted those habits of idolatry, that had so long been inveterate among their progenitors—The word rendered ‘* accustomed” is literally, :nstructed; not merely the effect of bad habits, but of false principles assiduously inculcated. —* Bochart—maintains, that the word Cush is never used
* for Ethiopia: but this text is a good proof of the contrary, | ‘ and may, most prebably, be understood of the Africans, ‘ or Blackmores, as they are commonly called.’ (Aido}, 2 negro. Sept.)—* A moral change in habitual sinners is ‘ almost as impossible as a natural one. Thus our Saviour * compared the difficulty of a rich man’s entering into the - ‘ kingdom of God, to a natural impossibility: viz. to “a ‘* camel’s passing through the eye of a needle;” but yet ‘ qualifies the comparison by adding, ‘* What is impossible «¢ with man is possible with God.” (Nore, Matt. xix. b3— ‘ 26.) God’s grace can surmount such difficulties, as are * impossible to nature to overcome: and thus we are to un- ‘ derstand the text before us.’ (Low#b.)
V. 24—26. (Marg. Ref. Notes, 22. ii. 31—97. v. 7—= g. Job xx. 10—29.) :
V. 27. The former part of this verse is, properly, by the Septuagint connected with the preceding. ‘* That thy ‘* shame may appears; thy adulteries, thy neighings, andthe - ‘© lewdness of thy whoredoms. I have seen thine abomi- ‘* nations, &&c.”—The Jews were not only unable to cleanse themselves from their filthiness and idols; but they were not willing to be made clean, being in love with their abomina-
4
~
B. C. 606. | a>. O CHAP. XIV.
A terrible famine in Judah, 1\—6. The prophet calls on God to deliver the
people, though deeply guilty, for his}
own name's sake, 7—9. The Lord shews him their wickedness, and for-tions. As the Lord used all proper means for their being cleansed, and was ready to afford effectual assistance to those who sought it; their unwillingness was their only inability ; for by his help, the Ethiopian might change his skin, and they might learn to do good. The Lord therefore here demands of Jerusalem, whether she was determined not to be
made clean ; and how long this was to be delayed, if she | ever intended it? All her miseries arose from this not having been at any time the case with her.
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, V. 114.
They, who are employed in the more important offices in the Lord’s service, will often be called to peculiar self-denial and hardship.
It behoves us to render implicit obedience to all his commands, however laborious they may be, and though they should seem unreasonable to the carnal eye: and if we obey the will of God as far as we know it at present ; he will give us further instructions, as they become needful.—Every means should be used, by which the minds of men may be made sensible of their ingratitude and rebellion against God, and awakened toa conviction of their guilt and danger: yet nothing will be effectual without the concurrent influences of the Holy Spirit. —The peculiar advantages, which the Lord ey on nations, favoured with his word and ordinances, are intended to render them his people; and that they may be to him “ for a «“ name, a praise, and a glory :”’ but no external relation will profit those, who refuse to hear his words ; and who persist in ‘ walking after the imaginations of their evil hearts ;”’ and degenerate professors of religion are the most worthless, and shall be rendered the most contemptible, of all men.— ‘When the gifts of God render men proud and presumptuous, they will either be torn from them, or increase their disgrace and misery: but whatever the Lord takes from us, or lays upon us; if he ‘* mar the great pride of our hearts,”’ and bring us to self-abasement and true repentance, we shall have cause'to be very thankful.—Every kind of sin shews men to be “ vessels of wrath fitted for destruction :” but pride and impenitence continue them in that state. —W hen nations are ripened for destruction, all ranks of men may expect to be filled with the indignation of Almighty God; and when this is the case, they are often so given up to ambition, envy, suspicion, and revenge, as to destroy one another by civil wars and intestine discords; in which even parents and children engage in opposite parties, and destroy one another !
When God is provoked to say, ‘* I will not pity, nor << spare, ner have mercy, but destroy them ;” rage, misery, and desperation must be the effect.: V. 15—27.
The proud are not disposed to hear the warnings of God
by his ministers: they do not believe that he hath spoken