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Painfully exercised by the mysteries of the Divine government, the prophet opens his grief to Jehovah. Righteous art thou, etc.; rather, Righteous wouldest thou be, O Jehovah, if I should plead with thee; i.e. if I were to bring a charge against thee, I should be unable to convict thee of injustice (comp. Psa_51:4; Job_9:2). The prophet, however, cannot refrain from laying before Jehovah a point which seems to him irreconcilable with the Divine righteousness. The rendering, indeed, must be modified. Let me talk with thee of thy judgments should rather be, yet will I debate questions of right with thee. The questions remind us of those of Job in Job_21:1-34; Job_24:1-25. Thus to have been the recipient of special Divine revelations, and to be in close communion with God, gives no security against the occasional ingress of doubting thoughts and spiritual distress. Wherefore are all they happy, etc.? rather, secure. The statement must be qualified by what follows. In the general calamity the wicked still fare the best.
Jer_12:2
Far from their reins; i.e. from their heart (the seat of strong impulses and desires); comp. Psa_16:7; Psa_26:2.
Jer_12:3
Hast seen me, and tried; rather, seest me, and triest. Pull them out. Perhaps this is correct, and there is an allusion to the figure of the plant in Jer_12:2. But the verb need mean no more than "separate" (comp. Jer_6:29). Prepare them; literally, consecrate them, as victims for the sacrifice.
Jer_12:4
How long, etc.? The verse is decided rather differently by the Hebrew accents. The question should end at wither, and the following words run on. Every field should be the whole field (i.e. open country). The connection has caused some difficulty. But drought is constantly described as a judgment (Jer_3:3; Jer_5:24, Jer_5:25; Jer_14:2-7; Jer_23:10), and it is a prophetic doctrine that the lower animals suffer for the fault of man. Because they said; rather, because they say. The speakers are the ungodly. The subject of the following verb is uncertain. Some think it is God; but when God is said to "see" (i.e. take notice of) anything, it is always something actually existing. The subject must, therefore, be the prophet, of whom the ungodly scoffingly declare, He shall not see our last end, because his predictions are mere delusions.
Jer_12:5
Jeremiah's impatience corrected. The expressions are evidently proverbial. The opposition to the prophet will reach a still higher pitch; and if he is so soon discouraged, how will he bear his impending trials? And if in the land of peace, etc.? a second figure, the translation of which needs amending. If (only) in a land of peace thou art confident, how wilt thou do in the pride of Jordan? The "pride of Jordan" means the thickets on its banks, which were notorious as the haunts of lions (Jer_49:19; Jer_50:44; Zec_11:3). " Lions' bones have been found by Dr. Roth in the gravel of the Jordan. Lions are seldom or never found now west of the Euphrates, although they occasionally cross the river" (Revelation W. Houghton, 'Bible Educator,' 1.22).
Jer_12:6
An example of the "treachery" referred to in Jer_12:1; a conspiracy against Jeremiah in his own family. Have called a multitude after thee; rather, have called aloud after thee, as one raises a hue and cry after a thief.
Jer_12:7-17
A separate prophecy. The key to it is in 2Ki_24:1, 2Ki_24:2, where it is related that, after Jehoiakim's rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, "Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it." The prophecy falls into two strophes or sections, 2Ki_24:7-13 and 2Ki_24:14-17. In the first we have a complaint of the desolation produced by the guerilla warfare; in the second, a prediction of the captivity of the hostile peoples, not, however, without a prospect of their return home and conversion to Jehovah. It is evident enough that this passage stands in no connection with what precedes. The whole tone is that of a description of present scenes and not of the future. Sometimes, no doubt, a prophet, in the confidence of faith, represents the future as though it were already past; but there is always something in the context to determine the reference and prevent ambiguity. Here, however, there is nothing to indicate that the description relates to the future; and it is followed by a prediction which presupposes that the preceding passage refers to the literal past.
Jer_12:7
I have forsaken mine house. The "house" is here not the temple, but the people of Israel, as the parallel clause shows (see Hos_8:1, and setup. Heb_3:6; 1Ti_3:15). Jehovah, not the prophet, is evidently the speaker. I have left; rather, I have east away. Into the hand of her enemies. The Hebrew is more expressive: "Into the palm of the hand." Bonomi has an engraving from the monuments of guests at a banquet, holding their drinking-vessels in the deeply hollowed palm of their hand. So here the people of Israel, in her weak, fainting state, needs only to be held in the quiet pressure of the palm of the hand. The remark and the illustration are due to Dr. Payne Smith.
Jer_12:8
The reason why Jehovah has given up his people. Israel (or, more strictly, Judah) has proceeded to open hostility against his God. He is unto me—or rather, has become unto me—as a lion in the forest; a familiar circumstance (comp. on Jer_12:5 and Jer_4:7). Therefore have I hated it. "To hate" is a strong expression for the withdrawal of love, shown by the giving up of Israel into the power of his enemies, as Mal_1:3 (Keil).
Jer_12:9
The first part of this verse is mistranslated. Instead of Mine heritage is unto me, etc; it should be, Is mine heritage unto me (i.e. to my sorrow, a dativus ethics) a colored bird of prey? Are birds of prey round about her? The passage is difficult, but the following seems the most plausible explanation:—Jehovah is represented as surprised to see his chosen people a prey to the heathen (a strongly anthropomorphic description, as if Jehovah had not anticipated that his "giving up" his people would have such sad results). It seems to him (adopting human modes of speech) as if Israel were "a colored bird of prey," the bright plumage of which excites the animosity of its less brilliant comrades, who gather round it and pull it to pieces. It is an allusion to the phenomenon, well-known to the ancients (Tacit; 'Ann.' 6.28; Suet; 'Caes.,' 81; Plin.,' Hist. Nat.,' 10.19), of birds gathering round and attacking a strange-looking bird appearing in their midst. The prophet might have simply said "a bird;" why does he say "a bird of prey (‛)"? Probably because he has just described the hostile attitude of Israel towards Jehovah under the figure of a lion. Some particular, rare kind of vulture seems to be intended. Sennacherib apparently uses a cognate word ('it) for the vulture ('Taylor Cylinder,' 3. 68). Bochart and Gesenius, following the Septuagint, think "hyena," and not "bird of prey," is the right rendering in the first clause; but Gesenius does not offer any other passage for the meaning bestia rapax. Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field. There is a parallel passage in Isa_56:9, where, as here, the "beasts of the field (i.e. the wild beasts of the open country) are the heathen powers employed as God's instruments for chastising Israel (comp. also Eze_34:5, where the same figure occurs). "The prophet adopts the strongest way of expressing that Israel, utterly bereft of his natural defenders, lies at the mercy of the great heathen empire" (note on Isa_56:9). Come to devour; rather, bring them to devour.
Jer_12:10
Another simpler and more natural image, expressing the same idea, as these in Jer_12:9. The favorite way of representing Jehovah's relation to his people is that of a vine-proprietor to his vineyard (see on Jer_2:21). How would a vineyard be ruined if a band of shepherds were to drive their flocks among the tender vine-shoots! The many pastors (or, shepherds) are clearly Nebuchadnezzar and his generals (comp. Jer_6:3). My pleasant portion. Jehovah is the "portion" of his people; his people and its land are the "portion" of Jehovah (see on Jer_10:16). The epithet "pleasant" expresses the emotion of the surprised speaker.
Jer_12:11
Layeth it to heart; rather, laid it to heart. Inconsiderateness is repeatedly spoken of as an aggravation of the moral sickness of Israel (Isa_42:25; Isa_57:1, Isa_57:11).
Jer_12:12
Upon an high places thresh the wilderness; rather, upon all bare heights in the wilderness (see on Jer_3:2). Hardly with a reference to their pollution by idolatry; the mention of "the wilderness" (or pasture-country) suggests that it is merely a feature in the impoverishment of the country (a contrast to Isa_49:9). The sword of the Lord shall devour; rather, the Lord hath a sword which devoureth. It is the heavenly sword (Isa_34:5), the symbol of Divine vengeance (see below on Jer_46:5).
Jer_12:13
A description in proverbial language of the absence of "peace" (literally, soundness, i.e. prosperity, security), from which "all flesh" in Judah at this time shall suffer. The trouble of sowing has been in vain, for they have reaped thorns (so we must render grammatically, and not shall reap, and in the next clause shall not profit ought to be have not profited). And they shall be ashamed of your revenues; rather, be ashamed then of your produce; but it is more natural to emend the pronominal suffix, and render, and are ashamed of their produce (the Authorized Version seems to have very nearly taken this easy step). It is, of course, the produce of husbandry which is referred to.
Jer_12:14
Here occurs a transition. The prophet comes forward with a denunciation in the name of Jehovah. All mine evil neighbors; the hostile, peoples, mentioned, in 2Ki_24:1-20. My neighbors, because Jehovah "dwelleth in Zion." Pluck them out of their land; viz. by deportation into a foreign land. Judah and the neighboring nations shall share the same fate. This is indicated by the use of the same verb "to pluck out" in the next clause with reference to Judah. In the ease of Judah, however, to be "plucked out" is a mercy as well as a judgment, considering who they are "out of" whose "midst" the Jews are "plucked."
Jer_12:15
I will return, and have compassion. The rendering is too Hebraistic; the sense is simply, I will again have compassion. The prophets offer no partial or "nationalistic" view; of the mercy of God (comp. on Jer_48:47).
Jer_12:16
Israel has been converted and restored, and if the other nations follow his example and swear by my name, i.e. adopt the religion of Jehovah (comp. Isa_19:18), they shall be rewarded by being suffered to dwell safely in Israel's midst. Observe the contrast with Jer_12:14. Before, Israel had dwelt amidst them to his own detriment; now they shall dwell amidst Israel to their profit.
1. The success of wickedness. The treacherous plans of the wicked often succeed. Their violent actions are often unchecked and produce fatal results. How is it that these evil things are not frustrated before they ripen to perfection? That wicked men should plot evil, should attempt evil, we can imagine; but that they should be allowed to carry it out—often only because many accidents are favorable—this is hard to understand. "Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?"
2. The security o/ the wicked. After they had succeeded we should expect that they would discover the vanity of their most prosperous efforts. But they not only attain their objects. They find these to be satisfactory, and are able to enjoy them with calm self-complacency. Here is the greater mystery: after completing their bad deeds the wicked are left in undisturbed enjoyment of the fruits of them. "Wherefore are all they secure that deal very treacherously?"
3. The Divine blessing apparently enjoyed by the wicked. Not only does their own work succeed, but Providence bestows favors upon them. Outside events of life over which they have no control minister to their prosperity. Here is the greatest element of the difficulty. God has planted them, and they enjoy fruitfulness through his help.
II. THE WAY TO TREAT THE DIFFICULTY.
1. Face it. Jeremiah boldly confronted his troublesome thoughts. People often try to hush up their doubts. The result is that a subtle spirit of skepticism spreads unconsciously through all their ideas, and its disintegrating influence undermines all solid faith. Suppressed doubt is fatal to sincerity. It begets indifference to truth. We cannot hold firmly the truths we know till we distinctly separate these from those we doubt. The suppression of doubt is cowardly. Doubt can only be conquered by being boldly confronted.
2. Do not charge God foolishly. Jeremiah did not accuse the justice of God. We are dim-sighted and weak in our judgment. Much of this great world must be a mystery to us. We must not assume that, because we cannot justify the ways of God, they admit of no justification. It is foolish as well as rebellious to presume to be the judge of God.
3. Bring the difficulty to God. Doubt should drive us to prayer. God only can enlighten our darkness. God graciously permits his children to plead and debate with him (Isa_1:18). Doubt is not necessarily a result of any misconduct. But, however it arises, it is best to confess it to God.
III. THE DIRECTIONS IN WHICH TO LOOK FOE A SOLUTION OF THE DIFFICULTY.
1. The righteousness of God. Jeremiah sees the difficulty, but it does not drive him from faith in the justice of God. Religion makes constant demands on faith—the personal faith of trust in the character of God where appearances are against what we believe that character to be. Confidence in the unwavering righteousness of God will help us to look for certain indications of a solution of the difficulty occasioned by the prosperity of the wicked. Right must and will be done, and if it is not yet accomplished it will be ultimately. From the character of God we may thus reason to his certain action (Gen_18:25).
2. Hence we have an argument in favor of future rectification. Jeremiah expects it to come even in this life, though it is long deferred (Verse 3). The Christian looks for it in the great judgment, and the fruits of this in the life to come.
3. The difficulty may be lessened even for the present by the reflection that material prosperity is not real prosperity. It may be well for a good man to suffer. Prosperity may be an evil. True welfare consists not in success, not in security from calamity, but in inward peace, in progress in the Divine life.
Jer_12:2
(last clause)
II. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE NAME OF GOD ON OUR LIPS WHILE THE LOVE OF GOD IS ABSENT FROM OUR HEARTS. We may not fall into the first mistake. The language may not be empty words. The thought of God may be present. Yet this may be a mere thought—a cold and barren idea, having no influence on our affections. This religion of words and notions is a vain thing. Indeed, it is not a religion at all; it is only a theology. Religion does not begin till the heart opens to receive God. It consists not in the intellectual recognition of God, but in the love of God (Deu_10:12).
III. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE NAME OF GOD ON OUR LIPS WHILE THE POWER OF GOD IS ABSENT FROM OUR CONSCIENCES. God may be spoken of, thought of, approached with a certain affection, though not the true love of our hearts, and yet be practically disregarded. His will may still be of no account to us. We may still not make our lives subservient to his Law. There is then no evidence of God in our conduct. Though our thought may be religious, our life is godless.
IV. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE NAME OF GOD ON OUR LIPS WHILE THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS ABSENT FROM OUR SPIRITS. The deepest fact of religion is the indwelling of the Spirit of God—the real presence of God. God inhabits the soul as a temple. We may have much religiousness without this. The Name of God may be inscribed on the portals of the temple while the shrine is empty of his presence.
V. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE NAME OF GOD UPON OUR LIPS AND TO BE VERY WICKED. If the Name be only on our lips, this is no sign of moral and spiritual goodness. The wicked contemporaries of Jeremiah were many of them religious precisionists; yet their moral guilt was nonetheless for all their language of devotion.
VI. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE NAME OF GOD ON OUR LIPS AND TO SUFFER ULTIMATE RUIN. Formalism and hypocrisy may prosper for a time. Those men who had the Name of God on their lips were the wicked who prospered (Verse 1). Yet they were doomed to ultimate punishment. It is important to remember this constantly, since we are too ready to be deceived by professions and appearances.
Jer_12:5
I. DESPAIR UNDER LESSER TROUBLE MAKES THE ANTICIPATION OF GREATER TROUBLE A DARK PROSPECT.
1. Greater trouble may reasonably be expected. God usually prepares us for the endurance of trials by sending them by degrees, and reserving the more severe till we have been trained to the endurance of milder ones. Few men can say that they have drunk the cup of sorrow to the dregs, and none can know what bitter drops may yet be in store for them.
2. The advent of greater trouble is not itself an alarming fact. Trouble is fearful only in proportion as it strikes fear into us. If we are prepared to meet it we need have no terror. God can give strength equal to our requirement, and for the sterner trial the more abundant support. The man's trouble is greater than the child's, but so is the man's strength.
3. The one cause of alarm is in our weakness. If this is revealed before slight tests, it must be much worse when the strain is harder. The important point is not that after enduring the foot-race we shall fail in contending with the chariots, but that, failing in the one trial, we may expect only failure in the other.
II. THE PROSPECT OF GREATER TROUBLE SHOULD HELP US TO SEAR THE LESSER. Some of us are too ready to "give way" at once. But there is more power of endurance in all of us than we are ready to acknowledge to ourselves. After the latest wrench of the rack we cry out that we can bear no more; yet another and still another turn is given, and we do bear it. The prospect of this possibility should make us husband our strength. The very sight of danger may be a stimulus to courage by inspiring a heroic spirit. Life is generally pitched in too low a key, and thus men whine under slight smarts and shrink before mean difficulties. If the same men saw more imperative calls to energy and endurance, they would rouse themselves and call up latent powers which as yet lie slumbering unheeded.
III. FAILURE BEFORE LESSER TROUBLE SHOULD LEAD US TO SEEK BETTER MEANS FOR THE ENDURANCE OF THE GREATER.
1. It is more important that we should be able to bear the greater trouble. This is a more serious matter, and defeat under it involves a more overwhelming disaster. Therefore it is exceedingly needful to learn the lesson of our weakness before this has brought us into a more terrible condition of distress.
2. It is also more difficult to endure the severer strain. The strength which is barely sufficient for the cares and toils of a quiet home life will fail utterly if a man has to contend with lions in the wild thickets of the lonely Jordan valley. If health breaks down before the soft breezes of summer, how will it stand before the frost and fog of winter? If the young man falls into vicious habits while under the protection of his father's home, what will become of him when he goes out into the world? If the prospect of sickness and earthly sorrow fill one with hopeless distress, how will he pass through the valley of the shadow of death? How will he endure death itself?
3. These questions should not make us despondent, but should drive us through self-diffidence to seek the help of God. Failure in small things will be good for us if it teaches us a wholesome lesson on our own weakness, and so inclines us to turn to a higher source of safety. Then we shall find that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness (2Co_12:9).
Jer_12:7
1. That God dwells with his people.
2. That he takes delight in them.
3. That he may be expected to protect them from harm.
4. That he has rights over them and claims their submission to himself.
5. That his honor is concerned with his people's conduct, so that their wickedness is not a matter of indifference to him, but is an insult to his Name.
II. GOD MAY FORSAKE HIS HERITAGE. God's people have no such "vested interests" that nothing can destroy their claims upon him. The present enjoyment of God's favor is no guarantee that this will be perpetual.
1. History shows that God has forsaken his heritage in the past; e.g. the Jews, ancient Christian Churches of Asia and Africa, individual Christians who have fallen from the faith.
2. It is reasonable to expect that he will do this when honor and righteousness require it. Let us, there fore, not presume on the favor of God.
III. GOD ONLY FORSAKES HIS HERITAGE WHEN THAT HAS BECOME CORRUPT. God never leaves his people till they leave him. He is not changeable, capricious, arbitrary in his favors. His love never wanes, his grace never fails, his help and blessings are never limited. The change begins on man's side. It is found in rebellion against God.
1. In self-will. The heritage becomes like a lion of the forest.—i.e. no longer tame, but swayed by its own wild passions.
2. In evil-doing. The lion is fierce and destructive—a beast of prey.
3. In direct opposition to God. The lion "cries out against" God.
IV. GOD'S HERITAGE IS IN A TERRIBLE CONDITION WHEN IT IS FORSAKEN BY HIM. Birds and beasts of prey come up to devour the heritage.
1. It needs no positive act of God's to bring desolation on his sinful people. If he but withdraw his protection, the natural evils of the world and the special evils which they have provoked will be enough to bring ruin on their heads.
2. God's people will suffer in an especial way by the withdrawal of the Divine presence. The heritage is "like a speckled bird." It is strange, and so it draws upon itself opposition. The Jews were a mark for the enmity of the heathen through the singularity of their national customs. Christians are often singled out for opposition from the world for similar reasons. If they have lost their peculiar protection, their peculiar position and nature will invoke a peculiar ruin.
Jer_12:13
II. LABOR MAY BE GOOD IN ITSELF AND YET PROFITLESS. It need not be mistaken in direction nor incompetent in execution.
1. It may be real sowing. "They have sown "—have not simply run uncertainly nor beaten the air with indefinite energy.
2. It may be the sowing of good seed. "They have sown wheat."
3. It may be assiduous and arduous. "They have put themselves to pain."
III. LABOR WILL BE PROFITLESS IF IT BE CURSED BY GOD. "They are ashamed of their increase because of the fierce anger of Jehovah."
1. We cannot succeed in our work without the blessing of God. This is necessary, not only for those things in which we can do nothing and are wholly dependent on him, but also in regard to our own efforts. Man sows, but God must give the increase. We cannot order the seasons, command the weather, determine the germinating power of nature. The farmer is but the attendant of nature. The real work of the farm is done by nature, and nature is a name we give to the action of God. If, therefore, God did not follow with his work, the farmer might as well scatter sand of the desert over his fields as sow good wheat. So also all our labor depends on God's biasing for its fruitfulness.
2. The curse of God will destroy the fruits of labor. Tremendous destructive agencies are in his hands. He can send frost to nip the tender buds, drought to wither the growing plant, blight to destroy the filling ears, storms to beat down the ripe corn. Sickness, commercial disaster, wars, etc; may frustrate the wisest, ablest, most industrious efforts of men. Therefore let us learn
(1) to live so that we dare ask for God's favor;
(2) to labor at such work as God will approve; and
(3) to seek the blessing of God upon our efforts (Psa_90:17).
Jer_12:14-17
1. The people of God do not escape. If the Christian falls into sin, the Law of God must be vindicated on him at least as rigorously as on the worldly man, Judah had shared the sins of her neighbors; she must also share their punishment. If sin is general, so must be its penalties. No religious position which does not secure us against wickedness will protect us against its consequences.
2. The godless do not escape. The heathen nations are to suffer with Judah. Though they were sometimes the instruments in the hands of God for the chastisement of Judah, they were not on that account exonerated from blame for the bad motives of their conduct. The sin of others is no excuse for us in wronging them. The executioner of the law is himself subject to the law. They who do not admit the authority of God are not the less subject to his authority. Men who refuse to submit to the Law of God will be judged by that Law as certainly as those who have freely gone under its yoke. It is not for us to choose our government in spiritual things, but to submit to the one righteous government which God has set over all men. In the execution of this it will be found that all men have sufficient light to render them accountable for their actions, though the degree of their responsibility will vary with the degree of their knowledge.
II. RESTORATION IS GENERAL. This is offered to the heathen nations as well as to Judah. As general punishment must follow general sin, so general restoration will follow general repentance. Here, too, God is impartial.
1. This restoration is not the less perfect for each individual by being general. "Every man" is to come and each to his "own land" and his "own heritage." There are men who seem to fear the broadening of the mercies of God, last they should become less valuable to each recipient, and so they would jealously narrow them to protect their full privileges for a few. Such ideas are not only basely selfish—since the holders of them quietly assume that they are among the few—they are dishonoring to the grace of God, which is exceeding abundant, with enough for all who need it.
2. The general character of the restoration is its most happy feature. It will mean the abolition of war, rivalry, jealousy, separation, and the enjoyment of peace and brotherhood, the realization of the glory of the unity of the race through harmony in the unity of faith. "Then shall they be built in the midst of my people." Thus through the great restoration, i.e. through the perfected redemption in Christ, we may look for the fulfillment of the great ideal human brotherhood.
3. The conditions of this restoration are the same for all, viz.
(1) the compassion of God, and
(2) repentance and amendment.
They who taught Judah to serve Baal must learn with Judah to follow the true religion. But if this condition is not fulfilled, the restoration can never be enjoyed.
I. THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED A STUMBLING-BLOCK TO FAITH. (Jer_12:1, Jer_12:2.) David even is envious over this, and many a saint has felt its bitterness in his soul. That there are instances enough to make the idea plausible that wickedness is the best policy, we all know. The difficulties that beset the honest trader or the conscientious courtier and statesman are proverbial. And often just those measures which are most clearly condemned by Scripture and conscience appear to be the means most justified by the circumstances of the case. This view, however, is corrected by larger experience. It does not take all the facts within its scope, or it does not rightly interpret them. It is impossible for a mere outsider to judge of any one's actual happiness, or the private conditions which most powerfully affect the possession and enjoyment of wealth or high position. The teachings of history and of individual experience will in the end lead to the conclusion, "Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith" (Pro_15:16).
II. THE IMPULSE TO FORCE JEHOVAH'S HAND. (Jer_12:3). This is the meaning of Jeremiah's imprecation. To one who sees by supernatural aid the tendencies of things, it must be very hard to refrain from this. Judgments that are justified to the moral nature sometimes appear to be mysteriously delayed. What would be well done had better be done quickly. But this is the presumption of the creature, the promptings of ignorance and not of faith. God can afford to wait. It is his character to have long patience, and the results more than justify this in the end. He will work out his purposes in his own way and in his own time, notwithstanding the impatience of his servants inquiring, "What or what manner of time?" There is a species of tempting Providence closely connected with this in many spiritual men. They have the clearest conviction that certain things are right and proper for them to do, and, without consulting as to seasonableness or the best means for their accomplishment, they hasten to do them, and then expect that God will recoup them for the loss they incur or extricate them from the difficulties in which they have entangled themselves. This certainly is not waiting upon the Lord, but an arrogant assumption of his prerogatives. It was the principle that lay at the root of Moses' great transgression; and even the disciples had to be rebuked because they knew not what spirit they were of.
III. THE TONE OF THE PROPHET'S PRAYER. Superficially it appears reasonable, considering the character and position of those to whom he refers. And there is at any rate a formal recognition of the righteousness of God to begin with. It is evident, too, that the conscience of the prophet is without offence in the sight of God, and yet there can be no doubt that the language he adopts is not to be justified. He is carried away by excess of zeal, but it is zeal without knowledge, and he himself will be the first bitterly to regret his presumption. It is a perilous thing for any man to attempt to judge his fellows by infallible standards. One thing in the behavior of the prophet was to be commended. He did not conceal these thoughts within himself. He says, "Let me talk with thee," conscious that in this openness of soul lay his moral safety. A few minutes' honest communion with God will tap many a festering sore and correct many a subtle error of spirit and life. The last lesson of Divine revelation is not severity but love.—M.
Jer_12:5, Jer_12:6
I. THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF THE FLESH, AND THEREFORE MAY BE EXPECTED TO EXCITE HATRED AND OPPOSITION WHERE THAT ASSERTS ITSELF.
II. THE SERVANT OF GOD WILL OFTEN BE TRIED BY THE FAILURE AND DEFECTION OF HIS MOST CHERISHED FRIENDS.
III. IT BEHOVES ALL WHO ARE ENTRUSTED WITH DIVINE TRUTH TO ASK THEMSELVES WHAT IS THE GROUND OF THEIR CONFIDENCE.—M.
Jer_12:7, Jer_12:8
I. THE REASONS FOR SUCH A SACRIFICE. It is possible that for one with the keen, affectionate nature of Jeremiah, much intercourse with his family and friends would have interfered with the performance of his duty. He was appointed to discharge an anomalous function, for which the greatest concentration of energy and spirit was required. Even though he had to weep as he spoke the words that God had commanded him, he must speak. His duty to the nation overshadowed or pushed into the background the claims of friends. So the follower of Christ may be subjected to discipline in providence, or to voluntary self-deprivation of a like kind by the demands of spiritual work. And it behooves all who labor in the cause of truth to hold themselves spiritually detached from those things and relations which might impede true usefulness.
II. KEEN PERSONAL SORROW IS FREQUENTLY OCCASIONED BY IT. That it was a real trial to Jeremiah there can be no doubt; and probably the special discovery made to him (Jer_11:18 seq.) was intended to facilitate the transfer of attachment to Jehovah. The endearing terms—"mine house," "mine heritage," "the dearly beloved of my soul," and the manner in which he repeats the history of his estrangement, prove how deeply the trial had affected him.
III. THEREBY IS TESTED THE LOYALTY OF THE SAINT TO GOD. In a question between one's friends and Jehovah, the settlement ought not to be doubtful to the mind of the saint. The reasons for withdrawal from entangling relations may not immediately appear, but the believer can with confidence leave them in the hands of God, by whom they will in due time be revealed. There is a danger in the midst of ordinary human relations that Jehovah shall be considered simply as an addition to our obligations, instead of being the supreme and all-modifying influence of our life. In proportion to the severity of the experience will be the consolations to be received.—M.
Jer_12:14-17
I. THE GREATEST JUDGMENTS OF GOD UPON THE NEIGHBORS OF ISRAEL BUT CORRESPONDED WITH THEIR CRIMES. That grave evils were inflicted upon the enemies of Israel cannot be denied. Multitudes were put to a painful death. Nations were uprooted, and human life appeared to be looked upon as an insignificant thing. In judging of this, however, it must be remembered that they had clone and were ready to do similar things to Israel and Judah. The moral platform, too, upon which they lived has to be considered. Ages of depravity and barbarism, upon which higher appeals would have been utterly lost, had to be imaginatively impressed and overawed. And there were not wanting testimonies of conscience amongst the enemies of Israel themselves to justify this course. But—
II. EVEN IN BEING PUNISHED FOR THE SAKE OF ISRAEL, THEIR DESTINY WAS LINKED WITH HERS. If at first their lot would appear to be hard and inconceivably hopeless, yet in the end there can be no question that they were gainers by the association. In common life, with those whom they subdued they received manifold advantages, especially of a spiritual kind, and the choice was set before them of good as well as evil. On the principle, therefore, that it is better for one to suffer even severely at first if afterwards he may retrieve his position and attain to a higher and more desirable one through the initial discipline, it was better for these nations to Be brought to book in this way for Israel's sake. Enemies to Begin with, they might, and in many cases did, become friends and fellow-heirs of the promise.
III. APPARENT LENIENCY TOWARDS ISRAEL IS JUSTIFIED BY ULTERIOR PURPOSES OF UNIVERSAL BLESSING. As compared with her neighbors, it might appear as if one measure were meted out to her and another to them. But this is only contemporary and relative. The punishment inflicted has to be estimated by the spiritual deprivations which accompanied it. The deferring of Israel's hope must have been a keener sorrow than any mere temporal reverse. It must be remembered that through Israel, the seed of Abraham, all nations were to Be blessed. To avert from her utter extinction was indirectly to ensure the greater benefit to the future. But that to be made to cease as a nation from the face of the earth would have been relatively less painful than many of the dispensations through which she had to pass, cannot but be allowed.
IV. IN THE MIDST OF DESERVED JUDGMENT THE FREE MERCY OF GOD IS THE MORE CONSPICUOUS. How unlooked for this promise concerning the future of Israel's enemies! The silver thread of hope traverses the dark labyrinth of judgment. It is only the wisdom of infinite Love that could so disentangle spiritual possibilities from such stupendous and widespread ruin. How glorious the mercy which can so assert itself! The only phrase that can describe the phenomenon is "grace has reigned." The individual sinner, in the midst of his deserved miseries, may take comfort from this. However great the wretchedness and ruin which he has brought upon himself, and however long continued his alienation from God, if he but turn now from his wickedness, a way of escape will be opened up for him through the sacrifice of Christ.—M.
I. THEY ARE MORE SHREWD. "The children of this generation are wiser than the children of light." They give more heed to the laws of success, are more alert to seize opportunities and to guard against those men and things which would work them harm. No amount of piety will compensate for inattention to the laws of success.
II. THEY ARE LESS SCRUPULOUS. Where success is thus won by some seemingly short cut which a godly man hesitates to take, it will not seldom Be found, after awhile, that the apparently long way round of the righteous was yet the nearest because the truest road. But meanwhile the ungodly appear to have the best of it.
III. THEIR ATTENTION IS MORE CONCENTRATED AND UNDIVIDED. The godly man cannot say in regard to the pursuit of this world's goods, "This one thing I do;" but the ungodly can. Whilst "not slothful in business," the Christian has also to "serve the Lord." Whilst a citizen of this world, he is also a citizen of another country, even a heavenly one, and by his faith he has avowed that he seeks that country. His attention must therefore be divided, as his who sows only to the flesh is not.
IV. THE LONG-SUFFERING OF GOD. The ungodly are his children, though ungrateful ones, and the heavenly Father would woo and win them back. Therefore in all gentleness he deals with them, making his sun to shine and his rain to descend on them as on his faithful children. The long-suffering of God is to lead to repentance.
V. TO TEST, IMPROVE, AND DECLARE THE FAITH OF THE GODLY. If righteousness were a royal road to riches, and faith infallibly led to fortune, where would Be the room for trust in God? How would such trust Be tested and deepened, and how would it ever be made manifest? The devil would have had reason for his taunt concerning Job, "Doth Job serve God for naught?" But that there may Be such men as Job, heroes of the faith, pure, noble, God-fearing souls, saints indeed, God does at times let such men serve him for naught so far as this world is concerned, and hands over this world's wages to the devil, that he may with them bribe, as he in vain sought to bribe our Lord, those who will "fall down and worship him." But that these questions may not perplex us, let us live day-by-day in view of the unseen and eternal, walking with God, holding communion with him; so shall our estimates of this world's prosperity be corrected, and we shall be able to behold with calmness the allotment of that prosperity to the ungodly rather than to ourselves.—C.
Jer_12:3
I. SOME HAVE SPIRITUALIZED THEM. The slaughter work which they call for is to be done, not on human bodies, but on human wickednesses, those inward and deadly foes which are so many and which hate us with cruel hatred. But whilst it is quite lawful to so make use of these petitions, it cannot be said that this is what they who first prayed them meant.
II. OTHERS HAVE TRIED TO TURN THEM SIMPLY INTO PROPHETIC PREDICTIONS—mere announcements of what God would do. But such alteration would never have been thought of but for the moral difficulty of letting them stand as they are. And the alteration is not permissible.
III. OTHERS, VERY MANY, HAVE EXPLAINED THEM ON THE GROUND OF THE IMPERFECT SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF GOD'S ANCIENT PEOPLE. "They knew," it is said, "no better. True, their prayers are wrong, unchristian, cruel, but they are to be excused because of the dim light, the very partial knowledge, of those days." But, in reply, it is clear that they were not ignorant; they had plain laws against revenge (cf. Le Jer_19:8; Exo_23:4, Exo_23:5). And hence St. Paul, when arguing against revenge, cites the Old Testament, as in Rom_12:19, Rom_12:20, quoting from Deu_32:35 and Pro_25:21 (cf. also Pro_20:22; Pro_24:17). And Job (31.) emphatically disavows both the act and thought of revenge; and so David (Psa_7:4, Psa_7:5). And see David's conduct in regard to Saul twice. See, too, his gratitude to Abigail for holding him back from revenge (1Sa_25:1-44.). And they had numerous laws enjoining mercy (cf. also Balaam's speech, given in Micah, "What cloth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy," etc.?).
IV. OTHERS HAVE SAID THAT SUCH REVENGEFUL UTTERANCES ARE BUT THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS—that they were not inspired when they thus speak. But David claims inspiration (2Sa_23:1, 2Sa_23:2). And the apostles claim it for him; and with especial reference to the hundred and ninth psalm, one of the most notable of these utterances (Act_1:16). And they were composed for the temple service as acts of worship. Hengstenberg says of them," They were from the first destined for use in the sanctuary. The sacred authors come forth under the full consciousness of being interpreters of the spiritual feelings of the community, organs of God for the ennobling of their feelings. They give back what in the holiest and purest hours of their life had been given to them." Hence we are compelled to regard these utterances as being only—
V. THAT WHICH IT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR A GOOD MAN, PLACED IN THE LIKE CIRCUMSTANCES, BOTH TO FEEL AND UTTER. Let it be remembered:
1. They knew nothing or but little of the great day of future judgment as we do.
2. The judgments implicated are all temporal. It can never be fight to pray for the eternal damnation of any soul, and this they never do.
3. Many of the expressions are poetical.
4. These desires for the overthrow of their enemies were:
(1) Natural. Resentment against wrong, anger on account of it, and desire that it may be punished, are implanted in us. Let us but place ourselves in their position. How did we feel in the time, e.g; of the Indian Mutiny?
(2) Necessary. In those fierce days a stern and fierce spirit was needed if any people were to hold their own at all (cf. Isaac Taylor, on ' Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry').
(3) Based on the eternal truth of God's retributive justice. God had declared by word and deed this attribute of his. Could it, then, be wrong that they should call on him to show himself what he had declared himself to be?
(4) Left to God to carry out. "Unto God," says Jeremiah, "have I revealed [or, 'committed'] my cause.
(5) And in the New Testament we have some similar utterances. (Cf. Mat_23:11.)
(6) And we ourselves in war—which we all allow to be at times lawful—act on these very principles, and do for ourselves what the Old Testament saints only besought God to do. Hence conclude that, in like circumstances and for similar reasons, such prayers as these are not evil. What the New Testament condemns is revenge for private personal injuries, for persecution when suffered for the gospel's sake; but not war for defensive purposes, and therefore not the stern spirit which is essential to war. And one practical lesson from all such utterances is that they reflect what exists in God—a determined and fierce hatred against wickedness—and therefore they awaken a salutary fear of that vengeance and an earnest desire to "flee from the wrath to come."—C.
Jer_12:5
I. GOD PUTS UPON US FIRST THAT WHICH IS LESS, AND AFTERWARDS THAT WHICH IS GREATER, In all departments of life.
1. Our physical powers are taxed first lightly, afterwards more heavily.
2. So our mental powers; the easy lessons first, then-those that are more difficult.
3. So with our moral life; temptation comes "as we are able to bear it."
4. So in business life i the lesser responsibilities and duties first.
5. And so in the spiritual life; God does not expect from the young beginner that which the veteran in his service can alone render.
II. AND THE LESS IS TO PREPARE US FOR THE GREATER. Childhood is to prepare for youth, that for manhood, and all our life here for our everlasting life yonder. But—
III. FAILURE OF THAT WHICH IS LESS CARRIES WITH IT FAILURE IN THAT WHICH IS GREATER ALSO. This is the law implied by the question of Verse 5. And it is a universal law. Therefore we may ask this question, "If thou hast run," etc.?
1. Of such as are unable to bear the lesser trials of life. What unmanly complaining we often hear, though in the presence of sorrows compared with which their own are as nothing! If they fail here and now, what will they do there and then?
2. Of such as find a little prosperity do them harm. This is the reason why many are kept poor. God sees that they would be puffed up, spiritually injured in many ways, if worldly prosperity were granted them; and hence he keeps it away. A little was given, as if to test them, but they could not bear it; and hence in God's love they were not tried again.
3. Of such as fall before slight temptation. If conscience is set aside and trampled on in lesser matters, it will be served no better in such as are greater.
4. Of such as are looking for a more convenient season than now to yield themselves to God. Will the opposition of your own heart, of the world around you, of the power which habit has over you, become less? But if you yield thereto now, how will it be when all these have become, as they will, more powerful still?
IV. BUT THE REVERSE OF THIS LAW IS TRUE ALSO. Victory over the less will lead to victory over the greater. By the successful running with the footmen we shall be prepared for the severer contest with horses. Hence little trials borne well prophesy our bearing well such as may be greater, should God please to send them. And if, when entrusted with but a few things, we are found faithful in them, the Lord whom we serve is likely to make us" ruler over many things." The lesser temptation resolutely withstood prepares for withstanding the greater when it comes; and the overleaping of the frail barriers that now may oppose our self-surrender to Christ ensures that nothing at any future time shall be able to keep us back from him, nothing shall "separate us from the love of Christ."—C.
Jer_12:7-13
I. OF HIM BY WHOM HIS FACE IS HIDDEN. It is God. We feel such conduct from our fellow-men according to our estimate of the person who manifests it. Now, all these facts which make the hiding of his face grievous to us meet in God—righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power. Were he devoid of these, could we question the existence of any of them in him, we could bear with more equanimity his hiding his face from us.
II. OF THOSE FROM WHOM HIS FACE IS HIDDEN. Had they been enemies all along, it would have been taken as a matter of course; that he should have regarded them with favor would never have been expected. Or had they been strangers and aliens to him, then, too, his favor would not have been looked for. Or had that favor never been known or enjoyed, then its absence would not have been felt, nothing that they had been accustomed to would have been missed. But the reverse of all this is the truth. They had been counted by him as friends, as dear children, as precious in his sight; and he had been wont to cause his face to shine upon them. See the endearing epithets by which he describes them. He had counted them as "the dearly beloved of his soul" (Jer_12:7), "his portion," "his pleasant portion," etc. (Jer_12:8-10). How dark, therefore, must be the frown of God to such! how intolerable to them his displeasure ]
III. OF THAT WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE HIDING OF HIS FACE. There is withdrawal:
1. From the sanctuary. "I have forsaken mine house." The customary services went on, but the glow, the unction, the power of them had departed. The place where his honor dwelt, the dearly beloved of his soul, was forsaken by him.
2. From the people. His heritage was no longer pleasant to him; he delighted not to dwell amongst them. All that joy, strength, prosperity, which belonged to them when God was amongst them had departed.
3. From the land. "The whole land is made desolate." In the outward circumstances and surroundings of the people the effect of God's hiding his face from them became terribly manifest. And there has come a terrible revulsion of feeling on the part of God towards them (see Jer_12:8, Jer_12:9). And not only his mind, but his hand, his providence, is awfully changed towards them. He calls on their enemies to come (Jer_12:9). And they come (Jer_12:12). And the ruin is complete: "The sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other" (Jer_12:12). All their own plans—their sowing of wheat (Jer_12:13)—for their own good are mis