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The Prophet Intercedes for the First Time
v. 1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth, the various periods of drought which Jehovah sent in order to call His people to repentance, this form of punishment being expressly threatened in the curses which the Lord attached to His proclamation of the Law. Cf Lev_26:19-20; Deu_11:17; Deu_28:23.
v. 2. Judah mourneth, the entire nation being plunged in grief, and the gates thereof languish, the people who usually assembled in this public meeting-place being in trouble; they are black unto the ground, as a token of deep sorrow, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up, as the people give expression to their bitterness of heart.
v. 3. And their nobles, the mighty ones, the rulers of the nation, have sent their little ones, either their own servants or the common people generally, to the waters; they came to the pits, the cisterns for collecting rain-water, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty, the last drops of the precious fluid having disappeared; they were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads, in an excess of sorrow and grief.
v. 4. Because the ground is ed, literally, "dismayed," joining the people of Judah in their attitude of horror, for there was no rain in the earth, so that apprehension and consternation seized the soil; the plowmen were ashamed, because they could not till the land, they covered their heads, in the same feeling of humiliation which took hold of every animate and inanimate thing.
v. 5. Yea, the hind also calved in the field and forsook it, abandoning her offspring, although noted for her affection toward her young, because there was no grass, no green thing to sustain life.
v. 6. And the wild asses did stand in the high places, the bare hills most exposed to the wind, they snuffed up the wind like dragons, like jackals, eagerly seeking a breath of cooling air; their eyes did fail, unable to find so much as one blade of green grass, because there was no grass.
v. 7. O Lord, so the prophet now makes his appeal for his countrymen, though our iniquities testify against us, serving as a most serious obstacle to the assistance and salvation of the Lord, do Thou it for Thy name's sake, relieving the distress of the terrible drought in order to bring honor upon Himself; for our backslidings are many, thus preventing His interposing in their behalf so far as they were concerned; we have sinned against Thee, whence they must throw themselves entirely upon His mercy.
v. 8. O the Hope of Israel, He who was properly the One in whom all true children of Israel trusted, since His covenant with them stood secure, the Savior thereof in time of trouble, as He had so often proved Himself, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, who has no interest in its welfare, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? pitching his tent for only a very short period of time and feeling no sympathy for the inhabitants. Surely the Lord and Owner of Israel would not act in this manner!
v. 9. Why shouldest Thou be as a man astonied, taken by surprise and therefore unable to lift His hand, stunned by a sudden calamity, as a mighty man that cannot save? having become weak and helpless in an unexpected extremity. Yet Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, namely, in His Sanctuary, which He had established at Jerusalem, and we are called by Thy name, bearing the name of Jehovah's people; leave us not! Thus Jeremiah turned to the God who had revealed Himself as the God of salvation, pleading in behalf of a people that had become guilty of rebellion against their one Source of help.