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Warning Against Unrighteousness and Oppression
v. 1. Thus saith the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, from the Temple to the palace, which was situated at a lower level, and speak there this word, not merely in the presence of the king, but as a message to the entire nation,
v. 2. and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, a fact which committed him to the high standards set by that friend of God, thou and thy servants, the members of his court, and thy people that enter in by these gates, those of the royal palace:
v. 3. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, as the fundamental principle of Jehovah's nation, Cf. Jer_7:6; Jer_21:12, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, rescuing those who were being systematically plundered by the mightier people of the nation; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, in excessive taxation and other unjust exactions, neither shed innocent blood in this place, all of these transgressions having freely been committed by the later kings of Judah; for in the same measure as their standing among the nations lost in prestige, they practiced tyranny at home.
v. 4. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, as his successors in a direct line, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants and his people. Cf. Jer_17:25.
v. 5. But if ye will not hear these words, disregarding their solemn warning, I swear by Myself, saith the Lord, by the highest instance to which appeal can be made at any time, that this house shall become a desolation, the splendid royal palace becoming a total ruin.
v. 6. For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah, concerning the royal palace with all its inestimable splendor. Thou art Gilead unto Me and the head of Lebanon, the point of comparison being the many pillars and ornaments of costly wood derived from the forests of Gilead and of Lebanon, which made the complex of buildings comprising the royal palace a veritable forest of oaks and cedars; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, a treeless wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
v. 7. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, consecrated, as it were, to perform His will in bringing destruction upon Jerusalem and the palace of the king, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars and cast them into the fire, the picture of a forest's destruction being maintained to this point.
v. 8. And many nations shall pass by this city, the entire capital being destroyed with the Temple and the royal palace, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, in wonder and astonishment over such utter desolation, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?
v. 9. Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord, their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them. Cf Deu_29:23 ff. ; 1Ki_9:8-9. Jerusalem is only one of the many cities which, in the course of time, have become spectacles of God's vengeance, as a warning to all men to heed His commands.