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The First Prophecy and its Effect
v. 1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, about 609 B. C. came this word from the Lord, saying,
v. 2. Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the court of the Lord's house, the large outer court, where the people assembled for worship, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, the believers who still were found in the nation and those who made a pretense at serving the Lord, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word, the threatening prophecy being proclaimed in all its ruthless severity,
v. 3. if so be they will hearken, His own goodness making another effort in their behalf and leaving them without excuse in the event of their refusing to listen, and turn every man from his evil way, for repentance on the part of the people was still the Lord's object, that I may repent Me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
v. 4. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not hearken to Me to walk in My Law, in complete agreement with its precepts, which I have set before you,
v. 5. to hearken to the words of My servants, the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them, thus showing the earnestness of His interest in them and their welfare—but ye have not hearkened, this having been their regular attitude throughout the centuries,—
v. 6. then will I make this house, the Temple of Solomon, like Shiloh, from which the Tabernacle had been removed and the city itself reduced to ruins, Cf. Jer_7:12-14, and will make this city, the rich and proud capital of Judah, a curse to all the nations of the earth, an object of execration.
v. 7. So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord, for he brought his message to their attention in accordance with the command of the Lord.
v. 8. Now, 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, those whose division was on duty at that time, and the prophets, the men who assumed the dignity of this office without really being sent by the Lord or commissioned to act as His servants, and all the people, the assembly which was gathered in the Temple upon that occasion, took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
v. 9. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? They not only regarded his message as an insult to their capital and country, but they charged him with uttering falsehoods in the name of Jehovah, which was an act punishable by death, Deu_18:20. And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, an angry mob, carried away by its passions, ready to carry out the death sentence at once.
v. 10. When the princes of Judah, the rulers, the members of the Great Council, in whose hands alone was the authority to carry out sentences of death, heard these things, then they came up from the king's house, the royal palace being situated at a lower level than the Temple court, unto the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house, at the entrance to the inner court, 2Ki_15:35. Since they were members of the highest judicial tribunal in the nation, they proceeded to investigate the matter which was causing all the disturbance, to try the case.
v. 11. Then spake the priests and the prophets, whose, pride was injured by the message of Jeremiah, who were personally enraged against him, unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die, literally, "A sentence of death upon this man"; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. This expediency, that of appealing to a false patriotism, is resorted to by demagogs even in our day, when in reality they are merely trying to give vent to their own personal spite and grudge against the faithful citizens of a country.