Jeremiah 17:3 Komentář

In this chapter, I. God convicts the Jews of the sin of idolatry by the notorious evidence of the fact, and condemns them to captivity for it (Jer 17:1-4). II. He shows them the folly of all their carnal confidences, which should stand them in no stead when God's time came to contend with them, and that this was one of the sins upon which his controversy with them was grounded (Jer 17:5-11). III. The prophet makes his appeal and address to God upon occasion of the malice of his enemies against him, committing himself to the divine protection, and begging of God to appear for him (Jer 17:12-18). IV. God, by the prophet, warns the people to keep holy the sabbath day, assuring them that, if they did, it should be the lengthening out of their tranquility, but that, if not, God would by some desolating judgment assert the honour of his sabbaths (Jer 17:19-27).

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 17 This chapter is a further prophecy of the destruction of the Jews, with the causes of it, their sins, as their idolatry, which was notorious; of which their own consciences, their altars, and their children, were witnesses, Jer 17:1 for which they are threatened with the spoil of their substance and treasure, and discontinuance in their land, Jer 17:3 as also their confidence in an arm of flesh, which brought the curse of God upon them, when such are blessed that trust in him; and the difference between those that trust in men and those that trust in the Lord is illustrated by very apt similes, Jer 17:5, the source of which vain confidence is the wicked heart of man, known to none but God, Jer 17:9 and the vanity of it is exposed by a partridge sitting on eggs without hatching them, Jer 17:11, and their departure from God, by trusting in the creature, and in outward things, is aggravated by their temple being the throne and seat of the divine Majesty; by what God is to his people that trust in him; and by the shame and ruin that follow an apostasy from him, Jer 17:12, wherefore the prophet, sensible of his own backslidings, prays to be healed and saved by the Lord, who should have all the praise and glory, Jer 17:14 and then relates the scoffs of the people at the word of God by him, another cause of their ruin; declares his own innocence and integrity; prays for protection and security from fear in a time of trouble; and for confusion, terror, and destruction to his persecutors, Jer 17:15, then follows an order to him from the Lord, to go and stand in the gate of the city, and exhort all ranks of men to the observation of the sabbath, with directions how to keep it, which had not been observed by their fathers, and which was another cause of their ruin, Jer 17:19, and the chapter is closed with promises of blessings in city, court, and country, in church and state, should they religiously observe the sabbath day; but if they profaned it, the city of Jerusalem, and its palaces, should be burnt with fire, Jer 17:24.

O my mountain in the midst of the field,.... Meaning either the temple, called the mountain of the house, and of the Lord's house, Mic 3:12, or else Jerusalem, which stood on a hill in the midst of a plain, surrounded with fruitful fields and gardens; or in the midst of a land like a field. The Targum is, "because thou worshippest idols upon the mountains in the field:'' I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil; all the riches of the city and temple to be the spoil and plunder of the enemy; See Gill on Jer 15:13. and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. The sense is, that all their substance and treasure throughout their borders, the riches of the whole land, as well as of the city and temple, Jer 15:13 and all their high places throughout the land, which were used for sin, for idolatrous practices, on account thereof, should become the spoil of the enemy.

(Verse 2, 3.) When their sons remember their altars, and the groves of trees and leafy branches on the high mountains, sacrificing in the field, I will give your strength and all your treasures to plunder. Your lofty places will be destroyed because of your sins in all your borders. And you will be left alone in the inheritance that I gave you, and I will make your enemies serve you in a land that you do not know, because you kindled the fire in my anger, and it will burn forever. And these are not found in the Septuagint, for the same reason (as I believe) that we have mentioned above, namely, lest the eternal sentence should remain against them. 'You shall be left,' He says, 'alone from your inheritance, which I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land which you do not know, either under the Babylonians or, as is more accurate, under the Romans. For they themselves have kindled the fire and provoked the most merciful Lord to anger, whose fire of fury will burn forever.' I am ashamed of our argument, which disputes the truth of the Hebrews. The Jews read against themselves, and the Church does not know what is in their favor. Thus, we, who are the sons of the Apostles, remember the injustices of the previous people and testify that they suffered justly. However, the high places, which are called Bamoth in Hebrew, can also be understood as a reference to the heretics who have exalted themselves, and their language has spread throughout the land. Those who have burst forth into such great madness, that they have remained alone without the grace of the Holy Spirit, and have lost the inheritance of the Lord, namely the prior truth of faith. Hence, eternal fire is prepared for them, and the servitude of demons, who are enemies and avengers.

THE JEWS' INVETERATE LOVE OF IDOLATRY. (Jer. 17:1-27) The first of the four clauses relates to the third, the second to the fourth, by alternate parallelism. The sense is: They are as keen after idols as if their propensity was "graven with an iron pen (Job 19:24) on their hearts," or as if it were sanctioned by a law "inscribed with a diamond point" on their altars. The names of their gods used to be written on "the horns of the altars" (Act 17:23). As the clause "on their hearts" refers to their inward propensity, so "on . . . altars," the outward exhibition of it. Others refer "on the horns of . . . altars" to their staining them with the blood of victims, in imitation of the Levitical precept (Exo 29:12; Lev 4:7, Lev 4:18), but "written . . . graven," would thus be inappropriate. table of . . . heart--which God intended to be inscribed very differently, namely, with His truths (Pro 3:3; Co2 3:3). your--Though "their" preceded, He directly addresses them to charge the guilt home to them in particular.

mountain--Jerusalem, and especially Zion and the temple. in the field--As Jerusalem was surrounded by mountains (Psa 125:2), the sense probably is, Ye rely on your mountainous position (Jer 3:23), but I will make "My mountain" to become as if it were in a plain (field), so as to give thy substance an easy prey to the enemy [CALVIN]. "Field" may, however, mean all Judea; it and "My mountain" will thus express the country and its capital. (GESENIUS translates, "together with," instead of "in"; as the Hebrew is translated in Jer 11:19; Hos 5:6; but this is not absolutely needed), "the substance" of both of which God "will give to the spoil." thy high places--corresponding in parallelism to "My mountain" (compare Isa 11:9), as "all thy borders," to "the field" (which confirms the view that "field" means all Judea). for sin--connected with high places" in English Version, namely, frequented for sin, that is, for idolatrous sacrifices. But Jer 15:13 makes the rendering probable, "I will give thy substance . . . to . . . spoil . . . on account of thy sin throughout all thy borders."