Jeremiah 29:12 Komentář

The contest between Jeremiah and the false prophets was carried on before by preaching, here by writing; there we had sermon against sermon, here we have letter against letter, for some of the false prophets are now carried away into captivity in Babylon, while Jeremiah remains in his own country. Now here is, I. A letter which Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon, against their prophets that they had there (Jer 29:1-3), in which letter, 1. He endeavours to reconcile them to their captivity, to be easy under it and to make the best of it (Jer 29:4-7). 2. He cautions them not to give any credit to their false prophets, who fed them with hopes of a speedy release (Jer 29:8, Jer 29:9). 3. He assures them that God would restore them in mercy to their own land again, at the end of 70 years (Jer 29:10-14). 4. He foretels the destruction of those who yet continued, and that they should be persecuted with one judgment after another, and sent at last into captivity (Jer 29:15-19). 5. He prophesies the destruction of two of their false prophets that they had in Babylon, that both soothed them up in their sins and set them bad examples (Jer 29:20-23), and this is the purport of Jeremiah's letter. II. Here is a letter which Shemaiah, a false prophet in Babylon, wrote to the priests at Jerusalem, to stir them up to persecute Jeremiah (Jer 29:24-29), and a denunciation of God's wrath against him for writing such a letter (Jer 29:30-32). Such struggles as these have there always been between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 29 Thus chapter contains a letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon; and gives an account of another sent from thence by Shemaiah to the people at Jerusalem; and is closed with threatening him with punishment for so doing. Jeremiah's letter concerns both the captives at Babylon, and the people left at Jerusalem, The persons to whom and by whom it was sent, and the time of writing and sending it, are mentioned in Jer 29:1; and though the prophet was the amanuensis, God was the author of it, as well as of their captivity, Jer 29:4; the contents of, it, respecting the captives, are advices to them to provide for their comfortable settlement in Babylon, and not think of returning quickly, by building houses, planting gardens, marrying, and giving in marriage, Jer 29:5; and to seek and pray for the prosperity of the place where they were; in which their own was concerned, Jer 29:7; to give no heed to their false prophets and diviners, Jer 29:8; and to expect a return to Jerusalem at the end of seventy years; which they might be assured of, since God had resolved upon it in his own mind, Jer 29:10; and especially if they called upon him, prayed to him, and sought him heartily, Jer 29:12; the other part of the letter respects the Jews in Jerusalem; concerning whom the captives are directed to observe, that both the king and people should suffer much by sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity, with the reason of it, Jer 29:15; particularly it is foretold, that Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets, should be made an example of vengeance; and a proverbial curse should be taken of them, because of their villany, lewdness, and lies, Jer 29:20; next follows some account of Shemaiah's letter from Babylon, to the people and priests at Jerusalem, stirring them up against Jeremiah the prophet; which came to be known, by the priests reading it to him, Jer 29:24; upon which Shemaiah is threatened with punishment, and his seed after him, Jer 29:30.

Then shall ye call upon me,.... When the expected end is about to be given; when God intends and is about to bestow a mercy, he gives his people a spirit of prayer to ask for it; and even the promise of it is a considerable argument to encourage and engage more to pray for it: and ye shall go and pray unto me: walk in my ways; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or rather ye shall go into your private closets, or into those public places where prayer was wont to be made, and there put up your petitions; or it may be the meaning is, that they should continue praying unto him; should pray without ceasing, until they enjoyed the blessing, and had the expected end given them: and I will hearken unto you: God is a God hearing prayer; he listens to the requests of his people, and answers them in his own time and way; which is no small encouragement to pray unto him.

(Vers. 10 seqq.) Because this is what the Lord says: When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill my good word to bring you back to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of affliction, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me, and you will go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart, and I will be found by you (or I will appear to you), says the Lord. Do not, he says, believe in false prophets, diviners, and dreamers of yours, who promise you the return to Jerusalem soon. For unless seventy years are completed, while Cyrus, the king of the Persians, releases the captives, you will not return to your homeland; and then I will fulfill my promises, to bring you back to this place: For I know the thoughts that I think about you, says the Lord. It is said that we know what he thinks, but they, together with their prophets, gods, and dreamers, are ignorant. The knowledge of the future, therefore, belongs only to God. 'I will give you,' he says, 'an end and patience: the end of captivity and the patience of present struggles, or the hope of the future. Then you will call on me and go to Jerusalem: and you will pray, and I will hear you. Certainly, without the invocation and prayer of the captives, the Lord could fulfill what he promised; but he encourages them to pray, so that they may deserve to receive what was promised. You seek me, and you will find me, when you seek with all your heart; according to that Gospel: Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you (Matt. VII, 7). According to the anagoge, we are immersed in the confusion of this world as long as we merit to receive the rest of the sevenfold number, and having received penance, may God fulfill what He has promised, and may we be restored to our place in the Church. Therefore, the Lord has seemed to strike us in order to heal us: He will give us an end to our labor and patience: and we will call upon Him, and return to the Church, and we will pray, and be heard: we will seek and find Him when we have sought Him with all our heart, and then He will appear to us. Some interpret seventy years according to what is written: The days of our years in them are seventy years (Psalm 89:10), which when completed, we shall return to the Lord with all our heart, and we shall be heard, and the end of our labor and patience shall come: for now we possess all things in shadow and in image.

LETTER OF JEREMIAH TO THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, TO COUNTERACT THE ASSURANCES GIVEN BY THE FALSE PROPHETS OF A SPEEDY RESTORATION. (Jer. 29:1-32) residue of the elders--those still surviving from the time when they were carried to Babylon with Jeconiah; the other elders of the captives had died by either a natural or a violent death.

Fulfilled (Dan 9:3, &c.). When God designs mercy, He puts it into the hearts of His people to pray for the mercy designed. When such a spirit of prayer is poured out, it is a sure sign of coming mercy. go--to the temple and other places of prayer: contrasted with their previous sloth as to going to seek God.