Jeremiah 17:18 Ulasan

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.

Let them be confounded that persecute me,.... With words with reproaches, with scoffs and jeers, saying, "where is the word of the Lord?" Jer 17:14; let such be ashamed that scoffingly put such a question, by seeing the accomplishment of it: but let not me be confounded; who have delivered it out as the word of the Lord, that should be surely fulfilled; let not me be brought to shame by the failure of it and be reckoned as a false prophet: let them be dismayed; terrified and affrighted when they shall see the judgments of God coming upon them, which they have jeeringly called for: but let not me be dismayed; by their not coming, or when they shall come; but preserve and protect me: bring upon them the day of evil; of punishment; which they put far away, and scoff at; though the prophet did not desire the woeful day to come upon the people in general, yet upon his persecutors in particular. Jarchi interprets it of the men of Anathoth alone; and which desire of his did not arise from malice towards them, but from indignation at their sin and for the glory of the divine Being, whose name was blasphemed by them: and destroy them with double destruction; not with two sorts of judgments, sword and famine, as Jerom; but with an utter destruction, with breach after breach, destruction after destruction, until they were entirely destroyed; unless it should have regard to the two times of destruction, first by the Chaldeans, and then by the Romans.

(Verse 18.) Let those who pursue me be put to shame, while I am not put to shame. Let them fear, while I do not fear. Bring upon them the day of affliction, and crush them with double contrition. The Prophet curses against them, who reproach him with the word of the Lord, and say: Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come, that those who pursue him may be put to shame and may be ashamed and may return to salvation, so that they may fear the liars and not the one who predicts the truth. And when the day of vengeance comes, it will crush them with a twofold affliction, hunger and sword.

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.

destroy . . . destruction--"break them with a double breach," Hebrew (Jer 14:17). On "double," see on Jer 16:18.