The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 386

opening of this chapter God says, "Though Moses and Samuel "-men who had once and again pro,·ed themselves mighty intercessors for the people, yet evou if they- " stood before me, my mind could not be toward this people." 'rhe crimos of Manasseh, King of Judah, that king who reigned so long, so disgracefully, and with such disastrous results over Judah, had never been repented of, and never really for- saken. They were rampant still, and therefore the Lord declares this judgment which he had sent upon them must go on-no prayers of his faithful servant could avail to stay its execution. Upon this the prophet pours out a piteous lamentation over the woes of his people, and then, turning to his own position, he complains bitterly of the hatred which was felt towards him by those whom he had sought to bless. "Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!" He had been no usurer nor fraudulent debtor, "yet every one," be cries, "curses me." Then to him the Lord replies, promising him deliverance in the time of evil, and asks the question, "Shall iron break . . . steel?" The ancients knew comparatively little of the manufactures of iron and steel. .Amongst the Israelites it was very coarsely wrought, but the best iron was from the north. So bad was their mrn that an admixture of brass, which among us would be rather thought to lessen its value, was regarded as in improvement. But the iron and steel procured from the people who lived in the far north, on the shores of the Black Sea, was the most celebrated for its tenacity and hardness. .Against it the common iron of every-day use could offer but little resistance, and when opposed to it could make little or no impression; it could not" break the northern iron and the steel." .And the question of this verse is a proverb denoting the impossibility of any force, though great in itself, overcoming one which by its very nature and by its effects had been proved to be greater still. Our Lord teaches the same truth when he speaks of the folly of that king who thought, with his army of ten thousand, to encounter and overcome another king who came against him with twenty thousand. But whilst the meaning of this verse is plain enough, its application is not so clear. If we connect it with the verses that immediately precede, as many do, then it is a question whose tone is bright, cheerful, and reassuring. But if we connect it with those that immediately follow, its tone is altered and is full of solemn admonition and serious warning. In the first case it refers to Jeremiah himself, and is for his comfort and confidence. It tells him that the enemies who are against him, however ironlike they might be-cold, hard, fierce, strong-and however much they may oppress and afflict him, yet assuredly they shall not prevail against him; for God will make him as the northern iron and the steel, against which all their might shall be in vain. God had promised at the very outset of the prophet's ministry that he would thus strengthen him. Behold, he says, in the first chapter, "I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole la.ad, . . . and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee." And in the twentieth verse of this chapter the like promise is given over again. So that t~ey have much reason on their side who regard these words as a heart-cheering assurance conveyed to the prophet under the form of a question, and assuring him that, let the power of those who hated him be what it might-as ironlike as it would-the grace of God which would be given him would make him stronger still, would make him as the northern iron and the steel. Let us, then, view these words- I. As A REASSURING PROMISE, and make two or three applications of them. 1, And first, to such as Jeremiah himself was at this time-a faithful servant of God, but much troubled and tried. What right have we to expect that all things will go smoothly with us in this world, or to be surprised when sore troubles come? Did not our Lord say," Behold, I send you forth as sheep amongst wolves"? Well, it would be strange if the sheep were to find all things just as they wished amid such surroundings 11s that. But, as one bas said, the sheep have beaten the wolves after all. There are to-day tens of thousands of sheep for every wolf prowling on the face of the earth. It did seem very likely, when the sheep wore so few, that the wolves would most certainly have quickly made a clearance of them. But, though here and there one like Saul•• ma.do havoc of the Church,'' the flock, the Lord's fold, went on increasing and multiplying in a marvellous way. Spiritually as well as literally tlie sheep outnumber the wolves who would destroy them. And what is the explanation but this, that to those who en. xv. 1-21.] THE BOOK OF 'l'HE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 389