The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 585

I. ITS NATURE. It had direct reference to that concerning which they spoke. From the future they had denied they were to be cut off. In the case of Ahab and Zedekiah the i,nstrument111ity of man is indirectly employed; in that of Shemaiah it is broul7ht about by what we might regard as natural causeg, In both instances the penalty w~s: 1. Exceptionally severe. 'l'be fate of the lying prophets, even apart from its associated consequences in the eternal sphere, was tragic in the extreme, and presents hardly an element of hope. Abab and his companion are subjected to a fearful death and an eternity of shame in Israel. Shemaiah is consigned to effacement and deprived both as regards himself and his posterity, of the promised blessings. 2. Exemplary. Unmis- takably these men were but the leaders of many of like mind, and it was intended they should be marked out for signal retribution. 'fheir fate would appeal to the imagina- tion and spiritual feeling of their people, and in either case it corresponded closely with the peculiarity of their conduct. In their heathen exile they were to be taught that God's hand could still reach them and that an exact justice waited upon their actions. Ahab and Zedekiah so lived that even a heathen monarch had to make them examples. 3. Graduated according to heinO'IJ,sness of ojfence. II. !Ts JUSTIFICATION, 1. The opposition to God's truth was necessarily direct and malicious. Nothing could well be more consciously wicked than their whole behaviour. It occurred at a critical period, when great destinies were determined. The prophet of God was thereby discredited and hindered, and the people prevented from receiving and acting upon his message. In every season of critical consequence and great spiritual activity such manifestations occur. . Merely to overcome them is not sufficient. The victory must be signal and conspicuous. 2. The offence was one to which God h-imself is ever most sensitive. It affected his character. a.ad prerogatives, and was therefore nothing else than blasphemy (cf. Matt. xii. 32. "E,·en I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord," ver. 23). 3. The interests of truth required the penalty. The people had to be overawed by the presence of the supernatural; their obedience had to be won to the direction of the true prophet, and the spiritual ends of the Captivity were thus to be secured. A moral demonstration like this was requisite, and enables the human mind more completely to realize the Divine conceptions of righteousness and truth.-M. Vers. 4-7.-God's message to the captives. There is an encournging tone in this Divine message to the captiv~s in Babylon that must have been strikingly fitted to call forth every better element of thought and feeling within them. 'l'hey were not, indeed, to dream of deliverance. 'l'he appointed time must run its course. The gene- ration then in their prime could not hope ever to see their own land again. But their children should. Their wisdom, therefore, lay in making the best of their condition, and nourishing, as far as possible, the resources and the strength of their family life. Let them build, and plant, and marry, and enjoy the good of that straage ln.nd as if it were their own. Let them sow, though it be with many tears, for the better and happier future. Let them so live as to commend themselves to _the good will of their conquerors, that even "their enemies may be at peace with them," identifying them- selves with the interests of the place of their captivity, seeking by their prayer to bring down blessings upon it from above, seeing that in its well-being and peace they would find their own. This is strictly in harmony with the general Divine purpose as to the relation in which the Jews should stand towards other nations. 'l'hey were called to bo a separate and peculiar people only that they might the better be instru- ments of blessing to the world. The Captivity was not merfJly a punishment for their sins, but a part of the method by which God taught them to fulfil their mission. Important lessons are suggested respecting the relation the people of God should always maintain towards the world in which he has placed them. Note- I. THE FREE USE IT IS PERMITTED TIIEM TO HA VE OF TIIIS WOULD's GOOD. "Build ye houses, and dwell in them," etc. In being carried beyond the bounds of Israel theso oaptives were not passing beyond the domain of Israel's God. He is the " Lord of the whole earth." And whether in Jerusalem or in Babylon, all resources, all materials, all power to labour, and all products of labour, are his. Shall not the children of the heavenly Father make themselves "at home" in their Father's world, free to uso aml to enjoy whatever good he puts within their reach? Remember St. Paul's counsel to the Corinthians, "Whatsoever ls sold in the shambles," etc. (1 Cor. x. 2G, 26). All  THE DOOK 01<' ·rrrE PROPHET JEREMIAH. [en. XXIX, 1-32.