Vers. 1 — 8. — Siege and savagery. I. The uankeb in which thb oaptubb oi Jerusaleh is belated. Just enough is told to certify to us the complete aud exact fulfilment of prophecy. There is a long siege, a great destruction, and great hnmili«tion and suffering for the captured king. It is no part ot the province of Scripture writers to <lwell on war, battle, siege, and pillage for the sake ot making striking narratives But liehind this very brevity what room there is for imagination ! What suffering, gradually mounting to the climax of famine and thirst, during those eighteen months ol siege ! The very natural advantages of Jerusalem, enabling the people to resist longer, added to their calamities. Indeed, we may say that when a man employs his natural strength wrongly, his suffering in th6 end is not unlikely to be proportioned somewhat to his strength. A weaker man would not suffer so much or suffer so long.
II, The savagery conneotbd with the capture. This savagery is a point to be studied as throwing a light on the ancient civilizations. Nobody thought, we may safely say, not even prophets themselves, that there was anything out of the way iu all this destruction. Savagery was the accepted consequence of a successful siege. Jehovah used these Chaldean soldiers as instruments, but they had to act according to their individuality. A Roman army would have behaved no better. Indeed, humanity in war is a Christian idea. Paradox as it seems, God was working through the very savagery of this war to destroy all war. Men will fight; they will loment discord and accumulate large armies ; but it is the glory of God to bring good out ot all the conflicts. When the reign of the Prince of peace is fully come, then we shall see, aa we cannot see now, the good that men have worked, unconsriottsly, by war. We are decMTed new ^)ecau8e we cannot get away from our thoughts physical destruction and suffering.
HI. Thk fats op Zedbkiah. Brought on him by his ovm indecision as mucl as D)
OH. xxxix. 1—18.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 156
the savage hands of Chaldeans. If these verses stood by themselves, we should not know this ; but we do know it from the record going before, of Jeremiah's dealings with him.— Y.
Ver. 10. — " The poor of the people." I. How they had comb iwto this position. Poverty is, of course, a mischief, having many causes, and no fallacy is greater than that of singling out one cause for some particular reason, and then treating it as if it were the only cause. Still, there is need that in this place the injustice of the rich towards the poor should be remembered. The fact that there are proverbs bearing on this point shows that such oppression was not at all unfrequent. " He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want " (Prov. xxii. 16 ; xxviii. 15). And now these oppressors had attracted to them- selves the desiring eye of Babylon. Why were the rich men carried away and the poor left? The chief reason was that they heightened the triumph, for when despoiled they were just as poor as the poorest, and the contrast between their former and present state spoke for itself. Then, too, there is something in considering the rich men as themselves part of their riches. Thus the rich and poor are brought together in one great judicial act, and the rich are made to feel that in the end the poor are really better off than they are.
II. The advantages op poverty. Poverty usually presents such disadvantages on the surface, and so demands sympathy and help, that it almost seems like irony ever to talk of its advantages. And yet, if there be such advantages, it is very necessary to consider them, in order to do something for the prevention of envy, repining, and per- plexity. As with the advantages of external wealth, so with the disadvantages of external poverty ; neither goes very deep. In the time of spoliation the poor man can look on with a light heart, so far as personal loss is concerned. Probably the poor people of Israel were now better off than they had been for years. Amid all the burning and pillage here is one good effect already perceptible in the benefit that is being worked lor the poor. Without contradiction, it may be afBrmed that the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Father of Jesus Christ in the New are alike on the side of the poor. All oppression of the poor, all unlair treatment of them, all selfish employment of them, will show in the end that the poor need lose nothing of what is best.
III. The employment op the pooe. They were employed in that which waa of greatest moment to them. Vineyards and fields were given to them — things they could all make use of; things which would repay their toil, and give them the chance of building up a really honourable wealth. If Nebuzar-Adan had given them something of the plunder, it would not have been near so useful as what he actually did give. Mao is nearest to the pure, untainted fulness of nature when he is cultivating the soiL— Y.
Vers. 11 — 14. — The safety of Oo^s prophet. I. The manneb Df which it o ASSURED. There is no working of miracle, though miracle was available if it had been needed. But natural forces were carrying out Divine intentions in working the safety of the man who had been faithful to his duty. We have no exact information as to why Nebuchadnezzar was so interested in the prophet's safety, but we may well suppose that he had a sort of respect for a man who served his God so faithfully. The news of fidelity, courage, and endurance goes far, when only one here and there shows the qualities. Moreover, the King of Babylon was very likely to have heard of Jeremiah's predictions ; the very knowledge that such predictions existed would nerve him in his attwck ; and when the attack succeeded, the very fulfilment of the predictions would produce in him a superstitious fear lest the utterer of them should come to any harm. Thus we see how the course of human aftairs, without any special intervention, wurUs out fjood for the brave maintainers of right.
II. Sa 1' El y IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. This is of great importance to notice. Jehovah was not concerned to preserve the life of every prophet from a violent end. His prophets, at times, had to trust him even to death, and prophesy even when the proiihecy was sure to i e followed by a mortal blow. Jeremiah was preserved in safety at this tune, not so much for his own sake, as for the effect his preservation would have on the minds of others. His safety was specially piovided for at the time when uniestiained destruction was going on. Thus his very preservation was itself a prophecy
15«
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. Lea. 3u- 1—16