Jeremiah 17

Jer 17:1-27.

THE

JEWS'

INVETERATE

LOVE OF

IDOLATRY.

The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other

Greek versions have them.

1. 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"

(Ac 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

(Ex 29:12;

Le 4:7, 18),

but "written . . . graven," would thus be inappropriate.

table of . . . heart--which God intended to be inscribed very

differently, namely, with His truths

(Pr 3:3;

2Co 3:3).

your--Though "their" preceded, He directly addresses them to charge

the guilt home to them in particular.

2. children remember--Instead of forsaking the idolatries of their

fathers, they keep them up

(Jer 7:18).

This is given as proof that their sin is "graven upon . . .

altars"

(Jer 17:1),

that is, is not merely temporary. They corrupt their posterity after

them. CASTALIO less probably translates, "They

remember their altars as (fondly as) they do their children."

groves--rather, "images of Astarte," the goddess of the heavenly

hosts, represented as a sacred tree, such as is seen in the Assyrian

sculptures

(2Ki 21:7;

2Ch 24:18).

"Image of the grove." The Hebrew for "grove" is Asherah,

that is, Assarak, Astarte, or Ashtaroth.

symbols) of Astarte being placed in the midst of natural trees: "green

trees" is thus distinguished from "groves," artificial trees.

HENDERSON, to avoid taking the same Hebrew particle in the same

sentence differently, "by . . . upon" translates "images of Astarte

on the green trees." But it is not probable that images, in the form

of a sacred tree, should be hung on trees, rather than near them.

3. mountain--Jerusalem, and especially Zion and the temple.

in the field--As Jerusalem was surrounded by mountains

(Ps 125:2),

the sense probably is, Ye rely on your mountainous position

(Jer 3:23),

but I will make "My mountain" to become as if it were in a plain

(field), so as to give thy substance an easy prey to the enemy [CALVIN]. "Field" may, however, mean all Judea; it

and "My mountain" will thus express the country and its capital.

(GESENIUS translates, "together with," instead of

"in"; as the Hebrew is translated in

Jer 11:19;

Ho 5:6;

but this is not absolutely needed), "the substance" of both of which

God "will give to the spoil."

thy high places--corresponding in parallelism to "My mountain"

(compare

Isa 11:9),

as "all thy borders," to "the field" (which confirms the view that

"field" means all Judea).

for sin--connected with high places" in English Version, namely,

frequented for sin, that is, for idolatrous sacrifices. But

Jer 15:13

makes the rendering probable, "I will give thy substance

. . . to . . . spoil . . . on account

of thy sin throughout all thy borders."

4. even thyself--rather, "owing to thyself," that is, by thy own

fault

(Jer 15:13).

discontinue from--be dispossessed of. Not only thy substance, but

thyself shall be carried off to a strange land

(Jer 15:14).

5. Referring to the Jews' proneness to rely on Egypt, in its fear of

Assyria and Babylon

(Isa 31:1, 3).

trusteth--This word is emphatic. We may expect help from men, so far

as God enables them to help us, but we must rest our trust in God alone

(Ps 62:5).

6. heath--In

Ps 102:17;

Isa 32:11;

Hab 3:9,

the Hebrew is translated, "bare," "naked," "destitute"; but as

the parallel in

Jer 17:8

is "tree," some plant must be meant of which this is the characteristic

epithet

(Jer 48:6,

Margin), "a naked tree." ROBINSON

translates, "the juniper tree," found in the Arabah or Great Valley,

here called "the desert," south of the Dead Sea. The "heath" was one of

the plants, according to PLINY (13.21; 16.26),

excluded from religious uses, because it has neither fruit nor seed,

and is neither sown nor planted.

not see . . . good--

(Job 20:17).

salt land--

(De 29:23),

barren ground.

7.

(Ps 34:8;

Pr 16:20;

Isa 30:18).

Jeremiah first removed the weeds (false trusts), so that there might be

room for the good grain [CALVIN].

8.

(Ps 1:3).

shall not see--that is, feel. Answering to

Jer 17:6;

whereas the unbelievers "shall not see (even) when good cometh,"

the believer "shall not see (so as to be overwhelmed by it even) when

heat (fiery trial) cometh." Trials shall come upon him as on all, nay,

upon him especially

(Heb 12:6);

but he shall not sink under them, because the Lord is his secret

strength, just as the "roots spread out by a river" (or,

"water-course") draw hidden support from it

(2Co 4:8-11).

careful--anxious, as one desponding

(Lu 12:29;

1Pe 5:7).

drought--literally, "withholding," namely, of rain

(Jer 14:1);

he here probably alludes to the drought which had prevailed, but makes

it the type of all kinds of distress.

9. deceitful--from a root, "supplanting," "tripping up insidiously

(Ho 12:3)

took his name. In speaking of the Jews' deceit of heart, he

appropriately uses a term alluding to their forefather, whose deceit,

but not whose faith, they followed. His "supplanting" was in

order to obtain Jehovah's blessing. They plant Jehovah for "trust in

man"

(Jer 17:5),

and then think to deceive God, as if it could escape His notice,

that it is in man, not in Him, they trust.

desperately wicked--"incurable"

[HORSLEY],

(Mic 1:9).

Trust in one's own heart is as foolish as in our fellow man

(Pr 28:26).

10. Lest any should infer from

Jer 17:9,

"who can know it?" that even the Lord does not know, and

therefore cannot punish, the hidden treachery of the heart, He says, "I

the Lord search the heart," &c.

(1Ch 28:9;

Ps 7:9;

Pr 17:3;

Re 2:23).

even to give--and that in order that I may give

(Jer 32:19).

11. partridge--

(1Sa 26:20).

Hebrew, korea, from a root, "to call," alluding to its cry; a

name still applied to a bustard by the Arabs. Its nest is liable, being

on the ground, to be trodden under foot, or robbed by carnivorous

animals, notwithstanding all the beautiful manoeuvres of the parent

birds to save the brood. The translation, "sitteth on eggs which it

has not laid," alludes to the ancient notion that she stole the

eggs of other birds and hatched them as her own; and that the young

birds when grown left her for the true mother. It is not needful to

make Scripture allude to an exploded notion, as if it were true.

MAURER thinks the reference is to Jehoiakim's

grasping cupidity

(Jer 22:13-17).

Probably the sense is more general; as previously He condemned trust in

man

(Jer 17:5),

He now condemns another object of the deceitful hearts' trust,

unjustly gotten riches

(Ps 39:6; 49:16, 17; 55:23).

fool--

(Pr 23:5;

Lu 12:20);

"their folly"

(Ps 49:13).

He himself, and all, shall at last perceive he was not the wise man he

thought he was.

12. throne--the temple of Jerusalem, the throne of Jehovah. Having

condemned false objects of trust, "high places for sin"

(Jer 17:3),

and an "arm of flesh," he next sets forth Jehovah, and His

temple, which was ever open to the Jews, as the true object of

confidence, and sanctuary to flee to. HENDERSON

makes Jehovah, in

Jer 17:13,

the subject, and this verse predicate, "A throne of glory, high from

the beginning, the place of our sanctuary, the hope of Israel is

Jehovah." "Throne" is thus used for Him who sits on it; compare

thrones

(Col 1:16).

He is called a "sanctuary" to His people

(Isa 8:14;

Eze 11:16).

So Syriac and Arabic.

13. me--"Jehovah." Though "Thee" precedes. This sudden transition is

usual in the prophetic style, owing to the prophet's continual

realization of Jehovah's presence.

all that forsake thee--

(Ps 73:27;

Isa 1:28).

written in the earth--in the dust, that is, shall be consigned to

oblivion. So Jesus' significant writing "on the ground

(probably the accusers' names)"

(Joh 8:6).

Names written in the dust are obliterated by a very slight wind. Their

hopes and celebrity are wholly in the earth, not in the heavenly

book of life

(Re 13:8; 20:12, 15).

The Jews, though boasting that they were the people of God, had no

portion in heaven, no status before God and His angels. Contrast

"written in heaven," that is, in the muster-roll of its blessed

citizens

(Lu 10:20).

Also, contrast "written in a book," and "in the rock for ever"

(Job 19:23, 24).

living waters--

(Jer 2:13).

14-18. Prayer of the prophet for deliverance from the enemies whom

he excited by his faithful denunciations.

Heal . . . save--not only make me whole (as to

the evils of soul as well as body which I am exposed to by contact with

ungodly foes,

Jer 15:18),

but keep me so.

my praise--He whom I have to praise for past favors, and therefore

to whom alone I look for the time to come.

15. Where is the word?--

(Isa 5:19;

Am 5:18).

Where is the fulfilment of the threats which thou didst utter as from

God? A characteristic of the last stage of apostasy

(2Pe 3:4).

16. I have not refused Thy call of me to be a prophet

(Jon 1:3),

however painful to me it was to utter what would be sure to irritate the

hearers

(Jer 1:4,

&c.).; therefore Thou shouldest not forsake me

(Jer 15:15,

&c.).

to follow thee--literally, "after thee"; as an under-pastor following

Thee, the Chief Shepherd

(Ec 12:11;

1Pe 5:4).

neither . . . desired--I have not wished for the day of calamity,

though I foretell it as about to come on my countrymen; therefore they

have no reason for persecuting me.

thou knowest--I appeal to Thee for the truth of what I assert.

that which came out of my lips--my words

(De 23:23).

right before thee--rather, "was before Thee"; was

known to Thee--

(Pr 5:21).

17. a terror--namely, by deserting me: all I fear is Thine abandoning

me; if Thou art with me, I have no fear of evil from enemies.

18. destroy . . . destruction--"break them with a double breach,"

Hebrew

(Jer 14:17).

On "double," see on

Jer 16:18.

19-27. Delivered in the reign of Jehoiakim, who undid the good

effected by Josiah's reformation, especially as to the observance of the

Sabbath [EICHORN].

gate of . . . children of . . . people--The

gate next the king's palace, called the gate of David, and

the gate of the people, from its being the principal

thoroughfare: now the Jaffa gate. It is probably the same as "the gate

of the fountain" at the foot of Zion, near which were the king's garden

and pool

(Jer 39:4;

2Ki 25:4;

Ne 2:14; 3:15;

12:37).

20. kings--He begins with the kings, as they ought to have repressed

such a glaring profanation.

21. Take heed to yourselves--literally, "to your souls."

MAURER

explains, "as ye love your lives"; a phrase used here to give the

greater weight to the command.

sabbath--The non-observance of it was a chief cause of the captivity,

the number of years of the latter, seventy, being exactly made to agree

with the number of Sabbaths which elapsed during the four hundred ninety

years of their possession of Canaan from Saul to their removal

(Le 26:34, 35;

2Ch 36:21).

On the restoration, therefore, stress was especially laid on Sabbath

observance

(Ne 13:19).

Jerusalem--It would have been scandalous anywhere; but in the capital,

Jerusalem, it was an open insult to God. Sabbath-hallowing is

intended as a symbol of holiness in general

(Eze 20:12);

therefore much stress is laid on it; the Jews' gross impiety is

manifested in their setting God's will at naught, in the case of such

an easy and positive command.

23.

(Jer 7:24, 26).

24. A part put for the whole, "If ye keep the Sabbath and My other

laws."

25. kings . . . in chariots--The kingdom at this time had been brought

so low that this promise here was a special favor.

remain--Hebrew, "be inhabited"

(Jer 17:6;

Isa 13:20).

26. plain mountains . . . south--

(Jos 15:1-4).

The southern border had extended to the river of Egypt, but was now

much curtailed by Egyptian invasions

(2Ch 35:20; 36:3, 4).

The Hebrew for "south" means dry; the arid desert

south of Judea is meant. The enumeration of all the parts of

Judea, city, country, plain, hill, and desert, implies that no longer

shall there be aught wanting of the integrity of the Jewish land

(Zec 7:7).

sacrifices--As in

Jer 17:22,

one constituent of Judea's prosperity is mentioned, namely, its

kings on David's throne, the pledge of God being its guardian;

so in this verse another constituent, namely, its priests, a

pledge of God being propitious to it

(Ps 107:22).

27. burden . . . in . . . gates . . . fire in the gates--retribution

answering to the sin. The scene of their sin shall be the scene of their

punishment

(Jer 52:13;

2Ki 25:9).