who says, 'I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.' So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion. Sermons
"Though the mills of God grind slowly, I. THERE HAS BEEN, AND YET IS, OPPRESSION. We trust that there is far less of it than once there was, but that it has disappeared we cannot affirm. Here, in our own land of liberty, we may know but little of it, but in the lands of the East, its original home, it prevails still to terrible extent. And the ancient kings of Israel were sorely tempted to allow themselves in it, and often did so, and would have mere largely had it not been for the perpetual protest maintained against it by the prophets of God. But if we feel, as we do, that a tyrant and an oppressor would meet but with short shrift in such a liberty-loving land as our own, how was it that oppression became so easy and so common in other lands? Therefore note - II. THE CAUSES OF OPPRESSION, These will be most readily seen by noticing the lands wherein it has most prevailed. It has ever been where the earth has brought forth fruit of itself abundantly and without demanding much labor from the cultivator. And these lands, with scarce an exception, lie along that belt of the earth's surface which reaches from the East Indies and on westward to Mexico and Peru. It includes the Euphrates valley, Egypt, and then, crossing the Atlantic, it comprises the extinct civilizations of Equatorial America. It may be remarked in passing that Judah and Jerusalem were, at the time of Jeremiah's prophecy, in alliance with Egypt, one of these lauds of oppression, and whence the evil lesson would be easily learnt. But it will be asked, Wherefore was oppression more rife in these lands than in others? It has never been so in Northern countries as in these more favored lands. The explanation lies in such facts as these. All these lands have abundance of heat and moisture. The tropical sun furnishes the one and their magnificent rivers the other. And sometimes, in addition to these rivers, if not in place of them, as in the Gulf of Mexico, a large extent of coast-line ensures that vapors shall arise plentifully from the sea, which, descending on the already heated soil, provides the moisture it needs. 2. In consequence of all this the soil becomes very fruitful, and yields such abundance, and that with so little cost of labor, that it permits the formation of a leisure class, who subsist on its superfluous wealth. 3. These have become the intelligent and learned, and so the powerful, classes. 4. Meanwhile the wage-receiving population has multiplied greatly, and the wage fund having to be spread over so much larger surface, the share of each laborer has become less and less. 5. Here, then, on the one hand is a vast swarm of impoverished people, and as ignorant as they are poor, and on the other a rich, intelligent, and therefore powerful minority. And as the rich grew richer and richer the poor grew poorer and poorer, and gradually sank down, as in these countries they have ever done, into a mass of slaves, the ready victims of the oppressors' power. No doubt other forces were at work at the same time to favor the growth of this oppression - the superstition of the people and the enervating influence of the climate. But thus oppression grew, and its fruits are still visible in the huge Pyramids, temples, palaces, and the like, which remain to show the abundance of labor and the prodigality with which it was used. 6. But in the colder climes of the North the more miser soil demands continuous, careful, and laborious cultivation, and thus the growth of population was checked and the distribution of wealth became more equal; and at the same time the rugged soil seemed to impart its character to those who cultivated it, and rendered it impossible that such men should ever become the passive victims of oppression. And so, whilst the soft, luxurious climes such as those referred to have never been favorable to the development of the people inhabiting them, those more stern and inhospitable regions, where toil, severe and continued, is necessary would men live, have nurtured races of men who, more than any others, have approached the true ideal of manhood. But whilst the facts now noted became the occasion, opportunity, and temptation to oppression, other laws have been at work, securing that, where this temptation has been yielded to, as it has been so often, there the oppressed shall ere long be avenged. Note - III. THE NEMESIS OF OPPRESSION. There is such an avenger. For oppression ever kills patriotism and loyalty. What can a horde of wretched slaves care for a country or a rule which has never been other than horribly cruel to them and theirs? Patriotism and loyalty are the offspring of freedom and righteous rule, but never of the oppressor's rule. And thus, sooner or later, "woe" ever cometh "to him who buildeth his house by unrighteousness." For when such a land is invaded, or insurrection arises, or in any way the authority of the rulers is threatened, they have no support in the people who are altogether indifferent as to who their rulers may be, and feel that almost any change must be for the better. See this illustrated in the revolt under Jeroboam, whereby Israel was forever separated from Judah; in the fall of Nineveh and of Babylon, and in the oft-recurring revolutions and invasions amid the dynasties and thrones of the East (cf. also Buckle's 'History of Civilization' for further illustration). Thus in nature and in providence, as well as in his written Word, God has pronounced "woe' on oppression and the oppressor. Learn from all this: 1. To accept gratefully the sterner conditions of life which may be appointed for us. Sunny skies, warm climates, and prolific soils nurture slaves rather than men. No cross, no crown, is a universal law. 2. Adore and trust in that God who has said so emphatically that he will judge the poor and needy, and hurl the oppressors from their seats. 3. Remember that the woe against unrighteousness falls on every house that is built thereby. - C. II. The chapter, even the text, suggests THE PICTURE OF THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE PROPHET AND THE SYMPATHY OF THE PROPHETS. 1. Jeremiah had begun to work when a better time seemed to dawn (Jeremiah 1:2). His hopes had been baffled, his words neglected, by "the guilt that scorns to be forgiven." Could human lot be more sad than thus to foresee the coming ruin, and to be helpless to avert it? 2. The true prophet, in spite of the people's sin, sympathises with them (1 Samuel 12:20-22). The Prophet of prophets did so. The king's captivity was only a type and foretaste of that of the nation. III. THE LOVE OF ONE'S COUNTRY IS FREELY RECOGNISED IN SCRIPTURE (Psalm 137; Psalm 102). National life is an ordinance of nature. National as real as home affections. The sorrows and joys which they bring are alike used for our discipline by Him who knows whereof we are made. IV. THE CAPTIVITIES, TERRIBLE AS THEY WERE, SERVED GOOD ENDS. 1. To wean the people from idolatry. 2. To draw them nearer to God. All affliction used aright does so. 3. To turn the people more to prayer, which seems to have become more common after the Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 66:1, 2; Daniel 6:10; Daniel 9:3, 19). V. THE DEAD ARE IN THE HANDS OF GOD, BEYOND OUR REACH. Weep rather for those who are living, torn away from the city of God. 1. Those who have been ensnared by their own sins and carelessness. 2. Those who are brought up in vice through circumstances of birth. Slaves of worse than Egyptian bondage (John 8:34). 3. Those of our own countrymen who, from duty or circumstances, are in foreign lands, and away from outward tokens of the Church. But should we merely mourn for these, and do nothing for them? VI. Jeremiah a forerunner of the Lord, and A TYPE OF HIS SERVANTS IN WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH, and in the endurance of persecution and disappointment of hope. (B. Moffett, M. A.) People Babylonians, Coniah, David, Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim, Jeremiah, Josiah, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar, ShallumPlaces Abarim, Babylon, Bashan, Gilead, Jerusalem, LebanonTopics Airy, Bright, Build, Cedar, Ceiled, Ceiling, Chambers, Cieled, Cut, Cuts, Cutteth, Decorates, Large, Makes, Myself, Painted, Painting, Palace, Paneling, Panels, Red, Roofed, Rooms, Roomy, Saying, Says, Size, Spacious, Upper, Vermilion, Vermillion, Wainscoted, Wide, WindowsOutline 1. He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats.10. The judgment of Shallum; 13. of Jehoiakim; 20. and of Coniah. Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 22:14Library The Life of Mr. James Mitchel. Mr. James Mitchel[152] was educated at the university of Edinburgh, and was, with some other of his fellow-students, made master of arts anno 1656. Mr. Robert Leighton (afterwards bishop Leighton), being then principal of that college, before the degree was conferred upon them, tendered to them the national and solemn league and covenant; which covenants, upon mature deliberation, he took, finding nothing in them but a short compend of the moral law, binding to our duty towards God and towards … John Howie—Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) Columban. "Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers of Sodom, Give Ear unto the Law of Our God, Ye People of Gomorrah," "If we Say that we have Fellowship with Him, and Walk in Darkness, we Lie," Joy The Two Classes. A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon "To what Purpose is the Multitude of Your Sacrifices unto Me? Saith the Lord," Jewish Homes Jeremiah Links Jeremiah 22:14 NIVJeremiah 22:14 NLT Jeremiah 22:14 ESV Jeremiah 22:14 NASB Jeremiah 22:14 KJV Jeremiah 22:14 Bible Apps Jeremiah 22:14 Parallel Jeremiah 22:14 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 22:14 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 22:14 French Bible Jeremiah 22:14 German Bible Jeremiah 22:14 Commentaries Bible Hub |