Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. Sermons
I. IN WHAT THEY ARE HARD. 1. They attack our pride. Zedekiah was afraid of the mockery of "the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans." He did not like to acknowledge himself in error. There was no glory in surrender. Pride is one of the first hindrances to salvation. We want to be our own saviours. 2. They crush self-will. "Not as I will, but as thou wilt" - the first and last prayer of the true child of God. It was not Zedekiah's plan, and contradicted all the policy of his rebellion. It should be sufficient to the sinner to know that God has appointed the way of escape. He has no right to choose. 3. They require faith. How was the king to be certain that yielding himself into the hands of the princes of the Chaldeans would secure the ends desired? He hardly realized that it could be so. And similarly it is asked, "How can Jesus save?" He is to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to them that believe the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. "Only believe," that is the hardest thing the unregenerate soul can do. Yet it is necessary. II. THEY DO NOT ADMIT OF COMPROMISE. 1. See how relentless the alternative. There is no middle way, no royal road to salvation. It was a step simple enough in itself, but it involved everything, and could not, therefore, be qualified. Christ and his salvation are our only hope: "And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other Name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved" (Acts 4:12; cf. Galatians 1:8). 2. Nor is the messenger of God at liberty to alter them. These are the terms for all, and they represent the infinite wisdom and love of God. It is not for man to attempt to improve upon them. To do so would be equivalent to creating a human gospel. Jeremiah, although he had reasons for ingratiating himself with the wicked king, yet presents an example of faithfulness to every minister of the truth. He might not suffer himself to corrupt the Word of God even for such considerations. III. YET IS THEIR HARDNESS MORE APPARENT THAN REAL. 1. Belief and obedience will remove every difficulty. The troubles of Zedekiah were almost wholly imaginary. Had he not been assured that everything would be made sure by adopting the advice given? One act of faith on the part of the sinner will save him. Henceforth is will be infinitely easier to do the things that remain, and to pass from faith to faith. 2. How mild are they compared with the consequences of disobedience! - M.
The words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people. Rays of hope had arisen in the clouded sky of the, nation. An Egyptian army was on its way to the city. Thus, it was believed, the Chaldeans would be compelled to raise the siege, which had been growing ever closer, so that first hunger and then starvation stared its inhabitants in the face. An escape from their horrible position seemed possible through an alliance with the Egyptian king. These hopes were dashed to the ground by the emphatic word of the prophet: This city shall assuredly be given into the hand of the army of the King of Babylon." He even went beyond this, and urged desertion to the enemy: "He that abideth in the city shall die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live." All this seemed, not only unpatriotic, but treasonable. It has been well said, "No government conducting the defence of a besieged fortress could have tolerated Jeremiah for a moment. What would have been the fate of the French politician who should have urged the Parisians to desert to the Germans during the siege of 1870?" Jeremiah seemed a veritable Cassandra, and Cassandras, even if, as in this case, their warnings are but utterances of the inevitable, can only expect to be met with resentment and persecution.(W. Garret Horder.) 1. Mischief in the social and political world; 2. Mischief in the realm of literature, and all that leads to the higher development of man; 3. Mischief to religion.These principles work mischief in the social and political world. At the end of last century and the beginning of this, how deplorable was the condition of the workers of this land. Why? Because of our incessant and unnecessary wars with France. These principles of false patriotism work much evil in the realm of literature, and all that leads to the higher development of man. The "patriotism" which means lust for other people's land, and hatred of other nations, may produce a "Soldiers' Chorus," but it will produce no Tennyson, no Shakespeare. Since the German Empire became cursed with militarism it has produced no great writers. The essence of the highest literature is to be cosmopolitan for all the world. The Republic of Athens was a commercial, a scientific, an artistic city. The kingdom of Sparta was military to the highest degree. Military Sparta has left us no literature. Civic Athens has left us a literature which even to-day is a wonder of the world. That is natural. The habitual practice of blind obedience, necessary for the soldier, is the greatest foe to thought, and prevents men from learning how to form judgments and pass opinions. Militarism must be for the masses of the soldiery unintellectual. Our literature during the last few years has in some respects deteriorated sadly. One of the aspects of its decadence is its excessive glorifying of the military spirit. Swarms of books for boys have been published the last twenty years, and they are very largely glorifications of physical force. That is a reversion to the savage. The principles of this false patriotism work deadly mischief to religion. This spurious patriotism is not love of one's country so much as love of more country. It is hatred of other men's patriotism. It cannot understand that foreigners may and ought to love their fatherland even as we do ours. Such teachings lead to bitter hatred instead of love. Racial hatred is as ungodly as it is idiotic. Nelson used to say to his sailors, "Fear God, honour the king, and hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil." How could they fear God if they hated God's children? Every Frenchman was as much loved by God as every Englishman was loved. The business of the Christian Church is to spread love and not hate, to tone down animosities, not to stimulate them. Though the student of history sees how insane and utterly unnecessary most wars have been, war may sometimes be a stern necessity. But the glorification of war is earthly and unchristian. The only argument for militarism worth anything is that it develops pluck. Well, so did gladiator fights. Shall we reintroduce them? Pluck may be learned on the football-field as well as on the field of slaughter, where the animal passions of savageism are let loose. If we are Christians we will turn away from this bastard patriotism which ends in hate of other lands. We will love our country dearly. If occasion comes, we must make great sacrifices for her. But we will ever preach the gospel of love against the badspel of hate. We will preach the superiority of intellectual pursuits to the pursuit of war. We will preach the blessedness of elevating mankind to the spiritual rather than drag humanity down to the animal. (F. W. Aveling, M. A.) People Babylonians, Benjamin, Ebedmelech, Gedaliah, Hammelech, Jehucal, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Jucal, Malchiah, Malchijah, Mattan, Pashur, Shelemiah, Shephatiah, ZedekiahPlaces Babylon, Benjamin Gate, JerusalemTopics Almighty, Armies, Assuredly, Babylon, Babylon's, Burned, Captains, Certainly, Death, Family, Fire, Forth, Freely, Hast, Heads, Hosts, Household, Indeed, Jeremiah, Kept, Officers, Princes, Says, Soul, Spared, Surrender, Survive, Thus, Town, Wilt, Yea, Zedekiah, Zedeki'ahOutline 1. Jeremiah, by a false suggestion, is put into the dungeon of Malchiah.7. Ebed-Melech, by suit, gets him some enlargement. 14. Upon secret conference, he counsels the king by yielding to save his life. 24. By the king's instructions he conceals the conference from the princes. Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 38:17 5434 officer Library 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) Jeremiah Links Jeremiah 38:17 NIVJeremiah 38:17 NLT Jeremiah 38:17 ESV Jeremiah 38:17 NASB Jeremiah 38:17 KJV Jeremiah 38:17 Bible Apps Jeremiah 38:17 Parallel Jeremiah 38:17 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 38:17 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 38:17 French Bible Jeremiah 38:17 German Bible Jeremiah 38:17 Commentaries Bible Hub |