I. IN SPITE OF CAUTIONS. Gedaliah was told that Ishmael meditated his death. Told, not by one man, but by all who had opportunity of knowing the traitor's designs. Was it, then, blameworthy in him to neglect the information? We cannot tell. It may have been that he knew of jealousies which made him think that the rest of the captains were slandering Ishmael. Slanderers, be it remembered, are quite as numerous as traitors. The fault of Gedaliah, if fault it was, was that of a generous heart. It is one of the weapons of a traitor to put on the semblance of a true man. Then probably Gedaliah was further influenced by the proposition to kill Ishmael. If the informers had merely urged him to guard himself, they might have been better attended to. But those were days when, if people wanted to get rid of a troublesome man, they had little scruple in taking the most effectual way. II. AN INSTANCE OF RASH JUDGMENT. Gedaliah in one breath judged the traitor to be a true man and the speaker of truth to be a slanderer. In this world of uncertainties there is no need to refuse any accusation. Only let the accusation be accompanied with evidence. Trumped up evidence soon shows its faults and contradictions. If Gedaliah had bid Ishmael meet the accusation, he might have prevented the serious migration spoken of at the end of the next chapter, he had to take care of himself not only for his own sake, but as the representative of Babylon. - Y.
Being bound in chains. Christian Commonwealth. There is sadness In a shackle and bitterness In bonds. Many men part with life rather than liberty. Speaking humanly, Paul's lot In chains would have been intolerably irksome; but his soul was free! They could not chain his spirit. It is melancholy to watch the attitude of a caged eagle; its eye is dull, its plumage droops. The chain is round the spirit of the creature of the skies. Not so with the Christian soul. "It is not the shackle on the wrist that constitutes the slave," said Robertson of Brighton, "but the loss of self-respect." In Christian service we learn to reverence self. Our only bonds are the bonds of love. Our manhood is exalted, our service is liberty.(Christian Commonwealth.) People Ahikam, Ammonites, Baalis, Babylonians, Ephai, Gedaliah, Ishmael, Jaazaniah, Jeremiah, Jezaniah, Johanan, Jonathan, Kareah, Nebuzaradan, Nethaniah, Seraiah, Shaphan, TanhumethPlaces Babylon, Edom, Jerusalem, Mizpah, Moab, RamahTopics Ahikam, TRUE, Ahi'kam, Falsehood, Falsely, Gedaliah, Gedali'ah, Ishmael, Ish'mael, Johanan, Joha'nan, Kareah, Kare'ah, Lie, Saying, Speak, Speakest, Speaking, TellingOutline 1. Jeremiah, being set free by Nebuzaradan, goes to Gedaliah.7. The dispersed Jews repair unto him. 13. Johanan revealing Ishmael's conspiracy is not believed. Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 40:15 5921 privacy Library In JudaeaIf Galilee could boast of the beauty of its scenery and the fruitfulness of its soil; of being the mart of a busy life, and the highway of intercourse with the great world outside Palestine, Judaea would neither covet nor envy such advantages. Hers was quite another and a peculiar claim. Galilee might be the outer court, but Judaea was like the inner sanctuary of Israel. True, its landscapes were comparatively barren, its hills bare and rocky, its wilderness lonely; but around those grey limestone … Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life The Nations of the South-East Flight into Egypt and Slaughter of the Bethlehem Children. That Upon the Conquest and Slaughter of vitellius Vespasian Hastened his Journey to Rome; but Titus his Son Returned to Jerusalem. The Upbringing of Jewish Children Jeremiah Links Jeremiah 40:16 NIVJeremiah 40:16 NLT Jeremiah 40:16 ESV Jeremiah 40:16 NASB Jeremiah 40:16 KJV Jeremiah 40:16 Bible Apps Jeremiah 40:16 Parallel Jeremiah 40:16 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 40:16 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 40:16 French Bible Jeremiah 40:16 German Bible Jeremiah 40:16 Commentaries Bible Hub |