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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
21:1-29:32 Jeremiah's Confrontations. Having solidified his relationship with God, Jeremiah confronts his foes and their beliefs. He opposes kings (21:1-23:8), false prophets (23:9-40), the people (24:1-25:38), and false belief (26:1-29:32).
21:1-23:8 Jeremiah Opposes Judah's Kings. Jeremiah declares that the kingdom will perish (ch. 21), David's house will be left desolate (22:1-12), wicked kings will merit blame (22:13-30), and a righteous king will come (23:1-8).
21:1-2 Zedekiah. The last king of Judah (). Pashhur. Most likely a different man than in 20:1-2. Zephaniah. Not the prophet. Nebuchadnezzar. The greatest king of Babylon (). making war against us. Most likely in due to Zedekiah not paying tribute money. wonderful deeds. Such as the exodus or the deliverance of Jerusalem in (Isa. 36:1-37:36).
21:3-6 God will bring the Babylonians into the city (v. 4), fight alongside them against Judah (v. 5), and give them complete victory (v. 6).
21:7 Those who survive pestilence, sword, and famine (15:2-3) will be given to their enemies, who will kill them pitilessly.
21:8-9 Jerusalemites have two choices: surrender to Babylon and live, or fight Babylon and die.
21:12 house of David. Zedekiah and his officials. Execute justice. Based on God's written word (Deut. 17:14-20). deliver from the hand. Make certain the weak receive protection and vindication. These are the marks of a great king. wrath . . . like fire. See Amos 1:3-2:16.
21:13 inhabitant of the valley. The valleys around Mount Zion. rock of the plain. The high and relatively flat area of Upper Jerusalem. Who shall come shows misplaced confidence in Jerusalem's natural defenses.
21:14 fruit of your deeds. Well documented by this point in the book: idolatry, oppression, and covenant infidelity. devour. See Isa. 5:24 and Amos 1:3-2:16.
22:1-2 This message is for the king and people alike.
22:3 The king and those with him are not to use their power for personal advantage, but are to rule in justice and righteousness. "Justice" (Hb. mishpat) means making right decisions according to God's commands and case laws. "Righteousness" (Hb. tsedaqah) means what is correct according to God's norms and moral standards (cf. 4:2; 9:24). deliver. Rescue from harm. resident alien. A foreigner residing permanently in Judah. fatherless. Due either to death or abandonment; see notes on 5:26-29; 7:6. widow. By death or abandonment. These spell out the responsibilities of the ideal king over God's people (cf. 7:6; contrast 22:13, 15). The messianic King will carry this out (23:5; 33:15).
22:4 obey this word. To protect the weak (v. 3), which is a major role of kings. then there shall enter. David's descendants would continue to rule Judah. This shows that the prophecies of destruction are conditional; the exile was not inevitable.
22:6 Like Gilead . . . like . . . Lebanon suggests lush forests. a desert. The house of David after Jerusalem's fall.
22:7 destroyers . . . shall cut down your choicest cedars. Like the temple (Ps. 74:4-8), David's lineage will be cut down (Ps. 89:38-45).
22:10 him who is dead. Killed in the siege, yet free from pain. him who goes away. Exiles who deserve pity because they will never return home.
22:11 Shallum. Jehoahaz, king after Josiah () for in (2 Kings 23:31-33). He shall return here no more. Jehoahaz will never be restored to power (cf. Jer. 22:10).
22:12 Shallum will die in Egypt (2 Kings 23:34), as will all who flee there rather than surrender to Babylon (Jer. 21:8-10).
22:13-14 Jehoiakim () built a palace for himself while his people suffered. He required his subjects to work on the project without compensation. Contrast this with v. 3.
22:15 The real mark of a good king is establishing justice (v. 3), not building ornate palaces. your father. Either David or Josiah, both better kings than Jehoiakim.
22:16-17 Jehoiakim's oppressive ways mean he did not know God. Jehoiakim saw only opportunity for wealth, not the needs of the poor.
22:18 Jehoiakim is so unjust, no one will mourn his death.
22:19 burial of a donkey. Rather than the elaborate rituals kings usually receive.
22:20 Lebanon. Mountains to the north. Bashan. Mountains northeast of Jerusalem. Abarim. Mountains southeast in Moab. lovers. Judah's allies, all destroyed by Babylon.
22:21 Israel tended to disobey God during times of prosperity (Deut. 8:11-20; Judg. 2:6-3:6).
22:22 The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds. Judah's leaders/shepherds (2:8; 10:21) will be driven and scattered to the winds. lovers. See 22:20. all your evil. In trusting allies, not God.
22:23 Lebanon. In the north and thus first to experience Babylon's fury. pain as of a woman in labor. Metaphor for severe pain prior to a very painful event (4:31; 6:24; 13:21).
22:24 Coniah. Another name for Jehoiachin, who ruled (); also called Jeconiah (24:1). Babylon deposed him and put Zedekiah () in power. Jehoiachin was later treated well in exile (52:31-34; 2 Kings 24:8-9; 25:27-30). signet ring. Used to imprint a person's signature and thus represent a person's authority (Hag. 2:23).
22:26-27 Sent to Babylon in , Jehoiachin and his mother died in exile. Some Judeans may have hoped he would return and reign.
22:28 broken pot. Like the nation itself, punished by God. cast into a land. Exiled in Babylon.
22:29-30 Judah (the land) must understand that David's lineage will cease to rule Judah. none of his offspring. This raises a severe problem: Will God keep his promise of 2 Sam. 7:16? And how? See Jer. 23:5-6.
23:1-2 shepherds. See note on 3:15. Rather than bind up, heal, protect, and feed their sheep, Judah's leaders have destroyed and scattered them (2:8; 10:21; 22:22; Ezek. 34:2; Zech. 11:15-17). attend to you. Judge them because they have not judged God's people well.
23:3 gather. Bring back to Judah from exile. This process began in (Ezra 1-2). For the expectation, see Jer. 29:14; 31:8, 10; 32:37; Ezek. 11:17; 20:41; 28:25; 34:13; 36:24; 37:21. remnant. Originally this meant simply "survivors," but it came to mean "faithful ones" (Isa. 4:2-6; 10:22-24; Jer. 6:9).
23:5 God will honor his covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:1-25). a righteous Branch (see notes on Zech. 3:8-9; 6:12) . . . shall reign as king. This Davidic king, metaphorically a "branch" from the tree of David, will embody all good kingly characteristics of insightful decision making, fairness, and correct dispensing of justice (cf. Isa. 11:1-10). Such predictions of a coming king, part of the larger complex of messianic expectations, were seen by the NT authors as fulfilled in Jesus (Matt. 2:2; Luke 1:32; 19:38; John 1:49).
23:6 Judah will be saved. For the whole people being "saved," see Ex. 14:30. God rescues his people from danger--including the danger to which their own sin has subjected them--and fosters for them the conditions in which faithful life can flourish. dwell securely. Free from victorious enemies. The Lord is our righteousness. A play on the new king's name, Zedekiah, which means "the Lord is my righteousness." Even though Zedekiah fails, a new king will come. Cf. Isaiah 40-66, which foretells the return from exile, which leads to the raising up of David's heir.
