CHAPTER 7
Jeremiah 7:1-4 | |
1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, | 1. Sermo qui datus fuit Jeremiae (qui factus fuit ad Jeremiam, qui datus fuit, ad verbum) a Jehova, dicendo, |
2. Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. | 2. Sta in porta domus Jehovae (hoc est, Templum,) et clama illic hunc sermonem (hoc est, vociferare hunc sermonem, vel, cum clamore prefer,) et dicas, Audite sermonem Jehovae cunctus Jehudah, qui ingredimini per has portas, ut adoretis Jehovam: |
3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. | 3. Sic dicit Jehova exercituum, Deus Israel, Bonas facite vias vestras et studia vestra, et habitabo vobiscum in hoc loco; |
4. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. | 4. Ne confidatis vobis (hoc est, ne vobis fiduciam ponatis, vel, adjiciatis vobis fiduciam) ad verba mendacii, dicendo, Templum Jehovae, Templum Jehovae, Templum Jehovae sunt. |
Here the Prophet gives a short account of the sermon, in which he severely reproved the people, because his labor had been useless, though he had sharply and severely reproved them. He says then, that he had a command from above to
It is hence probable, and what may be easily concluded, that this discourse was delivered on a feast -- day, when there was the usual assembly of the people. He could not indeed have made this address on other days; for then the inhabitants of the city only frequented the Temple. But on the feast -- days they usually came from the neighboring towns and from the whole country to celebrate God's rightful worship, which had been prescribed in the law. Since then Jeremiah addressed the whole tribe of Judah, we hence conclude, that he spoke not only to the inhabitants of the city, but also to the whole tribe, which came together to keep the feast -- day.
Now the object of his sermon was, to exhort them seriously to repent, if they wished God to be reconciled to them. So the Prophet shews, that God did not regard their sacrifices and external rites, and that this was not the way, as they thought, of appeasing him. For after they had celebrated the feast, every one returned home, as though they all, after having made an expiation, had God propitious to them. The Prophet shews here, that the way of worshipping God was very different, which was to reform their lives.
Then the Prophet comes closer to them when he says,
We hence see that external rites are here repudiated, when men seek in a false way to gain favor before God, and seek to redeem their sins by false compensations, while yet their hearts continue perverse. This truth might be enlarged upon, but as it often occurs in the prophets, I only notice it shortly. It is enough to regard the main point, -- that while the Jews were satisfied with the Temple, the ceremonies and the sacrifices, they were self -- deceivers, for their boasting was fallacious: "the words of falsehood" are to be taken as meaning that false and vain glorying in which the Jews indulged, while they sought to ward off God's vengeance by external rites, and at the same time made no effort to return into favor by ameliorating their life.
With regard to the expressions
But we must observe the design of the Prophet, which interpreters have omitted. The Prophet then made this repetition especially, because the Temple was as it were a triple defense to hypocrites, like a city, which, when surrounded, not by one, but by three walls, is deemed impregnable. Since, then, the Jews exalted their Temple, consisting of three parts, it was the same as they set up a triple wall or a triple rampart against God's judgments! "We are invincible; how can enemies come to us? how can any calamity reach us? God dwells in the midst of us, and here he has his habitation, and not one and single fort, but a triple fort; he has his court, his Temple, and his Holy of holies." We now then understand why the Prophet made this repetition, and used also the plural number.
PRAYER
Grant, Almighty God, that as we so abuse thy forbearance, that thou art constrained by our depravity to deal sharply with us, -- O grant, that we may not be also hardened against thy chastisements, but may we with a submissive and tractable neck learn to take thy yoke, and be so obedient to thy government, that we may testify our repentance, not for one day only, and give no fallacious evidence, but that we may really prove through the whole course of our life the sincerity of our conversion to thee, by regarding this as our main object, even to glorify thee in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Amen.
1 Though the ancient versions, except the Vulgate, render the verb to dwell, as an Hiphil, "cause to dwell, "as in our version, yet Blayney, as well as Calvin, follows the Vulgate, "And I will dwell with you in this place: "which seems more accordant with the context. Their boast was that God was dwelling with them, as the temple was his temple. Then when Shiloh, in Jeremiah 7:12, is referred to, God says that he set his name there: and no doubt the same thing is meant here.-Ed.
2 The difficulty in the construction is removed by Blayney, who renders
Trust ye not in those who speak falsehood, saying,- The Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah, The Temple of Jehovah, are these.
The Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic, have "the Temple of the Lord" only twice, and the verb is in the singular number, "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord it is." The verb is the same in the Vulgate, only the words, as in Hebrew, and also in the Targum, are repeated thrice. The paraphrase of the latter is rather singular,-" Trust not in the words of the prophets of falsehood, who say, Before the Temple of the Lord ye worship, before the Temple of the Lord ye sacrifice, before the Temple of the Lord ye offer praise; three times a year ye appear before him."
"These" mean, as Gataker thinks, these places or buildings; and Lowth and Blayney think the same. The repetition seems to denote the frequency with which the Jews used the words: they continually boasted of having God's Temple among them. "The Prophet, "says Henry, "repeats it, because they repeated it upon all occasions. It was the cant of the times. If they heard an awakening sermon, they lulled themselves asleep again with this, 'We cannot but do well, for we have the Temple of the Lord among us.' It is common for those that are farthest from God to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church."-Ed.