114. Prophecies of Zephaniah and Jeremiah. Zephaniah. Jeremiah i, ii. In the reign of Josiah, the prophet Zephaniah uttered many severe denunciations against the inhabitants of Judah73 because of their idolatry. He said, "I will utterly 'consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the 'stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. I will also *stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ;32 and I will cut off the 'remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that 'worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; and them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him ... I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel." He also declared God's judgments against the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Ethiopians, and Assyrians. He foretold the captivity of Judah, but exhorted them to await their restoration, and to rejoice in their salvation, "Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more. . . . At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth when I turn back your captivity before your eyes." Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth ;66 he lived during the reigns of Josiah and the succeeding kings of Judah. When the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Before thou wast born I 'sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations; Jeremiah answered, "Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child.” But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of 'their faces; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. . . . . Thou therefore 'gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee; be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee." He was then commissioned to reprove the Jews for their idolatries,--to tell them of the certain punishments which awaited them-and to exhort them to repentance. He spoke of the desolations which should come on Judah from the north, and of the ingratitude of the people to God, for defiling with idolatry, the good and plentiful land he had given them. EXPLANATIONS. consume, &c.-Man, by war, famine, pestilence, and captivity, beasts, by want of pasture and water; birds by the withering of trees, shrubs, herbs, and the consequent death of insects; fishes by the drying up of waters from the effects of drought. stumbling blocks-idols and idolatrous altars. stretch out my hand-to punish; to afflict. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." remnant, &c.-God saw the idolatry which lay lurking in the hearts of the Israelites, even after the general destruction of Baal's altars and images by the good king Josiah. Chemarims-idolatrous devotees; priests of Baal; so called because they wore black garments. the housetops-the roofs being flat afforded accommodation for worship, sleeping, &c. There the pious individual retired and lifted up his heart to Him that dwelleth in the heavens, while the corrupt there worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. worship ... swear by, &c.-attempting to serve God and idols; but God will not give his glory to others, nor share his honour with the creatures his hand has made. Malcham-Moloch; his worship was sometimes accompanied by human sacrifice. strange apparel-the designation of special worshippers, each idol being worshipped in appropriate vestments. O daughter-it is common to all people thus to personify cities and nations also. Our country is personified by Britannia. cast out, &c.-the Babylonish dominion was destroyed in the person of Belshazzar; that dynasty was "cast out" to make room for the Medio-Persic, in the person of Cyrus, by whose decree the Jews were permitted to return home. even the Lord-on their restoration they should not have an earthly sovereign of their own nation. Their fathers rejected the Lord from being the king, (Les. 43.) but now they shall have no other king than the Lord. a name and a praise-Zephaniah's prophecy extends far beyond the period of the restoration from Babylon-even to the "latter days" of Israel's glory when no earthly sovereign shall claim so much as the right of tribute over them, and when their name and praise shall be extended throughout all lands. sanctified-set apart-ordained-publicly acknowledged as a prophet of the Lord. a child-Dr. Gray thinks he was then 14 years old. He evinced a most becoming modesty combined with an obedient spirit. their faces-it requires much moral courage for a young minister faithfully to reprove the bold and reckless countenances of those who fear not God neither regard man. gird up thy loins-make up your mind to be courageous; set to your account the endurance of much opposition and persecution. The custoin of binding up the long and flowing garments worn in the East is here figuratively referred to. north-Babylon lay north-east of Judah. CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS. ZEPHANIAH-we have no further account of this prophet than that he was the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah. He wrote with great severity against the wickedness of the Jews. JEREMIAH-a son of Hilkiah the priest; he began to prophecy in the reign of Josiah, when he was yet very young, he prophesied nineteen years under Josiah, and forty two years altogether; he was carried into Egypt and stoned to death at Tahpanhes. URIJAH-the son of Shemaiah who prophesied against Judah and Jerusalem, and fled into Egypt for fear of Jehoiakim. He was brought from Egypt and put to death and his body was cast into the graves of the common people. QUESTIONS. What was the character of Zephaniah's prophecies? &c. &c. &c. PRECEPTIVE LESSONS. Judah needed severe lessons. Here God threatens to recall all the blessings he had bestowed on the land. The creatures were made for man's use, and when perverted by being made the instruments of sin to man, God threatens in his severe displeasure to involve them in man's punishment. We see then that sin may depopulate a nation, and bring its land to infertility. The promises which follow are made to a people purified through affliction, and thus made meet to partake of the blessings of the Gospel. From the early history of Jeremiah we learn that modesty is becoming in youth-that God is able to strengthen the weakness of youthful servants, and remove their timidity, so as to prepare them to serve him even in trying scenes of duty. 5 115. Josiah is Slain. 2 Chron. xxxv. 20-24; xxxvi. 2 Kings xxiii. 29-35. Habakkuk. When Josiah had completed the repairs of the temple, Necho, king of Egypt, came up to fight against Charchemish, by the Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. But Necho sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war; for God commanded me to make haste; forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not." Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.95 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants," Have me away; for I am sore wounded." His servants therefore took him to Jerusalem,32 where he died, and he was buried in one of the 'sepulchres of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him: 'for there was no king before him nor after him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, as he did, according to the law of Moses. The people made Jehoahaz, 'a younger son of Josiah, king after his father; he reigned only three months, and did evil. Pharaoh-Necho 'deposed and imprisoned him; he also 'exacted tribute 104 of one-hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold from the kingdom; he made Eliakim king, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. The king procured the tribute from the people, and paid it to Pharaoh-Necho. At this time Habakkuk prophesied; he lamented the iniquity of the land; after which he described the Chaldeans as a bitter and hasty nation, which should march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling-places that were not theirs. The prophet then humbly prayed that God would look upon Judah while under the debasing tyranny of the Chaldeans; he foretold the 'overthrow of the Babylonish kingdom; prayed that the Lord would revive his work in the midst of the years, and in wrath remember mercy. He also thus expressed his own confidence in God, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Charchemish-a town of Assyria on the Euphrates which Pharaoh-Necho took and fortified. His garrison was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Euphrates the great river of Asia which flowed through the garden of Eden; it rises in the mountains of Armenia, flows by Syria, Mesopotamia, and the ruins of the great city Babylon, and falls into the Persian Gulf. EXPLANATIONS. came up to fight, &c.-we are not informed of the motives which influenced Josiah to march against the king of Egypt. What have I to do with thee I have no quarrel with thee.' Could he have said so were he aware of the oath of defence and allegiance, which, as some say, the king of Assyria had exacted from Josiah? against the house, &c.-this house was fast falling to decay. Fifteen years before this Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, asserted his independence; and two years after, an alliance inimical to the king of Assyria was formed by Nabopolassar with Cyaxares, king of Media. in the valley of Megiddo-as Josiah's dominion extended over the whole of Canaan, he viewed in an offensive light the march of the Egyptians upon his western borders. sepulchres of, &c.-the rock-hewn sepulehres known as the Tombs of the kings of Judah are situated about 500 yards outside the city walls. It is recorded that twelve out of the twentythree kings were buried in royal sepulchres, and this number corresponds with the number of finished tombs at the place alluded to. for there was no king, &c.-a highly honorable testimony to the religious character of Josiah. "The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance," but" the name of the wicked shall rot.' as he did-like Josiah we should earnestly engage in every good work with our whole heart acting upon the advice of the wise king, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." a younger son, &c.-the reason of this preference on the part of the people is not explained, 1 Chron. iii. 15; Jer. xxii. 11. He is called in one place Josiah's firstborn, because he was politically preferred before his three elder brothers. deposed, &c.-this was done on Necho's return from Carchemish to Egypt. exacted, &c.-forced; compelled the people to pay. The amount of this tribute, £52,200, was not great, but it was required within a very short time, and when the kingdom was in a very impoverished condition. bitter-malicious, revengeful. hasty-quick in their movements to conquer, enslave, and destroy. overthrow-Nahum foretold the destruction of the Assyrian kingdom by whose arms Israel was conquered and taken captive; now the overthrow of that power by which the other two tribes were to be led into captivity is foretold by Habakkuk. I will rejoice, &c.-in the midst of the direst calamities he would rejoice in the promises of God to his afflicted people. CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS. PHARAOH-NECHO-a powerful king of Egypt whose expeditions are often mentioned in profane history. After his expedition in which Josiah opposed him, he made another, but was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, according to a pro phecy of Jeremiah xlvi. 2. HABAKKUK-nothing is known of the family of this prophet, he predicted the punishment of the Jews by the Chaldeans. His prophecy divides itself into two parts; 1. a dialogue between God and the prophet. 2. a sublime ode intended probably to be used in public worship. QUESTIONS. What coincident circumstances are here recorded? What did the ambassadors of Necho say to Josiah? What king of Israel did Josiah imitate? Who prophesied in Jehoiakim's reign? How did he express his confidence in the faithfulness of God's promises? PRECEPTIVE LESSONS. We may conclude that Josiah's enterprise against Necho was a rash one, since the Scriptures inform us that Necho's message was from the "mouth of God." He had certainly no clear call to engage in this war, nor do we find that he asked counsel of God concerning it. We are not to regard Josiah's premature death so much as a punishment on himself as on a hypocritical nation who only reformed outwardly to please the king. Josiah's rashness involved the kingdom in great trouble-hasty conduct brings our dependents into affliction as well as ourselves. Good men mourn over the sins of their country; Christ wept over Jerusalem. Habakkuk foresaw the calamities of his countrymen, but he teaches us that we should not let our confidence in God fail, though afflictions so increase as to deprive us of our accustomed blessings. 116. Predictions of Jeremiah. The Rechabites. Jeremiah. Jeremiah declared God's judgments against Judah73 and 'mourned for their sins. He said "my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the 'fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, 'broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Having pointed out some of their transgressions, he proceeded thus :-" Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?.... For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the 'fowl of the heavens and the 'beast are fled; they are gone. And I will make Jerusalem32 heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant." Before delivering this prediction, Jeremiah felt deeply distressed for his countrymen, and exclaimed "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" The Lord commanded him to declare that the Jews should be utterly cast forth, and if they asked, "Whither"? he was to tell them. "Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the 'captivity, to the captivity." He also predicted the speedy captivity of the Jews, and the desolation of their Country. Pashur smote Jeremiah, and put him in the stocks, when he heard that he prophesied these things. On the morrow, when he brought him forth, Jeremiah denounced him, and in the words of the Lord, said he should be 'a terror to himself and his eyes should see Judah given to the king of Babylon,109 and the people taken captive. Of Jehoiakim he predicted, that the people should not lament for him, but that he should be buried with the 'burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. He repeated the sentence of God against Jerusalem and the temple to the assembled people, and they said he should surely die. The princes then came from the king's house to the house of the Lord, and the priests and people accused Jeremiah to them of prophesying against the city. He called on them to repent, and said the Lord had sent him thus to prophesy. The princes said he was not worthy to die, and some of the elders43 asked if former prophets who had prophesied against Jerusulem had been put to death, and as they were not, they would not consent to the death of Jeremiah. The Rechabites were descendants of Jonadab95 the son of Rechab, who charged them and their children to drink no wine all their days, nor to build houses, nor to sow seeds, nor to plant vineyards, but to dwell in tents. When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Judah they left their tents for fear of the Syrians, and came to dwell at Jerusalem. They were taken in one of the chambers of the house of the Lord, and wine was set before them, but they refused to drink, saying, that Jonadab their father had commanded them to drink no wine. Jeremiah was then ordered to condemn the men of Judah for their disobedience to God, and to bless the Rechabites for their obedience to their father's injunction. |