Jeremiah 1:16

1:11-19 God gave Jeremiah a view of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The almond-tree, which is more forward in the spring than any other, represented the speedy approach of judgments. God also showed whence the intended ruin should arise. Jeremiah saw a seething-pot boiling, representing Jerusalem and Judah in great commotion. The mouth or face of the furnace or hearth, was toward the north; from whence the fire and fuel were to come. The northern powers shall unite. The cause of these judgments was the sin of Judah. The whole counsel of God must be declared. The fear of God is the best remedy against the fear of man. Better to have all men our enemies than God our enemy; those who are sure they have God with them, need not, ought not to fear, whoever is against them. Let us pray that we may be willing to give up personal interests, and that nothing may move us from our duty.

And I will utter my judgments against them,.... Not against the kingdoms of the north, but against the people of the Jews. The sense is, that God would enter into judgment with this people, and pass sentence upon them, and execute it: touching all their wickedness; or on account of all their sins and transgressions hereafter mentioned: who have forsaken me. The Targum is, "who have forsaken my worship"; for to forsake the public worship of God, attendance on his word and ordinances, or to forsake the assembling of themselves together for such a purpose, is to forsake the Lord himself, the fountain of living waters; and this is to forsake their own mercies: and have burnt incense to other gods; to the idols of the Gentile, as the Targum explains it; to Baal, to the queen of heaven, and to others: and worshipped the works of their own hands: idols of gold, silver, brass, and wood, which their own hands formed and carved, and which argued great stupidity and ignorance.

Verse 16. - I will utter my judgments ; or, I will hold a court of justice upon them ; literally, I will speak judgments with them . The expression is peculiar to Jeremiah (comp. Jeremiah 4:12 ; Jeremiah 12:1 ; Jeremiah 39:6 ; Jeremiah 52:9 ), and includes both the examination of the accused, and the judicial sentence (see Jeremiah 39:5 ; Jeremiah 52:9 ). All their wickedness , etc. Their "wickedness," i . e . their infidelity to Jehovah, showed itself in burning incense to "other gods," and bowing down to their images. "Burned incense" is, however, too narrow a sense. The root-meaning of the verb is to be fragrant, and the causative conjugations will strictly mean only "to make a sweet odor," whether by the offering of incense or by burnt offerings (comp. Jeremiah 11:12 ; 2 Kings 23:8 , where a causative conjugation is used in the same wide sense here postulated; also Psalm 66:15 and Isaiah 1:13 , where the word usually rendered "incense" seems rather to mean "a sweet smoke"). The prophet says, "of other gods" (not "of false gods"), out of consideration for the ignorance of his hearers, to whom Baal and Moloch really were as gods; in fact, that expressive word (cf.) which Isaiah uses ten times to express the unreality of the other so-called gods, occurs only once, and then not in quite the same sense (see Jeremiah 14:14 ) in Jeremiah. But the prophet's own strict monotheism is proved by such passages as Jeremiah 2:27 a; Jeremiah 8:19b; Jeremiah 16:20. Jeremiah 1:16

16 . I will utter my judgements against them ] lit., I will speak my judgements with them . An almost identical phrase in the Hebrew occurs again in this book, when Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah “gave judgement upon Zedekiah,” mg. “spake judgements with him” ( Jeremiah 39:5 ); cp. Jeremiah 4:12 . touching all their wickedness ] This is defined in the three clauses that follow, (i) the forsaking of the true God, (ii) the sacrificing to other gods, (iii) the worshipping of images. have burned incense ] lit. have caused sacrifices to smoke . The Hebrew word does not necessarily involve the use of incense. See further on Jeremiah 7:9 .

And I will utter my {p} judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. (p) I will give them charge and power to execute my vengeance against the idolaters who have forsaken me for their idols.

(16) I will utter my judgments against them. —Here, again, we get a literal correspondence in the words of Jeremiah 39:5 , “he gave [or uttered] judgment upon him,” of Nebuchadnezzar’s sentence on Zedekiah. And yet the invaders in their sentence are to be but the ministers of a higher judgment than their own. In the words “my judgments” He recognises their work. Who have forsaken.—The remainder of the verse gives, as it were, the formal enumeration of the crimes for which Judah was condemned: (1) Apostacy from the true God; (2) the transfer of adoration to other Gods, such as Baal, Ashtaroth, and the Queen of Heaven; sins against the First Commandment; (3) the worship of graven images; a sin against the Second. The sins were of long standing, but the words point specially to the proportions they had assumed in the reign of Manasseh (2Chronicles 33:1-7).

In accordance with the custom of law courts, the crimes of the guilty city are mentioned in the sentence. The charges brought against her are three: first, the desertion of the true God; next, the offering incense to false gods, and, lastly, the making obeisance to, or bowing down 2 Kings 5:18 before images of human workmanship.

I will utter my judgments; cause sentence to be passed according to my threatening. See Jeremiah 39:5 . Or, I will place my bounty and their unworthiness before them. Or, I will upbraid them with their ingratitude, rebellion, and breach of covenant, &c. I will speak with them by thee, Jeremiah, and others of my prophets. Who have forsaken me; either noting the persons against whom, or rather the cause for which, because they have forsaken me; the same particle being so used Jeremiah 13:25 , and elsewhere; or their sins whereby, as it is also expressed, Jeremiah 16:11 22:9 . Burnt incense unto other gods, i.e. worshipped strange gods; a synecdoche of the part for the whole. The works of their own hands, i.e. their idolatrous images, expressed here by a periphrasis, Isaiah 2 8 .

God holds judgment upon the inhabitants of Judah in this very way, viz., by bringing these nations and permitting them to set up their lordship before the gates of Jerusalem, and against all cities of Judah. The suffix in אותם refers to ישׁבי, Jeremiah 1:14 , and אותם stands by later usage for אתּם, as frequently in Jer.; cf. Ew. 264, b. 'דּבּר משׁפּטים את־פ, speak judgment, properly, have a lawsuit with one, an expression peculiar to Jeremiah - cf. Jeremiah 4:12 ; Jeremiah 12:1 ; Jeremiah 39:5 ; Jeremiah 52:9 , and 2 Kings 25:6 - is in substance equivalent to נשׁפּט את, plead with one, cf. Jeremiah 12:1 with Jeremiah 2:35 , Ezekiel 20:35 ., and signifies not only remonstrating against wrong doing, but also the passing of condemnation, and so comprehends trial and sentencing; cf. Jeremiah 39:5 ; Jeremiah 42:9 . "All their wickedness" is more exactly defined in the following relative clauses; it consists in their apostasy from God, and their worship of heathen gods and idols made by themselves; cf. Jeremiah 19:4 , 1 Kings 11:33 , 2 Kings 22:17 . קטּר, offer odours, cause to rise in smoke, used not of the burning of incense alone, but of all offerings upon the altar, bloody offerings and meat-offerings; hence frequently in parallelism with זבח; cf. Hosea 4:13 ; Hosea 11:2 , etc. In the Pentateuch the Hiphil is used for this sense. Instead of the plural מעשׂי, many MSS give the singular מעשׂה as the ordinary expression for the productions of the hand, handiwork; cf.

Verse 17. - Because they have forsaken me. This was the gist of their offence, the thing that was unpardonable. Against this were all the chief warnings in the Law ( Deuteronomy 12:19 ; Deuteronomy 29:25-28 ; Deuteronomy 31:16, 17 ; Deuteronomy 32:15 , etc.) and the prophets ( Judges 10:13 ; 1 Samuel 8:8 ; 1 Samuel 12:9 ; 1 Kings 9:9 ; 1 Kings 11:33 ; 1 Kings 18:18 ; Isaiah 1:4 ; Isaiah 65:11 ; Jeremiah 1:16 ; Jeremiah 2:13 , etc.). It was not merely that they broke the commandments, but they turned from God altogether, and "cast him behind their back." And have burned incense unto other gods (comp. 2 Kings 23:5 ; and see also Jeremiah 1:18 ; Jeremiah 7:9 ; Jeremiah 11:13 ; Jeremiah 44:19 , etc.), that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands ; i.e. "with the idols that they have made for themselves" (Keil) (comp. 1 Kings 16:7 ). Therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place - i.e. against Jerusalem - and shall not be quenched. Here lies the whole point of the answer. God's threatenings against nations are for the most part conditional, and may be escaped, or at least their fulfillment may be deferred indefinitely, by repentance, as we learn from the example of Nineveh ( Jonah 3:1-10 ). But if a nation persists long in evil-doing, there comes a time when the sentence can be no longer averted. A real repentance has become impossible, and a mock one does but provoke God the more.