Jeremiah 21:4

21:1-10 When the siege had begun, Zedekiah sent to ask of Jeremiah respecting the event. In times of distress and danger, men often seek those to counsel and pray for them, whom, at other times, they despise and oppose; but they only seek deliverance from punishment. When professors continue in disobedience, presuming upon outward privileges, let them be told that the Lord will prosper his open enemies against them. As the king and his princes would not surrender, the people are exhorted to do so. No sinner on earth is left without a Refuge, who really desires one; but the way of life is humbling, it requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Who had been, still was, and would be, Israel's God, even the God of such who are Israelites indeed; though he should, as he would, give up the present generation to ruin and destruction; they having by their sins forfeited his care and protection of them; and therefore it was in vain to hope for it from this character which they bore: behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands; so that they should do no hurt to the enemy, but recoil upon themselves. The meaning is, that they should be useless and unserviceable; that they should neither be defensive to them, nor offensive to their enemies; but rather hurtful to themselves.

Jeremiah 21:4-7 . Behold, I will turn back the weapons, &c. — Instead of doing execution upon your enemies, they shall hurt yourselves, and be the occasion of your own destruction. God will as visibly appear against you as if a miraculous wind were to drive back your own darts and arrows, and turn them upon yourselves. And I myself will fight against you — By the executioners of my wrath, the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. I will plainly appear on your enemies’ side, by the success I will give to their arms. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city — I the Lord will do it, and it shall evidently appear to be my work; both man and beast — Even the beasts shall perish, both those that are for food, and those that are for service in war. They shall die of a great pestilence — Which shall rage within the walls, while their enemies are encamped about them. Though the walls and gates of Jerusalem may for a time keep out the Chaldeans, they cannot keep out God’s judgments. His arrows of pestilence can reach those that think themselves safe from other arrows. And I will deliver Zedekiah, &c. — The king himself, and all the people that escape the sword, famine, and pestilence, shall fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans. And he shall smite them with the edge of the sword — Zedekiah himself was not put to death, but carried to Babylon, where he died: see Jeremiah 24:5 .

But his sons and his great men were slain by the command of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:7-8 . “It is common in all writers to express that indefinitely which is true of the greater part of the persons concerned.” — Lowth. He shall not spare, neither have pity nor mercy — These three synonymous terms are used by way of emphasis, to express the severe revenge the Babylonians would take of them. The inhabitants of Jerusalem must indeed have been sensible at last, that they could expect little or no mercy, since they had rebelled three times against the king of Babylon.

Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will {b} turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, who besiege you outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. (b) That is, from your enemies to destroy yourselves.

(4) Behold, I will turn back . . . —Jeremiah’s answer is far other than they looked for, and had even ventured to suggest. The judgment could no longer be averted. The hand of Jehovah was against them, and would bring the Chaldæans that were now outside the walls nearer and nearer, till they came within them. In the structure of the sentence, however, “without the walls “belongs to “wherewith ye fight.” The defenders of the city were to be driven back within its gates from the outer line of fortifications.

The honour that the king of Judah had put upon the prophet, in sending these special messengers to him, is no temptation to this good prophet to prophesy smooth and pleasing things, for which he had no warrant from God. The prophet styleth God the God of Israel, because the whole posterity of Jacob were in covenant with God; notwithstanding which, ten parts of twelve were at this time carried into a captivity from which they never returned; yet God was the God of Israel, for all were not Israel that were descended from Israel, but those only who were Israelites indeed, without guile; so that the prophet by this name given to God doth both assert God’s faithfulness to his covenant, and also show the consistency of that faithfulness with those judgments which he was now bringing upon that remnant of Israel which yet were in their own land. Tile message which God by the prophet sendeth to Zedekiah is exceeding terrible. The sum of it is, that as they had not dealt with God according to the works of Israel, and the former generation that descended from him, or those at least who were the true Israel of God; so they must not expect that God should deal with them according to his former wondrous works, but that as he with the pure had showed himself upright , so with the froward he should show himself froward .

For God had determined to turn into their own bowels, and against themselves, the weapons they had in their hands taken up against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans that were now besieging them (by which we may learn that this message was sent during the time of the siege, probably about the beginning of it, for it lasted eighteen months). I will assemble them into the midst of this city; God threateneth to bring the Chaldeans into the midst of the holy city, that their city should be broken up, their arms taken from them, and they killed with their own swords. There is a great emphasis in the pronoun I. It is not an enemy that is to be feared, but God’s being our enemy.

4. God of Israel—Those "wondrous works" (Jer 21:2) do not belong to you; God is faithful; it is you who forfeit the privileges of the covenant by unfaithfulness. "God will always remain the God of Israel, though He destroy thee and thy people" [Calvin]. turn back the weapons—I will turn them to a very different use from what you intend them. With them you now fight against the Chaldees "without the walls" (the Jewish defenders being as yet able to sally forth more freely, and defend the fountains outside the walls in the valley under Mount Zion; see Jer 21:13; Jer 19:6, 7); but soon ye shall be driven back within the city [Maurer], and "in the midst" of it, I will cause all your arms to be gathered in one place ("I will assemble them," namely, your arms) by the Chaldean conquerors [Grotius], who shall slay you with those very arms [Menochius].