8 The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? the molten image, and the teacher of falsehood, that the maker of his work dependeth thereon, to make dumb idols?
For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not sought Jehovah; therefore have they not acted wisely, and all their flock is scattered.
But we have rejected the hidden things of shame, not walking in deceit, nor falsifying the word of God, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every conscience of men before God.
But if *thou* art named a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast in God, and knowest the will, and discerningly approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and hast confidence that thou thyself art a leader of the blind, a light of those who [are] in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law: thou then that teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself? thou that preachest not to steal, dost thou steal? thou that sayest [man should] not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? thou who boastest in law, dost thou by transgression of the law dishonour God? For the name of God is blasphemed on your account among the nations, according as it is written.
Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness:
And ye know him not; but I know him; and if I said, I know him not, I should be like you, a liar. But I know him, and I keep his word.
For what does a man profit, if he should gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and at his mouth they seek the law; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts. And I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because ye have not kept my ways, but have respect of persons in [administering] the law.
Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is broken; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome; because of Jehovah, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of execration the land mourneth. The pastures of the wilderness are dried up; for their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane: even in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah. Therefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them in the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. And in the prophets of Jerusalem have I seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood, and strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that none doth return from his wickedness. They are all become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.
Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah. Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock,and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah.
Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood [and] vanity; and in these things there is no profit.
They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances, And Israel thy law: They shall put incense before thy nostrils, And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Behold, certainly the lying pen of the scribes hath made it falsehood. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: behold, they have rejected Jehovah's word; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to those that shall possess [them]; for every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no intelligence; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Hath a nation changed [its] gods? and they are no gods; -- but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and where no man dwelleth?
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber: and the dogs are greedy, they know not to be satisfied, and these are shepherds that know not how to discern: they all turn to their own way, every one for his gain, even to the last of them: Come, [say they,] I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, [and] much more abundant.
They were all ashamed of a people [that] did not profit them, nor were a help or profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are they gone astray. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink; they are overpowered by wine, they are gone astray through strong drink; they have erred in vision, they have stumbled [in] judgment.
And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
And Elijah said to the people, I, only I, remain a prophet of Jehovah; and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
and turn ye not aside; for [it would be] after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 2
Commentary on Jeremiah 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
It is probable that this chapter was Jeremiah's first sermon after his ordination; and a most lively pathetic sermon it is as any we have is all the books of the prophets. Let him not say, "I cannot speak, for I am a child;' for, God having touched his mouth and put his words into it, none can speak better. The scope of the chapter is to show God's people their transgressions, even the house of Jacob their sins; it is all by way of reproof and conviction, that they might be brought to repent of their sins and so prevent the ruin that was coming upon them. The charge drawn up against them is very high, the aggravations are black, the arguments used for their conviction very close and pressing, and the expostulations very pungent and affecting. The sin which they are most particularly charged with here is idolatry, forsaking the true God, their own God, for other false gods. Now they are told,
Those hearts were hard indeed that were untouched and unhumbled when their sins were thus set in order before them. O that by meditating on this chapter we might be brought to repent of our spiritual idolatries, giving that place in our souls to the world and the flesh which should have been reserved for God only!
Jer 2:1-8
Here is,
Jer 2:9-13
The prophet, having shown their base ingratitude in forsaking God, here shows their unparalleled fickleness and folly (v. 9): I will yet plead with you. Note, Before God punishes sinners he pleads with them, to bring them to repentance. Note, further, When much has been said of the evil of sin, still there is more to be said; when one article of the charge is made good, there is another to be urged; when we have said a great deal, still we have yet to speak on God's behalf, Job 36:2. Those that deal with sinners, for their conviction, must urge a variety of arguments and follow their blow. God had before pleaded with their fathers, and asked why they walked after vanity and became vain, v. 5. Now he pleads with those who persisted in that vain conversation received by tradition from their fathers, and with their children's children, that is, with all that in every age tread in their steps. Let those that forsake God know that he is willing to argue the case fairly with them, that he may be justified when he speaks. He pleads that with us which we should plead with ourselves.
Jer 2:14-19
The prophet, further to evince the folly of their forsaking God, shows them what mischiefs they had already brought upon themselves by so doing; it had already cost them dear, for to this were owing all the calamities their country was now groaning under, which were but an earnest of more and greater if they repented not. See how they smarted for their folly.
Jer 2:20-28
In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here,
Jer 2:29-37
The prophet here goes on in the same strain, aiming to bring a sinful people to repentance, that their destruction might be prevented.