Jeremiah 11:7

For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. RISING EARLY - ()....

We observed in the last Lecture the complaint which God made against his people, — that, he had tried every means to reconcile them to himself, but all in vain. But there is great weight and emphasis in these words, — that by _protesting he protested, etc._; as though he subjected himself to the judgment of a third party; for we are wont to protest against those who do not winingly come before the tribunal of a judge. God then takes this figure from the common practice of men, and says that _he protested, _and that not only once, but repeatedly. He afterwards adds that he had done this not only in one age, but from the time their fathers came forth from bondage to that day. It was then extreme perverseness, when God ceased not to call them to himself, and yet spoke to the deaf. But what follows is still more emphatical, — that he _rose early: _for to take this transitively as some do, is...

1-10 God never promised to bestow blessings on his rational creatures, while they persist in wilful disobedience. Pardon and acceptance are promised freely to all believers; but no man can be saved who does not obey the command of God to repent, to believe in Christ, to separate from sin and the world, to choose self-denial and newness of life. In general, men will hearken to those who speak of doctrines, promises, and privileges; but when duties are mentioned, they will not bend their ear....

EXPOSITION The superscription in Jeremiah 11:1 evidently belongs to the three chapters 11-13, though Jeremiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 12:1 are more closely connected with each other than with Jeremiah 13:1. To which period the group of prophecies belongs—whether to the reign of Josiah, or of Jehoiakim, or of Jehoiachin, or to various periods, is a matter of dispute. It contains at any rate one passage (Jeremiah 12:7) which was almost certainly put in by a later editor. It is doubtless Jeremiah's work, but seems out of place her

FOR I EARNESTLY PROTESTED UNTO YOUR FATHERS,.... Or "witnessing, witnessed" g; testified his great affection for them; importunately solicited their observation of his precepts for their good; and strictly cautioned them against neglect and disobedience: THE DAY THAT I BROUGHT THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; Jeremiah 11:4: EVEN UNTO THIS DAY, RISING EARLY, AND PROTESTING, SAYING, OBEY MY VOICE; that is, from the time of the giving of the law, in all successive ages, to the present time, he had sent his prophets to them, time after time, morning by morning, early and late, to press, exhort, and stir them up to an obedience to his will, and to warn them of the evils that would come by disobedience to it. g העד העדתי "testificando tesficatus sum", Schmidt; "contestando contestatus sum", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius....

CHAPTER 11 The Broken Covenant and the Plot Against Jeremiah _ 1. The broken covenant (Jeremiah 11:1) _ 2. The plot revealed and Jehovah's answer (Jeremiah 11:18) Jeremiah 11:1. Jehovah had made a covenant with His people. He tells the prophet about it and the responsibility which was connected with that covenant. They were to obey His voice. Then should they be His people and He their God. And of this covenant it was written, “Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant.” The prophet answered the Lord: “So be it LORD” (Amen). Then he is commanded to proclaim this covenant and tell the people that they had broken the covenant. They had followed the evil exampl

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE COVENANT. Jeremiah is commissioned to enforce solemnly (_cf._ Deuteronomy 27:26; Deuteronomy 29:9) on Judah and Jerusalem the covenant which Yahweh made at the time of the national deliverance from Egypt, as the condition of blessing. He solemnly accepts this commission, and is sent to the smaller cities, as well as to the streets of the capital, to declare the penalty of disobedience to this covenant, as shown by past history. Jeremiah 11:2. The verbs, hear ye, and speak should be emended to the singular, in view of Jeremiah 11:3....

RISING EARLY, &C. See note on Jeremiah 7:13....

See summary at commencement of section. Gi. omits these three _vv_. But Jeremiah 11:6 is needed, in order to account for the hostility roused at Anathoth by Jeremiah's mission. Jeremiah 11:7 on the other hand are omitted by LXX, and may well have been inserted here from the parallel passage, Jeremiah 7:23 f....

CHAPTER NINE CONSPIRACIES AGAINST GOD AND HIS PROPHET Jeremiah 11:1 to Jeremiah 13:27 It is well nigh impossible to precisely date the discourses and activities contained in chapter 11-20. Naegelsbach feels that a date prior to the battle of Carchemish. should be assigned because of the lack of any reference to the Chaldeans. Most commentators, however, regard Jeremiah 13:18-27 as coming from the time of king Jehoiachin who reigned after the battle of Carchemish. One unit of this section, Jeremiah 14:1 to Jeremiah 17: