Jeremiah 13:22

And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. IF THOU SAY - connecting this verse with "What wilt thou say?" (.) THY SKIRTS ARE DISCOVERED - i:e., are thrown up so as to expose the person (; ; Nab. 3:5). HEELS MADE BARE - the sandal was fastened by a thong above the heel to the instep. The Hebrew is, 'are violently handled,' or 'torn off;' i:e., thou art exposed to ignominy. Image from an adulteress....

The Prophet again declares that God’s judgment would be just, which he had previously foretold; for hypocrites, we know, do not cease to quarrel with God, except they are often proved guilty; and it is always their object, where they cannot wholly excuse themselves, to extenuate in some measure their fault. The Prophet therefore here removes every pretense for evasion, and declares that they were wholly worthy of such a reward. But his manner of speaking ought to be noticed, _If thou wilt say in thine heart, _etc. Hypocrites do not only claim for themselves righteousness before the world, but they also deceive themselves, and the devil so dementates them with a false persuasion, that they seek to be counted just before God. This then is what the Prophet sets forth when he says, _If thou wilt say in thine heart, Why have these evils happened to me? _(92) that is, if thou seekest by secret...

18-27 Here is a message sent to king Jehoiakim, and his queen. Their sorrows would be great indeed. Do they ask, Wherefore come these things upon us? Let them know, it is for their obstinacy in sin. We cannot alter the natural colour of the skin; and so is it morally impossible to reclaim and reform these people. Sin is the blackness of the soul; it is the discolouring of it; we were shapen in it, so that we cannot get clear of it by any power of our own. But Almighty grace is able to change the Ethiopian's skin. Neither natural depravity, nor strong habits of sin, form an obstacle to the working of God, the new-creating Spirit. The Lord asks of Jerusalem, whether she is determined not be made clean. If any poor slave of sin feels that he could as soon change his nature as master his headstrong lusts, let him not despair; for things impossible to men are possible with God. Let us then se...

Verse Jeremiah 13:22. _ARE THY SKIRTS DISCOVERED_] Thy defenceless state is every where known; thou art not only _weak_, but ignominiously so. It is thy _scandal_ to be in so depressed a condition; thou art lower than the basest of thy adversaries, and thou art so because of thy sin....

MADE BARE - Rather, “ill-used, treated with violence.” The long flowing robes worn by ladies of rank, are to be laid aside, that they might do menial work, bare-legged, like slaves. The ill-usage to the heels is the having to tramp barefoot, a thing very painful to women accustomed to the seclusion of the female apartments....

EXPOSITION The chapter falls into two parts—the one describing a divinely commanded action of the prophet, symbolical of the approaching rejection of the Jewish people, the other announcing in literal language the ruin especially of the king and the queen-mother, and emphasizing the inveterate corruption which rendered such a blow necessary. The mention of the queen-mother (see Jeremiah 13:18) renders it probable that Jehoiachin is the king under whom the prophecy was composed. It is true that other kings besides Jehoiachin ascended the throne in the lifetime of their mother; but the express and repeated mention of the queen-mother in the account of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:12, 2 Kings 24:15; comp....

AND IF THOU SAY IN THINE HEART,.... Not daring to express it with the mouth; and which, notwithstanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and could discern all the secret workings of it; putting such a question as this: WHEREFORE COME THESE THINGS UPON ME? all these calamities, the invasion and siege of the enemy, famine, sword, captivity, c.: the answer returned is, FOR THE GREATNESS OF THINE INIQUITY the enormous crimes the Jews were guilty of, such as idolatry, blasphemy, c. which were attended with aggravated circumstances: or, "for the multitude of thine iniquity" h their sins being so many, as well as great: ARE THY SKIRTS DISCOVERED, AND THY HEELS MADE BARE; being obliged to walk naked and barefoot, their buttocks uncovered, and their legs and feet naked, without stockings or shoes, as captives used to be led, to their great shame and disgrace; see...

CHAPTER 13 Signs, Warnings, and Exhortations _ 1. The linen girdle and the filled bottles (Jeremiah 13:1) _ 2. Hear and give glory (Jeremiah 13:15) 3. The justice of the judgment (Jeremiah 13:22) Jeremiah 13:1. The prophet enacts a sign, that of the linen girdle. After he had put on the girdle, he was told to hide it in a hole of the rock of the Euphrates. After many days, he was commanded to dig for the girdle. It was found marred and profitable for nothing. Was this only a vision, or did the prophet actually make the long journey to the Euphrates and then repeat it after many

JERUSALEM'S SHAME. This prophecy, as perhaps others in this chapter, would suit the position of affairs under Jehoiakim, after Carchemish (605). Jerusalem is asked concerning the welfare of her people, in the day of invasion by the foe from the north (Jeremiah 4:6, etc.: here of the Babylonians). Jeremiah 13:21 should read, When he shall set over thee as head those whom thou hast thyself taught to be friends unto thee, _i.e_. those who have been courted as friends are now become masters. Her anguish and shame are merited; a change seems hopeless, since habit has become second nature (Jeremiah 13:23). Ruin is inevitable (Jeremia

INIQUITY. Hebrew. _'avah._ App-44....