Jeremiah 17:26

Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; Delivered in the reign of Jehoiakim, who undid the good effected by Josiah's reformation, especially as to the observance of the Sabbath (Eichorn). STAND IN THE GATE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE PEOPLE - the gate next the king's palace, called the gate of David, and the gate of the people, from its being the principal thoroughfare: now the Jaffa gate. It is probably the same as "the gate of the fountain" at the foot of Zion, near which were the king's garden and pool (; ; ;...

Here he mentions the second part of the blessing; for the whole people would be preserved safe in the possession of their kingdom and priesthood, as in both the favor of God appeared; for both the king and the priest were types of Christ. For as by the priesthood they knew that God was propitious to them, they being reconciled to him by sacrifices, and as by the kingdom they knew that God was the protector and guardian of their safety, so these two things constituted a real and complete happiness. Hence the Prophet, having mentioned one of these things, now proceeds to the other, — _They shall come from the cities of Judah ad from the whole circuit of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin_, and from other places, to offer sacrifices in the Temple. Sacrifices of themselves could not indeed serve the people; but Jeremiah assumed this principle, — that reconciliation was not in vain prom...

19-27 The prophet was to lay before the rulers and the people of Judah, the command to keep holy the sabbath day. Let them strictly observe the fourth command. If they obeyed this word, their prosperity should be restored. It is a day of rest, and must not be made a day of labour, unless in cases of necessity. Take heed, watch against the profanation of the sabbath. Let not the soul be burdened with the cares of this world on sabbath days. The streams of religion run deep or shallow, according as the banks of the sabbath are kept up or neglected. The degree of strictness with which this ordinance is observed, or the neglect shown towards it, is a good test to find the state of spiritual religion in any land. Let all; by their own example, by attention to their families, strive to check this evil, that national prosperity may be preserved, and, above all, that souls may be saved....

This prophecy on the observance of the Sabbath, is the first of a series of short predictions. arranged probably in chronological order among themselves, but in other respects independent of one another. Its tone is mild, and dissuasive rather of future neglect than condemnatory of past misconduct; and it may be assigned to the commencement of Jehoiakim’s reign. Its similarity to the prophecy contained in Jeremiah 22:1 makes it probable that they were contemporaneous. Jeremiah 17:19 THE GATE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE PEOPLE - Perhaps the principal entrance of the outer court of the temple. Very probably there was traffic there, as in our Lord’s time, in doves and other requisites for sacrifice, and so the warning to keep the Sabba

EXPOSITION Jeremiah 17:1 are closely connected with the preceding chapter. We have just been pointed to the striking contrast between the conduct of the heathen and that of the backsliding men of Judah. The inspired orator's indignation swells as he thinks of the inveterateness and indelibleness of Judah's sin. Then he passes to a subject immediately suggested by the policy of the court, viz. the true source of safety in dangerous times. Trust in man brings a curse; trust in Jehovah a blessing (Jeremiah 17:5). From this portion of the prophecy we can venture to fix the date of the whole. Jeremiah 17:11 is, in fact, a shorter form of the denunciation in...

AND THEY SHALL COME FROM THE CITIES OF JUDAH,.... That is, men shall come from all parts of the land of Judea to the city of Jerusalem, and to the temple; especially at the times of their solemn feasts, three times a year, as the law directed: AND FROM THE PLACES ABOUT JERUSALEM; and from all the towns and villages adjacent to it, such as Bethany and Bethphage, and many others: AND FROM THE LAND OF BENJAMIN; which tribe continued with the tribe of Judah when the rest revolted, and was now with it, and still would continue with it, and join with it in religious worship, were they careful to observe what the Lord commanded them: AND FROM THE PLAIN, AND FROM THE MOUNTAINS, AND FROM THE SOUTH; these respect the several parts of the land of Judah, which, the Jews i say, was divided into three parts, the mountain, plain or champaign country, and the valley: the "plain" was that part where L...

CHAPTER 17 _ 1. Judah's sin (Jeremiah 17:1) _ 2. The curse and the blessing (Jeremiah 17:5) 3. The worship of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:12) 4. Concerning the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:19) Jeremiah 17:1. The sin of Judah was idolatry, engraven with a pen of iron, the point of a diamond, upon their heart (from whence it proceeded) and upon the horns of their altars. They had destroyed but a few years before the asherim (translated groves, a kind of sacred post), and now their children turned back to t

THE SABBATH DAY. The general tone and emphasis of this paragraph, which makes a particular ceremonial ordinance the condition of permanent survival, relate it rather to the period of Nehemiah 13:15 than to that of Jeremiah. The prophecy is uttered in the gate (Jeremiah 7:2)_,_ because of the Sabbath traffic through it; nothing is known of this particular gate. In Jeremiah 17:21 and Jeremiah 17:25 read as _mg.;_ omit and princes in Jeremiah 17:25;...

THE PLAIN. Called Shephelah. Philistia, between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea. MOUNTAINS. the central land. THE SOUTH. the Negeb. See notes on Genesis 12:9; Genesis 13:1.Deuteronomy 1:7; Psalms 126:4. BRINGING BURNT OFFERINGS, &C. Reference to Pentateuch Leviticus 1:1; Leviticus 1:2, &c. MEAT. meal. Reference to Pentateuch (Levi

Jeremiah 17:19-27. An exhortation on the observance of the Sabbath This section is unconnected with the preceding, and, as it considers that the doom pronounced on Judah may be averted on condition of Sabbath observance, while the previous section has declared that that doom is inevitable, it has been placed by some, e.g. Orelli, as early as the time of Josiah's reformation (see introd. note on Jeremiah 1:1 to Jeremiah 12:6), and by others (Stade, Kuenen, Gi., Du., Co.) held to be a piece belonging to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah (cp. Nehemiah 13:15-22). See also on...