Jeremiah 32:29

And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. THE CHALDEANS ... SHALL ... BURN IT WITH THE HOUSES UPON WHOSE ROOFS THEY HAVE OFFERED INCENSE UNTO BAAL - retribution in kind. They burnt incense to Baal on the houses, so the houses shall be burnt (). The god of fire was the object of their worship; so fire shall be the instrument of their punishment. TO PROVOKE ME - indicating the design, not merely: the event. They seemed to court God's "anger," and purposely to "provoke" Him....

And therefore he adds, _enter in shall the Chaldeans who assail the city; _for he does not say that they would come, but he confirms in other words what he had said; _Break _then _into the _city shall the Chaldeans, though it was closed up and fortified; _and shall set on fire this city _It was not without purpose that he mentioned the word city so often; for as it was the sanctuary of God, and the royal seat, the Jews thought that it was impregnable, and that the sun could be sooner cast down from heaven than that; enemies could take possession of it: in order then to subvert this false confidence, God often mentioned the word city. He at last adds, that the Chaldeans would _burn _it, as though he had said, that whatever Jeremiah had predicted would certainly be fulfilled, not only respecting the attack on the city, but also its destruction, so that not a stone would be left on a stone,...

26-44 God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the promises are sure to all believers. God will own them for his, and he will prove himself theirs. He will give them a heart to fear him. All true Christians shall have a disposition to mutual love. Though they may have different views about lesser things, they shall all be one in the great things of God; in their views of the evil of sin, and the low estate of fallen man, the way of salvation through the Saviour, the nature of true holiness, the vanity of the world, and the importance of eternal things. Whom...

Verse Jeremiah 32:29. _WITH THE HOUSES, UPON WHOSE ROOFS_] As it is most probable that _Baal_ was the _sun_, they might have chosen the _tops_ of the houses, which were always flat, with battlements around, to offer incense and sacrifice to him at his _rising_, and while he was _in sight_ above the horizon....

The answer is divided into two parts; (a) Jeremiah 32:26, the sins of Judah are shown to be the cause of her punishment: (b) Jeremiah 32:36, this punishment was not for Judah’s destruction, but for her amendment. Jeremiah 32:28 I WILL GIVE - Or, I am giving. Jeremiah 32:30 FROM THEIR YOUTH - God’s mighty deeds for Israel began in Egypt J

EXPOSITION Jeremiah was far from wishing to depress his fellow countrymen to the point of disbelieving in the inalienable promises of God to Israel, He fully recognized an element of truth in the preaching of the "false prophets," viz. that Jehovah was still the God of his people Israel, though for wise purposes he chose to hide his face for a time. His own faith was intense, to the pitch of an even Roman heroism (see Livy, Jeremiah 26:11). The opportunity (or rather—see below—the fight) of purchasing a piece of ground at Anathoth was the occasion which called forth the most striking proof of his sublime confidence in God. Not that he understood how it could be God's will that he, in the besieged city, should constitute himself a landed proprietor. He had his difficulties; but instead of brooding over them, he laid them Before Jehovah in prayer. And the Divine revelation

AND THE CHALDEANS, THAT FIGHT AGAINST THIS CITY, SHALL COME,.... Or rather "shall enter", as Aquila renders it; for they were come to it already, and were fighting against it, battering the walls, and throwing in their arrows, and putting to the sword such as came out, or were within their reach: AND SET FIRE ON THIS CITY; as they did, Jeremiah 39:8; AND BURN IT, WITH THE HOUSES, UPON WHOSE ROOFS THEY HAVE OFFERED INCENSE UNTO BAAL; or "especially the houses" g, or "even the houses"; the houses particularly mentioned in the history of the destruction as burnt; and which, very probably, are here intended; besides the Lord's house, and all the houses in Jerusalem, were the king's house, and the houses of the great men or princes; and which, Kimchi thinks, were higher than others; on which therefore they burnt incense to Baal; wherefore it was a just ret

Jeremiah 32:6. _And Jeremiah, said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it._ God gave his servant an intimation of what was about to happen, so that he might know how to act. It did seem a very strange thing to come to a poor prophet in prison, and to ask him to buy a piece of land when the Chaldeans were in possession of it, and when there seemed to be no hope that he would ever see it. One said, «I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it;» but Jeremiah could not do this, for be was shut up in prison, and the enemy had possession of the field he was to buy. Still, the thing was of the Lord, and therefore it was right; and there is many an action which in itself might seem absurd, but which,

CHAPTER 32 Jeremiah in Prison _ 1. Shut up in the court of the prison (Jeremiah 32:1) _ 2. The revelation of the Lord concerning Hanameel (Jeremiah 32:6) 3. The prophet's prayer (Jeremiah 32:16) 4. Jehovah's answer (Jeremiah 32:26) Jeremiah 32:1. The siege of Jerusalem began in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. It was in the tenth year, a year later (Jeremiah 39:1) that we find Jeremiah in prison.

Yahweh answers the prophet by declaring the issue and cause of the present distress, and by promising (Jeremiah 32:36 ff.) the future restoration of the people to Palestine, where they shall dwell in religious unity and in prosperity. Most or all of this seems later than Jeremiah; _e.g._ Jeremiah 32:31 agrees with Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16), rather than with Jeremiah 32:43 presupposes the exile; Jeremiah 32:27 is irrelevant to the context. Jeremiah 32:29. _Cf._...