Jeremiah 7:26

Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. HARDENED THEIR NECK - ( "I know ... thy stiff neck;" , "Thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;" ). WORSE THAN THEIR FATHERS - (). In . He had said, "your fathers;" here He says, "their fathers;" the change to the third person marks growing alienation from them. He no longer addresses themselves, as it would be a waste of words in the case of such hardened rebels....

He afterwards subjoins, _And they hearkened not _There is here a change of person; for he said in the last verse, “_your _fathers,” “I sent to _you_; ” but now he says, _They hearkened not, nor inclined their ear _It is indeed true, that the reference is to the fathers; but in the next verse God includes the people who were then living. There is then no doubt but that it was an evidence of indignation, that he changed the person, and that he was wearied in addressing them, for he saw that he spoke in vain to a stupid people: and this will appear evident from the next verse. _They hearkened not, _he says, _nor inclined their ear _The words we have already explained: the Jews are here precluded from having any excuse on the ground of error or ignorance; for they had refused to be taught, they would not attend, but on the contrary made deaf their cars. And he says also, that they _hardened...

21-28 God shows that obedience was required of them. That which God commanded was, Hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord thy God. The promise is very encouraging. Let God's will be your rule, and his favour shall be your happiness. God was displeased with disobedience. We understand the gospel as little as the Jews understood the law, if we think that even the sacrifice of Christ lessens our obligation to obey....

EXPOSITION Ch. 7-10.—Severe rebukes of idolatry alternating with announcements of the impending judgment. The circumstances connected with this discourse, or part thereof, appear to be detailed in Jeremiah 26:1. Among the parallelisms between the two sections, notice especially the reference to the fate of the temple of Shiloh (comp. Jeremiah 26:14 with Jeremiah 26:6). The date of the original utterance of the prophecy is thus fixed for one of the early years of the reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 10:1, however, requires separate consideration....

YET THEY HEARKENED NOT UNTO ME,.... Speaking by the prophets: NOR INCLINED THEIR EAR; to what was said to them; would not listen to it, and much less obey what was commanded them: BUT HARDENED THEIR NECK; and so became stiffnecked, and would not submit to bear the yoke of the law: THEY DID WORSE THAN THEIR FATHERS; every generation grew more and more wicked, and went on to be so until the measure of their iniquity was filled up; hence it follows:...

Jeremiah 7:21. _Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:_ You have heard what God said to them when they came out of Egypt. Jeremiah 7:23. _But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their car, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward._ Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the lan

THE PROPHET'S TEMPLE ADDRESS (7-9) CHAPTER 7 _ 1. Amend your ways and your doings (Jeremiah 7:1) _ 2. No prayer-answer to be expected (Jeremiah 7:16) 3. Sacrifices rejected; Obedience demanded (Jeremiah 7:21) 4. Jerusalem's rejection (Jeremiah 7:29) Jeremiah 7:1. We call this next address of the prophet “the temple address,” because he was commanded to stand in the gate of the LORD's house. There he stood, a solitary figure, and said: “Hear the Word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in a

OBEDIENCE NECESSARY, NOT SACRIFICE. Yahweh scornfully tells these formal worshippers to eat even the burnt-offering (wholly offered to God), as well as the peace-offering (which was eaten by the worshippers, except the blood and portions of the fat); both are mere flesh, without sacrificial value in the hands of the disobedient. In the desert days He asked for obedience, not sacrifice; but Israel has refused it, notwithstanding the continued ministry of the prophets, nor will Jeremiah's own message be heard. Jeremiah 7:22 f. clearly show that the Pentateuch in its present form was not known to Jeremiah (_cf._ Amos 5:25), for the Priestly Code lays the greatest stress on sacrifice as Divinely prescribed from the beginning....

See introd. note on the section....

B. Persistent Obstinacy Jeremiah 7:24-28 TRANSLATION (24) But they would not hearken and they did not stretch out the ear but walked in the counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart and they went backwards and not forwards. (25) Even from the day when your fathers went out from the land of Egypt unto this day I sent unto them all My servants the prophets (urgently and persistently sending). (26) But they did not hearken unto Me nor did they incline their ears, but made hard the neck and committed evil more than their fathers. (27) When you speak unto them all these words they will not hearken unto you; when you call unto them they will not answer you. (28) Therefore you shall say unto them: This is the nation which will not hearken to the voice of the LORD their God nor will they accept correction. Faith has perished, it is cut off from their mouth....