The Mystery of Ephraim

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and till He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly” Jeremiah 23:20;

— in the “latter days” that is, in the then distant future, in the then distant future; in the latter days ye shall understand it clearly, viz. that the calamities which will have come upon you are the divine judgement upon your sins.

Jeremiah 25

The list of kings of Judah towards the end; in successive reigns, as Josiah (reign 640–609), Jehoahaz (reign 609), Jehoiakim (reign 609–598), Jehoiachin or Jechonias (reign 598–597), and Zedekiah (reign 597–586).

The year in that Jeremiah began to prophesy, Jeremiah 1:2 in the thirteenth year of Josiah reign would be around 628 BC, and he preached for the last 19 years of Josiah’s life, until 609 BC when Josiah died. By the time Zedekiah’s reign ended in 586 BC by being exiled to Babylon, Jeremiah’s prophesying would have lasted some 42 years.

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), — the fourth year of Jehoiakim would be perhaps 606 BC or whereabout;

— before the prophet Jeremiah was sent to the shepherds, elders and kings of Judah only, Jeremiah 23 and 24; now his message is to all the people.

² which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: — which Jeremiah the prophet spoke “unto all the people of Judah” perhaps at one of the three feasts: at Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles; at which all the males appeared in Jerusalem as commanded.

³ From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day (that is, the three and twentieth year), the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

— from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day; the year in which Jeremiah began to prophesy, Jeremiah 1:2; which would be around 628 BC.

⁴ And the Lord hath sent unto you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. — but ye have not hearkened; they remained stiffnecked; turned a deaf ear to God; however, did not obey or act as they were directed and exhorted to.

⁵ They said, “Turn ye again now every one from his evil way and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever.

— turn ye again now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of their doings; repent of sins; particularly their adulteries, lyings and idolatries (Jeremiah 23), to which they were prone, and are after mentioned.

⁶ And go not after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke Me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

— and God will do you no hurt; by sword, or famine, or pestilence or captivity; provided they forsook their their adulteries, lyings and idolatrous worship; God does not hurt his true worshippers; yea, he makes all things work together for their good.

⁷ Yet ye have not hearkened unto Me,” saith the Lord, “that ye might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.”

⁸ Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: “Because ye have not heard My words,

⁹ behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” saith the Lord, “and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing and perpetual desolations.

— Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is God’s servant! though a great king, he was a servant of the Lord of hosts; a pawn both as a creature of his make, and as a king that ruled under him; and as he was an instrument in his hand to chastise his people the Jews;

— and against all these nations round about; Egypt and others; partly so that the Jews could have no help from them; nor an alliance with them;

— and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, an hissing and perpetual desolations; both the Jews and their neighbours; who should be an astonishment to some and a hissing to others and remain desolate for a long time; even till the seventy years had ended.

¹⁰ Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle.

— such wild partyings the likes of Paris Hilton’s would ease and instead they would ask, “Why hath the Lord pronounced all these evils against us? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?”

¹¹ And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. — and these other nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years;

— both the Jews, and other nations of Egypt, reckoning from the date of this prophecy, the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, when Daniel and others were carried captive, Daniel 1:1; to the first year of Cyrus.

¹² And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” saith the Lord, “for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. — captivity for seventy years;

— that God will punish the king of Babylon, and other nations, for their iniquity; the king for his tyranny, and the nation for their lying, adultery and idolatry; and all for these and other sins they were guilty of.

¹³ And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

— even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the other nations: the Egyptians, Philistines, Lebanon (Phoenicians: Tyre and Sidon), Moabites, Edomites, Arabians, Persians, and also the Babylonians.

¹⁴ For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves by them also; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.”

— for many nations and great kings shall make them their servants; take their cities, seize their kingdoms, spoil them of their wealth and riches, and bring them into servitude:

— these “many nations” which should and did all this, were the Chaldaeans, then the Medes and Persians, and those that were subject to them or their allies in such expeditions; and the “great kings” were Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus and Darius.

¹⁵ For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me: “Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it.

— take the wine cup of this fury at my hand; in a vision the Lord appeared to Jeremiah with a cup of wine in his hand, which he bid him take of him. It is usual in Scripture for the judgements of God on men to be signified by a cup of hot and intoxicating liquor, Isaiah 51:17.

¹⁶ And they shall drink and be moved, and be mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” — the evil and the good events of life are often represented in Scripture as cups;

— and they shall drink and be moved, and be mad; the judgements foretold shall come upon them; which as intoxicating liquor has on drunken persons, will make them shake and tremble, and reel to and fro, and toss and tumble about, and behave like madmen.

¹⁷ Then took I the cup at the Lord’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me, — and made all the nations to drink, unto whom, the Lord had sent me;

— as an emblem of what wrath would come upon them, and they should drink deep of; but this was done in vision, and also in prophecy; the prophet proclaiming the will of God, all his judgements upon the nations, and what would befall them.

¹⁸ to wit: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day;

— to make them a desolation, an hissing and a curse; to strip them of their crowns and kingdom, of their wealth and riches, and bring them into slavery; so that they became an astonishment to some, to see the change that was made in them; and were hissed and cursed:

— as it is this day; which is added, this very year; though more fully in Jeconiah’s time, or in Zedekiah’s; or rather might be added by Jeremiah after the captivity; or by Baruch or by Ezra, and seems to be added by another hand.

¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; — Pharaoh king of Egypt; who is mentioned first after the kings of Judah; not only because the Jews were in alliance with Egypt, and trusted to them;

— and therefore this is observed, to show the vanity of their confidence and dependence; but because the judgements of God first took place on the king of Egypt; for in this very year, in which this prophecy was delivered, Pharaohnecho king of Egypt was smitten by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 46:2.

²⁰ and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod.

²¹ Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; — Edom and the children of Moab and Ammon; all well known and implacable enemies of Israel; the Edomites descended from Esau; and the Moabites and Ammonites, the two descentants of Lot by his daughters. Their destruction is prophesied of in Jeremiah: chapters 48-49.

²² and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea; — and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Sidon; two very ancient cities in Phoenicia, frequently mentioned together, being near each other; their ruin were also foretold by prophet Ezekiel; chapters 26-28.

²³ Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners;

²⁴ and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert;

²⁵ and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;

²⁶ and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. — and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them; or the king of Babylon, as the Targum says;

— and that Babylon is meant by “Sheshach” is certain from Jeremiah 51:41; the Jewish writers make it to be the same with Babylon; you have “Sheshach” which is thought to be used rather than Babylon, that Nebuchadnezzar, now besieging Jerusalem.

²⁷ “Therefore thou shalt say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye and be drunken, and spew and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.’ — drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more;

— as is sometimes the case of drunken men; they drink till they are quite intoxicated; and become drunk and then they spew up what they have drunk; and attempting to walk, fall and sometimes so as never to rise; not only break their bones, but their necks, or fall into places where they are suffocated, where they could loose their lives.

²⁸ And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Ye shall certainly drink.

— then shalt thou say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts, ye shall certainly drink; or those judgements shall certainly be inflicted; there will be no possibility of escaping, for thus saith the Lord of hosts, who does what he pleases with the armies of heaven over whom he has power and authority on earth.

²⁹ For lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name. And should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.’ — judgement often begins at the house of God, for the correction of his people, and to be a warning to others;

³⁰ “Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them: “‘The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

— the Lord shall roar from on high: from heaven, like a lion in violent claps of thunder; or in such dreadful dispensations of his providence, as will be very amazing and yet terrifying;

— he shall give a shout, as a thunder does, against all the inhabitants of the earth; or “answer a shout” give the onset for battle against the inhabitants of the earth, as the general of an army; which is accompanied with a shout, a thunder.

³¹ A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth, for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations. He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword,’” saith the Lord.

— a noise shall come to the ends of the earth; the report of these calamities and confusions shall reach the most distant countries; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations God enters into judgement with men for their impieties (lack of piety or reverence for God).

³² Thus saith the Lord of hosts: “Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.” — thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation; Rashi: whom I incite against one another; begin in one nation, and then go on to another;

— first in Judea, and then in Egypt; and so on, like fire that first consumes one house, and then another; and thus shall the cup go round from nation to nation, before prophesied of: and the Babylon were destroyed by the Medes and Persians; and then they by the Macedonians; and then the Romans;

— and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth; or “from the sides of it” that is, “from the ends of it” as the Targum paraphrases it, “and many people shall come openly from the ends of the earth;”

— this was first verified by the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar, compared to a whirlwind, Jeremiah 4:13; and then by the Medes and Persians under Cyrus; and after that by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, and last of all by the Romans under Titus Vespasian.

³³ And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

— shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and like Covid-19 not that this should be at one and the same time; for there never was such a time, that there was such a general slaughter in the world, that the slain should reach from one end to the other;

— Covid-19 could just be the beginning in which the cup should go round to all nations, meant by “at that day” the slain of the Lord would be in all parts of the world; or that, according to his will, there would be a great slaughter everywhere as the cup went round, or the sword was sent, first ravaging one country and then another.

³⁴ Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye leaders of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished, and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.

— howl, ye shepherds, and cry; the Targum says, “howl, ye kings, and cry” and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of their kingdoms.

³⁵ And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape. — and the shepherds shall have no way to flee; Or “and flight shall perish from the shepherds” though they may attempt it, they shall not be able to accomplish it;

— neither the dignity of their persons, the greatness of their power, or the abundance of their riches, would make a way for them; their enemies being so numerous, powerful and watchful.

³⁶ A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the leaders of the flock shall be heard; for the Lord hath despoiled their pasture. — a voice of the cry of the false shepherds; those are great calamities indeed that strike such a terror upon great men, and put them into this mighty consternation;

— for the Lord hath spoiled their pastures; in which they fed themselves; the spoiling of this makes them cry out; the prophet Jeremiah indicates to their great fright into which shepherds are put when they hear a roaring lion coming toward them, and find that neither they nor their flocks can escape.

³⁷ And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. — and the peaceable habitations are cut down; shall now be exposed to all the calamities of war, and shall be thereby destroyed;

³⁸ He hath forsaken His covert as the lion; for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, and because of His fierce anger. — he hath forsaken his covert as a lion; some understand of God leaving Jerusalem, or the Temple, where he dwelt;

— who, while he made it his residence, protected it; but when he forsook it, it became exposed to the enemy; that is true with the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar; but also true with the destruction of the second temple; that is, by the Romans;

— because of the fierceness of the oppressor; the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar, and later by Hadrian; or the “oppressing sword” as some supply it and so the Targum says, “from before the sword of the enemy.”

Jeremiah 26

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from the Lord, saying, — in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; so that the prophecy of this chapter were before the preceding chapter;

— that being in the fourth year, this in the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign; so here is another flashback. Josiah was dead, Jehoahaz his son reigned for three months, then deposed by Pharaohnecho king of Egypt; and this Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, also called Eliakim, was set on the throne.

² “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.

— and speak unto all the inhabitants of Judah; of them; not only to those that dwelt at Jerusalem but also to the smaller cities of Judah; for what he was to say concerned them all, they having all sinned and needed repentance; without which they would be involved in the general calamity of the nation:

— which come to worship in the Lord’s house; as they did three times in the year, at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; and this could be the last of these, when this prophecy was to be delivered.

³ It may so be they will hearken and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.’ — “because of the evil of their doings” ~ more specifically: their adulteries, lyings and idolatries;

⁴ And thou shalt say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord: If ye will not hearken to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you,

⁵ to hearken to the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened — to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets; the interpretations they give of the law;

— the teachings they deliver; the exhortations, cautions and reproofs given by them in the name of the Lord; and therefore should be hearkened to; since hearkening to them is hearkening to the Lord himself, in whose name they speak, and whose message they deliver.

⁶ then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.’” — this house like Shiloh; where the ark was until it was taken by the Philistines; and then the Lord forsook his tabernacle there, Psalms 78:60; and so he threatens to do the like to the Temple at Jerusalem, should they continue in their disobedience;

— and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth; that is, the city of Jerusalem, which should be taken up, and used proverbially in all countries; who, when they would curse anyone, should say, the Lord make thee as Jerusalem, or do unto thee as he has done to Jerusalem.

⁷ So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. — heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord; in theTtemple; in the court of Israel; they heard him out, and did not interrupt him while he was speaking;

— and having heard him, they were angry with him and were witnesses against him; they did not hear him so as to obey his words, receive his instructions and follow his directions; but they heard him with indignation, and were determined to prosecute him unto death.

⁸ Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, “Thou shalt surely die!

— that the priests and the false prophets and all the people took him; the priests and prophets were the leading men in this action; they stirred up the people against him and through their instigation he was seized and laid hold on;

— saying, thou shall surely die; signifying that they would bring a charge against him, and which by the law would be death; unless they meant in the manner of zealots to put him to death themselves, without judge or jury; and which they would have put in execution, had not the princes of the land or the great Sanhedrin heard of it; and therefore to prevent it came to the Temple, as is afterwards related.

⁹ Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

— and all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the Temple; besides those that were around the Temple that heard him, others, upon a rumour that he was apprehended by the priests and prophets in the Temple, got together in a mob about him: or they were “gathered to” to hear what he had to say in his own defence; but it appears afterwards that the princes were on his side, Jeremiah 26:16.

¹⁰ When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’S house.

— and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house; as a court of judicature, to hear and try the cause between the false prophet and his accusers. This gate of the temple is thought to be the upper gate, which Jotham built, II Kings 15:35;

— the Targum calls it the eastern gate; but Jeremiah called it the New Gate, because being newly repaired, or some new structures added to it, it gives this reason for its being called new; that when Jehoiakim was carried captive, and some of the vessels of the Temple, Nebuchadnezzar’s army broke the eastern gate, which Zedekiah afterwards repaired and made new.

¹¹ Then spoke the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.” — to these priests and false prophets, to prophesy against Jerusalem is a sin;

— for he hath prophesied against this holy city; the city of Jerusalem; saying that it should be a curse to other nations; or as they interpreted it, that it should be utterly destroyed, and become desolate and none should inhabit it.

¹² Then spoke Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

— the Lord sent me to prophesy against this house, and against this city, all the words that ye have heard; he does not deny but that he had prophesied against the city of Jerusalem and against the Temple, and that they should both come to ruin, unless the people repented;

— but then he urges that he was sent by the Lord and that every word that he had said, and they had heard, he was ordered to say by the Lord; and surely was not to be blamed for doing what the Lord commanded him to do; besides, all this was threatened only in case they continued being obstinate and impenitent.

¹³ Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent of the evil that He hath pronounced against you. — unless ye amend and repent; all the evils will come to you;

¹⁴ As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

— do with me as seemeth good unto you; he readily submitted to their pleasure, and should patiently endure what they thought fit to inflict upon him; it gave him no great concern whether his life was taken from him;

¹⁵ But know ye for certain that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for truly the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.”

¹⁶ Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets, “This man is not worthy to die, for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God!”

— then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and the false prophets; hearing Jeremiah’s testimony for themselves, it appeared that he was justified in what he had said and done; hence they acquitted him; and the people, who before were on the side of the priests and false prophets;

— yet hearing what Jeremiah had testified for himself and also the judgement of the princes, they joined with the court in an address to the priests and false prophets, who were the chief accusers, and who would fain have had him brought in guilty of death; that

— this man is not worthy to die; or “the judgement of death is not for this man” we cannot give judgement against him; he is not guilty of any crime deserving death;

— for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God; not in his own name; but in the name of the Lord, and by his order; and therefore was not a false, but a true prophet: his integrity and firmness of mind; the plain marks of seriousness and humility, and a disinterested view, made them conclude in his favour.

¹⁷ Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸ “Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts: “‘Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’

¹⁹ “Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? Did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented of the evil which He had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.”

— did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? no, they did not: neither the king, by his own authority; nor the Sanhedrin, the great court of judicature, for the nation; they never sought to take away his life, nor sat in council about it; they never arraigned him, and much less condemned him:

— did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord; that is, Hezekiah; he did, as knowing that Micah was a prophet of the Lord, and sent by him; wherefore he received his prophecy with great awe and reverence, as coming from the Lord, and made his supplications to him that he would avert the judgements threatened:

— and the Lord repented of the evil which he had pronounced against them? the king and his people, the city and the Temple; and so the threatened evil came not upon them in their days.

²⁰ And there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. — this is prophet Urijah whom we seldom heard of; he heard it from Jeremiah, hence not a true prophet;

²¹ And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went into Egypt.

²² And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him into Egypt.

²³ And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king, who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

²⁴ Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. — nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah;

— though this instance was urged as a precedent to go by, Ahikam was one of those whom King Josiah, when struck by the words of the book of the law, who had been one of Josiah’s courtiers and counsellors, who stood by Jeremiah, and used all his power, authority, and influence in his favour:

— that they should not give Jeremiah into the hand of the people to put him to death; that the Sanhedrin should not; although might incline to it; but Ahikam, having several brothers, as well as other friends, that paid a regard to his arguments and solicitations; he prevailed upon them not to give leave to the people to put Jeremiah to death;

— his son, Gedaliah, followed in his father’s steps, so that he was chosen by the Babylonians as the one to whom they committed Jeremiah for safety after taking Jerusalem.

~ by Joel Huan on February 26, 2023.

Posted in Jeremiah