Now therefore, about this city of which you say, 'It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine and plague,' this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Sermons
I. WITHOUT DOUBT THEIR EXILE TRIED THEM AS FIRE. Fire is often the symbol of pain; and that there was indeed pain and sore distress in the exiles' lot is certain. Degradation, slavery, loss of their land, their high privileges as the people of God, in short, of their worldly all, had to be submitted to by them; and they lived, where they were permitted to live, at the mere caprice of a powerful, despotic, and merciless monarch. What that caprice could do, and often actually inflicted in the way of cruel tyranny and oppression, the books of the Bible which belong to the times of the Captivity, and the sculptures brought from those lands and now in the museums of this and other countries, clearly reveal - the merciless slaughters and the horrible punishments, etc. And all this woe they had brought on others - as their children - who were entirely innocent of their parents' wrong. "The fathers had eaten sour grapes, aunt the children's teeth were set on edge." And to add to their distress was the bitter reflection that they were designed to have filled a position so entirely different and better; that they were intended to be the first in the favour of God, but now had become last; and all this by their own persistent, wilful wickedness, wickedness persisted in in spite of every kind of warning, protest, and entreaty that God could send them. Yes, it was as fire, as a furnace seven times heated. II. BUT IT WAS NEVERTHELESS AS A REFINER'S FIRE. It was to issue in their good. For it did not destroy them. They were to be brought out of all this woe. "I will bring them again" (ver. 37). And it should work them good by separating them from: 1. Their sins. They were torn away from the scenes, the people, the places, the manifold circumstances, which Were inseparable from that idolatry into which they had so often fallen. 2. And from those who tempted them thereto. For that loose, evil multitude which were dealt with apparently less sternly than themselves at the first, were the prompters and the persuaders to that wickedness which had wrought them so much harm. Those who were obnoxious and therefore, in ch. 24., compared to the figs which could not be eaten, were, though left awhile in the possession of their own land, at length destroyed. The corrupt and poisonous leaven was taken utterly away, so that that which was sound and healthful or capable of becoming so might be preserved. The pure ore was separated from the base alloy, the worthless dross, by the action of this refiner's fire. III. IN PROOF OF THIS, note: 1. God brought them back to their own land. 2. They had given them "a heart to know" God. 3. And their after history proved this. For they were a noble people for generations afterwards. Of course, there were the less worthy amongst them; but let their records be studied, their thrilling Maccabean history, for example, and it will be seen what a refining process that was through which they had been made - as was so necessary for them and for mankind at large, who were to be blessed by means of them - to pass. The absence of prophets and prophesyings, which is so marked a feature of the history written on that page which separates the Old Testament from the New, instead of being a reproach to them, is rather a proof that their general national health was such that the sharp surgery, the stern ministry, of the prophetic order was not then needed as it had been, so deplorably, in former days. IV. WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE between them and the baser sort who were destroyed. It was the possession of the Spirit of God. The holy fire enkindled by him had been all but quenched, but not entirely; the dying embers could be made to glow with radiant heat once again. But of that fire God has said, "It shall ever be burning on the altar, it shall never go out;" and though they had all but smothered it beneath the heap of idolatrous superstitions and practices, and other evil compliances with wrong, it was burning still. And the exile across that wide desert to the plains of Babylon let in again the air from heaven, and the fire burnt up once more. And that this might be, God dealt with them as he did, and as he ever does, blessed be his Name] in like circumstances. CONCLUSION. Paul's question, therefore, comes to our mind as we study such history as this: "Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" Seek him; for he will baffle the power of the destroyer, and, better still, if we will but follow his leading, he will keep us from ever needing to be cast into the crucible as these were, and from needing the refiner's fire. That would have been best of all, but thank God there is a second best. "Covet earnestly the best gifts." - C.
They have turned unto Me the back, and not the face Homilist. I. AS CONDEMNING DIVINE AUTHORITY. To turn the back upon any one, not only indicates an utter lack of interest in him, but a dislike. To turn the back upon God means —1. An ignorement of His existence. The language of wickedness is, "Depart from me, I desire not a knowledge of Thy ways." The wicked are "without God in the world." They shut their eyes to the greatest fact of facts. God is not in all their thoughts. 2. A repugnance to His presence. What a monstrous sight is this, man turning his back on God. II. AS REGARDLESS OF DIVINE INSTRUCTION. God is constantly teaching men early and late — teaching them — 1. In the operations of nature. 2. In the events of their history. 3. In the monitions of their consciences. 4. In the declarations of His Word. (Homilist.) Though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. I. GOD'S MERCIFUL INSTRUCTION is given to man according to man's capacity and present situation; and is of that special and particular nature that no one need mistake it; and is so simple and yet so full and impressive in itself that a child even may comprehend it.1. We have no cloudy pillar resting over our churches, no fire from heaven blazing forth upon an altar of sacrifice, no voice of prophecy attended with signs and wonders, no mysterious "Urim and Thummim" sparkling on the breastplate of a high priest, nor do we hear the voice of God speaking to us audibly from the summit of a mountain encircled with fire and with loud peals of thunder: but the Deity nevertheless teaches us by means equally potent. We have gathered into one source of Divine instruction the accumulated experience of many centuries — the Bible, and this carries with it the evidence of its own Divinity. We have the Church with her solemn sacraments, her public forms of worship, her large assemblies of believers, and her glorious history of martyrs and confessors of the faith. We have the Divine Spirit entering the hearts of the humble, and by the glory of His light piercing the darkest abodes of ignorance, and leading the teach. able disciple of Christ into all truth. We have the providence of God showing us in many ways how quickly the sands of life drop away, how uncertain and how frail it is, how like the flower of the field we look for an instant bright and joyous, but the next, droop from the blight of disease, and crumble away into the ashes of the grave God teaches us also through our own everyday feelings, and the very common concerns of our daily existence 2. The words of Jeremiah express an earnestness in the Divine teaching. God is spoken of as "rising up early and teaching them." He is the first among teachers. He is so desirous that His people should be guided by His counsels that He will be with them in the earliest dawn of their existence, both nationally as well as personally. II. MAN'S DISREGARD OF THE DIVINE INSTRUCTION. "They have turned unto Me," saith the Lord, "the back and not the face": and again, "they have not hearkened to receive instruction." The Jews stand not alone in this matter. We may see some such strange manifestations in our own day. The same spirit of practical infidelity is abroad now, and the same infatuation which makes the most sublime subjects of religion matters for scorn and mockery, may be witnessed in our own land of freedom and enlightenment. We are happy to say the good sense of society and the spread of intelligence keeps this spirit down within narrow boundaries; but nevertheless it may be observed publishing itself with the godless jest, with the boast of independence, and with the mocking contempt of all which bears the stamp of religious profession. (W. D. Horwood.) People Adam, Anathoth, Babylonians, Baruch, Ben, Benjamin, Hanameel, Jeremiah, Maaseiah, Molech, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar, Neriah, Shallum, ZedekiahPlaces Anathoth, Babylon, Egypt, Horse Gate, Jerusalem, Negeb, Shephelah, Valley of HinnomTopics Babylon, Delivered, Disease, Famine, Handed, Hands, Pestilence, Plague, Saying, Says, Sword, Thus, Town, WhereofOutline 1. Jeremiah, being imprisoned by Zedekiah for his prophecy,6. buys Hanameel's field. 13. Baruch must preserve the evidences, as tokens of the people's return. 16. Jeremiah in his prayer complains to God. 26. God confirms the captivity for their sins; 36. and promises a gracious return. Dictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 32:36-37Library October 27. "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all Flesh; is There Anything Too Hard for Me?" (Jer. xxxii. 27. )"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?" (Jer. xxxii. 27.) Cyrus, the King, was compelled to fulfil the vision of Jeremiah, by making a decree, the instant the prophecy had foretold, declaring that Jehovah had bidden him rebuild Jerusalem and invite her captives to return to their native home. So Jeremiah's faith was vindicated and Jehovah's prophecy gloriously fulfilled, as faith ever will be honored. Oh, for the faith, that in the dark present and the darker … Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Perseverance in Holiness The Everlasting Covenant of the Spirit Why all Things Work for Good Discourse on Spiritual Food and True Discipleship. Peter's Confession. Fifteenth Day for Schools and Colleges The End Entering the Covenant: with all the Heart Sanctification. Concerning Peaceableness Perseverance Jeremiah Links Jeremiah 32:36 NIVJeremiah 32:36 NLT Jeremiah 32:36 ESV Jeremiah 32:36 NASB Jeremiah 32:36 KJV Jeremiah 32:36 Bible Apps Jeremiah 32:36 Parallel Jeremiah 32:36 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 32:36 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 32:36 French Bible Jeremiah 32:36 German Bible Jeremiah 32:36 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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