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Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
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| 1 And Jehovah saith unto me: Though Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My soul is not toward this people, Send from before My face, and they go out. |
Could not be – Could not be changed. Jeremiah was esteemed a pessimist, and we are now placed in much the same position. R2400:2
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| 2 And it hath come to pass, when they say to thee, Whither do we go out that thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah: Those who [are] for death to death, And those who are for the sword, to the sword, And those who are for famine, to famine, And those who are for captivity, to captivity. |
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| 3 And I have appointed over them four kinds, an affirmation of Jehovah, The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, And the fowl of the heavens, And the beast of the earth, to consume and to devour. |
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| 4 And I have given them for a trembling To all kingdoms of the earth, Because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, For that which he did in Jerusalem. |
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| 5 For who hath pity on thee, O Jerusalem And who doth bemoan for thee And who turneth aside to ask of thy welfare |
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| 6 Thou thou hast left Me an affirmation of Jehovah, Backward thou goest, And I stretch out My hand against thee, And I destroy thee, I have been weary of repenting, |
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| 7 And I scatter them with a fan, in the gates the land, I bereaved, I have destroyed My people, From their ways they turned not back. |
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| 8 Its widows have been more to Me than the sand of the seas, I brought in to them against the mother A young man a spoiler at noon. I caused to fall upon her suddenly, wrath and trouble. |
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| 9 Languished hath the bearer of seven, She hath breathed out her spirit, Gone in hath her sun while yet day, It hath been ashamed and confounded, And their residue to the sword I give up before their enemies, An affirmation of Jehovah. |
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| 10 Wo to me, my mother, For thou hast borne me a man of strife, And a man of contention to all the land, I have not lent on usury, Nor have they lent on usury to me All of them are reviling me. |
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| 11 Jehovah said, Did I not direct thee for good Did not I intercede for thee in a time of evil, And in a time of adversity, with the enemy |
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| 12 Doth one break iron northern iron, and brass |
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| 13 Thy strength and thy treasures For a prey I do give not for price, Even for all thy sins, and in all thy borders. |
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| 14 And I have caused thine enemies To pass over into the land Thou hast not known, For a fire hath been kindled in Mine anger, Against you it doth burn. |
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| 15 Thou, Thou hast known, O Jehovah, Remember me, and inspect me, And take vengeance for me of my pursuers, In Thy long-suffering take me not away, Know I have borne for Thee reproach. |
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revenge me of my persecutors – This is the same class as that in Rev. 6:11, i.e., the saints. What they are desireous of is for the Lord to do His part as He promised when He said 'vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' These are asking for the seven last plagues to be poured out. |
| 16 Thy words have been found, and I eat them, And Thy word is to me for a joy, And for the rejoicing of my heart, For Thy name is called on me, O Jehovah, God of Hosts. |
Thy words – Those truths which God designed should, during this Gospel age, be the food to sanctify the Body of Christ. R200:4
Were found – Implying first that the Word of the Lord would be lost and need to be searched for; and secondly, when found, it would avail nothing unless appropriated to our needs. R3609:2
Not only obeying the divine will, but seeking to know it more and more so that one can obey it. R5648:4
Not gained by human skill or labor. R1867:5
After he has found it, every child of God has considerable labor in proving and eating his spiritual food. R1867:6
I did eat them – Diligently appropriated them to the building up of my character. R2146:5, R200:4, R1867:5
We must eat the Word of God if we would derive his spirit. E225
There must be a daily laying up of its treasure of wisdom and counsel in the heart and the working out of its principles in the life. R2093:5, R1867:5, R2146:5, R5431:6
Living upon the divine promises. R3087:2
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4) R3087:2
Rejoicing of mine heart – The language of the heart must be expressed in daily life. R1274:5
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See Expanded Bible Comments |
| 17 I have not sat in an assembly of deriders, Nor do I exult, because of thy hand, Alone I have sat, For [with] indignation Thou hast filled me. |
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I sat not in the assembly of the mockers – There is an implication here which is borne out by the language which follows it, namely, that the church in the flesh (pictured by Jeremiah) is shown as being with the assembly of the mockers, i.e., still in Babylon. Yet he is saying that, while physically whith them, he is separate from them as indicated by his remark that he 'sat not' with them. Remember, we 'walk in the light' and 'run for the prize' but they 'sit in darkness'.
There is another possible implication here. The fact that there are mockers could indicate that Present Truth is beginning to be spread, thus giving them something to 'mock' at. The attitude of the church is not to join in with this mocking.
nor rejoiced – The church certainly would not rejoice in this attitude of ridiculing the Truth.
I sat alone – The church in the flesh at this time does 'sit' because they are not sure where to go, but they sit alone, i.e., separate (in their hearts) from the 'mockers' of Babylon.
because of thy right hand – Because of the returned Lord (the 'right hand' of Jehovah). These now are separate in spirit but do not yet know how to respond or where to go. Their attitude is clearly indicated by the next phrase.
for thou – The Lord.
hast filled me with indignation – The church is filled with righteous indignation at the false teachings of Babylon and at this mocking attitude.
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This is the same group that is described in Ezekiel 9:4 as those who (eventually) receive the mark (seal) in the forehead. In Ezekiel they are described as those 'that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.' |
| 18 Why hath my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable It hath refused to be healed, Thou art surely to me as a failing stream, Waters not stedfast. |
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This entire verse seems to be taken from the standpoint of the saints who are still, at that time, in Babylon.
Why is my pain perpetual – And thus it must have seemed to the saints still in the nominal system, not yet knowing that there is a way out. They recognized the hypocricy of the system yet did not yet realize that the Lord was calling them to 'come out of her my people.'
my wound incurable – This would is that of being faithful to the spirit of the Truth yet not yet knowing the purity of Present Truth.
which refused to be healed – Because there was 'no balm in Gilead', no cure for what ailed the Babylonian system. The saints desperately desired to be set free but did not yet know of where to go. Remember, these are those who were still under the instruction to 'let both grow together until the harvest.'
thou – God.
altogether as a liar – The saints at that time certainly did NOT think of God as a liar, yet they had to wonder why the corruption of both doctrine and practice in the (nominal) church was so prevalent. From this standpoint it must have appeared as though God was not living up to His promises.
as waters that fail – This is because the waters they were forced to drink were brakish, polluted with the traditions of men. |
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| 19 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: If thou turnest back, then I bring thee back, Before Me thou dost stand, And if thou bringest out the precious from the vile, As My mouth thou art! They they turn back unto thee, And thou dost not turn back unto them. |
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| 20 And I have made thee to this people For a wall brazen fenced, And they have fought against thee, And they do not prevail against thee, For with thee [am] I to save thee, And to deliver thee an affirmation of Jehovah, |
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| 21 And I have delivered thee from the hand of evil doers, And I have ransomed thee From the hand of the terrible! |
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