By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 22

JUDGMENT UPON THE ROYAL HOUSE

    Here is a series of utterances concerning the last four of Judah's rulers.

    Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: 3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

    1. Jeremiah is sent to Zedekiah to urge that both the king and his kingdom give attention to the word of Jehovah, (vs. 1-2; 29; 19:3; 29:19-20; comp. Amos 7:14-17).
    2. Zedekiah is called upon to administer judgment, with equity, at all levels of national life, (vs. 3; 7:47; 21:12).
    3. Submission to the divine order of social justice will assure a succession of kings upon the throne of David, and the prosperity of both Jerusalem and the temple, (vs. 4; 17:24-25).
    4. If Judah rejects the counsel of Jehovah, her house will become a desolation, (vs. 5-7; 7:14-15; 26:4-9; comp. Matt. 23:28; Lk. 13:35).
      a. The beautiful forest will be cut down.
      b. The choice cedars of Lebanon will be consumed by the fire of divine indignation.
    5. When Jehovah swears by Himself, He is reminding Judah of His authority as the initiator of the covenant relationship which they have so flagrantly violated, (comp. Gen. 22:16; Isa. 45:23; Heb. 6:13-18).
    6. When inquiry is made as to why the Lord has abandoned Jerusalem to destruction, the answer will be quite clear: they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, to worship and serve no-gods! (vs. 8-9; 11:3; Deut. 29:24-26; I Kings 9:8-9; 2 Chron. 7:19-22; 34:24-25).

    10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 11 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: 12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

    1. JEHOAHAZ was the throne name of this son of king Josiah who succeeded his father on the throne in Jerusalem.
      a. Josiah (a good king) was slain by Pharaoh Necho at the battle of Megiddo, 609 B.C., (2 Kings 23:29).
      b. Shallum followed his father to the throne - evidently with the support of Egypt.
    2. His reign in Jerusalem was very brief; after only 3 months he was deposed and taken captive to Egypt, where he died, (2 Kings 23:31-35; 2 Chron. 36:4).
    3. Judah was not to weep for the dead - evidently referring to young king Josiah (2 Kings 22:20; Isa. 57:1), who had been slain in battle; his end was not nearly so tragic as that which would befall his son.
    4. They were, rather, to weep for Shallum (Jehoahaz) who was being taken, in humiliation, to Egypt - never to return to his own land, (vs. 11-12; comp. 44:14).

    13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; 14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. 15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. 17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. 18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! 19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

    1. Following Jehoahaz on the throne in Judah, Jehoiakim, his elder brother, was compelled to pay tribute to Necho (ruler of Egypt) while he was preparing to attack the Babylonians in northern Palestine.
      a. His rule was characterized by selfish luxury and oppression; a petty tyrant, he was not FIT to rule!
      b. His wickedness was like that of Manasseh; to oppose him was to court death, (26:20-23).
    2. A scathing denunciation is pronounced against Jehoiakim because of his callous exploitation, and forced labor, of his workmen - concerned only for his own vanity and comfort, (vs. 13-14; comp. 17:11; Mic. 3:9-10; Hab. 2:9).
    3. Does he really think that such luxury and oppression are the true qualities of royalty? (vs. 15a).
    4. If he would know the true hallmark of royalty, Jeremiah suggests a look at his father, Josiah, who was A REAL KING! (vs. 15b-16).
      a. Though he lived like a king, he practiced justice and righteousness - caring for the poor and defenseless, (Psa. 72:1-4, 12-13).
      b. In this he manifested the highest virtue - the knowledge of Jehovah, (9:23-24).
      c. A right relationship with God is impossible apart from a right, loving and caring relationship with one's brother, (I Jn. 4:10, 21).
      d. Jeremiah saw the abandonment of Josiah's ideal as a conspiracy against Jehovah - such a breach of His covenant as invited His wrath! (11:9-13).
    5. The eye and heart of Jehoiakim were set on: dishonest gain, the shedding of innocent blood, oppression and violence, (vs. 17; comp. 6:4, 13; 2 Kings 24:4; Lk. 12:15-20).
    6. No wonder Jehovah declares that his death will be unlamented; for him there will be no royal funeral; he will, rather, be buried like an ass - his carcass dumped, without ceremony, on the garbage heap outside the city! (vs. 18-19; comp. 36:30).
    7. It is not surprising that the relationship between Jeremiah and Jehoiakim was something less than cordial.

    20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. 21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. 22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

    1. There is to arise a cry of doom throughout the land of Judah - a cry sounded in Lebanon, Bashan and Abarim (a mountain range located east of the Dead Sea, and including Nebo, from which Moses was permitted to view the promised land, but forbidden to enter it); her lovers (allies), on whom she has leaned, are utterly destroyed! (vs. 20; 2:25; 3:1).
    2. Jehovah had spoken to her in the time of prosperity, but she refused to listen; since her youth she has refused to heed His voice, (vs. 21; 13:10; 19:1; 3:24-25; 32:30).
    3. The shepherds of Judah (her rulers) are "shepherded" by the wind - driven away with her lovers - leaving her in shame and confusion, (vs. 22; 5:13; 30:14; 20:11; comp. Isa. 65:13-16).
    4. Jerusalem, inhabitress of Lebanon, is pictured as nestling among the tall cedars - smugly confident of her immunity to attack; the pain of her desolation will be like the groaning of a woman in labor, (vs. 23; 4:31; 13:20-22; 30:6-7).

    24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. 30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

    1. Upon the death of Jehoiakim (Dec. 598 B.C.) his son, Jeconiah (24:1), Coniah (37:1) or Jehoiachin came to the throne (at the age of 18); he was allowed to reign for only three months, (2 Kings 24:8-9).
    2. The Lord declared, through Jeremiah, that though Jehoiachin were "the signet" upon His right hand, He would pluck him off (vs. 24); His authority was forfeited; there can be no fellowship with Jehovah without the obedience of faith! (Heb. 10:36).
    3. He will be handed over to those whom he most dreads - the Chaldeans, under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (vs. 25; 2 Kings 25:27-30).
    4. Both Jehoiachin and his mother (Nehushta, 2 Kings 24:8) will be exiled to Babylon where they will die; he will not be permitted to return, (vs. 26-27; 2 Kings 24:15).
      a. Eliakim, a steward, was appointed to manage his estate in his absence.
      b. Jehoiachin remained a prisoner, in Babylon, until released by Nebuchadnezzar's successor (Evil-Meredach) in 561 B.C. - after which he was allowed to live there in the royal palace, (Jer. 52:31-34).
    5. The sarcastic references to Jehoiachin as an unwanted, cast off vessel of inferior quality, suggests something of his lack of character, (vs. 28; comp. 48:38; Hos. 8:8; Jer. 15:1).
    6. The threefold repetition of the word "earth" (land) is Jeremiah's lament over the demise of the kingdom of Judah, (vs. 29; comp. Deut. 4:26; Jer. 6:19; Mic. 1:2).
    7. Though seven sons were born to Coniah (I Chron. 3:17-1 8), he was "childless" so far as kingly succession was concerned; none of his offspring would sit on the Davidic throne (vs. 30) - though Zerubbabel, his grandson, was permitted to lead the exodus back to Jerusalem, (I Chron. 3:19; Ezra 2:2; 3:2).
      a. Were He dependent on His lineage through Joseph, Jesus Christ could never sit upon the throne of David; Joseph's descent was from Coniah, (Matt. 1:11, 16).
      b. But, since the physical descent of Jesus was THROUGH MARY, He is qualified to sit on the throne THROUGH NATHAN - David's son, (Lk. 3:23, 31).
      c. Thus, the supreme, sovereign, living God of Israel marvelously works out His own wise designs among men and nations!