Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 15:4

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 15:4. I will cause them to be removed into an kingdoms of the earth — This seems to have respect to the succeeding state of the Jews in their different generations; and never was there a prophecy more literally fulfilled; and it is still a standing monument of Divine truth. Let infidelity cast its eyes on the scattered Jews whom it may meet with in every civilized nation of the world; and then let it deny the truth of this prophecy, if it can. The Jews are scattered through every nation, and yet are not a nation; nor do they form even a colony on any part of the face of the earth. Behold the truth and the justice of God!

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Drought, disease and war (14:1-15:9)

A severe drought had hit Judah. People in all walks of life, from nobles to farmers, were affected by it, and they covered their heads as a sign of their distress. They had difficulty in getting enough water to keep themselves alive, and their animals were beginning to suffer from disease. Some had already died because of the lack of food (14:1-6).
Pleading on behalf of the people, Jeremiah confesses the nation’s sins. He asks God to cease acting as if he were an uninterested traveller passing through a strange land, and instead act to help them. After all, the land is his and so are the people (7-9). In reply God points out that he cannot overlook their sin. Jeremiah should stop pleading for them, because nothing can now save them from God’s judgment, a judgment that will come through war, famine and disease (10-12).
Jeremiah tells God that prophets have been assuring the people that these calamities will not overtake them (13). God replies that such prophets are false prophets. They will perish in shame and so will all those who believe them. The people have welcomed these prophecies of peace, because by such assurances they feel free to increase their wrongdoing without fear of punishment (14-16). Jeremiah weeps publicly to impress upon people the sorrow he feels as he foresees their terrible suffering (17-18).
Though his past pleas have not been answered, Jeremiah pleads with God yet once more. On behalf of the people he confesses their wrongdoing and asks that God will be merciful to them and give them rain. He prays that God will not forsake his people but will remember his covenant with them. There is no other God they can call upon to help them (19-22).

God replies that though Moses and Samuel had in the past pleaded successfully on behalf of the people (e.g. Exodus 32:11-14; Numbers 14:13-25; 1 Samuel 7:5-9; 1 Samuel 7:5-9; 1 Samuel 12:19-25), the nation has now passed the point where God can extend his mercy further. The false religion promoted by Manasseh still controls the attitudes of the people, and the nation will come to a cruel and humiliating end (15:1-4).

Time and again God has punished his people, with the purpose that they might acknowledge their sin and return to him; but always it has been without result. They do not deserve any further pity (5-6). The final slaughter is too horrible to imagine, but when people refuse to change their ways, such a judgment becomes inevitable (7-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

GOD'S NEGATIVE ANSWER TO JUDAH'S PLEA

"Thus said Jehovah unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth to destroy. And I will cause them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem."

"Moses and Samuel" These were historical heroes of the Jewish people, who, upon serious occasions of Israel's rebellion against the Lord, had interceded for them, praying for their forgiveness; and there were several examples of this in the Old Testament. (Exodus 32:11-14; Exodus 32:30-34; Numbers 24:13-23; Deuteronomy 9:18-20; Deuteronomy 9:15-29; 1 Samuel 7:5-9; 1 Samuel 12:19-25; and Psalms 99:6-8). However, the sad message here is that even the intercession of such intercessors as Moses and Samuel would be of no avail whatever in the present extremity of Judah's total apostasy and rebellion.

We find no agreement with Thompson who thought that Jeremiah might have mentioned Moses and Samuel here, "because he saw in those two men a pattern of his own ministry; for he was in that succession of prophets `like unto Moses' (Deuteronomy 18:9-22)."J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 387. However, the Bible has no mention of a succession of "prophets" (plural) like unto Moses, but speaks of "The Prophet Like unto Moses," a reference to Jesus Christ and to no other!

The perversion of this prophecy through Moses mentioned here is a favorite device of critics, but it stands upon no authority whatever.

"Let them go forth" The meaning of this was extensive: "Cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. Do not bring them into my presence by your prayers; let them go forth into captivity."Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), p. 296. The meaning is further elaborated in the next verse. Feinberg's rendition of Jeremiah 15:2-4 here is excellent:

"Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;
those for starvation, to starvation;
those for captivity, to captivity.
I will send four kinds of destroyers against them, saith the Lord, The sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to devour and destroy."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 473.

"Because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah" "The name of the pious father intensifies the horror at the wickedness of the son."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 408.

It might appear from this that the invasion and captivity of Judah were the consequences of Manasseh's wicked reign; but it was not that reign alone that resulted in such disasters. "It was because the people persevered in that wickedness."E. Henderson, The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1851), p. 94. They resented and disapproved of Josiah's reforms; as soon as Jehoiachim came to the throne, they heartily supported that wicked king's campaign to restore all of the idolatrous trappings of Manasseh's evil reign; and, when Jeremiah's magnificent prophecies appeared to be a hindrance to such a resurgence of paganism, they plotted to kill Jeremiah. It was all of that, plus the deliberate preference of the great majority of Israel for the licentious rites of idolatry far over above the righteous government of the Lord that led to their eventual destruction and the deportation of a remnant.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

To be removed - Rather, “to be a terror.”

Because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah - The name of the pious father intensifies the horror at the wickedness of the son.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Jeremiah speaks now of exile. He had hitherto spoken of the sword and famine, and mentioned also other punishments, that their carcases would be dragged about by dogs, and also devoured by wild beasts and ravenous birds; but he now refers to one kind of punishment only — that God would drive them into exile. And he seems to have taken these words from Moses, for so he speaks in Deuteronomy 28:0, except that ו, vau, is placed before ע, ain, in the word “commotion,” but such a change is common. In other respects there is a perfect agreement.

I will set them, he says, for a commotion to all the kingdoms of the earth; that is, I will cause them to wander in constant fear and trembling. He amplifies the grievousness of exile by the circumstance that they should have no safe rest. They who leave their country for exile do at least find some corner where they take breath; but God declares that the Jews would be everywhere unsettled and wanderers, so that no place would receive them. And hence God’s vengeance became more fully manifest, for these miserable men never found an asylum when scattered through various countries. Though they had habitations in those parts allotted to them by the king of Babylon, they were yet everywhere without any rest. It was not therefore in vain that Moses threatened them with such a punishment, nor was it to no purpose that Jeremiah repeated what had been said by Moses. ⁽¹³¹⁾

He adds the cause, On account of Manasseh But Manasseh was now dead, why then did God transfer the vengeance which he merited to posterity? And this seems inconsistent with another passage found in Ezekiel,

“The soul that sinneth it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:8)

But doubtless God justly punished the wickedness of the people even after the death of that ungodly king, for they ceased not to accumulate evils on evils; as however their impiety appeared especially at that time, he particularly noticed it, that the Jews might understand that they had been long worthy of destruction, and that punishment was not delayed except through the great mercy of God, who had not immediately treated them as they deserved. The Prophet therefore commends the long forbearance of God because their ruin was suspended until that time. And, on the other hand, he shews that they were not so severely treated but that they were worthy of greater and more atrocious punishment; for such had been their obstinacy that they did all they could to draw upon themselves destruction many times.

But another question arises: Manasseh pretended repentance, and God seemed to have forgiven him and the whole people, (2 Kings 21:0:2 Chronicles 33:12) why does he now declare that he would take vengeance on sins which had been already buried? But the answer is evident, for the Jews from that time had been in no way better. As then they had continued to pursue the same sinful courses with Manasseh, it was right that they should at length be rewarded as they deserved; for, had they become really changed, there would have been a change in God’s dealings with them, but inasmuch as their impiety had ever remained the same, and as they gave themselves up to the same vices, a heavier judgment was nigh them, and justly so, because they had abused God’s forbearance, who had spared the king as well as themselves on the condition of receiving the pardon offered to them. But since they had hardened themselves, it was riglit to take such account of their ingratitude and perverseness as to treat them with greater severity.

Farther, Manasseh is called the son of Hezekiah, and that for the purpose of enhancing his crime. For as religion had been reformed in the time of Hezekiah, and as that pious king, with great labor and toil, exerted all his powers to restore the true worship of God, it was the duty of Manasseh to follow his example. But he not only built altars to idols, and polluted the whole land with superstitions, but also defiled the very Temple of God. It was thus a horrible, and wholly a diabolical madness in the son, when the right way of worshipping God had been delivered unto him, to be of such a reprobate mind as immediately to overthrow what his father with great labor has so faithfully established. This then was the reason why Jeremiah mentioned to his dishonor the name of his father. And hence we learn that they are worthy of a heavier punishment, who have been religiously brought up from their childhood, and become afterwards degenerated, who, having had pious and godly parents, afterwards abandon themselves to every wickedness. Hence a heavier judgment awaits those who depart from the examples of godly fathers. And this we gather from the very words of the Prophet, who here, by way of reproach, calls Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, which yet would have been to his honor, had he been like his father and followed his piety.

And at the same time there is no doubt but that the Prophet indirectly condemns the whole people; for we know how great opposition pious Hezekiah met with, and how he contended for the faithful worship of God, as though he had been among the Assyrians or the Egyptians. But the perverseness of the people appeared then extreme, when he was put in jeopardy as to the kingdom, because he endeavored to cleanse the land of Judah from its filth and pollutions; their impiety and ingratitude then shewed, and openly discovered themselves. Afterwards Manasseh overturned as it were in an instant the worship of God, and they all, with great exultation, went immediately after superstition. We hence see that the mouths of the Jews were thus closed, so that they could not object and say, that they obeyed the command of their king; for they winingly followed wicked superstitions. They assented to the king of their own accord, while yet they hardly, and with great unwiningness, were led to obey when God’s worship was restored in the time of Hezekiah.

But Manasseh added cruelties to superstitions; for we know that he not only covered the streets of the city with blood, but made it also to flow in streams, as sacred history relates. As, then, the Prophets were so cruelly treated in the time of Manasseh, and as he was not the sole author of this barbarity, but the true servants of God were persecuted to death by the consent of the people, it was hence evident that it was the crime of the whole community. And hence he mentions Jerusalem, in order that the Jews might know that the holy city, in which they gloried, had been for a long time the den of robbers, and that the Temple of God had been polluted by wicked superstitions, and even the whole city by unlawful and barbarous slaughters. It now follows —

(131) Blayney rightly observes that the word rendered “to be removed,” in our version, has no such meaning. The verb means to move, to agitate, to disquiet, but not to move from one place to another. The noun as found here is rendered “vexation” in Isaiah 28:19, and “trouble” in 2 Chronicles 29:8. The idea of removing is not given in any of the versions, nor in the Targum. It is used in two other places by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 29:18). In both places “vexation, trouble, or disquietude,” would be the best rendering. This sentence may be thus translated —

And I will render them a vexation to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Literally it is, “I will give them for a vexation,” etc. And so they became, they were a trouble and a disquietudewherever they were; and hence they became, as it is said in Jeremiah 29:18, a curse, a hissing, and a reproach among all nations.

Venema gives this rendering —

And I will give them for a shaking to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Which he understands to mean, that they would be given to be shaken, agitated, and disquieted in all the kingdoms of the earth.

Blayney’s version is —

And I will give them up to vexation in all kingdoms of the earth.

But this is what the original will hardly bear; the preposition before “kingdoms” is not in, but to. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 15

Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go foRuth ( Jeremiah 15:1 ).

Now it is interesting that when God chooses examples of men of great intercessory prayer, He chooses Moses and Samuel. There is an interesting characteristic about both Moses and Samuel and they were men who had the ear for God. You remember Moses was out in the wilderness and he saw the burning bush and he approached it and God spoke to him out of the burning bush. He heard the voice of God. He had the ear tuned to God's voice. Men of prayer, powerful men of prayer, are men who are tuned to the voice of God. Because the purpose of prayer is to get God's will done always. The purpose of prayer is never to get your will done. Prayer is not...God is not a genie. Though so many times we sort of approach Him as that. "God, I've got three wishes. Please grant them to me, you know."

You heard about the three fellows who were on the deserted island and about ready to die. A bottle came floating up on the beach. One guy went down and got it and rubbed it and genie popped out and says grant you three wishes. First fellow said, "I wish I was back in London now. Just to be in London again. Back in my own bed." Back in his own bed. Second fellow said, "Oh, if I was only back in Italy sipping coffee. Once more, just on the streets there in Rome. Oh, to be in Rome sipping coffee." Back in Rome sipping coffee. Third fellow says, "Oh, I'm so lonely without my two friends I wish they were back here with me."

You see what we could do with wishes? We could really mess up the world. So prayer is not to get our will done. It isn't that God is just going to grant our wishes.

Samuel, when as a little boy, brought by his mother to Eli, and there as he was sleeping he heard the voice, "Samuel, Samuel." He went running into Eli. Said, "Did you call me?" "No, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." Got back in bed and he heard, "Samuel, Samuel." Went running into Eli again and said, "You called me." "No, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And again he heard this voice, "Samuel, Samuel." Went running in and Eli said, "Look, if you hear the voice again, just say, 'Speak, Lord, Your servant hears.'" So he got back into bed again and hears, "Samuel, Samuel." And he says, "Speak, Lord, Your servant hears." And God began to tell him all about the sins of Eli the priest. And so Eli the next morning said, "Well, what happened?" He had a tough time. But he heard the voice of God. He was tuned in. His ear was tuned. Men of prayer are always men who are tuned to the voice of God.

So God uses two examples-Moses and Samuel. But they are men who had the listening ear. And the listening ear always precedes the life of prayer, of powerful prayer. Hearing the voice of God. Knowing the will of God makes for powerful prayer. So though Moses and Samuel, God said, these two shining examples of men of intercessory prayer capacities. You remember Moses said, "Lord, forgive their iniquities. And if not, then I pray You'll blot my name out of Your book of remembrance." Intercessor before God. "But though Moses stood before Me," God said, "My heart can't be towards them. Though Samuel stood before Me, My heart can't be towards them. Cast them out of my sight. Let them go forth."

And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: there will be the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the eaRuth ( Jeremiah 15:2-4 ),

And God goes back now.

because of Manasseh ( Jeremiah 15:4 )

That horrible, wicked son of Hezekiah that introduced these people to this pagan idolatry.

the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how you are doing? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, you are gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with changing ( Jeremiah 15:4-6 ).

Now an interesting verse, because we know that God does not change. God does not repent. "God is not a man, that He should repent; nor the son of man, that He should change" ( Numbers 23:19 ). But we are limited in talking about God to human terminology. So we have to describe God's actions in human terms. So we are faced with the dilemma how do you describe what apparently is a change of attitude by God. It would from my end look like God has changed His attitude. Not so. God has already, always known from the beginning. God doesn't change. He knows. His foreknowledge. So from my standpoint it looks like God has changed. He has pronounced judgment is going to come. The people pray. They repent and so God forestalls the judgment. You say, "Oh, God changed." No, He always knew that He was going to forestall the judgment. He really didn't change, but it would appear that He changed but I have to describe it in human language. We don't have divine language with which to speak of God.

And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; and I will bereave them of children, and I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sands of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. She that hath borne seven is languishing: she hath given up the ghost ( Jeremiah 15:7-9 );

Or she has died.

her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she has been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD. Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet they are all cursing me ( Jeremiah 15:9-10 ).

Of course, Jeremiah was not saying things that were very pleasant. They were being angered by what this prophet had to tell them from God. Oftentimes a true prophet of God is not a popular man. They do generate a lot... people don't want to hear the truth. People want to hear a lie. When people come in for counseling, so often they want to hear a lie. They want to hear you say, "Well, it's just all right. Go ahead and do it. God doesn't care." "Oh, you're a great counselor. Oh, love you, brother." If they come and you say, "Look man, you persist in that and you're going to hell. That's a part of the works of the flesh and we know that they who do those things will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. You better get right with God." They go out angry, cursing, kicking. "Horrible counselor. He told me the truth. I don't want to hear the truth. I want to hear pleasant words." Jeremiah was telling them the truth. They had other prophets who were telling them lies. They were popular men. Jeremiah was unpopular.

The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with the remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction ( Jeremiah 15:11 ).

Though the people are going to be destroyed, there will be a remnant that will be saved. They'll be taken captive to Babylon and they're going to do well in Babylon. Well, they did. They prospered in Babylon. In fact, the Jews were so prosperous in Babylon. They were basically farmers. But when they got into business they were fantastic. And soon they were running the best operations in all of Babylon, becoming very wealthy men. So that when they were able to go back from the Babylonian captivity, some of them were so prosperous they didn't even want to go back. "Why should we go back to that hard life in Jerusalem? We got it made here." And so a lot of them did not return because they had become so prosperous.

So God here declares that it's going to be well with the remnant though they are in captivity in the time of their affliction.

Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all of your sins, even in all of your borders. And I will make you to pass with your enemies into a land which you know not: for a fire is kindled in my anger, which shall burn upon you ( Jeremiah 15:12-14 ).

He's predicting the Babylon captivity. Jeremiah responds.

O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in your long-suffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke ( Jeremiah 15:15 ).

Well, that's good. Jesus said, "Blessed are ye, when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for so persecuted they the prophets before you" ( Matthew 5:11-12 ). He's referring to Jeremiah. He says, "Lord, for Your name's sake, because I have spoken in Your name's sake they're persecuting me. They're rebuking me."

For thy words were found, and I did eat them; and the word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart ( Jeremiah 15:16 ):

Can you say that of God's Word? To me it is the joy and rejoicing. How I love the Word of God! How I enjoy finding beautiful truths in God's Word that minister to my spirit and my soul. It's the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Just to get into the Word and to read and study it, sort of devour it. And here's Jeremiah saying, "I found Your Word and I devoured it and it was the joy and the rejoicing of my heart."

for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of your hand: for you have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith the LORD, If you return, then will I bring you again, and you will stand before me: and if you will take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brass wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the awesome ( Jeremiah 15:16-21 ).

So God's promise to His prophet. "You go out to them, they will come to you again and I'll make you like a brass wall. I will be like a brass wall around you and though they will come against you to fight against you, they will not prevail because I am with you." So God's promise of the future, His sustaining of His prophet as he speaks forth the word of the Lord in the name of the Lord.

Shall we pray.

Father, we thank You tonight for the opportunity that You have given to us to again study Your Word. O Lord, may we devour Thy Word. May it be the joy and rejoicing of our hearts that we learn of Thee and we walk according to all that You have commanded. God, help us to hearken unto Your Word and to do it. May we not be hearers only, living in deception. But may we be doers of that which is right. God, help us that in these desperate days we might become desperate before Thee and in prayer. Make of us, Lord, men of prayer, women of prayer. Men and women of Your Word. In these last days, O God, help us that we might be able to lift others from the destruction that is coming upon the earth. That they might walk with You in Your kingdom. God, use us as Your instruments to speak Your truth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

All the kingdoms of the earth would look on Judah’s fate with horror. This judgment would come because of all the sins that wicked King Manasseh had introduced and revived in Jerusalem and throughout Judah (cf. 2 Kings 21:10-15; 2 Kings 23:26; 2 Kings 24:3). Manasseh was the most syncretistic of all the Davidic kings. This was especially deplorable since Manasseh was the son of one of Judah’s most godly kings, Hezekiah. The wickedness that Manasseh was responsible for so saturated life in Judah, even after he died, that it was impossible to remove.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth,.... Not only into Babylon, but into other countries; which has had its full accomplishment in this their last captivity by the Romans: or "I will give them for a commotion" z; shaking and trembling; they shall be like Cain, fugitives and vagabonds, and be in fear and trembling everywhere, for what is, or is about to come upon them: or "for horror unto all kingdoms" a; all that see the calamities and judgments that come upon them will be struck with dread and horror, plainly seeing the hand of the Lord in them:

because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah; because of the idolatry and murder committed by him; and which were the more aggravated, by having so good a parent, and so religious an education, and by his high office and dignity as king of Judah; and though these sins were personally forgiven him, yet, being imitated and continued in by the Jews, captivity is threatened them. The Targum is,

"because they turned not (or were not converted) as Manasseh;''

and so in the Talmud b, because Manasseh repented, and they did not; but this sense the words will not bear, because of what goes before, of which these are a reason; and because of what follows after, which are connected with them:

for that which he did in Jerusalem; the innocent blood he shed there, and the idolatrous worship he there set up; even where the temple was, the place of God's worship, and which was the metropolis of the nation, and so set an example, which must influence the whole country.

z לזועה "in commotionem", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. a "In horrorem", Cocceius. b T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 2.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.   2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.   3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.   4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.   5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?   6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.   7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.   8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.   9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.

      We scarcely find any where more pathetic expressions of divine wrath against a provoking people than we have here in these verses. The prophet had prayed earnestly for them, and found some among them to join with him; and yet not so much as a reprieve was gained, nor the least mitigation of the judgment; but this answer is given to the prophet's prayers, that the decree had gone forth, was irreversible, and would shortly be executed. Observe here,

      I. What the sin was upon which this severe sentence was grounded. 1. It is in remembrance of a former iniquity; it is because of Manasseh, for that which he did in Jerusalem, Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 15:4. What that was we are told, and that it was for it that Jerusalem was destroyed, 2 Kings 24:3; 2 Kings 24:4. It was for his idolatry, and the innocent blood which he shed, which the Lord would not pardon. He is called the son of Hezekiah because his relation to so good a father was a great aggravation of his sin, so far was it from being an excuse of it. The greatest part of a generation was worn off since Manasseh's time, yet his sin is brought into the account; as in Jerusalem's last ruin God brought upon it all the righteous blood shed on the earth, to show how heavy the guilt of blood will light and lie somewhere, sooner or later, and that reprieves are not pardons. 2. It is in consideration of their present impenitence. See how their sin is described (Jeremiah 15:6; Jeremiah 15:6): "Thou hast forsaken me, my service and thy duty to me; thou hast gone backward into the ways of contradiction, art become the reverse of what thou shouldst have been and of what God by his law would have led thee forward to." See how the impenitence is described (Jeremiah 15:7; Jeremiah 15:7): They return not from their ways, the ways of their own hearts, into the ways of God's commandments again. There is mercy for those who have turned aside if they will return; but what favour can those expect that persist in their apostasy?

      II. What the sentence is. It is such as denotes no less than an utter ruin.

      1. God himself abandons and abhors them: My mind cannot be towards them. How can it be thought that the holy God should have any remaining complacency in those that have such a rooted antipathy to him? It is not in a passion, but with a just and holy indignation, that he says, "Cast them out of my sight, as that which is in the highest degree odious and offensive, and let them go forth, for I will be troubled with them no more."

      2. He will not admit any intercession to be made for them (Jeremiah 15:1; Jeremiah 15:1): "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, by prayer or sacrifice to reconcile me to them, yet I could not be prevailed with to admit them into favour." Moses and Samuel were two as great favourites of Heaven as ever were the blessings of this earth, and were particularly famed for the success of their mediation between God and his offending people; many a time they would have been destroyed if Moses had not stood before him in the breach; and to Samuel's prayers they owed their lives (1 Samuel 12:19); yet even their intercessions should not prevail, no, not though they were now in a state of perfection, much less Jeremiah's who was now a man subject to like passions as others. The putting of this as a case, Though they should stand before me, supposes that they do not, and is an intimation that saints in heaven are not intercessors for saints on earth. It is the prerogative of the Eternal Word to be the only Mediator in the other world, whatever Moses, and Samuel, and others were in this.

      3. He condemns them all to one destroying judgment or other. When God casts them out of his presence, whither shall they go forth?Jeremiah 15:2; Jeremiah 15:2. Certainly nowhere to be safe or easy, but to be met by one judgment while they are pursued by another, till they find themselves surrounded with mischiefs on all hands, so that they cannot escape; Such as are for death to death. By death here is meant the pestilence (Revelation 6:8), for it is death without visible means. Such as are for death to death, or for the sword to the sword; every man shall perish in that way that God has appointed: the law that appoints the malefactor's death determines what death he shall die. Or, He that is by his own choice for this judgment, let him take it, or for that, let him take it, but by the one or the other they shall all fall and none shall escape. It is a choice like that which David was put to, and was thereby put into a great strait,2 Samuel 24:14. Captivity is mentioned last, some think, because the sorest judgment of all, it being both a complication and continuance of miseries. That of the sword is again repeated (Jeremiah 15:3; Jeremiah 15:3), and is made the first of another four frightful set of destroyers, which God will appoint over them, as officers over the soldiers, to do what they please with them. As those that escape the sword shall be cut off by pestilence, famine, or captivity, so those that fall by the sword shall be cut off by divine vengeance, which pursues sinners on the other side death; there shall be dogs to tear in the field to devour. And, if there be any that think to outrun justice, they shall be made the most public monuments of it: They shall be removed into all kingdoms of the earth (Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 15:4), like Cain, who, that he might be made a spectacle of horror to all, became a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.

      4. They shall fall without being relieved. Who can do any thing to help them? for (1.) God, even their own God (so he had been) appears against them: I will stretch out my hand against thee, which denotes a deliberate determined stroke, which will reach far and wound deeply. I am weary with repenting (Jeremiah 15:6; Jeremiah 15:6); it is a strange expression; they had behaved so provokingly, especially by their treacherous professions of repentance, that they had put even infinite patience itself to the stretch. God had often turned away his wrath when it was ready to break forth against them; but now he will grant no more reprieves. Miserable is the case of those who have sinned so long against God's mercy that at length they have sinned it away. (2.) Their own country expels them, and is ready to spue them out, as it had done the Canaanites that were before them; for so it was threatened (Leviticus 18:28): I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land, in their own gates, through which they shall be scattered, or into the gates of the earth, into the cities of all the nations about them, Jeremiah 15:7; Jeremiah 15:7. (3.) Their own children, that should assist them when they speak with the enemy in the gate, shall be cut off from them: I will bereave them of children, so that they shall have little hopes that the next generation will retrieve their affairs, for I will destroy my people; and, when the inhabitants are slain, the land will soon be desolate. This melancholy article is enlarged upon, Jeremiah 15:8; Jeremiah 15:9, where we have, [1.] The destroyer brought upon them. When God has bloody work to do he will find out bloody instruments to do it with. Nebuchadnezzar is here called a spoiler at noon-day, not a thief in the night, that is afraid of being discovered, but one that without fear shall break through and destroy all the fences of rights and properties, and this in the face of the sun and in defiance of its light: I have brought against the mother a young man, a spoiler (so some read it); for Nebuchadnezzar, when he first invaded Judah, was but a young man, in the first year of his reign. We read it, I have brought upon them, even against the mother of the young men, a spoiler, that is, against Jerusalem, a mother city, that had a very numerous family of young men: or that invasion was in a particular manner terrible to those mothers who had many sons fit for war, who must now hazard their lives in the high places of the field, and, being an unequal match for the enemy, would be likely to fall there, to the inexpressible grief of their poor mothers, who had nursed them up with a great deal of tenderness. The same God that brought the spoiler upon them caused him to fall upon it, that is, upon the spoil delivered to him, suddenly and by surprise; and then terrors came upon the city. the original is very abrupt--the city and terrors. O the city! what a consternation will it then be in! O the terrors that shall then seize it! Then the city and terrors shall be brought together, that seemed at a distance from each other. I will cause to fall suddenly upon her (upon Jerusalem) a watcher and terrors; so Mr. Gataker reads it, for the word is used for a watcher (Daniel 4:13; Daniel 4:23), and the Chaldean soldiers were called watchers, Jeremiah 4:16; Jeremiah 4:16. [2.] The destruction made by this destroyer. A dreadful slaughter is here described. First, The wives are deprived of their husbands: Their widows are increased above the sand of the seas, so numerous have they now grown. It was promised that the men of Israel (for those only were numbered) should be as the sand of the sea for multitude; but now they shall be all cut off, and their widows shall be so. But observe, God says, They are increased to me. Though the husbands were cut off by the sword of his justice, their poor widows were gathered in the arms of his mercy, who has taken it among the titles of his honour to be the God of the widows. Widows are said to be taken into the number, the number of those whom God has a particular compassion and concern for. Secondly, The parents are deprived of their children: She that has borne seven sons, whom she expected to be the support and joy of her age, now languishes, when she has seen them all cut off by the sword in one day, who had been many years her burden and care. She that had many children has waxed feeble,1 Samuel 2:5. See what uncertain comforts children are; and let us therefore rejoice in them as though we rejoiced not. When the children are slain the mother gives up the ghost, for her life was bound up in theirs: Her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she is bereaved of all her comforts just when she thought herself in the midst of the enjoyment of them. She is now ashamed and confounded to think how proud she was of her sons, how fond of them, and how much she promised herself from them. Some understand, by this languishing mother, Jerusalem lamenting the death of her inhabitants as passionately as ever poor mother bewailed her children. Many are cut off already, and the residue of them, who have yet escaped, and, as was hoped, were reserved to be the seed of another generation, even these will I deliver to the sword before their enemies (as the condemned malefactor is delivered to the sheriff to be executed), saith the Lord, the Judge of heaven and earth, who, we are sure, herein judges according to truth, though the judgment seem severe.

      5. They shall fall without being pitied (Jeremiah 15:5; Jeremiah 15:5): "For who shall have pity on thee, O Jerusalem? When thy God has cast thee out of his sight, and his compassions fail and are shut up from thee, neither thy enemies nor thy friends shall have any compassion for thee. They shall have no sympathy with thee; they shall not bemoan thee nor be sorry for thee; they shall have no concern for thee, shall not go a step out of their way to ask how thou dost." For, (1.) Their friends, who were expected to do these friendly offices, were all involved with them in the calamities, and had enough to do to bemoan themselves. (2.) It was plain to all their neighbours that they had brought all this misery upon themselves by their obstinacy in sin, and that they might easily have prevented it by repentance and reformation, which they were often in vain called to; and therefore who can pity them? O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself. Those will perish for ever unpitied that might have been saved upon such easy terms and would not. (3.) God will thus complete their misery. He will set their acquaintance, as he did Job's at a distance from them; and his hand, his righteous hand, is to be acknowledged in all the unkindnesses of our friends, as well as in all the injuries done us by our foes.