Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 22:25

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Concerning Jehoiachin (22:24-30)

On Jehoiakim’s death, his eighteen year old son Jehoiachin (also known Jeconiah, or Coniah) was made king. He was doomed to a short reign of only three months followed by a long captivity in Babylon. Other members of the royal family would also go into captivity, along with many of the leading citizens of Jerusalem (24-27; cf. 2 Kings 24:8-15). Jehoiachin died in a foreign country, and no son of his became king after him (28-30; but see also 2 Kings 25:27-30).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"As I live, saith Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiachin king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them of whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 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. But to the land whereunto their soul longeth to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? is he a vessel wherein none delighteth? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling in Judah."

The prophecy here is that both Jeconiah (Coniah) and the queen mother shall go into Babylonian captivity and die in that land. This indeed came to pass; and Coniah lived thirty-seven years in captivity.

"Coniah" This man was named Jeconiah (Jeremiah 24:1) and Coniah (here and in Jeremiah 37:1); and he came to the throne under the name of Jehoiachin. Keil cited two other variations of the name which correspond to two of the three names cited here.C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 344.

Payne Smith stated that Coniah was king of Judah at the time Jeremiah wrote these words, basing his opinion upon the construction, "Coniah the son of Jehoiachim king of Judah."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 430.

"Thee and the mother that bare thee" "The queen mother had some official status in Judah of that period and may have worn a crown and sat on a throne adjacent to that of the king… Jehoiachin was eventually released in Babylon by Evil-Merodach; but he was required to remain in Babylon."J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 484.

"They are cast out, he and his seed" Some find a problem here, because Jeremiah 22:30 states that Jeconiah would die childless. The problem is solved either (1) by throwing out the last four words here as not belonging to the text (And this is supported by the LXX), or (2) by making Jeremiah 22:30 the full explanation of what is meant by "write Coniah childless." It meant merely that he would not have a successor on the throne of Judah. Either solution appears to be adequate.

Practically all present-day scholars accept solution (2), above. Some very learned men of an earlier generation insist that he died, literally, without any children. Payne Smith insisted that, "There is no proof that Jehoiachin ever had any children. None are mentioned in 2 Kings 24:15; and the fact that when his father Jehoiachim died the harem of that ruler passed to Coniah, suggests that the "children" mentioned in 2 Chronicles 3:17 might merely have been his adopted children through that inheritance."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898),p. 440.

Matthew Henry also took the same view, offering as proof the fact, the oldest son of Jehoiachin was Shealtiel; but in the Lukan genealogy of Christ, Shealtiel is listed as the son of Neil, not Jehoiachin, indicating that Jehoiachin was only his adopted father.

We do not attach a great deal of importance to the question; but we prefer the views presented by the Dean of Canterbury and by Matthew Henry. There is nothing in their exegesis of this problem that is in any manner unreasonable.

Certainly, there is no Jehoiachin, Coniah, or Jeconiah in the Lukan account of the lineage of the Son of God which goes back to David, not through Solomon, but through Nathan.

Those who try to find Coniah in the ancestry of Christ will find it in Matthew 1:12; but that is only the legal ancestry of Christ through his foster father Joseph, making him the legal heir to the throne that was once held by Jeconiah.

Yes, it states in Matthew 1:12 that Jeconiah "begat Shealtiel"; but in genealogical tables distinctions such as real sons or adopted sons were not distinguished. In fact there are not even any distinctions between sons and grandsons, actual sons or Levirate sons, etc. Since Coniah was childless, Shealtiel an adopted son, inherited the non-existent throne of Judah; but Luke, unconcerned about legal rights to a throne traced Shealtiel's ancestry through his actual father Neri.

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah regarded Jeconiah (Coniah) as the last king of Judah; but some writers insist that Zedekiah was the last king.The New Bible Dictionary, p. 1337. Of course, in a sense he was the last king; but in none of the eleven years that he reigned between 598 and 587 B.C. was he ever really "king of Judah," but a vassal of the Babylonians who had deposed and deported Jeconiah (Coniah) and placed Zedekiah on the throne as a puppet. Besides that, Nebuchadnezzar captured Zedekiah and blinded him after killing his sons before his eyes; and he was outlived many years by Jeconiah, who lived some thirty-seven years in captivity until he was released by Evil-Merodach. The Jews of Jerusalem never recognized Zedekiah as king and continually longed for the return of Jehoiachin. Therefore we follow the position of Ezekiel and of Jeremiah in considering Coniah as the last of Israel's kings.

It has been objected to Jeremiah's prophecy here that no one descended from Coniah would ever sit upon the throne of David; because, as premillennial advocates insist, "This would exclude Christ from sitting on David's throne."E. Henderson, The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1851), p. 129. Such an objection, however is worthless, since Luke's genealogy makes no mention of any son of Jehoiachin in the ancestry of Christ. However, even if it was otherwise, the prohibition was not against such a descendant "sitting on David's throne," but against his doing so "in Jerusalem!" Also, the scriptures flatly declare that the reference to some Great One to sit on David's throne was a reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:31). The fulfillment of the Messianic promise was complete when Jesus Christ, "sat down at the right hand of the majesty On High."

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

This verse is connected with the last, and more fully explains what had been briefly said. The plucking off of the sealing ring from God’s finger took place when Jeconiah was deprived of his glory and his kingdom, and made subject; to the king of Babylon. ⁽⁶⁶⁾ Though the king spared his life, as sacred history testifies, (2 Kings 25:7; 2 Chronicles 36:6; Jeremiah 52:11,) yet when he surrendered himself to him, he trembled as though he saw the sword ready to cut off his head; for he expected no mercy, and his fear made him to go out of the city, and to surrender himself to his inveterate enemy. The import of the whole is, that King Jeconiah would come to extremities, for he would be forced to give up himself helpless and unarmed into the hands of his cruel enemies.

But he repeats the commination, and enlarges on the subject; I will deliver thee, he says, into the hand of those who seek thy life, and then, into the hand of those whose face thou dreadest, and, in the third place, into the hand of Nebuchadnezer, (Nabuchadnezer, king of Babylon, is called here and in other places, Nebuchadrezer,) and lastly, into the hand of the Chaldeans. Thus the Prophet recounts, as it were in order, several kinds of death, that Jeconiah might know how dreadful God’s judgment would be. He adds —

(66) There is here a striking contrast: God would pluck off Jeconiah, were he like a signet on his right hand, and would deliver him into the hand of his enemies. From being as it were on the divine hand, he would be given up into the hand of those who sought his life. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 22

Now the Lord commanded Jeremiah to go down to the king's house and speak there at the king's house this word. The other, it was a message sent back to the king. Now go on down to his house and speak this further word.

Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you that are sitting upon the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people that enter in by these gates: 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. 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. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation ( Jeremiah 22:2-5 ).

Now here even at this late date, God is still holding out to the king the offer of deliverance. As God said, "I've set before you life and death." And though they are really on the gallows and they're waiting for the handle to be pulled that drop the trap door, the rope in a sense is around their neck. I mean, they are as close to being gone as you can get. But even now the Lord is saying, "Look, if you'll just do what's right, if you'll only have righteous judgments and seek to deliver the fatherless, the widow, the poor from the oppression, if you'll only do that which is right, then I will continue this dynasty, this kingdom. And there will be kings that will be able to go in and up and sit upon the throne and they'll ride in and out of these gates in their chariots and all. All you have to do is turn around, even now." And so God is giving them, really, one final chance. But it seems that many times the evil and the corruption is so deeply imbedded. The greed has gone so far that you just can't turn.

Now it is interesting to me that the main cry of God was the lack of real justice that was coming forth in the land. The poor, the orphans, the widows were being oppressed. It is interesting to me how that God so often takes up the cause of the poor or of the orphan or of the widow who cry upon Him and cry unto Him. And here God's judgment would be forestalled if only they would be righteous that they would execute judgment and righteousness and deliver those who had been spoiled out of the hands of those that were oppressing them. Do no violence to the stranger, or to the fatherless, or the widow. If you do this thing indeed, you can remain. Kings will go in and out. But if you don't, God declares, I swear by myself. Now in Hebrews it says that the Lord can't swear by any higher so He swears by Himself. But when God takes an oath to swear by Himself, you can be sure that He's going to do it.

Now the oath is always to confirm the word. And when a person makes an oath, you swear by something that is higher than you. Now Jesus in a sense tells us that we should not swear. "I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is God's footstool. But when you say yes, just let it be yes. When you say no, let it be no" ( Matthew 5:34-35 , Matthew 5:37 ). Just be a person of your word. Don't have to be a person that takes an oath to prove, "Oh, I'm telling the truth," you know. By my mother's name or by heaven or whatever that a person may take an oath by. The Lord says you shouldn't have to do that to affirm the truth. Just speak the truth. Let your yes be a yes, let your no be a no, rather than having to swear by something other than yourself, something higher than yourself. But God when He desired to make a firm commitment, because He could swear by no higher, He swore by Himself. That is, of course, you can't get anything more sure than that. When God says, "I swear by myself that I will do it," man, there's nothing in the world more sure than that. You say, "Well, we're sure the sun will come up tomorrow morning." No, you're not. But if God declares it, then you can be sure. And if God swears by Himself that it will, then you can know. There is no question. There is no doubt. And so God really is laying it on just as heavy. "This is it. This is your final. I swear by Myself. I will just make this place a desolation."

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 the cities which are not inhabited ( Jeremiah 22:6 ).

Gilead and Lebanon, beautiful areas. Forested and all. That's what you are to me, but surely I'm going to make you just a desolate wilderness.

I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why has the LORD done this unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them ( Jeremiah 22:7-9 ).

So this place, this was once so glorious and so beautiful. Really the pride of the earth for glory and beauty. It's going to be laid waste and desolate and become as a wilderness and people will pass by and they say, "Why in the world did God do this to this area, to this place? Why such desolation?" And the answer would come back, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of God and worshipped other gods."

Now God had made a covenant with the nation Israel, a covenant whereby they would be His people and He would be their God. There were several factors to this covenant that God had made, several special aspects to the covenant. One of them was the Sabbath day. That was a special covenant between God and Israel forever--their observance of the Sabbath day. Another aspect to the covenant was the circumcision of the males. Another aspect of the covenant was that their approach to God was to be through the sacrifice of animals. For sinful man cannot approach a holy God. And God had said in His covenant, "For without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins" ( Hebrews 9:22 ). And so God established in His covenant with them the various sacrifices that they would offer unto the Lord: the sin offerings, the peace offerings, the whole burnt offerings, the meal offerings. Now God said, "You've broken the covenant."

It is interesting to me today that they are still not keeping the whole covenant with God. Though they observe the Sabbath and though they will not eat meat with dairy products, and though they still follow circumcision, yet they have tried to circumvent that portion of the covenant whereby God made provision for their covering of their sins. And they offer no sacrifice. There is no shedding of blood, without which, God said, there is no remission. But they now through some strange quirk seek to approach God on the basis of their own works and their own goodness.

Now where did this come from? Surely not from God or God's Word. This was one of man's substitutes that was introduced by man and picked up by the people and now followed by them religiously. So that on that great day of the year, Yom Kippur, when the priest was to go in and offer the atonement for the nation and for the sins of the nation, that day, the greatest day of the year really for them when the high priest that one day would enter into the presence of God within the holy of holies and there offer the sacrifice unto the Lord for the atonement of the sins of the nation. That day is now devoted to meditation upon your good works and upon your evil works. And hopefully balancing out with a little bit on the good works side so that your good works overbalance your evil works, and this is my acceptance before You, God. And yet, right here in the prophecy of Jeremiah he declares, "Your works are as filthy rags in the eyes of God." What a tragedy. Here they are trying to offer filthy rags to God for the atonement of their sins. Can't be done.

And so God said, "You've broken the covenant." They continue to break the covenant to the present day. But, of course, Jesus said when He took the cup, "This is a new covenant--My blood which is shed for the remission of sins." You see, they could come to God now by the new covenant. But somehow in their minds they feel that if they come to God by the new covenant, they will no longer be Jews. And this is a very weird perversion of the truth, because they are not really keeping the true covenant of God, the shedding of blood for the remission of sins. But what they don't realize, they don't have to keep that part. What they offer instead is their own works. But Paul the apostle writing to the Ephesians said, "It's not our works, lest any man should boast. By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast" ( Ephesians 2:8-9 ).

And yet, they are seeking to be accepted by God for their works that they do. But God will not accept any man's works as an atoning factor for that man. You cannot work your way into God's grace or into God's favor or into heaven. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Without the remission of sin there is no fellowship with God. If you're to have fellowship with God there has to be the righteous basis for fellowship, and right now God has established a new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. "This cup is My blood. A new covenant in My blood which is shed for the remission of sins."

So why did the Lord do this? Why is this once glorious city such a desolation? Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God. They've worshipped other gods and served them.

Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep for him that is carried away ( Jeremiah 22:10 ):

Those that have died, don't weep for them. They're out of it. They're out of their miseries. But weep for those that are being taken captive to Babylon.

for they will never return again, nor see their native country ( Jeremiah 22:10 ).

Of course, in a couple of chapters we're going to find out that their captivity is going to last for seventy years. So there were a very, very few who did return, who can remember the former temple that they used to see when they were children. Old men now, probably in their eighties, who were just children when they were taken captive. Now returning to Jerusalem after the captivity, and as they lay the foundation for the rebuilding of the temple and everybody's worshipping and excited, "Oh, glory, glory," these men are weeping because this is such a pitiful looking thing in remembrance of the glorious temple that was once there. So he is saying, "Don't weep for those that are slain. They are well off. Those that are being taken away to Babylon, they are the ones that are going to have continual suffering. Weep sore for those."

For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum ( Jeremiah 22:11 )

And this is Jehoahaz who was taken down to Egypt by the Pharaoh. He was the king of Israel for a period of time, but he was taken as a captive to Egypt. "Thus saith the Lord concerning Shallum."

the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He is never going to come back again: but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and he will never see this land again ( Jeremiah 22:11-12 ).

Jehoahaz is going to die in Egypt. He'll never come back.

Woe unto him that builds his house by unrighteousness ( Jeremiah 22:13 ),

Now he's laying it on to king Zedekiah again. "Who built his house by unrighteousness."

and his chambers by wrong; that used his neighbor's service without wages ( Jeremiah 22:13 ),

Because he was the king, he refused to pay those that worked upon his house. God's always for the laboring man; God's always for the underdog. God doesn't want you to rip anybody off and especially those that can't afford it, but just nobody, really. God wants righteousness. "Who used his neighbor's service without wages."

and gives him nothing for his work; That says, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and he cuts out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion ( Jeremiah 22:13-14 ).

That must have been quite a house--vermilion walls and cedar ceilings.

Shalt thou reign, because you closed yourself in cedar? did not your father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are not but for your own covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it ( Jeremiah 22:15-17 ).

Talking about his father, of course, going back to Josiah and how that in his reign he was righteous before God and God blessed him. He judged the cause of the poor and it went well with him. But this king was covetousness. He was taking advantage of the people.

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! But he will be buried with the burial of an ass, that is drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 22:18-19 ).

So the fearsome judgment against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah.

Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all of the lovers are destroyed ( Jeremiah 22:20 ).

All of your lovers.

I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but you said, I will not listen. This has been your manner from your youth, you just haven't obeyed my voice ( Jeremiah 22:21 ).

How many people in their prosperity have turned their heart from God. And God speaks to them but they just won't hearken. They won't listen. But God said, "This has been your case from the beginning. You just won't obey My voice." God help us that this not be the case of our own selves as God has spoken to us over and over in His Word. As God has declared in His Word how we are to walk and how we are to live after the Spirit and not after the flesh. And when God has given us so many warnings of the perils of the flesh-dominated life, God help us if we don't obey Him. But if we become covetous, if we become greedy, if we begin to take advantage of other people because of our own position.

Jesus said to His disciples, "The heathen love to exercise lordship over others. But it shall not be so among you. For whosoever would be the chief among you, let him be the servant of all" ( Mark 10:44 ). Now that's what it's to be like in the kingdom. Not to be taking advantage of your position. If you have a position of leadership or authority over others, not to be using it for your own personal advantage. Not to be using it to build your own house as the king did. Not to take unfair advantage of other people. If they work for you, pay them. And if you're going to be the chief, then learn to be the servant of all. Rather than taking, give. Use your position to help and to give to those that are lacking. And thus shall you truly be the servant of the Lord. God help us. God said, "Hey, I spoke to you in your prosperity, you wouldn't listen. And that's been the case. You just haven't listened. You haven't obeyed My voice from the beginning."

The wind shall eat up all of your pastors, and all of your lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all of your wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makes thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! 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 ( Jeremiah 22:22-24 );

Coniah, of course, is Jeconiah who reigned just a short period and was cut off. Three months is all that he reigned. And God said, "Though he were the signet on My ring, on My right hand, yet I would pluck thee thence."

For I will give thee into the hand of them that seek your life, and into the hand of them whose face you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 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. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return ( Jeremiah 22:25-27 ).

You'll never come back again. You're going to die in captivity.

Is this man Jeconiah 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? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD ( Jeremiah 22:28-29 ).

You see, God had been speaking to men for a long time. God says, "You're not listening. I spoke to you in your time of your prosperity, you wouldn't listen to Me." And so finally Jeremiah's so upset. He has given this message to this people. They're not listening so he turns and he says, "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. They won't listen. Earth, you listen."

You ever had the problem of talking to a group of people and you look up and no one's listening? You're telling something very interesting. A lot of times I turn and talk to my menu. No one else is listening, you know. "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord."

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 ( Jeremiah 22:30 ).

This is the end of the line; Zedekiah's it. The dynasty is cut off with him. No one's going to arise of his seed to reign on the throne in Judah. That is a fact. It has happened. That was the end of the road for that dynasty. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Prophecies about King Jehoiachin (Coniah) 22:24-30

This section contains two prophecies about this king (Jeremiah 22:24-30). The historical setting is the three-month reign of eighteen-year-old Jehoiachin in 598-597 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 24:8-17). Coniah was a shortened form of Jeconiah (cf. Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 27:20; Jeremiah 28:4; Jeremiah 29:2), the same man.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Yahweh was going to give Coniah over to King Nebuchadnezzar. The transfer of the signet ring symbolized the transfer of authority. Now Babylon would control the affairs of Judah.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life,.... Cruel and bloodthirsty enemies, whom nothing would satisfy but his life; such were the persons following:

and into the hand [of them] whose face thou fearest: being a terrible savage people, to be dreaded both for their number and their cruelty; a strange change this, to be removed out of the hand of God into the hand of such an enemy;

even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon;

:-;

and into the hand of the Chaldeans: who were the merciless and formidable people before mentioned: and this was fulfilled within three months after Jeconiah or Jehoiachin began to reign, and when he was but eighteen years of age, 2 Kings 24:8.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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!   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.

      This prophecy seems to have been calculated for the ungracious inglorious reign of Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, who succeeded him in the government, reigned but three months, and was then carried captive to Babylon, where he lived many years, Jeremiah 52:31; Jeremiah 52:31. We have, in these verses, a prophecy,

      I. Of the desolations of the kingdom, which were now hastening on apace, Jeremiah 22:20-23; Jeremiah 22:20-23. Jerusalem and Judah are here spoken to, or the Jewish state as a single person, and we have it here under a threefold character:-- 1. Very haughty in a day of peace and safety (Jeremiah 22:21; Jeremiah 22:21): "I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity, spoke by my servants the prophets, reproofs, admonitions, counsels, but thou saidst, I will not hear, I will not heed, thou obeyedst not my voice, and wast resolved that thou wouldst not, and hadst the front to tell me so." It is common for those that live at ease to live in contempt of the word of God. Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked. This is so much the worse that they had it by kind: This has been thy manner from thy youth. They were called transgressors from the womb,Isaiah 48:8. 2. Very timorous upon the alarms of trouble (Jeremiah 22:20; Jeremiah 22:20): "When thou seest all thy lovers destroyed, when thou findest thy idols unable to help thee and thy foreign alliances failing thee, thou wilt then go up to Lebanon, and cry, as one undone and giving up all for lost, cry with a bitter cry; thou wilt cry, Help, help, or we are lost; thou wilt lift up thy voice in fearful shrieks upon Lebanon and Bashan, two high hills, in hope to be heard thence by the advantage of the rising ground. Thou wilt cry from the passages, from the roads, where thou wilt ever and anon be in distress." Thou wilt cry from Abarim (so some read it, as a proper name), a famous mountain in the border of Moab. "Thou wilt cry, as those that are in great consternation use to do, to all about thee; but in vain, for (Jeremiah 22:22; Jeremiah 22:22) the wind shall eat up all thy pastors, or rulers, that should protect and lead thee, and provide for thy safety; they shall be blasted, and withered, and brought to nothing, as buds and blossoms are by a bleak or freezing wind; they shall be devoured suddenly, insensibly, and irresistibly, as fruits by the wind. Thy lovers, that thou dependest upon and hast an affection for, shall go into captivity, and shall be so far from saving thee that they shall not be able to save themselves." 3. Very tame under the heavy and lasting pressures of trouble: "When there appears no relief from any of thy confederates, and thy own priests are at a loss, then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness," Jeremiah 22:22; Jeremiah 22:22. Note, Many will never be ashamed of their sins till they are brought by them to the last extremity; and it is well if we get this good by our straits to be brought by them to confusion for our sins. The Jewish state is here called an inhabitant of Lebanon, because that famous forest was within their border (Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 22:23), and all their country was wealthy, and well-guarded as with Lebanon's natural fastnesses; but so proud and haughty were they that they are said to make their nest in the cedars, where they thought themselves out of the reach of all danger, and whence they looked with contempt upon all about them. "But, how gracious wilt thou be when pangs come upon thee! Then thou wilt humble thyself before God and promise amendment. When thou art overthrown in stony places thou wilt be glad to hear those words which in thy prosperity thou wouldst not hear,Psalms 141:6. Then thou wilt endeavour to make thyself acceptable with that God whom, before, thou madest light of." Note, Many have their pangs of piety who, when the pangs are over, show that they have no true piety. Some give another sense of it: "What will all thy pomp, and state, and wealth avail thee? What will become of it all, or what comfort shalt thou have of it, when thou shalt be in these distresses? No more than a woman in travail, full of pains and fears, can take comfort in her ornaments while she is in that condition." So Mr. Gataker. Note, Those that are proud of their worldly advantages would do well to consider how they will look when pangs come upon them, and how they will then have lost all their beauty.

      II. Here is a prophecy of the disgrace of the king; his name was Jeconiah, but he is here once and again called Coniah, in contempt. The prophet shortens or nicks his name, and gives him, as we say, a nickname, perhaps to denote that he should be despoiled of his dignity, that his reign should be shortened, and the number of his months cut off in the midst. Two instances of dishonour are here put upon him:--

      1. He shall be carried away into captivity and shall spend and end his days in bondage. He was born to a crown, but it should quickly fall from his head, and he should exchange it for fetters. Observe the steps of this judgment. (1.) God will abandon him, Jeremiah 22:24; Jeremiah 22:24. The God of truth says it, and confirms it with an oath: "Though he were the signet upon my right hand (his predecessors have been so, and he might have been so if he had conducted himself well, but he being degenerated) I will pluck him thence." The godly kings of Judah had been as signets on God's right hand, near and dear to him; he had gloried in them, and made use of them as instruments of his government, as the prince does of his signet-ring, or sign manual; but Coniah has made himself utterly unworthy of the honour, and therefore the privilege of his birth shall be no security to him; notwithstanding that, he shall be thrown off. Answerable to this threatening against Jeconiah is God's promise to Zerubbabel, when he made him his people's guide in their return out of captivity (Haggai 2:23): I will take thee, O Zerubbabel! my servant, and make thee as a signet. Those that think themselves as signets on God's right hand must not be secure, but fear lest they be plucked thence. (2.) The king of Babylon shall seize him. Those know not what enemies and mischiefs they lie exposed to who have thrown themselves out of God's protection, Jeremiah 22:25; Jeremiah 22:25. The Chaldeans are here said to be such as had a spite to Coniah; they sought his life; no less than that, they thought, would satisfy their rage; they were such as he had a dread of (they are those whose face thou fearest) which would make it the more terrible to him to fall into their hands, especially when it was God himself that gave him into their hands. And, if God deliver him to them, who can deliver him from them? (3.) He and his family shall be carried to Babylon, where they shall wear out many tedious years of their lives in a miserable captivity--he and his mother (Jeremiah 22:26; Jeremiah 22:26), he and his seed (Jeremiah 22:28; Jeremiah 22:28), that is, he and all the royal family (for he had no children of his own when he went into captivity), or he and the children in his loins; they shall all be cast out to another country, to a strange country, a country where they were not born, nor such a country as that where they were born, a land which they know not, in which they have no acquaintance with whom to converse or from whom to expect any kindness. Thither they shall be carried, from a land where they were entitled to dominion, into a land where they shall be compelled to servitude. But have they no hopes of seeing their own country again? No: To the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return,Jeremiah 22:27; Jeremiah 22:27. They conducted themselves ill in it when they were in it, and therefore they shall never see it more. Jehoahaz was carried to Egypt, the land of the south, Jeconiah to Babylon, the land of the north, both far remote, the quite contrary way, and must never expect to meet again, nor either of them to breathe their native air again. Those that had abused the dominion they had over others were justly brought thus under the dominion of others. Those that had indulged and gratified their sinful desires, by their oppression, luxury, and cruelty, were justly denied the gratification of their innocent desire to see their own native country again. We may observe something very emphatic in that part of this threatening (Jeremiah 22:26; Jeremiah 22:26), In the country where you were not born, there shall you die. As there is a time to be born and a time to die, so there is a place to be born in and a place to die in. We know where we were born, but where we shall die we know not; it is enough that our God knows. Let it be our care that we die in Christ, and then it will be well with us, wherever we die, though it should be in a far country. (4.) This shall render him very mean and despicable in the eyes of all his neighbours. They shall be ready to say (Jeremiah 22:28; Jeremiah 22:28), "This is Coniah a despised broken idol? Yes, certainly he is, and much debased from what he was." [1.] Time was when he was dignified, nay, when he was almost deified. The people who had seen his father lately deposed were ready to adore him when they saw him upon the throne, but now he is a despised broken idol, which, when it was whole, was worshipped, but, when it is rotten and broken, is thrown by and despised, and nobody regards it, or remembers what it has been. Note, What is idolized will, first or last, be despised and broken; what is unjustly honoured will be justly contemned, and rivals with God will be the scorn of man. Whatever we idolize we shall be disappointed in and then shall despise. [2.] Time was when he was delighted in; but now he is a vessel in which is not pleasure, or to which there is no desire, either because grown out of fashion or because cracked or dirtied, and so rendered unserviceable. Those whom God has no pleasure in will, some time or other, be so mortified that men will have no pleasure in them.

      2. He shall leave no posterity to inherit his honour. The prediction of this is ushered in with a solemn preface (Jeremiah 22:29; Jeremiah 22:29): O earth, earth, earth! hear the word of the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world take notice of these judgments of God upon a nation and a family that had been near and dear to him, and thence infer that God is impartial in the administration of justice. Or it is an appeal to the earth itself on which we tread, since those that dwell on earth are so deaf and careless, like that (Isaiah 1:2), Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth! God's word, however slighted, will be heard; the earth itself will be made to hear it, and yield to it, when it, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Or it is a call to men that mind earthly things, that are swallowed up in those things and are inordinate in the pursuit of them; such have need to be called upon again and again, and a third time, to hear the word of the Lord. Or it is a call to men considered as mortal, of the earth, and hastening to the earth again. We all are so; earth we are, dust we are, and, in consideration of that, are concerned to hear and regard the word of the Lord, that, though we are earth, we may be found among those whose names are written in heaven. Now that which is here to be taken notice of is that Jeconiah is written childless (Jeremiah 22:30; Jeremiah 22:30), that is, as it follows, No man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David. In him the line of David was extinct as a royal line. Some think that he had children born in Babylon because mention is made of his seed being cast out there (Jeremiah 22:28; Jeremiah 22:28) and that they died before him. We read in the genealogy (1 Chronicles 3:17) of seven sons of Jeconiah Assir (that is, Jeconiah the captive) of whom Salathiel is the first. Some think that they were only his adopted sons, and that when it is said (Matthew 1:12), Jeconiah begat Salathiel, no more is meant than that he bequeathed to him what claims and pretensions he had to the government, the rather because Salathiel is called the son of Neri of the house of Nathan,Luke 3:27; Luke 3:31. Whether he had children begotten, or only adopted, thus far he was childless that none of his seed ruled as kings in Judah. He was the Augustulus of that empire, in whom it determined. Whoever are childless, it is God that writes them so; and those who take no care to do good in their days cannot expect to prosper in their days.