Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 25:34

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 25:34. Howl, ye shepherds — Ye kings and chiefs of the people.

Ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. — As a fall will break and utterly ruin a precious vessel of crystal, agate, &c., so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Judgment on various nations (25:15-38)

God is righteous and holy, and in justice pours out his wrath on those who arrogantly defy his authority. His judgment upon wicked nations is likened to a cup of wine given to a person to make him drunk so that he staggers and falls (15-16). Through the spreading conquests of the Babylonian armies, God has punished Judah (17-18), along with a variety of other nations far and near (19-25). But in the end Babylon, the agent God has used to carry out his judgment, will itself be the object of God’s wrath (26. Sheshach is another name for Babylon). No nation can escape once God has determined to punish it (27-28), and Judah, God’s chosen nation, will be the first to suffer (29).
A further picture of the terrible judgment to fall on the wicked is that of a lion’s attack on a flock of sheep. When the judge of all the earth acts in his holy judgment, the wicked will find no place of refuge (30-31). The bodies of the dead will lie rotting and stinking in the sun, like manure (32-33). The leaders of the people (shepherds of the flock) will look for a way of escape when the day of disaster comes, but they too will perish (34-35). As shepherds cry out when they see violence at work within their peaceful pastures, so Judah’s leaders will wail when they see the Babylonian armies desolating their land (36-38).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground. Wail ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture. And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah. He hath left his covert as a lion; for this land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger."

This graphic description has a double application, referring at once to the forthcoming destruction of the Old Israel and remotely to the Eternal Judgment of the Last Day. Some of the radical critics prefer to assign this passage to some other author than to Jeremiah, but, as Feinberg stated, "Such a denial of Jeremiah's authorship is based, not upon any evidence at all, but the subjective opinions of certain critics."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 537. "The prophecy is certainly not later than the mid-sixth century B.C., and we may credit it to Jeremiah."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), p. 164.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Principal of the flock - i. e., noble ones.

Wallow yourselves in the ashes - Rather, roll yourselves on the ground.

For ... - Read; “for your days for being slaughtered are accomplished, and I will scatter you” (or, (dash you in pieces).

Fall like a pleasant vessel - The comparison suggests the idea of change from a thing of value into worthless fragments.

Jeremiah 25:36

Hath spoiled - Or, spoileth.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

I doubt not but that the Prophet now turns his discourse especially to his own nation, which interpreters have not observed, and hence have not understood the meaning of the Prophet. He prophesied of God’s judgments, that the Jews might know that they in vain looked for impunity, as the Lord would not pardon the ignorant and destitute of all true knowledge, who might have pretended their ignorance as an excuse; and also that this comfort might support the minds of the godly, that the heathens, involved in the same guilt, would be subjected to the same judgment; and lastly, that knowing the difference between them and other nations, they might flee to God’s mercy and be encouraged to repent by entertaining a hope of pardon. After having then treated this general subject, he now returns to the people over whom he was appointed a teacher. He might indeed have declared from an eminence what was to take place through the whole earth; for so extensive was the office of a herald which God had conferred on him. He might then by the virtue of his office have denounced ruin on all nations; but he ought not to neglect his special care for the chosen people. And so I explain this passage; for he now again directs his discourse to the Jews.

Hence he says, Howl, ye pastors, and cry, etc. By pastors he means the king and his counsellors, the priests and other rulers; and by the choice of the flock he seems to understand the rich, whose condition was better than that of the common people. Some in a more refined manner consider the choice of the flock to have been those void of knowledge, unlike the scribes and priests and the king’s counsellors; but this view seems not to be well-founded. I therefore adopt what is more probable, — that the choice of the flock were those who were rich and high in public esteem, and yet held no office of authority in the commonwealth or in the Church. However this may be, the Prophet shews, that as soon as God began to put forth his hand to punish the Jews, there would be no ranks of men exempt from lamentation, for he would begin with the pastors and the choice of the flock.

He adds that their days were fulfilled Here he indirectly condemns that wicked security which had for a long time hardened them, so that they despised all threatenings; for God had now for many years called on them, and had sent his Prophets one after another; when they saw the execution of judgment suspended over them, they considered it only as a bugbear, “Well, let the prophets continue to pronounce their terrors, if they will do so, but nothing will come of them.” Thus the ungodly turned God’s forbearance into an occasion for their obstinacy. As then this evil was common among the Jews, the Prophet now says, by way of anticipation, that their days were fulfilled For there is to be understood this contrast, that God had spared them, not that he had his eyes closed, or that he had not observed their wicked deeds, but that he wished to give them time to repent; but when he saw that their wickedness was unhealable, he now says that their days were completed. And he adds, to be killed or slain. I wonder that learned interpreters render this, “that they may slay one another.” There is no need of adding anything, for the Prophet meant to express no such sentiment, nor to restrict what he denounces here on the Jews, to intestine or domestic wars; on the contrary, we know that they were slain by aliens, even by the Chaldeans. This sense then is forced, and is also inconsistent with history. It is added, and your dispersions ⁽¹⁵³⁾ also are fulfilled, or your breakings. The verb פוף, puts, means to scatter or to dissipate, and also to afflict, to tear; and the sense of tearing or breaking is what I prefer here. And he adds, And ye shall fall as a precious vessel This simile appears not to be very appropriate, for why should he not rather compare them to an earthen vessel, which is of no value and easily broken? But his object was to point out the difference in their two conditions, that though God had honored them with singular privileges, yet all their excellency would not keep them safe; for it often happens that a vessel, however precious, is broken. And he speaks not of gold or silver vessels, but of fragile vessels, once in great esteem. That he might then more grievously wound them, he says that they had been hitherto precious vessels, or a precious vessel; for he speaks of them all in the singular number, and that they were to be broken; and thus he confirms what I said on the last verse, that hypocrites in vain trusted in their present fortune, or in the superior blessings of God, for he could turn to shame whatever glory he had conferred on them. It follows, —

(153) This word is omitted by the Sept., and Calvin’s rendering is that of the Vulg., and it is a verb like the former in the Syr. and the Targ. On the contrary, the two words are nouns, and ought to be so rendered, —

34.Howl, ye pastors, and cry, And roll yourselves in the dust, ye illustrious of the flock, Because fulfilled are your days For the slaughter and for your dispersions; And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.

The word באפר, “in the dust,” is connected with the verb here used in Jeremiah 6:26, and in Ezekiel 27:30, and it is supplied here by the Vulg. and the Targ. The line is rendered by the Sept., —

And mourn, ye rams of the flock.

But the verb has no other sense but that of rolling, though the other word may be rendered “rams,” as it is in the masculine gender.

Venema gives the following version, —

Howl, ye pastors, and cry aloud, And sprinkle yourselves with dust, ye illustrious of the flock; For fulfilled are your days to be sacrificed; And there shall be your breakings, And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.

He considers the first and the fourth line as connected, and the second and the third; the pastors were to be broken, and the illustrious of the flock to be slain in sacrifice. There is certainly a congruity in the parts thus viewed. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 25

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim ( Jeremiah 25:1 ).

So now we're going back in time. This was before Zedekiah was king. This was when Jehoiakim was king. Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years. He was a very evil king, but he was the son of Josiah who reigned for thirty-one years. Jeremiah was called to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign. So Josiah is now dead. He's been dead for four years, so it happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim.

the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ( Jeremiah 25:1 ).

So he's giving you the time of this prophecy.

The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 25:2 ),

So this is just a separate prophecy of Jeremiah and it's isolated from the others. It sits here by itself. "Which Jeremiah the prophet spake to all the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the twenty-third year ( Jeremiah 25:2-3 ),

So God called Jeremiah to prophesy in the thirteenth year that Josiah was reigning. Jeremiah has now been prophesying twenty-three years. They figure that he was probably seventeen years old when God called him to prophesy and so he has been prophesying now for twenty-three years. It means that Jeremiah is about forty years old at the time of this particular prophecy.

the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened ( Jeremiah 25:3 ).

I've been speaking to you for twenty-three years, but you haven't listened to me yet.

And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever ( Jeremiah 25:4-5 ):

Just live right and you can stay here. Serve God and He'll keep you here.

Do not to after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. But you've not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because you have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about you, and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of merriment, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years ( Jeremiah 25:6-11 ).

And so here Jeremiah is predicting that the Babylonian captivity will last for seventy years. Now you read in the book of Daniel, chapter 9, that Daniel said, "And after the reading of the prophets I realize that the seventy years of captivity were about over. I sought to inquire of the Lord." So Daniel, no doubt, had these prophecies of Jeremiah. He had been reading them. And he understood by the writings of Jeremiah that their period of captivity in Babylon would be seventy years. Here Jeremiah declares that in this particular prophecy. Daniel had this prophecy and guided his affairs by the Word of God. "I know that the seventy years are about up," so he sought the Lord to see if God had any special ministry for him in the repatriation.

"They shall serve the king of Babylon for seventy years." Now the seventy years was because they had been dwelling in the land since the time of Joshua 490 years. And God had told them in the law that every seventh year you're to let the ground rest. The ground is to have a sabbath. Don't plant anything in the seventh year. Just in the sixth year, gather up and what you gather in the sixth year will be enough food to get you through the seventh year. You can eat that which grows of itself, but don't till the land, don't plant the land. Let it just grow of itself in the seventh year.

Sort of a plant rotation of crop kind of thing that the farmers have realized now is so valuable. I was up in Canada a while back and went out to the forage farms, and they took me out to this huge wheat farm. And a lot of it they had not planted. And he said, "No, we let the ground rest just like the Bible says. We find that we get much better crops." And so he said, "We of course have..." They still plant every year, but a section of the ground is always set aside that every seventh year they just let it rest. They don't plant anything in it. They just give the ground a rest. And he said, "We find that we get much better crops by giving the ground rest."

Now they had been in the land for 490 years, but they had not obeyed the commandment of God. They hadn't given the ground the sabbath. The ground hasn't rested in 490 years. So God says, "Okay, you don't give it its rest, I'll give it its rest. I'll put you out of the land for seventy years and the ground will just get its whole sabbath." So you divide the 490 by seven and you find out then comes the seventy years that the ground have been robbed for seventy different sabbaths, the ground had been robbed of its rest. So God says, "Oh, no, I'll get My dues." You know, God will always get His dues. You just. It doesn't pay to try and take away from God. God will get His dues one way or another. And just figure on that.

And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it a perpetual desolation. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands ( Jeremiah 25:12-14 ).

So Babylon will be punished after the seventy years. God will bring His judgment against Babylon because of their iniquities. God will use Babylon as His instrument to bring judgment against Israel. But later God's judgment will come upon Babylon itself.

Now at this point we jump on out to the Great Tribulation of the future. So take a leap through the time capsule.

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it ( Jeremiah 25:15 ).

Now there's a cup of the wrath of God's wine in His hand. If you'll turn to Revelation chapter 14, you will find corresponding verses beginning with verse Jeremiah 25:9 , "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.'" Verse Jeremiah 25:19 , "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered," this Isaiah 14:19 ,"he thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." And so the cup of indignation, here God introduces it to Jeremiah.

And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, the land of Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of [Babylon, Sheshach is another name for Babylon] Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink, and be drunken, and vomit, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; You will certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts ( Jeremiah 25:16-29 ).

The Great Tribulation period. Now do you think that God would punish Jerusalem for their iniquity and allow us to go unpunished? Surely our iniquity is no greater than that of Israel. A nation that has forsaken God. A nation that is living after pleasure. A nation that has forsaken righteousness. A nation that has ordered prayer out of its school. A nation that has lived by godless humanism and is controlled by godless humanism in our courts, in our educational systems. You think we can go unpunished? Oh no, God says, "Take it. You're going to drink of it, too. All of the earth." God's great judgment is coming upon all of the earth. "You will certainly drink for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts."

Therefore prophesy against them these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD ( Jeremiah 25:30-31 ).

Notice that? He will "give those that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord." But what about those who are righteous by their faith in Jesus Christ?

You remember when God was ready to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and the angel of the Lord was on his way. And Abraham invited him to come in, prepared a meal. They said, "Shall we reveal unto Abraham what we're doing?" They said, "We're heading down to Sodom. That place is so horrible, so rotten that we're going to destroy it. God is bringing His judgment against them." Abraham said, "Wait a minute, isn't God fair? Isn't the Lord of the earth just? What if there are righteous people living in Sodom? Would it be fair to destroy the righteous people with the wicked? Maybe there's fifty righteous people." The Lord said, "If there is fifty righteous people, we'll spare the city." "Oh? Well, you know, what if there is just ten less than fifty? What if there are only forty?" "We'll spare it for forty." "How about thirty?" "Yes." "Would you believe twenty?" "Yes, we'll spare it for twenty." "Let me talk once more and after this I won't ask anymore. How about ten?" Father Abraham. Be careful how you deal with his descendants. You'll get the best bargain they can. "How about ten?" I love them. They're God's people. They really are and I love them. And I bless them in the name of the Lord. The Lord said, "I'll spare it for ten."

You mean, the whole wickedness of Sodom will be allowed to go on if there are ten righteous people? That's right. For the sake of the ten God will not bring His judgment. You're the salt of the earth. You are the preserving influence. People may scorn you. They may deride you. They may say cruel and cutting things, but they better be thankful you're around. For if you weren't around, this place wouldn't be. God's judgment would have already fallen. But for the righteous' sake God withholds.

The angel came to Sodom he could not find ten righteous. He found one righteous man. And the angel said, "Get out of here, we're going to destroy this place. Don't look back." And the angel led Lot and his wife and his two daughters. But his wife turning back turned to a pillar of salt and so only Lot and his two daughters escaped. He was that. And Peter said that righteous man. He was the only one there. But notice, God did not bring judgment upon Lot, but delivered him before the judgment came. Peter uses that as an example to show that the church will not go through the Great Tribulation. "For God knows how to deliver the righteous, but to reserve the ungodly for the day of judgment" ( 2 Peter 2:9 ). So here talking about the Great Tribulation of His coming, God is going to bring His sword against all that are wicked, saith the Lord. But those that are righteous the Lord will have caught out in the rapture of the church.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the eaRuth ( Jeremiah 25:32-33 ):

Finally found the place where they're slain in the Spirit. All right. All over the place. From one end of the earth to the other.

they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger ( Jeremiah 25:33-38 ).

That Great Tribulation, the time of God's judgment that shall fall upon the earth. Thank God that we as the church do not have to face that horror and terror that is coming. Revelation chapter 6 through 18 give detailed description of this period of time of three-and-a-half years. You can read about it there.

Father, we thank You again for the opportunity of gathering to learn of Thee and to study Your Word and to gain insight to ourselves as Your Holy Spirit takes Thy Word and probes our hearts and our lives. As we can look at ourselves, God help us that we will not go away and forget quickly what the Spirit has shown to us tonight. But oh God, may we indeed forsake the way of the flesh and may we walk after the Spirit. And may we live after righteousness and live after Thee, O Lord, serving Thee, loving Thee. And so Father, in Jesus' name, let now Thy Spirit imbed upon our hearts Thy truths and we thank You for it. Amen. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Universal judgment to come 25:30-38

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Leaders of peoples will then mourn and weep, because the day of their destruction and the dispersion of their nations had come. In this judgment, the shepherds (leaders) would die along with the sheep (followers). Like a choice piece of pottery, these nations would fall and break apart.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Howl, ye shepherds, and cry,.... The Targum is,

"howl, ye kings, and cry;''

and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of their kingdoms; though Calvin thinks that this is an apostrophe to the Jewish nation, and the rulers of it. It is no uncommon thing in Scripture to call kings and civil magistrates shepherds; see Jeremiah 23:1;

and wallow yourselves [in the ashes], ye principal of the flock; or "roll yourselves [in dust]", as a token of mourning; as being in the utmost distress, and incapable of helping themselves, and redressing the grievances of their people; and therefore lie down and tumble about as in the greatest anxiety and trouble, the Targum is,

"cover your heads with ashes, ye mighty of the people;''

meaning those who were in the highest posts of honour and profit; the chief as to authority and power, riches and wealth;

for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; the time is come when they who were the fat of the flock, and were nourished up for slaughter, should be slain. The allusion to shepherds and sheep is still kept up; and such who should escape that, should be scattered up and down the world, as a flock of sheep is by the wolf, or any other beast of prey, when some are seized and devoured, and others dispersed; and this was not the case of the Jews only, but of other nations in their turn;

and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel; a vessel of worth and value, and so desirable; as vessels of glass, of gems, or of earth, as of Venice glass, of alabaster, of China; which when they fall and are broken, become useless, and are irreparable; signifying hereby, that their desirableness and excellency would not secure them from destruction, and that their ruin would be irretrievable.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.   31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.   32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.   33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.   34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.   35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.   36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.   37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.   38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

      We have, in these verses, a further description of those terrible desolations which the king of Babylon with his armies should make in all the countries and nations round about Jerusalem. In Jerusalem God had erected his temple; there were his oracles and ordinances, which the neighbouring nations should have attended to and might have received benefit by; thither they should have applied for the knowledge of God and their duty, and then they might have had reason to bless God for their neighbourhood to Jerusalem; but they, instead of that, taking all opportunities either to debauch or to disturb that holy city, when God came to reckon with Jerusalem because it learned so much of the way of the nations, he reckoned with the nations because they learned so little of the way of Jerusalem.

      They will soon be aware of Nebuchadrezzar's making war upon them; but the prophet is here directed to tell them that it is God himself that makes war upon them, a God with whom there is no contending. 1. The war is here proclaimed (Jeremiah 25:30; Jeremiah 25:30): The Lord shall roar from on high; not from Mount Zion and Jerusalem (as Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2), but from heaven, from his holy habitation there; for now Jerusalem is one of the places against which he roars. He shall mightily roar upon his habitation on earth from that above. He has been long silent, and seemed not to take notice of the wickedness of the nations; the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now he shall give a shout, as the assailants in battle do, against all the inhabitants of the earth, to whom it shall be a shout of terror, and yet a shout of joy in heaven, as theirs that tread the grapes; for, when God is reckoning with the proud enemies of his kingdom among men, there is a great voice of much people heard in heaven, saying, Hallelujah,Revelation 19:1. He roars as a lion (Amos 3:4; Amos 3:8), as a lion that has forsaken his covert (Jeremiah 25:38; Jeremiah 25:38), and is going abroad to seek his prey, upon which he roars, that he may the more easily seize it. 2. The manifesto is here published, showing the causes and reasons why God proclaims this war (Jeremiah 25:31; Jeremiah 25:31): The Lord has a controversy with the nations; he has just cause to contend with them, and he will take this way of pleading with them. His quarrel with them is, in one word, for their wickedness, their contempt of him, and his authority over them and kindness to them. He will give those that are wicked to the sword. They have provoked God to anger, and thence comes all this destruction; it is because of the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 25:37; Jeremiah 25:38), the fierceness of the oppressor, or (as it might better be read) the fierceness of the oppressing sword (for the word is feminine) is because of his fierce anger; and we are sure that he is never angry without cause; but who knows the power of his anger? 3. The alarm is here given and taken: A noise will come even to the ends of the earth, so loud shall it roar, so far shall it reach, Jeremiah 25:31; Jeremiah 25:31. The alarm is not given by sound of trumpet, or beat of drum, but by a whirlwind, a great whirlwind, storm, or tempest, which shall be raised up from the coasts, the remote coasts of the earth,Jeremiah 25:32; Jeremiah 25:32. The Chaldean army shall be like a hurricane raised in the north, but thence carried on with incredible fierceness and swiftness, bearing down all before it. It is like the whirlwind out of which God answered Job, which was exceedingly terrible, Job 37:1; Job 38:1. And, when the wrath of God thus roars like a lion from heaven, no marvel if it be echoed with shrieks from earth; for who can choose but tremble when God thus speaks in displeasure? See Hosea 11:10. Now the shepherds shall howl and cry, the kings, and princes, and the great ones of the earth, the principal of the flock. They used to be the most courageous and secure, but now their hearts shall fail them; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes,Jeremiah 25:34; Jeremiah 25:34. Seeing themselves utterly unable to make head against the enemy, and seeing their country, which they have the charge of and a concern for, inevitably ruined, they shall abandon themselves to sorrow. There shall be a voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock shall be heard,Jeremiah 25:36; Jeremiah 25:36. Those are great calamities indeed that strike such a terror upon the great men, and put them into this consternation. The Lord hath spoiled their pasture, in which they fed their flock, and out of which they fed themselves; the spoiling of that makes them cry-out thus. Perhaps, carrying on the metaphor of a lion roaring, it alludes to the great fright that shepherds are in when they hear a roaring lion coming towards their flocks, and find they have no way to flee (Jeremiah 25:35; Jeremiah 25:35) for their own safety, neither can the principal of their flock escape. The enemy will be so numerous, so furious, so sedulous, and the extent of their armies so vast, that it will be impossible to avoid falling into their hands. Note, As we cannot out-face, so we cannot out-run, the judgments of God. This is that for which the shepherds howl and cry. 4. The progress of this war is here described (Jeremiah 25:32; Jeremiah 25:32): Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation; as the cup goes round, every nation shall have its share and take warning by the calamities of another to repent and reform. Nay, as if this ere to be a little representation of the last and general judgment, it shall reach from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth,Jeremiah 25:33; Jeremiah 25:33. The day of vengeance is in his heart, and now his hand shall find out all his enemies, wherever they are, Psalms 21:8. Note, When our neighbour's house is on fire it is time to be concerned for our own. When one nation is a seat of war every neighbouring nation should hear, and fear, and make its peace with God. 5. The dismal consequences of this war are here foretold: The days of slaughter and dispersions are accomplished, that is, they are fully come (Jeremiah 25:34; Jeremiah 25:34), the time fixed in the divine counsel for the slaughter of some and the dispersion of the rest, which will make the nations completely desolate. Multitudes shall fall by the sword of the merciless Chaldeans, so that the slain of the Lord shall be every where found: they are slain by commission from him, and are sacrificed to his justice. The slain for sin are the slain of the Lord. To complete the misery of their slaughter, they shall not be lamented in particular, so general shall the matter of lamentation be. Nay, they shall not be gathered up, nor buried, for they shall have no friends left to bury them, and the enemies shall not have so much humanity in them as to do it; and then they shall be as dung upon the earth, so vile and noisome: and it is well if, as dung manures the earth and makes it fruitful, so these horrid spectacles, which lie as monuments of divine justice, might be a means to awaken the inhabitants of the earth to learn righteousness. The effect of this war will be the desolation of the whole land that is the seat of it (Jeremiah 25:38; Jeremiah 25:38), one land after another. But here are two expressions more that seem to make the case in a particular manner piteous. (1.) You shall fall like a pleasant vessel,Jeremiah 25:34; Jeremiah 25:34. The most desirable persons among them, who most valued themselves and were most valued, who were looked upon as vessels of honour, shall fall by the sword. You shall fall as a Venice glass or a China dish, which is soon broken all to pieces. Even the tender and delicate shall share in the common calamity; the sword devours one as well as another. (2.) Even the peaceable habitations are cut down. Those that used to be quiet, and not molested, the habitations in which you have long dwelt in peace, shall now be no longer such, but cut down by the war. Or, Those who used to be quiet, and not molesting any of their neighbours, those who lived in peace, easily, and gave no provocation to any, even those shall not escape. This is one of the direful effects of war, that even those who were most harmless and inoffensive suffer hard things. Blessed be God, there is a peaceable habitation above for all the sons of peace, which is out of the reach of fire and sword.