Jeremiah 15

Jeremiah Chapter Fifteen Verse 1 Jeremiah 15’S SECOND LAMENTOf course, the first nine verses of this chapter, especially the first four, continue the thought of the last chapter. Henderson suggested the following chapter divisions:[1] Judah had sinned beyond the possibility of God’s averting their punishment (Jeremiah 15:1-4); continued prophecy of Judah’s destruction (Jeremiah 15:5-9); beginning of Jeremiah’s lament (Jeremiah 15:10-11); destruction of Judah inevitable (Jeremiah 15:12-14); Jeremiah’s discouragement and denial of his commission (Jeremiah 15:15-18); God’s command to Jeremiah with promises contingent upon his obedience (Jeremiah 15:19-21). Jeremiah 15:1-4GOD’S 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 …” (Jeremiah 15:1). 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' (<a href="/bible/parallel/DEU/18/9" class="green-link">Deuteronomy 18:9-22</a>)."[2] 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 ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/1" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:1</a>). 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."[3] The meaning is further elaborated in the next verse. Feinberg's rendition of <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/2" class="green-link">Jer 15:2-4</a> 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."[4]"Because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/4" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:4</a>). "The name of the pious father intensifies the horror at the wickedness of the son."[5]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."[6] 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. Verse 5 FURTHER OF JUDAH'S RUIN"For who will have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who will bemoan thee? or who will turn aside to ask of thy welfare? Thou hast rejected Jehovah, thou art gone backward: therefore have I stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee; I am weary with repenting. And I have winnowed them with a fan in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them of children, I have destroyed my people; they returned not from their ways. 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 destroyer at noonday: I have caused anguish and terrors to fall upon her suddenly. She that hath borne seven languisheth; she hath given up the ghost; her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she hath been put to shame and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith Jehovah."The consistent use of the past tense in this paragraph should not be misunderstood. "The first few verbs here (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/5" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:5</a>) and the last verb (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/9" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:9</a>) are in the imperfect tense; and most of the rest are perfects. They portray that which has not yet happened as though it had already transpired, so certain is the prophet that it is going to come about."[7]"Thou art gone backward ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/6" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:6</a>). The whole nation had reverted to the gross paganism of the reign of Manasseh. "I am weary of repenting ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/6" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:6</a>). Judah was aware of the great truth that when they repented God would turn and bless them again, as fully expounded by Jeremiah a little later in this prophecy (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/18/7" class="green-link">Jeremiah 18:7-10</a>); but this stresses another fact that Judah had either forgotten or had never even known, that being the fact that "there is a point of no return" in the persistent wickedness of any man or of any nation. It was evident in the classical account of Balaam, who set out on a rebellious course, contrary to God's instructions; and when the going became really rough, he said, "I will get me back again" (<a href="/bible/parallel/NUM/22/34" class="green-link">Numbers 22:34</a>); but God commanded him, saying, "Go with the men" (<a href="/bible/parallel/NUM/22/35" class="green-link">Numbers 22:35</a>). There always comes the time in the career of rebellion against God that an angel with a drawn sword stands in the way and says, "Go on in the way you have chosen; you have made your bed, now lie in it; you have preferred to rebel, now abide by the consequences!" Even the forgiveness metered out to the repentant sinner in many cases can never nullify the physical consequences of a sinful life. "They returned not from their ways ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/7" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:7</a>). "It was no different in the seventh century from what it was in the eighth (<a href="/bible/parallel/AMO/4/6" class="green-link">Amos 4:6-11</a>)";[8] and from this is seen the fact that a full century of God's forbearance with the rebellious Israelites had made no significant difference whatever. "The gates of the land ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/15/7" class="green-link">Jeremiah 15:7</a>). As Keil pointed out here, "The gates of the land’ is undoubtedly a reference to the land of Judah."[9]“Mother of the young men” (Jeremiah 15:7) This is a metaphor in which Jerusalem, or Judah, is represented as seeing her sons sacrificed to the sword. Verse 10 OF ‘S SECOND LAMENT"Woe is me, my mother, that thou has borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet every one of them doth curse me. Jehovah said, Verily, I will strengthen thee for good; verily I will cause the enemy to make supplication unto thee in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.“These verses and through the end of the chapter constitute “the second personal lament of Jeremiah,"[10]according to Ash; and this one appears to be the most serious because it actually constituted a denial of Jeremiah’s commission, as we shall see a moment later. “I have not lent, neither have men lent to me …” (Jeremiah 15:10). What a glimpse of human nature is this! Yes indeed, one of the surest ways to make bitter enemies is either to borrow money from them or to lend it to them! Jeremiah refers to his having refrained from doing either as a grounds of his being unable to understand why everybody hated him! Cheyne believed that this lament “belongs to a later period of the history of Judah”[11] but there is nothing certain about such a speculation. Hyatt stated that, “We do not know the occasion of this lament."[12]“Woe is me, my mother that thou hast borne me” (Jeremiah 15:10). Many commentators equate this with “cursing” the day of his birth. “To curse the day of his birth was tantamount to a rejection of his very mission."[13] This seems to be going a little too far with such implications, because certainly there is a vast difference in what is said here from the account of what was said when Job cursed the day of his birth (Job 3:1-6). Still, Jeremiah’s error, whatever it was, required his repentance (Jeremiah 15:19). “I will strengthen thee for good …” (Jeremiah 15:11). As Dummelow pointed out, Jeremiah’s enemies, of whom was Zedekiah, would not only spare his life, but invoke his aid. An example of this is given in Jeremiah 21:1-7.[14]““I will cause the enemy to make supplication unto thee …” (Jeremiah 15:11). “This was literally fulfilled in Jeremiah 39:11. Nebuchadnezzar gave strict orders to his commander-in-chief to look well to Jeremiah, to do him no harm, and to grant him all the privileges he was pleased to ask."[15]Verse 12 THE OF JUDAH “Can one break iron, even iron from the north, and brass? Thy substance and thy treasure will I give for a spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make them to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not; for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.“The last two verses here simply state that all of the treasures and riches of Judah shall God cause to be taken away from them because of their sins. Those treasures shall not be paid for, but shall leave “without price,” and be carried away by Judah’s enemies into a country they do not know. “Can one break iron …” (Jeremiah 15:12)? There are several different views about what this means. Dummelow believed that it meant, “Judah is not tough enough to withstand the Chaldean power."[16] “The prophet is protesting that he is not strong enough to stand against the hardness and stubbornness of the people."[17] “Jeremiah’s prayers are not strong enough to break the iron will of the divine purpose to destroy Judah."[18] Jellie also saw Jeremiah 15:12 as teaching that, “There is a limit to prayer,"[19] quoting also this passage from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”: “Prayer against God’s absolute decree No more avails than breath against the wind, Blows stifling back on him that breatheth forth; Therefore to His great bidding I submit.” The critical allegation that these verses do not fit is rejected. They clearly predict the exile, which prophecy surely emphasizes the negative answer God had already given in the first paragraph of the chapter to Judah’s appeal for mercy; and if the application of Jer 15:12 is to the inability of Jeremiah’s prayers to break God’s determination to destroy Judah, then this passage is indeed in context. There are no legitimate grounds here for moving these verses or for calling them a gloss. Such allegations are almost certainly incorrect. Robinson called Jeremiah 15:13-14 “Irrelevant”;[20] Cheyne called them “a digression”;[21] but a much more discerning scholar declared that, “They can hardly be regarded as simply an intrusion into the text; but they may be seen as a significant part of the total picture."[22]Verse 15 HIS “O Jehovah, thou knowest; remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual? and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful brook, as waters that fail?“Jeremiah here fell into a distressing pit of self-pity. He had succumbed to the “me” virus, for he used the personal pronoun of himself no less than sixteen times in these four verses. It appears that the great prophet was almost totally discouraged about the seeming failure of his mission. Green pointed out that Jeremiah’s appeal to God has the following: (1) he appeals to God to remember him; he feels forsaken, and checkmated by his enemies; (2) he reminds God of his love and respect for the divine word; (3) he protests his loneliness and his being left out of the assemblies of the people; (4) and he even echoed the sentiments of Christ on Calvary, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”; and (5) finally, in Jeremiah 15:18 he seemed to hit the very depths of despair, “The figure of the deceitful brook is devastating."[23] It appears that Jeremiah was even tempted to believe that God had become to him a lying water hole, that promised refreshment but failed to give it. The so-called “weeping prophet” came near to deserving the title here. Halley noted that there is a grotto called Jeremiah’s Grotto which is located at the foot of the very hill where the Cross of Jesus would be raised some 600 years later. “Jeremiah is said to have retired there to weep."[24]“Jeremiah had expected that, called to a high office, there would be a perpetual interference upon his behalf; but instead everything seemed to be taking its natural course."[25]Jeremiah 15:18, here “is certainly a cry of distrust and despair by Jeremiah."[26] God’s dramatic answer came in the next verses. Verse 19 GOD’S ANSWER TO “Therefore thus saith Jehovah, if thou return, then will I bring thee again, that thou mayest stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: they shall return unto thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fortified brazen 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 Jehovah. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.“God made it clear in these verses that he did not approve of Jeremiah’s conduct. If Jeremiah would win a place back in God’s favor, he was commanded to do the following: (1) he must repent of his distrust and selfishness; (2) he must rid his message of all that is unworthy. If Jeremiah will do these two things, four results will follow. (1) He will again be God’s true messenger to the people; (2) He will not conform to the wishes of the people, but will cause the crowd to turn to him ultimately for the Word of God; (3) he will become what God promised him in his original call, “a fortified wall of bronze”; and (4) God will defend and deliver him from evil men.[27]Of course, Jeremiah only bared his innermost thoughts before the Lord; and there’s nothing wrong with that; “But, even so, one who has such thoughts as Jeremiah had must undergo a radical change if he would continue to be God’s mouthpiece."[28]“If thou wilt return …” (Jeremiah 15:19). These words are invariably understood as God’s commandment for Jeremiah to repent. The great prophet had permitted himself to drift into a critical attitude toward God; and it had begun to be reflected in some of the things that entered into his messages to the people. Therefore, God commanded him to separate the precious from the vile. This instruction is invaluable for anyone who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. At any time, when human philosophy, or humanistic thoughts are permitted to share the emphasis along with the gospel of Christ, the precious has been mixed with the vile.

Jeremiah 15:1

Jeremiah 15:1. In the preceding chapter Jeremiah expressed his feelings for the sad fate overhanging his beloved nation. It is true the wording of it sounds as if the people were doing the pleading for themselves, and doubt-less there were many of them who had made such complaints as we may read In the passages. However, the prophet actually was making his personal intercession on behalf of his countrymen. He may have thought the Lord would change his verdict in view of this faithful service he had always rendered, and because he was & recognized prophet; his importance would surely count for something in the case. God did not wish Jeremiah to think there was anything lacking in his life that was causing the divine decree to be so strongly reaffirmed.

As evidence of this, the Lord named Moses and Samuel and said that even they would not be able to change the degree. Moses was the first national lawgiver and Samuel was the first national prophet (Acts 3; Acts 24; Acts 13:20).

Surely Jeremiah could not expect to have more weight with the Lord than those great men. No, the time and condition had come when intercession was not in order. We should be careful not to form a wrong conclusion on this critical occasion. It was not on account of God’ s lack of mercy that he declared nothing could stop the invasion and captivity. He is a God of infinite knowledge and was able to see that the captivity was the only thing that would cure the people of the sin of idolatry. Knowing this awful truth it would have been an unmerciful thing to prevent such an experience from occurring just because a period of exile seemed to be a severe treat-ment.

It would have been like refraining from performing some necessary surgery because the treatment would be painful. Therefore the Lord in actual kindness though with apparent harshness gave Jeremiah to understand that His decision was “final” and that the people must, he let go out of his sight which meant out of his favor as a nation in their own land.

Jeremiah 15:2

Jeremiah 15:2. The preceding verse closed with the order for the people to be driven from the sight of the Lord. It would be natural for them to ask for some particulars as to their faith or the experiences about to be forced upon them; this verse is a reply to that inquiry. In a siege there will be various “chances” appearing before the besieged, and those chances may not seem the same to all of the besieged people. To some of them it will look as if death in any manner might as well be awaited. To others it might seem that a hand to hand fight with the sword could be preferred.

Others might calmly be resigned to starvation as the siege is prolonged. While another group would decide that unresisting submission to the enemy would be the less painful way out. It is as if the Lord said; “These various ways are bound to come upon you, either one or the other on the various ones among you, so take your choice.” In Jeremiah 21:9 is a more direct statement, on this phase of the subject, explaining how the various items of this group of “chances” might be carried out. I insist that the reader see that verse in connection with the present passage.

Jeremiah 15:3

Jeremiah 15:3. Suppose that when the people are told to take their choice of these “chances” some would choose death; how will that be accomplished? This verse is an answer to that inquiry. The various means of death had been threatened or predicted pre-viously by the great man Moses (Leviticus 26:16-22; Deuteronomy 28:26).

Jeremiah 15:4

Jeremiah 15:4. After the siege with all these terrible effects has accomplished its purpose, the nation as a whole will be taken away into all kingdoms. Babylonia was the only universal government among the heathen at that time. However, kingdoms comes from a word that, includes in its meaning a territory or land, and the various lands of the heathen people were at that time under the control of the Babylonians. God had a grievance against Judah that covered the entire period of her rule, but it was aggravated by the very wicked deeds of Manasseh the kingdom in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 15:5

Jeremiah 15:5. Who shall have pity is a declaration in question form that the Lord will not have pity on Jerusalem, but she must go through the punishment that has been threatened. Who shall osfc, etc., is a form of speech to indicate that Jerusalem will he aban-doned to her fate with nobody to save her from the doom awaiting her.

Jeremiah 15:6

Jeremiah 15:6. Having forsaken the Lord and gone after strange gods, Jerusalem shall in turn be forsaken by Him. This may seem like “returning evil for evil,” but it was to be the only remedy possible. (See the comments on verse 1.) Repenting is used in the sense cf being longsuilering and easy with his people and giving them one opportunity after another to make amends for their sins but ail to no good result. Now He is tired of it and is going to deal with them in a stern manner.

Jeremiah 15:7

Jeremiah 15:7. Fan them with a fan literally means to scatter them as one would scatter the chaff with a winnowing shovel. It is a prediction that the people wilt be dispersed by the enemy. God was going to suffer his people to be imposed upon by the Babylonians because they had refused to return to tbe right manner of life.

Jeremiah 15:8

Jeremiah 15:8. Widows are increased is a prediction that more married men would be slain by the enemy thus leaving more widows in the land. Have brought is past tense in form but is a prediction that God will bring a foreign nation upon his people, and that even mothers with young children will not be spared. Spoiler at noonday. The last word should be considered in the light of the word suddenly later on in the verse. An army generally puts forth its greatest exertions when the heat of the day is past. But this rav- ager is going to be so intent on ruining the country that lie will not wait but will attack without, warning.

Jeremiah 15:9

Jeremiah 15:9. The pronoun she stands for the nation or kingdom of Judah. Sun is gone dawn is figurative aud refers to the national daylight that ceased to shine. While it tons yet day Is also figurative and means that Judah’s national sun was to go dovvn prematurely. It will be like the natural sun going dovvn when I he timepiece said it was noon time. Not only will Judah lose control of her capital city of Jerusalem. thus suffering a national sunset, but many of her citizens will be destroyed by the enemy. (See the fulfillment of this in 2 Kings 24, 25.)

Jeremiah 15:10

Jeremiah 15:10. Again Jeremiah shows his personal attitude in the distressing situation and “ takes it to heart” that his country is to be so oppressed. But it is also true that he personally had to suffer at the hand of his countrymen who did not like his plain teaching. He seems to regret that he had been born at such a time of strife. Hove neither lent on usury is an allusion to the grasping leaders of this nation v ho had imposed upon the poor Of the land to increase their own possessions unlawfully. Jeremiah had never done such a wrong to his people, yet he was being persecuted as if be were such a guilty man.

Jeremiah 15:11

Jeremiah 15:11. The Lord frequently follows bis threatening of punishment with a prediction of a more favorable nature. This verse jumps over the period of the captivity to the time of the return to Palestine. There will then be a remnant of the nation that survived the destructive effects of the exile (Ezra 2:64). When these remaining Jews go back to rebuild their city they will be e?itreated (treated) well. This favorable prediction was fulfilled in Ezra 1:1-4.

Jeremiah 15:12

Jeremiah 15:12. Favorable and unfavorable predictions alternate in rapid succession through several verses. Through verse 10 the prediction of the captivity with its many painful experiences was made. Then verse 11 came in with an easement by predicting the kind treatment that Judah was to receive at the hand of the heathen. Now the prophet must resume the gloomy picture of the fate of this countrymen. The first iron refers to Babylon that was to come from tbe north, The verse is in question form but the meaning is that Judah is not a strong enough piece of iron to break the greater and stronger piece to roll down from the north. For the explanation of this word see the historical quotation at Isaiah 14:31 in Vol. 3 of this Commentary.

Jeremiah 15:13

Jeremiah 15:13. This verse refers to a particular feature of the calamity to come upon the nation and that was the loss of their personal property. The fulfillment of it is recorded in 2 Kings 24:13. Without price means that the Babylonians will take this property but will not pay for it.

Jeremiah 15:14

Jeremiah 15:14. After being stripped of their valuables, the people of Judah wilt be taken away into captivity. Land thou lenowest not means that the land to which they were to he taken was one they had never seen and of which they knew nothing by personal contact. This fire is figurative and means the anger of the Lord over the unfaithfulness of his people and their corrupt practices with the idolaters.

Jeremiah 15:15

Jeremiah 15:15. This verse through the 18th should be marked into a bracket and given the title “Jeremiah’s complaint,*’ The prophet has taken a deep personal interest in the whole matter of his country’ s undone condition. He has been persecuted by the wicked citizens, especially the leaders, and this bracket expresses his personal plea for God’s favor. He protests that his sufferings have been thrust upon him because of his faithfulness to the Lord and the divine law. We shall soon learn that God did not reject the claims of the prophet nor deny the requests that he made.

Jeremiah 15:16

Jeremiah 15:16. Words were found. , . . did eat them is Jeremiah’s way of saying he had desired the word of the Lord and when they were offered to him he consumed them as food. These professions of the prophet as to his interest in the divine law were true. He gives a logical reason for his attitude toward the Holy Word, that he was wearing the name of its Author. Surely, then, if one calls himseif by the name of such an important Being, he should be interested in all of the instruction that would come from such a source for his benefit.

Jeremiah 15:17

Jeremiah 15:17. Sat not . , . nor rejoiced is a significant remark. A person may be guilty of a wrong without being active in it.. Paul taught that God will judge those who are pleased with the evil conduct of others (Romans 1:32). Jeremiah would rather sit alone, be without any company, than be associated with evildoers.

Jeremiah 15:18

Jeremiah 15:18. Pain and wound refers to the sorrow and humiliation that the prophet had to suffer on account of his wicked countrymen. He was in a perpetual strain because they would not give him any relief from their persecution. It was in that sense that he declared his wound, (bitter persecu-tion) to be incurable. The word liar seems very harsh to us and we know that Jeremiah did not use it as an accusation against the Lord. However, certain characters may be used for compurisou at some points without extending the likeness to all the points in general.

The comparison in the mind of Jeremiah was in the fact that a liar would disappoint anyone who would rely upon him. Wilt thou be, etc., is merely Jeremiah’s way of beseeching the Lord to have mercy upon him and not let him be disappointed. We are sure this was the point the prophet was making because of the comparison at the end of the verse. Waters need not be thought of as anything objectionable unless they failed to continue, and in that case they would be the cause of disappointment as would the words of a liar,

Jeremiah 15:19

Jeremiah 15:19. The applications of this verse are somewhat complicated and we should study them carefully. Jeremiah has not been charged with any unfaithfulness, therefore the exhortation if thou return could not mean him personally. Yet the phrase is in the second person grammatically because the prophet not only had made earnest pleas for personal favors, but had spoken anxiously on behalf of his beloved countrymen. So we are logically required to interpret the passage in a way to include these truths; I would word it as follows: “If thou (as a representative of the nation) return (repent), then will I bring thee again and thou slialt stand before me (shall be reinstated in my favor).” The same view should be taken of the words immediately following through the word mouth. But this exhortation to reformation with promise of favor again reminds us of the apparent contradiction of which mention has been made a number of times.

That subject is explained by the note offered at 2 Kings 22:17 in Vol. 2 of this Commentary, The last clause of the verse changes the implications in its wording. Here the pronoun thee means Jeremiah personally because he was righteous and a true example of living for the people to imitate and a true teacher to heed. Thus the Lord notifies him that them, the people, should return unto him in the sense of heeding his teaching. But he must not let his personal interest in and love for his people influence him to return unto them or fall in with them in their evil ways.

Jeremiah 15:20-21

Jeremiah 15:20-21. Fenced brasen wall is a figure meaning a situation of strong protection. The paragraph is an assurance to Jeremiah that God would not “ let him down.” His unrighteous countrymen would persecute him and if possible would kill him. But God promises not to let his enemies succeed in their designs to destroy him. We shall see the whole subject demonstrated near the close of the book. There seems to he a popular notion in the minds of mankind that if one does not like the sound of some unpleasant truth, he can prevent the predicted outcome of it by destroying the man who utters the unwelcomed truth. That was the principle that caused the Jews to kill the Saviour of the world and that also killed millions of His followers.