Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Jeremiah · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
GAther ye together ye children of Benjamin from the midst of jerusalem. Having Vers. 1.diversly already prophesied of the Caldees coming against them, now he prosecuteth the same argument further, speaking to the men of his own Tribe of Benjamin, in which half Jerusalem stood, as if the enemy were even now upon the march against them, Gather ye together, go forth of the City to encounter your enemies, if ye think to do any good upon it, to keep them from destroying your City. And to Benjamin he speaks, as being nearest unto him, and amongst whom he dwelt in Anathoth, and as being of great note for their valour, as appeareth, Judg. 20. Blow the trumpet in Tekoah, a 1 Chron. 2. 24.Town of Judah near Jerusalem, and it seemeth a place so called, because the alarm by sounding of a Trumpet used to be given there, as we may gather from the words, which are foreign Betecnah Teou; and set up a sign in Betheherem, that is, The house of vines, a Town in Benjamin, so called from Neh. 3. 14.the store of vines growing there, and a wine-presse in a Tower built there on high; and therefore standing also upon high-ground most fit to set up a sign in to be seen afar off. For that vines were commonly planted upon hils, and in a vineyard a Tower was built, see Isa. 5. 1, 2. He plainted it on an hill, &c.
I have made the daughter of Zion like a delicate and tender woman. Here he Vers. 2.sheweth how tenderly God had used the Kingdom of Judah in giving her rest, as his most beloved Spouse, when Israel was carried away captive by the Assyrians.
But the shepherds shall pitch their tents about her. That is, Princes and Captains Vers. 3.of Armies, who are often called shepherds, and she shall become a prey to them and their Armies, intimated by saying, They shall feed every one round about: for when all wilde beasts are destroyed, shepherds separate and feed their flocks severally, but when there is danger in respect of the said wilde beasts, they gather their flocks closer together, that they may help to defend one another. Therefore in saying thus, he meaneth, that the Jews should be so rooted out of the Land and subdued, that the enemies should at their pleasure walk about and take the spoil of their countrey, there being none that they needed to fear left in the Land.
Sanctifie a warre against her, Arise, let us go up at noon-day. Calvin, Upon Vers. 4.just cause go to warre against her, for that ye shall do, seeing the Lord upon the considerations before-going hath called you unto it. And it is thus spoke, to intimate that no warre is to be made without just cause, and even into the hearts of most barbarous Nations God hath put it, not to make warre commonly, but some cause first declared. The next words are the words of the forces coming, Let us go up at noon. This is spoken to shew their forwardness, because in those hot countries, enemies, being come before a Citie, did not use to begin their assaults at noon, which was the hottest time of the day, but staied commonly till the morning. In saying thus therefore their expedite mounting up the wals, and taking the Citie is set forth, they being grieved that they could not do it at the first on-set, for which they say, Woe to us, the day declineth, &c. and therefore they resolve to go on in their assault in the night, till they have done the work, vers. 5. By all which it is shewed, That the subduing of Jerusalem should be no long whiles work, but (as it were) from noon till night, and then all should be brought under. With Calvin consent Theodoret, Lyra, Hugo, but Jerom, Rabanus, Aquinas, understand Theodor. Lyra. Hieronym. Raban.it as spoken of the Jews lamenting their case, having suffered so much in the day, looking for more grievous sufferings in the night, but the Text is manifestly against Exposition, and for the other, in which I therefore rest.
They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine. Hebr. In pruning Vers. 9.they shall prune, or in gathering grapes they shall gather. By the remnant of Israel he meaneth Judah, which remained still a Kingdom after that the ten Tribes were carried away, and he compareth this unto grapes gathering of a vine, when few or none left: for so the sacred Historie sheweth, that they were dealt with by the Caldees, a small remnant only being left of the poorest sort to till the Land. Bring thy hand back, as a vine-gatherer to the baskets: This carrying away of Judah shall not be at once; but as after the vintage the poor come and gather into baskets all the grapes remaining which they can finde, and this is called their gleaning: so the Caldees came with Nebuzaradan the second time, and carried away to Babylon all that were not hid in all parts. So that he doth by this further amplifie the desolation of their Land.
Ask for the old paths. After reproving them for their stiff going on in sinne, Vers. 16.now the Prophet exhorts them again to that which might be most effectual to bring them out of the danger of warre and destruction into the way of peace, rest and prosperity. By the old way, he meaneth the way of truth and righteousness, of temperance, love and piety towards God, wherein their fore fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob walked, and before them Noah, Enoch, &c. and what grace and favour they found with God, whereas they that walked not in this way, but in sinne and rebellion, Idolatry, cruelty, excesse of riot or prophanenesse, were contrariwise made examples of Gods wrath, as Cain, the old world, Sodom, the Canaanites, Esau, &c. See the like exhortation, Deut. 32. 7. 1 Maehab. 2. 51. and often in the Psalms. And for us under the Gospel it tends to move us to look both to the same examples, and above all to Christs, who saith of himself, I am the way, the truth and the life. And Joh. 10. Matth. 11. 28.Come unto me, and ye shall finde rest unto your souls. And for a certain ground of our faith we are here injoined to beware of new waies that cannot be proved to be old, as 1 Joh. 2. 7. his teaching is said to be the new Commandment, and yet the old. It is therefore a received truth, Quod primum, verum, that which was first is true and that divorces; were never lawfull Christ proveth, because it was not so from the beginning: The New Testament is for this Matth. 19.cause proved by the Old, neither did the Apostles teach any but old Doctrine, those things that the Prophets of old spake of. So that they in these daies that broach novelties, pretending new light or …tions, if they teach or hold under this pretence any way, that cannot be proved to be the old way, they are no better then false Prophets and deceitfull Apostates, as the devil their master, transforming themselves into Angels of light. Yet here is no ground for Papists to bear themselves upon, as if they were right, and the Protestants a company of Novelists, because they keep in the old waies of Popery, accounting the Pope the head of the Church, setting up Images in Churches and adoring them, calling upon Saints departed, believing a purgatory, praiers for the dead to be avaible, justification by works, and not by faith only, &c. For although these may seem to be old, yet it is certain that the people of God were not taught thus from the beginning, and therefore although a way wherein men walked hundreds of years, it comes farre short of being the old way, wherein the holy Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles walked at the first; and whoso will have rest must come out of it, as it is said, Come out of Babylon.
The next verse expresseth further, What this old way is, wherein they Vers. 17.are bidden to walk, viz. as they are called by the sound of the Trumpet, that is, by the true Prophets preaching, who labour continually to work in them the fear and love of God and faith in him. For so Isa. 58. 1. he is bidden to lift up his voice as a trumpet, and to shew that such Preachers of righteousness and truth are meant, he saith, I have set watchmen to sound with a trumpet; and Ezek. 3. he is stiled a watchman, and therefore they are wide that by this Trumpet understand the soudning to battel before-spoken of vers. 1. And hereby we are given to understand in times when there are many that sound false alarms, how we may know to whose sounding to hearken, taking heed of others that we be not by their false teaching in corners drawn into a wrong way. True teachers are Watchmen that are set up publickly to give warning against all sinne and new doctrine, and not such as either creep into private houses, or comply with such in their waies or teaching, although they stand up in publick.
Therefore hear (O Nations) know, O Congregation. The Prophet having Vers. 18.brought in the Jews saying, We will not hear, vers. 17. turns therefore now to the Gentiles and their Assemblies, as whom he thought rather to move to hearken to him, then the Jews, to their greater shame, and v. 19. he speaks to the earth also.
I will lay stumbling blocks before this people. That is, Ye may think to escape Vers. 21.my judgements still, as ye have done, but ye shall now surely stumble and fall; See the like Isa.
The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed by the fire. Calvin, The blower Vers. 29.hath been dired up from the fire, the head is whole, Hebr. The bellows are burnt in their fire, the lead to vanity, in margin foreign which may also be rendred, They in the fire, or rather in the fire, that is, of them the fire made, and blown by the Prophet being called, because to purge them. The meaning most generally being taken to be, that the Prophets tongue like a bellows through much straining of himself to cry out, and that often, against their sinnes, was even worn out like a Smiths bellows, but the lead onelyonly commonly put by refiners into the furnace amongst silver to purge it, was wasted away, but the Jews remained as drossie silver still, as in the next words, they are not purged, vers. 30. They call them reprobate silver. In saying therefore The lead is consumed, as all generally expound it, he meaneth, that he Hieronym.wasted himself by taking pains to convert and purge them from their sins, but his labour was quite lost, as lead melted together with silver for the purging, as Jerom and others commonly affirm, and Cornelius a Lapide saith, That the resmers at Rome consent, being made by the heat of the fire to vanish, corrupt silver that cannot be purged, remaineth such still. But Calvin and some others Calv.by this fire understand Gods judgements by the Caldees to come, but whoso shall observe that they are said not to be purged hereby, but still to be reprobate silver; and vers. 28. Brasse and iron, and compare herewith, Isa. 1. 25. I will purely purge out all thy drosse or lead, must needs confesse, that this cannot be meant of the judgement of carrying them into Babylon, for now they were nothing purged, but then thorowly, therefore the Prophets endeavours are meant, they were but lost labour, how much soever he spent his breath and voice even to hoarsness in calling upon them to amend, the speech is wholly metaphorical from a refiners bellows to the Prophet, and from lead and corrupt silver remaining, so still to his pains taken in vain, as is also complained, Isa. 49. 4. whereby is intimated, how great the pains of faithfull Preachers are, even as of a Smith blowing with his bellows, and suffering, as Note. it were, by the heat of a most ardent fire, against those that commonly extenuate our pains, as if our maintenance came in with case, whereupon they part not with it without much repining and grudging, but God loveth a chearfull giver, and ministring to you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal? 2 Cor. 8. 1 Cor. 9.