For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah Thou art a Gilead unto me, the summit of Lebanon verily I will make thee a wilderness, cities not inhabited.
Jeremiah stands at the royal palace with a message that hangs on one word: if. God prizes this royal house, yet He is ready to leave it empty — and if David's line is ruined, what happens to the promises tied to it?
God addresses a royal house, not a private man. One writer explains why so much depended on the throne.
Royalty was always the last stem of blessing in the history of Israel. If only the king had been right, God would still have sent blessing to Israel, however wrong the people and the prophets were. Everything depended upon the king, the seed of David. God might have punished the prophets and priests and people, but He would have held on to them for the sake of His servant David. But the people went astray and the king himself led the wickedness. Then it was completely impossible to hold on to them, and Jeremiah had the sad task of announcing this decision from God.
Two things made Gilead's name famous.
It is a mountainous district... Pasture is plentiful in Gilead, and that is why Gad and the others chose it for their cattle... The Ishmaelites who bought Joseph were travelling with balm and myrrh from Gilead (Gen. 37:25). The balm of Gilead was famous for its healing power (Jer. 8:22; Jer. 46:11).
Rich pasture and healing balm — that is what the royal house was worth to God.
The second image points to height and rank. One writer explains what the cedar of Lebanon stands for.
The cedar on Lebanon stands for royalty in Israel, held by the house of David — a royalty that was now, because of its sins, in servitude to the head of the Gentile powers.
Another writer traces the cedar through Scripture.
In Scripture the cedar always stands for power or high position, if not pride... When judgment falls on the great of the earth, Isaiah calls it the day of the LORD upon the cedars of Lebanon (2:13). These examples mark the cedar as the symbol of dignity and power.
God's sentence followed an open offer. One writer sets out that offer, and the reason the nations would be given.
The door of mercy is still open. Let them do justice. Let them stop oppressing the foreigner, the widows and the orphans. Let them shed innocent blood no longer. Then the house of David will prosper. If not, the house will become a desolation. The nations will be astonished at the destruction and overthrow of the city. They will hear the answer: it is "because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them."
Being precious to God settled nothing by itself. One writer puts the two halves of the verse side by side.
If even one of that family could be found doing righteous judgment and mercy, then God would give "kings who sit on the throne of David" (v. 4). But if not: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation" (v. 5). Those who later saw the ruin would know the reason: they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and served other gods (vv. 6-9)... And though this royal house was like Gilead and the summit of Lebanon to the Lord, it would still be laid waste.
If this house is cut down, is David's line finished? One writer shows how much hangs on that.
This whole question of "the house of David" and "the throne of David" is of the most momentous importance. If David's seed has failed for ever then there is no Gospel for us today! for the Gospel makes known the sure mercies of David! And there is no coming age of world-wide blessing for this earth either, because the One who rules and reigns to bring it in must be of David's line!
The same writer answers where that King is now.
Where, then, is this long-desired King, this One upon Whom so much depends? Is He living today? What is His Name? 2 Timothy 2:8 gives the answer: "Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David."
- Valued — God calls the royal house Gilead and the summit of Lebanon: rich pasture, healing balm, cedars of dignity and power.
- Trusted — everything for Israel hung on the king. God would bear with failing priests, prophets and people for David's sake. He would not bear with a king who led the wickedness.
- Offered — the sentence came after a real offer: do justice, protect the weak, shed no innocent blood, and the throne stands.
- Wasted — being valued gave no immunity. The prized cedar became a desert, a city with no people. The nations passing by learned the reason: Judah had abandoned the covenant and served other gods.
- Preserved — the royal house fell; the promise stood. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is the offspring of David — so the ruin of this house is not the end of the story.
And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.
God sends Jeremiah to the palace door, and the sentence on the royal house ends with woodcutters: armed men God Himself gets ready to fell the best cedars and burn them. So who is really behind the invading army, and why is the land's most privileged house the one marked for the axe?
Verse 7 is the second half of an offer. God sent Jeremiah to stand in front of the king's house while there was still a way back.
What a figure Jeremiah was as he stood in front of the royal palace, obedient to God's command, to deliver the message God had given him! The door of mercy is still open. Let them do justice, let them stop oppressing the foreigner, the widows and orphans, let them shed no more innocent blood — then the house of David will prosper. If not, the house will become a ruin.
The verse before calls this house Gilead and the summit of Lebanon. Standing that high with God did not put it beyond judgment.
Those who later saw the ruin were to know it was because they had abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and served other gods (vv. 6-9). The kings Shallum (Jehoahaz), Jehoiakim (v. 18) and Coniah (Jehoiachin, v. 24) all alike come under the judgment of God. And though this royal house was as Gilead and the summit of Lebanon to the Lord, it would still be laid waste.
These trees are more than timber. Throughout Scripture the cedar carries a settled meaning.
In Scripture the cedar always stands for power or high position, if not pride. When the king of Israel wanted to pour contempt on the king of Judah, he compared himself to a cedar and Judah's king to a thistle (2 Kings 14:9). When judgment comes on the great of the earth, Isaiah says it is the day of the LORD against the cedars of Lebanon (2:13). These mark the cedar as the symbol of dignity and power.
One writer applies the picture to Israel's leading men: "Lebanon, where the cedars come from, would speak of the glory of men; the eminent men of Israel are spoken of as cedars of Lebanon" (George Davison).
God says He will make the destroyers ready. The armies that came never guessed whose work they were doing.
God put power into the hand of the Gentile nations. He gave their armies success, even against the nation of His choice, and even to the overthrow of Zion, which He loved. Yet He does not overlook the pride of heart, the lust for power, the self-will and the violence of the rod that He uses to correct His erring people. The nations that invaded His land again and again, destroying life and property without restraint, were His instruments for correcting His stubborn and stiff-necked people. But doing the will of God was far from the thought of any one of them.
Being used by God does not make the tool safe. In time the woodcutters meet the fate of the cedars.
When He has done with His rod, He can break it or burn it. "Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who uses it?"
Later in the chapter Jeremiah turns to king Jehoiakim. He panelled his new rooms with cedar and never paid the men who built them. The fire of this verse falls on the thing he prized.
"Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages… Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?"… Who of the kings had lived with less conscience? Who had died with more shame?
William Kelly (Scripture given here in ESV; Kelly quoted an older version.)
The dynasty was written off, yet commentators insist the promise to David was not.
This whole question of "the house of David" and "the throne of David" is of the greatest importance. If David's line has failed forever, then there is no gospel for us today! The gospel makes known the sure mercies promised to David! And there is no coming age of worldwide blessing for this earth either, because the One who rules and reigns to bring it in must come from David's line!
- Privilege — To God the royal house was Gilead and the summit of Lebanon. That honour did not save it from being laid waste.
- Warning — Jeremiah preached at the palace door while the door of mercy was still open. Do justice, stop the oppression and the innocent blood, and the house would stand.
- Axe — God Himself makes the destroyers ready. The invading nations were His instruments, though doing His will never entered their minds.
- Ash — In the Bible the cedar stands for dignity and power. So felling and burning the cedars means the great men themselves brought low. Jehoiakim panelled his rooms with cedar and paid no wages, and he lost the very thing he prized.
- Root — Everything hangs on David's line. If it had failed forever, commentators say, there would be no gospel and no coming age of blessing for the earth.
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And they shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
Jeremiah 22 opens with foreign travellers passing the ruins of Jerusalem and asking why the city fell. Verse 9 gives them the answer in one sentence.
Jeremiah did not invent this question-and-answer. He was quoting Deuteronomy, as one writer points out:
Jeremiah's quotations and references from the Book of the Covenant are too many to mention. ... Notice "Covenant of the Lord," Jeremiah 22:8-9 and Deuteronomy 29:24-26.
Deuteronomy warned that strangers from far away would ask why the land was ruined. One writer says travellers have done exactly that:
First comes an earnest appeal to enter into the covenant, including the little ones, the stranger, the woodcutter and the water-carrier. Then the curse appears once more, as the result of turning away from the Lord. Such evil is to come on them and on the land that travellers from a far land will ask about it. They will see the plagues of that land, and the sickness which the LORD has laid on it. And "all nations shall say, Why has the LORD done this to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?" Strangers from far lands, tourists and pilgrims, have visited Palestine, just as this prediction said. Seeing the sad condition of that land, they have often asked these questions and known their answer.
(This quotes Deuteronomy 29 in an older translation.)
Verse 9 names the two sins in order. Israel left the covenant first; then they worshipped other gods. One writer shows why the second always follows the first, using an earlier king who thought he had found a middle position:
To forsake the worship of the true God is to fall into idolatry, whatever form this may take. In religion there is no middle ground. No doubt Jeroboam thought he had found such a middle ground: he did not adopt the false gods of the surrounding nations; he only wanted to set up a common religion for Israel.
The chapter names several kings, but not in the order they reigned. That arrangement has a purpose:
The kings named are out of their chronological order. The purpose is to gather the separate prophecies against the separate kings of Judah into one cluster. The moral point is that there was really no difference between them. Some were a little more open in their violence and gross wickedness, but they were all faithless and godless.
It can seem harsh that God made an example of His own city. One writer defends the principle behind it:
Nothing could be more fair than this principle. God could not appear to excuse the failings of the people of His favour. Men of the world often do this, but God's ways are always righteous. If He were to be lenient toward His own people, how could He judge the world?
The chapter ends with a sentence on one king's descendants. One writer marks its limit:
The meaning is not that the line of David would fail, but that this one king's line would.
So a King of David's line was still to come. Another writer asks where He is now:
The shepherds, who should have cared for the sheep of His pasture, were to be punished too, because they had destroyed and scattered the flock (Jer. 23:1-3). Yet God will gather them again in His grace and supply them with abundance of blessing. But this long-awaited day needs a King of David's royal line to bring it in. We know that from many other Scriptures. Where, then, is this deeply desired King, this One on whom so much depends? Is He living today? What is His Name? 2 Timothy 2:8 gives the answer: "Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from among the dead."
- Forsaking — the first sin is leaving the covenant. Idols only fill the space left behind, and there is no middle ground.
- Spreading — the failure ran through a whole line of kings, grouped together to show there was no real difference between them.
- Warned — the verse repeats a warning from Deuteronomy, so Israel had heard this sentence long before the city fell.
- Published — foreigners passing by ask the question and hear the answer, so the whole world learns why the city fell.
- Restored — the sentence ended one king's family, not David's line; the King of that line is Jesus Christ, raised from among the dead.