and Jehoiakim the king, and all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death; but Urijah heard it, and he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and men with him, into Egypt;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king; and he slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the children of the people.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
-- Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
The priests and the crowd had just demanded Jeremiah's death for the message he preached. The chapter ends with no royal pardon — only one man's hand holding back that crowd. Why did this prophet live when another, named a few lines earlier, did not?
Jeremiah came as close to death as a man can come. One commentator asks what his survival meant for the nation that wanted him dead.
William KellyJeremiah stood in the greatest danger of a martyr's death, as Urijah had died. But the Lord watched over him. It was an honour to Urijah to die, but it was a mercy to Judah that Jeremiah was not put to death.
Notice who Jeremiah needed saving from. Not the king, not the priests — the people. Kelly sets this beside the story of Urijah, who fled to Egypt to save his own life. The king's men brought him back and killed him.
William KellyIf holy boldness was protected, prudence would be a feeble, short-lived defence, even if the timid prophet took refuge in a foreign land... Poor are the people who are in such a case; those whose own will leads them, and not the Lord, are as unfortunate as they are changeable.
Jeremiah's escape was not luck. At the start of his ministry God told him what would happen when the nation turned on him. One writer reads this rescue as that promise coming true.
H. L. RossierJehoiakim the king kills Urijah, a prophet who prophesied against Jerusalem and against Judah. But Urijah lacked faith when faced with the king's murderous plans, and fled to Egypt (Jer. 26:20-23). Jeremiah runs the same dangers. But this man of God trusts in the word of the Lord: "And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you" (Jer. 1:18-19). The Lord watches over him according to this word.
God's protection is not always dramatic.
William KellyBut when the enemy comes in like this, the Spirit of the Lord, even if He does not raise a banner, knows how to sustain a witness until the work is complete.
The men who should have defended a prophet were the ones calling for his blood.
H J VineThe priests and those who claimed to be nearest to God should have known His mind best. Instead they became the greatest enemies of the truth. So the Lord used others to deliver His servant. Sometimes He uses the most unlikely people, as He used the princes here. The name of one of them, Ahikam, even means "of the enemy." This teaches those who serve Him to trust in the Lord at all times.
The verse names Ahikam's father too. That father had his own history with God's word.
Georges AndréAhikam, the son of Shaphan (the scribe who with Hilkiah had discovered the book of the law) steps in on Jeremiah's behalf, so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death (v. 24). This time the prophet is delivered.
Years later, that one act was still working.
H. L. RossierNebuchadnezzar puts Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the people left in the land. This Ahikam had saved Jeremiah in the days of Jehoiakim, when, like Urijah the prophet, he had prophesied against Jerusalem (Jer. 26:24). No doubt this action had had its influence upon the king of Babylon, who respected and protected Jeremiah.
- The people's hand — Jeremiah's danger came from a crowd led by its own will. Such people are as unfortunate as they are changeable.
- Urijah's own hand — he fled to Egypt to save himself. Caution proved a weak, short-lived defence, while God protected bold faithfulness.
- God's hand — the rescue matched the promise given at Jeremiah's call. They would fight him, but they would not win, because God was with him to deliver him.
- Ahikam's hand — when the religious leaders became the truth's worst enemies, the Lord used an unlikely man instead. Those who serve Him can trust Him at all times.
- A hand that reached further — Ahikam's courage shielded the prophet. It also swayed the king of Babylon, who respected and protected Jeremiah long afterwards.