Jeremiah 26 Commentary
Jeremiah Escapes Death, Urijah Killed
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KEY THOUGHT: And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the [e]common people. [Jeremiah 26:23 NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Jeremiah 26 NKJV
Jeremiah Saved from Death
26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. 3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, [a]“This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and [b]proper to you. 15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”
17 Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the [c]temple
Like the [d]bare hills of the forest.” ’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”
20 Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. 22 Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. 23 And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the [e]common people.
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Footnotes
a. Jeremiah 26:11 Lit. A judgment of death to this man
b. Jeremiah 26:14 right
c. Jeremiah 26:18 Lit. house
d. Jeremiah 26:18 Lit. high places
e. Jeremiah 26:23 Lit. sons of the people
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 26 Commentary
Chapter 26 records for us one of the many times when the prophet Jeremiah was nearly killed by the mob. Interestingly, the priests and the prophets were at the head of this mob!
Of course, the LORD had hoped Jeremiah’s message would provoke repentance and consequently halt the pending disaster on the nation. But who cared about the message? Instead, God’s messenger, Jeremiah, was bound and about to be killed. Sad reading indeed.
Many saints think of God’s word in terms of power and authority. And they are right. But not everyone thinks this way. To many, it’s trash, an inconvenience, and a disturbance to the orderly flow of life.
Anyone on the side of God’s word is hated. You are not the most popular boy or girl for holding on to the word of the LORD.
Governments won’t support you, as another prophet named Uriah sadly learned.
Isn’t Jeremiah’s case different? Didn’t the LORD promise to support and protect the prophet at commissioning? Of course, yes, but why are we here? Does this scenario look like God’s protection?
“Yes,” says Chapter 26. Many times God’s protection and guidance look like this confusion here – a near miss. You go home with a headache, asking if at all you need to say yes to the next assignment!
Probably remembering Psalm 23, Jeremiah pondered the presence of the LORD in his deepest and darkest valley when he walked the thin line. Yes, he had just come out of the valley and knew the LORD was with him!
Yet, for all his well-known troubles, Jeremiah isn’t the greatest example of faith. One man would go into the valley alone. God had forsaken him. And he didn’t come out of the valley at all. He died. And he was innocent!
But look closely and see that this man wasn’t innocent at all. Read the charge sheet against this man, and you will see your own sins. He carried them. He died because of your sins and mine.
The reader must ponder the death of the man Jesus Christ and see how it brings salvation to them.
“Eloi eloi lama sabachthani,” he cried. It was for you and me.
This chapter provokes thoughts on suffering. The general thought is that suffering comes because we have made mistakes. In this chapter, suffering comes to both prophets because they have obeyed God.
The prosperity gospel promotes comfort and says no to suffering regardless of the cause.
Ask the right question, and you see it for what it is. What does it mean to prosper God’s way?
Sinners satisfy vanity wickedly by injustice, greediness, and other countless evil ways. Believers want to satisfy vanity using God’s word, hence the prosperity gospel.
Therefore, the question for the believer isn’t about the means, but the vanity underneath the effort. Of course, you may also question how they read God’s word and how they understand it, but that is secondary to the real issue.
Using the name of the LORD in vain (in vanity pursuits) is the real issue for humanity.
Suffering isn’t confined within the description of God’s messengers only. The LORD promises to inflict pain and suffering on the entire disobedient nation. In this case, suffering is self-inflicted. How the LORD hates this kind! How the LORD fights this kind! See how He risks His own prophets in an attempt to save Judah from this kind of suffering!
King Ahab was a wicked man, but he didn’t kill Elijah when confronted over Naboth’s vineyard. David didn’t kill Nathan when the prophet confronted him over his greediness, adultery, and murder cases. But Urijah’s murderer is a special kind. King Jehoiakim is zero on godliness!
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