Jeremiah 22 Commentary
The chapter opens with Jeremiah’s sermon at the palace. “Attend to matters of justice. Set things right between people. Rescue victims from their exploiters. Don’t take advantage of the homeless, the orphans, the widows. Stop the murdering!”
But who is interested!
Chapter 22 would easily make for a decent summary of the Book of Jeremiah. The sermon at the palace is the same as the sermon at the temple gate and many other places where the LORD sent Jeremiah. It remained unchanged throughout the reigns of Josiah’s three sons and a grandson.
Josiah’s three sons and a grandson sit on David’s throne, one after the other. And it’s a mess!
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, his grandson Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
Josiah dies. His son Jehoahaz succeeds him. But Jehoahaz’s reign is very short, cut short by the Egyptians who depose him and install his brother Jehoiakim as king. Jehoahaz would die in Egypt as a prisoner of war.
Jehoiakim is wicked and has turbulence throughout his reign. His son Jehoiachin succeeds him. Jehoiachin is deposed by the Babylonians and deported to Babylon. The only character not named in this chapter is Zedekiah, whom the Babylonians install as king in place of Jehoiachin.
For all his troubles, Jeremiah holds the distinction of being among the select few whom the LORD allows to see the fulfillment of the word of the LORD in this life. Things happen exactly as directed by the word of the LORD through the prophet.
The strangest item from today’s chapter is that the LORD has inserted an “if” statement in the chapter. Quite unbelievable!
After everything, you expect speedy punishment. The Creator God appears reluctant to execute judgment on Judah. Only if they return to Him.
This chapter, therefore, carries the weight of God’s readiness to forgive. The message isn’t of punishment, rather, one of hope that Israel would turn back and avoid trouble.
The closing stages of Judah are instructive to a people that won’t heed the word of the LORD. In between the word of the LORD and its fulfillment are jokes, ridicule, scorn, beatings, and imprisonment against Jeremiah.
The saint is encouraged to ponder the word of the LORD in times of extreme perversity. It stays intact. It holds its own against man’s best intentions and efforts to stay and act his own way.
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