Jer. 44 Jeremiah representeth to the people in Egypt the former sins and punishment of Judah, Jer. 44:1–10. He prophesieth their destruction in Egypt, Jer. 44:11–14. Their obstinacy, Jer. 44:15–19; threatened, Jer. 44:20–28. For a sign, the destruction of Egypt is foretold Jer. 44:29–30.

The patience and goodness of God to this remnant of his ancient people is very remarkable; he leaveth them not even in their rebellion, but sendeth Jeremiah, whom he had before sent to prevent their going into this idolatrous country, to try if in Egypt they would be brought to a better mind.

He referreth to the late destruction of it by the king of Babylon; this remnant of the people was a brand plucked out of that fire, and their eyes had been witnesses to the desolations that God had wrought.

As they were eye-witnesses to the effect, so it was nothing but their unbelief made them strangers to the cause; for God by his prophets had told them that the great moving cause was their paying a Divine homage to idols; the sin of which is aggravated from this, that they were as much strangers to…

These two verses contain another aggravation of this people’s sin, viz. that they did this against light, and admonitions to the contrary. God had by his prophets let them know that this was an abominable thing, a thing which he hated, and that not with an ordinary degree of hatred; yet they would…

For these very reasons, their idolatry and contempt of my word by my prophets, the very sins you are now committing, I have given Judah and Jerusalem into the hand of the king of Babylon, and it is (as you at this day see it) waste and desolate.

What prudence can guide you to do such actions as these, by which you cannot hurt God, but yourselves only? You are now but a few of many; what love have you for your country, in taking courses which will certainly tend to the utter extirpation of those few, so as there shall be neither man, nor…

Idols are usually thus defamed, and indeed nothing can argue a greater stupidity than for any to pay a homage (confessedly due to the Supreme Being) to what is the work of men’s hands, and therefore must be made by one superior to that order of beings in which idols are.

God accounteth men and women to have forgotten that, the sight and reflection upon which hath made no such impression upon them, as to produce a practice suitable to those notices, according to the conduct of a reasonable soul, which teacheth every man, having notice of a great evil brought upon a…

They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared: neither they nor you are humbled; for the prophet’s passing from the second person to the third, and by and by from the third person again to the second, lets us know that he intendeth what he spake as well of them to whom he spake,…

Therefore thus saith the lord of hosts, the God of Israel: these names are frequently given to God in threatening prophecies, partly to let this people know that God is able to make good his word, and to bring the threatened evils upon them; and partly to let them know that the dealing thus with…

This is no more than the prophet had told these very persons before they went unto Egypt, Jer. 42:16–17; here he doubleth his words for the confirmation of the truth of them to them now that they were there.

There is a great variety in the reading of the words, Jer. 44:14; some reading besides such as have a desire to return; others, although they have a desire to return; others, for they have a desire to return.

The burning of incense was a religious rite, which God had appointed the Jews as a piece of Divine homage to be paid to him alone, and by an ordinary figure is put for worship; so as burning incense to other gods is the same with worshipping other gods.

We read, Jer. 43:5, Johanan and the rest only denied that God had spoken such things, and told Jeremiah he had spoken falsely; but now these women and men rise higher, they acknowledge Jeremiah had spoken to them in the name of the Lord, but tell him in plain and direct terms they would not obey…

Here is the root of all sinners’ disobedience, their resolution to please and humour themselves, not knowing how in any thing to deny themselves; hence it is that denying ourselves is by Christ made the first law or condition of his disciples.

Their last argument is drawn from the evils that had befallen them since they had left worshipping the sun, moon, and stars; thus strangely making their omission of that the cause of their sufferings, their former doing of which was indeed the true cause.

There is in these verses nothing of difficulty, nor any new phrases to be opened. That which is observable is, that though the prophet was but one against many, yet he feareth not their faces: the substance of what he saith is this, that they interpreted God’s voice in his providences toward their…

That is, all you men and women that belong to Judah, and are now come to inhabit in the land of Egypt.

Those words have spoken are in the Hebrew of the feminine gender, which giveth good reason to some interpreters to conclude the women were first and principal in this idolatry, and the men’s guilt lay in conniving at them, and suffering themselves to be seduced by them.

Seeing you are so fixed and peremptory, God is as resolved as you are; and as you think you must be religious to your wicked vows, so be assured God will be as religious to his oath; because he can swear by no greater, he hath sworn by himself, Heb. 6:13, Heb.

God here either sets out himself as one who would be industrious and solicitous to bring evil upon them, as men who are so in any business watch opportunities to do it; or else he derides their vain confidence as to his protection of them, and care for them: saith God, I will watch over them, but…

This justifieth the restrained interpretation of none of the remnant, Jer. 44:14; for here it is plainly said that some should escape and return; but for the rest, they should there perish, and by that it would appear whether God’s word or theirs should stand, and have its accomplishment; they…

Signs are usually antecedent to the thing signified, but the word is taken in a larger notion in this place, for that which should attend the thing signified by it, as Ex.

Pharaoh was a name common to all the Egyptian kings, as may be learned from Gen. 12:15, Gen. 41:1, Ex. 1:8, Ex. 1:11; but they had besides that name another peculiar to them.