Jeremiah 22:9

9 They'll be told, 'Because they walked out on the covenant of their God, took up with other gods and worshiped them.'" Building a Fine House but Destroying Lives

Jeremiah 22:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 22:9

Then they shall answer
Or, "it shall be answered" F5; by some in company, acquainted with the history of this people: because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God;
the Lord was the God of these people; he chose them for his peculiar people, and distinguished them by his favours from others; a covenant was made with them, in which many good things were promised them upon their obedience; this was kept by him, but forsaken and broken by them; they forsook their covenant God, his law and his worship; and that was the cause of their ruin: and worshipped other gods, and served them;
the idols of the people, as the Targum; they left the true God, who had done great and good things for them, and worshipped those who were only gods by name, and not by nature; and served stocks and stones, the vanities of the Gentiles, who could not bestow one good thing on them; such were their stupidity and ingratitude, and therefore very justly given up to destruction. This seems to refer, as Cocceius thinks, not to the first destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, when it had not so clear and full an accomplishment; but to the second destruction of it by the Romans, and the times following that; when the Gospel being preached among the Gentiles, they had a better understanding of the true God, and of his covenant, and of the vanity of idolatry, and of the state of the Jewish nation, and the religion of it, and of the true causes of their ruin.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (wrmaw) "respondebitur", Gataker; "dicetur", Piscator.

Jeremiah 22:9 In-Context

7 I'll hire a demolition crew, well-equipped with sledgehammers and wrecking bars, Pound the country to a pulp and burn it all up.
8 "Travelers from all over will come through here and say to one another, 'Why would God do such a thing to this wonderful city?'
9 They'll be told, 'Because they walked out on the covenant of their God, took up with other gods and worshiped them.'" Building a Fine House but Destroying Lives
10 Don't weep over dead King Josiah. Don't waste your tears. Weep for his exiled son: He's gone for good. He'll never see home again.
11 For this is God's Word on Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah: "He's gone from here, gone for good.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.