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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 6
Jerusalem shall be destroyed because of her iniquity—She shall be
overrun by a great and cruel nation.
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The Prophetic Present
Though one ought to always keep this concept in mind when
reading the prophets, the word of God and the scriptures; from time to time
is seems important to make a statement of reminder concerning it. What is
'It'? 'It' is the fact that God preceives and sees things from the perspective
of the 'eternal now' or elsewhere stated as 'the prophetic present'. The
whole of 'time' is laid before the eyes of God as one present panoramic view.
He sees beginning to end as one whole present before him. And thus when he
speaks in and through his prophets, the words of those prophets, the ideas
and concepts presented there' can be so stated is reference to past, present
and future as all being in the 'now' of what is being said. In the prophetic
presence tense all can be spoken of concurrently such as the events of
premortality, current situation and the latter day occassions to come as being
all in the 'now' of the word of God. And as such God's audience of that
prophetic present 'now' is not just so spoken for the ears of the contempory
man. They are spoken to all that will hear to hear and understand, that they
might know of God's dealings with man's past, in their own present and in
whatever future there is to come. For example in verse 18, though also of that
same 'eternal now perspective' throughout, the words of the Lord as given by
the prophet turn to the more universal audience of 'ye nations' and of the
'entire congregation' of mankind. And he speaks in verse 19 of those who ought
to be Jeremiah's present contemporary audience in the third person as the
object of the conversantion now specically prescribed to the universally much
broader audience of the whole of mankind when he states, 'Hear, O earth:
behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of
their thoughts, etc.' And thus is the perspective of God, he stands
from all eternity to all eternity and before him his eyes sees all as 'one
eternal round' or 'one eternal now' before him, and so he does so speak of it
unto man and man ought to so understand and see from that perspective in so
understanding the words of God. So remember, 'all things for their glory are
manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord'
(D&C 130:7).
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1 O YE children of Benjamin,
gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet
in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out
of the anorth, and great destruction.
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2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
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4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
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6 ¶ For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down
trees, and cast a amount against Jerusalem: this is
the city to be bvisited; she is wholly oppression in
the midst of her.
7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth
out her awickedness: bviolence and spoil
is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
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9 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall
athroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back
thine hand as a grapegatherer binto the baskets.
10 To whom shall I speak, and give
awarning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is
buncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word
of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
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11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
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13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of
them every one is given to acovetousness; and
from the prophet even unto the bpriest every one
dealeth falselya.
14 They have healed also the hurt of the
daughter of my people slightly, saying, aPeace, peace;
when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed
abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:
therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I
avisit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
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13a from the prophet to the priest every
one dealeth falsely Though already stated as from the least to the
greatest of them, thus it includes all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
specically concerning the 'leadership of trust' is spoken of as being from
'the prophet to the priest'. This could well include that immeidate group
of 'judges' of the people who ought to have been so sandwiched between the
guided word of the prophet in the Law of Moses and the under direction of the
living presiding 'High Priest', yet it also speaks of the prophet, the living
prophet of that day, as dealing falsely. And thus it was, from the high
priest of the temple through the body of the princes or elders of the church
who stood to judge the people and even unto he who so professed in the name
of Jehovah to be 'the prophet' were they all corrupt and gone astray. They
of Jeremiah's day had their own 'false prophets' so stating that Jerusalem
would not be destroyed even as the true prophet of God, Jeremiah was so
standing and stating the word of the Lord that they would be destroyed. And
this was the state of the people throughout, all corrupted being told and
only hearing what they wanted to be told and hear, being led down that
broad way which leads men to destruction.
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16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old apaths, where is the good way,
and bwalk therein, and ye shall find
crest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk
therein.
17 Also I set awatchmen over you,
saying, bHearken to the sound of the trumpet. But
they said, We will not hearken.
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18 ¶ Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring
aevil upon this people, even the
bfruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened
unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from
Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings
are not aacceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto
me.
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21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay
astumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and
the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall
perish.
22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from
the anorth country, and a great nation shall be raised
from the sides of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
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24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
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26 ¶ O daughter of my people, gird thee with
asackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee
mourning, as for an aonly son, most bitter
lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
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28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with
aslanders: they are brass and iron; they are
all corrupters.
29 The bellows aare burned, the
lead is consumed of the fire; bthe founder melteth in vain:
for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
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