Jeremiah (1-31) 22:13 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Jeremiah (1-31) 22:13

Comments

‘Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work.’ The following verses are addressed to Jehoiakim, who Pharoah Necho appointed king in place of Jehoahaz. The verses describe the sin of Jehoiakim, and his subsequent punishment – he was taken in fetters to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chronicles 36:6; also 2 Kings 24:1-2).His sin is identified as extortion and oppression, taking advantage of workers who are not rewarded fairly for their labour. The king uses their labour to build for himself lavish palaces, kitted out with every available excess of luxury and show. It is built on an unnecessarily grand scale and every material used is the finest that can be obtained – ‘it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion’ – making an idol out of the privileges of kingship. This was done in contravention of Moses prohibition: ‘neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold’ (Deuteronomy 17:17). Much of the wealth extracted from the people was used to pay off Pharaohnechoh (2 Kings 23:34-35) who had placed him on the throne instead of his brother. But this did not stop Jehoiakim from accumulating as much as he wanted for himself. He used the throne for his own personal covetous enrichment.Addressing Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, God says, ‘Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?’ For the majority of his life Josiah ‘turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses’ (2 Kings 23:25). But this son failed to learn from his father or to follow his good example.

Application

To ignore our father’s life, whether it is good or evil, is to be blind to one of the most important lessons that God puts before our eyes. Here is another human being who we know better than most. If he is a righteous man, walking in general terms in the commandments of God, then we see the reward of obedience in the mercy of God towards him during his life; and if he is an evil man, we see at close quarters the token judgments of God even before the final judgment. In Jehoiakim’s case there was ample proof of the blessing that come on the God-fearing.

Woe unto them, says the Lord, that spend too much time on big and better houses and decorations. We all want to provide properly for our families, but this is really going over the top. There is a woe pronounced over worldly Christians, and it is addressed to Jehoiakim: ‘They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!¹⁹ He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.’ These words express the natural grief that the living feel for the dead: for a brother, for a sister, for a great one, a lord, in the land, for the loss of glory when a great king departs. None of this will apply to Jehoiakim, for in his death he will only have shame, and will have an ignoble burial or no burial at all. After paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar for 3 years, Jehoiakim rebelled against him and was carried away in chains to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:6). There is no evidence that he was ever brought back to Jerusalem, so that it is likely that the words ‘drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem’ simply mean that, contrary to the norm, this king will not be buried within the walls of Jerusalem with the other kings of Judah, but in another place.

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Jeremiah (1-31) 22:13 Commentary and Bible Study