Jeremiah 26:16 - Meaning and Application

Here is, first, Jeremiah’s acquittal from the charge brought against him. He had really spoken the words charged against him, but the court did not regard them as seditious, treasonous, or harmful. So the judges, with the people, agreed that he was not guilty. The priests and prophets kept demanding judgment against him, even after his clear defense, but the princes and all the people said plainly that this man did not deserve to die (Jeremiah 26:16). Their reason was that he had spoken to them, not on his own authority, but in the name of the Lord our God.

If they truly admitted that he spoke in the name of the Lord, and that the Lord was their God, then why did they not change their ways and follow the warning he gave? If they said his message came from heaven, then it was fair to ask why they did not believe him (Matthew 21:25). It is sad when people are convinced enough of the divine source of gospel preaching to protect it from others, yet still refuse to yield to its power themselves.

Second, an earlier case was brought forward to support Jeremiah’s release. Some of the elders of the land, either the princes already mentioned or the wiser men among the people, stood up and reminded the assembly of a past example, as judges often do. The wisdom of those who came before us should guide us now. They referred to Micah, one of the minor prophets, whose book is still in the Bible.

Was it strange that Jeremiah had prophesied against this city and the temple? Micah had done the same before him, during the reign of Hezekiah, a time of reform (Jeremiah 26:18). Micah had said openly that Zion would be plowed like a field, meaning the city would be so ruined that nothing would stop a plow from passing over it. He said Jerusalem would become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the Lord’s house, where the temple stood, would become like wooded hills overgrown with brush and thorns. He wrote this down as well, and it is preserved in Micah 3:12. So a man may be a true prophet of the Lord and still predict the fall of Zion and Jerusalem.

When we warn secure sinners that God may remove his Spirit and his kingdom from them, or warn declining churches that the lampstand may be taken away, we are saying nothing more than Scripture already says many times. Was Jeremiah’s message wrong because he spoke against the city and temple? Hezekiah had faced the same kind of message and did not punish the prophet. Did Hezekiah and the people of Judah, that is, their public representatives, complain against Micah? Did they bring charges against him, pass a law to silence him, or put him to death? No, they listened to his warning.

Hezekiah, a well-known and honored king, set a good example because he feared the Lord (Jeremiah 26:19). Like Noah, who believed God’s warning about things not yet seen and acted in reverent fear, Hezekiah was moved by Micah’s preaching. He pleaded with the Lord to turn aside the threatened judgment and to be reconciled to them. His prayer was not wasted, because the Lord withheld the disaster and dealt with them in mercy. God sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army that had threatened to treat Zion like a field to be plowed.

Hezekiah benefited from the preaching, so he would not harm the preacher. The elders conclude that it would be dangerous for the nation if they gave in to the priests and prophets and put Jeremiah to death. They say, “Thus we might bring great evil on ourselves.” It is wise to keep ourselves from sin by remembering how much harm we will surely do to our own souls.

Third, another prophet was put to death by Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, for prophesying much as Jeremiah had done (Jeremiah 26:20 and following). Some think this case was mentioned by the accusers as a warning from a recent example, since speaking like Jeremiah had spoken had been judged treason in that case. Others think the elders, who were defending Jeremiah, brought it up to show that killing him would only add one sin to another. Jehoiakim had already killed one prophet, so they should not increase their guilt by killing another. Hezekiah protected Micah and prospered, but Jehoiakim killed Urijah and did not prosper. Everyone could see the difference.

Good examples, and the good results that follow them, should encourage us to do what is right. Bad examples, and the bad results that follow them, should warn us away from evil. Some good interpreters think this whole account was added by the historian who wrote the book, either Jeremiah himself or Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, to show how remarkable Jeremiah’s rescue by the princes really was. Since both events happened in Jehoiakim’s reign, and this one was at the beginning of it (Jeremiah 26:1), it fits the account well.

Urijah’s prophecy was against this city and this land, in line with all the words of Jeremiah. The Lord’s prophets agreed in their witness, and one would think that so many voices would have carried weight. But Jehoiakim and his court grew angry with him and wanted to put him to death, with the king himself most involved in this wicked plan (Jeremiah 26:21). When Urijah heard that the king had become his enemy and was seeking his life, he became afraid, fled, and went to Egypt.

This was certainly his fault and showed weak faith, and it turned out badly for him. He did not trust God to protect him and support him. He was too much ruled by the fear of man, which traps people. It looked as if he could not stand by what he had said, or as if he was ashamed of his Master. It was especially wrong for him to flee into Egypt, which in effect meant leaving the land of Israel and giving up the chance to be useful there. Many people have much grace but little courage. They are sincere, but they are also very timid.

Jehoiakim’s hatred was not satisfied by driving Urijah out of the country. Bloodthirsty people hate the upright (Proverbs 29:10), and he wanted Urijah’s life, not just his exile. His revenge was so fierce that he sent a party of soldiers all the way into Egypt, hundreds of miles away, and they brought him back by force.

It would not have satisfied him just to have Urijah killed in Egypt. He wanted to see the bloodshed himself. They brought Urijah to King Jehoiakim, and the king killed him with the sword, perhaps with his own hands.

Even that did not satisfy Jehoiakim’s bitter malice. He then dishonored the dead body of that good man. He refused him the respect usually and rightly given to an important man’s remains, and threw him into the burial place of the common people, as if he had not been a prophet of the Lord. In this way, he treated Urijah’s shield as worthless, as if he had not been anointed with oil.

Jehoiakim likely hoped to damage Urijah’s reputation with the people, so they would ignore his warnings, and to scare others away from prophesying in the same way. But it did no good. Jeremiah gave the same message. No one can stand against the word of God. Herod thought he had won when he cut off John the Baptist’s head, but he later heard of Jesus and, in fear, said, “This is John the Baptist” (Acts 12:2-3).

Here is Jeremiah’s rescue. Urijah had just been put to death, and persecutors, once they taste the blood of God’s people, often grow eager for more. Yet God wonderfully protected Jeremiah, even though he did not run away like Urijah, but stayed where he was. Ordinary ministers may use ordinary lawful means to protect themselves, but Jeremiah had special protection from God.

God raised up a friend for Jeremiah, someone who stood with him. Ahikam son of Shaphan, a government official in Josiah’s time (2 Kings 22:12), took Jeremiah’s side. Some think Gedaliah was Ahikam’s son. Ahikam seems to have had influence with the princes, and he used it to stop the priests and prophets from carrying out their plan against Jeremiah.

They wanted to hand him over to the people, not the people who had already declared him innocent, but the rough and angry crowd. They hoped to stir that crowd up through their evil lies, so it would shout, “Crucify him, crucify him,” and even stone him to death in a riot. Perhaps Jehoiakim’s conscience had troubled him so much after killing Urijah that they no longer expected him to serve their wicked purpose.

God can, when he chooses, raise up great men to protect good men. That should encourage us to trust him while doing what is right, because all hearts are in his hand.