Jeremiah 7:24

Jer 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels [and] in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

Ver. 24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined.] So cross grained they were, and thwart from the very first.

In the imagination of their evil hearts.] In sententia animi sui pessimi. {a} Heb., Aspectu cordis - so Deu 19:9.

They went backward, and not forward.] As crab fish do; as vile apostates, in peius proficiunt, grow every day worse than other, being not only averse but adverse to any good, they daily "grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived," seipsis indies facti deteriores. Islebius first became an Antinomian, and the father of that sect, and then a Papist, and lastly an atheist and epicure, as Osiander testifieth. While he was an Antinomian only, he many times promised amendment, being convinced of his error, but performed it not. After that he condemned his error, and recanted it in a public auditory, and printed his recantation; yet when Luther was dead, he not only licked up his former vomit, but fell to worse, as aforesaid. {b}

{a} Trem.

{b} Cent. xvi. p. 802.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer_7:24

Went backward, and not forward.

Backward

I. Illustrations of going backward in regard to religion.

1. From Jewish history. Compare best days of Solomon, when temple was dedicated, with these when jeremiah preached at gate. National mind darkened, conscience enfeebled, heart hardened.

2. Churches. Galatia (Gal_3:1-3; Gal_5:7-8), Ephesus (Rev_2:4), Sardis (Rev_3:1).

3. Individual life.

(1) Brought up in Christian home; back into thoughtlessness, dissipation, infidelity.

(2) Awakened by power of truth, and gained a place in household of faith; go backward and make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.

(3) Trod noblest heights of Christian service; back to stagnation and ease.

II. Causes of this going backward.

1. Negatively.

(1) God never causes a human being to go backward from what is pure and good and true.

(2) Nor must the charge be laid at the door of men or of Satan.

2. Positively.

(1) The primary cause must be sought in man himself, his inclination to the things which are behind. Spiritual feebleness.

(2) The secondary causes are temptations; the lusts, pleasures, and gains he desires to enjoy.

(3) His weakness in yielding results from neglect of the means of strength, the Word of God, prayer, means of instruction and grace.

III. Consequences of going backward.

1. Displeasure of God.

2. Such as turn back are liable to sink into lowest depths of irreligion.

3. Experience of deepest remorse and reproach of conscience.

Conclusion--

1. Stand fast in the Lord.

2. Despair not, but return. (R. Ann.)

The backslider defenceless

When Christian, in the Pilgrims Progress, thought about going back, he recollected that he had no armour for his back. He had a breastplate, he was covered from head to foot by his shield, but there was nothing to protect his back, and therefore, if he retreated, the adversary could spit him with his javelin in a moment. So he thought that bad as it was to go forward, it would be worse to go backward, and therefore he bravely cut a path for himself straight onward for glory. Look at that fact whenever you are tempted: do not endure the idea of turning tail in the day of battle. May retreat be impossible to you! God makes it Impossible by His grace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:24-26 Throughout their history, the Israelites had rejected the messages of the Lord’s prophets (2 Chr 36:15; Mark 12:1-10).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

hearkened not--They did not give even a partial hearing to Me (Psa 81:11-12).

imagination--rather, as Margin, "the stubbornness"

backward, &c.-- (Jer 2:27; Jer 32:33; Hos 4:16).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They hearkened not nor inclined their ear Here the Prophet shews, that the Jews did not then begin to be rebellious against God and his word; for they imitated the impious contumacy of their fathers: and he dwells on this more at large. He now says, “I gave no command about sacrifices, but only this one thing I required of your fathers, to obey me.” They hearkened not, he says. What could have been a juster demand than that they should obey God? How great, then, and how base an indignity it was, to reject his authority? Nay, still more, they inclined not the ear: for by this phrase the Prophet means not only a contempt of his word and indifference, but their obstinacy and willfulness, inasmuch as they had hardened themselves against God. Hypocrites do, indeed, sometimes incline the ear, and wish to know what is said, and in some measure consider it: but the Prophet here sets forth as it were the insane contumacy of the Jews, for they inclined not, no, not even the ear to God speaking to them.

He afterwards adds, that they walked in their tortuous counsels, and also, in the wickedness of their evil heart This comparison aggravates their sin, — the Jews preferred to follow their own humor rather than to obey God and his commands. Had anything been set before them, which might have deceived them and obscured the authority of the law, there would have been some excuse: but when there was nothing to prevent them from obeying the command of God, except that they followed their own foolish imaginations, they were wholly inexcusable. For what excuse could they have made? That they wished to be wiser than God! How great a madness was this, and how diabolical? But the Prophet leaves them nothing but this vain excuse, which doubled their guilt. They thought, no doubt, that their heart was well fitted for the purpose: but he does not here allow them to judge, but distinctly condemns them as they deserved.

We ought to take particular notice of this passage; for the majority of men at this day set up their own fictions against God’s word. The Papists indeed pretend antiquity; they say that they have been taught by their ancestors; and at the same time they plead councils and the ordinances of the fathers: but yet there is not one of them, who is not addicted to his own figments, and who does not take the liberty, nay, an unbridled license, to reject whatever he pleases. Moreover, if the origin of the whole Papal worship be considered, it will appear, that those who first devised so many strange superstitions, were only impelled by audacity and presumption, in order that they might trample under foot the word of God. Hence it is, that all things are become corrupt; for they brought in all the strange figments of their own brains. And we see that the Papists at this day are so perversely fixed in their own errors, that they prefer themselves and their own trumperies to God. And the same is the case also with all heretics. What then is to be done? Obedience, as I have said, is to be held as the basis of all true religion. If, then, on the other hand, we wish to render our worship approved by God, let us learn to cast aside whatever is our own, so that his authority may prevail over all our reasons.

Let us further notice how detestable a sacrilege it is, to follow the wickedness of our heart rather than to obey God, when he shews to us, as by the finger, the way of salvation. Let us also observe, that nothing will then do us good, though we may seem to ourselves to be very wise, and praise ourselves in our folly; for God declares here that our heart is evil whenever we turn aside from his pure word.

He says, that they were behind and not before By this phrase he intimates that the Jews turned the back, that they might not look at him or go forward. For when one promises to be our leader to conduct us in the way, we immediately turn our eyes to him; but when we turn our back, it is a proof of our contempt. And thus God complains of his people, that he was despised by them; for they had not only been deaf to the prophetic teaching and admonitions, but had also turned their faces another way, as a proof of a contumacy still worse, so that they forsook him, and as it were bade him to be gone. This is the import of the last sentence. We shall proceed to-morrow.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(24) Imagination.—Better, stubbornness, as in Jer_3:17.

Went backward and not forward.—The whole sacrificial system, even at its best, to say nothing of its idolatrous corruptions, was accordingly, from Jeremiah’s point of view, a retrograde movement. The apostasy of the people in the worship of the golden calf involved a like deflection, necessary and inevitable though it might be as a process of education, from the first ideal polity, based upon the covenant made with Abraham, i.e., upon a pure and spiritual theism, the emblems and ordinances of which, though “shadows of good things to come,” were in themselves “weak and beggarly elements” (Heb_10:1; Gal_4:9).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. in their own counsels] lit. in counsels. The words are best omitted (with LXX).

stubbornness] Cp. Jer_3:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear,.... Neither to the law that was given them, nor to the promises that were made unto them, this was the case of the Jewish fathers, and also of their posterity, to whom belonged the law, and the promises, and the service of God:

but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart; what their evil heart imagined, advised and directed to, that they attended to, walked in, and pursued after. The heart of man is evil; it is desperately wicked, even wickedness itself; and so is every thought and every imagination of the thoughts of it and all its counsels, machinations and contrivances; and therefore the consequence of walking in these, or steering the course of life according to them, must be bad:

and went backward, and not forward; they went backwards from the ways of God, and walked not in them. The Targum is,

"they turned the back in my worship, and did not put my fear before their face;''

or else this may design, not their sin, but their punishment, as Kimchi interprets it; they did not prosper, but suffered adversity; a curse, and not a blessing, attended the works of their hands.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Imagination - Better, as in the margin.

And went backward - literally, as in the margin; i. e., they turned their back upon Me to follow their own devices.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Nor inclined their ear: it notes something of a higher degree of non-attention than bare not hearkening, viz. their not listening that they might obey what they hear, Jer 7:26; 11:8, noting not only their slightness, but their stiffness.

The imagination, or stubbornness. See Jer 3:17.

Went backward, and not forward, like restive beasts; see Jer 2:27; a sign of their contempt; implying either,

1. They were worse by their admonitions and corrections, and so nothing did thrive with them. Or,

2. From the very first they have gone further and further from me, as Jer 7:25,26.

3. Or else depending upon their outward services, they set not my commands before their eyes, but cast my true worship behind their backs, Mat 23:23.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. Went backward — Literally, were backward. That is, they turned the back and not the face.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Imagination; rather, stubbornness. (see on Jer_3:17) Went backward, and not forward; rather, turned their back, and not their face (literally, became back wards , and not forwards).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But they have not regarded that which was foremost and most cardinal in the law. They hearkened not, sc. to my voice; and instead of walking in the ways commanded, they walked in the counsels of the stubbornness of their evil heart. בּמעצות is stat. absol., and בּשׁררוּת is co-ordinated with it in apposition, instead of being subordinated; cf. Ew. 289, c. The lxx have not seen their way to admit such a co-ordination, and so have omitted the second term; and in this, Movers, Hitz., and Graf have followed them, deleting the word as a mere gloss. As to "the stubbornness of their evil heart," see on Jer 3:17. יהיוּ לאחור, they were backwards, not forwards, i.e., they so walked as to turn to me the back and not the face. היה with ל expresses the direction or aim of a thing. The subject to these clauses is the Israelites from the time of Moses down to that of Jeremiah. This is shown by the continuation of the same idea in Jer 7:25 and Jer 7:26. From the time the fathers were led out of Egypt till the present time, God has with anxious care been sending prophets to exhort and warn them; but they have not hearkened, they have made their neck hard, i.e., were stiffnecked, and did worse than their fathers, i.e., each succeeding generation did more wickedly than that which preceded it. On למן היּום, (the period) from the day...until...cf. the remarks on Hag 2:18. The ל gives to the mention of the time the value of an independent clause, to which that which is said regarding that time is joined by ו consec. יום is adverbial accusative: by the day, i.e., daily, in early morn, i.e., with watchful care sending (on this expression, see at Jer 7:13). יום acquires this sense, not in virtue of its standing for יום יום, but by reason of its connection with the two infinitives absoll.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues giving Jeremiah his message to the people of Judah.

General Information:

The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to the people of Judah. "They" refers to the ancestors of the people of Judah.

they did not listen or pay attention

These phrases mean about the same thing and are repeated for emphasis. (See: Doublet)

by their own stubborn plans of their wicked hearts

"according to their own plans because they were wicked and stubborn"

they went backwards, not forward

This is a metaphor. Possible meanings are 1) they refused to pay attention to Yahweh, instead of eagerly obeying him. AT: "they went away from me instead of drawing closer to me" or 2) they got worse and worse instead of improving. AT: "they got worse instead of better" (See: Metaphor)

Ever since the day when your ancestors went out from the land of Egypt until this day

This is a generalization that means over this entire period of time, not every day during this period of time. AT: "From the time your ancestors went out from the land of Egypt until now" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

I persisted in sending them

"I sent them again and again" or "I repeatedly sent them"

they hardened their necks

This is an idiom that means they were stubborn. AT: "they became stubborn" or "they resisted me" (See: Idiom)

They were more wicked

"Each generation was more wicked"

translationWords

life

stiff-necked

evil

heart

Egypt

send

servant

prophet

hard

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

in the view Heb. בשררות, in the view of their heart, an expression related to (Num. 24:17) “I see him אשורנו.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.