So soon after David and Solomon, Judah turned to idol worship (1Kin 14:22-24).  Solomon had written so many proverbs and wise sayings addressed to "My son", surely Rehoboam had no excuse for allowing the people to leave God in this way.

14:7-8 We maybe tend to think of the northern kingdom of Israel as wholly evil. However God was looking for something better. Jeroboam had been given a wonderful provision in having the kingdom of Israel. Notice he is encouraged to look to David as his role model. As time went on Israel became more and more disconnected from the things of David – and consequently declined even more. The warning for us is clear. Lose contact with the things of the kingdom and disaster will follow inevitably.

14:30 We read of ‘war’ between Israel and Judah as headed up in their respective kings as a matter of fact thing. However Israel and Judah were brethren, inheritance in the land had been given to both groups of tribes. Both groups of tribes were Abrahams children – but despite that they still warred against each other. Unity is a hard thing to achieve – so in the New Testament strife between brethren is a major issue. These things stand as a warning to us today

14:24   In speaking of ‘Sodomites in the land’ we see a direct violation of Deut 23:17 so things have deteriorated dramatically after the death of Solomon.

V.4 Ahijah lived in Shiloh, which was about 10 miles (17 km.) north of Bethel.  Israel was, largely, descending into sinful ways.  Nevertheless, Yahweh left His prophet there as His representative. 

And so, those individuals who wished not to follow the evil practices that abounded, had guidance from the prophet.  Likewise, errant ecclesias have always had those of sound faith, who remained, to offer guidance.   

14:4 Shiloh was in the northern kingdom. They were astray from God, however there was a prophet of God there. Clearly God had not abandoned them but rather was trying to bring them back to a faithful worship of Him.

V.2 Jeroboam was a political animal.  He had set up idolatrous gods to control any movement of Israel towards Judah.  But, now that his son was sick, he wanted to consult the prophet of Yahweh, not useless idols.  However, he did not want to be seen doing so, to maintain the control on Israel’s idolatry, and, hence, its movement.

V.4 Ahijah means worshipper of Jah. It was Ahijah who had informed Jeroboam that he would be king over Israel (1Kin 11:29-31).

V.12 Imagine the anxiety of Jeroboam’s wife in knowing that she would bring the death of her son the moment she entered Shechem.

V.13 Because Yahweh saw some good in Jeroboam’s son, the son would be exempt from the curse of vs.10,11.

V.14 That king would be Baasha (1Kin 15:27). Interestingly, Baasha’s progeny would suffer the same fate as that of Jeroboam ( Compare v.11 with 1Kin 16:4).

Vs.23,24 Homosexuality was forbidden under the Law (Lev 18:22). Idolatry was also forbidden under the Law (Lev 19:4). And so, imagine how disgusting the combination was to Yahweh. 

The sodomites were people who engaged in homosexuality as part of worshipping Baal’s female equivalent, Ashtoreth (Astarte, Ishtar, Venus).  This practice was forbidden under the Law (Deut 23:17).

Vs.26,27 Cheap,  bronze shield replicas replaced the expensive, gold shields of Solomon (see my note on 1 Kings 10, v.17, for August 15).

14:7 We should always remember that the division of the kingdom was ‘of God’ and was a consequence of Solomon’s errors. However the fact that the division was of God was not sufficient reason o cause strife between brethren.

1Kin 14:21-24,31 - Sin and aquaintances who follow other paths can be very enticing, attractive and seductive; Solomon's Ammonite wife "Naamah" [(5277) means "pleasantness, loveliness"] very possibly worshipped "other gods" (1Kin 11:3-5) and possibly helped turn not only Solomon's heart from Yahweh but the heart of her son Rehoboam as well. 

1Kin 14:26-27 - gold which is thought by some to represent "faith tried by affliction and divine character or nature" is replaced by bronze which is thought by some to represent the "corruptible/sinful nature of flesh". Perhaps this change to a baser mixed metal somewhat symbolized the spiritual decline.

V.1 Jeremiah had been bundled off in shackles with the rest of the captives, headed for Babylon.  This was obviously a slip-up by lower echelon soldiers as Nebuchadnezzar had ordered Nebuzaradan to take care of Jeremiah (Jer 39:11,12).  Nebuzaradan realized this mistake and freed Jeremiah at Ramah, not far from Jerusalem. 

Yahweh had a deep purpose with Nebuchadnezzar beyond being an instrument of destruction and captivity for Judah.  Perhaps, Yahweh had shared His purpose with the king, who in turn, showed great respect for Yahweh's servant. 

Vs.2,3 It seems that Nebuzaradan, speaking on behalf of the king, gave a tongue-lashing to the shackled dignitaries of Judah.  Just imagine the irony of the situation: Jeremiah's long, constant prophetical warnings had been spurned by the princes of Judah.  Now, those very men were forced to listen to that truth by their captor.  Jeremiah, who had been imprisoned by the leaders of Judah, was now freed in front of them while they yet remained bound.

40:5  We should not think that the ‘reward’ that Jeremiah received was some sort of payment in return for encouraging the Jews to accept the Babylonian invasion as being from God. Rather, as the margin shows, the word is ‘allowance’ Jeremiah was provided for by his captives, as in fact were all the captives who were taken into Babylon.

40:9 Gedaliah, it seems, was one of the few who heeded the words of Jeremiah the prophet.

40:3-4 So the witnessing work of Jeremiah is over and so he is freed by a nation who understood better than Israel the reasons for all the evil that had come upon them.

V.11 Most Jews were either killed or taken captive by the Babylonians.  But, there were some who had seen the writing on the wall and had escaped, ahead of time, to other countries. 

The same pattern has existed throughout history.  For example, Jews, who heeded Jesus' warnings, escaped the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when approximately 1 million people were killed. 

Yahweh prompted a minority of Jews to leave Europe in the 1930's, before 6 million Jews were killed in the World War 2. 

Yahweh has always preserved a remnant of His people (Psa 106:8).

40:13-46 Gedaliah was too trusting. 2Kin 25:25 records the fact that Gedaliah was slain as he had been warned.

V.14 Ishmael was probably jealous of Gedaliah’s position of being the Governor of Judah. After all, Ishamael was a prince in David’s line (Jer 41:1). Whatever the deal with the king of the Ammonites, Ishmael would govern Judah.

Vs.15,16 Johanan tried to warn Gedaliah of impending trouble, and was prepared to dispense with Ishmael. But, Gedaliah was too trusting, and allowed his assassin to live.

40:9 Sets the scene for this short period in the history of Israel: "do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans". This is what Jeremiah had been saying all along, but they hadn't listened. And this fear, still very real, manifested itself in Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. He appears to have been of a large family serving the king during Jeremiah's prophecies. His father, grandfather and brothers appear numerous times in the narrative in this role. And 41:1 confirms this, calling him "of the royal family and of the officers of the king". So he and his family had been against Jeremiah's message, and at the forefront of the struggle against Nebuchadnezzar.

The point is that the people couldn't let go of their fear. They had clasified Nebuchadnezzar (or Babylon, the Chaldeans) as the enemy, and couldn't let go of the idea. Ishmael was merely an outward manifestation of that fear. He was a remnant of Judah's years long struggle against Babylon. So his actions echoed what they each would have done had they the power or the courage. This is demonstrated in 41:17-18 in their readyness to flee to Egypt, even though Nebuchadnezzar had given them their own land. They didn't, truly, want to submit to him.

How about us? God has made war on our sins, writing at length about them in the word so that we stand condemned. There's no place for us to hide from Him. So do we keep Him as an enemy, or submit to Him (Luke 14:31-32)? Just like Nebuchadnezzar, God is to be feared (Dan 5:19). Yet when we submit He will give us back all we have given up, and more (v9-12). And it is only our fear that will take that away (Luke 19:20-27). Will we allow Him to rule over us?

While Gedeliah's failure to heed the warning may give the impression he was too trusting, the lesson here is that God provided Gediliah with a warning and Gedeliah failed to act. At a minimum he should have investigated but above all he should have consulted God on the matter. He had Jeremiah there with him, there is no evidenece that he sought God's counsel on the matte. Instead he trusted in his own judgement. It was not that he was too trusting of Ishmael, but rather he was too trusting of his own judgement - A deadly failure.

40:7  Not content with rebelling Against God the princes now rebel against the man the king of Babylon had appointed to take care of the land of Israel and what remained of Jerusalem. Thus we see the rebellious nature of His people.

A further point to ponder:

In v34 Jesus was "exceedingly sorrowful even unto death". This wording is very helpful, because it makes the link between this struggle of Jesus in Getsemane, and Hebrews 12, which speaks of the chastening of the Lord. The link is in Hebrews 12v4 "you have not yet resisted unto bloodshed, striving against sin". Jesus resisted (or strove against) sin, even unto death, and unto bloodshed - but where did he do it? It was in the garden, where his sweat came as "great drops of blood" (Luke 22v44). This struggle of Jesus was designed by God to perfect him, as it says in Hebrews 12v10-11.

V.53 The ruling Council of the Jews (the Sanhedrin) was made up seventy-one of the richest, most powerful elite of society. They were mainly Sadducees, although some prominent Pharisees were among them. 

Vs.63,64 Under the direction of the high priest, the Council unanimously condemned Jesus to death, although they were not allowed to execute anyone (John 18:31). 

Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43) and Nicodemus (John 3:1) were members of the Sanhedrin.  However, they must have proclaimed their faith in Jesus before this event, otherwise they would have been counted in the unanimous decision of the council. 

They would have given up great wealth and power to follow their master, and would have certainly been shunned, lost wealth and power; and would probably have been persecuted by the council.  Their faith is recorded as they cared for the body of the Lord (John 19:38-40).

V.65 Jesus would have had a full beard as was the custom of the Israelites.  Under the Law, the beard must not have its edges clipped (Lev 19:27).  The Jews abused Jesus while in their custody. 

One of the abuses was that they plucked out His beard (Isa 50:6).  This was contrary to the Law and constituted a great insult (just like Hanun's treatment of David's servants) (2Sam 10:4,5).  

Such was the disdain that the Jewish leaders had for Jesus, that by plucking out his beard, contrary to the Law, they were saying that He had no part in Israel.

14:12   That the next day is mentioned in details as the ‘first day of unleavened bread’ confirms that the meal in Bethany when Jesus was anointed was two days before the Passover even though John 12:1 – seems to indicate that meal took place six days before the Passover.

14:11 That the chief priests were ‘glad’ was not simply because Judas had offered to betray Jesus. After all they could see Jesus every day. They knew who he was. Their joy was doubtless because Judas had told them that they would be able to take Jesus when there was no one around if they were willing to pay him money

Vs.3,10 There is a chance that Judas was Simon the leper’s son.  For the possible connection, see my note on Matt 26, for Jan 4.

V.5 Three hundred pence (denarii) amounted to one year’s wages for a labourer (Matt 20:2).

V.32 Gethsemane comes from an Aramaic word meaning oil press.  It was located on the lower slope of the Mount of Olives, opposite the Kidron valley.

14:24 When the law was given Moses sprinkled the people saying ‘this is the blood of the covenant’ – Exo 24:8 – Jesus adds the word ‘new’ when speaking of the breaking of bread. The word ‘new’ takes one back to Jeremiah 31:31 blending together the old and new with the forgiveness of sins.