Jeremiah 26:17

As in the history of the Acts of the Apostles that of their preaching and that of their suffering are interwoven, so it is in the account we have of the prophet Jeremiah; witness this chapter, where we are told, I. How faithfully he preached (Jer 26:1-6). II. How spitefully he was persecuted for so doing by the priests and the prophets (Jer 26:7-11). III. How bravely he stood to his doctrine, in the face of his persecutors (Jer 26:12-15). IV. How wonderfully he was protected and delivered by the prudence of the princes and elders (Jer 26:16-19). Though Urijah, another prophet, was about the same time put to death by Jehoiakim (Jer 26:20-23), yet Jeremiah met with those that sheltered him (Jer 26:24).

26:17-19 Societies in the ancient Near East greatly revered wise old men. Few people survived to old age, and those who did had a valuable store of memory. • Micah of Moresheth had lived during the reign of King Hezekiah (728–686 BC), more than 100 years earlier. Micah had written a small collection of his prophecies, from which the elders quoted a verse (Mic 3:12) that predicted the destruction of Mount Zion and Jerusalem. These elders counseled the people to do as Hezekiah had done when he turned from his sins and worshiped the Lord. Although the people of Judah relinquished their plan to harm Jeremiah, they did not heed the second part of the old men’s counsel.