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Behold, I win melt them - I will put them in the furnace of affliction, and see if this will be a means of purging away their dross. See on Jeremiah 6:27; (note).
From their punishment the prophet now turns to their sins.
Jeremiah 9:2
The prophet utters the wish that he might be spared his daily striving, and in some lone wilderness give way to his sorrow, without restraint.
A lodging place - It was usual to build in the desert, either by private charity or at the public expense, caravanserais, to receive travelers for a single night, who had however to bring their own supplies with them.
An assembly - Or, a gang.
Treacherous - Faithless toward one another.
Jeremiah 9:3
Rather, “And they bend their tongue to be their bow of lies, i. e.” just as men before a battle get their bows ready, so they of set purpose make ready to do mischief, only their arrows are lying words: “neither do they rule faithfully in the land, i. e.” Judaea.
Jeremiah 9:4
In a state of such utter lawlessness, the bonds of mutual confidence are relaxed, and suspicion takes its place.
Utterly supplant - An allusion to the name of Jacob Genesis 27:36. It might be rendered, “every brother is a thorough Jacob.”
Will walk with slanders - Or, slandereth.
Jeremiah 9:6
A continuation of the warning given in Jeremiah 9:4. “Trust no one: for thou dwellest surrounded by deceit on every side.” Their rejection of God is the result of their want of honesty in their dealings with one another 1 John 4:20.
Jeremiah 9:7
I will melt them, and try them - The punishment is corrective rather than retributive. The terms used are those of the refiner of metals, the first being the smelting to separate the pure metal from the ore; the second the testing to see whether the metal is pure, or still mixed with alloy. God will put the nation into the crucible of tribulation, that whatever is evil being consumed in the fire, all there is in them of good may be purified.
For how shall I do … - Rather, “for how” else could I act with reference to the “daughter of my people?”
Jeremiah 9:8
An arrow shot out - Rather, “a murderous arrow.”
In heart he layeth his wait - Rather, “inwardly he layeth his ambush.”
I was almost afraid to come to this country because I heard so many say that the different nationalities of Europe were peculiar and had to be reached in a certain way. But the wisdom of God is promised to those who feel their need and who ask for it. God can bring the people where they will receive the truth. Let the Lord take possession of the mind and mold it as the clay is molded in the hands of the potter, and these differences will not exist. Look to Jesus, brethren; copy His manners and spirit, and you will have no trouble in reaching these different classes. We have not six patterns to follow, nor five; we have only one, and that is Christ Jesus. If the Italian brethren, the French brethren, and the German brethren try to be like Him, they will plant their feet upon the same foundation of truth; the same spirit that dwells in one will dwell in the other—Christ in them, the hope of glory. I warn you, brethren and sisters, not to build up a wall of partition between different nationalities. On the contrary, seek to break it down wherever it exists. We should endeavor to bring all into the harmony that there is in Jesus, laboring for the one object, the salvation of our fellow men. 9T 181.1
Will you, my ministering brethren, grasp the rich promises of God? Will you put self out of sight and let Jesus appear? Self must die before God can work through you. I feel alarmed as I see self cropping out in one and another here and there. I tell you, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, your wills must die; they must become as God's will. He wants to melt you over and to cleanse you from every defilement. There is a great work to be done for you before you can be filled with the power of God. I beseech you to draw nigh to Him, that you may realize His rich blessing before this meeting closes. 9T 181.2
There are those here upon whom great light in warnings and reproofs has shone. Whenever reproofs are given, the enemy seeks to create in those reproved a desire for human sympathy. Therefore I would warn you to beware lest in appealing to the sympathy of others and going back over your past trials, you again err on the same points in seeking to build yourselves up. The Lord brings His erring children over the same ground again and again; but if they continually fail to heed the admonitions of His Spirit, if they fail to reform on every point where they have erred, He will finally leave them to their own weakness. 9T 182.1
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