Movatterモバイル変換

Jeremiah 37:20
Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

Jeremiah 38:6,9
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, thatwas in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeonthere was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire…

and

Daniel 6:17
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

Matthew 27:60,66
And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed…

and cast stones upon me
Casting stones signifies an attempt to ensure the victim's demise, akin to stoning, a common form of execution in ancient Israel (Leviticus 20:2). This act reflects the intense hostility and rejection faced by the speaker, paralleling the rejection of prophets and ultimately of Christ Himself (John 8:59). The stoning also symbolizes the weight of sin and judgment, which Christ bore on behalf of humanity. The imagery of stones can also connect to the "stone the builders rejected" becoming the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22), pointing to Christ's redemptive work despite rejection.

• “They dropped me alive into a pit” (Lamentations 3:53) recalls the literal moment when Jeremiah’s enemies lowered him into a muddy cistern (Jeremiah 38:6).

• Being “alive” heightens the terror—he is fully conscious of the impending doom, as inPsalm 88:3-6, where the psalmist feels “counted among those going down to the Pit.”

• Other servants of God knew the same treatment: Joseph inGenesis 37:24 was thrown into a dry cistern; David cried, “You lifted me from the pit of destruction” (Psalm 40:2-3).

• The “pit” also pictures the grave and ultimate hopelessness, a theme echoed inJonah 2:1-6 when the prophet prays from the fish’s belly, yet God hears.

• Even Christ’s saving work is foreshadowed: though not lowered into a literal cistern, He was “cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8) and laid in a tomb—yet God raised Him (Acts 2:24).

• Lesson: God’s people may be plunged into bleak, life-threatening circumstances, but the Lord sees and preserves them (Psalm 139:7-8;2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

• The hostility intensifies: once Jeremiah is helpless in the pit, his oppressors “cast stones upon me” (Lamentations 3:53). The goal is final, lethal silence.

• Jeremiah had already faced calls for execution (Jeremiah 26:11). Stoning was the crowd’s favored way to eliminate prophetic voices—Moses feared it (Exodus 17:4); Stephen suffered it (Acts 7:58-60); Jesus faced attempted stoning (John 10:31).

• The image depicts relentless opposition to God’s truth.Psalm 31:13-14 speaks of “terror on every side” yet choosing to trust the Lord.

• For believers today: persecution may come in words or actions (2 Timothy 3:12;1 Peter 4:12-14), but God remains present. Jeremiah himself testifies a few verses later, “You came near when I called You; You said, ‘Do not be afraid’” (Lamentations 3:57).

• Christ again stands as the ultimate example: He, too, was rejected, mocked, and condemned, yet His resurrection proves that evil’s stones cannot bury God’s purposes (Luke 24:5-7).

Lamentations 3:53 paints a vivid, historical snapshot of Jeremiah’s persecution—lowered alive into a pit, then assailed with stones. It illustrates how wicked people attempt to silence God’s messenger and portrays the depths of human despair. Yet the broader context of Scripture shows that the Lord who allowed Jeremiah’s trial also rescued him (Lamentations 3:55-58), just as He delivered Joseph, Jonah, and ultimately raised Jesus. The verse therefore both warns of the cost of faithfulness and reassures us that no pit is so deep, no stone so heavy, that God cannot hear, sustain, and deliver those who call upon Him.

Parallel Commentaries ...