But when Jeremiah learned about that, he rebuked them, saying, “The place shall be unknown until God gathers the people together again and shows mercy.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 7. Mercy. Whether the ark, and so forth were in the second temple, as this seems to insinuate, has been much debated. The negative seems best established and these promises refer to the Messias, prefigured by the ark. God wished to withdraw the Jews by degrees from their attachment to these sensible things, and to raise their minds to those of a more spiritual nature. Saint Ambrose Rupert, and so forth Calmet. Diss.—Salien ( A. 3609) proves at large, that the ark was discovered at the same time as the sacred fire. Menochius.—Yet Josephus (Bel. vi. 6.) testifies, that nothing was found in the holy of holies when the Romans took it. Hence others think that the ark will be produced to the Jews by Enoch and Elias. Ribera in Agg. i. Tournem.—The first opinion gives most satisfaction. When Christ collected his disciples, he received testimony from the Father and from the Holy Ghost in a bright cloud. The figures of the law are at an end, and there will be no need of restoring them at the consummation of all things. Bible.