Ecclesiastes 5:7
7. (See on Ec 5:3). God's service, which ought to be our chief good, becomes by "dreams" (foolish fancies as of God's requirements of us in worship), and random "words," positive "vanity." The remedy is, whatever fools may do, "Fear thou God" (Ec 12:13).
Jeremiah 23:25-26
25. dreamed—I have received a prophetic communication by dream (Nu 12:6; De 13:1, &c. Joe 2:28).
26. prophets—a different Hebrew form from the usual one, "prophesiers." "How long," cries Jeremiah, impatient of their impious audacity, "shall these prophecy-mongers go on prophesying lies?" The answer is given in Jer 23:29-34.
Zechariah 10:2
2. idols—literally, "the teraphim," the household gods, consulted in divination (see on Ho 3:4). Derived by GESENIUS from an Arabic root, "comfort," indicating them as the givers of comfort. Or an Ethiopian root, "relics." Herein Zechariah shows that the Jews by their own idolatry had stayed the grace of God heretofore, which otherwise would have given them all those blessings, temporal and spiritual, which they are now (Zec 10:1) urged to "ask" for.
diviners—who gave responses to consulters of the teraphim: opposed to Jehovah and His true prophets. seen a lie—pretending to see what they saw not in giving responses. comfort in vain—literally, "give vapor for comfort"; that is, give comforting promises to consulters which are sure to come to naught (Job 13:4; 16:2; 21:34). therefore they went their way—that is, Israel and Judah were led away captive. as a flock . . . no shepherd—As sheep wander and are a prey to every injury when without a shepherd, so the Jews had been while they were without Jehovah, the true shepherd; for the false prophets whom they trusted were no shepherds (Eze 34:5). So now they are scattered, while they know not Messiah their shepherd; typified in the state of the disciples, when they had forsaken Jesus and fled (Mt 26:56; compare Zec 13:7).John 3:19-21
19. this is the condemnation, &c.—emphatically so, revealing the condemnation already existing, and sealing up under it those who will not be delivered from it.
light is come into the world—in the Person of Him to whom Nicodemus was listening. loved darkness, &c.—This can only be known by the deliberate rejection of Christ, but that does fearfully reveal it.20. reproved—by detection.
21. doeth truth—whose only object in life is to be and do what will bear the light. Therefore he loves and "comes to the light," that all he is and does, being thus thoroughly tested, may be seen to have nothing in it but what is divinely wrought and divinely approved. This is the "Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile."
Joh 3:22-36. JESUS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE BAPTIST—HIS NOBLE TESTIMONY TO HIS MASTER.