Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 22:15

"Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him." — Jeremiah 22:15 (ASV)

You enclose yourself in cedar. —Better, your ambition is in cedar. The verb means strictly, as in Jeremiah 12:5, “to vie with” or “to contend,” and Jehoiakim is reproached for endeavoring to outdo the magnificence even of his greatest predecessors. A various reading, followed by the Septuagint, gives, “you vie with Ahaz,” or “Ahab,” probably, in this latter case, with reference to the ivory palace built by that king (1 Kings 22:39).

Did not your father eat and drink ...? —The words are obviously those of praise, and paint a healthy, blameless enjoyment like that of Ecclesiastes 2:24; like those, we may add, which the Son of Man used to describe the outward portion of His own life (Matthew 11:19). Josiah was not an ascetic, devotee king, but lived his life happily, and did his work—the true kingly work of judgment and justice—well. There was a truer greatness in that than in the stateliness of Jehoiakim’s palaces. Then it was well with him is repeated with the emphasis of iteration.