AUGUST 11 JEREMIAH 34-39

Jeremiah 34-39

These chapters give us a selection of events that led up to the destruction of Jerusalem by the forces of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. They are not in chronological order, but they do complete the picture of a rebellious people.

Jeremiah 34 begins with what sounds like (and could have been) a very hopeful prophecy for King Zedekiah. He will not die in the siege, but he will be carried into exile, there to die in peace. Whether it was this encouraging prophecy or something else nudging Zedekiah, he did something wonderful. He declared freedom to all the slaves in Jerusalem. But no sooner had the ink dried on his decree, he and the people reneged and kept their slaves. God says: “You have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So now I proclaim freedom for you, freedom to fall by the sword!” (34:17).

Jeremiah 35 hearkens back to King Jehoiakim’s day to show us that the rebellion of God’s people was not universal. Praise God for the example of the Recabites; if they could obey the counsel of their forefathers, why couldn’t Israel obey counsel of the Lord? Jeremiah pronounces a blessing on this obedient family, one I would like to claim for mine: “Jonadab, son of Recab, will never fail to a man to serve me.” (35:19)

Jeremiah 36 recounts another episode from the reign of Jehoiakim. Here we get a glimpse of the prophetic process. God tells Jeremiah to write his prophecy on a scroll. He does this by dictating to Baruch, a sort of personal secretary. When King Jehoiakim gets a hold of it, we watch with amazement as the king listens to the prophecy being read, and—little by little—as it’s read, cuts it off and throws it in the fire...as if this could stop the word of the Lord! God instructs Jeremiah to write another!

In Jeremiah 37-39, we’re back in Zedekiah’s reign in the days and months leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile (c. 586 BC). Jeremiah is thrown in prison for suspected desertion to the Babylonians. Then he is released to house arrest, then thrown in a muddy cistern, then retrieved again to house arrest. All through this time, Zedekiah brings him in for interviews, much like King Herod brought in John the Baptist. In the end, however, Zedekiah flees as Jerusalem falls. He is captured and his sons are put to death by Nebuchadnezzar before Zedekiah’s eyes. That was the last thing Zedekiah saw, for they gouged his eyes out, and fulfilled Jeremiah’s original prophecy, taking him to Babylon, where he died of natural causes sometime later.

What become of Jeremiah? Tomorrow, we’ll get some news.

Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary