Zedekiah at the beginning of his reign was trusted
fully by the king of Babylon and had as a tried
counselor the prophet Jeremiah. By pursuing an honorable
course toward the Babylonians and by paying heed to the
messages from the Lord through Jeremiah, he could have
kept the respect of many in high authority and have had
opportunity to communicate to them a knowledge of the
true God. Thus the captive exiles already in Babylon would
have been placed on vantage ground and granted many
liberties; the name of God would have been honored far
and wide; and those that remained in the land of Judah
would have been spared the terrible calamities that finally
came upon them.
Through Jeremiah, Zedekiah and all Judah, including
those taken to Babylon, were counseled to submit quietly
to the temporary rule of their conquerors. It was especially
important that those in captivity should seek the peace of
the land into which they had been carried. This, however,
was contrary to the inclinations of the human heart; and
Satan, taking advantage of the circumstances, caused false
prophets to arise among the people, both in Jerusalem and
in Babylon, who declared that the yoke of bondage would
soon be broken and the former prestige of the nation restored.
The heeding of such flattering prophecies would have
led to fatal moves on the part of the king and the exiles,
and would have frustrated the merciful designs of God in
their behalf. Lest an insurrection be incited and great
suffering ensue, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to meet the
crisis without delay, by warning the king of Judah of the
sure consequence of rebellion. The captives also were
admonished, by written communications, not to be deluded
into believing their deliverance near. "Let not your prophets
and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive
you," he urged. Jeremiah 29:8. In this connection mention
was made of the Lord's purpose to restore Israel at the close
of the seventy years of captivity foretold by His messengers.
With what tender compassion did God inform His captive
people of His plans for Israel! He knew that should
they be persuaded by false prophets to look for a speedy
deliverance, their position in Babylon would be made very
difficult. Any demonstration or insurrection on their part
would awaken the vigilance and severity of the Chaldean
authorities and would lead to a further restriction of their
liberties. Suffering and disaster would result. He desired
them to submit quietly to their fate and make their servitude
as pleasant as possible; and his counsel to them was:
"Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens,
and eat the fruit of them; . . . and seek the peace of the
city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives,
and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof
shall ye have peace." Verses 5-7.
Among the false teachers in Babylon were two men who
claimed to be holy, but whose lives were corrupt. Jeremiah
had condemned the evil course of these men and had warned
them of their danger. Angered by reproof, they sought to
oppose the work of the true prophet by stirring up the people
to discredit his words and to act contrary to the counsel
of God in the matter of subjecting themselves to the king
of Babylon. The Lord testified through Jeremiah that these
false prophets should be delivered into the hands of
Nebuchadnezzar and slain before his eyes. Not long afterward,
this prediction was literally fulfilled.
To the end of time, men will arise to create confusion
and rebellion among those who claim to be representatives
of the true God. Those who prophesy lies will encourage
men to look upon sin as a light thing. When the terrible
results of their evil deeds are made manifest, they will seek,
if possible, to make the one who has faithfully warned them,
responsible for their difficulties, even as the Jews charged
Jeremiah with their evil fortunes. But as surely as the words
of Jehovah through His prophet were vindicated anciently,
so surely will the certainty of His messages be established
today.
From the first, Jeremiah had followed a consistent course
in counseling submission to the Babylonians. This counsel
was given not only to Judah, but to many of the surrounding
nations. In the earlier portion of Zedekiah's reign,
ambassadors from the rulers of Edom, Moab, Tyre, and
other nations visited the king of Judah to learn whether
in his judgment the time was opportune for a united revolt
and whether he would join them in battling against the
king of Babylon. While these ambassadors were awaiting
a response, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
"Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of
Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king
of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the
messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king
of Judah." Jeremiah 27:2,3.
Jeremiah was commanded to instruct the ambassadors
to inform their rulers that God had given them all into
the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and
that they were to "serve him, and his son, and his son's son,
until the very time of his land come." Verse 7.
The ambassadors were further instructed to declare to
their rulers that if they refused to serve the Babylonian
king they should be punished "with the sword, and with
the famine, and with the pestilence" till they were
consumed. Especially were they to turn from the teaching of
false prophets who might counsel otherwise. "Hearken
not ye to your prophets," the Lord declared, "nor to your
diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor
to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall
not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto
you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should
drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that
bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,
and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land,
saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein."
Verses 8-11. The lightest punishment that a merciful God
could inflict upon so rebellious a people was submission
to the rule of Babylon, but if they warred against this decree
of servitude they were to feel the full vigor of His chastisement.
The amazement of the assembled council of nations
knew no bounds when Jeremiah, carrying the yoke of
subjection about his neck, made known to them the will of God.
Against determined opposition Jeremiah stood firmly
for the policy of submission. Prominent among those who
presumed to gainsay the counsel of the Lord was Hananiah,
one of the false prophets against whom the people had been
warned. Thinking to gain the favor of the king and of
the royal court, he lifted his voice in protest, declaring that
God had given him words of encouragement for the Jews.
Said he: "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two full years will I bring again into this place
all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried
them to Babylon: and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives
of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will
break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Jeremiah 28:2-4.
Jeremiah, in the presence of the priests and people,
earnestly entreated them to submit to the king of Babylon
for the time the Lord had specified. He cited the men of
Judah to the prophecies of Hosea, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
and others whose messages of reproof and warning had been
similar to his own. He referred them to events which had
taken place in fulfillment of prophecies of retribution for
unrepented sin. In the past the judgments of God had been
visited upon the impenitent in exact fulfillment of His
purpose as revealed through His messengers.
"The prophet which prophesieth of peace," Jeremiah
proposed in conclusion, "when the word of the prophet
shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that
the Lord hath truly sent him." Verse 9. If Israel chose to
run the risk, future developments would effectually decide
which was the true prophet.
The words of Jeremiah counseling submission aroused
Hananiah to a daring challenge of the reliability of the
message delivered. Taking the symbolic yoke from Jeremiah's
neck, Hananiah broke it, saying, "Thus saith the Lord; Even
so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
from the neck of all nations within the space of two
full years.
"And the prophet Jeremiah went his way." Verse II.
Apparently he could do nothing more than to retire from the
scene of conflict. But Jeremiah was given another message.
"Go and tell Hananiah," he was bidden, "Thus saith the
Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt
make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the
neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. . . .
"Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the
prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent
thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore
thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the
face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast
taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet
died the same year in the seventh month." Verses 13-17.
The false prophet had strengthened the unbelief of the
people in Jeremiah and his message. He had wickedly
declared himself the Lord's messenger, and he suffered
death in consequence. In the fifth month Jeremiah prophesied
the death of Hananiah, and in the seventh month his
words were proved true by their fulfillment.
The unrest caused by the representations of the false
prophets brought Zedekiah under suspicion of treason, and
only by quick and decisive action on his part was he
permitted to continue reigning as a vassal. Opportunity for
such action was taken advantage of shortly after the return
of the ambassadors from Jerusalem to the surrounding
nations, when the king of Judah accompanied Seraiah, "a
quiet prince," on an important mission to Babylon. Jeremiah
51:59. During this visit to the Chaldean court, Zedekiah
renewed his oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar.
Through Daniel and others of the Hebrew captives, the
Babylonian monarch had been made acquainted with the
power and supreme authority of the true God; and when
Zedekiah once more solemnly promised to remain loyal,
Nebuchadnezzar required him to swear to this promise
in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Had Zedekiah
respected this renewal of his covenant oath, his loyalty would
have had a profound influence on the minds of many who
were watching the conduct of those who claimed to reverence
the name and to cherish the honor of the God of the
Hebrews.
But Judah's king lost sight of his high privilege of bringing
honor to the name of the living God. Of Zedekiah it is recorded:
"He did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah
the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he
also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made
him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened
his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel."
2 Chronicles 36:12, 13.
While Jeremiah continued to bear his testimony in the
land of Judah, the prophet Ezekiel was raised up from
among the captives in Babylon, to warn and to comfort the
exiles, and also to confirm the word of the Lord that was
being spoken through Jeremiah. During the years that
remained of Zedekiah's reign, Ezekiel made very plain the
folly of trusting to the false predictions of those who were
causing the captives to hope for an early return to
Jerusalem. He was also instructed to foretell, by means of a
variety of symbols and solemn messages, the siege and utter
destruction of Jerusalem.
In the sixth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the Lord
revealed to Ezekiel in vision some of the abominations that
were being practiced in Jerusalem, and within the gate
of the Lord's house, and even in the inner court. The chambers
of images, and the pictured idols, "every form of creeping
things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the
house of Israel"--all these in rapid succession passed before
the astonished gaze of the prophet. Ezekiel 8:10.
Those who should have been spiritual leaders among the
people, "the ancients of the house of Israel," to the number
of seventy, were seen offering incense before the idolatrous
representations that had been introduced into hidden chambers
within the sacred precincts of the temple court. "The
Lord seeth us not," the men of Judah flattered themselves
as they engaged in their heathenish practices; "the Lord
hath forsaken the earth," they blasphemously declared.
Verses 11, 12.
There were still "greater abominations" for the prophet
to behold. At a gate leading from the outer to the inner
court he was shown "women weeping for Tammuz," and
within "the inner court of the Lord's house, . . . at the
door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs
toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the
east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east."
Verses 13-16.
And now the glorious Being who accompanied Ezekiel
throughout this astonishing vision of wickedness in high
places in the land of Judah, inquired of the prophet: "Hast
thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the
house of Judah that they commit the abominations which
they commit here? for they have filled the land with
violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo,
they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also
deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have
pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice,
yet will I not hear them." Verses 17,18.
Through Jeremiah the Lord had declared of the wicked
men who presumptuously dared to stand before the people
in His name: "Both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in
My house have I found their wickedness." Jeremiah 23:11.
In the terrible arraignment of Judah as recorded in the
closing narrative of the chronicler of Zedekiah's reign, this
charge of violating the sanctity of the temple was repeated.
"Moreover," the sacred writer declared, "all the chief of the
priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the
abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of
the Lord which He had hallowed in Jerusalem." 2 Chronicles
36:14.
The day of doom for the kingdom of Judah was fast
approaching. No longer could the Lord set before them
the hope of averting the severest of His judgments. "Should
ye be utterly unpunished?" He inquired. "Ye shall not
be unpunished." Jeremiah 25:29.
Even these words were received with mocking derision.
"The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth," declared
the impenitent. But through Ezekiel this denial of the sure
word of prophecy was sternly rebuked. "Tell them," the
Lord declared, "I will make this proverb to cease, and they
shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them,
The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For
there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination
within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will
speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass;
it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious
house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the
Lord God.
"Again," testifies Ezekiel, "the word of the Lord came
to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of
Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come,
and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none
of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which
I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel
12:22-28.
Foremost among those who were rapidly leading the
nation to ruin was Zedekiah their king. Forsaking utterly
the counsels of the Lord as given through the prophets,
forgetting the debt of gratitude he owed Nebuchadnezzar,
violating his solemn oath of allegiance taken in the name
of the Lord God of Israel, Judah's king rebelled against the
prophets, against his benefactor, and against his God. In
the vanity of his own wisdom he turned for help to the
ancient enemy of Israel's prosperity, "sending his ambassadors
into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much
people."
"Shall he prosper?" the Lord inquired concerning the
one who had thus basely betrayed every sacred trust; "shall
he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the
covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith the Lord God,
surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him
king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake,
even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither
shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company
make for him in the war: . . . seeing he despised the oath
by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand,
and hath done all these things, he shall not escape." Ezekiel
17:15-18.
To the "profane wicked prince" had come the day of
final reckoning. "Remove the diadem," the Lord decreed,
"and take off the crown." Not until Christ Himself should
set up His kingdom was Judah again to be permitted to
have a king. "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it," was
the divine edict concerning the throne of the house of David;
"and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is;
and I will give it Him." Ezekiel 21:25-27.