In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign "Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against
Jerusalem," to besiege the city. 2 Kings 25:1. The outlook for
Judah was hopeless. "Behold, I am against thee," the Lord
Himself declared through Ezekiel. "I the Lord have drawn
forth My sword out of his sheath" it shall not return any
more. . . . Every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be
feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be
weak as water." "I will pour out Mine indignation upon
thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of My wrath, and
deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to
destroy." Ezekiel 21:3, 5-7, 31.
The Egyptians endeavored to come to the rescue of the
beleaguered city; and the Chaldeans, in order to keep them
back, abandoned for a time their siege of the Judean capital.
Hope sprang up in the heart of Zedekiah, and he sent a
messenger to Jeremiah, asking him to pray to God in behalf
of the Hebrew nation.
The prophet's fearful answer was that the Chaldeans
would return and destroy the city. The fiat had gone forth;
no longer could the impenitent nation avert the divine
judgments. "Deceive not yourselves," the Lord warned
His people. "The Chaldeans . . . shall not depart. For
though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans
that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men
among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent,
and burn this city with fire." Jeremiah 37:9, 10. The
remnant of Judah were to go into captivity, to learn through
adversity the lessons they had refused to learn under
circumstances more favorable. From this decree of the holy
Watcher there could be no appeal.
Among the righteous still in Jerusalem, to whom had
been made plain the divine purpose, were some who
determined to place beyond the reach of ruthless hands the sacred
ark containing the tables of stone on which had been traced
the precepts of the Decalogue. This they did. With mourning
and sadness they secreted the ark in a cave, where it
was to be hidden from the people of Israel and Judah
because of their sins, and was to be no more restored to them.
That sacred ark is yet hidden. It has never been disturbed
since it was secreted.
For many years Jeremiah had stood before the people
as a faithful witness for God; and now, as the fated city
was about to pass into the hands of the heathen, he
considered his work done and attempted to leave, but was
prevented by a son of one of the false prophets, who reported
that Jeremiah was about to join the Babylonians, to whom
he had repeatedly urged the men of Judah to submit. The
prophet denied the lying charge, but nevertheless "the
princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and
put him in prison." Verse 15.
The hopes that had sprung up in the hearts of princes and
people when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar turned south
to meet the Egyptians, were soon dashed to the ground. The
word of the Lord had been, "Behold, I am against thee,
Pharaoh king of Egypt." The might of Egypt was but a
broken reed. "All the inhabitants of Egypt," Inspiration
had declared, "shall know that I am the Lord, because they
have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel." "I will
strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms
of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am
the Lord, when I shall put My sword into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land
of Egypt." Ezekiel 29:3, 6; 30:25, 26.
While the princes of Judah were still vainly looking
toward Egypt for help, King Zedekiah with anxious
foreboding was thinking of the prophet of God that had been
thrust into prison. After many days the king sent for him
and asked him secretly, "Is there any word from the Lord?"
Jeremiah answered, "There is: for, said He, thou shalt
be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
"Moreover Jeremiah said unto King Zedekiah, What
have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or
against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Where
are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying,
The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor
against this land? Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my
lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted
before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house
of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there." Jeremiah 37:17-20.
At this Zedekiah commanded that they "commit Jeremiah
into the court of the prison, and that they should give him
daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the
bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in
the court of the prison." Verse 21.
The king dared not openly manifest any faith in
Jeremiah. Though his fear drove him to seek information of
him privately, yet he was too weak to brave the disapprobation
of his princes and of the people by submitting to the
will of God as declared by the prophet.
From the court of the prison Jeremiah continued to advise
submission to the Babylonian rule. To offer resistance would
be to invite sure death. The message of the Lord to Judah
was: "He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword,
by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth
to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for
a prey, and shall live." Plain and positive were the words
spoken. In the name of the Lord the prophet boldly
declared, "This city shall surely be given into the hand
of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it."
Jeremiah 38:2, 3.
At last the princes, enraged over the repeated counsels
of Jeremiah, which were contrary to their set policy of
resistance, made a vigorous protest before the king, urging
that the prophet was an enemy to the nation, and that his
words had weakened the hands of the people and brought
misfortune upon them; therefore he should be put to death.
The cowardly king knew that the charges were false;
but in order to propitiate those who occupied high and
influential positions in the nation, he feigned to believe their
falsehoods and gave Jeremiah into their hands to do with
him as they pleased. The prophet was cast "into the
dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the
court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords.
And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah
sunk in the mire." Verse 6. But God raised up friends
for him, who besought the king in his behalf, and had him
again removed to the court of the prison.
Once more the king sent privately for Jeremiah, and
bade him faithfully relate the purpose of God toward
Jerusalem. In response, Jeremiah inquired, "If I declare it unto
thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give
thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?" The king
entered into a secret compact with the prophet. "As the
Lord liveth, that made us this soul," Zedekiah promised,
"I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into
the hand of these men that seek thy life." Verses 15, 16.
There was still opportunity for the king to reveal a
willingness to heed the warnings of Jehovah, and thus to temper
with mercy the judgments even now falling on city and
nation. "If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of
Babylon's princes," was the message given the king, "then
thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with
fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt
not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall
this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they
shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of
their hand."
"I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans,"
the king replied, "lest they deliver me into their hand, and
they mock me." But the prophet promised, "They shall not
deliver thee." And he added the earnest entreaty, "Obey,
I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto
thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live."
Verses 17-20.
Thus even to the last hour, God made plain His willingness
to show mercy to those who would choose to submit
to His just requirements. Had the king chosen to obey,
the lives of the people might have been spared, and the
city saved from conflagration; but he thought he had gone
too far to retrace his steps. He was afraid of the Jews, afraid
of ridicule, afraid for his life. After years of rebellion
against God, Zedekiah thought it too humiliating to say to
his people, I accept the word of the Lord, as spoken through
the prophet Jeremiah; I dare not venture to war against
the enemy in the face of all these warnings.
With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself
and his people. With anguish of spirit he assured him
that unless he should heed the counsel of God, he could
not escape with his life, and all his possessions would fall
to the Babylonians. But the king had started on the wrong
course, and he would not retrace his steps. He decided to
follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of the men
whom he really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness
in yielding so readily to their wishes. He sacrificed the
noble freedom of his manhood and became a cringing slave
to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do evil, he
was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right.
Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given
by Jeremiah, he had not the moral stamina to obey; and
as a consequence he advanced steadily in the wrong direction.
The king was even too weak to be willing that his
courtiers and people should know that he had held a
conference with Jeremiah, so fully had the fear of man taken
possession of his soul. If Zedekiah had stood up bravely
and declared that he believed the words of the prophet,
already half fulfilled, what desolation might have been
averted! He should have said, I will obey the Lord, and
save the city from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the
commands of God because of the fear or favor of man. I love
the truth, I hate sin, and I will follow the counsel of the
Mighty One of Israel.
Then the people would have respected his courageous
spirit, and those who were wavering between faith and
unbelief would have taken a firm stand for the right. The
very fearlessness and justice of this course would have
inspired his subjects with admiration and loyalty. He
would have had ample support, and Judah would have
been spared the untold woe of carnage and famine and fire.
The weakness of Zedekiah was a sin for which he paid
a fearful penalty. The enemy swept down like a resistless
avalanche and devastated the city. The Hebrew armies
were beaten back in confusion. The nation was conquered.
Zedekiah was taken prisoner, and his sons were slain before
his eyes. The king was led away from Jerusalem a captive,
his eyes were put out, and after arriving in Babylon he
perished miserably. The beautiful temple that for more
than four centuries had crowned the summit of Mount
Zion was not spared by the Chaldeans. "They burnt the
house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and
burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all
the goodly vessels thereof." 2 Chronicles 36:19.
At the time of the final overthrow of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, many had escaped the horrors of the
long siege, only to perish by the sword. Of those who still
remained, some, notably the chief of the priests and officers.
and the princes of the realm, were taken to Babylon and
there executed as traitors. Others were carried captive, to
live in servitude to Nebuchadnezzar and to his sons "until
the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfill the word of
the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah." Verses 20, 21.
Of Jeremiah himself it is recorded: "Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to
Nebuchadnezzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and
look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him
even as he shall say unto thee." Jeremiah 39:11, 12.
Released from prison by the Babylonian officers, the
prophet chose to cast in his lot with the feeble remnant,
"certain poor of the land" left by the Chaldeans to be "vinedressers
and husbandmen." Over these the Babylonians
set Gedaliah as governor. Only a few months passed before
the newly appointed governor was treacherously slain. The
poor people, after passing through many trials, were finally
persuaded by their leaders to take refuge in the land of
Egypt. Against this move, Jeremiah lifted his voice in
protest. "Go ye not into Egypt," he pleaded. But the inspired
counsel was not heeded, and "all the remnant of Judah, . . .
even men, and women, and children," took flight into
Egypt. "They obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus came
they even to Tahpanhes." Jeremiah 43:5-7.
The prophecies of doom pronounced by Jeremiah upon
the remnant that had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by
fleeing to Egypt were mingled with promises of pardon to
those who should repent of their folly and stand ready to
return. While the Lord would not spare those who turned
from His counsel to the seductive influences of Egyptian
idolatry, yet He would show mercy to those who should
prove loyal and true. "A small number that escape the
sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land
of Judah," He declared; "and all the remnant of Judah,
that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall
know whose words shall stand, Mine, or theirs." Jeremiah
44:28.
The sorrow of the prophet over the utter perversity of
those who would have been the spiritual light of the world,
his sorrow over the fate of Zion and of the people carried
captive to Babylon, is revealed in the lamentations he has
left on record as a memorial of the folly of turning from
the counsels of Jehovah to human wisdom. Amid the
ruin wrought, Jeremiah could still declare, "It is of the
Lord's mercies that we are not consumed;" and his constant
prayer was, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn
again to the Lord." Lamentations 3:22, 40. While Judah
was still a kingdom among the nations, he had inquired
of his God, "Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah? hath Thy
soul loathed Zion?" and he had made bold to plead, "Do
not abhor us, for Thy name's sake." Jeremiah 14:19, 21.
The prophet's absolute faith in God's eternal purpose to
bring order out of confusion, and to demonstrate to the
nations of earth and to the entire universe His attributes
of justice and love, now led him to plead confidently in
behalf of those who might turn from evil to righteousness.
But now Zion was utterly destroyed; the people of God
were in their captivity. Overwhelmed with grief, the
prophet exclaimed: "How doth the city sit solitary, that was
full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was
great among the nations, and princess among the provinces,
how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night,
and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she
hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt
treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.
"Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and
because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen,
she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between
the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come
to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests
sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her
adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord
hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions:
her children are gone into captivity before the enemy."
"How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with
a cloud in His anger, and cast down from heaven unto the
earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not His footstool
in the day of His anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the
habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: He hath thrown
down in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter
of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground: He
hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath
cut off in His fierce anger all the horn of Israel: He hath
drawn back His right hand from before the enemy, and
He burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth
round about. He hath bent His bow like an enemy: He
stood with His right hand as an adversary, and slew all
that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the
daughter of Zion: He poured out His fury like fire."
"What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing
shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall
I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter
of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal
thee?"
"Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider,
and behold our reproach. Our inheritance is turned to
strangers, our houses to aliens. We are orphans and fatherless,
our mothers are as widows. . . . Our fathers have
sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver
us out of their hand. . . . For this our heart is faint; for
these things our eyes are dim."
"Thou, O Lord, remainest forever; Thy throne from
generation to generation. Wherefore dost Thou forget us
forever, and forsake us so long time? Turn Thou us unto
Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days
as of old." Lamentations 1:1-5; 2:1-4, 13; 5:1-3, 7, 8, 17,
19-21.