Section VIII The fallof Jerusalem
Jeremiah 37:1—40:6
These chapters deal with those last sad events that took place just before the fall of Jerusalem. Throughout this time Jeremiah's life was constantly in danger, and he suffered many indignities. In addition, there was the spiritual anguish of seeing his beloved city go down to destruction. Zedekiah was an indecisive monarch who suffered from the pressures of a troubled conscience on the one hand and a group of angry and ill-advised young princes on the other. The final scenes show the Babylonians pressing in for the kill, with the city tottering and falling beneath their onslaught. All the time, one is conscious of the fact that if love could have saved a city, this one need not have died.
A. THE FATAL FLAW IN THE CITY'S DEFENSES, 37:1-2
These verses1 introduce Zedekiah as though the reader had not met him before. This is a little strange, since he appears many times in our story prior to this. Although the arrangement of the Hebrew is a bit odd, the major emphasis in v. 1 is on the fact that Zedekiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. This means that he was subject to the king of Babylon. According to Jeremiah, the nation's security rested on Zedekiah's faithfulness to these vows (27:11-15). The following pages reveal the tragic consequences of his failure to keep his word. Verse 2 indicts the king still further, Neither he … nor the people … did hearken unto the words of the Lord. This weak and vacillating king had neither kept his vows to men nor had he taken to heart the word of the Lord.
B. HOPES WITH NO FOUNDATION, 37:3-10
The siege had been lifted. Pharaoh-hophra's army (5; cf. 44:30) had crossed over into Palestine and was marching toward Jerusalem. The Babylonians had shifted their forces to meet this new threat. With the enemy gone, people came and went once more through the gates of the city. Hope ran high in Jerusalem. With the help of the Egyptians the Chaldeans might yet be defeated!
The apprehensive king sought confirmation of his hopes. He sent a deputation to Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us (3). Jeremiah sensed that Zedekiah's request for prayer was really an inquiry; he wanted to know what the outcome would be. Jeremiah predicted Pharaoh's army … shall return to Egypt (7). And the Chaldeans shall come again (8), and burn this city with fire (10). Furthermore, said Jeremiah, if the Chaldeans were all wounded men, they would still rise up and burn this city. The prophet here used hyperbole to emphasize his point.
The king and the people had based their hopes on human agencies and not on the living God. The prophet cries, Deceive not yourselves (9). The only true foundation for hope is a knowledge of the character of God, and a willingness to bring one's life into line with that knowledge. The men of Judah did not possess this knowledge. “They know not me, saith the Lord” (9:3); “My people know not the judgment [requirements] of the Lord” (8:7).
C. JEREMIAH ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED, 37:11-15
While the siege was lifted, Jeremiah decided to visit his home in Anathoth, a few miles north of Jerusalem, apparently to take care of personal business. Moffatt renders the last part of 12, “to take over some property among his own people.” Many scholars conjecture that his proposed trip had to do with the purchase of the field (32:6-12). Jeremiah, however, did not reach Anathoth; he was arrested at the gate of Benjamin (north gate) by the sentry and charged with deserting to the Chaldeans (13). The accusation had some plausibility, since Jeremiah had openly recommended desertion as a way to save one's life (21:8-10). The prophet vigorously denied that he was deserting. Nonetheless, the incident gave some of the princes (14) the chance they had been waiting for (38:1-6). The older officials under Jehoiakim had been friendly to Jeremiah (36:11-19), but these counsellors had been deported in 597 B.C. The young men who had replaced them hated Jeremiah, and had often influenced Zedekiah to disregard the counsel of the prophet. Now in a violent rage they beat Jeremiah and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe (15). This building had been made into a prison—and a very foul one.
D. A SECRET CONFERENCE, 37:16-21
Jeremiah remained in the dungeon (lit. “house of the pit”) for many days (16), where, according to v. 20, his health was greatly endangered. The dungeon, and … the cabins is often translated “the dungeon cells.” During his stay in prison, the Egyptian army had returned to its own land, and the Babylonians renewed the siege of Jerusalem with greater ferocity than ever. Jeremiah's predictions had come true.
With the siege renewed, Zedekiah was in great distress. Jeremiah was secretly brought (17) to the king's apartments, and Zedekiah eagerly inquired of him, Is there any word from the Lord? The prophet replied, There is … thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
Taking advantage of his opportunity, the prophet reasoned with the king about the treatment that he had received from the hands of the princes. He reminded the king that his own predictions had come true, while the king's prophets had prophesied nothing but lies. His words imply the question, Who really deserves to be in prison? Jeremiah ended his argument with an earnest plea not to be sent back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there (20).
Disappointed by Jeremiah's message, but condemned by his own conscience, Zedekiah commanded that the prophet be kept in the court of the prison (21). He further specified that he was to receive a daily ration of bread while it lasted. Although he was still a prisoner, the prophet's living conditions were greatly improved.
The princes were apparently highly displeased at Jeremiah's being transferred to the court of the guard, but they could do nothing at the moment, so they bided their time. Everything indicates that they planned the death of the prophet. The final stage of the siege had come. Only days remained. In a situation like this tempers flare easily, and a scapegoat is needed. Jeremiah could very well serve that purpose.
As a prisoner in the court of the guard, the prophet was apparently able to converse with the soldiers, and even the populace of the city (32:9, 12). He was overheard by some of the princes giving forth the word of the Lord to the people, He that remaineth in this city shall die … he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live (2) … This city … the king of Babylon's army … shall take it (3). The expression his life for a prey (2) means his life shall be his only share of the spoils. In anger the princes accused Jeremiah of high treason. They demanded of the king, Let this man be put to death … he weakeneth the hands of the men of war (4).
It is true that Jeremiah had uttered such words on numerous occasions (21:9; 34:2, 22; 37:8). Now pressed beyond measure by his officials, the king cried in exasperated weakness, He is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you (5). No record reveals so clearly the helplessness and instability of Zedekiah.
From a military point of view the princes were right in their accusation. “The mistake the princes made was due to the fact that they could not see that Jeremiah spoke with an authority above his own person and mind.”2
The princes seized Jeremiah and cast (6) him into a nearby dungeon (perhaps a cistern, for there were many of these in Palestine) by letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but plenty of mud, and Jeremiah sunk in the mire. The princes plainly hoped that they had seen the last of this troublesome prophet.
But the princes had not reckoned with one of the king's eunuchs, Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian (7). This man seems to have been a firm believer in the integrity of Jeremiah. Upon learning how the princes had disposed of the prophet, he hastened to the king and begged permission to rescue him, lest he die of hunger (9) and exposure. For once Zedekiah acted decisively. He ordered Ebed-melech to take thirty men3 and remove Jeremiah from the cistern, before he die (10).
Ebed-melech proved to be an efficient leader of the rescue operation. He came to the king, sitting in the gate of Benjamin (7) in the north wall of the city, holding court there. Taking his men, he stopped only long enough to get some “old rags and worn-out clothes” (11, RSV). At the mouth of the cistern, he let these rags down to Jeremiah by ropes. He instructed the prophet to put the rags under his armpits and to arrange the ropes over them. There would be great strain under the armpits because of the suction of the mud and the depth to which Jeremiah had sunk in the mire. A few minutes later the prophet stood safe and free in the court of the prison (13). He remained a prisoner there until the fall of the city (28).
F. A FINAL INTERVIEW, 38:14-28
Shortly after Jeremiah's rescue from the cistern, Zedekiah sought another interview with him. The prophet was taken to the third entrance of the Temple (precise location unknown) to meet the king. It turned out to be his final interview with that unfortunate monarch. The king was almost frantic and seemed to be desperately hoping for some good word from the Lord as he begged Jeremiah, Hide nothing from me (14). At the same time he was unwilling to do the very thing that would have saved himself and his people.
Jeremiah probed the king severely, “If I tell you, will you not be sure to put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me” (15, RSV). Zedekiah then took a vow not to harm Jeremiah himself, and that he would not let the princes harm him. This soul (16) means “this life of ours” (Smith-Goodspeed). Convinced by the king's vow that he was sincere, Jeremiah advised him to surrender to the king of Babylon's princes (17). He assured Zedekiah that, if he did, it would not only save his own life and that of his family, but it would save Jerusalem as well: This city shall not be burned with fire. Jeremiah declared, on the other hand, that if Zedekiah did not surrender, the city would be burned and he himself would fall into the hands of the Chaldeans (18).
The mental anguish of the king was painfully evident as he confided to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me (19). Zedekiah's fear at this point was not altogether unfounded, for this often happened in that ancient day. But Jeremiah assured him that it would not take place in his case 20).
From this incident it is clear that God's terms for our salvation are always hard on flesh and blood. (1) They attack our pride; (2) They crush our self-will; (3) They require real faith.4
Jeremiah continued to warn Zedekiah about the price of refusing to surrender. He seems to have seen in a vision or a dream the women of the king's household marching out as captives to the Babylonians chanting a lament:
Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mire,
they turn away from you (22, RSV).
Why this reference to the mire? Does mud from the pit still cling to Jeremiah's clothing? Perhaps. The prophet ends his warning by saying to the king, And thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire (23); i.e., the blame for the city's destruction will rest on Zedekiah. Still the king cannot find the strength to follow the prophet's advice.
Zedekiah exacted a promise from Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words (24). He instructed Jeremiah what to say if the princes should ask about his interview (25-26). His precautions in this case were well-justified, for all the princes (27) pounced on Jeremiah when he returned from the king, plying him with questions. He calmly and carefully answered them as he had promised the king, which was the truth as far as it went. Was he attempting to protect himself or the king? How much truth was he obligated to reveal? It is difficult to say. It was certainly not to save his own life that he parried the questions of these wicked men, and gave them only what was appropriate for the moment, for he was not afraid to die. His answer seemed to satisfy the princes, and they bothered him no more, “for the conversation had not been overheard” (27, RSV). Without further harassment he was permitted to remain in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem was taken (28).
Similar accounts of the fall of Jerusalem are found in c. 52; II Kings 25; and II Chron. 36:11-12, and should be read along with this (cf. comments there). Recent archaeological discoveries indicate quite certainly that the words Bab-saris and Rab-mag (3), heretofore taken as names of individuals, are Babylonian titles of high-ranking officers, and that Samgar may be the corrupt form of another title.5
The city of Jerusalem had fallen! The hour that Jeremiah had long predicted had at last come. After eighteen months of siege the city was broken up (2), i.e., a breach was made in the walls. All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate (3), i.e., took over the administration of the city. The location of the middle gate is unknown, but was perhaps a gate in the wall that separated the upper and lower parts of the city.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zedekiah slipped out of the city by night through the gate betwixt the two walls (4; i.e., where the inner and outer walls came together). This gate apparently gave access to the Kidron valley, and looked toward the Jordan River. However, the desperate attempt for freedom was a failure. The Babylonians overtook him in the plains of Jericho (see map 2) and transported him to the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah6 in Syria. Harsh judgment (5) was measured out to the rebellious king by Nebuchadnezzar. His sons (6) were slain before his eyes, and his nobles whom he had so cravenly feared were put to death. Last of all, his own eyes were put out and he was bound (7) with fetters of bronze. Sometime later he was carried to Babylon, where he languished in prison until his death.
Apparently the princes of Babylon named in 3 were busy with mopping-up operations for several weeks. According to 52:12, Nebuzar-adan (9), the chief executioner or field marshal of the king of Babylon, did not come to Jerusalem for a month after the city fell. When he arrived he put the city to the torch. The king's house (8) was burned, and “the house of the people” (lit.)—which may mean the Temple—and the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. The people who had already deserted to the Babylonians, and those who were taken in the fall of the city, were prepared for deportation to Babylon. The poor of the people (10), who had nothing, Nebuzar-adan left in Judah, and gave them the devastated countryside.
H. JEREMIAH GAINS HIS FREEDOM, 39:11-14
This is one of two accounts which records how Jeremiah gained his freedom. The other is 40:1-6, and seems in some details to contradict the account here. However, amid the destruction of a city and the confusion of deporting hundreds of captives, there may have been two episodes in Jeremiah's release. See comments on 40:1-6.
In this passage, Nebuzar-adan is instructed by Nebuchadnezzar to look well to the needs of Jeremiah, and to do whatever the prophet might say to him. It would appear that Nebuzar-adan and the princes mentioned in 3 joined in freeing Jeremiah from the court of the guard. How Nebuchadnezzar knew about Jeremiah and his activities is not clear. Kuist has conjectured7 that, on the advice of Jeremiah, Gedaliah and his family had gone over to the Babylonians early in the siege (it was Gedaliah's father, Ahikam, who had protected Jeremiah after he had preached the Temple Sermon, 26:24), and that it was Gedaliah who informed Nebuchadnezzar of Jeremiah's attitude toward Babylon. Whatever the answer, Jeremiah was taken from the court of the guard and committed (14) to the care of Gedaliah, who apparently took him to his home in Jerusalem, where he remained for the time being.
I. THE REWARDS OF FAITH, 39:15-18
This passage concerning the Ethiopian eunuch would fit much better chronologically after 38:13. In its position here, however, it does give a bright ending to a dark chapter.
While still in the court of the prison (15) Jeremiah was given a message for Ebed-melech (16). When, in the course of his work, the eunuch should appear, Jeremiah was instructed to go to him with the following message of hope from the Lord. (a) God had not at all relented in His purpose to punish Jerusalem. (b) The city's punishment would take place before the very eyes of the eunuch. (c) Ebed-melech's life would be endangered, but I will deliver thee … saith the Lord (17). Thy life … a prey unto thee (18) means that his life would be given to him as a prize of war. (d) Deliverance is promised from the men of whom thou art afraid (17). These would perhaps be the princes who hated him for rescuing Jeremiah, or maybe the Babylonian invaders.
The passage emphasizes the rewards of faith, and stands in strong contrast to the story of Zedekiah. Ebed-melech believed in something, and at great risk acted decisively; Zedekiah also believed that a certain course was right, but did not have the courage or faith to act decisively. One man gained his life, and eternal honor; the other received death, and eternal disgrace.
J. JEREMIAH MAKES HIS CHOICE, 40:1-6
This further account of how Jeremiah gained his freedom differs in some details from the account in 39:11-14. The main difficulty can be reduced to a single question, Why should Jeremiah be found in chains in Ramah (1) when he was (seemingly) freed from the court of the guard some time before?
In c. 39, Jeremiah was freed from prison and committed to the care of Gedaliah. That individual took him to his own home in Jerusalem, where he apparently remained for some time. But a final disposition of Jeremiah's case by Babylonian authorities had not yet been made. Gedaliah's administrative duties for the king of Babylon (he may have already been secretly nominated as governor of Judah) would have demanded that he go to Mizpah to attend to matters there. Jeremiah remained at Gedaliah's house in Jerusalem, for “he dwelt among the people” (39:14). Finally when the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, and all that was valuable had been removed from the homes and buildings, and the city was ready for the torch, the captives of Jerusalem were removed to Ramah (the processing point for deportation to Babylon). Since no final decision had been made concerning Jeremiah, the officer in charge of the people in Jerusalem could only send him along with the rest to Ramah.
When Nebuzar-adan found him among the captives in Ramah, he quickly and apologetically stripped him of lus chains. The great captain, having heard of Jeremiah's predictions concerning Jerusalem, used the prophet's words (2-3) to excuse what he had done to Jeremiah's beloved city. Nebuzar-adan then said to Jeremiah, Behold, I loose thee this day from the chains … If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come … but if it seem ill unto thee … all the land is before thee (4). Now while he was not yet gone back (5), i.e., while he was still in the process of making up his mind about going to Babylon, Nebuzar-adan suggested that, since Gedaliah was now governor of Judah, perhaps he would like to go there. When Jeremiah made the choice to remain with Gedaliah (6), he was given a supply of food and a present and sent on his way. So Jeremiah dwelt among the people at Mizpah with Gedaliah the governor. Mizpah was about four and one-half miles northwest of Jerusalem.