Call to Commitment

Possible site of Mizpah, 7 m. from Jerusalem

                                Chapter 40

 

Jeremiah and Nebuzaradan

   1.      The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah who were carried away captive to Babylon.

  2.      And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: "The LORD your God has      pronounced this doom on this place. 

 3.      Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. 

 4.      And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there." 

 5.      Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, "Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go." So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.

 The wise man wrote: “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Pr.21:1). In the fearful crisis in Jerusalem, when the hand of mighty Nebuchadnezzar, backed by the armies of Babylon, takes control of the city, Jeremiah need not fear. He is the servant of the King of Kings and He has already prepared Babylon’s emperor to care for His servant, the prophet.

 It seems that Jeremiah is mistakenly put in chains among the Jews, who left the city of Jerusalem, as captives (1). He marches with them, about 5 miles, to Ramah. It lay in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin and was the headquarters for the prophet, Samuel, in its distant past. In the last chapter, Nebuchadnezzar had given word to his general, Nebuzaradan, to care favorably for Jeremiah, yet he falls into this uncomfortable position. We must reflect on this situation and try to discern what God is doing in allowing this disappointment. 

Babylonian cuneiform of Jerusalem conquest

                                  Chapter 39

         The Chaldean Conquest of Jerusalem

1.      In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. 

     2.      In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated. 

  3.      Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal- Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 

 4.      So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain. 

 5.      But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him. 

 6.      Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah. 

 7.      Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 

 8.      And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 

 9.      Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. 

 10.  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. 

As we begin the 39^th chapter of Jeremiah, we should be able to identify certain important dates in the book and have an idea of the timetable. We have already read of the 9^th year of Zedekiah and we understand that it is the time that Nebuchadnezzar began his ultimate siege against Jerusalem. Within two years, the Babylonian siege was successful and the army penetrated the city. That is the account given in verses one and two.

 We learned in chapter 32, that it was during the tenth year of Zedekiah that the Lord prompted Jeremiah to buy a field in his native city.  The following year, succumbing to the siege, the citizenry of Jerusalem was taken captive and sent to Babylon. Jeremiah’s purchase gave hope to the people that, after 70 years in Babylon, they would one day return to their native land and reclaim their lost properties. 

 

Jeremiah left to the fate of evil princes

       1.      Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 

          2.      "Thus says the LORD: 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.' 

 3.      Thus says the LORD: 'This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.' " 

 4.      Therefore the princes said to the king, "Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm." 

 5.      Then Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you." 

 6.      So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. 

 Both Jehucal and Pashhur rejected the word of the Lord, which Jeremiah delivered. Jehucal was sent by Zedekiah in chapter 37:3 and Pashhur in 21:1 to counsel with the prophet. Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, is not the Gedaliah, son of Shaphan, who is Jeremiah’s friend, and later appointed by the emperor to be governor of the land. This Gedaliah may be the son of the Pashhur of 21:1, as well as in this verse. We have no certainty, as to who is Shephatiah (1).

Jeremiah was commissioned by the Lord to give an option to the people, openly and publicly, for their benefit… the one benefit that they can expect in this crisis. They can continue to live, and that is all. Otherwise, the three means of death… by sword, by famine, and by pestilence… mentioned several times by Jeremiah, will surely be their end.

 God knows that there is no deliverance from the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. It is not a time to rise up to battle the enemy army, because God Himself will fight against them in wrath. Resistance is futile and, in fact, deadly, so the kindest advice to give the people is that they should surrender willingly. We read the same advice that we have in verse 2, also in chapter 21:8-9.  

 

                                   Chapter 37

 

Zedekiah hopes for Jeremiah’s support

      1.      Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 

      2.      But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 

      3.      And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to the LORD our God for us." 

 4.      Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 

 5.      Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 

 6.      Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 

 7.      "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 

 8.      And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire." ' 

 9.      Thus says the LORD: 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely depart from us," for they will not depart. 

 10.  For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.' " 

 We have sometimes referred to the son of Jehoiakim as Jehoiachin, whereas Jeremiah usually gives his other name, Jeconiah, and shortens it to Coniah. He follows the word of the Lord, Who in chapter 22:24, dropped the prefix “Je” from his name, by way of reproach, for the Je signified Jah or Jehovah. The entire name meant the Lord will establish, but Jeremiah saw nothing of God´s establishment in the life or reign of Jeconiah. He and the Lord, both, called him Coniah.  

 In 2 Chronicles 36:9, it states that Jehoiachin or Jeconiah became king at eight years of age, while 2 Kings 24:8 said that he was 18. Some think that the writer of the Chronicles made a mistake, concerning his age. Others think that his father took him as a boy at eight years of age to join in the kingdom, in order to prepare him for his future reign. I would prefer to believe that opinion, as the reason for the discrepancy in these two accounts, rather than easily conclude that there is a mistake in the writing.  What we know for sure, is that he reigned by himself for only three months. By the time that he was 18, he had ample time to develop evil tendencies in his life. By that age, he had wives (2 K.24:15) and the chronicles of the kings show that he had offspring (1 Chr.3:16).

 I am trying to avoid, as much as possible, the chronology of this book, because it is extremely complicated. I am trying to concentrate on the content of the messages and prophecies. However, at times, it becomes necessary to refer to the different kings, during which reign Jeremiah prophesied. After the interjection of chapters 35 and 36 from the account of the earlier reign of Jehoiakim, chapter 37 continues from chapter 34 in the time of the reign of Zedekiah. Nebuchadnezzar took Jeconiah away to Babylon after three months and ten days, replaced him with his uncle, Mattaniah, and changed his name to Zedekiah (1). At 21 years of age, he is the third son of Josiah to reign in Judah and is of the royal line of David. He rebelled against the Babylonian emperor and, in so doing, broke his oath that he made before the true God (2 Ch.36:13), when he swore loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. 

Chapter 36

A spoken record is not enough

        1.      Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 

 2.      "Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. 

 3.      It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin." 

 4.      Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him. 

 I have no difficulty at all believing that Jeremiah was still an adolescent, when God called him into a prophetic ministry. The commentators, to which I often refer, see him as being very young, Adam Clarke calculating that he was only 14. The first proof of his age is in the Hebrew word that he used, when he protested his calling, saying “I am a youth” (1:6). The word is nahar, and is best translated a boy.

 Some commentators think that Jeremiah was exaggerating his youthfulness, but I find that that kind of assumption will breed error. You want to be careful of commentators, who infer that the writers of Scripture were exaggerators or even liars. It is a proof of the evil that is entwined with unbelief. Their conclusions mock Peter’s anointed statement: “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2P.1:21). The book of Daniel clearly states that Daniel and his three companions were taken to Babylon very shortly before the time that Jeremiah 35 and 36 were written. Some liberal theologians teach that Daniel lived at a much later date. By then, most of his prophecies would be history and not future.

 As to Jeremiah’s youth, it is not surprising, when we consider that others were called by God at an early age. Samuel was a child, certainly not over twelve years of age, when God placed a very weighty message on him for Eli and his sons. David must have been an adolescent, as the youngest of eight sons, when he was anointed king. Joseph was 17 when he arrived in Egypt as a slave, and immediately began to manifest the hand of God upon him. Daniel and his three companions, already mentioned, were probably adolescents, when they were taken to Babylon. Isaiah, Hosea and Zechariah were also called at a young age.