Call to Commitment

 

 

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

1.      Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 

2.      He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 

3.      For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 

4.      Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the   month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 

5.      So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 

6.      By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 

7.      Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the plain. 

8.      But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 

9.      So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. 

10.  Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 

11.  He also put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. 

12.  Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 

13.  He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 

14.  And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. 

15.  Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 

16.  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 

17.  The bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 

18.  They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered.

19.  The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 

20.  The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 

21.  Now concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was four fingers; it was hollow. 

22.  A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. 

23.  There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates, all around on the network, were one hundred.

At the end of chapter 51, we are informed that Jeremiah has finished his book. This chapter is added later. It is also evident that Jeremiah was not alive to give the account concerning King Jehoiachin, at the end of this chapter, 37 years after the king was taken into captivity. It is, then, an appendix to the book, some think probably written by Ezra.

 It begins with a short biography of King Zedekiah, then recounts the story of the defeat of Jerusalem, from verse 4 to 16, already related by Jeremiah in chapter 39. You may want to return to that chapter to review my comments about this event. Various details are given throughout the book of Jeremiah and this account is also written in 2 Kings 24 and 25. 

 The prophesy of the removal of the pillars, the great Sea, along with the carts used for the purification of the priests, and the vessels of the temple is proclaimed in Jeremiah 27:18-22. I made several comments over that portion, as well, if you would like to read them. Here, the utensils for the items in the temple are listed.  If you are interested, you can study these items, as Moses ordered them in Exodus 27:3 and 38:3. The lampstand and its utensils are itemized in Exodus 25:31-40. It was Solomon who constructed the sea, borne by oxen, and the two pillars. The description of the pillars follow. and, of course, he remade all the utensils and furniture that Moses ordered originally. You can study Solomon’s work in 1 Kings 7.  

 

Three exiles carried out by Nebuchadnezzar

       24.  The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest                                      and the three doorkeepers.

25.  He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king's close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.  

26.  And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 

27.  Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land. 

28.  These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 

29.  in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 

30.  in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred. 

The Babylon captain, Nebuzaradan, brought principal men out of Jerusalem to be executed… the two chief priests, doorkeepers, the officer in charge of the men of war, close associates of the king, the scribe of the army, and 60 men, who had fled from their homes around Judah to Jerusalem (24-26). Jeremiah tells of them earlier in the book. These were rebellious against the emperor, covetous men dealing falsely: “And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land," says the LORD.  "Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.  (Ch.6:12-13).  Nebuchadnezzar executed them at the same place mentioned in verse 10, Riblah, at the northern border of Israel in Hamath (v.27). The emperor was stationed there.

The first exile took place in Nebuchadnezzar’s seventh year, when he took King Jehoiachin andhis mother to Babylon, along with many other captives. Daniel and his three companions were in that number, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, renamed by the Babylonian in charge of their care, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,. In the 18^th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem was conquered, and captives were taken. Finally, in the 23^rd year of Nebuchadnezzar, other captives were taken, due to the death of the governor, appointed by Babylon, Gedaliah.

 

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

31,   Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.

32.  And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 

33.  So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 

34.  And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life. 

These last few verses of the book of Jeremiah are very special and inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to the reader a characteristic in God’s personality. The story of the final years of King Jehoiachin are also found at the end of the history of the kings (2 K.25:27-30). Our account leaps into the future, because sixteen years separate verse 30 from verse 31. I believe, we cannot miss the point that is being made, as it is included at the end of the book. Jeremiah has had many harsh and painful prophecies to give, but now we have some good news.

Let me refer to James’ letter to portray this wonderful feature, which comes straight from the Lord’s nature. It is found in James 5: 11: “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” You remember the story, don’t you? The enemy stripped Job of all his possession and then robbed him of his health. I cannot image worse circumstances that any human is compelled to endure.

However, towards the end of the book, God reveals Himself to Job and in the last chapter, pours blessings upon his life. He doubled the livestock, which he possessed at the beginning of the story… sheep, camels, oxen and female donkeys. Adding to his ten children of chapter one, the Lord gives him ten more. Job was careful to see that each of his children was covered by burnt sacrifice, as he looked in faith to the supreme New Testament sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Different from his lost animals, his children, with eternal souls, were never lost, as one good brother, pointed out to me, after a lesson that I had just given on Job. His children also doubled.

As I look through the Bible, I notice that the Lord gives hope and encouragement at the end of inspired writings. We have the two examples at the end of Jeremiah and 2 Kings. Look at the last chapter of 2 Chronicles, where the Lord tells of the need of 70 years captivity, but then, jumps ahead beyond those 70 years, to tell of Cyrus’ decree to free the Jews to return to their native land. I’m going to stop, because I would have to write a book to include all the examples. There are too many, for a short article like this.

Let’s look at our text, so you can better understand, what I am trying to depict. Judah’s former King Jehoiachin was imprisoned in Babylon as a youth, 37 years before. There are different opinions, as to the reason that the new emperor of Babylon, Evil-Merodach, released him from prison. I won’t add my opinion to the others, because I know for sure that it was God, in mercy to the king and for the encouragement of his people, who poured out His grace upon him. His release symbolized God's forgiveness and restoration for Israel

The harsh environment of prison transformed into kindness from the emperor in his palace. The prison accommodations, if he had any, were exchanged for a seat above all the other captive kings. His prison clothing was replaced with garments that were certainly above that of the common people. Whatever the emperor enjoyed at his table, Jehoiachin enjoyed with him for the rest of his life. All the necessary provisions were provided for him, each day. The Lord, by His wonderful grace, was good to this man!

That is the last lesson from the book of Jeremiah, as the Holy Spirit hands it down to the writer of this chapter. Out of the Old Testament and into the New, God’s people have rejoiced, because this is a manifestation of the Lord that we serve, love, adore, and know in personal relationship. His stories have a good ending! Details concerning the heart of the writer, as he receives inspiration for this last portion, are not written, but I would think they would be similar to the author of Psalm 45: “My heart is overflowing with a good theme.”