By Eugene Garner

PART III

A NATION IN CRISIS

(Chapters 37-45)

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 37

JEREMIAH BEATEN AND IMPRISONED

    For 40 years the kings, princes and people of Judah have ignored the faithful warnings of Judgment delivered by the prophet Jeremiah. So, the people who were divinely chosen to be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' are delivered into the hands of their enemies - a TOTAL FAILURE! By this judgment Jeremiah is finally recognized as the true man of God - though, even then, the remnant left behind refused to heed his voice!

    And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake 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 unto the LORD our God for us. 4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. 5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

    1. Zedekiah was a mere puppet of Babylon - installed by Nebuchadnezzar (597 B.C.) after Coniah had been taken captive to Babylon, (vs. 1; Ezek. 17:11-21).
    2. Neither the rulers nor the people in Judah were willing to heed the words that God had spoken to them through Jeremiah, (vs. 2; 2 Kings 24:18-20; 2 Chron. 36:11-16; comp. Prov. 29:12).
    3. After the siege was temporarily lifted (because the Babylonians were distracted by news of the approaching Egyptian army), Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah - desiring that he pray to God for Judah, that the respite might be permanent, (vs. 3-5; 2:27; 42:1-4, 20-22).
      a. One of the men sent to Jeremiah was an enemy, Jehukal, who was soon to seek Jeremiah's death, (38:4).
      b. Zephaniah, the priest, had been sent to Jeremiah on a previous occasion, (21:1-2; 29:25; 52:24).

    6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. 10 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.

    1. The Lord sent Jeremiah to Zedekiah with the word that Pharaoh's army, by which Nebuchadnezzar had been induced to lift the siege against Jerusalem, would NOT ACTUALLY FIGHT; they would, rather, return to their own land, (vs. 6-7; comp. 2:18-19, 36-37; Isa. 30:1-3; 31:1-3; Ezek. 17:17-20).

    2. The Chaldeans will return to Jerusalem to: fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire, (vs. 8; 34:21-22; 38:23; 39:2-8).

    3. The people of Judah must not deceive themselves any longer; the Chaldeans will NOT depart until Jerusalem is subdued! (vs. 9; 29:8-10; comp. Matt. 24:4-5; Eph. 5:6).

    4. Though Judah had so smitten them that nothing remained but wounded men, still, they would rise up and burn Jerusalem! (vs. 10; Lev. 26:26-38; Isa. 30:17).

    11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, 12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. 13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. 14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

    1. While the siege was lifted, Jeremiah tried to leave the city to examine the property he had bought from Hanameel, (vs. 11-12; 32:8-9).
    2. At the Benjamin gate he was detained by a captain of the ward by the name of Irijah, (vs. 13a) and charged with trying to desert to the enemy, (vs. 13b; comp. 18:8; 20:10; comp. Amos 7:10; Lk. 23:2; Acts 7:8-15; 24:5-9, 13).
    3. Though Jeremiah declared the charge to be false, Irijah refused to believe him, and brought him, bound, to the princes, (vs. 14; 40:4-6; Psa. 27:12; comp. Matt. 5:11-12).
    4. Angry with him, the princes beat the prophet and imprisoned him in the house of "Jonathan the scribe" which had been transformed into a prison, (vs. 15; 20:1-3; comp. 2 Chron. 16:10; 20:26 Acts 5:17-18).

    16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 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? 19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20 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. 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should 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.

    1. After Jeremiah had spent several days in an underground dungeon, he was summoned to the palace for a secret interview with king Zedekiah, (vs. 16-17; 38:5, 14-16, 24-28).
      a. Zedekiah wanted to know whether Jeremiah had ANY WORD FROM JEHOVAH, (vs. 17b; 15:11; 21:1-2).
      b. Jeremiah responded that there surely was a message from Jehovah, though it was NOT what the king wanted to hear: Zedekiah will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, (vs. 17c; 21:7; 24:8; Ezek. 12:12-14; 17:19-21).
    2. Then Jeremiah challenged the king:
      a. For what sin - against the king, his servants, or the people of Judah - have you imprisoned me? (vs. 18; comp. I Sam. 24:9; 26:18; Jn. 10:32).
      b. Where are those false prophets who had constantly repudiated the words of Jeremiah - assuring the king that there was nothing to fear from Babylon? (vs. 19; comp. Deut. 32:37-38; Jer. 2:28; 28:1-4, 10-17).
    3. Jeremiah pleads with the king not to send him back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the scribe, LEST HE DIE THERE! (vs. 20)
    4. It was then that Zedekiah commanded the transfer of Jeremiah to the court of the guard, (vs. 21; 32:2-3).
      a. A loaf of bread was also provided for his sustenance so long as the city stood, (Psa. 33:18-19; Isa. 33:14-16).
      b. But Zedekiah remained weak and vacillating to the very end - tempted to believe Jeremiah, and to follow his counsel; yet, lacking the courage to challenge the wisdom of his official advisors.
      c. Thus, there was no way that Jerusalem could be spared from utter ruin!