- Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his entire army invaded and besieged Jerusalem
in the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth year as ruler of Judah. The city was broken into in
Zedekiah’s eleventh year, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month.
Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, and Rabmag, along
with the other princes of the king of Babylon, all entered and sat in the Middle Gate.
● King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar with his entire army attacked Jerusalem and laid
siege to it. Nebuchadnezzar utilized the standard tactic for attacking fortified towns at
the time: a siege. A city under siege was encircled, prohibiting any trade or business
from entering or leaving the city, eventually starving the populace to death, or the
city’s defenses buckled and the surrounding army poured into the frail city.
● The city was invaded: This is exactly what God foretold via His prophet Jeremiah.
Judah was not saved by the Egyptians, and the LORD did not miraculously deliver
them as He had done with the Assyrians 130 years earlier. Jeremiah was shown to
be correct, while the false prophets who made promises of relief and success were
mistaken.
● As a sign of their control over the captured city, all of the princes of the Babylonian
king then entered and sat in the Middle Gate. They had ownership of it. It can be
challenging to distinguish between a name and a title among the princes whose
names are given below.
Two cross-references to the passage we just read in verse 1 are highlighted below.
Babylon arrived in Zedekiah’s ninth year and the tenth month of that year, according to verse - Jeremiah 52:4 and 2 Kings 25:1 both mention the day of the month. The tenth day would
be then. Therefore, Babylon arrived to lay their last siege on Jerusalem on the tenth day of
the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth year. In reality, this corresponds to January 15, 588 BC.
Then, all of this occurred roughly 2,605 years ago. - (4-5) Zedekiah the King was taken prisoner. When Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and all
the soldiers saw them, they ran and left the city at night by the gate between the two walls,
through the king’s garden. And so he left via the plain. However, the Chaldean army chased
them and caught up with Zedekiah on the Jericho plains. Once they had him in custody, they
took him to Riblah in the Hamatian kingdom of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, passed judgment on him.
a. In addition to fleeing the Babylonians, they escaped and left the city at night in the hopes
of avoiding the impending retribution of God against them.
i. Zedekiah abandons the people he has condemned because he has not dared to trust God
to deliver him, his city, and his family (Jeremiah 38:17–19). (Kidner)
ii. Zedekiah and his supporters may have been able to flee the city undetected until they
were outside of the city limits if there was a secret underground passageway that led outside
the city walls (Clarke)
iii. A striking forecast of this event is found in Ezekiel 12:12, which states that the prince
among them would leave at dusk while carrying his possessions on his shoulder. To get
them out through the wall, they will dig a hole in it. So that he cannot see the ground with his
eyes, he must cover his face.
iv. “The Garden of the King was close to the Pool of Siloam (cf. Nehemiah 3:15).” (Harrison)
● Zedekiah was captured by the Chaldean army when it pursued them into the plains
of Jericho, which were some distance from Jerusalem. When they were taken
captive, they were not far from the Jordan River and possibly safe. Nevertheless,
they were apprehended, and their close call only made their end more miserable.
● They presented him before Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon: Zedekiah resisted the
king in person several times before Jeremiah said that he would do so (Jeremiah
32:4, 34:3). It was now completed.
Zedekiah and these men had numerous chances to “flee” when doing so would have
been beneficial, which is sobering and heartbreaking to comprehend. Before this, they could
have left for Babylon at any time and been spared. They might have received good care. But
later on in the story, we’ll see what their disobedience gets them. This “king’s garden” is most
likely in Jerusalem’s south. The eastern hill’s wall and the western hill’s wall would have met
there. Hence the mention of the “two walls.”
Zedekiah, however, is unable to escape God’s wrath for his disobedience and
hesitation. In verses 5-7, Zedekiah finally had a face-to-face encounter with the king of
Babylon, just as God had previously promised him via Jeremiah. And that will be among his
final sights.
Then, in Riblah, the king of Babylon executed the sons of Zedekiah in front of the
king. He also executed all the Judah nobles. Zedekiah’s eyes were also amputated, and he
was tied with bronze fetters and taken to Babylon. The Chaldeans also tore down the walls
of Jerusalem and set fire to the king’s residence as well as the homes of the populace. The
remainder of the citizens in the city who had not deserted to Nebuzaradan’s side were then
taken captive to Babylon by the captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan. But Nebuzaradan, the
captain of the guard, left the destitute people in Judah with nothing while while giving them
lands and vineyards.
Let’s not overlook the significance of Zedekiah’s capture location either. He was
apprehended in this city called Jericho, sealing Judah’s doom in the process. However, over
10 centuries prior to this time, Israel began its conquest of Canaan at this identical city.
And now that they had disobeyed, the Lord had to ultimately fulfill his word to them at
the end of the book of Deuteronomy by bringing it upon them. And now he was expelling
them rather than giving them the land and keeping them there. They began conquering this
region around 1400 BC and driving the local population out. But now, in 586 BC, the
Babylonians are driving out the Jews themselves. Let me add one more point that I believe I
have brushed over up to this point. This book has used the terms Babylonians and
Chaldeans interchangeably on numerous occasions. That’s OK, but I wanted to provide
some context for that. Originally, the Chaldeans were a people that lived south of the actual
Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar originated from that group. Actually, it was his father who
established the Chaldean dynasty. This situation partially explains why Jeremiah 1 cites God
as speaking of “the families of the north” – probably reflecting this mix of groups within thisentity known as “the Chaldeans” here in verse 5. So it is that entity – the Chaldean dynasty –
that is referred to as “the Babylonians” or as “the Chaldeans.” Well, at this point in the
narrative, according to 2 Kings 25:5 and Jeremiah 52:8, his warriors dispersed from him.
Zedekiah is now completely alone after being left behind by his officials, soldiers, and
alleged friends. similar to what Jeremiah stated in chapter 38. They turned away from him
just as his feet were getting metaphorical muck stuck in them. But God wouldn’t have done
that. God never abandons or departs from his people. If only Zedekiah had listened to God
and feared Him instead of men. And it is with this way of thinking that we should read the
biblical accounts. We do need to let the stories that we read in the Bible influence our
morals. These tales indeed have moral lessons, but they also contain other lessons as well.
Take a look at Zedekiah’s actions, for instance, while we read this story. Take note of
what God said. And take into account the outcomes of Zedekiah’s deeds and faith, or lack
thereof. And the moral of this narrative is to trust God and obey him even when it seems that
doing so will result in definite death. Because you will go through worse than you could have
ever imagined if you don’t take God seriously. Do you believe Zedekiah ever thought he’d
have to watch his sons being killed before having his eyes cut out? I have my doubts. I
imagine that by disobeying God, he was attempting to prevent this. It was a failure. And we
won’t succeed by disobeying in this manner.
Even when doing so seems to be going to endanger your life, trust and obey God.
Considering that the alternative can be worse than death.
Riblah was a city located on the western border of what is now Syria/Lebanon.
Zedekiah was taken “up” by the army north of Jericho, where they found him, because it is
north of Israel and Judah. That is how Zedekiah and his officers conducted themselves,
then. Death, devastation, and deformity They had not anticipated how it would turn out. And
the reason why is that they didn’t plan with consideration for what God wanted. They all had
a tragic ending. The city of these rebellious people is now in ruins, and won’t be rebuilt until
around 70 years from now, when Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah begin to lead a return to
the country. We know that what we just read in verse 8 took place approximately a month
after Zedekiah’s flight from Jerusalem from 2 Kings 25:8–9 and Jeremiah 52:12–13. As a
result, there is around one month between verses 5-7 and verse 8. Furthermore,
Nebuchadnezzar did not personally harm Jerusalem in any of these ways. Instead, we learn
from the scriptures we just cited that this devastation of Jerusalem was carried out by a
Babylonian official by the name of Nebuzaradan. The following verse contains more
information about this individual. On the other hand, let’s not deceive ourselves into believing
that we can live a godless life from Monday morning through Saturday night and then attend
church on Sunday morning with the notion that this will somehow make things right between
us and the Lord.
You cannot receive forgiveness of your sins just because you go to church. Only repenting of
those sins before the Lord and placing one’s faith in Christ may do it.
I believe there are many people present now who truly believe they are accepted by
God and that he has forgiven them of all of their sins. However, I sincerely hope that nobody
in this room believes that doing any sort of religious rite will grant them a pardon. going to
church, getting baptized, donating money to charitable organizations, etc. External religious
observance won’t get you into heaven. True conversion to Christ alone via saving faith in him
does this.
Imagine the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. In the case of Jeremiah, it would be
like if George W. Bush had instructed the army to spare the life of a specific resident of
Kabul as the US army prepared to enter that city. It is really unlikely. The ruler of the
occupying country would have very little incentive to be merciful to anyone. In fact, God will
use Babylon’s cruelty toward Judah’s elderly and feeble as justification for judging them in
the future because of how harsh they will be to them. Thus, Jeremiah is treated with
remarkable tenderness by Babylon despite the fact that they were ruthless and wicked.
Therefore, this is nothing more than God exerting direct influence over the heathen leader’s
heart. Whether a king be Jewish, Babylonian, or of another nationality, his or her heart is in
the Lord’s hands. And this is where Gedaliah’s name is first mentioned. We’ll learn later that
Babylon has now designated this man as the governor of Judah.
He comes from a fascinating and revered family. In Jeremiah 26:24, his father
Ahikam defended Jeremiah. And Shaphan, the grandfather of Gedaliah, played a role in
Josiah’s conversion, as we’ve already mentioned.
Gedaliah appears to be a decent person. But at least his grandfather and father were
decent people.It’s important to note that Jeremiah stayed among the people in the last
sentence. Do you believe Jeremiah had a soft spot for these people? Do you really believe
that he relished being around them? Do you believe they shared many traits? Would
Jeremiah have approved of their worship of false gods and mistreatment of others? No.
Jeremiah probably wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with these people in the normal world.
And yet, after being given the choice to leave them behind, he chooses to remain among
them. These people had to be punished by God for their egregious offenses. Jeremiah had
experienced maltreatment from them, which gave him numerous reasons to despise them.
Jeremiah stayed with them, but why? This is why. Jeremiah had realized that God
had sent him to minister to these people, good and wicked alike. What enables the
missionary to continue serving in the midst of heinous sin? What will prevent you and I from
attempting to contact stubborn family members and friends? Keep in mind that God has
invited us to serve as his witnesses in this life. That’s what we do. That is the sole purpose of
our existence. And neither you nor I am driven to serve because of the individuals we are
called to. Serving sinful individuals who are made in the image of the Lord our God should
be our motive. That was how Jeremiah experienced it. That also applies to us.
Finally, I only want to point out that we have already seen how many organizations or people
have fared when God’s judgments have begun to take effect.
All of Zedekiah’s family members—his children, his officials, and the people he
oversaw—were unfaithful to God’s just demands and are now either deceased or captive.
Their circumstances have shown the truth of God’s word. After dealing with these rebels for
many years, Jeremiah, who was different from the others in that he obeyed God’s orders, is
still standing by God’s favor. However, the narrative now abruptly ends and flashes back a
few months. A man named Ebed-Melech was described in the previous chapter. He was an
Ethiopian mercenary combatant. He reportedly received a contract to defend Judah against
Babylon. However, something that happened to this man—a gentile—led him to become
worried for the wellbeing of the prophet Jeremiah.
We will now learn the cause of Ebed-anxiety Melech’s for Jeremiah. While in Jerusalem,
Ebed-Melech had faith in the one true God. He would then be freed from the Babylonians,
who he had been terrified of.
Thus, we have a remarkable example of a Gentile being rescued by faith in the Old
Testament book of Jeremiah. God deals with Ebed-Melech in this way, delivering him as a
result of his faith. vv. 15–18. Saved. With faith! Let’s review then. Zedekiah? His kids were
killed. He had his throne forcefully taken away. His sense of vision was permanently taken.
All of Jerusalem’s citizens? Many of them perished. The remainder were whisked away from
their homes, never to be seen again. All of their homes were destroyed. Jeremiah? treated
well—possibly better than he has been for several decades. Ebed-Melech? by his trust in the
one and only true God. the same as we are. You would want to believe that this is the last
chapter. Jeremiah might possibly enjoy a happy life after all. However, as we’ll learn from the
next chapters, these Jews’ uprising is far from ended. Next time, we’ll look forward to that.
Few Reminders:
- Maintain your faith
- Trust God no matter what the situation looks like
- Know that God’s plans are beyond our imaginations