THIS chapter, like chapters 21 and 32 to 34, deals with the events of the last two years of the kingdom of Judah.
Verse 2 is an exceedingly solemn testimony concerning the king, his servants and the people of the land; the solemnity of it is heightened by the fact that the day of judgment for them was at hand. We speak only of this life, for they, with the rest of the unrepentant dead, have yet to face the judgment of the great white throne (Revelation 20).
The Word of God gives one unvarying testimony about mankind, namely, that His gracious and merciful offers have ever been ignored or refused by the mass of those addressed. There are many examples of this, the earliest being in the days before the flood when not a soul outside of Noah’s family accepted God’s warning and took shelter in the ark. The time is now plainly close at hand when the gospel will fall entirely upon deaf ears; when that time has been reached, the closing scenes on earth will begin, the heavenly saints having first been taken away at the Lord’s coming for them. God is not mocked. Well may the inspired writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (12:25) say, “See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh” (i.e., from heaven).
Man in his inner self knows that there is a God, but he shuns all thought of his benefactor. In times of deep distress the man of the world, finding all that he leans upon but shifting sand, will cry out to God for help, having neither repentance nor faith. This is seen in Zedekiah’s message to Jeremiah (verse 3). See 2 Chron. 36:1212And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 36:12). In speaking of Jehovah as “our God”, he evidenced that he belonged to that class of which Isaiah wrote in chapter 29:13, and of which One infinitely greater than he spoke in Matthew 15:88This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8).
The Egyptians with whom Zedekiah had made an alliance when he broke his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, sent an army to fight against the Babylonians (or Chaldeans, as they are called in verse.5), who thereupon abandoned the siege of Jerusalem in order to meet Pharaoh’s hosts. This removal was only temporary, and the soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar presently returned to their posts around the doomed city. The answer which God gave Jeremiah concerning Zedekiah (verses 7 to 10) gave the latter no relief from his fears. In truth, God had given up His earthly people because of their wickedness, and He who had long fought for Israel was now, of necessity, on the side of their adversaries.
Verse 12 Jeremiah would gladly have withdrawn from Jerusalem, when the opportunity offered, but it is evident that God willed otherwise; he was to remain in the city until the end of the siege, a testimony there for his divine Master, and not this only; he was to taste more deeply than before, of suffering for His sake. Thus the prophet became an example for those Jews of the last days, who will comprise the believing and suffering remnant God will preserve through the unparalled tribulation called the time of Jacob’s trouble. We are persuaded that it is chiefly for this reason (the encouragement of Jewish believers in that time) that the Scriptures reveal so much about Jeremiah’s suffering at the hands of his unbelieving countrymen.
Verses 16, 17: King Zedekiah appears to have been quite content to leave God’s faithful servant in a dungeon (literally, “house of the pit” or cistern) and after many days of cold indifference to Jeremiah’s suffering, he sends for him only to inquire, “Is there any word from Jehovah?”
The prison house has been honored with the presence of not a few faithful men of God and the Scriptures name some of them; we think of Joseph, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul among these, and Daniel and the three companions of his youth belong to the same noble army of sufferers for His name. Jeremiah’s faith blessedly was sustained through the very trying circumstances he was required to face; it was a severe test, but God had him in His keeping, and we do not doubt that many times since then he has rejoiced because he was permitted to suffer for His sake.
There was a word from Jehovah for the young king, and it was an unwelcome message (verse 17). If in Jeremiah’s words to Zedekiah we see imperfection, as in Joseph in his similar case—looking to man instead of entirely to God for relief from his suffering—let us recall that but One perfect in every way has walked this earth—the lowly Jesus. He never of man sought relief from the trials that beset His path as He journeyed from the manger to the cross.
Blessed Master, may we be growing more like Thee here until we meet Thee in the air!
ML-03/10/1935