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Jeremiah and Zedekiah

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Mar 15, 1906

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 11.

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Jeremiah and Zedekiah

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

S. N. HASKELL
Jeremiah prophesied in the days of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. It was Zedekiah that went into captivity under the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was vacillating in character. He professed to believe the testimonies of Jeremiah, and would often surrender himself to them, but would afterward swerve to the popular sentiment of the people.
The book of Jeremiah is a compilation of personal testimonies to these rulers and to the people that went into captivity. Oftentimes the curtain would be rolled back before the prophet’s mind, and he would see the end of this world and the condition of the people of God in the closing scenes of this world’s history.
Zedekiah would frequently inquire of the prophet if the Lord had any word for him and his people. On a certain occasion when this inquiry was made, the prophet told him that there was word from the Lord, and that he was not to be deceived, saying, ‘The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. 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.’ Because of this personal testimony given the king, the prophet was put into a dungeon, for there were many who heeded his words.
Through the influence of one Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian, the king repented of what he had done to Jeremiah and ordered him taken from the dungeon. ‘So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.’ Zedekiah repented of the course he had pursued and was anxious to do the will of the Lord, and so he asked the prophet if there was any word of the Lord for him. The prophet said there was, and the king swore unto him secretly, saying, ‘As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hands of these men that seek thy life.’ When he thus made a covenant to follow out the words of the Lord, the following promise was made to the king: ‘If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.’
The prophet became exceedingly anxious that Jerusalem might be saved from the judgments that God had threatened would come upon the city, and he besought the king, saying, ‘Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so shall it be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.’ The prophet assured him that everything that he feared would come upon him if he did not go forth. But Zedekiah was a weak man. He yielded to the popular sentiment and did not go forth, but was destroyed, and so was Jerusalem, and the people went into captivity.
From this history we learn several important facts. First, the threatened judgments of God are conditional, as are his promises. If we obey God, we live; if we disobey, we die, and bring upon ourselves swift destruction. Second, the testimony of the Lord, in adapting itself to the situation, appeared to be contradictory because the people changed, and what would apply to the king before he repented, would not apply when he repented. And so when the Lord said that Jerusalem would be destroyed, it was on condition that the people continued in their sinful course. Third, the Lord was anxious to save the king and the people from the judgments that he had said would come upon them. The prophet’s very soul was drawn out that they might be saved, but the conclusion of it all was that the king feared the people, surrendered to the people, and practically took back the covenant that he made with the prophet, and brought upon himself and upon the people the judgments threatened.
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