Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to keep their conversation secret, and assured him that in that case he would not be killed. The request was a secret covenant in which the king asked for counsel with nothing hidden, and pledged not to deliver Jeremiah again into hostile hands but to follow the light God would give, making secrecy the condition for Jeremiah not dying. It came after Zedekiah had Jeremiah taken from the dungeon, and after the release of every servant and debtor according to the jubilee, which had not been done since Moses.
It falls within the section of Jeremiah covering events in the two years before Jerusalem fell. It belongs to the last offer to spare Jerusalem from burning, which placed responsibility for the salvation of the city and of the king's own soul and house on going forth to the princes of Babylon. It belongs to the account in Jeremiah 38:1-28 that shows rejection of the word and message of the Lord in reproof, counsel, and warning, standing among the abominations that brought judgment. The chapter shows Jeremiah as a true prophet who suffered imprisonment and was given the bread and water of affliction because he faithfully declared what the Lord had shown him rather than speaking as the wicked king desired.
The verse shows that Zedekiah, though he consulted Jeremiah in secret, feared to act on the prophet's counsel and hoped in vain to avoid the consequences of obedience, displaying continuing fear and folly after he had refused to obey the Lord's warning. His refusal because he feared the people proved that professed faith covered secret unbelief, and his concern for secrecy left the prophet with a heavy heart. The failure under this close test gives guidance in the last days in relation to the humble instrument through whom God speaks.
Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to keep their conversation secret, and assured him that in that case he would not be killed. The request was a secret covenant in which the king asked for counsel with nothing hidden, and pledged not to deliver Jeremiah again into hostile hands but to follow the light God would give, making secrecy the condition for Jeremiah not dying. It came after Zedekiah had Jeremiah taken from the dungeon, and after the release of every servant and debtor according to the jubilee, which had not been done since Moses.
It falls within the section of Jeremiah covering events in the two years before Jerusalem fell. It belongs to the last offer to spare Jerusalem from burning, which placed responsibility for the salvation of the city and of the king's own soul and house on going forth to the princes of Babylon. It belongs to the account in Jeremiah 38:1-28 that shows rejection of the word and message of the Lord in reproof, counsel, and warning, standing among the abominations that brought judgment. The chapter shows Jeremiah as a true prophet who suffered imprisonment and was given the bread and water of affliction because he faithfully declared what the Lord had shown him rather than speaking as the wicked king desired.
The verse shows that Zedekiah, though he consulted Jeremiah in secret, feared to act on the prophet's counsel and hoped in vain to avoid the consequences of obedience, displaying continuing fear and folly after he had refused to obey the Lord's warning. His refusal because he feared the people proved that professed faith covered secret unbelief, and his concern for secrecy left the prophet with a heavy heart. The failure under this close test gives guidance in the last days in relation to the humble instrument through whom God speaks.