2 Kings 25 Final Two

We are down to the final two kings of Judah. Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Jehoiachin reigns 3 months and Zedekiah reigns 11 years. Both are carried off to Babylon.

We are coming to a close in history of the earthly monarchy of David. God preserved his line until the Jerusalem falls. There are multiple things going on during this time. One of the behinds the scenes looks comes from the book of Jeremiah.

Like with the “Two Brothers’ that we looked at two days ago, I will be rolling his account into the story. I did research yesterday to identify the chapters relating to our timeline. Jeremiah did NOT write in chronological order, so this was a challenge. Hopefully, I have it lined out and won’t have to keep backtracking. Let’s join in the journey of Judah’s kings one last time and allow the Spirit to direct our eyes and our feet.

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Jehoiachin watches as Nebuchadnezzar drags away his abba in chains. After they are out of his sight, Jehoiachin looks down at the small puddles of blood on the ground. The mark out a trail from where his abba stood, all the way through the door. Jehoiachin is certain, if he were to follow the trail, it would lead into the city, and out the gates. His abba, Jehoiakim, is not a well man. He is wounded. Jehoiachin wonders if he will make it to Babylon before bleeding to death.

Jehoiachin shakes himself from his musings. He needs to get busy, being about the task of running the country; under Nebuchadnezzar’s direction of course. He doesn’t really know where to start. This is the biggest ‘job’ ever laid on his eighteen-year-old shoulders. The first thing he does is seek out his abba’s advisors.

“My suggestion is not to change anything. Other than allowing Nebuchadnezzar to rule over us. You saw what resistance did to King Jehoiakim.”

“I saw it” Jehoiachin replies. He paces for a little while. “But my abba was totally against being a vassal king. I honestly don’t know what to do!”

“Nebuchadnezzar is gone for now. Let’s give everything a couple months to settle down. You can pay the tribute, as demanded, during that time, then make a long-term plan. Best not get overwhelmed with too many things at once.”

Jehoiachin agrees to this plan. He collects the taxes for the tribute, but does not send it out. His reasoning is that it is winter, and travel is difficult during the winter.

When spring arrives, so does Nebuchadnezzar. He didn’t approve of Jehoiachin waiting to deliver payment. Three months are now due their arrangement. And he isn’t in the mood to haggle. Nebuchadnezzar’s army stands ready to assault Jerusalem.

Jehoiachin KNOWS that the men of Judah have no chance against him. They will be destroyed. The only option is to surrender himself and pray for mercy. He calls the elders of Judah and his family together. When all are present, he outlines his plan.

“Nebuchadnezzar has returned. He is intent on destruction. Jerusalem stands right in his path to glory. If we resist him, we will be utterly destroyed. I feel this in my bones. I propose to surrender myself, and every member of my family. I am asking you, as leaders of Judah to surrender as well.”

The faces of the room register shock. “Why won’t our king protect us?” is the what many of them are thinking.

As if he could read their minds, Jehoiachin addresses their question. “I’m sure that some of you would want to turn and fight. But out fighting men are outnumbered almost five to one. We cannot expect even the best men to give up their lives for such a lost cause. He may relent if we surrender. And Jeremiah the prophet has been saying that those who submit to Babylon will not be killed.”

After a few minutes, they all agree that this is the best course of action. They comfort themselves by believing that Nebuchadnezzar might be pleased enough to leave Judah, without sacking her. And they are praying that Jeremiah is right!

Jehoiachin has been on the throne for three months and ten days when he walks out of the gates of Jerusalem into the waiting arms of Nebuchadnezzar.

“I have chosen to surrender myself and those with me, rather than seeing our city destroyed.”

“A wise decision. I will require access to the city and I will take whom and what I choose.”

Jehoiachin hadn’t planned on that, but it is still better than the alternative. Besides, he is already committed to this plan of action. Jehoiachin bows deeply. “Do with us what you think best.”

Nebuchadnezzar and his troops begin moving through the city. Anything they want, they take. One place they especially ‘fill their pockets’ is in the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar and his men carry off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. They and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord.

Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t stop with the men who have surrendered to him. He takes away nearly all of Jerusalem, including the army stationed there. The people they leave behind are the poorest of the poor in the city.

Before leaving with his captives, Nebuchadnezzar looks over the royal house. Someone has to remain and keep the people in line. He singles out the last of Josiah’s sons, Mattaniah. “You will be my agent in Jerusalem. I give you the throne of your father. And your name will no longer be Mattaniah. You shall be called Zedekiah.”

Those that Nebuchadnezzar’s men have rounded up are MANY. Seven thousand of them are Judah’s men of valor who would stand against the armies of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also included one thousand craftsmen. It is asking for trouble to leave these men behind. They might create new weapons for the people. Ten thousand of Jerusalem’s citizens march out with Nebuchadnezzar and Jehoiachin that day. All bound for Babylon.

Jeremiah watches as the huge contingent of people leave. He knows that they will be safe. And the Lord has left him in Jerusalem for a purpose.

The newly crowned and renamed Zedekiah also watches. All the elders he would have turned to for advice are marching away with his nephew, Jehoiachin. “They didn’t really help him though, did they” he asks himself.

Zedekiah tries his best to be a good vassal to Nebuchadnezzar. He does NOT want a repeat visit from him! He faithfully gathers and pays the tribute every year. And makes NO plans for war. This isn’t easy though because he has prophets telling him that Nebuchadnezzar’s days are numbered and the he will bring back the vessels of the Lord’s that he has taken and all the people.

And then there is Jeremiah. Jeremiah stands in the courtyard of the Temple, calling out to the people to repent. He says that God is using Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument of judgment. Zedekiah knows that both can’t be right. If he had to choose, he knows which outcome he would like. But which prophet speaks the truth?

As the first year of Zedekiah approaches, the Lord gives Jeremiah a word for the people who are living in Babylon. He calls Baruch, his faithful scribe to write the words of the Lord. Once he is finished, he takes it to the court of the guards and puts it in the hands of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah. These two men will deliver the first tribute to Nebuchadnezzar from Zedekiah.

“Deliver this to the captives in Babylon. It is a message to them from the Lord.”

 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, declares the Lord’” (Jeremiah 29:4-23).

After the letter is read in Babylon to the exiles, Shemaiah sends a letter of his own back with the envoys. He is angry at the words of Jeremiah. And he wants him STOPPED! His letter is addressed Zephaniah the priest.

Zephaniah reads Shemaiah’s letter. He is not about to do as he says. What he does do is call for Jeremiah.

Jeremiah comes to the Temple courtyard and Zephaniah greets him. “Shalom Jeremiah. I have a letter I need to read to you. Let us go into my chambers where we can have some privacy.”

The two men make their way to the priest’s chamber. “This is the letter that returned with the envoy from Babylon. It is from Shemaiah.”

“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce’” (Jeremiah 29:26-28).

“I will speak to the Lord concerning this. I am certain to have another letter. Do you know someone who is going to Babylon who could carry it there for me?”

“I don’t know anyone off hand, but I will find someone. I will be ready to send whatever you bring to me.”

Jeremiah doesn’t have to wait long for the Lord to give him a reply to Shemaiah’s letter. He enlists the services of Baruch again to write his letter.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons. Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce”’” (Jeremiah 29:25-28).

Jeremiah sent a second letter to the exiles from the Lord concerning Shemaiah. “Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord’” (Jeremiah 29:31-32).

Jeremiah takes both letters to Zephaniah for delivery. They go out that same day by the hand of one of Zephaniah’s servants. It is received with mixed emotions by the exiles. Shemaiah doesn’t receive his well at all, but he is too afraid to write back and challenge Jeremiah.

During the end of the third year of Zedekiah’s reign, the Lord gives Jeremiah a two-part message. The first part is visual, while the second part is a warning. The visual will help get the message across.

“Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

“‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord”’” (Jeremiah 27:2-11).

Jeremiah begins work on his yoke right away. He makes it of wooden yoke bars and leather straps. It takes three days of working with it until it fits his head and shoulders without tipping him over. Once it is ready, he goes into the streets. The first place he heads for is the courtyard of the guard. He will search out envoys from the places the Lord identified. They always present themselves to the guards before being shown into the presence of the king.

Everyone is staring at him as he moves through the city. Some approach him but most stand back and watch. “Jeremiah is a strange one. You never know what he is going to do. And his predictions are always dire. No one really wants to hear doom and gloom all the time. If only, once, he would give a positive prediction” a husband tells his wife.

Jeremiah hears them as he walks by, but he can only say what the Lord has given him. And, right now, that is ‘doom and gloom’ for Judah. “If only they would listen and turn from their sins. Then they might get that positive prediction they want so badly” thinks Jeremiah.

Jeremiah is glad he took so much time fitting the yoke to his own body. It is heavy, but the way it contours to his shoulders distributes the weight without chafing. When he reaches the court of the guard, the people there stand and gawk at him too. “Now that I have their attention, I might as well see if anyone is going where I need messages sent” thinks Jeremiah.

“I am looking for the envoys from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. I have a message from the Lord God of Israel to their kings.”

Envoys from Tyre and Ammon step over to him. “What message do you have for our kings?”

Jeremiah repeats all that the Lord has given him. Both men look at him skeptically. They are wondering if he is crazy.

“I tell you the truth. If you do not deliver the words of my God to your kings, then their deaths will be on your heads.”

Both men nod before going back to what they were doing. Jeremiah realizes that he will have to come several times before he delivers the Lord’s word to all the nations God laid out for him.

Jeremiah walks around daily wearing his yoke. He doesn’t keep his message to the envoys alone. He speaks to the people, the priests, and even Zedekiah.

To the priests and the people, Jeremiah cries out; “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place” (Jeremiah 27:16-22).

Every opportunity that Jeremiah has to come before the king, he uses it to share this word of the Lord. He his hopeful that, someday, his message will get through to him.

“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live. Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you” (Jeremiah 12-15).

Jeremiah knows that he is facing conflicting words from the prophets that gravitate around the king. These same prophets stand in the house of the Lord as well, spewing their lies to the people and the priests.

Still wearing his yoke, Jeremiah comes to the courtyard of the Temple at the same time as Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon. This happens to occur in the fifth month of the fourth year of Zedekiah.

As Jeremiah enters the courtyard, where the priests and the people are gathered around Hananiah. When Hananiah sees Jeremiah, he launches into his prophecy.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 28:2-4) says Hananiah.

Jeremiah raises his hand and shouts. “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles…” Jeremiah drops his arm and looks straight into Hananiah’s eyes and continues. “…Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet” (Jeremiah 28:6-9).

Hananiah’s face goes red. He pushes through the crowd and stands in front of Jeremiah. Quick as a snake he reaches out and grabs the yoke bars on Jeremiah’s neck. Jeremiah stands still, as though this is an everyday occurrence.

Hananiah roughly pulls the bars over Jeremiah’s head. As Hananiah is pulling the yoke away, Jeremiah allows his hands to drop from the straps. He still hasn’t made a move against Hananiah.

Hananiah grasps the yoke by both ends and brings the wood down across his upraised thigh. The yoke breaks in two pieces. Holding up one piece above his head, Hananiah prophecies again. “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years” (Jeremiah 28:11).

Jeremiah wags his head but doesn’t say a word. He turns and walks away, leaving Hananiah holding the broken yoke and thinking that he has put Jeremiah to shame.

Two days later the Lord speaks to Jeremiah. “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field’” (Jeremiah 28:13-14).

Jeremiah did not want this confrontation taking place in front of the people, so he goes to Hananiah’s house. He speaks the words of the Lord first, regarding the IRON yoke that is coming. There is one more message that the Lord has for Hananiah. It is only partially payback for the way he treated Jeremiah. The biggest reason for the judgment the Lord is passing on Hananiah is his lying in God’s name and confusing the people.

“Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.  Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord’” (Jeremiah 28:15-16).

Two months later, Hananiah dies. His just reward.

After delivering the message to Hananiah, the Lord gave Jeremiah something else to work on. “Write these words in a book and have Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, read them in Babylon when he goes there with Zedekiah.”

Jeremiah called for his friend Baruch who was a scribe. “The Lord wants me to write down his words in a book that will be read in Babylon. It is nothing as extensive as what we wrote for Jehoiakim.”

“Hopefully, it won’t suffer the same ending as the first scroll.”

The two get to work and are finished in three days. Jeremiah takes the book to Seraiah in the court of the guards. “Seraiah, I know that you are going to Babylon soon. I have this book of prophecy that the Lord commanded me to write. I am entrusting it to you, as He also instructed me.” Jeremiah hands Seraiah the book.

Seraiah begins to leaf through it when Jeremiah continues his instructions. “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted’” (Jeremiah 51:61-64).

It is time to bring the tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. Usually, Zedekiah sends an envoy with it. This time, Zedekiah chooses to go along on the journey. He wants to see how the people are doing in Babylon. And he wants to assess the strength of Nebuchadnezzar.

Zedekiah and Seraiah are shown into Nebuchadnezzar’s throne room. It is as opulent as King Solomon’s was, at least from the stories he has heard. Nebuchadnezzar is surprised to see Zedekiah. It is unusual for the king to deliver tribute himself.

“King Zedekiah, my lad, how nice to see you again. How are things going in Judah?”

Zedekiah bows before answering. “Things could certainly be better. The people work hard, but the Lord has withheld His blessings on our labors. The crops struggle for growth and rain. The tribute required is taxing the people to poverty.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Let’s hope for a better year in the new season. I trust you have brought all that was required.”

“I have, my lord. It is all we have.”

After presenting the tribute, which Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t even bother to count or even look at, Zedekiah and Seraiah leave the palace. “I have a task to preform, my king, before we return to Judah.”

“What task would that be?”

“Jeremiah has given me a book of a prophecy that I am to read before the people. It concerns the downfall of Babylon.”

Zedekiah’s eyes light up. “This is a prophecy I would also like to hear. I also wanted to see how the people of Judah are doing in this foreign land.”

“Let’s look near the Euphrates River. My task completes by throwing the book into the river.”

The two walk until they find a group of Judeans working along the banks of the river. Seraiah takes the book from a parcel he has concealed in his robe. He did not want Nebuchadnezzar to find it. He begins reading.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble. Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army. They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets. For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

‘Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken;
the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. The Lord has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

‘Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.

‘Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures,
your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

‘It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.

‘You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

‘I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.

‘Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord.

‘Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts. Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion. The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken. One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side; the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.’

‘Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out. The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,’ let the inhabitant of Zion say. ‘My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,’ let Jerusalem say. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will plead your cause  and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry, and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.

‘They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions’ cubs. While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the Lord. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats.

‘How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen.

‘Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler.

‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the Lord. Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.

‘You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind: “We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the Lord’s house.”

‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the Lord.

‘A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! For the Lord is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the Lord is a God of recompense; he will surely repay. I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire’” (Jeremiah 51:1-58).

Jeremiah’s message has an unintended consequence. King Zedekiah begins thinking about breaking away from Nebuchadnezzar. “If the Lord is going to topple him, maybe I can give Him a hand” thinks Zedekiah. From this day on, Zedekiah begins searching for help to topple Nebuchadnezzar, before he rules the whole world!

(to be continued)

We are going to break here and finish up with the fall of Judah next time. Even after lining out the order that I though things happened in, I had to do some rethinking and shuffling. When I asked Google if Zedekiah went to see Nebuchadnezzar, it told me “No.” It claims that envoys were sent but not the king. Jeremiah 51:59 clearly says otherwise. “The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster.” I’ll believe God’s word over Google any day!

This trip and hearing this message read, I believe, is the start of Zedekiah’s rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. And that TOO was part of God’s plan. NOT that He made Zedekiah rebel, but He used Zedekiah’s heart to bring about the EXACT prophecies He was giving through Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s life is easy now, compared to what is coming up. But God promised him that He would protect him, no matter what came, IF he stayed true to Him. And He promised that same thing to the rest of Israel, and they wouldn’t take Him up on His offer.

He holds that SAME offer out to us today. As you may have noticed, being God’s servant DOES NOT guarantee you no trouble in life. God is NOT a giant aspirin that takes all your headaches away. What He IS, is big enough to carry you through ANYTHING that comes. AND He promises us eternity with Him after this life is over. THAT is worth ALL the pain we walk through!

Father God, thank You for carrying me through the storms. Thank You that I am NEVER ALONE in my struggles. You are right beside me. Making me a bronze wall, just like Jeremiah. I’m MORE than grateful that I don’t have to live Jeremiah’s life! I don’t know how I would hold up under that much pressure. I fall down under the pressure of my own life more times than I like. And mine isn’t nearly as public as his was. Thank You for letting me learn from his example though, and tell his stories is a little bit different way.