Jeremiah ends his written prophecy by first taking us back to a specific point in the history of Judah and then moving forward to a point 37 years ahead, v31, to leave us with a final view of the kingdom of Judah.
I A WICKED KING AND AN ANGRY GOD.
Cp v1-3.
In this chapter Jeremiah desires us to have a final view of the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. There are two vital factors in this fall that he rehearses here: the wickedness of Zedekiah and the anger of a righteous God.
- An evil King. Zedekiah’s reign is summarized here in one word—evil. He did so according to the Divine standard and in doing so complied with a human standard as well—his brother. How often conformity to human examples leads men contrary to the Divine standard of behaviour! He was faithful to his brother’s example. It is striking that there is no reference here to his godly father. His mother clearly had no influence upon him for good.
- A righteous God. This is the reference of the name Zedekiah. The righteous character of God demands an angry response to sin. Cp Ps 7:11. His righteousness becomes indignant against the wicked.
- His defiance of God was punished in a strange way. He was allowed by an angry God to strike a patriotic pose against Babylon! This was the trigger for the Babylonian invasion which was itself the long predicted means of Divine vengeance. The manifestations of Divine displeasure are many and varied.
II THE CITY FALLS, THE TEMPLE BURNED, THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE KINGDOM RUINED.
Cp v4-30.
- The city. Cp v4-7, 12-14. A siege is initiated which leads to a famine. The city in the end is forsaken by her defenders. The King and the remnants of his army abandon Jerusalem, v7-11.
- The Temple. Cp v17-23. What pathetic emphasis is given here to the details of the splendid resources of the Temple that are now to be broken up, burned and transported to Babylon.
- The kingdom. Cp v10-11, 15-16, 24-30. The King is removed, blinded and his heirs are killed. This branch of the royal line is terminated. Only the poorest/least skilled are left, v15-16, 28-30. Men in important administrative positions are killed, v24-27. These were roles/positions that held the fabric of the kingdom together.
III A FINAL VIEW OF JUDAH’S KING.
Jehoiachin is taken notice of v31-34. Perhaps he was Judah’s last surviving king. He was 3 years younger than his uncle Zedekiah. It is now 26 years after the fall of Jerusalem and the end of Zedekiah’s reign. Nebuchadnezzar is now dead and his son begins to reign.
The final view of Judah’s king is not a happy one. There is nothing here to really rejoice in from a spiritual perspective.
- A date of pagan significance. Many of the heathen cultures of history, notably Babylon, held this season in special regard. Some cultures held idolatrous festivals related to the moon, others to the sun/winter solstice. The King of Judah is elevated in such a context.
- A new royal diet. The book closes with Jehoiachin dining on the royal meat of Babylon. This was the diet that 45 years before, Daniel had refused and God had honoured him for it. Daniel is still alive at this point—indeed, he would live for more than 25 years after this—and the King’s actions are in defiance of his stand for God and for truth. The king of Judah fades from the Scriptural record as subservient, feted by the King of Babylon, relishing the temporal pleasures of a heathen society, while all that God had enriched his kingdom with lies in ruin and dishonour.