 52:3 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. This rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is a glaring example of how far and how deep the nation of Israel had fallen. Through Jeremiah, God had already spoken to the nation that for their own good, they should yield peacefully to Babylon. This was God's ordained judgment and there was no value in resisting it. In fact, they were warned just the opposite. If they yielded, their lives would be better in many ways until God restored them to their land and rebuilt them as a nation. But when the poison of pride has wholly taken over a person or a nation, self-deceived disillusion will always follow. No matter what God said or what the obvious facts were, they believed they could override it all. This king, Zedekiah, actually believed he could withstand the greatest world power of his time, a world power that God's servants had warned was sent by God to bring judgment on them as a rebellious nation. How often have we seen those in rebellion to God go to their deathbed believing that God will not be able to judge them. Regardless of the warnings and the offer of grace—nothing can free them from their hard and angry hearts against God. We all have known people who live out sinful patterns of life that create ever-worsening consequences. Yet they blindly hold onto their sin, believing that just around the corner all will be well. Zedekiah's rebellion did nothing but intensify Babylon's determination to utterly destroy what leaders remained in Jerusalem and then completely level the city. The Temple, the palace, and the houses were all burned to the ground. The massive walls around the city were pulled down and all the valuable gold, silver, and bronze of the Temple taken to Babylon. Rebellion and pride against God will corrupt and blind anyone under its grip. May we all discover the antidote for pride in Jesus Christ. May He who defined Himself as "meek and lowly" become the source, the antidote to the poison of pride. Let His life purify pride's poison lest it bring us to our destruction. | |||
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Jeremiah 52:1-34 The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed 1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 9 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. 10 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 He also put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. The Temple and City Plundered and Burned 12 Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 17 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 19 The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 20 The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 Now concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was four fingers; it was hollow. 22 A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates, all around on the network, were one hundred. The People Taken Captive to Babylonia 24 The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 25 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king's close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land. 28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 31 Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 34 And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life. | |||
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| Jeremiah 52:1-34 v. 1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king – This chapter is an appendix to the book of Jeremiah and was written by someone other then Jeremiah. This chapter parallels the content in 2 Kings 24:18-25:30. The Jeremiah mentioned in this verse one is not the Jeremiah who wrote this book. v. 12 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard – Nebuzaradan was a high-ranking officer in Nebuchadnezzar's army and was responsible for supervising the destruction of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan released Jeremiah and gave him the choice of going to Babylon or remaining in Judah (40:2-4). v. 28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive – Verses 28-30 records three sets of deportations during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The first deportation took place in 597 BC, the second when Jerusalem fell in 586 BC and the final one in 581 BC (possibly as a response to Gedaliah's assassination, 41:1-3). v. 31 Evil-Merodach king of Babylon – Evil-Merodach was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and he succeeded his father as king of Babylon, but ruled for only one year, from 561-560 BC. He was deposed, probably murdered, by his brother-in-law Nergal-Sharezer who was a former military officer. | |||
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| For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. –Jeremiah 52:3 Pride is a dangerous thing, God, as we read today. But we also see, Jesus, that pride is sneaky and grabs hold in small ways at first. We may not see our pride, Lord, but we know that You do. Show us, Jesus. Reveal to us our sinful pride that must go so that we can have right hearts before You. | |||
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If they yielded, their lives would be better in many ways ~ Bob Caldwell
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