Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

At the time that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and Jeremiah spoke to the people, Babylon was the mightiest nation on Earth. They were unstoppable. But as soon as God spoke against them, their fate was sealed (Hebrews 10:31). No armour could protect them from the Lord. He would send winnowers as if they were wheat to be harvested. The streets of Babylon would be choked with the dead. They would be totally forsaken by God. In contrast, from God’s point of view, He had not forsaken Israel or Judah (Ezra 9:13). They would be saved even in the turmoil of Babylon’s fall and not die in the punishment for Babylon’s sin.

The Lord had used Babylon as a tool of judgment on the world. But they too would face judgment. It would be sudden. The Medes would overturn the nation in a night (Daniel 5:25-31). Their banners would fly from the walls. The land would tremble and be full of sorrow. The violence done to God’s children and the blood of Jerusalem would be on the Chaldeans. Babylon would become a heap and a desolation with no inhabitants. Judgment for their idolatry would come upon them. They would be completely plundered. Their walls would be broken. The gates burned with fire. The people would be weary.

Now we take a way-back machine and look at what Jeremiah told Seraiah from the Lord back in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign when Seraiah was quartermaster. The Lord instructed Seraiah through Jeremiah to take the book where Jeremiah had written all that would come upon Babylon. He was to look at Babylon when he first arrived, read the whole book, declare that the Lord had spoken against Babylon, and then tie a stone to the book and throw it into the Euphrates. Lastly, he was to declare that Babylon would sink and not rise from the catastrophe God would bring as judgment. [As far as we know, he did what he was told to.]

“Zedekiah was twenty-one years old at his beginning to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh like all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of Yahweh this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until his casting them from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And then in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came against Jerusalem, he and all his army. And they laid siege to it, and built siege works against it all around. So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.” (Jeremiah 52:1-5).

These events were recorded back in Jeremiah 39, 2 Kings 25, and 2 Chronicles 36. There was also a prophesy about these events recorded in Ezekiel 24. This chapter starts out looking BACK to what has already happened. As a summary of all that came to pass exactly as the Lord said that it would. The events that happened, the way people acted, the warnings that were ignored, and the fall out of the decisions of the leadership of Judah. The city was besieged and conquered. All the princes and officials of Jerusalem were killed, Zedekiah was blinded and then dragged to Babylon in chains.

About a month after the city fell, the Temple was sacked and burnt. The noblemen’s houses were also burnt. The walls of the city were broken down. Most of those who lived were taken to Babylon in chains. Only the poorest of the poor were allowed to stay in the land (not counting any guerrillas who were operating in the nation). Daniel and his friends were taken at this time. All the treasures of the Temple went to Babylon.

All these people had heard the prophesies concerning the fate of the city and the Temple. All of them had chosen to stay with Zedekiah in the land and not defect to the Chaldeans as the Lord told them to. The first time Nebuchadnezzar had taken people he had taken over three thousand. The second time the king of Babylon had attacked he took eight hundred and thirty-two. Here, the last time Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, he took four thousand, six hundred. In total four thousand and six hundred people went into captivity in Babylon.

Back in Babylon, Jehoiachin was released from prison and allowed to be a ‘guest’ of the king. He got a prominent seat among the kings that had been conquered and ate in Babylon. He got to keep this position for the rest of his life. This is also recorded in 2 Kings 25:27-30.

That’s it for the book of the prophesies the Lord spoke through Jeremiah. Kidnapped by disobedient Jews and taken to Egypt in captivity to them. There he seems to have died because we never hear of him leaving Egypt and returning to Judah. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah was the author of the book of Lamentations as well (we’ll get there tomorrow). According to the historians Tertullian and Jerome, Jeremiah was stoned by the disobedient Judeans who had dragged him to Egypt – presumably to stop him from speaking to them the words of the Lord. However, it is also recorded that Jeremiah died a natural death in Egypt. The Word is silent on Jeremiah’s ultimate fate. He speaks the words of the Lord faithfully his entire life, even when he doesn’t want to. He speaks them to a people in rebellion who refuse to listen – even going so far as to tell him that they were going to continue with their idolatry because they believed it was what brought them peace and security. Jeremiah hated to see what was happening to his nation and wept many times for them, praying always that they would see the truth and choose to follow it.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jeremiah, Seraiah, Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar

Key Verse(s): Jeremiah 51:1-5, 33-35, 59-64; 52:1-3, 12-16, 28-30