Jeremiah - episode 6

Do not deceive yourselves

We continue with Jeremiah’s story. The prophecy about King Jehoiakim came true: his rebellion against the Babylonian yoke is punished with the arrival of Nebuchadnezzar and his troops. Jehoiakim dies during Jerusalem siege; his son Jeconiah/Jehoiakin (with “n” at the end) succeeds him. He decides to surrender to the king of Babylon, so he saves his life and he is deported with the better part of the people in the land of his enemies: it is the 597 BC. Nebuchadnezzar settles Zedekiah (Jehoiakin’s uncle) on the throne of Judah.
Jeremiah sees the Babylonian conquest as the consequence of the people and its leaders’ sin. They should not oppose the Babylonian power: the Lord wanted it as a punishment to Judah and He will give it an end at the appointed time. Here is part of a letter that Jeremiah sends to the exiles. «Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, (after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, had departed from Jerusalem), [...] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit. Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and do not be diminished. Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.’ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Do not let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them,’ says the LORD. “For thus says the LORD, ‘After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for your welfare, and not for calamity, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.’» (Jer 29,1-2.4-14). The tones are very strong: the Lord himself has «caused to be carried away» Judah, by Nebuchadnezzar, and He asks the people to pray for the complete welfare (the šālȏm) of the enemies, without expecting an early return to their country (in fact they have to build houses, to plant gardens and to take wife/husband in Babylon). In the text we have a very scenic image of the false prophets and diviners: they support the people’s illusions, telling and confirming the people’s dream instead of the Lord’s Word.
Even King Zedekiah does not listen to Jeremiah’s appeal: he rebels against the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar descends for the second time to besiege Jerusalem. «Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the LORD our God for us.” Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison. Pharaoh’s army had come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem. Then came the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.” Thus says the LORD, “Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us’; for they shall not depart. For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.”’” It happened that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the midst of the people. When he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are falling away to the Chaldeans.” Then Jeremiah said, “It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the officials. And the officials were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.



When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; Then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” He said also, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, “Wherein have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.” Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard» (Jer 37,3-21).
Zedekiah has no clear decision about Jeremiah: first he lets him be arrested, struck and put in prison (see Jer 38,4-5 too), then he «secretly» consults the prophet. We will read in the next post if the king will decide to fear his «officials» or the Lord God.