DBG - August 24 - Jeremiah 37-40

In this chapter Jeremiah is imprisoned.

vs. 1-10 – The year is 588 B.C., and the wicked Zedekiah is on the throne.  Babylon has besieged Jerusalem.  Zedekiah is so desperate that he asks Jeremiah to pray for him and the nation.  The army of Egypt had moved toward the relief of Jerusalem but would soon retreat.  During this brief reprieve when it seemed there may be hope of escaping, Jeremiah enters and proclaims that the Babylonians would return and the city would fall.

vs. 11-21 – Jeremiah attempts to escape from Jerusalem but is arrested by Irijah (“seen by the Lord”).  He is charged with attempting to defect over to the Babylonians.  He is beaten and imprisoned.  The king secretly inquires if he had a word from the Lord and Jeremiah responds with the same message that Babylon would conquer Judah.  Jeremiah remains in prison through the rest of the siege.

In this chapter Jeremiah the prisoner prophesies of the fall of Jerusalem.

vs. 1-13 – This takes place even closer to end of the siege of Jerusalem.  Jeremiah is targeted once again for his faithful witness of the coming defeat.  Some of the princes gain permission to take him and put him in a makeshift dungeon.  It is rightfully a cistern that had no water, only mud and mire.  The intention is to leave Jeremiah there to die.  Ebedmelech (“servant of the king”) intervenes and with thirty men rescues Jeremiah.  The prophet is not set at liberty but remains a prisoner.

vs. 14-28 – Zedekiah has a secret meeting with Jeremiah in desperate attempt to find a way to avoid the coming defeat.  Jeremiah tells him that he should surrender and he and the city would be saved from some of the horrors that had been prophesied.  The pride of Zedekiah will not allow him to do so.  Instead, he would make a desperate flight to escape and would be captured (I Kings 25:5, Jeremiah 39:5).  Jeremiah remains in prison until the fall of Jerusalem.

In this chapter Jerusalem falls and God protects Jeremiah.

vs. 1-10 – Jerusalem falls in 586 B.C. on the 9^th of Ab, a date that is infamous in Jewish history.  Tradition says it is the same day that Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 A.D.  Zedekiah makes an attempt to flee but is captured.  The last thing he sees is the execution of his sons before his eyes are put out.  Jerusalem was destroyed and the survivors are taken captive back to Babylon.  The poor are left in the land under Babylonian supervision.

vs. 11-14 – Jeremiah is preserved through the fall of Jerusalem because he was a prisoner.  The Babylonians rightfully assumed that if he was a prisoner he was not supportive of Zedekiah’s rebellion, but also hearing of his favorable prophecies toward them surely gained him favor.  Gedaliah (“God is my greatness”) is made governor over the remaining Jews and Jeremiah is placed in his charge.

vs. 15-18 – God remembers the deeds of Edelmelech in aiding Jeremiah in the previous chapter and allows him to escape unscathed from the fall of Jerusalem.

In this chapter we see the state of the Jews that remained in the land after the fall of Jerusalem.

vs. 1-6 – Jeremiah is given a choice of going to Babylon or remaining in Judah.  He chooses to remain.

vs. 7-16 – Many Jews that had fled before the Babylonians arrived now return.  Gedaliah seeks to have them settled and live peaceably in the land under Babylonian oversight.  However, a conspiracy begins that will culminate in the next chapter.  A man named Ishmael makes no secret of his intent to assassinate the newly appointed governor for working with the Babylonians.  Gedaliah refuses to believe the reports concerning this.

I am reminded in this passage of the great promise of Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good.  It does not say that all things are good, but the overreaching arc of events bends toward good.  We have seen Jeremiah’s heart break many times at the persecution and opposition he faced.  Surely he thought being a prisoner during the siege to be the lowest of all these that he had to endure.  But God used this to Jeremiah’s advantage.  He was protected in the prison when the Babylonians swarmed into the city.  The fact he was in prison for opposing the actions of the nobles worked so that the Babylonians looked on him favorably.  We may not always understand why God leads us through the dark valleys we sometimes must enter, but we can be assured that the destination is worth it.

Our hymn today was written by William Bengo Collyer in 1812.  It is titled “Return, O Wanderer, Return” and reflects Jeremiah’s calls for repentance.

Return, O wanderer, return,
And seek an injur'd Father's face;
Those warm desires that in thee burn
Were kindled by reclaiming grace.

Return, O wanderer, return,
And seek a Father's melting heart;
His pitying eyes thy grief discern,
His hand shall heal thine inward smart.

Return, O wanderer, return,
Thy Saviour bids thy spirit live;
Go to his bleeding feet, and learn
How freely Jesus can forgive.

Return, O wanderer, return,
And wipe away the falling tear:
'Tis God who says, "No longer mourn,"
'Tis mercy's voice invites thee near.