Jeremiah 21:1-10--Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

Jeremiah 21:1-10
English Standard Version

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

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I'm really not sure why the king of Judah is acting surprised that things are happening just like the LORD said they would.  Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) is coming to make war with them, just like the LORD said.  All of a sudden that they are seeing things happen that people said would never happen, they want to inquire of the LORD by way of the prophet Jeremiah (the same one that they have ridiculed and persecuted).

The king of Judah and his servants get the opposite message they expect.  The LORD says that He will not allow them to be successful if they go to war with Babylon.  They are there accomplishing His plans and purposes and to fight against them is to try to fight against the LORD.  He will cause pestilence to come upon the people to so that they will not just be fighting against a human enemy, but God will bring Nature to bear against them.  They will also face a great famine.  All this will put them in a weakened state and make it easier for Babylon to defeat them.

The LORD says that He is giving them a choice that will be the difference between life and death.  If they trust in the fortifications of the city to protect them, they will die.  Those who stay in the city will die of disease, famine or by the sword when the city is attacked and taken by the Babylonians.  Their other choice is to save their lives by surrendering to the Babylonians and be taken as prisoners of war.  The LORD promises if they surrender, they will live; if they resist, they will die.  This is not what the king or his servants wanted to hear.  Jerusalem would be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and it would be destroyed with fire.  There is nothing that the king or the people could do to stop it at this point.