Jeremiah 34:1-22--Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

Jeremiah 34
English Standard Version

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon
34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, LORD!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. 12 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 13 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

17 “Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. 22 Behold, I will command, declares the LORD, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”

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It felt as if the whole world was at war with Judah and Jerusalem.  Jeremiah is to deliver a message to the king who has imprisoned him that the king of Babylon will be successful, will take the king of Judah captive, and will take him back to Babylon where he will die.  The city and all of its people and wealth will be given into the hands of the Chaldeans (the Babylonians).  This is the will of the LORD and not one person, not even the king of Judah, will escape with his life.  If they try to escape, they will die.  Their only hope for life is to surrender and be taken captive.  The LORD is not going to have King Zedekiah executed by the king of Babylon though.  He would live out his days in captivity and die an old man with many years to think about his sins that he committed against the LORD and how he led the LORD's people into the sin that led them into Exile.  The LORD promises that his death will be mourned by the people when the day of his death is announced (though he was an evil king, he would be honored, yet he would not be buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem).

The king made a "proclamation of liberty" that all the people were to release their Hebrew slaves (this was in keeping with the Law).  However, it was not long before the people broke the covenant they had made with the king and started to take male and female Hebrew slaves again, making those who had been set free captives again even though the people had sworn, "Never again."  The LORD showed the people that this is the same kind of rebellion that He had faced with His people who made a covenant with Him and broke it so often after swearing over and over again that they would keep it and "never again" would break it.  They had not just broken covenant with King Zedekiah, but with the LORD because this was a provision of the Mosaic Covenant.

The LORD declarers all the judgments that are coming on them are right, and this is just more proof of it.  The charges just keep piling up for those who have already shown they are guilty of many offenses deserving of death and the LORD is having great mercy to send them away into Exile instead of killing them.  If all of the guilty died all at once, then perhaps His covenant people that were supposed to receive and fulfill His covenant promises would be so decimated that it would put His plans at risk (though He is capable of miracles beyond our comprehension, so I have no doubt He could fulfil His plans in spite of this generation--which is exactly what He did.  Just like in the wilderness though, He caused them to die out slowly.  He did not kill them all at once for the sake of His Name and His covenant).

The campaign against Jerusalem would not be a single battle.  The Babylonians would take the king and many of the nobles and the "royal families" captive in is early campaign, but they would return later to completely destroy the city and capture those who remained who they didn't find worthy the first time they attacked.  There is still much of the book of Jeremiah left as Jeremiah lived through much of the campaign against Judah and Jerusalem.