The Fate of Zedekiah
The Lord spoke through Jeremiah prophet, warning Zedekiah the king of Judah and his court to submit to the Babylonians lest they experience utter ruin (Jer. 27:1ff). Nevertheless, Zedekiah refused to listen to the prophet, fought against the Babylonian army, and suffered a fate far worst than death. He was captured by the Babylonians, forced to watch the execution of his sons, and then experienced his eyes being gouged out, which literally made the death of his sons the very last thing he saw (2 Kings 25:1-7; Jer. 52:1-11).
Some time ago, it was pointed out to me an apparent contradiction between Jeremiah 24:7 and 34:1-5, in that the former suggest the king would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and killed, whereas the latter suggests the king would live. In reality, the two verse are in complete harmony with one another, each offering unique elements to the events surrounding Zedekiah’s downfall.
On one particular occasion, Zedekiah sent his messages, Pashhur and Zephaniah, to Jeremiah concerning the advancing Babylonian armies of Nebuchadnezzar, hoping that the prophet would provide Judah with good news of deliverance from the enemy (Jer. 21:1-2). Instead saying what the king wanted to hear, Jeremiah prophesied,
You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: Thus says the LORD God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city. I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation. I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Then afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion” (Jer, 21:4-7).
Jeremiah’s prophecy while addressed to Zedekiah actually puts emphasis upon those who align themselves with the king. Speaking through the prophet, God sets forth the ultimatum, “Behold, I set before the way of life and the way of death. He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty. For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good…. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire” (Jer. 21:8-10, cf. 24:8-10). Those who stayed with Zedekiah would be fighting against God, and they would be delivered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar; however, those who surrendered, would be taken into exile, but their lives would be spared.
The specific fate of Zedekiah becomes clear through subsequent divine revelation given through Jeremiah, who declared: “Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon…You will not die by the sword. You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you” (Jer. 34:2-5). God also spoke though the prophet Ezekiel on the same matter, who prophesied, “ ‘As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘Surely in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon he shall die’ ” (Ezek. 17:16) and “As I live, surely My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will inflict on his head. I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare Then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me” (Ezek. 17:18-20). “The fate of Zedekiah, his sons, and many Jewish nobles is clear in the OT” writes Charles Feinberg, “Though Zedekiah was not slain, he died of grief in exile as a blinded, deposed monarch.” [1]
The prophecy of Jeremiah 21, therefore, speaks generally to the fate of those who would align themselves with Zedekiah, whereas the prophecy of Jeremiah 34 speaks specifically to the fate of Zedekiah. It is the somber ending to the rise and fall of David's kingdom. As Yahweh had taught the kings, prophets, priests and people of Israel, if they kept the Word of the Lord they would experience all the blessings it promised, but if they abandoned their God, they would be heading down the road to their own self-destruction, and it was so. The kings, prophets, priest, and people fell into sin and corruption, and yet because they persisted to live in sin in spite Yahweh calls to repentance, their society had become overrun with corruption, crumbled from within, and land vomited them out.
1. Charles Lee Feinberg, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Fran E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986), 507.
Some time ago, it was pointed out to me an apparent contradiction between Jeremiah 24:7 and 34:1-5, in that the former suggest the king would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and killed, whereas the latter suggests the king would live. In reality, the two verse are in complete harmony with one another, each offering unique elements to the events surrounding Zedekiah’s downfall.
On one particular occasion, Zedekiah sent his messages, Pashhur and Zephaniah, to Jeremiah concerning the advancing Babylonian armies of Nebuchadnezzar, hoping that the prophet would provide Judah with good news of deliverance from the enemy (Jer. 21:1-2). Instead saying what the king wanted to hear, Jeremiah prophesied,
You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: Thus says the LORD God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city. I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation. I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Then afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion” (Jer, 21:4-7).
Jeremiah’s prophecy while addressed to Zedekiah actually puts emphasis upon those who align themselves with the king. Speaking through the prophet, God sets forth the ultimatum, “Behold, I set before the way of life and the way of death. He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty. For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good…. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire” (Jer. 21:8-10, cf. 24:8-10). Those who stayed with Zedekiah would be fighting against God, and they would be delivered into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar; however, those who surrendered, would be taken into exile, but their lives would be spared.
The specific fate of Zedekiah becomes clear through subsequent divine revelation given through Jeremiah, who declared: “Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon…You will not die by the sword. You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you” (Jer. 34:2-5). God also spoke though the prophet Ezekiel on the same matter, who prophesied, “ ‘As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘Surely in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon he shall die’ ” (Ezek. 17:16) and “As I live, surely My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will inflict on his head. I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare Then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me” (Ezek. 17:18-20). “The fate of Zedekiah, his sons, and many Jewish nobles is clear in the OT” writes Charles Feinberg, “Though Zedekiah was not slain, he died of grief in exile as a blinded, deposed monarch.” [1]
The prophecy of Jeremiah 21, therefore, speaks generally to the fate of those who would align themselves with Zedekiah, whereas the prophecy of Jeremiah 34 speaks specifically to the fate of Zedekiah. It is the somber ending to the rise and fall of David's kingdom. As Yahweh had taught the kings, prophets, priests and people of Israel, if they kept the Word of the Lord they would experience all the blessings it promised, but if they abandoned their God, they would be heading down the road to their own self-destruction, and it was so. The kings, prophets, priest, and people fell into sin and corruption, and yet because they persisted to live in sin in spite Yahweh calls to repentance, their society had become overrun with corruption, crumbled from within, and land vomited them out.
1. Charles Lee Feinberg, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Fran E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986), 507.
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