Jerusalem is Captured
April 29, 2019
Commentary
It is thought that chapter 52 of the book of Jeremiah was written approximately 25 years after the rest of the book. No one knows for sure who wrote this chapter but it is thought that he was also responsible for completing the book of II Kings. It is nearly identical to II Kings 24:18 – 25:30. Whoever this writer was, it is obvious that the Holy Spirit guided him to include this chapter.
The history of Judah’s final king is summarized in this chapter. Zedekiah became king when he was 21 years old and he reigned for 11 years (v. 1). Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done (v. 2) and it was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (v. 3). In the 11th year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar began the final take over of Jerusalem (v. 4). This was Zedekiah’s ninth year as king when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. Things became very severe as the food ran out (vv. 5-6), and the Babylonians broke through the city wall (v.7). The same night Zedekiah and his soldiers tried to escape and headed toward the Jordan River valley but the Babylonian troops caught up with them and Zedekiah was arrested (v. 8). He was taken to Riblah, put on trial, and found guilty (v. 9). His sons were killed while he watched (v. 10). Then his eyes were poked out, he was put in chains, he was dragged to Babylon and kept in prison until he died (v. 11).
Jerusalem was captured in Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year of reign (v. 12). A month later they burned down the Lord’s temple, the kings palace and every important building in the city (v. 13). Then the walls of Jerusalem were broken down (v. 14) ans the people were let away (v. 15). Only the poor people were left to work the vineyards (v. 16).
Application
Can I picture myself living in Jerusalem during this time? Would I throw up my hands and give up or would I look at this as a challenge? Some of my darkest hours may be some of my greatest opportunities to share God’s Word and watch Him do miracles.
Jeremiah 52:1– 11 (NET)
1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 2 He did what displeased the Lord just as Jehoiakim had done.
3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food. 7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the rift valley. 8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. 9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the territory of Hamath and he passed sentence on him there. 10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah. 11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains. Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
Illustration: RC Sproul The First Prayer I Learned As a Child
R.C. Sproul gives us a simple way to grasp God’s holiness: “The first prayer I learned as a child was the simple table grace: ’God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for this food.’ The two virtues assigned to God in this prayer, greatness and goodness, may be captured by the one biblical word, holy.” (Essential Truths p. 47)