Jeremiah 37
Is this the same event?
The timing of the event in 37
1.Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim
Zedekiah was the last king of Judah who reigned from 597-586 BC. According to 2 Kings 25:1-2 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon began his siege against Jerusalem in the ninth year of his reign the tenth month and completed his capture of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of the fourth month. This is 18 months of war against Jerusalem. During these 18 months Pharaoh marched against Babylon to relieve the siege of Jerusalem. Babylon withdrew from Jerusalem to face the army of Egypt. Apparently Egypt withdrew from the confrontation and Babylon returned to Jerusalem.
However during this respite from the siege of Jerusalem Jeremiah was commanded by God to buy a field from his cousin.
Jeremiah 32
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
When Jeremiah was about to leave Jerusalem to take physical possession of the property the captain of the guard stopped Jeremiah with the false charge “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” The guard who made the claim was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. Hananiah was the priest who challenged Jeremiah’s prophesy about Jerusalem in the yoke metaphor by breaking the wooden yoke. Jeremiah prophesied Hananiah would die for this act and in fact Hananiah died a few months later. There might have been some payback in the false charges against Jeremiah.
Of course Jeremiah’s denial of desertion was not aided by his prophesies of the coming disaster to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 37
8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’
Zedekiah sought the advice from Jeremiah at least twice. Once before the retreat of the Babylonians and once after their return.
3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the Lord our God for us.”
After the retreat and after Jeremiah was forced into the cistern
16 When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?”
The answer was the same in both situations: Before the retreat
7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’
When Babylon returned After the retreat
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
Jeremiah was in a dungeon. The prophets who lied to King Zedekiah about Babylon were walking around free. Jeremiah had everything to gain by lying to King Zedekiah but Jeremiah remained true to the Lord and prophesied the truth about Babylon. Nevertheless the King release Jeremiah from the underground cistern to a better detainment above ground in the courtyard.
It is clear from the context that King Zedekiah was afraid of the ruling class nobles in Jerusalem. Was this from an inherent weakness in the King or was it simply prudent political action or a combination of both. Afterall Zedekiah had been placed in as king by Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem in 599. The ruling class had made Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim king. Jehoiakim had been put into power by Pharoah Necho but switched allegiance to Babylon in 605 after Babylon had defeated Egypt at Carchemish. When Babylon had a failed invasion of Egypt sometime between 605 and 599 Jehoiakim switched alliances again back to Egypt.
Jeremiah 38
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26 then tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’”
Chapter 38 seems to be the same story told in Chapter 37.
The timing seems to coincide just before the fall of Jerusalem
Jeremiah 37
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Jeremiah 3828 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. This is how Jerusalem was taken:
Jeremiah prophesied the same prophesy before his arrest
Jeremiah 37
7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’
Jeremiah 38
‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians[b] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”
The nobles of Jerusalem appealed to the king to imprison Jeremiah
Jeremiah 37
15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
Jeremiah 38
4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”… 6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern
Zedekiah in inquired of Jeremiah after his imprisonment
Jeremiah 37
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there any word from the Lord?”
Jeremiah 38
14 Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”
After his conversation with Zedekiah Jeremiah was released from the underground prison to the courtyard.
Jeremiah 37
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard
Jeremiah 38
13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Differences between Jeremiah 37 and 38
Chapter 37 does not mention Ebed-Melek the Cushite who pulled Jeremiah from the cistern with the help of guards.
The prison is Chapter 37 is called “in the house of Jonathan the scribe” which seems to bea forbidden place that threatened the life of Jeremiah. In Chapter 38:6 they put Jeremiah into “the put him into the cistern of Malkijah.” But in Chapter 38:26 he explains to the nobles that he does not want to be sent back to “Jonathan’s house to die there.”
The cistern of Malkijah seems to be the same place as Jonathon’s house.
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Will the Real God Step Forward 