After Hezekiah died he was succeeded by Manasseh, who ruled for 55 years. He was unlike his father, reinstating the worship of false gods and even performing appalling acts of worship to these false gods in the temple built by Solomon. He led the people into more evil than was known in the land since before the time of Joshua, even sacrificing his own subjects. Virtually everything that Hezekiah had done to reunite his people with God was undone by his son Manasseh.
The prophets of that day spoke out against Manasseh, saying, “For the evil you have brought into this land, Yahweh is going to bring such disaster on Judah that it will shock everyone who hears it. The same fate that came to Samaria is coming to Judah. You will be wiped out like a dirty dish. This remaining tribe will be handed over to its enemies because of your rebellion.”
Though Yahweh sent these words of warning to him and his people, they did not listen. So they were not under God’s protection when the Assyrians soon invaded. They laid siege to Jerusalem and eventually took Manasseh and many others as slaves. In his distress, he called out to Yahweh and asked for forgiveness for his sins. In spite of his many evils, Yahweh listened to his cries and soon his captors had mercy on him and returned him to his kingdom. At that moment Manasseh knew that Yahweh was indeed the God of the world. He removed all idolatry from the land and the people only worshipped God for the rest of his life.
But after Manasseh died his son Amon returned the Jews to the wicked ways of his father. But the people were not quick to forget the wrath of the Assyrians and would not suffer Amon’s evil. He was assassinated after only two years by his own advisors and was succeeded by his son Josiah, himself only eight years old when he became king.
In the 13th year of Josiah’s reign, Yahweh appeared to a man named Jeremiah and said, “Before you were even born I knew you and set you apart as a prophet.”
Jeremiah replied, “But I don’t know how to speak and I am too young for anyone to listen to me.”
God replied, “Don’t say you are too young. Go where I send you and say what I tell you. Do not be afraid, for I will protect you. I will put my words in your mouth. I give you authority over the kingdoms of the world to uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow, but also to build up. What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see a boiling pot tilting down on us from the north,” he answered.
“This is because disaster from the north will be poured out on all the land. On that day I will bring judgment on my people for abandoning me to worship other gods in wickedness. So get ready, and don’t be afraid to stand up and say whatever I tell you. I have made you like a fortified city against the powerful in Judah. They will fight you, but never overcome you because I will rescue you from them.
Now go and speak these words to the scattered tribes of Israel, ‘This is what Yahweh says, ‘Return to me and I will forgive you. I am faithful to you even when you have been faithless. I gladly treated you like my own children. I wanted you to see me as your parent and never turn away from me. All I ask is that you admit your guilt in rebelling against me. I will even accept you one at a time and take you to my holy city. I will give you a leader who has my heart, who will guide you to wisdom and understanding. In that day people from all over the world will gather in Jerusalem to honor me.’”
With these words, Jeremiah began his life as a prophet. After spreading this warning, Jeremiah traveled to Jerusalem and told them, “This is what Yahweh says, “I remember how you used to love and follow me. In all your history, have I ever done anything wrong to you? Then why have you abandoned me for worthless idols? I brought you to this land but you have defiled it. Your priests, judges, leaders, and prophets, none of them know me anymore. Other nations do not abandon their gods, even though they are not gods at all, but you do. You were not born to be slaves, but you are bringing this on yourselves. You are like a wife that runs off with another man because you cannot control your urges. I divorced myself from the other faithless tribes of Israel, but you had no fear and continued following your other gods. You refuse to even admit your wrongdoing. Yet when you are in trouble you run to me. Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Why can they not save you? My judgment is now upon you.’”
Beware, a lion has awoken, a destroyer of nations is coming to lay waste your land. Your own actions have brought this punishment on you. Even though you have been punished in the past, you did not learn, you just became more stubborn. You have said, ‘Yahweh will do nothing. No harm will come to us. The prophets are just old windbags.’ Soon a distant warrior nation whose language you do not understand will devour you. But I will not destroy you completely.
“Change your ways and you will be saved. Be just. Be kind to foreigners, orphans, and widows. Do not kill the innocent. Do not follow other gods. Will you do all these wicked things and then gather before my temple and pretend you are safe? When your ancestors came out of Egypt I told them if they obeyed me I would be your God. But they and you have not listened to me or my prophets.”
And Josiah heeded the warning of Jeremiah. Indeed, he followed in the footsteps of his ancestors Hezekiah and David during his 31-year reign and was faithful to Yahweh. So in the 18th year of his reign, Josiah oversaw the rebuilding of the temple of Yahweh. In the course of their renovation, one of the priests found the book of the law Yahweh had spoken to Moses. When Josiah heard this he was greatly troubled and said to the priest, “On behalf and me and all my people, go and speak with Yahweh about this book. The anger of God is against us because those who came before have not obeyed these laws.”
The priests went and spoke to Jeremiah who told them, “Yahweh says that disaster is coming to Judah because of their past sins. But because you have been faithful, you will not see this disaster yourself.”
After this, Josiah called together all the Jews and went to the temple of Yahweh. He read the book of the law to all of them and they renewed their commitment to follow God with all their hearts. Josiah had all the items used to worship false gods removed from the temple and burned them. All the men and women who oversaw the idol worship were removed from their positions as well. Then he removed all the items used to worship false gods from all of Judah before traveling to ravaged Samaria to destroy all the places of idol worship there. When he reached the altar that Jeroboam had built 300 years ago, he burned it along with the bones of the priests, and the words of Ahijah spoken so long ago were brought to life. “Altar! This is what God says. A man named Josiah, from the line of David, will one day be born. On you, these false priests will burn.” Neither before nor since was there a king like him, who turned to God with his whole heart and worked so hard to follow the law of Moses.” But his zeal would only delay the justice of Yahweh for the abhorrent sins of the Jews in the time of King Manasseh.
When Josiah died while defending his kingdom from invading Egyptians, he was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. He was unlike his father, turning his back on Yahweh. He was soon captured by the pharaoh and killed. He was replaced by the Egyptians with Jehoahaz’s brother Jehoiakim. During his eleven-year reign as Egypt’s puppet, he heavily taxed his people.
In those dark times, Yahweh sent Jeremiah to the house of a potter. As Jeremiah watched the man work the clay at his wheel it became misshapen, so the potter reshaped it into another pot. Yahweh then said to Jeremiah, “Can I not do with Judah what this potter does with his clay? You are in my hands. If I declare you will be destroyed and you repent of your evil, you will be spared. If I say I will build a kingdom up and they do evil then can I not withhold my blessing from them? Tell the people that their destruction is coming unless they turn from their evil ways. But they will tell you ‘it is no use’ and continues in the stubbornness of their own evil hearts. They will also turn against you, Jeremiah, and say, ‘Let us plot against him because he will not stop with these prophecies. With our tongues, we will attack him and with our ears, we will not listen to him.”
Jeremiah then purchased the pot from the potter and traveled to meet with the elders in Judah. He described to them the disaster that would soon befall their nation because of their idolatry. When Jeremiah saw they were slow to heed his words he threw the jar down and as it shattered he said, “Judah will soon be like this jar.” But among the elders was a priest named Passhur. When Jeremiah suggested that Judah, whose kingdom was prophesied to last forever, would be shattered, he became furious at Jeremiah and ordered him beaten. As he was dragged off, Jeremiah looked at Passhur and said, “The Babylonians, though they are among those conquered by the Assyrians, will soon rise up and overthrow their oppressors, becoming an even greater empire. Then you and your entire family will be captured and taken as their prisoners. You will die a slave in a foreign land.”
Jeremiah survived his punishment and dragged himself away to be alone. In agony, he cried out to Yahweh, “I know you are always righteous, but then why are the wicked and faithless allowed to prosper? You planted them, allowed them to take root and bear fruit. They talk about you but don’t really follow you in their hearts. They should be punished.”
Yahweh answered, “Whether the tribe of Judah or the surrounding nations, the time of their punishment is coming. I have withdrawn my blessing from these people. But I will have compassion for them and they will one day be restored to me. Even the surrounding nations who have plundered you and taught you to worship their false gods, if they learn my ways and call on my name, I will include them as part of my people. But for those who turn from me, their destruction is imminent. Do not pray that they are delivered from this fate. I will not listen to their prayers, I will not accept their sacrifices any longer. Throughout their history, their hearts have loved to wander from me. Unless this punishment befalls them, they will never truly return to me.”
”But there are other prophets who tell the people they will not suffer from war or famine,” Jeremiah replied.
God said, “They speak lies in my name. I have not called them or given my word to them. These same supposed prophets who claim the people will not face war or famine will themselves die by the sword or hunger.”
“God, I feel like I’ve been deceived, like I was overpowered by your will. Every day I am mocked for speaking your words about Judah’s impending destruction. But if I say to myself, ‘I am done speaking God’s words,’ they consume me like a fire and I cannot stop. I can hear my enemies whisper plots against me, but I know they will fail and be disgraced because you, my mighty warrior, protect me. I curse the very day I was born. Why have I been made to see all this trouble and sorrow, to end my life in shame?”
But Jeremiah continued to obediently speak the word of Yahweh no matter the cost. He stood outside the temple, hoping his prophecies might sway those who still went there to worship Yahweh. Though many heard him speak, eventually he roused the anger of the temple priests who threatened to kill him for his words. But he repeated his warning and told them, “I am in your hands, do with me what you will. But if you kill me there will be innocent blood on your hands.” The part of their hearts that feared Yahweh counseled them to let Jeremiah live, but he was forbidden from ever returning to the temple.
But Yahweh longed for the people to turn from their evil ways so that they might be saved from destruction. So Jeremiah was commanded to make a record every prophecy he had made from the time of Josiah until now. For a year he dictated these words to Baruch the scribe who wrote them onto a scroll. Upon their completion, Jeremiah told his assistant, “As I have been forbidden to enter the temple, you must read this scroll to all the people gathered there.”
When word of what Baruch was doing reached one the king’s officials he asked the scribe to read the scroll to him and a few others he trusted.. Upon hearing it they looked at each other in fear and said, “We are obligated to repeat everything you said to the king. How did you come upon these words? Were they spoken by Jeremiah? You both need to go into hiding, don’t let anyone know where you are.”
Jehoiakim soon learned of the scroll’s existence and he ordered it be brought to him and read aloud. As each section was read to him, he would cut it out and throw it into the fire until the entire scroll was burned. Then he sent his soldiers to find Baruch and Jeremiah, but they had gone into hiding.
When Jehoiakim died he was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin. He ruled for only three months when the prophecies made against Judah for the many evils committed during the reign of Manasseh came to pass. The Babylonians, having grown powerful under king Nebuchadnezzar overthrew their Assyrians oppressors, utterly destroying Ninevah as was prophesied by Naham, gained control over all of Assyria’s empire, and then set their sights on Judah. They sent the combined might of Babylon along with their vassals the Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites to lay siege to Jerusalem. They forced Jehoiachin’s surrender and for the first time, the city, and indeed all of Judah, was conquered. The Babylonians took all of the treasures of the temple and the palace enslaved over 10,000 of the city's residents. He deported Jehoiachin and made his uncle Zedekiah king in his place.
Years passed before Yahweh gave a new prophecy to Jeremiah. He found two baskets of figs that were left in front of the temple. In one basket there were good figs and in the other basket there were rotten figs. Yahweh said to Jeremiah, “The Jewish exiles are like this basket of good figs. I will watch over them and bring them back to this land. I will build them up and teach them to follow me again. But Zedekiah and those who stay here or choose to live with the Egyptians, and who continue to turn their backs on me, they are like the bad figs and they will be completely destroyed.
Then Yahweh told Jeremiah to put a yoke on his shoulders and warn anyone who would listen that Nebuchadnezzar had been chosen by Yahweh as an instrument of justice. Anyone who resisted his armies would be destroyed by war, famine, and plague, but anyone who surrendered would be spared. The line of Nebuchadnezzar would be unbroken for generations, but one day the Babylonians would be defeated by an even greater power.
But a false prophet named Hananiah came alongside Jeremiah and said to all who were listening, “Yahweh will break the yoke of Babylon. Within two years everything stolen from our temple will be returned, along with Jehoiachin and the other exiles.”
Jeremiah replied, “My heart would be overjoyed if these things you are saying were true, but your worth as a prophet is nothing if what you say does not come to pass.”
Then Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s shoulders and broke it, saying, “This is what Yahweh is going to do to Babylon in two years.”
Jeremiah replied, “You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. Yahweh has not sent you. You have persuaded the people to believe your lies. Within the year, you will die for speaking against the will of Yahweh.”
Jeremiah was not satisfied with warning those who still remained in Judah, he also sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon, writing:
“These are the words of Yahweh to the exiles in Babylon, ‘Build houses, plant gardens, harvest and eat your crops, and settle down. Marry, have sons and daughters, and find them spouses of their own. Work for peace and prosperity in the city you have been taken to. Do not listen to what other prophets tell you, they are lying to you. You will be in exile for 70 years and then you will be able to return to the promised land. You will look for me and you will find me. You are the lucky ones. Those who have stayed in Jerusalem and continue to turn their back on me will soon face destruction.’”
Even though Zedekiah was made ruler by Nebuchadnezzar, he heeded the words of Hananiah and so, in time, he rebelled against his servitude to the Babylonians. To ensure their victory, Zedekiah sent Passhur to Jeremiah to hear the word of Yahweh.
Jeremiah replied, “The will of Yahweh has already been made known to you. Yahweh will fight against you with a mighty arm and furious anger. A plague will first strike the city. Anyone who survives will be captured by Nebuchadnezzar who will do with them as he pleases. If you futilely resist inside the city, you will die. But if you surrender now you will live. Your destruction is here because you ignored justice, mistreated foreigners, orphans, and widows, and you killed the innocent. But the day will come when Yahweh will raise up a branch from the tree of David, a wise king who will do what is right. He will be our righteous savior. Though Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more, there is still hope for your descendants.”
Faced with the impending destruction of his city, Zedekiah had Jeremiah confined to a house within the city walls so he might either share in the fate of the city or change it. But in spite of his captivity, or maybe because of it, Yahweh continued to speak through his prophet. Jeremiah told them to listen to the words of Yahweh, “I am God, the ruler of this world that I created. Call on me and I will answer you. Those who hide in these houses will die for their unrepentant wickedness. Nevertheless, I will bring healing, peace, and security to this place. Those who have been exiled will one day return. I will forgive them for their sins and make them holy. Then this city will bring honor, joy, and praise to me and all the nations will be in awe of how you have been blessed. I will keep my promise for David to always have an heir to sit on the throne. It is as sure as the rising and setting of the sun and moon.”
The Babylonians halted their siege of the city to fend off an approaching Egyptian army who hoped to weaken them. Even though the Jews under Zedekiah refused to follow Yahweh or listen to the warnings of Jeremiah, Zedekiah still had some of his men ask Jeremiah to pray for them. Jeremiah replied, “The Egyptians will return to their homeland and the Babylonians will return here to finish what they started. They will capture many who still live here and burn the city to the ground.” Angry with him, and suspecting that he might try to desert Jerusalem and join the Babylonians, they had him beaten and thrown in prison. But after this, Zedekiah secretly had Jeremiah brought to him where he asked, “Is there any word from Yahweh?”
“Yes, you will be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians. What crime have I committed against you or any of the Jews that you put me in prison? Where are your prophets who said Babylon would not attack? Do not send me back to prison or I will die.”
Zedekiah had Jeremiah taken out of prison, instead confining him to a courtyard. But some of the king’s officials grew tired of his doomsaying, thinking it was demoralizing to the soldiers and their families, and they threw him into a nearby muddy pit. But there was one of the king’s officials, Ebed-Melek, who was appalled when he learned what had been done with the prophet. Knowing he would be left to die once the city ran out of food, Ebed-Melek petitioned Zedekiah to free Jeremiah.
Once the king relented and Jeremiah was rescued, Zedekiah again spoke with him secretly, saying, “I want to ask you something and I don’t want you to hide anything from me.”
Jeremiah replied, “If I give you an answer you don’t like you will either not listen or have me killed.”
But Zedekiah swore an oath, “As surely as God lives, I will not kill you or allow anyone else to kill you. Now please, reveal to me the fate of the city.”
“This is what Yahweh says, ‘If you surrender to Babylon you will be spared and the city will not be destroyed. But if you do not this city will burn and you will not escape from them,’” Jeremiah prophesied.
“I am afraid if I surrender to the Babylonians they will hand me over to the Jews who already live among them and are angry with me.”
But Jeremiah insisted, “They will not hand you over to them. Obey God. Do what I tell you and it will go well for you. But if you ignore my warnings it will mean the destruction of this city and your imprisonment.”
Zedekiah replied, “Go, and do not tell anyone about this conversation or I will not honor my oath and you will die.” So Jeremiah returned to his confinement in the courtyard.
As was foretold, the Babylonians fended off the Egyptians and returned to Jerusalem to continue their siege. After four months, their food stores ran out and the remaining people began to starve. Desperate, they destroyed a portion of the wall and fled the city, only to be captured by the Babylonians, including Zedekiah. They killed his sons and tortured him before taking him to Babylon. In that day the line of Jewish kings came to the same end as the other tribes of Israel who had abandoned God. And though Zedekiah’s line ended with the death of his sons, there will still others who yet lived from David’s line.
The Babylonians burned most of the city, including the temple of God, and destroyed its walls. In that day the words of God spoken to Solomon after his dedication of temple came true, “if your descendants abandon me to worship other gods, then I will cut off Israel from its inheritance and reject this temple. Israel will become a mockery among the other nations and this temple, a pile of rubble.” With the destruction of Jerusalem, capital city of Yahweh’s chosen people, and the ruined temple, once the dwelling of almighty God, one of the remaining bards of that age cried out a psalm of lament:
My God! The nations have invaded your holy land.
They have defiled your temple.
They have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
They have left our corpses for the carrion birds and scavengers,
And there is no one to bury the dead.
How long will your fury burn against us?
Will you be angry forever?
Pour out your wrath against the nations,
Who do not acknowledge you as God,
For they have devoured us.
May your mercy come to us quickly,
For we are in desperate need of it.
Forgive us and Help us, God, for the glory of your name.
The prophets of that day spoke out against Manasseh, saying, “For the evil you have brought into this land, Yahweh is going to bring such disaster on Judah that it will shock everyone who hears it. The same fate that came to Samaria is coming to Judah. You will be wiped out like a dirty dish. This remaining tribe will be handed over to its enemies because of your rebellion.”
Though Yahweh sent these words of warning to him and his people, they did not listen. So they were not under God’s protection when the Assyrians soon invaded. They laid siege to Jerusalem and eventually took Manasseh and many others as slaves. In his distress, he called out to Yahweh and asked for forgiveness for his sins. In spite of his many evils, Yahweh listened to his cries and soon his captors had mercy on him and returned him to his kingdom. At that moment Manasseh knew that Yahweh was indeed the God of the world. He removed all idolatry from the land and the people only worshipped God for the rest of his life.
But after Manasseh died his son Amon returned the Jews to the wicked ways of his father. But the people were not quick to forget the wrath of the Assyrians and would not suffer Amon’s evil. He was assassinated after only two years by his own advisors and was succeeded by his son Josiah, himself only eight years old when he became king.
In the 13th year of Josiah’s reign, Yahweh appeared to a man named Jeremiah and said, “Before you were even born I knew you and set you apart as a prophet.”
Jeremiah replied, “But I don’t know how to speak and I am too young for anyone to listen to me.”
God replied, “Don’t say you are too young. Go where I send you and say what I tell you. Do not be afraid, for I will protect you. I will put my words in your mouth. I give you authority over the kingdoms of the world to uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow, but also to build up. What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see a boiling pot tilting down on us from the north,” he answered.
“This is because disaster from the north will be poured out on all the land. On that day I will bring judgment on my people for abandoning me to worship other gods in wickedness. So get ready, and don’t be afraid to stand up and say whatever I tell you. I have made you like a fortified city against the powerful in Judah. They will fight you, but never overcome you because I will rescue you from them.
Now go and speak these words to the scattered tribes of Israel, ‘This is what Yahweh says, ‘Return to me and I will forgive you. I am faithful to you even when you have been faithless. I gladly treated you like my own children. I wanted you to see me as your parent and never turn away from me. All I ask is that you admit your guilt in rebelling against me. I will even accept you one at a time and take you to my holy city. I will give you a leader who has my heart, who will guide you to wisdom and understanding. In that day people from all over the world will gather in Jerusalem to honor me.’”
With these words, Jeremiah began his life as a prophet. After spreading this warning, Jeremiah traveled to Jerusalem and told them, “This is what Yahweh says, “I remember how you used to love and follow me. In all your history, have I ever done anything wrong to you? Then why have you abandoned me for worthless idols? I brought you to this land but you have defiled it. Your priests, judges, leaders, and prophets, none of them know me anymore. Other nations do not abandon their gods, even though they are not gods at all, but you do. You were not born to be slaves, but you are bringing this on yourselves. You are like a wife that runs off with another man because you cannot control your urges. I divorced myself from the other faithless tribes of Israel, but you had no fear and continued following your other gods. You refuse to even admit your wrongdoing. Yet when you are in trouble you run to me. Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Why can they not save you? My judgment is now upon you.’”
Beware, a lion has awoken, a destroyer of nations is coming to lay waste your land. Your own actions have brought this punishment on you. Even though you have been punished in the past, you did not learn, you just became more stubborn. You have said, ‘Yahweh will do nothing. No harm will come to us. The prophets are just old windbags.’ Soon a distant warrior nation whose language you do not understand will devour you. But I will not destroy you completely.
“Change your ways and you will be saved. Be just. Be kind to foreigners, orphans, and widows. Do not kill the innocent. Do not follow other gods. Will you do all these wicked things and then gather before my temple and pretend you are safe? When your ancestors came out of Egypt I told them if they obeyed me I would be your God. But they and you have not listened to me or my prophets.”
And Josiah heeded the warning of Jeremiah. Indeed, he followed in the footsteps of his ancestors Hezekiah and David during his 31-year reign and was faithful to Yahweh. So in the 18th year of his reign, Josiah oversaw the rebuilding of the temple of Yahweh. In the course of their renovation, one of the priests found the book of the law Yahweh had spoken to Moses. When Josiah heard this he was greatly troubled and said to the priest, “On behalf and me and all my people, go and speak with Yahweh about this book. The anger of God is against us because those who came before have not obeyed these laws.”
The priests went and spoke to Jeremiah who told them, “Yahweh says that disaster is coming to Judah because of their past sins. But because you have been faithful, you will not see this disaster yourself.”
After this, Josiah called together all the Jews and went to the temple of Yahweh. He read the book of the law to all of them and they renewed their commitment to follow God with all their hearts. Josiah had all the items used to worship false gods removed from the temple and burned them. All the men and women who oversaw the idol worship were removed from their positions as well. Then he removed all the items used to worship false gods from all of Judah before traveling to ravaged Samaria to destroy all the places of idol worship there. When he reached the altar that Jeroboam had built 300 years ago, he burned it along with the bones of the priests, and the words of Ahijah spoken so long ago were brought to life. “Altar! This is what God says. A man named Josiah, from the line of David, will one day be born. On you, these false priests will burn.” Neither before nor since was there a king like him, who turned to God with his whole heart and worked so hard to follow the law of Moses.” But his zeal would only delay the justice of Yahweh for the abhorrent sins of the Jews in the time of King Manasseh.
When Josiah died while defending his kingdom from invading Egyptians, he was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. He was unlike his father, turning his back on Yahweh. He was soon captured by the pharaoh and killed. He was replaced by the Egyptians with Jehoahaz’s brother Jehoiakim. During his eleven-year reign as Egypt’s puppet, he heavily taxed his people.
In those dark times, Yahweh sent Jeremiah to the house of a potter. As Jeremiah watched the man work the clay at his wheel it became misshapen, so the potter reshaped it into another pot. Yahweh then said to Jeremiah, “Can I not do with Judah what this potter does with his clay? You are in my hands. If I declare you will be destroyed and you repent of your evil, you will be spared. If I say I will build a kingdom up and they do evil then can I not withhold my blessing from them? Tell the people that their destruction is coming unless they turn from their evil ways. But they will tell you ‘it is no use’ and continues in the stubbornness of their own evil hearts. They will also turn against you, Jeremiah, and say, ‘Let us plot against him because he will not stop with these prophecies. With our tongues, we will attack him and with our ears, we will not listen to him.”
Jeremiah then purchased the pot from the potter and traveled to meet with the elders in Judah. He described to them the disaster that would soon befall their nation because of their idolatry. When Jeremiah saw they were slow to heed his words he threw the jar down and as it shattered he said, “Judah will soon be like this jar.” But among the elders was a priest named Passhur. When Jeremiah suggested that Judah, whose kingdom was prophesied to last forever, would be shattered, he became furious at Jeremiah and ordered him beaten. As he was dragged off, Jeremiah looked at Passhur and said, “The Babylonians, though they are among those conquered by the Assyrians, will soon rise up and overthrow their oppressors, becoming an even greater empire. Then you and your entire family will be captured and taken as their prisoners. You will die a slave in a foreign land.”
Jeremiah survived his punishment and dragged himself away to be alone. In agony, he cried out to Yahweh, “I know you are always righteous, but then why are the wicked and faithless allowed to prosper? You planted them, allowed them to take root and bear fruit. They talk about you but don’t really follow you in their hearts. They should be punished.”
Yahweh answered, “Whether the tribe of Judah or the surrounding nations, the time of their punishment is coming. I have withdrawn my blessing from these people. But I will have compassion for them and they will one day be restored to me. Even the surrounding nations who have plundered you and taught you to worship their false gods, if they learn my ways and call on my name, I will include them as part of my people. But for those who turn from me, their destruction is imminent. Do not pray that they are delivered from this fate. I will not listen to their prayers, I will not accept their sacrifices any longer. Throughout their history, their hearts have loved to wander from me. Unless this punishment befalls them, they will never truly return to me.”
”But there are other prophets who tell the people they will not suffer from war or famine,” Jeremiah replied.
God said, “They speak lies in my name. I have not called them or given my word to them. These same supposed prophets who claim the people will not face war or famine will themselves die by the sword or hunger.”
“God, I feel like I’ve been deceived, like I was overpowered by your will. Every day I am mocked for speaking your words about Judah’s impending destruction. But if I say to myself, ‘I am done speaking God’s words,’ they consume me like a fire and I cannot stop. I can hear my enemies whisper plots against me, but I know they will fail and be disgraced because you, my mighty warrior, protect me. I curse the very day I was born. Why have I been made to see all this trouble and sorrow, to end my life in shame?”
But Jeremiah continued to obediently speak the word of Yahweh no matter the cost. He stood outside the temple, hoping his prophecies might sway those who still went there to worship Yahweh. Though many heard him speak, eventually he roused the anger of the temple priests who threatened to kill him for his words. But he repeated his warning and told them, “I am in your hands, do with me what you will. But if you kill me there will be innocent blood on your hands.” The part of their hearts that feared Yahweh counseled them to let Jeremiah live, but he was forbidden from ever returning to the temple.
But Yahweh longed for the people to turn from their evil ways so that they might be saved from destruction. So Jeremiah was commanded to make a record every prophecy he had made from the time of Josiah until now. For a year he dictated these words to Baruch the scribe who wrote them onto a scroll. Upon their completion, Jeremiah told his assistant, “As I have been forbidden to enter the temple, you must read this scroll to all the people gathered there.”
When word of what Baruch was doing reached one the king’s officials he asked the scribe to read the scroll to him and a few others he trusted.. Upon hearing it they looked at each other in fear and said, “We are obligated to repeat everything you said to the king. How did you come upon these words? Were they spoken by Jeremiah? You both need to go into hiding, don’t let anyone know where you are.”
Jehoiakim soon learned of the scroll’s existence and he ordered it be brought to him and read aloud. As each section was read to him, he would cut it out and throw it into the fire until the entire scroll was burned. Then he sent his soldiers to find Baruch and Jeremiah, but they had gone into hiding.
When Jehoiakim died he was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin. He ruled for only three months when the prophecies made against Judah for the many evils committed during the reign of Manasseh came to pass. The Babylonians, having grown powerful under king Nebuchadnezzar overthrew their Assyrians oppressors, utterly destroying Ninevah as was prophesied by Naham, gained control over all of Assyria’s empire, and then set their sights on Judah. They sent the combined might of Babylon along with their vassals the Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites to lay siege to Jerusalem. They forced Jehoiachin’s surrender and for the first time, the city, and indeed all of Judah, was conquered. The Babylonians took all of the treasures of the temple and the palace enslaved over 10,000 of the city's residents. He deported Jehoiachin and made his uncle Zedekiah king in his place.
Years passed before Yahweh gave a new prophecy to Jeremiah. He found two baskets of figs that were left in front of the temple. In one basket there were good figs and in the other basket there were rotten figs. Yahweh said to Jeremiah, “The Jewish exiles are like this basket of good figs. I will watch over them and bring them back to this land. I will build them up and teach them to follow me again. But Zedekiah and those who stay here or choose to live with the Egyptians, and who continue to turn their backs on me, they are like the bad figs and they will be completely destroyed.
Then Yahweh told Jeremiah to put a yoke on his shoulders and warn anyone who would listen that Nebuchadnezzar had been chosen by Yahweh as an instrument of justice. Anyone who resisted his armies would be destroyed by war, famine, and plague, but anyone who surrendered would be spared. The line of Nebuchadnezzar would be unbroken for generations, but one day the Babylonians would be defeated by an even greater power.
But a false prophet named Hananiah came alongside Jeremiah and said to all who were listening, “Yahweh will break the yoke of Babylon. Within two years everything stolen from our temple will be returned, along with Jehoiachin and the other exiles.”
Jeremiah replied, “My heart would be overjoyed if these things you are saying were true, but your worth as a prophet is nothing if what you say does not come to pass.”
Then Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s shoulders and broke it, saying, “This is what Yahweh is going to do to Babylon in two years.”
Jeremiah replied, “You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. Yahweh has not sent you. You have persuaded the people to believe your lies. Within the year, you will die for speaking against the will of Yahweh.”
Jeremiah was not satisfied with warning those who still remained in Judah, he also sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon, writing:
“These are the words of Yahweh to the exiles in Babylon, ‘Build houses, plant gardens, harvest and eat your crops, and settle down. Marry, have sons and daughters, and find them spouses of their own. Work for peace and prosperity in the city you have been taken to. Do not listen to what other prophets tell you, they are lying to you. You will be in exile for 70 years and then you will be able to return to the promised land. You will look for me and you will find me. You are the lucky ones. Those who have stayed in Jerusalem and continue to turn their back on me will soon face destruction.’”
Even though Zedekiah was made ruler by Nebuchadnezzar, he heeded the words of Hananiah and so, in time, he rebelled against his servitude to the Babylonians. To ensure their victory, Zedekiah sent Passhur to Jeremiah to hear the word of Yahweh.
Jeremiah replied, “The will of Yahweh has already been made known to you. Yahweh will fight against you with a mighty arm and furious anger. A plague will first strike the city. Anyone who survives will be captured by Nebuchadnezzar who will do with them as he pleases. If you futilely resist inside the city, you will die. But if you surrender now you will live. Your destruction is here because you ignored justice, mistreated foreigners, orphans, and widows, and you killed the innocent. But the day will come when Yahweh will raise up a branch from the tree of David, a wise king who will do what is right. He will be our righteous savior. Though Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more, there is still hope for your descendants.”
Faced with the impending destruction of his city, Zedekiah had Jeremiah confined to a house within the city walls so he might either share in the fate of the city or change it. But in spite of his captivity, or maybe because of it, Yahweh continued to speak through his prophet. Jeremiah told them to listen to the words of Yahweh, “I am God, the ruler of this world that I created. Call on me and I will answer you. Those who hide in these houses will die for their unrepentant wickedness. Nevertheless, I will bring healing, peace, and security to this place. Those who have been exiled will one day return. I will forgive them for their sins and make them holy. Then this city will bring honor, joy, and praise to me and all the nations will be in awe of how you have been blessed. I will keep my promise for David to always have an heir to sit on the throne. It is as sure as the rising and setting of the sun and moon.”
The Babylonians halted their siege of the city to fend off an approaching Egyptian army who hoped to weaken them. Even though the Jews under Zedekiah refused to follow Yahweh or listen to the warnings of Jeremiah, Zedekiah still had some of his men ask Jeremiah to pray for them. Jeremiah replied, “The Egyptians will return to their homeland and the Babylonians will return here to finish what they started. They will capture many who still live here and burn the city to the ground.” Angry with him, and suspecting that he might try to desert Jerusalem and join the Babylonians, they had him beaten and thrown in prison. But after this, Zedekiah secretly had Jeremiah brought to him where he asked, “Is there any word from Yahweh?”
“Yes, you will be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians. What crime have I committed against you or any of the Jews that you put me in prison? Where are your prophets who said Babylon would not attack? Do not send me back to prison or I will die.”
Zedekiah had Jeremiah taken out of prison, instead confining him to a courtyard. But some of the king’s officials grew tired of his doomsaying, thinking it was demoralizing to the soldiers and their families, and they threw him into a nearby muddy pit. But there was one of the king’s officials, Ebed-Melek, who was appalled when he learned what had been done with the prophet. Knowing he would be left to die once the city ran out of food, Ebed-Melek petitioned Zedekiah to free Jeremiah.
Once the king relented and Jeremiah was rescued, Zedekiah again spoke with him secretly, saying, “I want to ask you something and I don’t want you to hide anything from me.”
Jeremiah replied, “If I give you an answer you don’t like you will either not listen or have me killed.”
But Zedekiah swore an oath, “As surely as God lives, I will not kill you or allow anyone else to kill you. Now please, reveal to me the fate of the city.”
“This is what Yahweh says, ‘If you surrender to Babylon you will be spared and the city will not be destroyed. But if you do not this city will burn and you will not escape from them,’” Jeremiah prophesied.
“I am afraid if I surrender to the Babylonians they will hand me over to the Jews who already live among them and are angry with me.”
But Jeremiah insisted, “They will not hand you over to them. Obey God. Do what I tell you and it will go well for you. But if you ignore my warnings it will mean the destruction of this city and your imprisonment.”
Zedekiah replied, “Go, and do not tell anyone about this conversation or I will not honor my oath and you will die.” So Jeremiah returned to his confinement in the courtyard.
As was foretold, the Babylonians fended off the Egyptians and returned to Jerusalem to continue their siege. After four months, their food stores ran out and the remaining people began to starve. Desperate, they destroyed a portion of the wall and fled the city, only to be captured by the Babylonians, including Zedekiah. They killed his sons and tortured him before taking him to Babylon. In that day the line of Jewish kings came to the same end as the other tribes of Israel who had abandoned God. And though Zedekiah’s line ended with the death of his sons, there will still others who yet lived from David’s line.
The Babylonians burned most of the city, including the temple of God, and destroyed its walls. In that day the words of God spoken to Solomon after his dedication of temple came true, “if your descendants abandon me to worship other gods, then I will cut off Israel from its inheritance and reject this temple. Israel will become a mockery among the other nations and this temple, a pile of rubble.” With the destruction of Jerusalem, capital city of Yahweh’s chosen people, and the ruined temple, once the dwelling of almighty God, one of the remaining bards of that age cried out a psalm of lament:
My God! The nations have invaded your holy land.
They have defiled your temple.
They have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
They have left our corpses for the carrion birds and scavengers,
And there is no one to bury the dead.
How long will your fury burn against us?
Will you be angry forever?
Pour out your wrath against the nations,
Who do not acknowledge you as God,
For they have devoured us.
May your mercy come to us quickly,
For we are in desperate need of it.
Forgive us and Help us, God, for the glory of your name.
Why should the nations be allowed to say,
“Where is their God?”
Show the nations that you will avenge the lives of your people.
Hear the groans of those who have been taken as prisoners.
With your strong arm, protect those who have been sentenced to death.
Payback our enemies, sevenfold, the contempt they have shown you, God.
Then, from generation to generation, your people will praise your name.
But after the siege ended, nearly everyone who survived was taken as slaves. Only a small remnant remained, commanded to farm the land by their new Babylonian masters. But God spared Ebed-Melek from this fate because of his kindness to Jeremiah. Jeremiah also narrowly escaped slavery. Indeed, he had been captured and placed among the other slaves preparing to leave for Babylon, when the commander of the Babylonian army, who knew of Jeremiah’s reputation as a prophet, found him and freed him.
The remnant that remained in Judah found Jeremiah and said, “Pray to Yahweh for us. There are only a few of us left. Where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do now? Whether it is favorable or not, we will do whatever Yahweh commands.”
Jeremiah spoke these words, “If you stay in this land, Yahweh will make you prosper. You no longer need to fear the King of Babylon. Yahweh is with you and will protect you. But if you disobey and flee to Egypt thinking you will escape war and famine, those things you fear will find you there. The disaster that destroyed Jerusalem will soon come to everyone in Egypt.”
But some of the arrogant men among them replied, “You are lying. You weren’t sent from Yahweh. You are trying to hand us over to the Babylonians by having us stay here. So these men led the remaining Jews to Egypt with Jeremiah forced to join them as well. Even there he continued to prophesy to the people of their impending destruction because they had come to Egypt. But the people refused to listen and turned to idolatry there. And so the time came when Jeremiah died far away from his home surrounded by those who refused to listen to his warnings like so many others throughout his tragic life.
“Where is their God?”
Show the nations that you will avenge the lives of your people.
Hear the groans of those who have been taken as prisoners.
With your strong arm, protect those who have been sentenced to death.
Payback our enemies, sevenfold, the contempt they have shown you, God.
Then, from generation to generation, your people will praise your name.
But after the siege ended, nearly everyone who survived was taken as slaves. Only a small remnant remained, commanded to farm the land by their new Babylonian masters. But God spared Ebed-Melek from this fate because of his kindness to Jeremiah. Jeremiah also narrowly escaped slavery. Indeed, he had been captured and placed among the other slaves preparing to leave for Babylon, when the commander of the Babylonian army, who knew of Jeremiah’s reputation as a prophet, found him and freed him.
The remnant that remained in Judah found Jeremiah and said, “Pray to Yahweh for us. There are only a few of us left. Where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do now? Whether it is favorable or not, we will do whatever Yahweh commands.”
Jeremiah spoke these words, “If you stay in this land, Yahweh will make you prosper. You no longer need to fear the King of Babylon. Yahweh is with you and will protect you. But if you disobey and flee to Egypt thinking you will escape war and famine, those things you fear will find you there. The disaster that destroyed Jerusalem will soon come to everyone in Egypt.”
But some of the arrogant men among them replied, “You are lying. You weren’t sent from Yahweh. You are trying to hand us over to the Babylonians by having us stay here. So these men led the remaining Jews to Egypt with Jeremiah forced to join them as well. Even there he continued to prophesy to the people of their impending destruction because they had come to Egypt. But the people refused to listen and turned to idolatry there. And so the time came when Jeremiah died far away from his home surrounded by those who refused to listen to his warnings like so many others throughout his tragic life.
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