Jeremiah 52:1-34
Q.1. What terrible punishment was imposed on King Zedekiah? Did he deserve his fate? – (Jer.52:1-11)
This report is very similar to the report in Jeremiah 39:1-10. It is a fulfilment of the prediction made privately to Zedekiah. When Zedekiah had asked Jeremiah to seek God’s guidance, Jeremiah at first had refused. He feared that the king would slay him if he repeated God’s instruction to Judah’s leaders to give themselves up to the Babylonians (Jer.38:14-28). Zedekiah and the leaders foolishly disobeyed God. As a result, Zedekiah witnessed the death of his own sons and all the princes of Judah before he himself was blinded and put in prison (Jer.52:9-11). Zedekiah had been clearly warned, but disobeyed God and His prophet (Jer.52:1-3). He deserved his punishment.
Q.2. What happened to Jerusalem and its inhabitants? What did the Babylonians do to the temple? – (Jer.52:12-30)
This is an expanded version of the report in Jeremiah 39:8-10. It forms the conclusion of Jeremiah’s ministry to Judah. The magnificent Temple was burned, along with all the significant homes built during Solomon’s reign. The Babylonians also broke down all the protective walls around Jerusalem (Jer.52:12-15). Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left only the poorest of the land to farm the land (Jer.52:16). They took all the sacred vessels from the house of the Lord, along with the remaining treasures (Jer.52:17-23). The key priests, leaders and advisers were taken back to Babylon – Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death … So Judah was led away into exile from the land (Jer.52:27). In all four thousand six hundred Jewish people were taken into exile (Jer.52:28-30).
Q.3. What does the change of fortunes of the former king, Jehoiachin, teach us about life? – (Jer.52:31-34)
Not only were the poorest in Judah promoted to farm the land of Judah, the former king, Jehoiachin, was also elevated in Babylon. The new king of Babylon, Awil-Marduk showed favour to the former king. He took him out of prison and gave him a prominent place amongst the rulers of Babylon (Jer.52:32-34). When you consider the level of education of the Jews, this was not entirely unexpected. Jehoiachin would have posed no threat to Awil-Marduk’s reign. He had been in prison for thirty-seven years. The reversal of his fortunes reminds us that God raises up, and brings down, whomever He desires and whenever He decides (Ps.113:7-8).