Reflections on Jeremiah 39

Jeremiah 39 (Contemporary English Version)
1. In the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army began their attack on Jerusalem. They kept the city surrounded for a year and a half. Then, on the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah was king, they broke through the city walls. After Jerusalem was captured, Nebuchadnezzar's highest officials, including Nebo Sarsechim and Nergal Sharezer from Simmagir, took their places at Middle Gate to show they were in control of the city.
   
2. (SEE 39:1)
   
3. (SEE 39:1)
   
4. When King Zedekiah and his troops saw that Jerusalem had been captured, they tried to escape from the city that same night. They went to the king's garden, where they slipped through the gate between the two city walls and headed toward the Jordan River valley.
   
5. But the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. They arrested Zedekiah and took him to the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial, then found him guilty
   
6. and gave orders for him to be punished. Zedekiah's sons were killed there in front of him, and so were the leaders of Judah's ruling families.
   
7. His eyes were poked out, and he was put in chains, so he could be dragged off to Babylonia.
   
8. Meanwhile, the Babylonian army had burned the houses in Jerusalem, including the royal palace, and they had broken down the city walls.
   
9. Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian officer in charge of the guards, led away everyone from the city as prisoners, even those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar.
   
10. Only the poorest people who owned no land were left behind in Judah, and Nebuzaradan gave them fields and vineyards.
    
11. Nebuchadnezzar had given the following orders to Nebuzaradan:
    
12. "Find Jeremiah and keep him safe. Take good care of him and do whatever he asks."
    
13. Nebuzaradan, Nebushazban, Nergal Sharezer, and the other officers of King Nebuchadnezzar
    
14. sent some of their troops to bring me from the courtyard of the royal palace guards. They put me in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam and told him to take me to my home. And so I was allowed to stay with the people who remained in Judah.
    
15. While I was a prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guard, the LORD told me to say
    
16. to Ebedmelech from Ethiopia: I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I warned everyone that I would bring disaster, not prosperity, to this city. Now very soon I will do what I said, and you will see it happen.
    
17. But because you trusted me, I will protect you from the officials of Judah, and when Judah is struck by disaster, I will rescue you and keep you alive. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    
18. (SEE 39:17)
    
    

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    The day Jeremiah had spoken of for over 40 years finally arrived. Nebuchadnezzar's army broke through the city walls of Jerusalem and captured the city. Under siege by the Babylonians for the last 2 1/2 years prior to the fall of the city, this outcome had become more and more apparent. But however apparent it may seem to us now, it was an outcome the leaders of Judah refused to acknowledge even when Jeremiah repeatedly told them it would happen. By the time Babylon had captured all of the fortified cities of Judah except Jerusalem and had laid siege to it, Jeremiah's prediction of Jerusalem's fall should have seemed obvious. But the leaders of Judah had made such a longtime practice of ignoring God and His word and the obvious outcomes of doing so, that they were unable to do any differently at this time. It is like watching the demise of an alcoholic whose destructive actions are obvious to everyone but himself.
    
    When the Babylonians finally broke through the city walls of Jerusalem, king Zedekiah of Judah and his remaining soldiers escaped the city at night and made a run for it. But the Babylonian army caught up with them just before they crossed the Jericho river and arrested the king, taking him back to Nebuchadnezzar to be sentenced. The horror and shame Zedekiah had feared and could have escaped by following Jeremiah's instructions, happened to him with his sentencing by Nebuchadnezzar. All of his sons and the officials of Judah were killed before his eyes. Then his eyes were put out and he was blinded and taken in chains to Babylon. As Jeremiah had also predicted, the city of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed. "The Chaldeans (Babylonians) next burned down the king's palace and the people's houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem." (39:8)
    
    On a more positive note, Nebuchadnezzar treated Jeremiah well. Nebuchadnezzar apparently had knowledge of the prophet and when Jeremiah was brought before him, Nebuchadnezzar gave orders saying, "Take him, look after him, and don't let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says." (39:12) Furthermore, God protected Ebed-melech the Cushite from being killed along with the other city officials because he helped Jeremiah escape from the pit as described in chapter 38.
    
    Though this account gives the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecies, it is not the end of the story, but only the first part of God's story for Israel and Judah. Tearing down is not an end God seeks. Rather than an end in itself, for God tearing down is a means toward an end. It is to build something new and better. With the fall of Judah, all of Israel had fallen and God had prepared the way to make a new Israel that would be faithful to Him and fulfill His purpose for her.