History
is the best expositor of prophecy; and therefore, for the better
understanding of the prophecies of this book which relate to the destruction
of Jerusalem
and the
kingdom
of Judah, we are here furnished with an account of
that sad event. It is much he same with the history we had 2 Kings xxiv. and
xxv., and many of the particulars we had before in that book, but the matter
is here repeated and put together, to give light to the book of the
Lamentations, which follows next, and to serve as a key to it. That article
in the close concerning the advancement of Jehoiachin in his captivity,
which happened after Jeremiah's time, gives colour to the conjecture of
those who suppose that this chapter was not written by Jeremiah himself, but
by some man divinely inspired among those in captivity, for a constant
memorandum to those who in Babylon preferred Jerusalem above their chief
joy. In this chapter we have, I. The bad reign of Zedekiah, very bad in
regard both of sin and of punishment, ver. 1-3. II. The besieging and taking
of Jerusalem
by the Chaldeans, ver. 4-7. III. The severe
usage which Zedekiah and the princes met with, ver. 8-11. IV. The
destruction of the temple and the city, ver. 12-14. V. The captivity of the
people (ver. 15, 16) and the numbers of those that were carried away into
captivity, ver. 28-30. VI. The carrying off of the plunder of the temple,
ver. 17-23. VII. The slaughter of the priests, and some other great men, in
cold blood, ver. 24-27. VIII. The better days which king Jehoiachin lived to
see in the latter end of his time, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, ver.
31-34.
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Jerusalem
Taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
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B.
C. 588.
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1 Zedekiah was one and twenty years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And
his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD,
according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For through the
anger of the LORD
it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his
presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in
the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against
it, and built forts against it round about. 5 So the city was
besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6 And in the
fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in
the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth
out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which
was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city
round about:) and they went by the way of the plain. 8 But the
army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the
plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to
Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he
slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he put out
the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and
carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
This narrative begins no higher than the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah,
though there were two captivities before, one in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim, the other in the first of Jeconiah; but probably it was drawn up
by some of those that were carried away with Zedekiah, as a reproach to
themselves for imagining that they should not go into captivity after their
brethren, with which hopes they had long flattered themselves. We have here,
1. God's just displeasure against Judah and Jerusalem for their sin, v.
3. His anger was against them to such a degree that he determined to cast
them out from his presence, his favourable gracious presence, as a
father, when he is extremely angry with an undutiful son, bids him get out
of his presence, he expelled them from that good land that had such tokens
of his presence in providential bounty and that holy city and temple that
had such tokens of his presence in covenant-grace and love. Note, Those that
are banished from God's ordinances have reason to complain that they are in
some degree cast out of his presence; yet none are cast out from
God's gracious presence but those that by sin have first thrown themselves
out of it. This fruit of sin we should therefore deprecate above any thing,
as David (Ps. li. 11), Cast me not away from thy presence. 2.
Zedekiah's bad conduct and management, to which God left him, in displeasure
against the people, and for which God punished him, in displeasure against
him. Zedekiah had arrived at years of discretion when he came to the throne;
he was twenty-one years old (v. 1); he was none of the worst
of the kings (we never read of his idolatries), yet his character is that he
did evil in the eyes of the Lord, for he did not do the good he
should have done. But that evil deed of his which did in a special manner
hasten this destruction was his rebelling against the king of Babylon,
which was both his sin and his folly, and brought ruin upon his people, not
only meritoriously, but efficiently. God was greatly displeased with him for
his perfidious dealing with the king of Babylon (as we find, Ezek. xvii. 15,
&c.); and, because he was angry at Judah and Jerusalem, he put him into
the hand of his own counsels, to do that foolish thing which proved fatal to
him and his kingdom. 3. The possession which the Chaldeans at length gained
of Jerusalem, after eighteen months' siege. They sat down before it, and
blocked it up, in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, in the tenth month (v.
4), and made themselves masters of it in the eleventh year in the fourth
month, v. 6. In remembrance of these two steps towards their
ruin, while they were in captivity, they kept a fast in the fourth month,
and a fast in the tenth (Zech. viii. 19): that in the fifth month
was in remembrance of the burning of the temple, and that in the seventh
of the murder of Gedaliah. We may easily imagine, or rather cannot imagine,
what a sad time it was with Jerusalem, during this year and half that it was
besieged, when all provisions were cut off from coming to them and they were
ever and anon alarmed by the attacks of the enemy, and, being obstinately
resolved to hold out to the last extremity, nothing remained but a certain
fearful looking for of judgment. That which disabled them to hold out,
and yet could not prevail with them to capitulate, was the famine in the
city (v. 6); there was no bread for the people of the land,
so that the soldiers could not make good their posts, but were rendered
wholly unserviceable; and then no wonder that the city was broken up,
v. 7. Walls, in such a case, will not hold out long without men, any
more than men without walls; nor will both together stand people in any
stead without God and his protection. 4. The inglorious retreat of the king
and his mighty men. They got out of the city by night (v. 7)
and made the best of their way, I know not whither, nor perhaps they
themselves; but the king was overtaken by the pursuers in the plains of
Jericho, his guards were dispersed, and all his army was scattered
from him, v. 8. His fright was not causeless, for there is no
escaping the judgments of God; they will come upon the sinner, and
will overtake him, let him flee where he will (Deut. xxviii. 15), and
these judgments particularly that are here executed were there threatened, v.
52, 53, &c. 5. The sad doom passed upon Zedekiah by the king of Babylon,
and immediately put in execution. He treated him as a rebel, gave
judgment upon him, v. 9. One cannot think of it without the
utmost vexation and regret that a king, a king of Judah, a king of the house
of David, should be arraigned as a criminal at the bar of this heathen king.
But he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet; therefore God
thus humbled him. Pursuant to the sentence passed upon him by the haughty
conqueror, his sons were slain before his eyes, and all the
princes of Judah (v. 10); then his eyes were put out, and
he was bound in chains, carried in triumph to Babylon; perhaps they
made sport with him, as they did with Samson when his eyes were put out;
however, he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, wearing out the
remainder of his life (I cannot say his days, for he saw day no more) in
darkness and misery. He was kept in prison till the day of his death,
but had some honour done him at his funeral, ch. xxxiv. 5. Jeremiah
had often told him what it would come to, but he would not take warning when
he might have prevented it.
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The
Babylonish Captivity.
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B.
C. 588.
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12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day
of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the
king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13 And burned the house of the
LORD,
and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of
the great men, burned he with fire: 14 And all the army
of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down
all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the
people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those
that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the
multitude. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain
of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. 17
Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD,
and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD,
the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and
the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took
they away. 19 And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls,
and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that
which was of gold in gold, and that which was of
silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. 20
The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the
bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD:
the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 21 And concerning
the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a
fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was
four fingers: it was hollow. 22 And a chapiter of brass was
upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network
and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The
second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the
pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about.
We have here an account of the woeful havoc that was made by the Chaldean
army, a month after the city was taken, under the command of Nebuzaradan,
who was captain of the guard, or general of the army, in this action.
In the margin he is called the chief of the slaughter-men, or executioners;
for soldiers are but slaughter-men, and God employs them as executioners of
his sentence against a sinful people. Nebuzaradan was chief of those
soldiers, but, in the execution he did, we have reason to fear he had no eye
to God, but he served the king of Babylon and his own designs, now that he
came into Jerusalem, into the very bowels of it, as captain of the
slaughter-men there. And, 1. He laid the temple in ashes, having first
plundered it of every thing that was valuable: He burnt the house of the
Lord, that holy and beautiful house, where their fathers praised him,
Isa. lxiv. 11. 2. He burnt the royal palace, probably that which Solomon
built after he had built the temple, which was, ever since, the king's
house. 3. He burnt all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the
houses of the great men, or those particularly; if any escaped, it was only
some sorry cottages for the poor of the land. 4. He broke down all the
walls of Jerusalem, to be revenged upon them for standing in the way of
his army so long. Thus, of a defenced city, it was made a ruin, Isa. xxv. 2.
5. He carried away many into captivity (v. 15); he took away certain
of the poor of the people, that is, of the people in the city, for the
poor of the land (the poor of the country) he left for vine-dressers
and husbandmen. He also carried off the residue of the people that
remained in the city, that had escaped the sword and famine, and the
deserters, such as he thought fit, or rather such as God thought fit; for he
had already determined some for the pestilence, some for the sword,
some for famine, and some for captivity, ch. xv. 2.
But, 6. Nothing is more particularly and largely related here than the
carrying away of the appurtenances of the temple. All that were of great
value were carried away before, the vessels of silver and gold, yet
some of that sort remained, which were now carried away, v. 19. But
most of the temple-prey that was now seized was of brass, which, being of
less value, was carried off last. When the gold was gone, the brass soon
went after it, because the people repented not, according to Jeremiah's
prediction, ch. xxvii. 19, &c. When the walls of the city were
demolished, the pillars of the temple were pulled down too, and both in
token that God, who was the strength and stay both of their civil and their
ecclesiastical government, had departed from them. No walls can protect
those, nor pillars sustain those, from whom God withdraws. These pillars of
the temple were not for support (for there was nothing built upon them), but
for ornament and significancy. They were called Jachin--He will
establish; and Boaz--In him is strength; so that the breaking of
these signified that God would no longer establish his house nor be the
strength of it. These pillars are here very particularly described (v.
21-23, from 1 Kings vii. 15), that the extraordinary beauty and stateliness
of them may affect us the more with the demolishing of them. All the vessels
that belonged to the brazen altar were carried away; for the iniquity of
Jerusalem, like that of Eli's house, was not to be purged by sacrifice or
offering, 1 Sam. iii. 14. It is said (v. 20), The brass of all
these vessels was without weight; so it was in the making of them (1
Kings vii. 47), the weight of the brass was not then found out
(2 Chron. iv. 18), and so it was in the destroying of them. Those that made
great spoil of them did not stand to weigh them, as purchasers do, for,
whatever they weighted, it was all their own.
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The
Babylonish Captivity.
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B.
C. 588.
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24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah
the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of
the door: 25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had
the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the
king's person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the
host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people
of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26 So
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king
of Babylon to Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and
put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried
away captive out of his own land. 28 This is the people
whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand
Jews and three and twenty: 29 In the eighteenth year of
Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty
and two persons: 30 In the three and twentieth year of
Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of
the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were
four thousand and six hundred.
We have here a very melancholy account, 1. Of the slaughter of some great
men, in cold blood, at Riblah, seventy-two in number (according to the
number of the elders of Israel, Num. xi. 24, 25), so they are computed, 2
Kings xxv. 18, 19. We read there of five out of the temple, two out of the
city, five out of the court, and sixty out of the country. The account here
agrees with that, except in one article; there it is said that there were
five, here there were seven, of those that were near the king, which
Dr. Lightfoot reconciles thus, that he took away seven of those that were
near the king, but two of them were Jeremiah himself and Ebed-melech, who
were both discharged, as we have read before, so that there were only five
of them put to death, and so the number was reduced to seventy-two, some of
all ranks, for they had all corrupted their way; and it is probable that
such were made examples of as had been most forward to excite and promote
the rebellion against the king of Babylon. Seraiah the chief priest
is put first, whose sacred character could not exempt him from this stroke;
how should it, when he himself had profaned it by sin? Seraiah the prince
was a quiet prince (ch. li. 59), but perhaps Seraiah the
priest was not so, but unquiet and turbulent, by which he had made himself
obnoxious to the king of Babylon. The leaders of this people had caused them
to err, and now they are in a particular manner made monuments of divine
justice. 2. Of the captivity of the rest. Come and see how Judah was
carried away captive out of his own land (v. 27), and how it
spued them out as it spued out the Canaanites that went before them, which
God had told them it would certainly do if they trod in their steps and
copied out their abominations, Lev. xviii. 28. Now here is an account, (1.)
Of two captivities which we had an account of before, one in the seventh
year of Nebuchadnezzar (the same with that which is said to be in his eighth
year, 2 Kings xxiv. 12), another in his eighteenth year, the same with that
which is said (v. 12) to be in his nineteenth year. But the sums here
are very small, in comparison with what we find expressed concerning the
former (2 Kings xxiv. 14, 16), when there were 18,000 carried captive,
whereas here they are said to be 3023; they are also small in comparison
with what we may reasonably suppose concerning the latter; for, when all the
residue of the people were carried away (v. 15), one would think
there should be more than 832 souls; therefore Dr. Lightfoot conjectures
that, these accounts being joined to the story of the putting to death of
the great men at Riblah, all that are here said to be carried away were put
to death as rebels. (2.) Of a third captivity, not mentioned before,
which was in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, four years after the
destruction of Jerusalem (v. 30): Then Nebuzaradan came, and carried
away 745 Jews; it is probable that this was done in revenge of the
murder of Gedaliah, which was another rebellion against the king of Babylon,
and that those who were now taken were aiders and abetters of Ishmael in
that murder, and were not only carried away, but put to death for it; yet
this is uncertain. If this be the sum total of the captives (all the
persons were 4600, v. 30), we may see how strangely they were
reduced from what they had been, and may wonder as much how they came to be
so numerous again as afterwards we find them; for it should seem that, as at
first in Egypt, so again in Babylon, the Lord made them fruitful in the land
of their affliction, and the more they were oppressed the more they
multiplied. And the truth is, this people were often miracles both of
judgment and mercy.
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Jehoiachin
Favoured by Evil-merodach.
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B.
C. 588.
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31 And it came to pass in the seven and
thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth
month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach
king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the
kings that were with him in Babylon, 33 And changed his
prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of
his life. 34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet
given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his
death, all the days of his life.
This passage of story concerning the reviving which king Jehoiachin had in
his bondage we had likewise before (2 Kings xxv. 27-30), only there it is
said to be done on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, here on
the twenty-fifth; but in a thing of this nature two days make a very
slight difference in the account. It is probable that the orders were given
for his release on the twenty-fifth day, but that he was not presented to
the king till the twenty-seventh. We may observe in this story, 1. That new
lords make new laws. Nebuchadnezzar had long kept this unhappy prince in
prison; and his son, though well-affected to the prisoner, could not procure
him any favour, not one smile, from his father, any more than Jonathan could
for David from his father; but, when the old peevish man was dead, his son
countenanced Jehoiachin and made him a favourite. It is common for children
to undo what their fathers have done; it were well if it were always as much
for the better as this was. 2. That the world we live in is a changing
world. Jehoiachin, in his beginning, fell from a throne into a prison, but
here he is advanced again to a throne of state (v. 32), though not to
a throne of power. As, before, the robes were changed into prison-garments,
so now they were converted into robes again. Such chequer-work is this
world; prosperity and adversity are set the one over-against the other, that
we may learn to rejoice as though we rejoiced not and weep as though we
wept not. 3. That, though the night of affliction be very long, yet we
must not despair but that the day may dawn at last. Jehoiachin was
thirty-seven years a prisoner, in confinement, in contempt, ever since he
was eighteen years old, in which time we may suppose him so inured to
captivity that he had forgotten the sweets of liberty; or, rather, that
after so long an imprisonment it would be doubly welcome to him. Let those
whose afflictions have been lengthened out encourage themselves with this
instance; the vision will at the end speak comfortably, and therefore wait
for it. Dum spiro spero--While there is life there is hope. Non si male
nunc, et olim sic erit--Though now we suffer, we shall not always suffer.
4. That god can make his people to find favour in the eyes of those that are
their oppressors, and unaccountably turn their hearts to pity them,
according to that word ( Ps. cvi. 46), He made them to be pitied of all
those that carried them captives. He can bring those that have spoken
roughly to speak kindly, and those to feed his people that have fed upon
them. Those therefore that are under oppression will find that it is not in
vain to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. Therefore
our times are in God's hand, because the hearts of all we deal with are so.
5. And now, upon the whole matter, comparing the prophecy and the history of
this book together, we may learn, in general, (1.) That it is no new thing
for churches and persons highly dignified to degenerate, and become very
corrupt. (2.) That iniquity tends to the ruin of those that harbour it; and,
if it be not repented of and forsaken, will certainly end in their ruin:
(3.) That external professions and privileges will not only not amount to an
excuse for sin and an exemption from ruin, but will be a very great
aggravation of both. (4.) That no word of God shall fall to the ground, but
the event will fully answer the prediction; and the unbelief of man shall
not make God's threatenings, any more than his promises, of no effect. The
justice and truth of God are here written in bloody characters, for the
conviction or the confusion of all those that make a jest of his
threatenings. Let them not be deceived, God is not mocked.
