Tag Archives: Jeremiah 39-41

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2023 Bible Study — Do We Fear Man More Than We Fear God?

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Jeremiah warned King Zedekiah, in a private meeting, that if he surrendered to Babylon, all would go well with him and that Jerusalem would not be burned, but that if he did not surrender, he would still fall into the hands of the Babylonians and Jerusalem would be burned.  Zedekiah refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning, being more afraid of his fellow Jews than of God.  As a result, Zedekiah saw all of his sons killed by the Babylonians before having his eyes put out and being taken to Babylon blind.  So, do we fear God more than we fear man?  Or, do we, like King Zedekiah, fear man more than God?  Today’s passage gives us due warning about the dangers of doing the latter.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2022 Bible Study — Some People Thought Jeremiah Was An Agent Of The Babylonians

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

In today’s passage Jerusalem fell, just as Jeremiah had predicted.  The Babylonians either killed or took into captivity everybody from among the elites.  The only people who were left to go about their lives were those who were “nobodies”.  Those were given vineyards and fields which had previously belonged to those who wielded power in Jerusalem.  I also find it noteworthy that Nebuchadnezzar ordered that Jeremiah be looked after by his commander and allowed to do what he chose.  Jeremiah had been imprisoned shortly before the fall of Jerusalem (and was still imprisoned when Jerusalem fell) because some of the leaders of Jerusalem thought he was a traitor in service to the Babylonians.  Those who imprisoned Jeremiah alleged that he was giving aid and comfort to the enemies of his nation.  They would have considered these actions by the Babylonians as confirmation of their suspicions.  We should bear this situation in mind when evaluating similar accusations against people today.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2021 Bible Study — Do Not Let Fear Keep Us From Doing As God Directs Us

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 39-41.

First, I want to point out that in this passage we have a confirmation of what I mentioned yesterday: God sends word through Jeremiah to Ebed-Melek, the man who rescued Jeremiah from the attempt to kill him, that he (Ebed-Melek) would be saved during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem.  Then we see that Jeremiah’s prophecy to Zedekiah was also fulfilled.  Zedekiah was afraid to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, despite Jeremiah’s assurances that God had promised no harm would come to him if he did so.  Instead, King Zedekiah held out until the end and was captured.  The Babylonians killed his sons in front of him, then put out his eyes.  There is an important lesson in the fate of Zedekiah.  He was too afraid to do as God instructed him, and as a result suffered an outcome at least as bad as the one he feared.  Let us not make the same mistake of refusing to do God’s will out of fear.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2020 Bible Study Human Nature Has Not Changed

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 39-41.

The first thing from this passage is the revelation that the Judeans had practiced asymmetrical warfare against the Babylonians, at least within the area of the Kingdom of Judah and the surrounding lands.  Many times we read about asymmetrical warfare, or guerrilla warfare, presented as if they are modern inventions, but, as “the Teacher” wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun.  Here we read about those who commanded military groups in the countryside.  They would have been the commanders of guerrilla groups that avoided direct encounters with the Babylonian army.  And just as modern guerrilla bands do, they sheltered in the territory of surrounding nations which were not officially involved in the war between Babylon and Judah.  Today I think that is the reminder which I want to take from this passage: people often think that this development, or that one, are new and invalidate the instructions which God gave His people long ago, they are mistaken. Human nature has not changed over the centuries and God’s instructions are just as relevant today as they were when He first gave them to mankind.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2019 Bible Study — Refusing To Do As God Directs Will Not Spare Us Suffering

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 39-41.

King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, refused to take Jeremiah’s advice to surrender to the Babylonians because he was afraid of what the Babylonians would do to him.  Instead, he chose to continue the fight until the city walls fell, at which point he attempted to flee in the night.  However, the end result was exactly what Jeremiah had told him would happen.  If Zedekiah had done as Jeremiah advised, the worst that would have happened would have been what happened and those for whom he was responsible would have suffered less and Zedekiah would probably have been treated better than he was.  An important lesson for us: if we do as God directs, we may experience the suffering we fear, but we will save others from suffering.  However, if we do not do as God directs we will definitely suffer and will likely cause others to suffer needlessly as well.

I find interesting what the rest of this passage reveals about the military defense of the Kingdom of Judah.  I had written an entire paragraph about this, but realized it did not lead to the point.  Jeremiah had prophesied that those who remained in Judah after the first group taken into Exile by the Babylonians would be killed or scattered.  After the fall of Jerusalem, they had an opportunity to live in the land peacefully under the Babylonians.  Something Jeremiah had been advising them to accept for years.  However, after one of those too zealous to accept such an outcome killed the governor appointed by the Babylonians, the rest were too fearful to remain.  So, we see that Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled through the actions of the people themselves.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2018 Bible Study — Was Jeremiah a Traitor?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 39-41.

    After the fall of Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar gave specific instructions to find and look after Jeremiah. We do not know how King Nebuchadnezzar became aware of Jeremiah, but his actions instructions regarding Jeremiah lent support to those who had thought that Jeremiah was a traitor. Of course, based on what we know, it seems unlikely that Jeremiah had any impact on the outcome of Babylon’s war against Jerusalem. I do not believe that Jeremiah was a Babylonian agent, but I can understand why some would argue that he was. When people today accuse others of being traitors to our country, we need to bear in mind those who did the same about Jeremiah. Of course, as Christians we also need to remember that our first loyalty is in the Kingdom of God, not whatever earthly nation we live in. Which means that we may need to take actions which will get us accused of treason.

    After destroying Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah governor over the province. The various leaders of guerilla war bands which had been harassing the Babylonian army met with him to see how they would be treated. Gedeliah assured them that the Babylonians would allow them to live in peace as long as they served the king of Babylon going forward. Many of the Jewish refugees who had fled the war returned and began settling back into the land. The key thing we learn in this lesson is that Gedeliah was naive. When he was warned that one of the former guerilla leaders was planning to kill him, he refused to believe it. The man who killed Gedaliah was a member of the royal family of Judah (I assume this means that he was a descendant of David). While I will not fault Gedaliah for not forbidding Johanan from killing Ishmael, he should have taken precautions against the information he was given being true.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2017 Bible Study — Aftermath of the Fall of Jerusalem

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 39-41.

    Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah that he should surrender to the Babylonians. He had done so as a prophecy from God. Jeremiah had even warned King Zedekiah what would happen if he did not do so and promised him, again as a prophecy from God, that if he surrendered nothing bad would happen to him (aside from being taken captive). However, King Zedekiah was more afraid of what would happen if King Nebuchadnezzar turned him over to the Judeans who had previously gone over to the Babylonians (and perhaps King Zedekiah was also more afraid of certain members of his own court). As a result, King Zedekiah refused to surrender and, when the Babylonians were breaking through the last defenses of the city, attempted to flee the city. He was captured and suffered the fate which Jeremiah had prophesied.

    After the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonians appointed Gedaliah (it amuses me that my default reading of this name sounds like a type of onion) governor over Judah. When those who had been leading guerilla forces against the Babylonians, and those who had fled the country to avoid the war, heard that Gedaliah was appointed governor they began to return. The guerilla leaders met with Gedaliah and most of them accepted his assurance that the Babylonians would not seek retribution for their actions during the war. What role Jeremiah’s earlier prophecies which had said the same thing played in them believing this is unclear (the context and their later actions suggest that it played some role). Unfortunately, one of the guerilla leaders chose not to accept this opportunity to live in peace. That one, named Ishamel, killed Gedaliah and fled. His motives are unclear. There is a report that Ishmael was paid by the ruler of a neighboring nation to kill Gedaliah, but we are also told that Ishmael was a member of the royal family. Furthermore, he took captive the king’s daughters (it is not clear which king) and other members of the royal household who had been left in Gedaliah’s care. This last action suggests that he had plans to set up a “court in exile”.

    The remaining guerilla leaders gathered their men and pursued him. When they overtook Ishmael, those he had taken captive escaped and fought against him. Ishmael was defeated, but he escaped with a small band of men. The entire group, those who had pursued Ishmael and those whom he had taken captive, were afraid of what the King of Babylon would do when he discovered that Gedaliah had been killed, so they made plans to flee to Egypt. Their fear was not baseless. Throughout history, various rulers have decided to kill such people to keep them from leading a revolt, or being used to lend legitimacy to an uprising.

Daily Bible Study

August 20, 2016 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 39-41.

    Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar just as Jeremiah had predicted. King Zedekiah, still afraid to follow the advice Jeremiah had given him, attempted to avoid the fate which Jeremiah had told him he would receive if he failed to do as Jeremiah recommended. Jeremiah had been imprisoned during the final days of the siege. Nebuchadnezzar gave orders for his release and offered for him to either stay in Judah or go to Babylon. Jeremiah chose to stay. He also sent word to the man, a court functionary, who had saved him from the cistern, that God would be with him and protect him from those he feared.

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    Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over Judah. It is worth noting that Gedaliah’s grandfather was the scribe given the task of taking the scroll of the law to King Josiah (the scroll was discovered during the Temple repairs which Josiah had ordered). In addition, Gedaliah’s father saved Jeremiah’s life at one point. Gedaliah was able to convince most of the leaders of guerrilla forces opposing the Babylonians to lay down arms. Unfortunately, Gedaliah was unwilling to listen to those who warned him against the one leader who was unwilling to accept the Babylonian conquest of Judah. Gedaliah was a good man who gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.

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    I am unsure what message we should take from this passage. Certainly, we learn from King Zedekiah’s actions that we cannot avoid the consequences of failing to follow God’s instructions. However, I am unsure if the story of Gedaliah is there as simply a recounting of the events that led to what happened next, or as an object lesson on not relying on our judgment of other’s character against advice we have received.

Daily Bible Study

October 22, 2015 Bible Study — Do Not Be Ashamed To Tell Others About Jesus

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 26:1-2

    The godly need not fear the “evil eye” because an undeserved curse will not cause any harm. If you do right by everyone you meet than you need not fear any attempts to send negative “karma” your way.

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Psalm 90-91

    I will not fear plague nor death because I trust in God. God provides us with a place of safety where no harm may come to us. If we do God’s will our reward will be greater than any danger we may face.

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2 Timothy 1

    We should never be ashamed to tell others about Jesus and our faith. Not only should we not be ashamed to speak of our faith, we should not be ashamed of those who suffer for having that same faith. Rather than be ashamed of the gospel message we should be willing, even eager, to suffer for speaking that message. In the face of persecution let us cling to the confidence Paul expresses here. Paul knew in whom he believed and was confident that He was able to guard his faith until the day of Christ’s return.
    There is a great song based on this passage which reminds us that in the face of challenges there may be many things we do not know, but there is one thing which we can know. That one thing is who we have believed in.


Verse 1
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.

Refrain
But I know Whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.

Verse 2
I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.

Refrain

Verse 3
I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing us of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.

Refrain

Verse 4
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.

Refrain

Verse 5
I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.

Refrain


This song reminds us that, no matter what doubts we may have, we do not need to doubt God’s power or His faithfulness. I may not know the answers to your questions, but I know whom I have believed.

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Jeremiah 39-41

    In this passage, Zedekiah receives the reward for his timidity, for his refusal to stand up for what he knew was right. On the other hand, Ebed-melech, the man who had saved Jeremiah from the cistern, was rewarded for the risks he had taken in serving God.