Jeremiah 39
by Pastor David Groendyk

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: Jerusalem has fallen. As we read the first ten verses, the description of the fall gets worse and worse. The Babylonian army makes a breach in the city wall and occupies the city (vv. 2–3). After the great king Zedekiah and his officials try to make a break for it in the middle of the night, they get chased down and taken prisoner (v. 5). Then there’s the horrifying scene of Zedekiah’s kids being slaughtered in front of the king’s own eyes, followed by the gouging out of his own eyes (vv. 6–7). Imagine the last thing you ever see being the death of your family. Then the city itself is torn down to the ground (v. 8). And, finally, the majority of the people are taken away from their homeland in chains to Babylon (v. 9). The scene goes from invasion to capture to execution to destruction to exile. In a mere ten verses, everything is gone. As one commentator puts it, “Zedekiah woke up a king and went to bed a prisoner.” Jeremiah, however, is spared, and we also get a sliver of hope looking forward to the future when we read about some people being left behind in the now-ransacked Judean country (v. 10).

It goes to show that God’s words always come true, no matter how unlikely their fulfillment may seem. A good parallel passage to Jeremiah 39 is 2 Peter 3. In that chapter, Peter addresses the scoffers and false teachers who say, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” These scoffers were mocking Christians for believing that Christ would come again and bring the judgment. Just as wicked men mocked Noah while he was building the ark waiting for the flood, and just as Zedekiah mocked Jeremiah for prophesying of the destruction of Jerusalem, so Christians are mocked now for believing Christ will come again and destroy this earth with fire (see 2 Pet. 3:7). Even though we may be lulled to sleep sometimes and forget where history is headed, it’s imperative that we as Christians remember the end game. But why is it taking so long for Christ to come back? Even in Peter’s days 2000 years ago they were saying it had been a long time since the prediction was made. The answer for the long delay is the same as it was in Peter’s day, and it’s the same answer for why it took so long for God to finally punish Judah: so that people have more time to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). God is patient and does not wish anyone to perish. So repent of your sin today! And repent again tomorrow. Keep short accounts with God, as the Puritans used to say. Don’t be lulled to sleep by a false sense of security in the idea that you have weeks and months and years and decades to repent before you face judgment.

Another good application for us is evangelism. Though the scoffers will scoff, we have the duty and privilege to warn unbelievers of this coming judgment. Jeremiah didn’t quit preaching after his first, second, third, tenth, fifteenth sermons were rejected by the king. God kept giving him a word to speak, and Jeremiah remained faithful in sharing. If God himself wishes no man to perish (as it says in 2 Peter 3:9), what does that say our heart posture should be towards unbelievers? Are you resentful and distant from unbelievers because they don’t see eye-to-eye with you? Or does your heart break in such a way that it drives you to go to them and share the good news?

Finally, let’s think about the curious case of Ebed-melech. The Ethiopian eunuch who served Zedekiah makes another appearance after his rescuing act of Jeremiah in the previous chapter. Ebed-melech stands here as a direct contrast to Zedekiah. Even his name is provocative: the Hebrew words “ebed melech” literally mean “servant of the king”. But the question Jeremiah 38–39 forces us to ask is, “Which king is this man serving?” It’s not Zedekiah! Ebed-melech is a servant of the Lord God of Israel, the one and only true King. He had put his trust in the Lord and believed the word that he spoke through Jeremiah about the destruction of the city, and, as a result, he was spared from execution (v. 18). It teaches us that our ultimate allegiance is to Christ the King over and above any other allegiance. No other earthly institution deserves your loyalty like Christ does. That’s because no other king will be able to save you on that last day when judgment comes. Trust your King, and he will never fail you.