Jeremiah 21
by Pastor David Groendyk

My ESV Study Bible gives me a header for these next nine chapters (Jeremiah 21–29): “Jeremiah’s Confrontations”. In these chapters, Jeremiah will go on the offensive against kings (21:1–23:8), prophets (23:9–40), the people (24:1–25:38), and false beliefs (26:1–29:32). Our chapter this morning begins the section where Jeremiah opposes the kings.

King Zedekiah, who would end up being the very last king of Judah, sends Pashhur (some believe this is a different Pashhur than the one in chapter 20—notice the different fathers) to inquire of Jeremiah if the Lord will save Judah from Babylon. Zedekiah invokes all of the wonderful deeds that the Lord has done for his people in the past and asks that God would do the same thing now. You can almost hear the anticipation in his words. “Of course God will wipe out this enemy nation for us; that’s what he always does!” The Lord, however, completely flips Zedekiah’s request on its head. His response is, “I, the Lord, am actually going to fight for Babylon.” The same outstretched hand and strong arm that threw the Egyptian army into the Red Sea (Ex. 6:6; see also Ex. 13) are now wielding the sword against Judah (v. 5). Judah has become like Egypt!

Here’s the foolishness of Zedekiah’s position. He thought he could have the protection of God while refusing to be subject to God. The wicked kings and wicked people had been rebelling against the Lord for centuries, and then when God finally brings calamity upon them, they think God will automatically save them from the mess they made. Well, God is not a genie, and we should never presume upon his grace. God both rewards and punishes according to the fruit of our works (v. 14). Those who refuse to bow the knee to God in good times cannot expect his help in bad times. At the same, although we all wander from God from time to time, God is always ready to receive us back. Judah merely wants to be delivered from the punishment for their sins; but God is always ready to show mercy to those who want to be delivered from their sin. It’s no stretch to say that Zedekiah, his officials, and the rest of the people had no intention of changing their ways after they got the rescue they asked for. True repentance actually makes the effort to leave the sin behind after receiving forgiveness.

Surrendering to God in repentance is metaphorically portrayed in the choice God gives the people when he promises that the army of Babylon is coming: surrender or die (v. 9). Now, God does mean this literally as well. If Judah dug their heels in and fought, Babylon would slaughter them. But all who willingly surrendered would keep their lives and head off to Babylon as exiles. It wouldn’t be an ideal life, to be sure, but it would be life. But this is just one earthly example of a much larger principle: surrender your life to God. Turn from your sin truly. Lament your sin and separation from God; don’t just lament the punishment. If chastisement or discipline come your way, learn from it rather than buck up against it. Though it may lead to an unpleasant earthly life, you will escape the judgment of God leading to eternal death.