Carried Captive Into Babylon In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem," to besiege the city. 2 Kings 25:1. The outlook for Judah was hopeless. "Behold, I am against th
Bang Sapri
In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign "Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem," to besiege the
city. 2 Kings 25:1. The outlook for Judah was hopeless. "Behold, I am
against thee," the Lord Himself declared through Ezekiel. "I the Lord
have drawn forth My sword out of his sheath" it shall not return any
more. . . . Every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and
every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water." "I
will pour out Mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in
the fire of My wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men,
and skillful to destroy." Ezekiel 21:3, 5-7, 31. {PK 452.1}
The Egyptians endeavored to come to the rescue of the beleaguered
city; and the Chaldeans, in order to keep them back, abandoned for a
time their siege of the Judean capital. Hope sprang up in the heart of
Zedekiah, and he sent a
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messenger to Jeremiah, asking him to pray to God in behalf of the
Hebrew nation. {PK 452.2}
The prophet's fearful answer was that the Chaldeans would return
and destroy the city. The fiat had gone forth; no longer could the
impenitent nation avert the divine judgments. "Deceive not
yourselves," the Lord warned His people. "The Chaldeans . . . shall
not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans
that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them,
yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with
fire." Jeremiah 37:9, 10. The remnant of Judah were to go into
captivity, to learn through adversity the lessons they had refused to
learn under circumstances more favorable. From this decree of the holy
Watcher there could be no appeal. {PK 453.1}
Among the righteous still in Jerusalem, to whom had been made
plain the divine purpose, were some who determined to place beyond the
reach of ruthless hands the sacred ark containing the tables of stone
on which had been traced the precepts of the Decalogue. This they did.
With mourning and sadness they secreted the ark in a cave, where it
was to be hidden from the people of Israel and Judah because of their
sins, and was to be no more restored to them. That sacred ark is yet
hidden. It has never been disturbed since it was secreted. {PK 453.2}
For many years Jeremiah had stood before the people as a faithful
witness for God; and now, as the fated city was about to pass into the
hands of the heathen, he considered his work done and attempted to
leave, but was prevented by a son of one of the false prophets, who
reported
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that Jeremiah was about to join the Babylonians, to whom he had
repeatedly urged the men of Judah to submit. The prophet denied the
lying charge, but nevertheless "the princes were wroth with Jeremiah,
and smote him, and put him in prison." Verse 15. {PK 453.3}
The hopes that had sprung up in the hearts of princes and people
when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar turned south to meet the Egyptians,
were soon dashed to the ground. The word of the Lord had been,
"Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt." The might of Egypt
was but a broken reed. "All the inhabitants of Egypt," Inspiration had
declared, "shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a
staff of reed to the house of Israel." "I will strengthen the arms of
the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they
shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put My sword into the hand
of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of
Egypt." Ezekiel 29:3, 6; 30:25. {PK 454.1}
While the princes of Judah were still vainly looking toward Egypt
for help, King Zedekiah with anxious foreboding was thinking of the
prophet of God that had been thrust into prison. After many days the
king sent for him and asked him secretly, "Is there any word from the
Lord?" Jeremiah answered, "There is: for, said He, thou shalt be
delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. {PK 454.2}
"Moreover Jeremiah said unto King Zedekiah, What have I offended
against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye
have put me in prison? Where are now your prophets which prophesied
unto you, saying,
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The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my
supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me
not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."
Jeremiah 37:17-20. {PK 454.3}
At this Zedekiah commanded that they "commit Jeremiah into the
court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of
bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were
spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison." Verse 21.
{PK 455.1}
The king dared not openly manifest any faith in Jeremiah. Though
his fear drove him to seek information of him privately, yet he was
too weak to brave the disapprobation of his princes and of the people
by submitting to the will of God as declared by the prophet. {PK
455.2}
From the court of the prison Jeremiah continued to advise
submission to the Babylonian rule. To offer resistance would be to
invite sure death. The message of the Lord to Judah was: "He that
remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by
the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live;
for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live." Plain and
positive were the words spoken. In the name of the Lord the prophet
boldly declared, "This city shall surely be given into the hand of the
king of Babylon's army, which shall take it." Jeremiah 38:2, 3. {PK
455.3}
At last the princes, enraged over the repeated counsels of
Jeremiah, which were contrary to their set policy of resistance, made
a vigorous protest before the king, urging
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that the prophet was an enemy to the nation, and that his words had
weakened the hands of the people and brought misfortune upon them;
therefore he should be put to death. {PK 455.4}
The cowardly king knew that the charges were false; but in order
to propitiate those who occupied high and influential positions in the
nation, he feigned to believe their falsehoods and gave Jeremiah into
their hands to do with him as they pleased. The prophet was cast "into
the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of
the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon
there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." Verse 6.
But God raised up friends for him, who besought the king in his
behalf, and had him again removed to the court of the prison. {PK
456.1}
Once more the king sent privately for Jeremiah, and bade him
faithfully relate the purpose of God toward Jerusalem. In response,
Jeremiah inquired, "If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely
put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken
unto me?" The king entered into a secret compact with the prophet. "As
the Lord liveth, that made us this soul," Zedekiah promised, "I will
not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these
men that seek thy life." Verses 15, 16. {PK 456.2}
There was still opportunity for the king to reveal a willingness
to heed the warnings of Jehovah, and thus to temper with mercy the
judgments even now falling on city and nation. "If thou wilt assuredly
go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes," was the message given
the king, "then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned
with
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fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go
forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given
into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and
thou shalt not escape out of their hand." {PK 456.3}
"I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans," the
king replied, "lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock
me." But the prophet promised, "They shall not deliver thee." And he
added the earnest entreaty, "Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the
Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy
soul shall live." Verses 17-20. {PK 457.1}
Thus even to the last hour, God made plain His willingness to
show mercy to those who would choose to submit to His just
requirements. Had the king chosen to obey, the lives of the people
might have been spared, and the city saved from conflagration; but he
thought he had gone too far to retrace his steps. He was afraid of the
Jews, afraid of ridicule, afraid for his life. After years of
rebellion against God, Zedekiah thought it too humiliating to say to
his people, I accept the word of the Lord, as spoken through the
prophet Jeremiah; I dare not venture to war against the enemy in the
face of all these warnings. {PK 457.2}
With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself and his
people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that unless he should
heed the counsel of God, he could not escape with his life, and all
his possessions would fall to the Babylonians. But the king had
started on the wrong course, and he would not retrace his steps. He
decided to
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follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of the men whom he
really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness in yielding so readily
to their wishes. He sacrificed the noble freedom of his manhood and
became a cringing slave to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do
evil, he was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right.
Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given by Jeremiah,
he had not the moral stamina to obey; and as a consequence he advanced
steadily in the wrong direction. {PK 457.3}
The king was even too weak to be willing that his courtiers and
people should know that he had held a conference with Jeremiah, so
fully had the fear of man taken possession of his soul. If Zedekiah
had stood up bravely and declared that he believed the words of the
prophet, already half fulfilled, what desolation might have been
averted! He should have said, I will obey the Lord, and save the city
from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the commands of God because of
the fear or favor of man. I love the truth, I hate sin, and I will
follow the counsel of the Mighty One of Israel. {PK 458.1}
Then the people would have respected his courageous spirit, and
those who were wavering between faith and unbelief would have taken a
firm stand for the right. The very fearlessness and justice of this
course would have inspired his subjects with admiration and loyalty.
He would have had ample support, and Judah would have been spared the
untold woe of carnage and famine and fire. {PK 458.2}
The weakness of Zedekiah was a sin for which he paid a fearful
penalty. The enemy swept down like a resistless avalanche and
devastated the city. The Hebrew armies
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were beaten back in confusion. The nation was conquered. Zedekiah was
taken prisoner, and his sons were slain before his eyes. The king was
led away from Jerusalem a captive, his eyes were put out, and after
arriving in Babylon he perished miserably. The beautiful temple that
for more than four centuries had crowned the summit of Mount Zion was
not spared by the Chaldeans. "They burnt the house of God, and brake
down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with
fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof." 2 Chronicles
36:19. {PK 458.3}
At the time of the final overthrow of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, many had escaped the horrors of the long siege, only
to perish by the sword. Of those who still remained, some, notably the
chief of the priests and officers
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and the princes of the realm, were taken to Babylon and there executed
as traitors. Others were carried captive, to live in servitude to
Nebuchadnezzar and to his sons "until the reign of the kingdom of
Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah."
Verses 20, 21. {PK 459.1}
Of Jeremiah himself it is recorded: "Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuchadnezzar-adan the
captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do
him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee." Jeremiah
39:11, 12. {PK 460.1}
Released from prison by the Babylonian officers, the prophet
chose to cast in his lot with the feeble remnant, certain "poor of the
land" left by the Chaldeans to be "vinedressers and husbandmen." Over
these the Babylonians set Gedaliah as governor. Only a few months
passed before the newly appointed governor was treacherously slain.
The poor people, after passing through many trials, were finally
persuaded by their leaders to take refuge in the land of Egypt.
Against this move, Jeremiah lifted his voice in protest. "Go ye not
into Egypt," he pleaded. But the inspired counsel was not heeded, and
"all the remnant of Judah, . . . even men, and women, and children,"
took flight into Egypt. "They obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus
came they even to Tahpanhes." Jeremiah 43:5-7. {PK 460.2}
The prophecies of doom pronounced by Jeremiah upon the remnant
that had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by fleeing to Egypt were
mingled with promises of pardon to those who should repent of their
folly and stand ready to return. While the Lord would not spare those
who turned
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from His counsel to the seductive influences of Egyptian idolatry, yet
He would show mercy to those who should prove loyal and true. "A small
number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt
into the land of Judah," He declared; "and all the remnant of Judah,
that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know
whose words shall stand, Mine, or theirs." Jeremiah 44:28. {PK 460.3}
The sorrow of the prophet over the utter perversity of those who
would have been the spiritual light of the world, his sorrow over the
fate of Zion and of the people carried captive to Babylon, is revealed
in the lamentations he has left on record as a memorial of the folly
of turning from the counsels of Jehovah to human wisdom. Amid the ruin
wrought, Jeremiah could still declare, "It is of the Lord's mercies
that we are not consumed;" and his constant prayer was, "Let us search
and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord." Lamentations 3:22, 40.
While Judah was still a kingdom among the nations, he had inquired of
his God, "Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah? hath Thy soul loathed
Zion?" and he had made bold to plead, "Do not abhor us, for Thy name's
sake." Jeremiah 14:19, 21. The prophet's absolute faith in God's
eternal purpose to bring order out of confusion, and to demonstrate to
the nations of earth and to the entire universe His attributes of
justice and love, now led him to plead confidently in behalf of those
who might turn from evil to righteousness. {PK 461.1}
But now Zion was utterly destroyed; the people of God were in
their captivity. Overwhelmed with grief, the
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prophet exclaimed: "How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of
people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the
nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become
tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her
cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her
friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her
enemies. {PK 461.2}
"Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because
of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no
rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The ways
of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her
gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and
she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies
prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her
transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the
enemy." {PK 462.1}
"How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in
His anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of
Israel, and remembered not His footstool in the day of His anger! The
Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not
pitied: He hath thrown down in His wrath the strongholds of the
daughter of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground: He hath
polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in His
fierce anger all the horn of Israel: He hath drawn back His right hand
from before the enemy, and He burned against Jacob like a flaming
fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent His bow like an enemy:
He stood with His right hand as an adversary, and slew all
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that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of
Zion: He poured out His fury like fire." {PK 462.2}
"What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I
liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee,
that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is
great like the sea: who can heal thee?" {PK 463.1}
"Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our
reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to
aliens. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as
widows. . . . Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne
their iniquities. Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth
deliver us out of their hand. . . . For this our heart is faint; for
these things our eyes are dim." {PK 463.2}
"Thou, O Lord, remainest forever; Thy throne from generation to
generation. Wherefore dost Thou forget us forever, and forsake us so
long time? Turn Thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned;
renew our days as of old." Lamentations 1:1-5; 2:1-4, 13; 5:1-3, 7, 8,
17, 19-21. {PK 463.3}